SliceSabre
Banned
It really was. I wasn't expect much when I first start watching it and even considered dropping it at a couple points. But the second half made it all worth it for me.
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Summer 2014 Anime |OT2| Or, where Jexhius finally watches more Doremi for Hito.
- Thread starter Narag
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PshycoNinja
Member
Ah! That makes sense.
And since I seem to be watching nothing but nonsense in these last few weeks mind as well keep it up with the next show I am watching, YuruYuri! I promise whoever told me to watch Puchuma's (I think I spelled that right) I will get to that show. You will not go unheard!
Neon Genesis: Evangelion 26
I think everybody's first reaction the final episodes of Evangelion is about the same: "What in the name of Saint Fuck did I just watch?" I mean, shoot, the show's protagonist's reaction is pretty much exactly that at the end of episode 25. Eventually End of Evangelion came out and an explanation was more or less given for what's going down, and I'm not here to rehash that explanation to you, because I trust you're all smart enough to do that yourselves.
I'm also not here to bother you with a detailed explanation of how Evangelion is a story about depression, and how depression makes things which seem perfectly safe hurtful and frightening to you. There's no real need to. Most everybody has heard about this aspect of Evangelion, and it's been talked to death. So, too, has its use of Christian imagery for the sake of creating an atmosphere of mystery.
What I do want to do is take just a minute to really appreciate an aspect of this show that I don't think gets discussed nearly enough. Specifically, how it works as both a brilliant affirmation and subversion of the entire Super Robot genre of anime. Numerous shows have attempted to recapture Evangelion's air of mystery, confusing introspection dressed up as a cheerful little adventure anime, but where all these pretenders to the crown fail is their lack of Eva's spine. That spine being its aim to deconstruct practically everything you know about Super Robots.
Specifically, Evangelion is the biggest contrast to Mazinger Z. Getter Robo and Mobile Suit Gundam, and many other mecha anime run the gamut, but Mazinger Z is important because as the genre's progenitor it plays each and every one of the genre's conventions completely straight.
Consider the protagonists. Kouji Kabuto is a hot-blooded, young, idiot hero. His victories are the culmination of his fighting spirit and the Mazinger's power. The Mazinger is a gift to him from his grandfather, who'd spent his life building it in preparation for conflict with the Mecha Beasts. Shinji Ikari, meanwhile, is a troubled young man who is both a coward and prone to over-thinking things. His victories are less a result of his indomitable will and more often the result of something within him breaking. His father had spent his life building the Evas to combat the Angels. Herein we see that Evangelion dedicates itself to setting itself up as being your standard super robot show while simultaneously preparing for its deconstruction. The Mazinger Z is supposed to grant Kouji the power to be either a God or a Devil, a power which Evangelion Unit 01 also is said to hold.
A large part of the subversion comes in the form of Gendo Ikari. It was for a long time a requirement that the protagonist's father be the scientist who built his mech. Whether it's the Mazinger Z, the Great Mazinger, the Grendizer, Getter Robo, or Tem Ray and the RX-78-2 Gundam. The mech is always the lifetime effort of the good doctor, and his gift to his son. The Evangelion series are also the work of Gendo Ikari, but the large difference is that Kouji Kabuto never once expresses anger at Juuzo or Kenzo for abandoning him, nor is he jealous that Jun and Tetsuya were raised by his father in his stead. Michiru never even speaks ill of her father, whose dedication to his work so consumes him that when his firstborn son dies in a horrific accident, he does not miss a step. Even Amuro, whose relationship with his father is markedly more strained than the others cannot bring himself to speak out against his father's work on the Gundam.
The difference here is clear. Gendo's relationship with Shinji is frigid, and Shinji's jealousy of Rei's closeness to his father is apparent at the show's beginning. Shinji thinks so ill of Gendo that when informed his father burned his hands to save Rei, Shinji automatically and immediately responds "Bullshit!" The show goes to great lengths to demonstrate just how terrible a toll the Evangelion project had on Shinji's mind.
Another factor is the way the Evangelion comes to life. Count on your own the sheer number of times in a Mecha show the hero's mech comes to life to save him at the last second, or in which he addresses it as a living being. The Mazinger Z shares a definite bond with Kouji, as does Unit 01 with Shinji. While every bit as miraculous, the Unit 01 awakenings are portrayed with a horrifying sense of realism befitting a gigantic machine coming to life. Consider the difference between Shin Mazinger Z's rampage, in which it becomes a majestic demon, leaving flames in its wake, and Evangelion Unit 01's awakening, in which it crawls on all fours and howls like a beast.
Yui Ikari plays a principle role in Evangelion in spite of her absence, which is a contrast to the normal set up, in which the mothers of the heroes play almost no role at all. Where is Mrs. Kabuto? Even when present, as Mrs. Saotome was, they have no major impact, or like Mrs. Ray their impact is mitigated and overshadowed by the influence of the hero's father. Yui Ikari, however, is perhaps a far more important character to Shinji than even Gendo, and perhaps more responsible for everything that has happened than Gendo himself.
Then there are the Angels. The fascinating thing about them is that at first glance they seem a callback to the blatantly evil monsters of early Mecha shows. Except that the enemies in early mecha anime weren't blatantly evil, and were rarely ever that hard to understand. The Dinosaur Empire, the Mycenaeans, the Zeon, whoever the villains happened to be, they were almost always presented as an incredibly human group of enemies whose motives were plain and nearly as just as the heroes' themselves. The Angels, on the other hand, are almost incomprehensible for much of the series, and lack a strong leader figure to govern them like Dr. Hell, Ghiren Zabi, Emperor Gore or the like. They're almost a force of nature, rather than a specific, organized threat.
Over the course of the series, Shinji attempts to undergo more or less the same path that all hot-blooded mecha heroes do. He rises, only to fall so that he may burst from the ashes and prove his true worth. For much of the series, though, Shinji fails again and again at doing that. When Shinji attempts to be a hero and save Toji and confront his father using Unit 01, for instance, Gendo quickly gains the upper hand both times. When Kaworu presents Shinji with an unwinnable conflict, rather than doing the impossible and finding a win-win situation, Shinji gives in to one of the two choices. What's most interesting of all, however, is that where much of the series is spent showing how the standard conventions of a giant robot anime would have terrible consequences or be moments of unfathomable horror, the show's ending is almost complete turn about. Shinji's realization that he can change, that he can find love and that he can overcome pain is his doing the impossible and finding a way out of the set parameters.
In Mazinger Z vs The Great General of Darkness shares a number of similarities with Endless Evangelion. Kouji's victory of Dr. Hell and the victory over the Angels both open the doors for the invasion of an unexpected army (the Mycenaean and the MP EVAs from SEELE) against whom they (Kouji and Asuka) cannot win. The battles are interrupted by the arrival of a colossal foe whose power is equal to the Gods (The Great General of Darkness and Rei) and victory is achieved with the arrival of unexpected backup (Tetsuya and Shinji). Shinji's transferal to the role of Tetsuya is notable because the finale is almost about Shinji becoming the kind of hero Tetsuya was. The End of Evangelion is essentially the same as any other SR show: Shinji has reached manhood and comfort in his own self, and is therefore able to handle whatever the world wants to throw at him. Hence the congratulations at the end of the series.
Whether it was Anno's intent to turn things back at the end and show that there's Shonen Heart even in a lump like Shinji, or whether it was simply intended as a sign of hope at the end of a series dedicated to tearing to shreds the infectious hope so inescapable in other mecha series I cannot say. But I find that often ways the best way to end a tragedy is exactly that: with one spark of hope. Regardless, though, I definitely find myself much more appreciative of what Evangelion is now that I know what the shows it was seeking to deconstruct were like.
I love how Anno ended the series originally on a psychological note instead of mechs saving the world or some shit anime ending.Its like all the anime nerds had collective blue balls and then they got so MRGRGR about it that Anno was like "oh this is gonna be awesome" and then he trolled the hell out of everyone by giving them exactly what they asked for and threw in the most disturbing imagery possible just as a friendly fuck you to the doubters.
Anno is a genius.
R_thanatos
Member
You've wrote a lot so i'll treat both things.
First , about iori
this is a reveal you have to accept as part of her characterisation and the fact that she adapts to what she feels other people needs her to do. Sure it's abrut and it honnestly could have been done better but i don't think thgis invalidate her character so far
About taichi ,
i more or less agrees he should have acted less stupid BUT since the start he appears like the kind of guy that has this twisted sense of responsability you know ? i thought that was this at play that made this longer than necessary.
NCR Redslayer
NeoGAF's Vegeta
I had never seen a guy hate his fanbase so much.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Rebuild 3.0 made that pretty clear, I don't know what he is trying to achieve anymore.
Nice write-up Corvo.
Im sure you figured out who I am on twitter by now :3
Putting all of those other series next to NGE provided a lot of context I didn't have. Awesome write-up.
jesus christ
R_thanatos
Member
yeah , since i got confirmation 7 hours ago ?
*Not sure how this relate to kokoro connect.*
Oh yeah. This is like, my fourth time through or something.
SliceSabre
Banned
This write up has had the strange effect of making me want to look up Mazinger Z and Getter Robo and compare them to Eva since I've never actually seen them before.Neon Genesis: Evangelion 26
-In the interest of space-
Corvo's doing the Lord's work.
Actually, the spectacular success of Crayon Shin-chan here in Spain (or in Latin America too, for example) without practically any changes demonstrates that the themes are universal and don't need practically any kind of "westernized" adaptation like the one USA got.
One of the many to recommend, yeah. In case anyone is interested on importing not too expensive DVDs with 'subs' and 'dubs' in (a maybe more friendly language for many as is) Spanish, I made a catalogue with links to the local distributor's store in Spain of the films available for purchase at the time (and I can assure you every one is going to eventually be released on this country).
R_thanatos
Member
Pretty sure that was the hidden intent.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Gooood, gooood
something something God's in His Heaven and something something all's well on Earth.
Turin Turambar
Member
Great post.
He talked about the background art! He must be silenced!
You're right though, I watched the show back when it was airing so I'd kind of forgotten how well done the environments are. Love the post-apoc fantasy setting.
NaDannMaGoGo
Member
Yup, agreed.
Since I only got back into anime last year I think it's roughly a year ago that I was lying in bet with my Nexus10 watching the last couple episodes. At roughly 3a.m. (yeh, that show got me good) I started ep25 and for the next 40-50mins I just kept shaking my head saying out loud "what the fuck am I watching, what is this shit".
Yet, only a week later and I was already loving Evangelion's ending. The last section when the awesome instrumental versions of Cruel Angel's Thesis start playing I adore in particular. (tracks are called "The heady Feeling of Freedom" and "Good, or Don't Be")
That part is seriously one of the most motivating moments in a show or movie for me.
Admiral Woofington
Member
Have never seen the original. I may have seen an episode or 2 in spanish back when I lived in Colombia, but as a whole it's an english dub sweetheart for me.
Just like I could never watch Space Dandy sub because I love english dandy and QT.
Just watch Getter Robo Armageddon for the condensed Go Nagai antithesis to Evangelion's pessimistic, defeatist, introverted take on the genre.
Miami Guns 10-13 + Final Thoughts
How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Anime
The casino episode was the last "normal" one before everything went into a semi-serious story arc to give the finale some sense of tension, though still peppered with the kind of jokes I've come to expect from the show (and a Dr. Strangelove reference, of course.) What surprised me most of all was that the final boss of the anime was
It's times like this I'm also glad about my tokusatsu knowledge. Detective Robot in episode 10 was a pretty clear reference to Robot Detective, a toku that's about exactly what it sounds like.
Overall, I enjoyed the show. The entire weight of the series depends on how much you can enjoy Yao's antics, but it's clear the rest of the cast are also grudgingly putting up with it themselves. She, as I stated before, reminds me of Momoka from the currently airing Sabagebu, only with nobody who wants to enable her ego. Megumi Toyoguchi did a really good job, and I enjoyed Yukari Tamura's deadpan work as Lu, too. The animation is simple. That's also a strength, as it takes full advantage of the cartoon medium to be as wacky as it desires.
The amount of callbacks and equal amount of references to Western media surprised me. It's a product of its time, sure, however, most of the references to anime it makes are ones that are still popular now. (Barring some obscurities like Robot Detective. Toku represent!) Tracking the evolution of anime comedy is pretty fun. This was from around Excel Saga's time, and is a slightly less zany version of that. Yao's tendency to be in a bikini and/or underwear isn't something I'll deduct points for, and half the time when she's like that it's a sign that she's gone mad.
Very breezy, enjoyable show, and the setting is indeed nothing like Miami. That's what makes it fun.
Florida Level Final Ranking: I'm going to Disney World!
I was going to start on two longer running series, but my backlog changed a bit due to what happened at Supercon. I won the first volume of Kita e ~Diamond Dust Drops~ in a "Who Would Win?" game show (and picked the other two off Amazon for cheap). Comedy changes to drama and warm weather changes to cold. Hokkaido shall be my next destination.
How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Anime
Japanese JonTron?
The casino episode was the last "normal" one before everything went into a semi-serious story arc to give the finale some sense of tension, though still peppered with the kind of jokes I've come to expect from the show (and a Dr. Strangelove reference, of course.) What surprised me most of all was that the final boss of the anime was
related to the nonsense prologue about cavemen and astronauts from episode 2. That thing was for serious?
Overall, I enjoyed the show. The entire weight of the series depends on how much you can enjoy Yao's antics, but it's clear the rest of the cast are also grudgingly putting up with it themselves. She, as I stated before, reminds me of Momoka from the currently airing Sabagebu, only with nobody who wants to enable her ego. Megumi Toyoguchi did a really good job, and I enjoyed Yukari Tamura's deadpan work as Lu, too. The animation is simple. That's also a strength, as it takes full advantage of the cartoon medium to be as wacky as it desires.
The amount of callbacks and equal amount of references to Western media surprised me. It's a product of its time, sure, however, most of the references to anime it makes are ones that are still popular now. (Barring some obscurities like Robot Detective. Toku represent!) Tracking the evolution of anime comedy is pretty fun. This was from around Excel Saga's time, and is a slightly less zany version of that. Yao's tendency to be in a bikini and/or underwear isn't something I'll deduct points for, and half the time when she's like that it's a sign that she's gone mad.
Very breezy, enjoyable show, and the setting is indeed nothing like Miami. That's what makes it fun.
Florida Level Final Ranking: I'm going to Disney World!
I was going to start on two longer running series, but my backlog changed a bit due to what happened at Supercon. I won the first volume of Kita e ~Diamond Dust Drops~ in a "Who Would Win?" game show (and picked the other two off Amazon for cheap). Comedy changes to drama and warm weather changes to cold. Hokkaido shall be my next destination.
I got confused at this; are you talking about the TV ending, EoE, or taking both into account?
Now I've only watched EVA twice, one of them as a kid with no real critical or appreciative intent, but as far as I understood it, Eva TV leaves the factual, external circumstances open to focus on character psychology; EoE on the other hand is pretty damn bleak by the end-game, mostly by virtue of being so overt with 'what actually happened' (How will anyone that wants to stop being Tang be able to live physically in what's left of the world? What'll Shinji and Asuka even do after the film ends? Will they retreat back into instrumentality, or will they live some boring 2 weeks in a hell beach until they die of starvation? If these are the choices, and we accept instrumentality as a 'bad end', where does the hope lie?)
I haven't watched Mazinger Z, so I don't know what kind of hero this Tetsuya fellow became, but I gather from your post that the final circumstances of that show ended up fairly different than what EoE does.
Basically, I think the TV ending is better thematically and your interpretation fits much better if we consider it alone. EoE is a mess in comparison and not nearly as bold (and brilliant) as what Anno did with 25+26.
I wouldn't trade EoE for anything though, them sakuga fights are unrivalled.
PshycoNinja
Member
YuruYuri 1
So when I started this episode I felt bad because it was only funny in some of the scenes. By the time it got to its last 8 minutes I was laughing entirely too hard. Glad I was able to find another funny anime like this. I look forward to watching more. This is gonna be awesome. Between this and Sabagebu I will be laughing nonstop!
So when I started this episode I felt bad because it was only funny in some of the scenes. By the time it got to its last 8 minutes I was laughing entirely too hard. Glad I was able to find another funny anime like this. I look forward to watching more. This is gonna be awesome. Between this and Sabagebu I will be laughing nonstop!
Admiral Woofington
Member
You know they really need more episodes of Space Dandy of just dancing animation.
I was trying to find the Viva all dance, but couldn't find it.
edit: nevermind. So fucking good And don't tell me this animation and lighting doesn't remind you of this
I was trying to find the Viva all dance, but couldn't find it.
edit: nevermind. So fucking good And don't tell me this animation and lighting doesn't remind you of this
Finished up the rest of Fate Zero, really good show.
Grail: sure, I'll grant any wish
Felt really bad during Kariya's scene. Cringed during Kuritsugu's
.
I am now sad, thank god I still have Fate Kaleid to pick me back up.
But hey, naked Gilgamesh. That's something I guess.
Grail: sure, I'll grant any wish
just make sure it's something that you know about, kthx
grail dream...thing where he shoots and chokes everyone
I am now sad, thank god I still have Fate Kaleid to pick me back up.
But hey, naked Gilgamesh. That's something I guess.
so random, I laughed throughout that scene
You know they really need more episodes of Space Dandy of just dancing animation.
I was trying to find the Viva all dance, but couldn't find it.
edit: nevermind. So fucking good
I've watched the video of this song on Youtube way too many times since the episode aired.
Admiral Woofington
Member
Deputy Dangle
Member
Thanks. Jarmel and sonicmj1's comments on their own writing during yesterday's discussion really fueled how I wanted to tackle this. Stripping the fat that I'd usually apply to a series review and making it as concise as possible were my goals. I think it turned out okay, though there were some points I wanted to add that I simply couldn't find a way to fit nicely into it. Flow has never been my forte.
It's sort of a combination of both. The psychological introspection of the TV ending is meant to be taken in tandem with End of Evangelion, after all. So Shinji finally accepting that he can live a happy life is his triumph over everything that happens prior to that point. I'm gonna rewatch EoE tonight to make sure I'm not off on my interpretation, but as I understand it it's a spot of hope because Shinji's triumphed over his own horrid life. Like, those bleak questions that linger are the point. It doesn't matter how Shinji is going to overcome them, just that, as he has at last passed through hardship to overcome everything the series has thrown at him, he will overcome that stuff somehow, too. It's not a "Happily Ever After" so much as it is about how Shinji has reached adulthood and will survive the pain of the adult world. Which is why I think the ending is fairly typical of Mecha anime. Because there is no guarantee that the hero's life will be free of trials after the finale, just that, now that he has come into his own, he will be able to meet those trials with the full measure of a man. Mazinger vs. The Great General of Darkness ends with the Mycenaeans poised to attack the Earth and with Tetsuya prepared to confront them. The battle isn't over, but since our heroes have grown into their own, their story is. That's more or less what I'm getting at with that.
Of note this is where cnet's catchphrase originated from.
God tumblr's editor is a pain in the arse. Even something as simple as centring an image is a headache. Well I finally collated my old School Day posts. Ah memories...
SliceSabre
Banned
Ojamajo Doremi 01
I am a man of my word and I have started on this. Gotta say, a much better first episode so far. Doremi comes off as an endearing MC, a constant screw up but she always means well. I'm kinda looking forward to the next episode.
I am a man of my word and I have started on this. Gotta say, a much better first episode so far. Doremi comes off as an endearing MC, a constant screw up but she always means well. I'm kinda looking forward to the next episode.
PshycoNinja
Member
Which one?
Pretty much, although maybe it was really a subconscious impulse... after all Hideaki Anno said he couldn't get away from his influence:
Entretien Gô Nagai/Hideaki Anno - Page 2
http://gettermario.dynamicforum.net/t974p15-entretien-go-nagai-hideaki-anno
Mr. Anno's worship for Gō Nagai knows no bounds, as the round-table interview with both posted above and featured at the Tabulæ Anatomicæ DEVILMAN art-book demonstrates. As much as Space Runaway Ideon did influence too in an condensed way and it was rapidly spotted, the sheer obscurity for many fans of some little references made at first difficult to pinpoint how referential to Mr. Nagai's legacy some visual ideas or thematic concepts were.
Those gifs are as amazing today as they were the first time I saw them.
I actually agree with all of this, I just think EoE, on a purely thematic level, is redundant and waters down the original ending. I know, EoE was kinda supposed to be the original ending and all that, and I guess it's also the more 'typical' mecha show ending with a climactic battle, big set-pieces and all that stuff.
I feel it's much more elegant if we're left hanging on the events after what happens with Kaoru and get thrust all-in into Shinji dealing with things in his mind, because it's a culmination of the standout element of the show which was the focus on how events affect characters (Shinji mainly) more than how they play out or what 'happens' in the plot.
Thinking about it, I guess EoE with all its fucked up stuff and messy progression could still be thought of as a return to more classical forms of Super Robot shows -relative to what the TV show became by the end-, so that's maybe another avenue for your interpretation
No, that was [post=81717473]Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku[/post].
PshycoNinja
Member
Checking my MAL and....
"Anime compatibility with MikeHattsu is:
81.3%"
^_^
"Anime compatibility with MikeHattsu is:
81.3%"
^_^
I made myself a tweeter, added everyone I can find. You don't have to follow me, but I'll be very sad if you don't j/k https://twitter.com/jl701
j/k https://twitter.com/jl701
How does twitter know who I want to follow it's so weird.
Sailor Stars 186
Best running gag.
I was tentative about this one as well given the preview's heavy focus on Chibi Chibi. Thankfully she was more hilarious plot device this ep than anything else, the show delivering on yet another solid humrous ep that's mostly Usagi being an idiot. If anything, it helped make her a little more endearing rather than the "just there" she's been so far.
Ohhhh. My bad. I was thinking it was from THAT scene with Akarin.
I made myself a tweeter, added everyone I can find. You don't have to follow me, but I'll be very sad if you don'tHow does twitter know who I want to follow it's so weird.
Added you :3
Dirty Pair 4
Was pretty obvious that that female wrestler duo was gonna come into play after one of them came into the lab to visit her brother while the Lovely Angels were being debriefed on the situation regarding the cat. It seems like a one-off thing, but them becoming a rival duo for the Lovely Angels could be pretty cool.
Oh, and more collateral damage. Lots and lots of collateral damage.
such romantic
Was pretty obvious that that female wrestler duo was gonna come into play after one of them came into the lab to visit her brother while the Lovely Angels were being debriefed on the situation regarding the cat. It seems like a one-off thing, but them becoming a rival duo for the Lovely Angels could be pretty cool.
Oh, and more collateral damage. Lots and lots of collateral damage.
The trails of destruction is where they got their namesake from after all!
AquaWateria
Member
About Kokoro Connect please tell me best girl wins.
Admiral Woofington
Member
she does.
I don't think I've ever met somebody with good taste who disagrees on who best girl is.
Depends on who you think is best girl
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