Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion some people called it as NGE for short or Evangelion to make easier remember the title. Shin Seiki Evangelion 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン for Japanese title of NGE. Evangelion is a mecha anime series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production directed by Hideaki Anno. The Evangelion series broadcast from October 1995 to March 1996. Evangelion consists of 24 episodes and a duration of 24 minutes per episode. The Japan Media Arts Festival in 2006 ranked it as the most popular anime of all time.

In the year 2015, the world at the brink of destruction. Humanity's last hope lies in the organization called “Nerv”. Nerv is a secret agency under the United Nation and one of its missions is to save humanity from destruction. Nerv is headed by Gendou Ikari who seeks pilots who can synchronize with Evangelion to release the full potential of the Eva units. Aiding in the defense is Misato Katsuragi as Head of Tactical Operations and Ritsuko Akagi as Chief Scientist. 

Shinji Ikari, the son of Gendou Ikari, was asked to come to Tokyo, Japan also known as Tokyo 3. He was picked up by Misato to bring Shinji to Nerv headquarters. For the first time Shinji met his father Gendou for 14 years with no contact or communication, asked to become the third child or also known as a third pilot of Evangelion.  As Shinji almost denied the work or mission given to him by his father. Shinji accepted it because he doesn’t want to see Rei Ayanami to pilot the Eva unit in her critical condition. Shinji pilots Evangelion unit 01 for the first time without any battle or training experience. The fate of humankind is on the shoulders of a 14-year-old Shinji Ikari.

One of the most popular anisong on 90’s is “Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis” (A Cruel Angel Thesis) by Yoko Takahashi. It’s been played around the time of the opening song of Evangelion. The closing theme consists of an old English song of “Fly Me to the Moon” and performed by a lot of artists around but for me I really like the version of Megumi Hayashibara because it’s Rei Ayanami seiyuu who performed it. In terms of battle sounds it feels realistic, the destroyed buildings around, the sound of the mecha movement.

In animation the fluid movement of the Evangelion really stands out for me, something I don’t really see at mecha battle scenes. It also explained what Evangelion is all about: an angel that has been clamped to control by a special chosen pilot to sync at Eva unit that will be inserted at the back neck of Evangelion. Strong advice is to watch it carefully to really understand how Evangelion works and how they fight against different Angels (term what they call to the enemy). 

Neon Genesis Evangelion is not your typical mecha anime to watch. A lot of disturbing revelations when you watch the whole series something you don’t understand easily or finding out what it is that thing or why it existed. Re-watching the series will help you to understand the story all about or just watch the episode one at a time no need to rush. The deep and dark of the story makes this series top for me because of the twist and turns and why Angel exists in the first place. Why choose a child pilot to control Eva unit. As much as possible I will not spoil the story for the people who have not yet watched the series. 

Neon Genesis Evangelion celebrates its 25th anniversary. A lot of things happened but this series never gets tired to watch for mecha fans around you will appreciate this series a lot of great battle scenes to enjoy. The flow of the story makes this series different and difficult but interesting at the end. It deserves a big recommendation for the people who want something different. A great sci-fi series to watch and one of the great 90’s anime that you can enjoy.

Information:

Title:

• Neon Genesis Evangelion

• 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン

• Shin Seiki Evangelion

Type: Series (24 episodes)

Airing: October 4, 1995 to March 27, 1996

Studio: Gainax, Tatsunoko Production

Source Story: Original (anime)

Genre: Action, Dementia, Drama, Mecha, Psychological, Sci-Fi

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Song:

Opening:

• "Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis (残酷な天使のテーゼ, A Cruel Angel's Thesis)" by Yoko Takahashi

Ending:

• "Fly Me to the Moon" by Claire

• "Fly Me to the Moon (Rei #5 Version)" by Megumi Hayashibara (ep 5)

• "Fly Me to the Moon (Rei #6 Version)" by Megumi Hayashibara (ep 6)

• "Fly Me to the Moon -4 Beat Version-" by Yoko Takahashi (eps 7,12)

• "Fly Me to the Moon (Aya Bossa Techno Version)" by Aya (eps 8,22)

• "Fly Me to the Moon (Yoko Takahashi Acid Bossa Version)" by Yoko Takahashi (eps 9,13)

• "Fly Me to the Moon (Yoko Takahashi Version)" by Yoko Takahashi (eps 10,14,21)

• "Fly Me to the Moon -4 Beat Version (Off-Vocal)-" by [Instrumental] (ep 15)

• "Fly Me to the Moon (Off-Vocal Version)" by [Instrumental] (eps 16,24)

• "Fly Me to the Moon (Aki Jungle Version)" by Aki (ep 17)

Director: Hedeaki Anno

Character and Voice Actor:

• Souryuu, Asuka Langley (Miyamura, Yuko)

• Ayanami, Rei (Hayashibara, Megumi)

• Ikari, Shinji (Ogata, Megumi)

• Katsuragi, Minato (Mitsuishi, Kotono)

• Akagi, Ritsuko (Yamaguchi, Yuriko)

• Ikari, Gendou (Tachiki, Fumihiko)