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Evangelion is so mega overrated of an anime im experiencing second hand embarrassment on behalf of Japan for letting its national personaification be exlempifie

Evangelion is so mega overrated of an anime im experiencing second hand embarrassment on behalf of Japan for letting its national personaification be exlempified by shinji.

mghackerlady 6mo ago
it is a masterpiece, up there with ghost in the shell, akira, and serial experiments lain in terms of "japanese existentialist scifi"
- Der_Einzige 6mo ago
  Lain is 10/10. Akira/Ghost in the Shell are great too. Evangelion is a weak 7/10 in comparison to them in every aspect imaginable. I also realized that Evangelion is Japan's version of assigning weird mysticism to religions they don't understand (much how westerners depict shinto/daoism/buddhism with tons of mysticism). Evangelion is a disgusting anime to consider part of your national personification. Drop it and pick up Ghibli films more please Japan.
  - mghackerlady 6mo ago
    i'll concede lain is better, but evangelion beats akira and maybe ghost in the shell. what problems do you have with it in specific?
  - joquarky 6mo ago
    > shinto/daoism/buddhism The style of your comment is not making a good case for knowledge of this subject.
    - pezezin 6mo ago
      I guess it reinforces his point about the lack of knowledge of Japanese people.
  - Moto7451 6mo ago
    Evangelion is not “Japan’s version” of anything in terms of western religions. It’s one guy who was making a TV show. It’s not Japan’s “national personification.” If you want to go down the rabbit hole you’ll find a lot of quotes from Anno and others on it. A lot of it boils down to “we did this because it’s cool and we have no idea what Christianity is” down to Anno going “Yeah I could do this because no one in Japan is really going to care and I don’t really care about the Western world anyway.” https://gwern.net/otaku https://gwern.net/otaku https://wiki.evageeks.org/Statements_by_Evangelion_Staff https://wiki.evageeks.org/Statements_by_Evangelion_Staff It’s fine to not like it but it’s quite a step to go “this is how Japan thinks.” It’s akin to saying America is personified by the Simpsons every time they go to Japan.
    - jmalicki 6mo ago
      But America is personified by the Simpsons!
      - selimthegrim 6mo ago
        I guess Saddam Hussein's propaganda team thought so in 1991 too.
  - whaleofatw2022 6mo ago
    > Lain is 10/10. Caught the BeOS fan ;) (I kid, mostly but remember Lain fans rabidly trying and espousing it)
    - mghackerlady 6mo ago
      I was more impressed with the obscure NeXT and apple references, BeOS only crossed my mind because I recognised the end card
  - jjmarr 6mo ago
    It is a show about depression, which is why people love it. The "weird mysticism" is just the reification (pun intended) of the urge to self-harm. i.e. Literally turning into a puddle of emotion, or allowing oneself to be crucified. It's visceral in a way I've never seen before or since. Going all in on a surface-level understanding paid off in my mind.
jollyllama 6mo ago
"When it comes to the safety of this planet, it's NERV or nothin'." - ReDeath fan dub
cpburns2009 6mo ago
It's an unpopular opinion for sure. Evangelion had great potential, a mysterious world, but it never reached it. I kept waiting for it to get good and then it just abruptly ended. I couldn't stand Shinji either. His situational paralysis was so frustrating. If he'd been a coward it would at least be understandable. But no, he sits there frozen half the show.
- mghackerlady 6mo ago
  the emotions of the story are the point, not the story itself. Also, shinji is a coward. That's literally the whole point of the show, showing a cowards reaction to being forced into a situation that isn't avoidable in the most drastic way possible
  - cindyllm 6mo ago
    [dead]
  - mikestorrent 6mo ago
    Luckily, the show does a good enough job at explaining itself to those who care to learn the message. I watched it in my teens but only now in my 40s on my fourth view through does it actually finally make sense the way it should. Sometimes things take a while to click.
    - mghackerlady 6mo ago
      I feel like the easiest way to distinguish between those that get it and those that don't are asking their thoughts on the ending. If they prefer the original, they get it, and if they prefer the end of evangelion movie they don't totally get it. If they prefer the rebuild films they're in it for the yaoi and mecha which tbf I don't blame them kaworu is hot
      - mikestorrent 6mo ago
        I actually really like all of the above, is the thing; the idea that there are multiple ways the story goes broadens things. The Congratulations ending is still pretty brilliant though. You're making me want to go watch it again.
mikestorrent 6mo ago
There's nothing more overrated than a comment saying a great thing is overrated

Evangelion is so mega overrated of an anime im experiencing second hand embarrassment on behalf of Japan for letting its national personaification be exlempified by shinji.

mghackerlady 6mo ago

it is a masterpiece, up there with ghost in the shell, akira, and serial experiments lain in terms of "japanese existentialist scifi"

Der_Einzige 6mo ago
Lain is 10/10. Akira/Ghost in the Shell are great too. Evangelion is a weak 7/10 in comparison to them in every aspect imaginable. I also realized that Evangelion is Japan's version of assigning weird mysticism to religions they don't understand (much how westerners depict shinto/daoism/buddhism with tons of mysticism). Evangelion is a disgusting anime to consider part of your national personification. Drop it and pick up Ghibli films more please Japan.
- mghackerlady 6mo ago
  i'll concede lain is better, but evangelion beats akira and maybe ghost in the shell. what problems do you have with it in specific?
- joquarky 6mo ago
  > shinto/daoism/buddhism The style of your comment is not making a good case for knowledge of this subject.
  - pezezin 6mo ago
    I guess it reinforces his point about the lack of knowledge of Japanese people.
- Moto7451 6mo ago
  Evangelion is not “Japan’s version” of anything in terms of western religions. It’s one guy who was making a TV show. It’s not Japan’s “national personification.” If you want to go down the rabbit hole you’ll find a lot of quotes from Anno and others on it. A lot of it boils down to “we did this because it’s cool and we have no idea what Christianity is” down to Anno going “Yeah I could do this because no one in Japan is really going to care and I don’t really care about the Western world anyway.” https://gwern.net/otaku https://gwern.net/otaku https://wiki.evageeks.org/Statements_by_Evangelion_Staff https://wiki.evageeks.org/Statements_by_Evangelion_Staff It’s fine to not like it but it’s quite a step to go “this is how Japan thinks.” It’s akin to saying America is personified by the Simpsons every time they go to Japan.
  - jmalicki 6mo ago
    But America is personified by the Simpsons!
    - selimthegrim 6mo ago
      I guess Saddam Hussein's propaganda team thought so in 1991 too.
- whaleofatw2022 6mo ago
  > Lain is 10/10. Caught the BeOS fan ;) (I kid, mostly but remember Lain fans rabidly trying and espousing it)
  - mghackerlady 6mo ago
    I was more impressed with the obscure NeXT and apple references, BeOS only crossed my mind because I recognised the end card
- jjmarr 6mo ago
  It is a show about depression, which is why people love it. The "weird mysticism" is just the reification (pun intended) of the urge to self-harm. i.e. Literally turning into a puddle of emotion, or allowing oneself to be crucified. It's visceral in a way I've never seen before or since. Going all in on a surface-level understanding paid off in my mind.

jollyllama 6mo ago

"When it comes to the safety of this planet, it's NERV or nothin'." - ReDeath fan dub

cpburns2009 6mo ago

It's an unpopular opinion for sure. Evangelion had great potential, a mysterious world, but it never reached it. I kept waiting for it to get good and then it just abruptly ended. I couldn't stand Shinji either. His situational paralysis was so frustrating. If he'd been a coward it would at least be understandable. But no, he sits there frozen half the show.

mghackerlady 6mo ago
the emotions of the story are the point, not the story itself. Also, shinji is a coward. That's literally the whole point of the show, showing a cowards reaction to being forced into a situation that isn't avoidable in the most drastic way possible
- cindyllm 6mo ago
  [dead]
- mikestorrent 6mo ago
  Luckily, the show does a good enough job at explaining itself to those who care to learn the message. I watched it in my teens but only now in my 40s on my fourth view through does it actually finally make sense the way it should. Sometimes things take a while to click.
  - mghackerlady 6mo ago
    I feel like the easiest way to distinguish between those that get it and those that don't are asking their thoughts on the ending. If they prefer the original, they get it, and if they prefer the end of evangelion movie they don't totally get it. If they prefer the rebuild films they're in it for the yaoi and mecha which tbf I don't blame them kaworu is hot
    - mikestorrent 6mo ago
      I actually really like all of the above, is the thing; the idea that there are multiple ways the story goes broadens things. The Congratulations ending is still pretty brilliant though. You're making me want to go watch it again.

mikestorrent 6mo ago

There's nothing more overrated than a comment saying a great thing is overrated