Neon Genesis Evangelion/YMMV: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit |
||
| (37 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown) | |||
Line 4:
----
== General ==
* [[Awesome Art]]: Most of the fight scenes are very visually impressive, especially considering the production issues the show faced.
* [[First Installment Wins]]: Despite the debates in the fandom on whether ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion]]'' is better or worse than the original series as well as ''Rebuild'' largely replacing ''Neon Genesis'' in merchandise, the TV series has always been the best-remembered and most iconic incarnation of the ''Evangelion'' franchise. The franchise is still (in)famous for its [[True Art Is Angsty]] reputation despite it being toned down in the first two ''Rebuild'' movies and most spinoffs, ''Rebuild'' Angels are frequently referred to by their original series names, and Asuka is better-remembered as "Soryu" than as "Shikinami". And even though the latter two Rebuilds do crank the tone back up to the seriousness of the original, they just still can't match the popularity of the original's [[Gainax Ending]].
* [[Common Knowledge]]: In the early days of the Internet, ''Evangelion'' used to be lauded as a super-original anime that killed the "[[Merchandise-Driven|toy commercial robot cartoon]]", some even going as far to proclaim ''Eva'' to be the '''only''' mecha anime that "is about the characters and not the mecha". This is not true in the slightest, as there had been at least several dozen otaku geared mecha anime that had excellent character development in the 80s, and even [[Super Robot]] shows from the 70s had very clear character growth despite their monster-of-the-week plots. The origin of this likely stems from the fact most Americans were used to either the 80s [[The Transformers (animation)|Transformers]] cartoon or various [[Macekre]]s of mecha anime (such as [[Voltron]] or [[Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs]]) which usually severely dumbed down the plots and the character growth so these could be watched, without parental worry, by small children.
** [[Hideaki Anno]]'s supposed hate of the mecha genre, which likely stems from the incorrect conclusion that his depression from around the time-span of ''Evangelion's'' production was centered on the concept of mecha. The man actually ''loves'' giant robots to death, and ''Evangelion'' is more-or-less his take on [[Ultraman]] and [[Space Runaway Ideon]].
** ''Evangelion's'' supposed "deconstructive" qualities often get somewhat overinflated by fanboys when it comes to the influence on the anime industry and originality. Most of ''Evangelion's'' positive influence in the industry actually came from the TV executives realizing there was a market for gruesome violence and dark themes on television after a period during which anime seemed to be in a state of irreversible decline, while imitations of character tropes from ''Evangelion'' are nowhere as clear-cut as the fanboys will tell you. As for the originality, the series simply wasn't the first to toy around with mecha as a concept. That was [[Zambot 3]], and even then mecha anime didn't (and still doesn't, mind) have a defined template that could be considered completely subvertable. [[Mazinger Z]] had a [[Jerkass]] for a hero in ''1972''. [[Getter Robo]] introduced outright [[Anti-Hero|anti-heroes]] in ''1974''.
* [[Fan Hater]]: The wider mecha fandom harbors a very nasty grudge against ''Evangelion'' fans, who are stereotyped as obnoxious, up-the-ass pseudointellectuals who don't understand a thing about the mecha genre, or Hideaki Anno and his personal views as a creator for that matter. This ''does'' have some basis in reality sadly - ''EvaGeeks'' is widely known as one of the most toxic anime forums ever, with other mecha anime being bashed to the point of absurdity for even the tiniest of flaws while ''Evangelion'' is held on an arbitrary pedestal of perfection. Other gatherings of the Evangelion community, such as Reddit and Twitter are no better.
* [[Germans Love David Hasselhoff]]:
** In the West, the franchise is generally more popular with college/university-age anime fans (some of which grew up with the series) than it is with younger fans, who generally skew towards newer series such as ''[[Attack on Titan]]'' and ''[[One-Punch Man]]''.
Line 11 ⟶ 16:
* [[Internet Backdraft]]: The fact that Asuka and Rei, two ''fourteen''-year-olds, are heavily sexualized in the merchandise for the series.
* [[Periphery Demographic]]: ''Evangelion'' was primarily meant for teens (hence the 14-year-old protagonists), but mostly due to the show's age and very mature and deep content, it has a very active adult fanbase that's much more prominent than for newer shonen series, with some fans even in their 30s or 40s (the late [[Robin Williams]] was a fan of the show).
* [[Sacred Cow]]: Many fans consider the series this due to its status as a critical darling. Just as many, however, disagree, considering a lot of the reputation of the anime comes from poorly written hitpieces that don't accurately represent it - specifically, those hitpieces do not take into account Anno's personal history as a devoted otaku and his liking of stuff that look visually distinct (hence all the crosses). Furthermore, those hitpieces tend to veer off into overanalyzing minute aspects that are very secondary at best and do not really contribute to what would be worth analyzing - the story and the characters themselves.
* [[Spiritual Successor]]: Series director [[Hideaki Anno]] also played a prominent role in the ''[[Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind]]'' film, animating the God Warrior, another gigantic and dangerous [[Living Weapon]]. Given that ''Nausicaa'' director [[Hayao Miyazaki]] and Anno are good friends, it's no surprise that the two share so many similarities despite being from completely opposite corners of the [[Anime]] world. They both feature young characters on their [[Coming of Age]] journey, a post-apocalyptic setting, and [[Humongous Mecha|humongous]] living weapons. Even the [[Angst]] storm in the later episodes has a counterpart in the later chapters of the ''Nausicaa'' manga: the God Warrior Ohma feels ''exactly'' like an Eva going berserk.
== About the characters ==
* [[Alas, Poor Scrappy]]: Even back in the day when the latter was much more hated, people found the horrors both Asuka and Shinji went through in EoE to be awful.
* [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]: [[Word of God|Intentional on the creator's part]], but especially noteworthy in some cases:
** Gendo: a manipulative monster, a misunderstood genius, [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|a loving but misguided father who wants to make his son strong]], the show's biggest [[Woobie]], or a mix of the four? Also, during his death scene in ''The End of Evangelion'', was he truly sorry for all that he'd done to Shinji and put him through, or was he apologizing because he didn't want "Yui" to take out her wrath on him and show him how it feels to be on the receiving end? The look of abject terror we see in the scene strongly suggests the latter, though it's not necessarily mutually exclusive if it's because he knows and/or accepts there's no way out of this, and/or that he deserves it.
** Is Yui a soft and idealized mother/Virgin Mary figure (close to being the series' [[Canon Sue]]), the actual manipulative monster who's responsible for messing up Shinji, Gendo and the fate of the world, or just off her rocker?
** Is Shinji a neurotic, obnoxious "wimp", a normal person dealing with impossibly overwhelming odds, or actually a courageous young hero? Is he "pure" or a pervert with [[Yandere]] tendencies? Since we're at it, is Shinji similar to Gendo, his polar opposite, or a complex mix of the two?
** The entire organization of SEELE: is it a group of [[Complete Monster|complete monsters]]
** Is Kaworu a [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth]] [[Tragic Hero]] who doesn't understand how he hurts Shinji, an [[Anti-Villain]] who pulls a [[Heel Face Turn]] after Shinji shows him love, a [[Manipulative Bastard]] who played with Shinji's emotions, or some combination of them? There's enough evidence for each of these interpretations, and different depictions of Kaworu pick whichever one they agree with best.
** The ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' games also dabble in this (as they usually do with the series) giving Shinji a backbone and changing story details. For example {{spoiler|1=Toji does not suffer the fate that he does in the TV series and can occasionally join the team as a playable character. Likewise Asuka, in her famous scene from the movie, does not die when she is attacked by the group of EVAs but can actually wipe them out instead}}.
** A humorous example on [http://www.gamespite.net/toastywiki/index.php/Site/ThumbnailEvangelion26 this website], overlapping with [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic]].
* [[Americans Hate Tingle]]: Shinji is a far more polarizing character in the West than he is in Japan.
** This most likely comes from the fact that Americans generally don't like whiny characters. Shinji's softy behaviour is integral to the plot, and the whole show's message kinda revolves around Shinji's behaviour ''not'' being something you want to replicate... which is, once again, ''not'' the kind of character writing Americans tend to like.
* [[Angst Dissonance]]: [[It Got Worse|No matter how much hell he goes through]], many viewers ''still'' attribute Shinji's issues to him just being a whiny, bratty wuss. Not even {{spoiler|witnessing Asuka getting disemboweled}} is an adequate excuse for him not [[Mary Sue|taking insane amounts of tragedy and misfortune, cosmic horrors and near-constant abuse in stride]].
* [[Badass Decay]]: Gendo arguably goes through this late into the manga and in ''The End of Evangelion''.
* [[Base Breaker]]: [[Alternate Character Interpretation|Pretty much every major character]].
** A specific example is Gendo. He's ranked around 50% most hated anime character in quite a few polls. This likely overlaps with [[Love to Hate]], so it may not be so bad.
* [[Broken Base]]: The ''entire series itself''. Either it's an awesome, inspired [[Deconstruction]] that gave the [[Super Robot Genre]] a breath of fresh air, or it's a nonsensical over-convoluted trainwreck with unlikeable protagonists and too much angst.
* [[Complete Monster]]: Keel Lorenz, head of SEELE, {{spoiler|the organization dedicated to cause [[The End of the World as We Know It|the Third Impact]] so that all life can be assimilated into one being, with humanity as the new God of Earth
* [[Crazy Awesome]]: In direct opposition to the above trope is the more recent trend in fanon to think of him as this. [[Ikari Shinji Raising Project|This isn't as unprecedented as one might think]].
* [[Crossover Ship]]: Shinji has been paired with [[Bleach|Orihime]]. The fact they're very divisive and get flak for being 'useless' probably has something to do with it.
**He has also been paired with Madoka and Homaru from [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]].
* [[Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy]]: Many detractors of the series will point to this as being the main reason they dislike this series. The main characters are either unlikeable or have so many issues, you at best feel sorry for them. Even when it seems to be getting better for everyone, somethings knocks them back down. That's not even mentioning the many creepy and/or WTF moments the show has.
* [[Die for Our Ship]]:
** Some ''Evangelion'' fans utterly despise Asuka because out of all of Shinji's possible love interests, she's traditionally the one given the most romantic attention and therefore is perceived as the biggest threat, instead of whomever the fans in question believe to be Shinji's "true love". Such Asuka-haters may go to extraordinary lengths to not only remove her as a "threat" to their preferred romantic option, but sometimes even go as far as to '''punish''' her for the sin of "daring" to presume she's worthy of getting close to Shinji in any way, shape or form
** There are also other fans who give the same kind of treatment to '''Rei''', somehow believing that she's a threat to Shinji and Asuka's
** And people just LOVE to call Mana Kirishima from ''Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel'' a [[Relationship Sue]], just because she's a possible [[Love Interest]] for Shinji in the aforementioned visual novel as well as other ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' spin-offs she appeared in, gets a lot of spotlight in ''Girlfriend of Steel'', is one of the few characters who are genuinely and/or openly nice to Shinji (and arguably the only one among all of Shinji's [[Love Interests]]), and is comparatively much more stable as a person than most of the cast, let alone Shinji's other non-[[Crack Pairing]] [[Love Interests]] (which, in a [[Dysfunction Junction]] cast, makes her come across as "too perfect" for some people). This was actually likely an [[Intended Audience Reaction]] in order to set the mood for the [[Deconstructed Trope]] she ends up being.
* [[Ear Worm]]: Listening to "Cruel Angel's Thesis" is like eating Pringles: you can't do it just once.
Line 41 ⟶ 52:
** On the villainous side, the Angel Zeruel and Ramiel are incredibly popular to this day, the former being the first to actually physically breach NERV headquarters and being a full-on [[Hero-Killer]], and the second for its unique, utterly alien design (which only improved with the ''Rebuild'' movies).
** Rei is fairly popular with the fandom. She even got her own game. See [[Moe]] and [[Misaimed Fandom]] below for details.
* [[Epileptic Trees]]: Notable here because there's one very simple question ''in particular'' that's vexed fans ever since the series first aired: "Okay, if the Evas are [[Powered by a Forsaken Child|run in part by the souls of the mothers of the pilots]]... [[Captain Obvious|who's in Unit 00, then]]? [[Artificial Human|I mean, Rei doesn't]]?..." ''Fifteen goddamn years'', and there is no definitive answer to this at all. Anno and the other writers seem to ''love'' being coy about this one, in fact. Of course, some think this means [[The Chris Carter Effect|they don't really know themselves]]. There are two leading contenders:
* [[Fan Dumb]]: Let's stop and take a look at the way Shinji Ikari is labelled whiny. Throughout the series, Shinji first heard from his dad for the first time in SEVEN YEARS to pilot this giant robot for him. When Shinji ''quite rationally'' points out that he'd have NO feasible clue as to HOW to pilot the thing, it's treated as if he is a coward. [[Face Palm|Face, meet palm]]. After that, he is chewed out for [[Double Standard|NOT being a coward a few episodes later]], in the fight with Shamshel. Yes, he disobeyed orders, but if Shinji had retreated, then the [[Our Angels Are Different|Angel]] would've been left to rampage in Tokyo 3 for however long repairs would take. That he had the sheer guts to simply charge it down and kill it is treated as a BAD thing (overall, it HAS to be labelled positive, even if only from a monetary perspective). He then, over the course of the series, has to pilot the emotionally damaging machine, all to get approval from his Dad, desperate for affection - both [["Well Done, Son" Guy]], AND [[Freudian Excuse]] because of how little Gendo has ever shown affection. He is forced to feel Eva Unit 01 tear apart and attempt to murder one of his only two friends as if he did it himself - '''[[What the Hell, Hero?|While he is held responsible for the injuries Toji Suzahara receives in the process, despite not being in control of Unit 01]]''' - another marvellous gift from [[Jerkass|Badass]] Gendo Ikari, Shinji is AGAIN chastised for choosing to leave the Nerv base and refuse to pilot the machine again. Cue more [[What the Hell, Hero?|accusations of cowardice]]. And some of the people in Nerv actually DO count as the '''good guys'''. And this is BEFORE you get into the mini arc with Kaworu, having to see Rei [[Heroic Sacrifice|blow up Tokyo 3 and Unit 00]] to save him, cause he couldn't do anything about it, and End of Evangelion itself. Of course, internet being internet, ''Gendo Ikari is [[Magnificent Bastard|awesome]] while Shinji is a [[Wangst]] machine''.
** Much more meta. Some fans sent Anno death threats (which can see in EOE) because they didn't care for how the tv show ended. Because you know, Eva is about the ''fans'' wants.
** Fans of ''Evangelion'' on certain sites (most notably the ''Eva'' forum ''EvaGeeks'') are incredibly hard-headed in their quest to prove ''Evangelion'' is some sort of deep philosophical masterpiece. As a result of the collective God complex those particular groups developed, they decided to go ahead and attack fans of other mecha anime purely because they don't share the same overinflated opinion of ''Evangelion''. It contributed to the [[Fandom Rivalry]] quite a bit.
* [[Fandom-Specific Plot]]: What if the show was a normal MECHA anime or was simply less terrifying and depressing?
** The group finding a way to destroy all the angels without ending the world.
* [[Fetish Fuel]]: Some people find the concept of a {{spoiler|giant, naked, china-white, red-eyed teenager}} somewhat arousing {{spoiler|despite the [[Fan Disservice]] of the fact said giant teenager has a giant forehead vagina with an eye in it, and the fact the thing falls to pieces and [[High-Pressure Blood|sprays blood everywhere]]}}...
* [[Germans Love David Hasselhoff]]: Historically, Asuka has been a far more popular character than Rei among Western audiences, whereas the complete opposite is true in Japan—even [[Word of God]] has commented on this. Rei is still quite popular in the US and Asuka popular in Japan as well.
* [[Ho Yay]]: Shinji with Kaworu, which is also [[Foe Yay]]. Episode 24 basically drives it home as hard as it possibly can in under twenty-five minutes of time, what with the two explicitly stating their love for one another on separate occasions, the whole holding hands-in-the-shower scene, and Shinji almost constantly blushing and being incredibly open to Kaworu in almost all of their scenes together, Kaworu blushing and telling Shinji "I really was born to meet you"... yeah. Taken [[Up to Eleven]] in the manga. In ''Campus Apocalypse'', it's his entire motivation. To some extent, Shinji with Kaji, although this seems to be only on Kaji's side, and it's not clear if Kaji is genuinely interested or just falling on his standard bag of tricks for how to interact with people.
** Female example: Maya's crush on Ritsuko.
* [[Incest Yay Shipping]]: Some Shinji/Rei fans embrace the implications.
* [[Jerkass Woobie]]: Asuka is the most famous example, but Gendo Ikari and Ritsuko Akagi also qualify.
* [[Launcher of a Thousand Ships]]: Shinji in Evangelion fanfiction. Let's see, he gets paired up with Asuka and Rei like always. But he also gets paired with Hikari, Mana, Maya, Mayumi, Misato and Ritsuko on the side and there are fans for these pairings with recent ones for Shinji being paired up with Mari. I don't wanna mention Kaworu's involvement... And then there's Shinji being paired up with his mom...
* [[Les Yay]]: Maya's crush on Ritsuko.
* [[Love to Hate]]: '''Gendo'''.
* [[Magnificent Bastard]]:
** Gendo is this in the anime and manga, and somewhat a milder version on ''Rebuild of Evangelion''. He manipulated everything and everyone from the very beginning, using and discarding people like puppets for his own ends, and planning ahead in a manner that would make the original [[Trope Namer]] proud. What's ''really'' impressive is that he managed to completely manipulate SEELE (who are an entire evil ''council'' of [[Manipulative Bastard]]s). The only reason he didn't get exactly what he wanted in the end was because he didn't count on Rei actually developing human feelings and growing to care for Shinji.
*** That's also the only reason SEELE didn't get exactly what they wanted, and they arguably still did. They certainly came closer than Gendo to their ultimate goal.
** Yui Ikari also qualifies, thanks to certain scenes during ''The End of Evangelion''.
* [[Mary Sue]]: This is one of the less flattering thoughts about Mari, but it's subverted. While her name is Mari and has numerous powers and abilities that none of the cast has ever hinted at, her middle name is extremely elaborate, she's an original character to a preexisting series, she {{Spoiler|is the one Shinji ends up with}} and she has yet to win a battle that doesn't end in her own EVA being totaled by the end of it.
* [[Memetic Badass]]: People say Gendo's omniscient in his manipulations. [[Gambit Roulette|He might as well be]]. Because of Gendo, [[Clasp Your Hands If You Deceive|steepled fingers]] have become a way to make you feel like a [[Magnificent Bastard]]. See also the "Gendo pose" on the Internet. One word: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PALxktAMw3I GENDOWNED]. Ironic in a way, as his final words make it quite clear that he's actually an adult Shinji, terrible understanding of people and all.
* [[Memetic Molester]] ''and'' [[Memetic Sex God]]: [[Kavorka Man|Gendo]], also known as the ''Über-[[Evangelion: ReDeath|Pimp]]''.
* [[Never Live It Down]]: The way Shinji gets described sometimes, makes it sound like he all does in the series is nothing but angsting and whining ineffectively about his daddy issues, only occasionally pausing [[Dude, She's Like, in a Coma|when he masturbates to the sight of comatose girls]] (though that last event did undeniably and understandably leave a strong impression with viewers, to put it diplomatically). But Shinji, as a matter of fact, rarely ever angsts out loud, instead being mostly just brooding and quiet. If anything, ''Asuka'' is possibly the most vocally angsty and emotionally unstable character.
** For Kaji detractors, the moment he pinned Misato to an elevator wall and forcibly kissed her. Also his weird interactions with Shinji came off more gross than funny for some fans.
* [[No Yay]]: Save for Kaworu, Mana, and Mari. All of Shinji's major relationships have at least one factor that stops them from being fully liked.
** Asuka/Shinji for Shinji masturbating on her and Asuka being too mean and aggressive towards him.
** Shinji/Rei. For some, the fact Rei is a clone of Yui is just too much for them to ship them.
** Shinji/Misato for obvious reasons (i.e their ages).
* [[Nightmare Retardant]]: Rei was meant to come off as an unsettling person to invoke case of [[Uncanny Valley]]. Fans instead found her to be adorable, especially with her sympathetic characterization. Likewise, Kaworu was supposed to come as disturbingly cheerful. Instead seeing him acting happy at such a dark point in the series, coupled with his friendship with Shinji, turned him into fan favorite for completely different reason.
* [[Ron the Death Eater]]: There are a surprising large amount of fanfics out there that have Kaji cheating on Misato as the reason they originally broke up, despite extended scenes in the anime directly contradicting this. And that's saying nothing on what some fans do to Kaworu in Shinji shippings.
** Worse are those who call Shinji a selfish emo brat and budding psychopath who values himself more than the rest of humanity so much that he brings about the end of the world, those who call Asuka an abusive narcissist with no redeeming qualities who only acts the way she does towards others just to be a bully and ''deserved'' the torment she got put through by Arael, those who demonize morally ambiguous characters like Ritsuko, Yui or Gendo while overlooking their good qualities, and those who like to paint Kaworu as a [[Depraved Homosexual]].
* [[The Scrappy]]:
** Many fans think Pen Pen doesn't really fit in with ''
** Dr. Naoko Akagi gets much hate for {{spoiler|strangling a small child to death in a jealous rage, and being a terrible mother to Ritsuko to the point where a part of her mind refuses to follow Ritsuko's self-destruct command, choosing Gendo over her own daughter
** Because of the deep seated level of [[Your Mileage May Vary]] when it comes to
* [[Ships That Pass in the Night]]: Pairing Kaworu with Asuka is surprisingly popular despite the fact that the latter spends the entirety of the former's screentime unconscious in a hospital room. Pairing Kaworu with Rei has much more plausibility, given their shared backgrounds and the subtle but powerful interactions they have in their limited screentime together, but is still mostly a case of this as they say all of three sentences to each other in total.
* [[Too Cool to Live]]: Charismatic, wisecracking and perhaps the main person Shinji (and in the manga, Asuka too) can have for a good father replacement? Way to seal your fate, Kaji.
* [[
* [[Uncanny Valley]]: Anno wrote and designed Rei to serve as this. For the major part (which is really an understatement), it ''completely and utterly failed''. Even so, there are still people here and there who see her as creepy and inhumane. Even then, she does show emotions...
* [[Unfortunate Implications]]: SEELE bears some uncomfortable similarities to a number of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories (*cough*[[The Illuminati]]*cough*), so much so that some fans have [[Epileptic Trees|suggested]] that their chairman
* [[Unintentionally Sympathetic]]: Rei Ayanami.
*
** It happens a ''lot'' in the [[Alternate Continuity]] ''Gakuen Datenroku'' ("Records of Heaven's Descent"), where Shinji is at his most androgynous and ''really'' looks like Maya and where it's sometimes necessary to have a close look to realize that the cute short-haired girl is actually him.
* [[Wangst]]: This is a common complaint about the show, ''especially'' about Shinji. Of course, opinions on whether the characters' have justified reasons for their angst [[Your Mileage May Vary|are subjective]], like other things on the show. Shinji is a very special case when it comes to [[Wangst]] designation, in that people agree that the amount of Shinji's angst is completely justified considering [[Trauma Conga Line|what happens to him]], but they still find it excessive anyway. Asuka also gets stuck with the same situation, and it seems to be one of the more inevitable consequences of having a [[Dysfunction Junction]] series with such a high Dysfunction/Instability quotient that it's a wonder any of the characters can actually function at ''all''.
* [[The Woobie]]: ''Everyone'',
== About the story ==
* [[And the Fandom Rejoiced]]: The latest in the endless stream of licensed games is a title developed by
* [[Anvilicious]]: Did you know that people are full of ugly fears and impulses? Also, did you know that modern technologies are a mixed blessing? Or that science (and scientists) don't have the answer to everything?
** [[Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped]]:
* [[Awesome Music]]: [[Neon Genesis Evangelion/Awesome Music|Enough to have its own page]].
* [[Big Lipped Alligator Moment]]: The Jet Alone episode... never comes up again. Aside from giving a [[Moment of Awesome]] to Misato, foreshadowing the Mass-production EVA units, and filling some space, it doesn't ever show up again.
* [[Broken Base]]: One of the few irrefutable statements that can be made about ''Evangelion'' is that it is the most divisive anime ever. Virtually ''everything'' about this series has been, is, and will be the topic of heated debate. Is [insert character here] [[Alternate Character Interpretation|a sympathetic character]]? Do the [[Creepy Cool Crosses|religious allusions]] [[Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory|really mean]] [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|anything]]? Did the series change direction over its run, or was it all planned out from the beginning? Which ending is better? Are they the same, or do they conflict? Is the ADV English dub as good as, better than, or vastly inferior to the Japanese? What about the Netflix dub? Is the series itself one of the greatest in the history of anime—or even cinema—or merely one of the [[Hype Backlash|most overrated]]? Can the live-action movies be done right? Which girl would you [[Perverse Sexual Lust|bang]]? If you wonder it for even a second, there is absolutely no question that it has been the subject of fierce debate inside or outside the fandom. The fact that, one way or the other, people generally tend to form ''very'' strong opinions about this series helps cement it firmly within this trope.
* [[The Chris Carter Effect]]: The original series hit this trope hard by {{spoiler|''completely dropping the plot for the last two episodes''}}, but with the addition of ''The End of Evangelion'' its placement under this trope became ambiguous. [[Your Mileage May Vary|Some]] felt that [[The Movie]] provided an adequate payoff for all, or at least most of the plot threads built up over the course of the series; others felt that it was just another cop-out.
* [[Common Knowledge]]: No, while Hideki Anno did get tons of death threats, he didn't create EoE just to piss those people off, it was always going to happen.
* [[Cult Classic]]: The series itself, outside of
* [[Ear Worm]]: ''Twenty-two versions'' of "Fly Me To The Moon" will catch up to you. There's also "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" (the theme song), the infamous "Komm, süsser Tod" (which becomes really creepy when you consider the lyrics), and "Good or Don't Be", the instrumental version of the main theme that plays in the background of the "congratulations" scene.
* [[Ending Aversion]]: For the half of the fans that hate ''The End of Evangelion'' and consider it to be a horribly written, pointless [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]] ending that involves numerous [[Ass Pull]]s and [[Take That, Audience!]]. The ending is so badly received that a sizable portion of the fanfics are devoted to fans coming up with their endings, which some argue are [[Better Than Canon]].
* [[Epileptic Trees]]: If you thought that ''the show'' was disturbing and insane, you clearly haven't read the [[Fan Wank]]. Some of the more nagging theories floating about in the aether include:
** Keel Lorenz is one of two things - either:
*** The Wandering Jew... despite the fact that there isn't any evidence that he's immortal or even Jewish
*** [[Those Wacky Nazis|A Nazi]], based on his German name, obsession with perfection, and access to the Spear of Destiny.
** There's one very simple question ''in particular'' that's vexed fans ever since the series first aired: "Okay, if the
*** What makes it even worse is the fact that Unit 00 clearly tries to kill Rei more than once. ''Another'' theory all together is that a part of Rei's soul is actually in Unit 00, and that's what allows for her memories and emotions to be transmitted from one clone to the next. And then you've got the ''thousands'' of theories coming off from that... honestly, you could
** Another particularly wacky one that's been floating around for a while: the idea that Asuka is pregnant in the final scene of ''The End of Evangelion'', as she is somehow bearing Shinji's child due to the trippy, hallucinatory sex they had during Instrumentality. In all fairness, this one has (allegedly) been hinted at by Anno, although that in itself [[Shrug of God|might not be saying much]].
* [[Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory]]: Works ''particularly'' well. Shinji as a pathetic messiah/Jesus figure; the Jesus imagery/connotations that can be applied to Rei and Kaworu; Gendo as Judas or Satan, or alternately as the God of the Old Testament; angels/apostles; crosses... It's hard to tell whether the ''
* [[Fandom Gank]]: The series' finale left vast swaths of the fandom puzzled ''and'' angry at the complete non-sequitur ending.
* [[Fandom Rivalry]]: Given how it's one of the most (in)famous series in the anime world, it's bound to run into competition.
** Since the 90's, several fans have started a rivalry between ''Evangelion'' and fellow [[Humongous Mecha]] series ''[[Gundam]]''. Some people have come to believe that ''Evangelion'' is deep and philosophical while all of ''Gundam'' is childish and stupid, conveniently ignoring that ''Gundam'' also has a dark [[War Is Hell]] theme and has very serious entries like ''[[Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam]]'' and ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team]]''. While mostly discredited, this stereotype prevails to this day, much to annoyance of ''Gundam'' fans. Conversely, the opposing belief is that ''Gundam'' is [[Closer to Earth]] and more relatable while ''Evangelion'' relies too much on grotesque shock value and pretentious [[Faux Symbolism]]. This latter view holds much more of a sway over today's anime fandom.
** ''Evangelion'' and ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' fans have formed rivalries over which entry is the better [[Genre Deconstruction]] (respectively of [[Humongous Mecha]] and [[Magical Girl]]). The same rivalry occurs between ''Evangelion'' fellow mecha deconstruction '[[Bokurano]]''. Although Hideaki Anno himself is a ''huge'' fan of ''Madoka'', praising it for the same kind of ruthless [[Deconstruction]] of a popular genre that he was trying to do.
** ''Evangelion'' and ''[[RahXephon]]'' fans are rather contentious towards each other given how much ''RahXephon'' borrows from ''Evangelion''. This of course is rather ironic given how their respective directors are good friends who worked on many projects together.
* [[Fan Dumb]]: Massive amounts; come in multiple different varieties.
* [[Fan Hater]]: Ditto.
** Most notably the mecha fanbase absolutely ''can't stand'' a sizeable portion of the ''Evangelion'' fandom that attacks other shows just because somebody dared to claim "Eva" is not the "greatest anime ever".
* [[Fan Myopia]]: Due to the amount of critical praise the show has received, the fandom has a tendency to overestimate itself. It's gotten to the point where it's seen very frequently on this wiki.
* [[Fanon]]: A general note: so many things about the series and its mythos are implied and left open to interpretation, rather than explicitly stated, that drawing the line between canon and fanon can in some cases be extremely difficult, if not downright impossible. As a rule of thumb: if you heard it from somebody on the Internet (including [[This Very Wiki]] and even [[The Other Wiki]]), or in a magazine, or at a convention, or even in the freaking DVD special features... don't assume it's canon. Hell, even the [[Word of God|CREATORS]] [[Shrug of God|tend to make contradictory statements about the series]], so you might not want to trust them so much either.
** No, Gendo and Kouzou never actually have a drinking party in the series. And no, Shinji isn't some kind of sex master, thank you very much. Also, [[Yaoi Fangirl|for heaven's sake]], Shinji and Kaworu never really get into a relationship in [[Canon]]. This also extends to Toui's sisters' name, Misato's father's name, Hikari's sisters' personalities, Shinji's wardrobe, and many other things. The "SEELE dudes" have been given the fanon names Teddy, Vlad, Nigel and Pierre.
** Also worth noting: No matter how you might remember it, Gendo does ''not'' officially have a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RsepQh342g theme song].
** In some fanfics, the angels can turn into more attractive humanoid versions of themselves.
* [[Fanon Discontinuity]]: Both the endings to the original series. The show one for being too confusing and the movie for being too WTF/brutal. Some have ditched both endings for these reasons, applying the manga's ending or [[Fanfic Fuel|simply making their own ending]].
** Unless you ship them, fans would rather forget Misato kissing Shinji and promising him sex in EoE.
** Speaking of EoE, [[Base Breaker|Shinji]] fans who are sick and tired of seeing [[Draco in Leather Pants|someone they see]] [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|as a victim getting treated]] like [[The Scrappy|trash in and out universe]] and remove any scenes where he does act creepy. Less extreme fans of him would just rather forget a certain hospital scene.
* [[Fan Wank]]: So, so much of it.
* [[Faux Symbolism]]: [[Broken Base|Debate]] [[Internet Backdraft|rages]] to this day (and on this very wiki) regarding the degree to which the religious symbolism is meaningful, but at least according to one statement from assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki (whose other work you [[FLCL|may be familiar with]]), most of it was thrown in simply to make the series appear "mystical".
* [[Fetish Fuel]]: [http://i26.tinypic.com/2vultep.jpg The plugsuits worn by the pilots]. What's not to love about [[Spy Catsuit|skin tight]], vacuum-sealed costumes made out of what one can only assume is some kind of vinyl or latex? Asuka's in particular seems to have been designed to draw extra attention to her breasts.
* [[Freud Was Right]]:
** Shamshel is essentially a flying penis with tentacles.
Line 116 ⟶ 142:
** Arael [[Mind Rape|rapes Asuka's mind]].
** Armisael shifts from a halo-form into a single tentacle that tries to "stab" Unit-00.
* [[Gannon Banned]]: Due to the series' aforementioned [[Internet Backdraft|divisive]] nature, so much as starting a discussion thread about it on certain message boards can result in this.
* [[Growing the Beard]]:
** The first half of the show is a fairly straightforward (albeit highly entertaining) character-driven mecha series. Starting around Episode 14, the focus shifts decisively from the [[Monster of the Week]] battles onto the relationships, internal struggles and schemes of the characters as the pacing picks up, the action and drama become more intense, and the series gets [[Cerebus Syndrome|progressively darker]]. It's in the latter half of the series that it develops an identity truly its own.
** The English dub also takes some time to grow its beard. For the first few episodes, it is admittedly rather clumsy and over-the-top (albeit no more so than most dubs of its time), leading many viewers to dismiss it entirely and question why it was ever so well-loved in the first place. Around the time of Asuka's introduction, it starts noticeably improving, and the main cast (Shinji, Rei, Misato, Asuka, Gendo, Ritsuko and Kaji) become progressively better as the series goes on, until by the end of the show they are delivering the iconic, emotional performances that fans love them for.
** [[Jump the Shark]]: For fans who preferred it as a mecha series without heavy melodrama and [[Mind Screw]], the same turning point marks this.
* [[Hell Is That Noise]]: The Helltrain, and the sound inside the entry plugs. Also, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_253Mjna7_s&feature=related "Fragile Ego Boundary"] (it's the music that plays during {{spoiler|Asuka's mind-rape}}) and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6swG7GU5oLk "Separation Anxiety"], which heralds a [[Mind Screw]] moment whenever it shows up.
** The hum of the Entry Plugs also gravitates from soothing to disturbing over the course of the series, as the events associated with being inside the Eva become progressively more nightmarish. Speaking of which...
* [[Hilarious in Hindsight]]:
** Aoba's Instrumentality scene can be downright hilarious once you realize his (English) voice actor is married to Rei's (English) [[Amanda Winn-Lee|voice actress]]. Let the Freudian subtext wash over you.
** At the end of the [[DVD Commentary]] for ''The End of Evangelion'', Jason C. Lee and Taliesin Jaffe make a crack about the (un)likelihood of ''[[Oddly-Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo|Eva 2: Electric Boogaloo]]''. 10 years later, guess what one of the fastest-growing fan theories about ''Rebuild of Evangelion'' is...
* [[Internet Backdraft]]: ''Evangelion'' generates so much heated debate that some forums forbade launching threads about it.
* [[It's Popular, Now It Sucks]]
* [[Memetic Mutation]]: [[Neon Genesis Evangelion/Memes|Has its own page
* [[Misaimed Fandom]]: ...Though what ''part'' of the fandom is misaimed is up for [[Your Mileage May Vary|tremendous]] [[Flame War|debate]].
* [[Moral Event Horizon]]:
** While [[Assimilation Plot|the Human Instrumentality Project]] is twisted enough, Keel Lorenz and the old men of SEELE truly cross the line in ''The End of Evangelion'' when, having deemed NERV and the Eva Units [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|past the point of use to them]], they {{spoiler|send the JSSDF to slaughter everyone at NERV Base, and also send in their own mass-produced EVA Units to kill Asuka, a 14 year old child, in a merciless and gruesome manner}}.
** Gendo Ikari, in all versions of the story, becomes virtually irredeemable when he {{spoiler|activates the Dummy Plug System on EVA Unit 01, turning it into [[The Berserker]] and forcing his son Shinji to completely crush Unit 03 with his friend still inside (Toji in the anime and manga, Asuka in ''Rebuild 2.0''), all while Shinji is screaming and pleading for his father to stop making him fight against his will and Gendo ''can clearly hear him over the transmission but does nothing''}}.
** Naoko Akagi was a real piece of work to start with, but when she {{spoiler|strangled the first Rei Ayanami, a small child, to death with her bare hands, in a jealous rage all because Rei had repeated unflattering words about Naoko that Gendo had said in front of her, she went over the line. And she seemed to recognize it, [[Driven to Suicide|given what came next]]}}.
** It's debatable if the Angels [[Blue and Orange Morality|are even capable of crossing the MEH given their nature]], but the last couple of Angels do some downright unforgivable things: {{spoiler|Arael's notorious [[Mind Rape]] of Asuka in Episode 22, Amishael's sexual penetration, [[Mind Screw]] [[Breaking Speech]], and destruction of Rei II and Unit 0 in Episode 23, and Adam/Lilith/Giant Naked Rei utterly breaking Shinji's psyche to the point where he sets Instrumentality in motion in ''The End of Evangelion''. And VERY arguably, Tabris/Kaworu befriending Shinji despite knowing that one would have to kill the other eventually played a big part in making that last one possible}}.
** SEELE deliberately engineered Second Impact by tricking the Katsuragi Expedition into waking Adam in order to fulfil their plans. Or to put it differently: SEELE wilfully orchestrated a massive disaster that inflicted horror, chaos, and misery on a global scale for years and ended up causing a death-toll of in the ballpark of ''3 billion people'', ''while'' gambling the rest of Earth's population in a war against the Angels, who by the by had an Instant-Win Condition on their side, just so they could have a shot at achieving godhood.
* [[Most Wonderful Sound]]: The characteristic "ping" of an AT field, regardless of whether it's used by friend or foe.
* [[Narm]]:
** Most of the series's more intense moments are so ''extremely'' serious that they will either come off as utterly spellbinding or hilariously over-the-top, depending on the viewer. Even many fans who adore the show agree that its dramatic extremes and rampant weirdness make it ripe for lampooning.
** It's not too difficult to stomach the declining animation and artwork in the final two episodes if you tell yourself it fits the psychological themes. However, sometimes the sketches are so simple that Rei looks like she's incredibly exasperated... this face, basically: ¬_¬
* [[Narm Charm]]: Even some of the weaker moments in the ADV English dub have their fans, such as the now-[[Memetic Mutation|memetic]] "EVERY SINGLE MISSILE HIT THE TARGET!!!!"
* [[Never Live It Down]]: ''Evangelion'' has the reputation of "that one robot show that nobody understands." In reality, it's pretty easy to understand on the surface, with the confusion really only coming in towards the very end. It's when you analyze everything going on below the surface and all the symbolism, themes, and ideas that it gets harder to understand, not helped by the fact that [[All There in the Manual|supplementary material]] from the creators and literal "manuals" [[No Export for You|were only released in Japan]].
* [[Nightmare Retardant]]: Rei was ''meant'' to fit in the [[Uncanny Valley]] as a deconstruction of the [[Moe]] archetype. Apparently, someone in the animation department didn't get the memo, since half the time she's utterly ''adorable''.
* [[Seinfeld Is Unfunny]]: Good ''gravy''. The show's a cracking good watch, even today, but to a modern viewer some of it might seem pretty cliche, ([[Emotionless Girl|Rei in particular]]). However, you have to remember that ''everybody'' copied this show like mad after it aired in 1995. Strange, godlike robots, everyone having emotional problems, conspiracies within conspiracies, noodle-like protagonists... for anime, it all really did start here.
* [[So Cool Its Awesome]]: For fans of the original anime, it's up there with ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' as a contender for best anime of all time.
* [[Squick]]:
** ''The End of Evangelion'' pegs the
** The ''whole'' Shinji-Rei relationship is also some subtext for you.
** The manga goes ''extremely'' far in making all the [[Freud Was Right]] explicit when Shinji, trapped in the
* [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks]]: A lot of the changes in the manga have gotten this reaction, to say nothing of ''Rebuild of Evangelion''.
* [[This Is Your Premise on Drugs]]: As anything by Gainax usually is.
* [[True Art Is Angsty]]: Many people who love the original ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' cite this as one of the series' strengths, and use it as a point against the first two ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion]]'' movies due to their lighter and saner tone. Not to mention haters who feel [[Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy]].
* [[True Art Is Incomprehensible]]: It's also been accused of having this mindset, particularly from haters with the opposite mindset.
* [[Unfortunate Implications]]: The [[Hate Dumb
** Divisive among the fanbase, but any scene Shinji/Rei [[Ship Tease|ship tease]] knowing Rei is a clone of Shinji's mom.
* [[What Do You Mean It's for Kids?]]: According to [[Word of God]], the target demographic for the series is children and adolescents. Many people—not least among them Japanese parents—have found this claim a bit hard to swallow. Some people suggest that the show is similar to a seinen series in terms of graphic content, although ''Evangelion'' is far from unique in this regard... other teen-oriented shonen franchises such as ''[[Death Note]]'' and ''[[Attack on Titan]]'' have similarly mature and dark content, and teenage anime fans are quite often familiar with the level of violence and depth shown in series such as ''Evangelion''.
* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Didactic?]]: The director actually researched some academic psychology, and when a man climbing out of a depression reads a psychology textbook you know he's paying attention. Consequently, its usage is fairly accurate in the show, although it suffers from [[All Psychology Is Freudian]]. For example, one of the episodes, "Oral Stage", is named after one of Freud's psychosexual development phases. Many of the music titles derive from mainstream psychology (e.g. "Borderline Case", "Separation Anxiety", "Mother Is the First Other", "A Fragile Ego Border").
* [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic]]: Cross-shaped blasts, and the Judeo-Christian (often fitting) names, to name a few.
* [[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?|What Do You Mean, It Wasn't Made on Drugs?]]: More likely is that series was made because [[Hideaki Anno]] ''wasn't'' taking his meds.
* [[What Measure Is a Non-Badass?]]: Shinji.
* [[Woolseyism]]: Ample amounts
** A somewhat unusual case of
*** On the Angels thing, the English word "angel" is derived from the Latin "Angelus", which in turn derives from the Greek "angelos". Both of which mean messenger...
| |||