For me, NGE was both the best and the worst anime had to offer. On one hand, the music, art style and the fights were amazing. On the other hand, I found most characters downright disgusting (mostly Shinji and Asuka).
Seeing the mecha switch from external to internal power and start a five minute countdown is pretty chilling. Jet Alone booting up version 2.2.1c and then reverting back to 2.1.1c without Misato's intervention confirms that it was sabotaged. When Shinji and Asuka's combined synchronization rate with EVA-02 peaks, we know they have won. Episode 13 visually depicts the angel taking over NERV's super computers: one triggers the self-destruct, the other two overrule it and the angel starts invading the other computers. End of Evangelion also revisits this: we know Ritsuko's plan has failed because one of the computers refused to comply.
2001: A Space Odyssey is the earliest example I know of this kind of story telling. The space ship's computer kills the sleeping crew: their vital signs slowly flatline one by one and in a specific order.
Good. That was the intent.
I watched it again recently and it struck me as incredibly relevant and a prescient warning about the trajectory of contemporary society, especially in the face of climate change. I mean, the entire setting is nearly flooded following a catastrophic event at one of the poles...
The characters being so overwhelmingly flawed is a big part of what makes Evangelion what it is. You might as well say a museum is great except for all the exhibits.
That’s why it’s considered good by the people who consider it good (I think it’s brilliant and one of the greatest pieces of motion art of the last century) - because although it can be classified as “mecha” anime it’s really about damaged people. There are plenty of great pieces of motion art that are not about damaged people. Evangelion is not one of them.
Best part of the series.
May I recommend Serial Experiments Lain for more power lines and cicadas goodness? As every Anime sound director knows, those obnoxious bugs are the only available auditory shorthand for "it's summer".
In the background you can hear Bach's Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring being played on a piano and it transitions from animation to filmed live action footage which I think was shot around Tokyo it shows things like train lines, buildings and an empty swing set in a playground and yes there is a power line shot. Then it cuts to an audience watching a film inside a cinema as handwritten letters flash up on the screen, which were death threats the studio had received from obsessive fans.
I was blown away by the aesthetics of this scene watching it as a 15 year old and it's stuck with me.
After the... unfortunate opening scene of the movie I hadn't rewatched it but every time I see even a small clip of anything from Eva (the movie or the show) I'm just enamored. Hideaki Anno is one of the greatest artists of our time just from NGE and Shin Godzilla. It felt like every frame of the original anime was perfect.
The show is not about mecha fighting monsters... it's about the spaces in between people, and how we fail and succeed to connect. The elevator scene, Misato and Kaji, Shinji's tape player, Shinji and Kaworu... those are some of my favorite scenes because they show the connection or disconnection between the characters.
Yes, it does save them money to not have to animate. Art always has to deal with the limitations of the medium, in this case budget.
Almost literally, since the still shots happened after the budget was cut.