Neon Genesis Evangelion came out during the mid-90s and popularized anime and otaku culture.
Many anime make references to it, and the fans are some of the most dedicated among all of anime.
Despite some criticisms, it still is a realistic character drama.
Neon Genesis Evangelion has an iconic status very few anime that aren’t battle shounen ever achieve. It is one of the best-selling anime franchises of all time, and has many spin-offs, parodies and other content.
While it is obviously not everyone’s cup of tea, you should watch it at least once if you consider yourself an otaku, and here’s why.
The cultural background
Evangelion has come out during a very interesting time. The amount of TV anime produced has slowly been going down, and the interest towards anime has been slowly dwindling — arguably, the economic crisis in Japan during the 90s had a heavy impact on the industry.
Evangelion’s popularity was a phenomenon of a kind that wasn’t seen before. While otaku culture existed even before the series, the amount of anime fans, both in Japan and outside, grew significantly with the release of the series.
This made investors interested in the medium once again, and some fans even credit the series with saving the industry altogether.
A very dedicated fandom
Even outside of its impact on the anime industry at the time, Evangelion’s prominence cannot be overstated.
Many anime have made references to the show, directly or indirectly, and it actually started a short-lived trend for psychological and philosophical anime that persisted through the late 90s and early 00s — series like Serial Experiments Lain and Ergo Proxy come to mind.
Moreover, Evangelion spawned a very unusual fandom around itself. Parts of its worldbuilding are left unexplained and intentionally vague, and fans have been speculating about them for almost 30 years.
There are blogs and websites documenting even the smallest details and interviews with the creators — Evangelion fans are unmatched in their dedication.
Why you might like or dislike the show
Yes, you might not end up liking Evangelion (although it wouldn’t be as popular as it is if it wasn’t liked by most of its viewers). The series is often criticized for being too confusing — but that’s part of the charm.
Yes, the last 2 episodes are weird and barely animated because the anime ran out of budget, but they’re a work of art in their own way, and the movie actually elaborates on them.
Shinji, despite being criticized for “whining too much”, is actually a very realistically-written character, as he’s a teenager with a lot of problems who suddenly finds himself in a position of the world’s supposed savior.
One of the main reasons why Evangelion has been so critically acclaimed has always been its realistic character writing, and even if you don’t care about the world and cultural impact, you should watch it for that.
There’s a reason it’s considered a classic.
Summary:
Neon Genesis Evangelion came out during the mid-90s and popularized anime and otaku culture.
Many anime make references to it, and the fans are some of the most dedicated among all of anime.
Despite some criticisms, it still is a realistic character drama.
Neon Genesis Evangelion has an iconic status very few anime that aren’t battle shounen ever achieve. It is one of the best-selling anime franchises of all time, and has many spin-offs, parodies and other content.
While it is obviously not everyone’s cup of tea, you should watch it at least once if you consider yourself an otaku, and here’s why.
The cultural background
Evangelion has come out during a very interesting time. The amount of TV anime produced has slowly been going down, and the interest towards anime has been slowly dwindling — arguably, the economic crisis in Japan during the 90s had a heavy impact on the industry.
Evangelion’s popularity was a phenomenon of a kind that wasn’t seen before. While otaku culture existed even before the series, the amount of anime fans, both in Japan and outside, grew significantly with the release of the series.
This made investors interested in the medium once again, and some fans even credit the series with saving the industry altogether.
A very dedicated fandom
Even outside of its impact on the anime industry at the time, Evangelion’s prominence cannot be overstated.
Many anime have made references to the show, directly or indirectly, and it actually started a short-lived trend for psychological and philosophical anime that persisted through the late 90s and early 00s — series like Serial Experiments Lain and Ergo Proxy come to mind.
Moreover, Evangelion spawned a very unusual fandom around itself. Parts of its worldbuilding are left unexplained and intentionally vague, and fans have been speculating about them for almost 30 years.
There are blogs and websites documenting even the smallest details and interviews with the creators — Evangelion fans are unmatched in their dedication.
Why you might like or dislike the show
Yes, you might not end up liking Evangelion (although it wouldn’t be as popular as it is if it wasn’t liked by most of its viewers). The series is often criticized for being too confusing — but that’s part of the charm.
Yes, the last 2 episodes are weird and barely animated because the anime ran out of budget, but they’re a work of art in their own way, and the movie actually elaborates on them.
Shinji, despite being criticized for “whining too much”, is actually a very realistically-written character, as he’s a teenager with a lot of problems who suddenly finds himself in a position of the world’s supposed savior.
One of the main reasons why Evangelion has been so critically acclaimed has always been its realistic character writing, and even if you don’t care about the world and cultural impact, you should watch it for that.
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