Liberal Arts Major
But is it worth it? YOU DECIDE!
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~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Editor
Death & Rebirth - basically a recap. You don't need to watch this.
End of Evangelion - takes the place/is a heavily extended retelling of the last two episodes, depending on who you ask
Rebuild of Evangelion - there are four of these, but only two are even out in Japanese. An alternate continuity/retelling of the main series.
So it's really just 26 episodes and one movie.
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
So, is NGE top-tier stuff? Good for someone who hasn't seriously watched anything anime-y in five to seven years?
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~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Editor
Personally, I think the first half is pretty mediocre, but I really enjoy the second half. (This is the opposite of a lot of people, though.) Didn't really enjoy End of Evangelion, but again, I'm in the minority there.
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
I won't understand all of the anime cliche ripping myself but I guess I'll watch it to see what all the hype/chatter/confusion is about.
I'm easily convinced!
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~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Editor
Nah, that more applies to the normal ending of the series (episodes 25 and 26). Mind you, it somewhat applies to EoE as well, but I think generally people believe EoE is a step up. <_<
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Advanced
24 episodes and one movie. Watch the first 24 episodes, then watch End of Evangelion. The normal series' ending is not only spoilerific for EoE but really, really bad.
End of Evangelion on the other hand is a masterpiece.
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Seriously, knife him, hard. I recently started playing Type 1, so now I have a reason to carry around my big-ass pocket knife. ~Zergboy
Liberal Arts Major
Wasn't EoE made with that in mind?
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~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Advanced
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Seriously, knife him, hard. I recently started playing Type 1, so now I have a reason to carry around my big-ass pocket knife. ~Zergboy
Editor
bad opinion zone
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Advanced
If you're into the introspective, Jungian aspect of the show, it's alright. It really left a bad taste in my mouth with how terrible the animation quality had gotten. It even fits with the theme of the show, but it was just ridiculous.
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Seriously, knife him, hard. I recently started playing Type 1, so now I have a reason to carry around my big-ass pocket knife. ~Zergboy
DSB Moderator
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"Critics of lemmings tend to overlook how awesome it is to run off of tall things."
Message last edited by Eel on 10/6/2009 at 05:10:36 PM
Elite
go for the best.
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http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9593/hxh17713kw2.png
Liberal Arts Major
Based on the first episode, this isn't saying much.
Monster
I don't know what this is.
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~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
DSB Moderator
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"Critics of lemmings tend to overlook how awesome it is to run off of tall things."
Elite
I don't know what this is.
Its a drama/thriller/mystery, best anime ever created IMO. As good as some HBO shows.
Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a very talented Japanese doctor and he`s praised by all doctors in Germany. But after he saw how a woman cried for her man who died because someone else got more priority, he changed. He decides he wouldn`t let anyone pass; everyone is equal.
But one day, Tenma has to work on a little boy who was shot during the murder of his parents. He decides he will save the life of the boy, because he was first in line.
But then, the children disappear .. and the murders begin. Tenma, feeling both guilt and worry, goes off to investigate the case since he feels that it somehow relates to him ... and the horror begins, for both Tenma and everyone he meets in search for the children...
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http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9593/hxh17713kw2.png
Liberal Arts Major
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~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Advanced
My usual list of anime suggestions:
-Hajime No Ippo (76 episodes), Champion Road (movie), Kimura Vs. Mashiba (movie #2), and New Challenger (26 episodes) in that order. Subs are better.
-Serial Experiments Lain (13 episodes). Haven't seen the subs but has a wonderfully creepy dub for a wonderful and creepy show.
-Cowboy Bebop (26 episodes and one movie; dub is required; highly likely you've watched this)
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Seriously, knife him, hard. I recently started playing Type 1, so now I have a reason to carry around my big-ass pocket knife. ~Zergboy
Liberal Arts Major
Well, on the flip side, I expect they're only ~20 minutes long each, so that's a manageable... ~25 hours.
Serial Experiments Lain
I've heard of this one.
highly likely you've watched this
Indeed I have not, though I have heard of it, mostly through ads on Adult Swim.
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~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
New Moderator
Haha you wish. >_>
Monster is hard to watch in one sitting because it's a thinking anime. You can't just mindlessly watch fights like in, say, Bleach or something. I actually did marathon Monster and my brain was on overdrive for the next few days from all the WHAT moments. <_<
That said, Monster is probably the best anime I've seen. Very good plot, detailed characters, nice animation, atmospheric music, and little filler. I highly recommend it. (Note that I say best as in 'best quality' and not 'my favorite' or else I'm sure I'll get people asking me about it later. >_>;;;)
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Editor
Statler: Oh come on, Bleach is a thinking anime too.
Waldorf: Yeah, the whole time you watch, you're thinking about how terrible it is!
Both: Dohohohohohohoho!
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
I don't think I could do it in one sitting, partially because my schedule wouldn't allow it and partially because if I don't leave my apartment or eat or sleep or anything for 25 hours I would be very displeased. >_> I was concerning myself with how long it would take to watch the series over some arbitrary expanse of time, probably ~2 weeks. Although I suppose I could do it in a week if I had nothing else to do. I like to leave reflection to after I finish a series.
not 'my favorite'
What's your favorite?
Statler: Oh come on, Bleach is a thinking anime too.
Waldorf: Yeah, the whole time you watch, you're thinking about how terrible it is!
Both: Dohohohohohohoho!
I lol'd.
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~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Liberal Arts Major
Just, if you watch it, try not to look at it as a mech anime, that's... going about it wrong. The characters are the key.
And Shinji is an incredible character.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Advanced
Waldorf: Yeah, the whole time you watch, you're thinking about how terrible it is!
Both: Dohohohohohohoho!
ilu
Well, I'm for you watching Evangelion. And for what it's worth (probably not much!), I'd say it's the best anime I've ever seen.
correct
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Seriously, knife him, hard. I recently started playing Type 1, so now I have a reason to carry around my big-ass pocket knife. ~Zergboy
New Moderator
That is a really hard call to make. I'm tempted to say Higurashi or Nanoha, but I also really like Rozen Maiden. I've only seen a bit of Blood+ but it's off to a good start so far.
You can see why I distinguished though. There's no way Nanoha would be the best anime I've seen, I just like the premises and characters so much that it's definitely one of my favorites.
Statler: Oh come on, Bleach is a thinking anime too.
Waldorf: Yeah, the whole time you watch, you're thinking about how terrible it is!
Both: Dohohohohohohoho!
^5 for a worthwhile joke.
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Liberal Arts Major
The dub voices are really, really bad. When I first heard Shinji speak I was ready to jump ship, but stayed because I wanted to finish the story. Fuyutsuki's voice was similarly jarring.
Spoilers ahead, on the off chance that somebody reading this topic hasn't seen NGE.
takes the place/is a heavily extended retelling of the last two episodes
My impression was that 25 and 26 depict a number of characters during the short period of instrumentality after the third impact, focusing on Shinji, and that End of Evangelion told the actual story.
I certainly didn't the first time I watched it. >_>
Neither did I. Nor do I foresee ever being familiar enough with anime to notice this.
Personally, I think the first half is pretty mediocre, but I really enjoy the second half. (This is the opposite of a lot of people, though.)
The first half was interesting to me because it was clear that the story was building to something. Once that something began coming together, I began to lose interest. I think Kaji's death was the turning point for me. However, I liked Misato, Asuka, and Ikari's participation throughout. Rei too, but she didn't have much screen time.
Didn't really enjoy End of Evangelion, but again, I'm in the minority there.
I didn't enjoy End of Evangelion, either (terrible voice actors aside). Too much facepalming.
I think generally people believe EoE is a step up.
Ehhhhh.
The normal series' ending is not only spoilerific for EoE but really, really bad.
I watch the normal ending first and didn't find it to be notably spoileriffic at all. Basically the only plot points revealed are that Misato and Ritsuko die - not exactly earth-shattering revelations. It does prominently feature instrumentality, but at that point nobody really knows what that is, so that's not really a spoiler at all.
If you're into the introspective, Jungian aspect of the show, it's alright.
Actually, the existentialist themes are what really stood out to me (not exactly surprising for a show that names an episode The Sickness Unto Death). Big fan of existentialism, here.
It really left a bad taste in my mouth with how terrible the animation quality had gotten. It even fits with the theme of the show, but it was just ridiculous.
Yeah, the whole "well folks we ran out of the animation budget so here's some doodles instead!" thing was unpleasant to watch, but oh well, in my opinion episode 25 and parts of 26 made up for it. Personally I thought the injection of photographs etc. into the animation was a lot worse.
Yes, but it's much more enjoyable to see EoE first is what I'm saying.
I'm not sure this is the case. I think 25 and 26 are more enjoyable when you have no idea what's going on; it allows the themes expressed within them to take on a life of their own, if you will. Putting it in the context of the overarching story dulls the vividness of its reflections.
Really didn't improve my view of anime at all
It didn't improve mine either. However, I'm not sure the series could be put into any other medium (other than manga) without changing significantly (for the worse). A book would just suck. Live-action would make the creepy, haunting imagery merely horrifying (see: Rei clones). Episodes 25 and 26 probably couldn't be done at all, and the crazy robot monster fights would probably overwhelm the superior aspects of the show.
Just, if you watch it, try not to look at it as a mech anime, that's... going about it wrong. The characters are the key.
I concur. In fact, the mechs are probably best thought of as plot devices and foils for the characters.
And Shinji is an incredible character.
This is false. Shinji is just a whiny attention whore who diverts resources from actually interesting plot lines (e.g. Asuka).
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~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Advanced
I can agree with you there. Asuka is my 3rd favorite character next to Misato and Kaji.
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"Glide, my inner shadow, light and dark above you...TRANSCEND THE STARS!" ~Golbez, Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Liberal Arts Major
But I'm going to come to Shinji's defense here a bit. I'm not claiming he's likable. I'm saying he's a great character. There's a difference. But I won't really argue on this unless you really want me to because I know that for as polarizing as Evangelion itself is, Shinji takes it to another level.
I'd put Shinji around 3 or 4 in terms of characters in Evangelion.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
She's certainly my favorite. I'd say
Asuka
Misato
Kaji
Rei
Ikari
are my top five, in order. Ikari and Rei are basically on the level of plot devices though, so the list should really just stop at Kaji.
I'd like to hear why you believe Shinji is a great character. I'm curious. Midway through the season I would have agreed with you, but over time he became less interesting to me. I preferred episode 25 to 26 mostly because I found Shinji's experience in instrumentality inferior to the others'. Once it got to the whole "Shinji must decide the fate of humaaaaaaaaaaaaanityyyyyy!!" thing in End of Evangelion, I really began to dislike the character.
On the flip side, I initially just found Asuka annoying and a pain to watch, but after a while I reversed my impression.
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~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Message last edited by Ogordemir99 on 10/8/2009 at 08:17:12 PM
Liberal Arts Major
My Top 5 would probably be
T1. Kaworu
T1. Asuka
T3. Gendo Ikari
T3. Shinji
5. Kaji
I know Kaworu is probably incredibly controversial given the utter lack of screentime he has, but I honestly think he does more with the like ~15 minutes of screentime than most characters could do with say 15 hours, perhaps not most Evangelion characters, but nonetheless, Kaworu is so incredibly efficient with the time he is given. I do feel bad putting him above/in a tie with Asuka though, because she hangs around that level for a fairly large part of the entire series, which is arguably a lot more impressive.
Regarding Shinji, I thought it was a very clear depiction on how someone would actually handle being thrown into that situation, and that how he tries to deal with, both on a large scale, and in his more mundane activities to be quite striking. You can watch how his mood shifts, kind of rising towards the middle of the series before being brutally crushed in a never-ending spiral.
I mean, yes, he doesn't handle it at all "heroically" by the latter stages, but hell, could anyone with even a semblance of believability do so?
I mean, the first step I had to go through on all this was more or less what I suggested earlier, ignore the mechs entirely, they're not important except as metaphors and symbolism and what have you. Evangelion is mainly about the characters and how dysfunctional they are, and how they try to overcome their own flaws both within themselves and relating to others, and typically how they end up failing to overcome it.
I think Asuka does this the best, but that Shinji is also way up there.
I actually have to admit yours is the first issue I've seen about Shinji in regard to how the focus gets put on him and his importance regarding the fate of humanity. Which is kind of odd to me, because I can definitely see where you're coming from. But regarding Shinji himself, I don't actually count that against him, or rather, I don't count it like that. It's just another thing thrown at him on top of everything else.
I can definitely understand a complaint that the focus could have been better spent elsewhere on a "better" character, but I can't really call that a strike against Shinji himself. Perhaps the decisions regarding the plot, but not Shinji's character.
And also, and arguably the biggest reason as to my opinion, is that I sympathized with Shinji. See, I think this may be where we differed. You said you felt Shinji was a great character early but then towards the end he dropped off. I sympathized with Shinji early, so when he did go through his freefall at the end, and make no mistake, he did collapse, and EoE Shinji is in a sense, to me, an "abomination", because I sympathized with him early, and watched the fall happen over time (although it goes into overdrive and well beyond the point of no return after Episode 24), I saw how and why it happened. Shinji didn't just disintegrate for no reason, it was a process and watching a character I had sympathized with get so thoroughly broken like that...
...Hmm, that went on much longer than I intended, and I fear I stopped making any sense in that, if I was at any point ever making any sense.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?