This is a really strong Anime with an emphasis on character development that many other (even much more recent) Anime cannot fathom the depth. The show is very bluntly about child abuse, unrealistic pressures, fear of failure, and most importantly, suicidal thoughts and heavy depression. Many have said that the writer/director was heavily depressed while working on the series, and that the show stems from his experiences. You can truly feel the pain and the self-loathing through the repetition of phrases like 'I hate everything' and 'I hate myself.' You can't always hear when someone else is suffering, but this Anime makes their feelings heard.
The series is quite chaotic, but it was still an excellent work of art that really tried to put something special out there for the world to understand. It tried to convey some of the deepest of most complex human emotions, and that is an especially difficult task.
The psychological ending (ep 25-26) was filled with primarily dialogue and it was quite tough to get through, however, it did make a lot of sense for the characters and was important for the coming of age and self-realizations the characters needed to have. But it was just portrayed in such a low-budget way that made it hard to enjoy, even with the context of the 1990s graphics.
For those watching on Netflix, I would recommend watching the series (the episodes on Netflix are the Director's Cuts with extra important bits on the last 4 episodes). Then watch The End of Evangelion afterwards. Personally, I think of EoE as a sort of alternate ending, so be prepared for a very different style of ending than presented in the original series. But still a very important contrasting perspective that accents the series quite nicely.
Review by NoahBlockedParent2021-08-10T19:53:02Z
This is a really strong Anime with an emphasis on character development that many other (even much more recent) Anime cannot fathom the depth. The show is very bluntly about child abuse, unrealistic pressures, fear of failure, and most importantly, suicidal thoughts and heavy depression. Many have said that the writer/director was heavily depressed while working on the series, and that the show stems from his experiences. You can truly feel the pain and the self-loathing through the repetition of phrases like 'I hate everything' and 'I hate myself.' You can't always hear when someone else is suffering, but this Anime makes their feelings heard.
The series is quite chaotic, but it was still an excellent work of art that really tried to put something special out there for the world to understand. It tried to convey some of the deepest of most complex human emotions, and that is an especially difficult task.
The psychological ending (ep 25-26) was filled with primarily dialogue and it was quite tough to get through, however, it did make a lot of sense for the characters and was important for the coming of age and self-realizations the characters needed to have. But it was just portrayed in such a low-budget way that made it hard to enjoy, even with the context of the 1990s graphics.
For those watching on Netflix, I would recommend watching the series (the episodes on Netflix are the Director's Cuts with extra important bits on the last 4 episodes). Then watch The End of Evangelion afterwards. Personally, I think of EoE as a sort of alternate ending, so be prepared for a very different style of ending than presented in the original series. But still a very important contrasting perspective that accents the series quite nicely.