55 ms·

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.

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.