Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of those animes that has long existed in my mind as a hallmark of the genre, but has never quite found its way onto my screen; that is, until its recent addition to Netflix. Ignoring any and all reading about its content, but with high expectations, I jumped into the first episode, and found myself part of an in medias res storyline that perhaps I was not prepared for, but ultimately, was still entertained by.
"Creatures are here, and they're killing us" is essentially the tagline of Episode 1, and little time is wasted otherwise. Character interactions mainly center on protagonist Shinji Ikari and his nebulous summoning to his father for the sole purpose of piloting the titular robot (Oh, so THAT's where Pacific Rim got it from - makes sense). He's a fairly innocuous central character with not an immense amount of personality, but it's Episode 1, and forgivable.
The art style, even for a 90's anime, is high quality, with the Angel being menacing, and surely packed with surprises for later on. There seems to be a "whatever it takes" moto permeating the beginning of the series, and it works well, although the threat and extent of the Angels seems strangley hidden early on. It's bizarre, and limited in scope for how it should, but ultimately a tease for more to come. The ending seems a bit far-fetched, but the faster we can get to fighting robots and monsters, the better off we all are.
Episode 1 of Neon Genesis Evangelion may slightly underwhelm in its fantastical nature, but doesn't in what it sets up: An enemy, a protagonist, a father/son dynamic, and ultimately, a world to be saved. 6/10
Review by Kyle ParkerBlockedParentSpoilers2019-08-12T00:32:20Z
Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of those animes that has long existed in my mind as a hallmark of the genre, but has never quite found its way onto my screen; that is, until its recent addition to Netflix. Ignoring any and all reading about its content, but with high expectations, I jumped into the first episode, and found myself part of an in medias res storyline that perhaps I was not prepared for, but ultimately, was still entertained by.
"Creatures are here, and they're killing us" is essentially the tagline of Episode 1, and little time is wasted otherwise. Character interactions mainly center on protagonist Shinji Ikari and his nebulous summoning to his father for the sole purpose of piloting the titular robot (Oh, so THAT's where Pacific Rim got it from - makes sense). He's a fairly innocuous central character with not an immense amount of personality, but it's Episode 1, and forgivable.
The art style, even for a 90's anime, is high quality, with the Angel being menacing, and surely packed with surprises for later on. There seems to be a "whatever it takes" moto permeating the beginning of the series, and it works well, although the threat and extent of the Angels seems strangley hidden early on. It's bizarre, and limited in scope for how it should, but ultimately a tease for more to come. The ending seems a bit far-fetched, but the faster we can get to fighting robots and monsters, the better off we all are.
Episode 1 of Neon Genesis Evangelion may slightly underwhelm in its fantastical nature, but doesn't in what it sets up: An enemy, a protagonist, a father/son dynamic, and ultimately, a world to be saved. 6/10