Forum - View topicNG Evangelion and its "interesting" characters.
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ethanftw
 Posts: 107 |
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***WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS****
You may be wondering why I used the words "interesting" to represent the characters of Evangelion. Well, I really do enjoy NGE but it has some of the most annoying cast in my eyes. I'll explain... First off, Asuka. Oh boy, Asuka, dear lord. I have never wanted to punch someone so hard in the nose before (except maybe Pan from Dragonball GT). All she does is freaking whine, and prove to be an even bigger ass than she was in the episode before. The way she thinks that she is better than everyone and everything just becomes really annoying. I actually found myself cheering when the 14th angel (I think it was) stabbed her EVA and cut her arms off, hoping that she would be severely injured. Lol. Anyway, moving on. Shinji. He holds the prize for the biggest malcontent-ed camelchode in the series. I honestly just wanted to travel to the local market and purchase a training bra and bottle of midol for the kid. All in hopes that he would pull up his big girl panties, and hop back in the EVA instead of riding around in the subway all day again listening to the same song. I understand that he has a rough past, but I feel like he never really mans up and copes with it as well as he should. He tries too and then goes back to balling up in self pity. Gendo, Shinji's father. What a self promoted peon. I honestly was on the edge of my seat when Shinji refused to kill the EVA (which was then classified as the 13th angel), and Gendo decided to implement the dummy system and make the EVA goes balls to the wall hulk style. Then proceeding to bash in the face of the 13th angel and Toji like a damn gorilla pouncing a mouse. The way he treats Shinji makes me rage, and when his past is revealed I kind of eased up a bit, but still nonetheless, they have less of a relationship than Slim Fast and Rosie O'Donnell. Ritsuko I have mixed feelings about. She seems like she genuinely cares, but she also doesn't. She various times was willing to sacrifice a life for something in the name of science. Like she was damn Dr. Victor creating Frankenstein. It made me laugh a few times when Misato smacked her like Chris Brown beat Rihanna (too soon?). She does show emotion towards Shinji near the end of the series, but I feel like a lot of that was just because he was the only one who could really connect with Unit 01. Anyway, the whole cast for some reason just made me rage. I love NGE, it's actually one of my favorite anime. However, a lot of the characters just make me rant for some reason. Do any of you feel the same way? Discuss. |
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wcsinn
 Posts: 186 |
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No, actually I was wondering what it is about Evangelion you actually like, and what you think the series would have been without an "interesting" cast?
Evangelion is all about the cast and their issues and imperfections - what kind of story would there be if: 1. Askua was the sweet, charming girl next door 2. Shinji was a "real" man, never quibbled, never questioned - just kicked ass whenever asked to 3. Gendo had been Ward Cleaver - the stereotypical "perfect" dad 4. Ritsuko had been the perfect doctor with no morale quandaries The issues and problems the cast deal with ARE the series, had they been "normal" there would be very little story left to tell. It's a bit like Jack Sparrow when the soldier tells him he was the worst pirate he'd ever heard of - "But you have heard of me". If Asuka wasn't a bitch, Shinji a whiny little wimp and Gendo the consummate bastard you probably wouldn't remember them at all. |
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Raftina
 Posts: 3282 |
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A still unusual and good series. Those who harp upon the mentally disturbed characters and unresolved story miss the outstanding super robot structure in which such elements were presented--and what most likely hooked the initial audience in the first place. Evangelion distinguishes itself from the typical super robot story of its time and preceding in many ways: 1. The design of the mecha resembles a wiry human being with a bestial head, highly stylized compared to the typical blocky mecha. 2. The evas were made by large government organizations and has a support staff and facility of matching size. The former gives us opportunities to present bureaucratic competition such as the JA fiasco. The latter gives careful attention to the maintenance of the mechas. The typical secret scientist's pet project or relic of an ancient era super robots do not have these elements as prominently or as realistically. 3. The evas are equipped with oversized combat knives and assault rifles, contrast with the more typical futuristic beam cannon or oversized longswords. The evas given an appearance of modern military weapons rather than mythical knights. It successfully combines many popular real robot elements with a super robot. 4. The kaiju are highly diversified, ranging from a giant humanoid to a floating octahedron to a ring of light. They approach in various ways, ranging from walking over the mountain, from Tokyo bay, to from orbit in as a mass driver. The varied functions of the kaiju and their methods of attack are far more interesting than a clash of a giant robot and various giant lobsters, praying mantises, etc.
This argument relies on false dichotomy, but I have to run for the moment. For the vastly abridged version, just contrast NGE to RoE or Eureka 7. |
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ethanftw
Posts: 107 |
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I'm going to have to agree with most of what you have said here. What really made me a fan of the series and drew me into the show was the EVAs. I constantly wanted to know what tut next angel was like, what it would do, and how the EVAs would evolve. I did like the cast, its just I wish they would have been different in the end. I honestly didn't care too much why the hell asuka was a bitch or why shinji had sand in his vagina. I was in it for the EVAs. |
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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Re-Take. The cast still had their share of problems, still very human and flawed, but they weren't nearly so insufferable throughout the story, and by the end I actually kind of liked everyone. Even Gendo. |
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SgtMustang
Posts: 158 |
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A big part of what makes Eva great is hating the chars
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doctordoom85
 Posts: 2094 |
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Yeah, for me, Eva will always be about the story (which IS resolved in EoE) and characters, not the robots. Let's face it, it's not the robots that STILL have most people talking about the show all these years later. In fact, the combat really wasn't that exciting save for a few battles in the show, the way the Angels were designed often made the fights very simplistic or relying on one strategy to take them down. This is one point where the Rebuild movies are superior, with the higher animation more fluid and interesting battles were done.
But anyway, honestly, do we really NEED yet another thread where someone talks about how they don't like the fact that a good deal of the protagonists in Eva don't fall into the typical "hero" type? It's been done so many times. A major problem I have with many people's attitude towards Shinji is the idea that the only reason they want the character to change is because they don't personally care for the character type he is. Take The Sopranos. Tony is no different from Shinji (well, aside from being a villain-protagonist obviously), he never grows as a human being, he never really overcomes his psychological issues, etc. But when the show ended, you didn't hear anyone saying, "man, why did Tony never evolve? Why was he the same ill-tempered, unsatisfied guy like he was at the beginning? LAME." It just seems to me that people can't tolerate the character type, regardless of the fact if the show is justified in never having that character experience personal growth. Fiction should be varied and explore all sorts of protagonists, not just your typical heroic lead, and it also shouldn't have to conform to the idea that protagonists should always experience positive change/growth as the story progresses. And really, ethanftw, I can live without knowing you were cheering about a 14-year old girl being severely injured just because she had an attitude (which they thoroughly justified in the flashbacks later). I know she's fictional, but I'm always a little disturbed when people "cheer" the pain/death of people who aren't flat-out villains. If you want them to simply leave the story, fine, but to go out like that? There's a line, man. |
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ethanftw
Posts: 107 |
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Lmao, I both laughed at some of this and greatly respected it. I do agree that anime needs a wider variety of exploration. You can't always re-invent the wheel. I do agree with you, I kind of just didn't care much for Shinji's personality from the get go. I do like at the end that he realized that he could be someone. I just didn't like the amount of self pity he wallowed in. All in all, I really didn't mind the cast that much. It was just the fact that they didn't experience too much growth from the beginning to the end. And as for the part about her being almost killed and me cheering, it really was more of a joke than anything. Truth be told, I would have been kind of shocked had she really died. It did, however, help drive home my point that her character really got on my nerves, and that is exactly what I was trying to do. Please don't take it so to heart. I do value and respect your opinion though. However, there is one thing I slightly disagree with. Granted, yes a lot of the battles were short and sweet and relied on literally a single fluid motion to take out an enemy and get the job done, I rather enjoyed the battle scenes. For me, anime is always greater when there is action. While the battles left a little to be desired, I enjoyed the whole idea of the Evas. Which is why I disagree with the part of your comment that "it's not the robots that STILL have most people talking about the show all these years later". I say this because the idea of the evas was incredibly awesome. It was something different than your average mecha that is more or less a spin off of some sort of Gundam. The whole close range combat and knife idea sort of made them realistic. As well as the power supply, so it meant that time was always of the essence, and the fact that they were of human like structure and qualities. I just personally totally dig the evas and the different sort of qualities that NGE brought to the table as opposed to the characters and the sort of story. I do however value you opinion though, as everyone is entitled to their own. 
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One-Eye
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The technical merits you point out are true and yet the story is not about mechas. All of this stuff is just the backdrop to the drama going on.
Ugh. |
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ethanftw
Posts: 107 |
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I have a feeling I'm angering some of you, and truly this wasn't my intention. I'm simply expressing my opinion, and I see it varies quite a lot from a vast amount of you. I simply enjoyed NGE for the evas. The way that they were different from a lot of the other anime. The characters and the story was not as appealing to me as a lot of other animes. I did enjoy it however, and the story was entertaining at times. I just didn't enjoy it the same way that a lot of you did. |
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One-Eye
Posts: 2319 |
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Nope, not angry. You feel the Evas were really cool, and that really stayed with you and I agree they were original. No problem there. I'm just not as dismissive of the cast even though they are frustrating they are all damaged characters that at times draw my compassion. As far as your line about Chris Brown beating Rhianna, well my gut reaction is Ugh as it didn't sit too well. That's all. |
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wcsinn
Posts: 186 |
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It seems to me that much of your (and others) points of dis-pleasure rest on the fact that you want Evangelion to be a typical (and predictable) mecha series, when in fact the mechs are not the core of the story at all, it is a story about individuals and their issues. I know you disagree with that take, as is you right, but I doubt that anyone except hard core mecha fans care about what type of head the Evas had or their weapons. These are simply plot points, without them, or if they were changed substantially, the story as a whole would be largely unchanged. Change the cast's phobias and idiosyncrasies and you have an entirely different story. BTW - are you of the "I liked the ending" camp or the "I hated the ending camp? Just curious. |
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ethanftw
Posts: 107 |
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That is where I just differ from most people about the series I suppose. While I did see compassion for them, I also felt like they rarely tried to help themselves, which made me lose some of the compassion I had for them. However, once Rei started to put the pieces of her existence together it did make me feel sorry for her, I won't lie. I was pretty glad she broke (or tried to break I guess) the commanders glasses at the end. He really only used her, which made me just have that much less respect for his overall character. Truly I was hoping for some sort of "make-up" between Shinji and his father that never happened. I guess I'm one of those people who likes to see a happy ending, but doesn't hate it if it doesn't happen. |
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ethanftw
Posts: 107 |
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I actually agree with all of that. I know that the evas weren't really anything but a "side note" if you will. They were only part of a bigger plot. I did enjoy the story though, don't get me wrong. As for the ending, at first when I watched episode 25 and 26 I literally was like "what the hell just happened?". I was confused because it was like Shinji was in a room talking to himself or thinking to himself or something, hell I don't know. Though after I re watched it, and read deeper into the story online and different places, I actually came to enjoy the ending. It kind of gave me that "the character actually changed" feeling to some degree. Shinji realizing the meaning for his existence kind of gave me a better respect for him. Though I will admit that I wanted to sort of see where the relationships blossomed, and I didn't get to. This is especially so between Shinji and his father. I was hoping for some sort of "make up" or atleast some exchanged words but nothing ever amounted to it. It's kind of one of those endings where you, the viewer, have to decide for yourself what happens. Which I both like and dislike at the same time. In short, yes, I fairly enjoyed the ending. |
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Unicorn_Blade
 Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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I must say I have been always a bit surprised at people criticising Shinji so often. How many people out there as 14 year old or so kids would march into a mecha and feel comfortable with slaughtering angels, their friends, etc, with smiles on their faces.
One of the reasons why the cast was interesting was because it was a spectrum of people with real and above all, realistic issues- not an idealised bunch, but characters with problems that got in their way. I personally found it more credible than if Gendo was a great father and Asuka a girl next door type. I guess to survive in such environment you needed selfishness and a lot of it alongside a few other not-so-nice characteristics, so somehow, I the characters fitted in perfectly in the series. |
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