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samasmith23 · 11 months

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Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon — (Part 1)

Neon Genesis Evangelion, “Episode 1: ANGEL ATTACK”

Well it's time to officially start this marathon of the entire Evangelion anime franchise, beginning with Episode 1 of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, "ANGEL ATTACK"!

Just as a quick heads up, there will be SPOILERS for the entire franchise all throughout these blog posts! This your only warning, so if you have not watched the series yet, go ahead and do so right now! You can watch the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series + movies on Netflix, while the Rebuild Teatrology is available on Amazon Prime.

Also, for a reminder of how I plan on watching the series throughout this marathon, check out my prologue post here:

And with all that out of the way, "Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon"... LAUNCH!!!

First of all, words can not even begin to describe how legendary & phenomenal this series' opening credits theme is! Seriously, no matter how many times I watch this series, "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" will forever remain one of the greatest anime openings in history!

Not only is the song itself, "The Cruel Angel's Thesis" (残酷な天使のテーゼ, Zankoku na Tenshi no Tēze) by Yoko Takahashi, Toshiyuki Ōmori, Hidetoshi Satō & Neko Oikawa, an incredibly unique J-Pop theme, but the accompanying visuals convey so much symbolism and important plot & character information that it would be impossilbe to discuss all of it within a short span of time!

I will state, however, that I'm personally fond of the visuals of Shinji staring out into the distance as silhouettes of Rei & Asuka float across the blue skies (emphasizing Shinji's loneliness and longing for human connection, as well as his internalized issues with women), as well as the proceeding visual of Misato glancing upward into the twilight sky as Shinji judges her from afar (highlighting the overt parallels between the two characters, as well as Misato's struggles to embrace the role of a surrogate-mother figure for Shinji).

However, I will provide a link to the video, "A Cruel Angel's Thesis Explained - What's in an OP," by anime YouTuber Geoff Thew from channel Mother's Basement, who does a far better job at analyzing the themes than I possibly ever could!

Moving on past the opening credits, it’s still hard to believe that Evangelion takes place in the year 2015. In-universe, the near-apocalypse known as Second Impact occurred 15-years earlier in at the dawn of the new millennium. In the real world we’re now in 2023, and the predicted total apocalypse known as Third Impact still hasn’t occurred yet.

2016 on the other hand… woof! Now that was certainly the year for an apocalypse since that was the year Donald Trump was unfortunately elected the President of the United States (geez... it still hurts to say those words...)! I guess Hideaki Anno and the staff at Studio's Gainax's predictions for the date of the end of the world were just one year off...

Actually, maybe that explains it all! Maybe we actually all died in Third Impact, and we’re all living inside a false dream reality where Trump managed to seize control over the White House for 4-years as a result! And we’re unfortunately still living in that nightmarish vision of Human Instrumentality considering the existence of bullcrap like Ron DeSantis’ outright fascist policies in Florida (God forbid he become president in 2024) and the Supreme Court rolling back the clock on civil rights by unconstitutionally undoing Roe V. Wade and openly threatening to go after gay marriage next.

That’s gotta be it! Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and every conservative Justice on the Supreme Court somehow discovered SEELE’s plans for Third Impact, and hijacked their Human Instrumentality Project to create the Hellscape that we’re all currently living in!

Getting back on track though, I love how these opening establishing shots not only establish the this series' post-apocalyptic setting through the half-submerged ruins of an old Japanese city, but also build-up tension for the reveal of this series' iconic monsters!

While the inital shots of the mysterious creature largely obscure its full apperance from the viewer, Anno & crew effectively convey the scale of this approaching threat through both its shadow beneath the water as well as extreme close-up shots its masked-face rapidly swiming past the sunken buildings.

So although the audience is still unsure of what exactly this monstrosity is, we already understand that its incredibly large and otherwordly through what little we see of its physical features!

The tension is further hightened through the quick-shots of dozens United Nations military tanks and their missile-armed cannons aiming directly towards the submerged ruins where the creature is approaching from, as well as audio of an emergency broadcast ordering the population of a nearby costal city to evacuate and take shelter.

Right off the bat, Anno demonstrates his talents as an animation director!

It is during this opening sequence that we get our official introduction to series' main protagonist, Shinji Ikari, and his future commanding officer/surrogate-mother figure, Misato Katsuragi!

I love how the first on-screen apperances we get of both Shinji & Misato are not through direct in-person interaction, but rather through photographs possessed by each other. With Shinji we're given an ID-badge photograph possed by an off-screen Misato driving her car, and with Misato the first apperance of her face is through a signed photograph in Shinji's possession as he's unable to get reception at a payphone!

This introduction scene for Shinji does a phenomenal job at conveying one of character's core defining attributes: namely his sense of isolation and aimlessness!

Not only is Shinji completely alone in the middle of the evacuated city-streets, but he quickly surrenders to a self-defeatist mentality when he's unable to get reception on the line, grunting to himself, "It's no use. This is dumb. I shouldn't have come here."

Although Shinji's frustration in this context is relatable even if the viewer doesn't also suffer from depression like he does! I mean, I too would personally be frustrated and confused if I was asked to wait to be picked up in an unfamiliar setting by a person whom I knew nothing about outside of a picture of herself that she mailed to me.

Speaking of which... lol! Misato’s inappropriately suggestive postcard (and in particular the “Check this out!” text & arrow pointing to her cleavage) NEVER fails to get a laugh out of me! But aside from functioning as a joke, this postcard is also important in establishing the fact that sexuality is a major element of Misato's characterization!

Also, since I'm still fairly early into the plot of the pilot episode, I want to take a brief aside to discuss some personal observervations I've made between the specific media I'm watching the series on:

So here’s a weird feature for the "Perfect Collection 0:1" DVD. None of the other original DVD releases by ADV Films have this, but in their first disc for whatever reason they removed all the kanji on objects like Shinji's ID badge or Misato's picture shown above, and instead added these weird overhanging white English text replacements where the kanji used to be that look very obviously superimposed… thank goodness ADV scrapped this weird design choice that for all the future DVD releases and instead just kept the original kanji and included subtitled translations for the text.

Conversely, over on the Blu-Ray side of things, the HD remasters for these episodes look FREAKING phenomenal! The animation and color palate on the GKids "Collector's Edition" boxset is incredibly clear and vibrant, whereas the image quality of old DVD copies could be quite muted and blurry by contrast. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that this Blu-Ray version utilizes the copies of the episodes from the old out-of-print “Platinum” DVD collection ADV released a while back (my DVDs are from the "Perfect Collection" first edition). Although I've also heard that the versions of the episodes on the American Blu-Ray release are the HD remasters that were originally exclusive to Japan before Netflix acquired the International licensing rights back in 2019 after the original series + movies were stuck in copyright Hell for over a decade after ADV Films (the original owners of the TV license in America) went out of business and Manga Entertaimnet's license for Death & Rebirth & The End of Evangelion expired.

Also, this remastering of EVA on the Blu-Ray makes a few minor soundtrack rearrangements during certain scenes. But most importantly it removes the notorious "Gainax Jitter," wherein the screen would frequently shake due to all of Gainax's anime during the 90s being produced on outdated softwares. Watching NGE on my original DVDs honestly made me feel dizzy sometimes due to that annoying jitter effect. So thank goodness that the "Gainax Jitter" is completely absent on the Blu-Ray version!

Returning to the episode proper though...

I love the sudden and mysterious appearance of Quantum-Rei off in the distance as Shinji is waiting in the phone booth for Misato to pick him up, and how instantly and just as mysteriously she disappears! Considering that Quantum-Rei also similarly appears before Shinji during the final scene of The End of Evangelion, this feels like an incredibly unique bookending device for the original series + movies, with Rei's entrance and disappearance in Shinji's life marking both the beginning and the end of his long tumultuous journey over the course of the narrative!

And here we see the first appearance of the mysterious beings attacking the Earth following the Second Impact, referred to within the series as Angels! And this bad boy here is classified as the 3rd Angel, Sachiel! When conceiving Evangelion, Anno & Studio Gainax wanted to distinguish the series from other giant-mecha/kaju anime which were airing at the time, and therefore decided to base the EVA's lore and mythos off of religious symbols and iconography lifted directly from Christianity, Judaism, and especially Kabbalhaism (i.e. Jewish mysticism) since said-faiths were uncommon in Japan, while also including references to Buddhism and Shintoism.

Concerning the etemology and translation of the Angels, most of my information about this comes from the Evangelion Fandom Wiki, but basically while both the ADV and Netflix dubs refer to these kaju as "Angels," in the original Japanese they were referred to as "使徒, shito" which roughly translates to "Apostles." However, the word "Angel" in this context is also derived for the other Japanese word used to refer to these creatures in the series, "天使 tenshi," which also translates to "sky messenger." So the term "Angel" still makes sense in-universe considering that the Angels are framed as to be destructive descendants, or "messengers," of the god-like being known as Adam, who was meant to be the original progenitor of life on Earth.

Returning to Sachiel specifically, according to Wikipedia this Angel's name is a reference to a being of the same name from "kabbalistic and Christian angelology. Sachiel (Ge'ez ሳቁኤል) [refers to] an archangel of the order of cherubim… the name 'Sachiel' originally occurs in the late 1500s grimoire called The Heptameron.”

Misato certainly knows how to make a badass entrance!

I always loved the animation during the sequence where Sachiel smashes one of the missiles with his bare fists!

Dang! This fight between the U.N. airforces and Sachiel is not only incredibly exciting in its own right (aided by composer Shiro Sagisu's phenomenal soundtrack, "Angel Attack"), but it also further communicates the threat-level that the Angel's represent, since all conventional human weaponry proves to be completely ineffective against its defenses!

Speaking of said defenses, the second-in-command of the mysterious NERV organization that's working alongside the U.N., Kōzō Fuyutsuki, refers to the Angel being protected by an "A.T. Field" (or "Absolute Terror Field").

These signature energy shields serve as a reoccuring thematic motif throughout the entire series since they're representative of the impenetrable walls that both protect the Angels from exterior damage and prevent humans from truly understanding each other.

So the name "Absolute Terror Field" possesses a double meaning from both a literal and metaphorical perspective! I love it!

Also, this angel’s weird gill flaps that are present while it’s regenerating after having this unvierse's equivalent of a nuclear bomb dropped onto it are so eerily uncanny, and further serve to hi-light just how truly alien this creature is despite it being referred to as an "Angel."

Also also, it makes sense that while the N² Mines in EVA generate nuclear-level explosions, they lack the subsequent radiation fallout considering Japan's own traumatic real-life history with the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki during World War II.

The fact that not even this world’s equivalent of a nuclear explosion is capable of killing an Angel is such an effective way of convincing both the U.N. and the viewers that NERV possesses the only means of truly destroying these eldritch threats to humanity’s survival!

Dang! Exactly just how strong are Misato & Shinji! The fact that both of them were able to push the former's capsized-car back to its proper position simply by leaning against it hard is quite the impressive feat! I mean, I know Misato drives an old beat-up sports car (literally held together by duck-tape; lol!) which is much lighter in weight compared to a SUV or truck, but still!

So why exactly did Misato steal all those batteries for her beat-up old car? Wait... I guess I just answered my own question there... lol!

The developing dynamic between Shinji & Misato during their car-ride to NERV HQ is already incredibly fascinating witness! Despite being a seasoned veteran military officer, Shinji quickly realizes just how immature and quick-tempered she can actually be.

Not only is Shinji unafraid to scold Misato for her borderline illegal car-battery shennanigans, but when she childishly mocks him for being too uptight (voice actress Allison Keith's delievery of Misato's playful teasing is absolutely hilarious) and Shinji calls out her immaturity, Misato aggresively responds by jerking her car back-&-forth!

Geez! Shinji and his father Gendo Ikari (the leading commander of NERV) haven’t even encountered each other yet, and already we’re seeing just how cold and detached Gendo’s attitude towards his estranged son truly is. As soon as Gendo decides to activate Evangelion Unit-01 and Professor Fuyutsuki accurately points out that they don’t have a pilot, Gendo simply replies, “Not any more. Another spare is being delivered.”

He essentially views his own son as just a backup program. And this gets even more revealing when you remember that Rei was originally the one who was supposed to pilot Unit-01 instead of Shinji!

Even Gendo's letter suddenly requesting Shinji’s presence after abandoning him a decade earlier only states, “COME! -Gendo Ikari.”

Man did I forget how much I absolutely hate Gendo’s guts! There's a reason why this scumbag is almost universally regarded as one of, it not the, absolute WORST fathers in all of anime!

On a more positive note, however, stairlift-like automobile conveyor-belt that Misato & Shinji utilize to travel underground to NERV Headquarters is honestly really cool! I wonder if we'll ever see futuristic technology like that IRL someday?

Ooff. Shinji's line, "What am I saying? Of course he wouldn't have sent me a letter unless he needed me for something," when asking if he'll be working for Gendo's secret agency effectively illustrates Shinji's internalized sense of self-loathing. Due to having been coldly abandoned by his father when he was only 4-years-old following the death of his mother, Shinji has suffered from severe depression and lack of self-esteem. Only finding value in his existence if he can be of use to others.

This correlates with a commonly misunderstood yet central element of Shinji's characterization that's been unfortunately subject to bad-faith criticisms on the Internet. Despite Evangelion's immense popularity and influential status within anime communities, several individuals have actively dismissed the entire series simply because they found Shinji's character to be overly whiny and annoying.

Except... Shinji is both clearly suffering from depression derrived from a childhood of isolation and paretnal neglect. To reduce Shinji's feelings of self-loathing and existential dread to simple whining is honestly insulting to other people who suffer from depression IRL (such as series' creator Hideaki Anno, who modeled Shinji as an authorial stand-in to discuss his own personal experiences with depression...), since depression is a LEGITIMATE mental illness rather than simple whining...

Also, Misato makes an interesting comment in response to Shinji's dismissive attitude towards his father: "Hmm... sounds like you don't get along with your dad. Ah, you sound just like me."

Dang! The reveal of NERV's underground headquarters directly beneath the city of Tokyo-3, the hollowed-out spherical cavern known as the "GeoFront" (which possesses upside down-skyscrapers attatched to the ceiling as well as a forested surface with a lake next to the large pyramid building functioning as NERV HQ itself), is still FREAKING epic & gorgeous!

NGE is already leaing heavily into hard science-fiction with such creative environments! Even though the idea of a gigantic hollowed-out cavern beneath a major metrpolitan city retro-fitted into a heavily armed military fortress/bunker would be completely implausible IRL, it makes for such an aesthetically unique location!

I can totally relate to Misato's feelings of confusion while navigating NERV's complex network moving walkway bridges! It definitely seems like an easy place to get lost in!

Lol! The way Ritsuko Akagi suggestively bumps into Misato on the elevator while still wearing her bathing-suit (she just finished scubba diving into the robot holding pen submerged in a weird red liquid substance)! While this was probably not the animator's intention, this still feels like some deliberate queer-coding! And this is the first interaction we see between the two characters!

Hey, I can totally see Ritsuko as being a closeted lesbian! She’d definitely be in a much healthier relationship with either Misato or Maya than the one she’s currently in with FREAKING Gendo. Like, NOT only is Gendo twice Ritsuko's age, but the bastard also previously slept with her late mother, Naoko Akagi! Gross!

Wait, time out! Fuyutsuki just said that this is Shinji & Gendo’s first meeting in 3 years, but I thought it was 10 years considering that Gendo abandoned Shinji shortly after his mother died when he was still 4-years-old?! Did I miss something?!

And here it is! The moment of truth! The official reveal of the giant robots that this series is well-renowned for: the titular Evangelions (with specific model Ritsuko & Misato are showing Shinji is known as "EVA Unit-01")!

So here's some interesting trivia regarding the EVA's that Ritsuko alluded to with her description about the "0-9 System" designed to control the mecha's activation! The physical designs of the Evangelions were directly inspired by demonic ogre-like creatures from traditional Japanese folklore known as "oni" (which "0-9" is a pun for BTW!). According to series' mecha-designer, Ikuto Yamashita:

"'So why did Evangelion wind up with that shape?' … The director instructed me to make, 'the image of [an oni].' A giant just barely under the control of mankind. I get the feeling I've seen that correlation before … The image I had for the design concept was the fairy tale, Gulliver's Travels. Enormous Power Restrained. … What I came up with was a giant that looks like a relief on a wall. … I happily discarded the efficiency and feeling of giant size that you can guess at by sight alone. … after the designs were handed in, it caused a stir — even among the staff, positive and negative opinions were flying. And from here on out, I imagine it will cause a stir among comic readers and animation viewers."

In addition to the activation system being named after a mythological "Japanese devil," we recieve more clues that there's far more to the EVA's beneath their metalic exteriors, as Ritsuko also describes Unit-01 as a "synthetic lifeform" (or even more suspiciously, "synthetic human," in the subtitled version)!

While it’s not stated in this episode, it will later be revealed that the EVA’s are not only cybernetic beings whose flesh was cloned from the Angel’s original Seed of Life, Adam (or in Unit-01’s case, humanity’s Seed of Life, Lilith), hence why they’re capable of killing the Angels, but that they also literally possess human souls inside of them. Those souls being the dead mothers of the pilots (who’s ability to synchronize with the EVAs is strongest at age 14 due to hormonal changes & all that jazz…).

It's also during the unveiling of EVA Unit-01 that Shinji is offically reunited with his father Gendo, who once again is as cold and distant from his son from both a figurative & literal sense!

Honestly, the visual symbolism of Gendo standing high above Shinji when they first reunite is an incredibly effective method of communicating both the distance between the two in their relationship, as well as the massive inferiority complex Shinji feels because of his abusive father.

Such masterful direction and visual storytelling on Anno's part!

And of course, the moment father & son are finally reunited after years apart, Gendo further demonstrates what a complete & unempathetic douchebag he is by immediately orders that Shinji pilot the EVA Unit-01 to fight the approaching Angel in hand-to-hand combat!

Again... looking back, it feels incredibly unfair that people have repeatedly accused Shinji of being whiny simply because he refusing to get in the robot as soon as Gendo & Ritsuko insist him to do so during Sachiel’s attack. Except, can you really blame Shinji here?

I mean… his father coldly abandoned him after his mom died when he was only a toddler, and now as a 14-year-old his dad suddenly calls him out of the blue to demand that he pilots a giant robot he’s neither seen nor heard of before (and possesses ZERO training experience), to fight a giant alien monstrosity he personally nearly just got killed by! That’s not Shinji whiny, that’s him being realistic!

Honestly, the whole "Get in the damn robot Shinji!" argument has always annoyed the absolute heck out of me! It was easily the epitome of early-to-late 2000s bad internet media criticism!

Also, criticisms like, "But Shinji's refusal to pilot is selfish because the fate of the entire human race is at stake," don't exactly hold water either since that can be easily explained away by Shinji lacking trust in his own abilities due to his depression and low self-esteem!

Also also, yeah it is technically a selfish descision on Shinji's part, but that's an INTENTIONAL character flaw on Anno's part, rather than being indicative of "bad writing"...

Seriously... so many people on the Internet have and still lack any media literacy skills... uuuggghhh!!!

I FREAKING love this exchange between Shinji & Misato after they realize that the Angel is directly above NERV HQ, with her sternly telling Shinji to "Get inside" the EVA before calmly asking him, "Why Shinji? Exactly why did you come here?"

It was at this specific moment in Episode 1 where it officially dawned on me during this rewatch just how incredibly efficient the NGE's pilot episode is at subtly establishing numerous elements that would help define the dynamic between Misato & Shinji throughout the rest of the series!

In addition to Misato earlier comparing Shinji to herself when he mentioned that he doesn’t get along with his father, she also compares Shinj’s more standoffish mannerisms to Gendo during the elevator ride with Ritsuko. This not only symbolizes Gendo's role as an older version of Shinji, but it also lays the groundwork for Misato’s own Elektra Complex in the sense that always views the men in her life through the lens of her strained relationship with her dead father.

And here in the present scene, we witness the struggle between surrogate parental-figure and commanding-officer that heavily defines Misato's relationship with Shinji. Despite pragmatically pivoting to Gendo & Ritsuko's point of view that Shinji needs to get in the EVA (which she intially understandably argued against...) to prevent Sachiel from destroying mankind, Misato simultaneously displays the motherly aspects of her personality by trying to positively uplift Shinji.

She confidently encouraging Shinji to find the answers to his questions of exactly why he came to NERV at Gendo’s request, ultimately telling him that he "mustn't run away."

As much as I love this scene though, one weird difference I noticed between the versions of it on my DVD & Blu-Ray copies respectively is that the timing of the soundtrack, "I, Shinji."

In the original ADV Films "Perfect Collection" DVD, the score continues to play after Sachiel's cross-shaped explosions begin targeting Toyko-3, and Misato gives her advice, whereas it stops after the explosions in the GKids "Collector's Edition" Blu-Ray version.

I honestly can't tell which version I prefer more, but considering the fact that the score on the original Japanese audio track more closely aligns with the Blu-Ray's English audio track, I'm guessing ADV didn't properly align the soundtrack during the intiall dubbing process (but later fixed it for their HD "Platinum Collection" DVD re-release I'm guessing...).

Le gasp! A “Sound Only” on Gendo’s monitor when he instructs Fuyutsuki to wake-up Rei to pilot Unit-01 in Shinji's place! EPIC FORESHADOWING!

So... why exactly was merchandise of the injured bandaged-up Rei Ayanami so insanely popular? I honestly just don’t see the appeal…

Another clever usage of foreshadowing here! Not only of Unit 01 going berserk in the very next episode, but also of the EVA’s true nature in that it houses the soul of Shinji's dead mother, Yui Ikari, considering how quickly it moves into to protect Shinji from the falling debris, plus Gendo’s unsurprised smirk there!

Joy! Shinji's first ever utterance of the iconic, "I musn't run away! I mustn't run away! I musn't run away," line as he glances at Rei's blood on his hands before finally deciding to pilot the EVA!

This reoccurring motif is such an important element of Shinji's character throughout the series, and Spike Spencer delivers this famous line pitch perfect! He totally sells Shinji's sense of anxiety and struggles to suppress his fear in the heat of the moment!

Also, even though I've rewatched this episode and the entire series countless times, I still find myself going back-&-forth on what exactly motivated Shinji to "not run away" here!

Was it purely for altrustic reasons after he saw how unfit for combat Rei was due to her critical condition? Did he feel legitimate sympathy for Rei despite meeting her for the first time? And if so, did he recognize her from the Quantum-Rei vision at the start of the episode? Was Shinji taking Misato's earlier words of encouragement to heart? Or did Shinji finally decide to pilot the EVA purely out of either a self-centered desire to prove his own worth, or out of guilt and not wanting Rei's death on his conscious?

Questions like these are a major element of why I adore EVA's writing so much! Despite being extremely vague open-ended with no one single universal interpretation, the series' characters are so humanized and complex that it actively engages the audience to speculate and analyze their underlying motivations!

It's why even as a long-time fan of the series, I still keep finding new & fascinating elements I didn't notice on my previous viewings!

And so begins the iconic launch preparation for EVA Unit-01, beginning with the insertion of the pilot's control vessel known as an "Entry-Plug" into the mecha's body!

Also, considering that EVA is famous for its usage of Freudian psychoanalytic and psychosexual symbolism (alongside all the religious imagery), as well as the fact that Shinji's character arc is analogous to the Oedipus Complex and the soul of his dead mother is inside of EVA Unit-01, the fact that Shinji's is placed inside a suggestively-shaped Entry-Plug that's then directly inserted into a hole on the back of the EVA's neck, I can’t help but be reminded of an old quote from Mystery Science Theater 3000...

Yeah, expect me to reference that MST3K quote a lot throughout this marathon…

Yeesh! I can't even begin to imagine how terrifying of a feeling that must be to intially feel like you're drowning as the capsuel is filled with Liquid LCL! Even though that mysterious fluid is breathable for humans, having your lungs completely filled with a foreign substance has got to be uncomfortable!

I don't blame Shinji at all for feeling incredibly nauseous before his lungs adjust!

Also, Misato's a bit overly harsh with her comment, "Stop complaining! You're a boy you know!" (This will be another reoccuring motif in Misato's interactions with Shinji BTW...)

Also also, the first appearance of LCL, or as it's been commonly referred to by EVA fans for the past two-and-a-half decades: "Tang!"

Those who have already watched The End of Evangelion know exactly what I'm talking about!

And so the episode ends with an exciting conclusion to the launch sequence as EVA Unit-01 is slowly released from its holding pen and all safe guards are switched off before the giant mech is launched up a tunnel network exiting the GeoFront and onto the now deserted-streets of a nightime Tokyo-3, exiting the hatch directly in front of Sachiel, teasing a deadly kaju battle between the two!

What a phenomenal way to close the series' pilot and pique the viewer's interest for the next episode!

So that was NGE, "Episode 1: ANGEL ATTACK," and it’s still really darn great! I’m honestly incredibly impressed with just how much subtle characterization and thematic elements are set up for later developments throughout the rest of the show within this 24-minute pilot episode! It honestly surprises me whenever I hear people argue that the tone of EVA drastically changed as the series progresses considering how even from the very start Hideaki Anno was laying the ground work for all the complex developments which defined the later half of NGE as well as EofE!

Also, hearing “Fly Me To The Moon” in the end credits of the DVD is simultaneously incredibly nostalgic and sad considering all future releases completely scrapped it! Seriously, screw Netflix and that copyright bullcrap! “Fly Me To The Moon” is an important part of the series darn it, so just pay the extra cash to keep it in! And heck, just buy the rights to the original dub instead of spending all that extra time to create an inferior half-assed new dub from scratch. The original dub has its flaws, but it still has heart and passion put into it!

Sorry about the tangent! I’m just still bitter and confused by Netflix’s choices when it comes to EVA.

Anyway, onto the second episode!

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