INTRODUCTION TO ANIME: "Neo Genesis Evangelion"

I have found myself mentioning and recommending an anime called ‘Neo Genesis Evangelion’ (NGE for short) on this site almost every time the subject of anime comes up. I have just realized that I should probably write a little article about the show, and why I think some people should watch what's undoubtedly one of my favorite anime series of all time. (I also need to warn people that the subject matter is not for everyone. There is no overt nudity - but there is fan service- the violence is not too over-the-top, but it would be rated PG or PG-13 by our standards. Oh, and it did have a short run on adult swim.

The themes of NGE have to do with religion and the human psyche and - for this reason - some religious people might find it offensive. So be warned: I will try not to give away too much of the plot but there will be some spoilers.

On the surface, NGE is just one of the many Mecha shows that have come out of Japan over the years. It has the standard stuff: giant robots, teenage pilots and the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Through 25 episodes and two movies the story of the pilots and their Mecha unfold.

It starts like most Mecha anime, with our main character - 15 year old Shinji Ikari - in a city waiting for his ride when out of nowhere something attacks the city. The city is Tokyo-3 and the attack is a giant monster and all is normal for this type of anime, even when his ride - a twenty something Masato Katsuragi - shows up in her sports car and picks him up. During the drive to Nerv HQ we learn that Shinji’s father had sent for him and that he is the head of Nerv an UN sanctioned organization.

Nothing out-of-the-ordinary. The animation is good for the mid 90’s when this show was made, and for most of the first episode it follows the tried and true giant robot plot of dozens of shows that had come before it. The dysfunction starts when Shinji is brought to the Mecha EVA unit 01. He is told that he has to pilot the robot and fight the monster. Again this is not to far off the beaten track for Mecha shows, but the way it happens tells you something is different.

Shinji refuses - in a very whiny irritating way - and his father (who is on a catwalk some fifty feet above him) is abusive and dismissive of Shinji and orders the lead pilot of the test unit to come and pilot unit 01. Shinji is not going to be the brave gung ho pilot that saves the world as in most anime of this type. The test pilot is Rei Ayanami, and he's on a hospital gurney with an IV and has bloody bandages on her limbs and head and is in serous pain and can'tt walk, let alone pilot an EVA! Shinji decides to pilot the EVA and thus starts our journey through the world of NGE.

The Earth of NGE is a post-cataclysm world where we are told half of all human and animal life was destroyed