#nge was a trip to watch

[susahnasomething]

Honestly it was so fun watching Evangelion and imagining that Ritsuko and Misato are Wives but are in a rough patch in their relationship and aren't living together, but are trying to work it out, but then Shinji comes in and Misato realizes she wants kids and their marriage is in god damn shambles by the point where Kaji yeets, and Misato demands a divorce when Shinji gets souped for a bit. Kaji was apart of theyre relationship for a while but when he chose work over it, Misato kicked him out, Ritsuko was fine either way, she didn't care much for him. They are Married but also slowly going through a divorce during the series Me and my boyfriend watched NGE a couple months ago and it was pretty good

[simphornies]

A/N: A quick little one-shot for Valentine's!

Word count: 1.3k (1,394)

Warnings: implied sex at the end, that's about it I think.

Valentines Special [ Vox x Reader x Alastor ]

You woke up to the sounds of loud whispering and thumping inside of your dark room. You squint and reach for the remote for your lights. But it wasn’t shere it usually was so you blindly walked around your room with your hands out. After hitting yourself a couple of times on your furniture, you opened your door to let light in.

Your eyes adjusted to the light and as soon as they did there was a big sign on the wall in front of your door that said ‘HAPPY FUCKING VALENTINE’S DAY’ decorated with flowers.

“Oh fuck it’s—”

“HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, MY DEAREST.” Vox exclaimed excitedly.

You groaned in response, “Vox I just woke up.” You rubbed the sleepiness out of your eyes. He grabs your hand and leads you to your bathroom. To your surprise it was covered with petals. The bathtub was ready for you, steaming. “Aw. Vox…”

“Go go. Get ready.” He grinned, proudly gesturing to the tub with both arms out, “The day we have planned for you is amazing!”

You smiled and gave him a quick kiss, “Thanks, babe. I’ll be right out.”

“Take your time. Meet us in the lobby.” His screen lit up with hearts and left you to have a relaxing bath.

.

As soon as you walk out of the bathroom in your robe, you see Alastor waiting for you by your bed. Beside him were a set of clothes. He looked over to you with his signature grin. His ears flicked with delight upon seeing you, “Hello darling! Please please. Pick your poison.” He points to the three sets of outfits.

One was picked by Alastor, another picked by Vox. It was obvious from the color schemes. The third outfit caught your eye. It was a nice blend of both of their colors. A purple outfit adorned with hearts, the stitches were blue on one side and red on the other. It was the obvious choice for the two to not fight for “who you picked” for the day.

You picked it up and the others instantly disappeared as soon as Alastor snapped his fingers. “Wonderful choice! I’ll leave you to change, my doe.” Before leaving he gave you a sweet kiss on your cheek.

When he opened the door you saw Vox standing outside, basically shaking in excitement. “I can stay and watch you cha—” The door shut behind Alastor. “—nge if you want me to, dollface.” He finished. You heard a thunk soon after.

You laughed at their antics and proceeded to get into the outfit of choice. If your constant presence around the two overlords proved enough evidence of your relationship with them, this outfit definitely does. You managed your hair into a braid and went towards the lobby.

You see your two lovers arguing, as per usual, about something. They quickly, or rather Vox did, shut up as soon as they saw you approach from the corner of their eyes.

“Hello boys.” You smiled, “Thank you for the wonderful start to this day. Happy Valentine’s.”

They picked a side and wrapped their arms around yours with pride. A kiss placed on both sides of your face from them.

“We’re going to take you out for breakfast today.” Vox states.

“Where to?” You ask, a bit excited.

“Cannibal town!”

“Ozzie’s!”

They both spoke at the same time and immediately glared at each other. You cleared your throat, “Ozzie’s would be a nice start.”

Vox stood up straight while Alastor pinned his ears back against his head. You pulled him closer, “Don’t pout, little deer. We’ll go with your choice before we go to breakfast. A snack for the trip, okay?” You giggled.

"Hmm. I’ll settle for it.” He hummed, ears perking back up with pride.

“Alright babes, let’s try not to murder anybody and each other today, okay?”

“No promises.” They said in unison.

.

Walking around town with two overlords wrapped around your finger was definitely something that gained a lot of attention. Every single year. You decided to give them a break from your scolding every couple of years when it came to practically attacking any demon or sinner that dared to stare at you. They couldn’t care less about the looks they got but they drew the line when anybody even attempted to approach you.

While they were distracted, you sneak away to buy them gifts. You got them both cufflinks and jewelry that matched your necklace. Of course, in their own colors. You bought Alastor a shiny new pocket watch and Vox a locket. Both gifts contained a photo of you making a heart with your fingers within them. As soon as you left the store, a tall demon approached you with sinister intent.

“Hey there, sweet cheeks.” He grinned. You gave him a disgusted look. “What’s a pretty face like you doin’ alone today?” His eyebrows wiggled up and down to which you rolled your eyes.

“None of your business and I’m not alone. Now if you’ll excuse me. I have to get going now.” He blocked your way before you could step any further. His hand lifted your chin up and you growled at the audacity. “Get your filthy hands off of me.” Your eyes glowed red.

He laughed, “And whatcha goin’ to do about it, toots?” His goons popped up from behind him.

“I really don’t want to paint my lovely outfit today with weak blooded bitches.” You groaned as you slapped his hand off your face. “So I’ll let them do it.” You smiled sweetly.

“Who?”

You took a deep breath in, “HE TOUCHED ME.” You screamed and without a second’s notice, black tendrils stabbed a couple of the goons, catching the others. The one who dared to touch you was immediately burned to a crisp with electricity. You stood there with your arms crossed, watching the massacre unfold in front of you. You dodged every lose limb that flew towards you and reveled in the screams.

Soon after Vox and Alastor took your hands, “Are you alright?” Vox asks.

“We lost sight of you for a second there, my dear. You must avoid leaving our sight.” Alastor added.

“You’re right, my apologies. But! I got you both gifts.” You handed them their respective boxes. They opened it and were ecstatic. They both put their cufflinks on proudly, decorating their sleeves with your initial. Alastor had already placed the pocket watch in his pocket, a little keychain dangling off of the chains while Vox put the locket around his neck.

“Oh thank you, dearest! You did not have to!” Alastor exclaims.

You smiled and pinched both of their cheeks lovingly, “Anything for you boys.”

.

After a long day of Vox and Alastor dragging you around everywhere and ensuring nobody was favored over the other to avoid pouting, you arrived back home exhausted.

You dropped to your bed with a happy sigh, “Today was fun. Thank you both.”

Alastor works quickly to take your heels off, rubbing your feet to soothe the pain from walking around so much. Vox rubbed your scalp gently. You purred in delight at their acts of service.

“You two are certainly outdoing yourselves this year.” You laughed.

“Anything for you, my darling doe.” Alastor hummed,soft jazz faintly coming from him.

“That I can agree with. Today is an extra special day for you, babe.” Vox emitted soothing static white noise.

“You know…” You began, they both looked up at you, “The night isn’t quite over yet, my loves.”

With a swift move, the overlords were on their backs on your bed. Each of your hands trail up their chests, “I think you two deserve a little…treat for today, hm?” You whispered seductively into their ears.

Alastor’s ears twitched and Vox glitched. Both from excitement. They exchanged a look before they looked at you.

Pretty soon you were a mess under them, your body filled with pleasure. Safe to say they definitely got their fill at the end of the night. After a myriad of hickeys, bite marks, and love scratches, they were both knocked out cold and cuddled up in your hold. You sighed happily, enjoying their warmth and comfort. You snapped a quick picture of the three of you cuddled up under the blanket, saving it to your special folder titled “Valentine’s Night” before drifting off to sleep.

[cosmicgardencreative]

Spent Saturday afternoon with @fallenseraphs watching The End of Evangelion to conclude our NGE experience over the months.

What a trip.

[duhragonball]

Phantom Blood Liveblog JJBA ch.36-38

This is Tonpetti's first trip to England, and he just couldn't resist picking up a Sherlock Holmes pipe at the gift shop.

Last time, Zeppeli sacrificed himself to help Jonathan survive Tarkus and proceed on their quest to defeat Dio and destroy the Stone Mask. Now, his group arrives in Windknights Lot, and it turns out the whole town has already been turned into zombies. So when a guy tries to attack Jonathan, they just assume he's a zombie too, except he's actually a new ally who just wanted to test Jonathan's abilities.

This is Dire, one of Zeppeli's fellow disciples under the Hamon master, Tonpetti. Real quick, let me explain the Thunder Cross Split Attack. The idea is that Dire looks like he's going to fight his opponent hand to hand, but then he suddenly leaps up and kicks his opponents' hands away, leaving him wide open to a strike to the head. This time, Jonathan defends it with a good offense: he simply headbutts Dire, because he's wide open too. And Dire is impressed, but he has a different version of the attack which we'll see later.

Dire introduces himself, Tonpetti, and his fellow disciple Straitz, and explains how and why they're here. Zeppeli sent them a letter a while back, and they came to England to help him destroy the Stone Mask.

And that's all well and good, but it's a little too convenient, isn't it? Zeppeli must have written the letter after he made contact with Jonathan, since they knew Zeppeli was training him. How long has it been since then? Long enough for Tonpetti to get the letter and come all the way from India? And if Zeppeli expected them to join the battle, why didn't he just wait for them to catch up?

The bigger issue I have is that this seems to go against the lore established in Part 2, where the Hamon adepts have been around for thousands of years, and their primary purpose has been to resist the machinations of the Pillar Men, who created the Stone Masks in the first place. But in Part 1, it seems unclear that Tonpetti knew anything about the Stone Mask until Zeppeli told him about it. I dunno, maybe I'm misremembering something from Part 2.

I guess what I'm driving at here is that Zeppeli joined the Hamon school for the sole purpose of helping him destroy the Stone Mask, and apparently Tonpetti is so supportive of this quest that he's willing to come over and help out, but not so supportive that he would have been here in England from the start.

Oh, one other continuity flub, while I'm at it:

When Jonathan meets Tonpetti, he offers him a handshake, and Tonpetti leaves him hanging, like he doesn't do handshakes. Except he literally took Zeppeli's hand when they first met in 1860.

To be fair, Tonpetti only did this because he wanted to do a Hamon fortune-telling thing, but it's interesting to me that he was so eager to do that with Zeppeli, but not with Jonathan. Maybe forseeing Zeppeli's death convinced Tonpetti that some things are better off not knowing. He's purposely avoiding any hand contact with his allies, because he knows any of them could die in the next few minutes. Okay, maybe that came all the way around and became a cool storytelling moment.

So what's Dio been up to this whole time? Well, crushing crosses, for one thing.

This is a classic image from Phantom Blood, but I must have missed that what he's holding in his hand is a cross that he bent up in his bare hand. Wotta heel.

I watched Neon Genesis Evangelion earlier this year, and one thing that bugged me about it was the way the show kept peppering Christian symbols and references all over the place, but completely devoid of any context or deeper meaning. The creators of NGE tacitly admitted that they didn't know anything about Christianity, and they only did this to make the show look cool. And that's fine and all, but it did frustrate me to see crosses show up in Evangelion with no particular symbolic purpose.

Compare this to Dio's scene here, where it appears he's set up his base of operations in a church, probably because it's the largest building in a small town like this. He found a golden cross and he's just idly mashing it into a handful of scrap metal. Dio's rejected his humanity, and so he has zero respect for human religion. He's basically taken over God's house for himself, and he's daring heaven to stop him.

And that all works because in this fictional world, all these religious symbols actually represent things, as opposed to Evangelion, where the crosses are mostly there for aesthetics. I don't know how much Hirohiko Araki knows about Christianity (insert SBR joke here) but at least he knew enough to know exactly what it means to show Dio lounging in a church and crushing a cross like a piece of paper.

Also, there's the whole thing where Dracula is repelled by crosses, and that clearly doesn't affect Dio at all, so that's important as well.

I'm not sure what Dio's doing exactly, but it sure looks like he's having villagers brought before him one by one, so he can screw with them before he turns them into zombies. This lady begs Dio to spare her child, and Dio mockingly agrees. He says that he and his zombies won't hurt the baby, but hen he turns the lady into a zombie and she eats the baby herself. What purpose does this serve? I guess this is just how Dio amuses himself now. He's come a long way from kicking dogs and poisoning fathers.

Later, we see him with his next victim, Poco's sister?! Aw, crap! Also, Dio's surrounded by monsters he created by grafting the corpses of animals and humans together before reanimating them.

Dio monologues to Poco's sister, but she's too horrified to care what he's saying. When I first watched the anime, I thought maybe Dio was trying to get a girlfriend or something, but now it seems clear that he's just screwing with her the same way he did with the other lady. He wants her to ask to be a zombie, not because that matters, since he's going to do that anyway, but because he's a sick fuck.

But Poco's sister isn't so scared that she forgot her signature attack. She waits until Dio's close enough and slaps him upside the head! Fuck yeah! Poco's sister rules!

Unfortunately for her, Dio decides to sic one of his zombies on her. This one is named Doobie, and... well I think you get the general idea of what he's trying to do here. But suddenly....

SURPRISE ANVIL ATTACK! Who could possibly be BEEFY enough, PLUCKY enough, and POLITE enough to carry a damn anvil all the way up to the roof of a church and drop it through the skylight?

STAND NAME: A Fucking Anvil. STAND MASTER: There's no need to share my prideful name with a zombie. POWER: Yes SPEED: 32 feet per second per second RANGE: Close enough STAMINA: Anvils don't feel pain. PRECISION: He hit him, didn't he? DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL: Jodio needs to drop an anvil on a guy in Part 9, is all I'm saying.

Jonathan heads down to kick Doobie's ass, but wait! Doobie has a secret of his own!

HIS HEAD IS COVERED WITH POISONOUS SNAKES!!!!!!

PART ONE IS INSANE!

WHY DOES TONPETTI LOOK SO AMUSED BY THIS?

Some of the snakes bite Jonathan, but it doesn't matter, because he uses Hamon power to squirt the venom back out of the bite holes. I am not making that up. He then uses a small Ripple to "drive the snakes crazy" and they start eating Doobie alive. Well, not "alive", since he's a zombie, but you get the idea.

"What are you doing, my snakes? They're eating me! No way..." might be the most fucked up last words ever recorded.

Finally Dio shows up again and he's like "Yeah, I didn't want to kill you myself out of sentimentality. Remember how we grew up together and I set your dog on fire? Anyway, where's that guy with the hat?"

Jonathan's all set to fight Dio but then Dire shows up and he wants to take Dio on first. After all, he trained with Zeppeli, and they were good friends, so it's only fitting that he try to avenge him. Dire goes for the Thunder Cross Split Attack, but this time he crosses his arms in front of his face, which would protect him from the kind of headbutt Jonathan used on him earlier. See? It all comes back around.

But Dire doesn't know about Dio's freezy powers, so this silly attack does no good. Kicking Dio's hands away just means Dio can grab Dire's ankles and freeze him from there. And this time, Dio freezes his entire body and breaks him like the T-1000 in liquid nitrogen.

But Dire's head is still in tact, and he manages to take one parting shot before he dies. He spits a rose into Dio's eye, and charges it with Hamon to make it hurt more. Then his head freezes and shatters along with the rest of him. I'm pretty sure cold doesn't work this way, which is a tradition Araki would continue with White Album in Part 5.

So yeah, this is a crazy twist. It turns out this new character who just showed up out of nowhere can't beat Dio after all, and it's all up to the title character we've been invested in since the start.

[samasmith23]

Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon — (Part 2)

Neon Genesis Evangelion, “Episode 2: Unfamiliar Ceiling/THE BEAST”

Continuing my Evangelion re-watch marathon with NGE, "Episode 2: Unfamiliar Ceiling/THE BEAST"! For my thoughts on the previous episode, click the link to the post below:

With that out of the way, let's dig in!

Lol! I love the way Sachiel picks up Evangelion Unit-01 after Shinji causes the mecha to trip! I bet the Angel is thinking to itself, “What the heck is this thing?! It’s not like those planes, missiles & bombs I dispatched earlier, but it’s clearly a threat! Arm go breaky-breaky and laser beam go through eye socket!”

Joking aside though, this scene further emphasizes my personal frustration with the bad-faith criticisms levied by the "Get in the EVA Shinji" crowd. Like... did people seriously expect Shinji to be perfectly efficent at operating a giant robot he had never even heard of before until literally less than an hour earlier, let alone utilizing it to fight and kill an approximately 40 to 95 meter tall world-destroying alien monstrosity?

The fact that Shinji immediately stumbles and trips during his first attempt to try and simply make the EVA walk, along with him being completely paralyzed with fear as the Angel stares down at him is honestly an incredibly believable reaction on his part! I know I'd certainly react the exact same way Shinji does here!

Also, the injuries that Shinji immediately sustains from Sachiel are definitely uncomfortable to witness as a viewer! Not only does Sachiel snap EVA Unit-01's left arm like a twig (simultaneously breaking Shinji's arm in the process since his nervous system is directly bonded with the EVA's), but the Angel then fires multiple laser blasts directly into Unit-01's right eye sockets, causing twin-streams of blood to shoot-out from both sides of the mecha's head!

Like... YIKES! The fact that Shinji ultimately survives this encounter without suffering permanent brain damage, but just short-term memory loss, is truly an astonishing miracle! Speaking of which...

Full disclosure, I remember being annoyed when I first watched this episode and it suddenly cut to Shinji waking up in the hospital the next day after being knocked out by Sachiel, implying that the entire fight happened off screen. However, after finishing watching this episode for the first time several years ago, I realized just how brilliant this move was on Anno’s part considering what we later learned happened during the fight towards the end of the episode.

Also, Shinji's first words upon waking up are, "An unfamiliar ceiling!" Title drop! Lol!

Oh boy! Our first scene of Gendo meeting with his higher-ups, the Human Instrumentality Committee, aka, our official introduction to the mysterious SEELE organization which oversee’s NERV!

Out of curiousity, I wonder if one of these guys is actually Shinji’s grandfather since his mother, Yui Ikari, later states in the flashbacks from Episode 21 that she’s the daughter of a high-ranking SEELE member, and the Committee is supposed to be SEELE’s inner council.

According to the official "EvaGeeks Wiki" though, while the Human Instrumentailty Committee's leader, Keel Lorenz, is from Germany, the unnamed yellow member is French, the blue guy is Russian, the green guy is American, and the red guy is British.

So does that mean Yui is of mixed-ethnicity? If so, that's cool!

Speaking of Chairman Keel though, here's some interesting behind-the-scenes trivia regarding the name of SEELE's enigmatic leader! In addition to "Keel" being derrived from the literal ship part (specifically the central lower spine of a watercraft's hull), the name "Lorenz" is a reference to the renowned Austrian zoologist and child psychologist Konrad Lorenz, whom in 2015 had his 1973 Nobel Prize in Medicine posthemusly revoked due to his historical affiliations with Nazi Germany (originally, Keel was actually intended to be the real-life Konrad Lorenz in the show itself).

While Hideaki Anno & crew likely chose the name as a subtle reference to the historical figure who popularized the psychological theory of "imprinting" in the field of childhood development (which makes sense considering how integral themes of teenage psychology & motherhood are to EVA's overarching narrative), the fact that Keel Lorenz is also named after an individual with literal Nazi ties is also fitting considering that as antagonists SEELE is a quasi-fascistic doomsday cult.

But I'll discuss more about that when the Human Instrumentality Committee true identity is eventually revealed in Episode 14!

Also, I don’t know why but the yellow French SEELE member always reminded me of the Vulture from Spider-Man. I think it’s the combination of the beak-like nose, the hunched back, and the elderly appearance (minus the hair and glasses of course...). And he’s not the only SEELE member who’s apparently a Marvel Comics cosplayer considering that Keel Lorenz is wearing a similar visor to Cyclops from X-Men. Although the blue Russian member seems to be a DC Comics cosplayer considering he looks an awful lot like the Penguin from Batman.

So basically the members of SEELE are all secretly Marvel & DC comic book fans! Lol!

Dang! The fact that even before the Angel's officially returned with Sachiel's attack on Tokyo-3, Gendo already had enough power and influence within the Japanese government to authorize a media-blackout for the rest of the country and entire world regarding the existence of the Angels is pretty impressive!

Seeing as NERV is a branch of SEELE which has ties to the United Nations, I'm guessing that the Human Instruementality Committee sent the Japanese Prime Minister a pretty convincing letter of reccomendation on Gendo's behalf!

Also, that closing exchange between Keel & Gendo is so FREAKING iconic!

Keel Lorenz: "Ikari, you do know that there can be no turning back." Gendo Ikari: "I know. Mankind has no time left."

Chills! Absolute chills everytime I hear it! Keel & Gendo's respective English VA's, Richard Peeples & Tristan MacAvery, are absolutely on point in this scene!

I really love the white & blue-tinted lighting of the hospital where he encounters an injured Rei again after waking up! It really establishes the ambigous and uncomfortable tone of their initial relationship!

While Misato's comment, "Man, air conditioning's the greatest thing. Man's triumph over nature," is funny on a surface-level, it simultaneously foreshadows another major reoccuring theme interwoven into EVA's narrative: the arrogance and hubris behind humanity's over-reliance on technology!

But I'll discuss those themes more in-depth when they become increasingly notable from Episode 11 onwards!

Lol! Even when being empathetic Ritsuko still can't help but continue being the scientist as usual: "Poor little kid. His cerebelum must have taken a lot of stress."

Double lol! Even Misato recognizes her friend's detatched demeanor: "Cerebellum? Don't you mean his heart?"

I honestly don't think voice actress Sue Ulu is given enough credit for her performance as Ritsuko in the original ADV Dub. She's incredibly effective at conveying Ritsuko's rational & analytical personality!

Oh boy... even though Shinji suffered short-term memory loss from Sachiel's laser blasts, he still has lingering subconcious memories of the injuries he sustained slowly bubbling back towards the surface, as demonstrated by him staring at his now-healed left arm with confusion & fear...

More effective mood-lighting on display when Misato' meets Shinji alone in the waiting room of NERV's infirmary, as both the characters and enviornment are completely obscured in shadows caused by the contrasting sunlight of the room's large exterior windows. It effectively symbolizes both Shinji & Misato wandering into the unknown as the two become more closely aquainted with each other!

Man oh man, the scene where Shinji & Misato accidentally encounter Gendo while trying to get on the elevator is absolutely brilliant in how so much information is conveyed here through facial expressions instead of dialogue! Shinji expects praise from his father for defeating the Angel.

Even though Shinji’s memory of how exactly it happened is foggy, he thinks he was still of some use to his father like he always wanted. And yet... Gendo has absolutely nothing to say to him, just staring coldly and blankly, further feeding into Shinji’s sense of isolation & self-loathing!

So many emotions are conveyed in such a short space of screentime without any dialogue whatsoever!

And all Misato can do is watch & grow increasingly concerned for Shinji’s well being. I do also love how quickly Misato catches onto Shinji’s struggles, as she deals with the exact same crap despite being more outgoing and carefree personality-wise than him. Which is part of why she decides to let him live at her apartment instead of alone where he can wallow in self-loathing.

Still, we also get some insight into Misato’s complicated struggles with sexuality versus motherhood derived from her Elektra Complex through her offhanded joke, “It’s not like I’m going to be making any ‘passes’ at [Shinji],” which absolutely enrages Ritsuko over the phone.

I love how when Shinji can’t help but feel further distressed after hearing random bystanders at the grocery store talk about Tokyo-3 being turned into a battle ground without even once mentioning Shinji's name or acknowledging his involvement, Misato takes Shinji to witness Tokyo-3’s skyscrapers rising up from below the GeoFront to show him the city he helped protect in an effort to validate his usefulness and worth as an EVA pilot.

As gorgeous as this scene is though, considering the sheer amount of Freudian symbolism that’s littered all throughout NGE, when I see those skyscrapers rising upward I can’t help but wonder if this was meant to be yet another example of psychosexual imagery.

Spike Spencer does a great job at capturing Shinji's feelings of awkward hesitance and unsure relief as he takes his first step into Misato's apartment and says, "I'm home," to which an overly cheery Misato replies, "Welcome home."

Also, keep this exchange in the back of your minds since it will later become thematically relevant in Episode 4!

Lol! It’s such a wild contrast seeing just how professional and composed Misato is while working at NERV, as opposed to how wild & messy her home life is. In addition to her apartment floors being littered with garbage bags, dirty dishes, and mountains of used & unused Yebisu beer cans (which is apparently a real-life Japanese alcohol brand...), Misato essentially acts like an immature college student within the privacy of her home, wearning nothing but tank-tops and short-shorts while drinking gallons of alcohol & having insta-ramen for dinner!

Yeesh... I just came to an uncomfortable realization here! Misato's home life is basically just like how I personally used to live back in college! Albiet... I never wore short-shorts nor drank beer (seriously, I think all alcohol tastes TERRIBLE!)...

That's honestly one of the more powerful elements of EVA's characters. They are disturbingly relatable and force you to interrogate aspects of yourself that you're sometimes uncomfortable acknowledging. Even during light-hearted and comedic scenes like Shinji & Misato's ramen & beer dinner conversation, NGE's maintains its well-deserved status as a phenomenal treatise on the human condition!

Lol! I always laugh so hard when an annoyed Misato snaps at Shinji's shyness: "WHAT?! ARE YOU FINICKY?!"

God bless Allison Keith! Her performance as Misato is an absolute treasure!

Also, some of the first indications of Shinji's struggles with his developing sexuality as he can't help but stare at Misato's breasts when she leans over the table and gets directly in his face during her aforementioned outburst!

Aww... poor Shinji really got the short end of the stick by being relegated to daily chores for 5 to 6 days of the week after losing several rounds of rock-paper-scissors with Misato.

Also, I once again find myself uncomfortably relating to Misato here since I too can unfortunately be incredibly lazy when it comes to household chores...

Also also, we get some more allusions to Misato's Elektra Complex with her joking, “This is your home, so feel free to take advantage of everything you want, except of course me that is!”

We’ll learn later in the series that due to her traumatic past as a survivor of Second Impact and her strained relationship with her deceased father, Misato spent her entire adolescence catatonic and began actively pursuing sexual relationships during college in order to fill in that empty void in her heart. In particular, men who subconsciously remind her of her late father such as her ex-boyfriend Ryoji Kaji...

In essence, Misato is a person who greatly struggles with developing meaningful relationships with others due to the ghosts of her past, and relies primarily on physical connections and innuendos in order to communicate her true feelings, while also subconsciously wanting to drive others away from her due to her internalized self-loathing.

We also see more of Misato's character flaws as she continues to belittle Shinji's anxiety by angrily grabbing his hair and shouting, "Yes, yes yes. Is that all you can say? It's getting on my nerves! You're a boy! Act like one!"

Yeah... similar to how Shinji has deep-seated issues with women and sexuality, Misato has some toxic and borderline patriarchal expectations concerning the behavior of men. Misato truly is just an older version of Shinji!

On the subject of Shinji's issues with women, we see his obvious discomfort at the sight of Misato's bras & panties hanging on the clothes chandeliers as he prepares to take a bath before panicking at the sight of a literal penguin inside the bathroom. This especially feels like subtle groundwork being laid for Shinji's more overtly misogynistic attitudes in The End of Evangelion?

Speaking of that penguin inside the bathroom though...

Lol! The introduction to Evangleion's official mascot, Pen Pen, accompanied by the classic gag of a terrified & naked Shinji running back to Misato where she has a strategically placed beer can in front of a smaller toothpick jar on the kitchen table to censor his crotch!

Even after all these years, this gag NEVER... EVER ever gets old! I think the reason why this joke is so famous and fondly remembered by EVA fans is because aside from the obvious absurdity of a literal penguin inside an apartment building as well as the strategically placed objects, Shinji's reaction is incredibly realistic & relatable (I know I'd probably have a very similar reaction if I saw a random wild animal in of my shower). Plus, Shinji's embarassed realization to Misato asksing, "Umm... why don't you cover up," with his face turning red and him awkwardly shuffling back to the bathtub further sells the relatablility of the gag!

Studio Khara would repeat this joke in the Evangelion Rebuild 2.22, but instead replaced Shinji with Asuka. Consequently, the scene in the Rebuild feels a lot more like uncomfortable male-gazey fan-service (rather than the slap-sticky humorous tone of the original scene with Shinji), especially since Shinji's also in the room with Misato when Asuka panics at the sight of Pen Pen, thereby leading to him getting kicked in the face by Asuka while the camera has her butt visible in the frame during said-kick.

Yeah... based on everything I've seen and heard, gratuitous and "comedic" fan-service is a major flaw with the Rebuild movies, whereas the original NGE either avoided or actively subverted typical anime fan-service tropes in order to further flesh out its characters.

Also, I love that subdued head-tilt Pen Pen gives Shinji as he walks into his personal automated refrigerator! Pen Pen be like: "What's the matter kid? Ain't ya never seen a warm-water penguin before?"

Also also, as you might have noticed in the upper-right image above, it's here that I feel is an appropriate time to introduce everyone to the official "Pen Pen Censor" sticker, which will definitely be appearing A LOT throughout this marathon (in order to meet Tumblr community guidelines) due to EVA's extensive coverage of themes regarding sex & sexuality.

On the subject of Pen Pen himself, however, while its never outright confirmed in the anime exactly Misato how got her hands on a unique species of "hot-springs penguin" as a household pet, but in the official manga adaptation written & illustrated by the series' lead character designer, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, it's eventually revealed that Pen Pen was actually an experimental lab animal from a company Misato was originally employed by before joining NERV. Feeling lonely and isolated in her home life, Misato took sympathy on Pen Pen and brought him home with her before he could be euthanized.

While the absence of Pen Pen's backstory's doesn't negatively impact the anime's quality at all, there is a part of me that does still wish it had been included since it further conveys the inherently selfish desires underlying Misato's desicion to invite Shinji to be her roommate. Just like Pen Pen, while she related to and sympathized with the "useless, greedy [bird's]" situation, Misato was also simply seeking companionship to help fill the void in her own heart.

The fact that Misato did not adopt Shinji for purely altruistic reasons serves as a major thematic element of her characterization, and invites the viewer to question whether or not Misato legitimately views Shinji as the son/brother that she never had, or merely perceives him like a pet to be coddled & objectified just like Pen Pen.

So... that "Shinji's lovely suite" sign that Misato taped onto Shinji's bedroom door. This defintiely seems to lean into the argument of Misato treating Shinji more like a pet than a roommate.

I know that all the infamous budget issues with Episodes 25 & 26 were totally unplanned, but the fact that the music tracks Shinji is repeatedly listening to on his radio are tracks 25 & 26 feels like it should not be a coincidence! It’s giving me some serious Grant Morrison vibes of back when they had the issue focusing on an older Damian Wayne fighting the satanic Third Ghost of Batman take place in Batman (1940) #666!

While Ritsuko seemed pretty cold in contrast to Misato back during Episode 1, I love how when she’s alone with Gendo here discussing the progress of Rei's recovery from the failed EVA Unit-00 activation test, she can’t help but express her own concerns about forcing literal 14-year-olds to pilot giant robots and fight alien gods.

Also... more EPIC FORESHADOWING with the panning shot of a half-frozen inactive EVA Unit-00 punching the window of a disused control room! This not only effectively builds-up towards the flashback later in Episode 5 concerning Rei's injuries, but is also thematically relevant to this episode's climatic flashback with EVA Unit-01 vs. Sachiel as well!

I love the intentional contrasting of Misato's earlier words about "Bathing [cleaning] the mind and soul," against her feeling guilty for "thinking of Shinji as a tool" in both her work & home lives while bathing.

I guess Shinji's thoughts, "Bad memories always [seeming] to find [him] in the bath," also apply to Misato...

Returning to Shinji though, this shot of him staring up at "another unfamiliar ceiling" while wearing his headphones as a form of escapism to ease his feelings of anxiety is so FREAKING iconic!

Honestly, as an autistic person who struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder & anxiety who spends an awful lot of time wearing headphones to listen to YouTube and distract myself from both external and internal pressures of the world, I totally relate to Shinji here!

Furthermore, we get the return of the titular "unfamiliar ceiling" motif that Shinji referenced earlier in the episode when he first woke up in the NERV infirmary. The website Wrong Every Time did a far better job at explaining the significance behind that title & imagery in their review of Episode 2 than I possibly ever could! Specifically, they argue that unfamiliar ceilings serve as a physical manifestation of Shinji's "sense of displacement" at NERV HQ and Misato's apartment, symbolizing to the viewer that from Shinji's perspective, "[these places are not] his home. [From the] shots of the room’s disarray [to] Shinji’s physical entrapment [emphasizing] his discomfort, as he seems to bury himself away in the space between two repeating cassette tracks."

Like… dang! Wrong Every Time absolutely nailed it in their assessment of this scene! Or as Rei’s English voice actress Amanda Winn Lee infamously described in the audio commentary track to the original End of Evangelion DVD collection, “Nailed it like an Amish barn!” Lol!

The return of the unfamiliar ceiling as Shinji reminesces alone in his new bedroom about full events of the fight with Sachiel functions as a perfect transition to discussing the meanings of episode's secondary title... "THE BEAST!"

So... remember how I said earlier that I was initially really annoyed when I first watched this episode and it suddenly cut away from the Angel knocking Shinji unconscious to him instantly waking up in the hospital the next morning? Well it was during this flashback to the full fight from earlier right here that all my previous annoyance suddenly disappeared and I understood fully why this cut was necessary!

Not only does Anno's decision to have Sachiel’s defeat intially occur off-screen help pique viewer interest in exactly how Shinji defeated the Angel. Not only does it gradually build up the feelings of hollow victory and faint praise that Shinji & Misato couldn’t help but ponder throughout the rest of the episode. But it also effectively makes the ultimate reveal of EVA Unit-01 going berserk for the first time ever all the more shocking & horrifying!

No joke, when I first saw EVA Unit-01 suddenly open it’s mouth & roar I was legitimately FREAKING terrified! I just had so many questions swirling around in my head all at once since I initially thought that Unit-01 was simply just a robot. But this plot twist signified to me that not only are the Evangelions something far more mysterious & disturbing than mere robots, but that they’re also potentially even more dangerous monsters than the Angels!

Plus, the fact that Unit-01's berserker rampage was also foreshadowed back in Episode 1 with the EVA suddenly activating itself to protect Shinji from falling debris (as well as the "0-9 System" controlling it being a reference to Oni from Japanese demonology) makes this plot twist even more impactful!

For the sake of craps & giggles though, I bet the soul of Yui dwelling inside of Unit-01 was thinking to herself at that exact moment: “You will NOT kill my son!”

Also, this I love Misato & Ritsuko's contrasting reactions to Unit-01 going berserk! While, Misato is completely taken aback by this revelation, Ritsuko seems fearfully aware with the events transpiring when she whispers to herself, "Berserker!"

In essence, Misato acts as an audience-surrogate in this scene since just like her we're now completely frightened & suspicious about the Evangelion's true nature, while Ritsuko along with Gendo & Fuyutsuki have access to knowledge that the viewers are currently in the dark about!

Honestly in hindsight, the character's various reactions on display here significantly contributed to my desire to want to learn more about what exactly caused EVA Unit-01 enter a violent animalistic rampage!

As scary as the sight of Unit-01 going on a berseker rampage against Sachiel is though, HOLY CRAP is the sound-design & animation for this fight scene FREAKING phenomenal! In addition to Unit-01's blood-chilling roar heavily indicating the presence of organic vocal cords being suppressed by layers of electronic sirens, the shots of the EVA crouching down before flipping itself high into the air and pouncing onto Sachiel are so FREAKING iconic! Same goes for the 360° panning shot of Unit-01 turning around to face Sachiel again after shrugging off its inital counter-attack!

So wait... how exactly is Unit-01 able to regenerate its armored plating when healing its broken left arm? Is it liquid metal like the T-1000 or something?

Also, we get some more foreshadowing of both the EVA's being cloned from the Angel's progenitor Adam, as well as Unit-01's unique status as a clone of humanity's progenitor Lilith since not only does Unit-01 easily create its own A.T. Field to counter the frequency of Sachiel's, but it easily rips through the Angel's A.T. Field like it was tissue paper!

The animalistic brutality on display as Unit-01 simultaneously crushes both of Sachiel's arms before ripping apart the Angel's own bony chest-protrusions (spilling blue blood in the process) to stab its core is absolutely breathtaking to witness!

As uniquely awesome and uncanny the animation of Sachiel shape-shifting itself into a fluid orb around Unit-01's head is, I'm curious to know exactly how Misato realized that this was a self-destruct maneuver. Especially since the last time she personally witnessed an Angel's abilities was when she was still a teenager 15-years-ago during Second Impact...

Holy crap! The massive cross-shaped explosion that Sachiel generates when it self-destructs is not only breathtaking gorgeous, but it simultaneously adds further intrigue into whether or not the Angels are merely extraterrestrials or literal divine entities!

The feelings of sheer terror that this scene instilled within me were only further cemented by the aftermath of the battle, as Shinji briefly regains consciousness only to scream in horror at the building-side reflection of Unit-01’s head armor falling off and exposing its true fleshy face along with an eyeball that is absolutely in no way whatsoever is meant to resemble traditionally feminine anatomy (H.R. Geiger would eat his heart out over Unit-01’s eyeball here)!

Plus, I only just noticed this, but the front of EVA Unit-01's exposed forehead bears a striking resemblance to the masks on Sachiel's face, further hinting that the Evangelions and the Angels are biologically connected!

I absolutely adore the final moments of the episode where Misato continues to give Shinji faint praise even when she now realizes that it won’t help him. It simultaneously suggests that Misato still wants to do whatever she can to ease Shinji’s pain, while also desperately trying to find some way to justify Unit-01’s berserker rampage against Sachiel “being worth it” despite the traumatic toll the experience has inflicted upon Shinji’s psyche!

What an absolutely perfect way to end the episode! Allison Keith once again perfectly sells this scene through the way her voice so subtly cracks while trying to feign said-empty reassurance!

This concluding exchange also thematically ties the episode's corresponding titles, "Unfamiliar Ceiling" & "THE BEAST," so neatly together! In addition Shinji & Misato being haunted by memories of the literal beast in the form of EVA Unit-01, they're simultaneously confronted with metaphorical beasts as they struggle to process and adapt to unfamiliar enviornments and relationships!

I love it whenever titles convey multiple meanings like that!

Overall though, NGE, "Episode 2: Unfamiliar Ceiling/THE BEAST" still holds up incredibly dang well! Even better than I remember!

Heck, whenever I try to introduce other people to EVA for the first time, I always recommend that they watch Episodes 1 & 2 immediately back-to-back so that they can get a good idea of how this anime functions, since honestly both episodes work incredibly well as an hour-long pilot when watched together!

Now onto Episode 3!

[kidrat]

Tag 10 people you want to know better Tagged by @en-theos (thank u!)

song stuck in my head: uuuuh nge opening I think? I've never watched more than bits and pieces of the start of the show tho lmao

last song I listened to: technically just sleep lofi but before that I was listening to a Karen Jonz so last song 'peças quebradas' by her

favorite color: been on a green kick for a while, really like bright emerald tones / Houseplant Colour. generally a big fan of blue too, especially sky blues and vivid + pale + cool blues.

three favorite foods: there's these rlly good beef brisket noodles from a pho place in the city centre that i have romantic feelings for. been enjoying pbj sandwiches recently too which is random because I never ate them growing up. also ice cream, especially swedish glace chocolate stuff

last thing(s) I googled: lol after the song question I went and googled how you pronounce the letter ç in brazilian portuguese (like an 's' apparently)

dream trip: I don't really desire travel. like it doesn't rlly occur to me so I dont have hypothetical trips i think about? HOWEVER i am excited to go to london w some online friends this month! and to go on a canal boat long weekend w other friends later in summer

tagging @aplpaca @larvamotif @hardoncaulfield @facelessoldgargoyle @nitrosplicer @tyrannuspitch @finelythreadedsky @vracious @thoodleoo @orpheuscas

[thesketchyheartist]

03/18

Neon Genesis Evangelion (EP 1, 2, 4, 5)

I heard about Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE) both from learning about what was early anime when I first started watching anime and my uncle actually has a slot machine based on the show.

(The professor also had an example for the essay project that focused on this show, so I came in a little informed and possibly biased since I noticed signs the essay example talked about. I could've figured it out without it though; the signs were actually quite clear.)

I know it is harsh to critique the flaws of an anime made nearly 30 years ago, but some of the flaws seen in shonen anime seems to stem or at least has connections with NGE.

The camera will angle itself so that it captures a part of a girl/woman's body intimately. Episode 5 had Shinji accidentally fall on top of Rei after she just come out of a bath. Not to mention why Misato was so insistent on Shinji moving in with her is quite overlooked. Not to validate this alternative, but should they both have a gender swap, this anime would be very red-flagged. Also, Misato is Shinji's superior at work, and I think he probably does the majority of the chores, given how trashy the room was before he moved in and her lazy habits hint that the chore distribution chart is unevenly divided.

Shinji represents the anti-war archetype for young boys because he knows he was thrown into the program by his father, whom he hasn't seen in a long time, and the actual crisis humanity faces if the program cannot find a replacement for him. In addition, if he chooses to run, which he did, Rei will have to fulfill his role, and she is already unhealthy (and if it means anything she is a girl), guilt-tripping Shinji. In addition, every time he uses the Eva for combat purposes, every injury to the machine causes excruciating psychosomatic pain for him.

A weird thing about the Evas is that they seem like machines, yet they seem to be sentient. I know one thing that threw me off was the need to submerge the pilots in the fluid they also breathe in (imagine telling a fish to "breathe" out of water). Like when Rei was doing a test, even after her body was ejected out of the machine, the machine still was moving on its own before the manual shutdown was completed. And given how Angels are like celestial or alien counterparts to humans, I'm guessing Evas are supposed to be some science versus God weapon that uses a magic or something to defeat supernatural beings.

This actually would look as scary as the Angels in real life.

-03/17/2024

[ourano-s]

so i watched the eva rebuilds. i had a lot of thoughts while watching:

so im gonna explain 3 concepts and how they are rebuilding eva. the first concept i want you to think about is the recent boom of the multi verse idea. where the same story is being told, just differently. :for example, into the spiderverse. all the spideys have and are telling the same story: peter parker''' gets bitten by a radioactive spider, and gets powers. they all have the same story beats, which is what the second movie is about. their dad or uncle or whatever Dies. they have a love interest gwen stacy blah. same story. told different the second concept: time travel loop theory: people are able to go back and forth in time because the story loops. it happens over and over again. if they meets themselves in the past/future, the two of "them" are different. but their story is the same. the third, which is what is happening in the rebuild i think: orpheous and euridicyes, tumblrs version: tragedys are tradegys because they were dead from the start. the story repeats itself. over and over again. you cant escape. orpheus always looks back. its been told so many times by so many people. orpheus thinks hes been tricked; he looks back eurydice trips; he looks back hes scared; he looks back hes out, eurydices not; he looks back. she calls for him; he looks back he looks back he always looks back. the story stay the same. the way its told is different because we are ever changing. our opinions, our values. to continue to apeal to us. to continues to be the same story; the details change, because WE do. to continues to have the same impact to us that it did to the past generation; to continue To Be The Same Story, it happens again. but different. kaworu says that its the third one again. i look forward to meeting you ikari shinji. as if hes done this before. because its not just the same og nge. it's like the second loop. second iteration. the second time the storys been told or third whatever. maybe forth if you think of the eoe as a different time and not a sequal. so the story will be told differently. it'll be the same story. it is the same story. there is no escape.

[kxlinthesky]

Everyone who allowed the flashback exposition dump to be presented as a two-and-a-half minute long NGE style bullshit acid trip sequence owes everyone who watches Lance N' Masques an apology.

[terras-diary]

10.19.2023

reading: vampire hunter d v.1

watching: trigun (90s)

playing: final fantasy 14

my new student aide was cleared to work, yay! now what the hell am i going to give them to pass the time? ugh. plus i have to train her... i've never trained anyone before in my life.... halp

justin is going on a trip so we watched trigun tonight. we ended up watching the ship episode where it turns out they are plants and yadda yadda yadda.... it was the most memorable episode for me but rewatching it... it's literally just xenogears. just like how nge is xenogears. or maybe xenogears is nge and trigun. why is everything from the 90s like this lol. i still really liked it a lot though.

[redrowletart]

29 July 2021

I watched The End of Evangelion and then IMMEDIATELY had to draw them happy and okay. Anyway, they're going to Okinawa.

Finally watching NGE was really awesome, I’m genuinely so in love with its characters and how you get to watch them suffer. It makes me so sad and it’s horribly emotionally exhausting, but the payoff is just. So good. I do highly recommend the series. The whole thing kinda blew me back and I;m. Man. If anyone is interested in watching the original series + movie I do have a cw list that I can share.

Final thoughts, uhhhh, Shinji totally got that skirt from Misato’s wardrobe. Asuka is mad that the other two don’t know their way around Okinawa either. Rei is holding all of Asuka’s belongings, including her drink. The other drink isn’t Rei’s either; she’s just openly drinking Shinji’s.

Media description under the cut. Please do not repost or edit my art.

[Media Description:

This post features fanart for the anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion.

The image is a digital drawing of Ikari Shinji, Ayanami Rei and Asuka Langley Soryu. Shinji is in the middle, looking over a map, while Asuka leans over his shoulder to look as well. They seem lost. Rei stands to the side, sipping one of the two frozen drinks she’s holding along with several bags.

Their outfits are suited for a day trip or something similar. Shinji wears a light top with bunched up sleeves, tucked into what's probably one of Misato's skirts, as well as his usual white shoes. Asuka wears a short white dress, a light jean jacket, and sandals. Her sunglasses rest on the top of her head. Rei is wearing a large short-sleeved button up, baggy mom jeans, white sneakers and sunglasses, hiding her expression.

End of Media Description.]

[cat-npc]

oh yeah Tim definitely watched nge and was super fixated on it to the point where he would talk about making a replica of shinjis's suit and no one knew if he was joking or not.

I think he made Bruce sit and watch it with him too so Bruce was absolutely horrified and Tim would sit next to Bruce and go he's just like me fr.

He has all the merch too. No one but Bruce knows that he has multiple nge crayfish models in his room. He takes them on trips and on missions to take photos with and he has a whole album dedicated to photos of Bruce with a crayfish in his hand because Bruce is an enabler.

[gatual]

tag game! (´͈  ᵕ `͈ )  tagged by @staycgrls ty tay!!^^

name: bom!!!!!!

sign : capricorn

height : 173cm/5′8

time : 14.54

birthday : dec 30 =)

fav band/artist : ummm day6! and many others i cant rmr knjdsfn

last show : barakamon! currently rewatching tokyo ghoul and nge

last movie : its silly bc i watched it not long ago but i cant remember kdnjf the last one i rmr is the handmaiden ! a masterpiece <3

when i created my blog : this one in 2019, my first one around 2013

average hrs of sleep : lately around 5hrs :’) i have to improve my sleep schedule

followers : some of u

what i post : aes cats gg kpop and silly thoughts<3

do i get asks : sometimes🥰

other blogs : kimyongs bg kpop and kazuh-a for genshin but i barely use it lately

instruments : i wishedd

dream job : cat sitter

what am i wearing : ripped jeans white and blue shirt and black jacket bc it colddd🥶🥶🥶

dream trip : where my friends live :’) also to japan w chel im not forgetting abt that

fav song : lately i really like todo lamento by natalia lacunza vintage by niki and body talk by hyolyn 

im tagging @sweetyoungk @miniyeo @subeys @nocreat @melancholic and @savageday6 !

[gay-saltasaurus]

OH MY GOD I DONT EVEN HAVE THE WORDS TO EXPRESS HOW HAPPY I AM

I just finished Evangelion: Thrice Upon A Time AND OH MY GOD IT WAS EVERTHING I HOPED FOR SERIOUSLY I ALMOST FUCKING CRIED

I have desperately wanted an emotionally satisfying ending to the story of Evangelion since I watched the original NGE in high school, or at least something that felt like an ending. I'm so glad I got to see the concepts, characters, and themes that have always been there finally be fully realized. I'll have to watch a few more times to process all the symbolism and some of the more abstract stuff, but I'm looking forward to it!

Spoilers below

This movie really brought out the good old fashioned Evangelion acid trip, and possibly killed several render farms in the process. I would like to take a moment to remind everyone that in CGI, animation is JUST THE MOVEMENT. In anime, making a 3d object match a 2d image is generally a COMPOSITOR'S job. They are the backbone of the cgi industry and deserve your respect and probably a healthy amount of fear.

Anyway, some stuff I liked

Rei's growth coming from the support of other women

Shinji finally confronting Gendo. I'm glad he doesn't really turn around and get redemption, Shinji doesn't even outright forgive him. It's just about understanding and closure

There's more, but that's the big stuff. I'll make another post soon about how I feel about Evangelion as a whole, but for now I need to just process this

Shinji getting his shit together with the support of the people who care about him (instead of yelling at the bad thoughts until the depression goes away.) I'm glad the movie spends so much time in the village, the character stuff that happens there has to happen before the final battle, and it has the bonus it establishes the stakes

Asuka being a fucking badass

BABY ASUKA

[mr-double-downer]

Eva is weird because on one hand I think it's highly overrated and really doesn't mean anything beyond, ironically, "find a meaning for your life." But on the other, if you let yourself get invested, the end and ESPECIALLY End of Eva is like living vicariously through the emotions of Anno as he has a crisis. It's ugly and messy like a breakup and breakdown in animated form. But it's weirdly beautiful almost in the same way as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is.

But also there's a J Drama called Blue Blazes or Api Honoo or something and it's about these anime guys in college, it's autobiographical, and the creator went to school with Anno who (not him, a younger actor) is in the show. It's worth watching just for his scenes but the entire thing is very funny and good overall.

NGE is overrated because it was one of the first really big “modern” anime to make waves in the west. A lot of the symbolism is there because they thought it looked cool, and as another post points out there’s a lot of homages to the Ultra series considering it’s one of Anno’s favorite franchises (I can’t wait to see Shin Ultraman btw he did an amazing job with Shin Godzilla). It’s a mecha series that people forget is mecha and a large portion of the fanbase is insufferable because they don’t care for that aspect. Unit 01 is still one of my favorite mech designs period. I love the color scheme and the way they animated it running… oh hell yeah sends shivers down my spine too.

Plus if you’ve ever seen the original Gundam or read the sort of AU reboot remake The Origin then you can see that Shinji is basically Amuro but with less technical know how and more mental illness. The character arcs pretty similar and considering MSG had been for maybe almost 20 years by that point there’s no way it was a coincidence.

That being said, I watched when I was about 20 at an odd point in my life and found some of it to really resonate with me. Also End of Eva is a fucking trip. I have never had so many “what the fuck” moments in the span of 2 hours. It’s still an enjoyable show if you ignore the fanbase, as with most things

[limbuscompany]

my favorite image set on this site is the one where rei ayanami is out on a fishing trip and she’s shyly holding something up she caught. ive never watched nge but i hope she caught another fish today