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Forum - View topicThe Characters of NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
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Tetsujin
Posts: 216 |
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I know that Neon Genesis Evangelion was a groundbreaking series on a number of fronts. NGE essentially redefined the mecha genre and the drawing style used for the mechas (biomechanoid or otherwise).
NGE also added seriously cerebral elements which helped place the focus on the characters rather than the action. Although there is a sufficient amount of action, NGE worked hard at being a psychodrama. This could never happen without the actual characters. Other threads exist on topics such as the series as a whole (including related items such as movies and manga) as well as symbolism in particular. My concern is with the characters themselves. Were certain characters modeled after certain archetypes? Did the archetypes come from Japanese writings, did they originate from other cultures? Were these archetypes inspired by anime which by then had existed for generations? (I realize that the previous paragraph sounds vague. The inspiration for the characters had to come from somewhere, and given the symbolic or allegorical nature of NGE I thought the sources would be along those lines, especially in terms of anime.) Did characters from NGE themselves become archetypes for anime characters which followed? I was thinking that spoiler[Captain/Major] Misato Katsuragi had an influence in the development of Major Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell. I'm in the process of watching Eureka 7, and I find myself comparing Renton Thurston to Shinji Ikari when I know the similarities are minimal. I know that NGE was influential on several levels, and I was thinking this was so in terms of the characters we see. What I don't know is how influential NGE was in this regard as well as how strong the influences on NGE were. |
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frentymon
Forums Superstar
 Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
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I can see connections and similiaries in the characters between NGE and many other series, but I really didn't think Renton Thurston was similar to Shinji Ikari at all. Renton seems much more self-confident and decisive than Shinji, and when following a goal/dream, actually did amazing things with minimal fear. He is more outspoken than Shinji as well. Renton reminds me most of Naota from FLCL (the "I'm tired of this boring town" attitude). I guess when you are really intrigued by a series, you tend to make a lot of comparisons (happens to me really often). I think Rei was the most influencial of them all. A wave of quiet and mysterious girls with short hair started appearing in many different series after NGE. |
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Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
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Eureka 7 does seem to borrow heavilly from Eva (not as much as Rah Xephon of course), but it does plot it's own course, and I do think Renton is a much more developed and well adjusted character than Shinji was.
Eva did . . . crystalize(?) certain aspects of character design, and did it well enough that numerous series since have tried to copy them to the letter (boysterous mother figure, withdrawn and calm robot-girl, tom boyish and arogant girl, etc.), such as Rah Xephon, Dual, Eureka 7, etc., but the types did exist before Eva, just perhaps not in so refined a form, or in that exact combination. |
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one3rd
 Posts: 1820 Location: アメリカ |
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Given that the Ghost in the Shell manga was first serialized in May 1989, 6.5 years before Neon Genesis Evangelion aired, and the first Ghost in the Shell movie premiered only a month after NGE first aired, I'm going to have to disagree with you. |
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Tetsujin
Posts: 216 |
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You're right about the timing, so the example I provided was invalid. I was thinking only of the anime, so manga hadn't entered my mind. Of course, maybe the relationship between these two characters goes the other way. |
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omar235
 Posts: 1572 Location: Florida, Jacksonvile |
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I've seen connections with anime not only in there personalities but on there looks as well. I'm sure that newer anime may take similar ideas from older anime and put them in a diffrent world or time. In any case the older anime may be what inspire new ideas. Like music-Greenday and Blink 182 influenced many other punk rock bands. Its the same deal.
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