May 20, 20214 min read

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Lose Yourself in the Darkness

Updated: Feb 1, 2023

Reviews by:

@the_owlseyes

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Human relationships are hard, for everyone. Your life is determined by them from you brith to your death. It's hard not to be influenced from the environment you are growing in. You can't decide if it'll be good or bad, because it's just a matter of chance. Every surroundings, anyway, could be harmful. A soft one could make you weak but extremely loved, an hard one could make you strong but you'll lack affection. Both are going to be stuck in a situation crafted by the family and its culture. Freeing yourself from it by finding you own path and becoming your unique self it's tough, because you'll suffer thorughout the process. What matters is how you live this process: you could face it helped by your friends and loved ones or alone. The second situation is the worse case. Without any kind of support you'll start to sink into a psychological situation which is hard to solve: depression. It'll wrap you up by making you inactive and static. Exploring this dynamics is tricky and risky because it'll be understood by a few people, the same individuals who got through it or are still into it.

PLOT

"A teenage boy finds himself recruited as a member of an elite team of pilots by his father" or "It's simple and then it isn't anymore".

SCRIPT

There're two concepts on display here: kaijus against big robots and depression. The first is the main plot, around which turns every event and character. It's well explored, with a plot twist which is shocking but you could be able to pick up the crumbles which concern it along the show. It's a different approach to the Alien Invasion genre, which was massive during the 90's. A concept which will be used in Pacific Rim, to determine a movie which is between a sequel and a reboot. On the surface the series is about that: underaged kids who control a bunch of robots to take down an alien invasion. It's more than that. It's a character study of the protagonist, who goes through a great arch that is unresolved, unfortunately. His story revolves around his relationships with his neglecting father and his inability to satisfy him and it's executed in a good, empathic way. I've liked also the side characters. During every episode each of them is deeply explored, to understand why they're there and why the fight is so relevant to them. As the protagonist, their growth and resolution are left unfinished. But, why it happened? Because the last episodes are a bit disconnected by all the series and seem like a self indulgent trip by the director. You'll understand the meaning of it, after some time, but at first you'll be caught unprepared. The last act could be what will make you hate the series or fall in love with it. It tries to deal with heavy arguments but it does it in an hermetic way, which is pleasing and concerning, because it's to the limit of unintelligibility. This why it's hard to give a correct score to the script. Because it's fractured by a dichotomy of two distincts style and story.

Script: 8/10

ACTING

The actors do a fine job with their voice but I didn't find it particularly interesting. Sure, the one who gave voice to the protagonist is able to perform different type of emotions but it's not enough to say that this movie has outstanding acting. It works but it isn't above average.

Acting: 6/10

PHOTOGRAPHY

At first it seems like the usual anime but slowly it grows into a chromatic spectacle. In the last chapter it becomes more relevant because there's a connection between colors and feelings. There're also some good shots of the underground city or the monsters and robots. Overall it's a pleasing ride.

Photography: 7/10

EDITING

I didn't find it particularly interesting but the ending presents a change of gears. Before the series has the usual kind of editing you could find in every average anime. It's in the end that the director infused everything. A sense of perdition, confusion and disquiet is crafted in the last scenes, and it'll stay with you. The director achieved it through sudden transitions and overlaps.

Editing: 7/10

SPECIAL EFFECTS

As I said for the editing, it's the usual quality, slightly above average, till the end. The ending is made of different drawing styles and a mix of words, flashy and extremely dark images. The ending is an animation mayhem that push the limits of what you can do with handdrawn animation. I think, nonetheless, that it could be polarizing because it's uncompromising. In the end animation is nothing more than moving art.

Special Effects: 8/10

SOUNDTRACK

I liked it but i didn't find it exceptional. Yes, it has been made by a Symphonic Orchestra but it wasn't as epic as I expected it to be. Sometimes it's better because it uses classical music, the same one, in different situation to give more weight to these. I think that overall it's good but it isn't memorable. I think that there should have been a theme for the villains and the heroes, to underline more clearly what differentiate them. The point is that it's not simple with a series where the monsters aren't the only villains.

Soundtrack: 7/10

COSTUMES

I liked the design of the battle suits but the rest isn't interesting. I find it weird because usually animes tend to have costumes which are unforgettable and imaginative. I've expected more from it. I can't say that it's a disappointment but it's a letdown.

Costumes: 6/10

CONCLUSION

Script: 8/10

Acting: 6/10

Photography: 7/10

Editing: 7/10

Special Effects: 8/10

Soundtrack: 7/10

Costumes: 6/10

AVERAGE: 7

It's an original series which falls short in the end due to the director self-indulgence. It explores interesting concept and is able to craft a good story with interesting characters. This is not a simple series to review because it's unresolved and that makes it polarizing. It's not simple to portray certain states of mind and a backlash could be caused by the unintelligibility of the show during the last minutes. You should watch to make an opinion of your own because here I've tried to understand only if it's a valuable product. A question emerges in the end: is art done for the beholder or the artist himself?

By @the_owlseyes

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