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I saw a guy say he liked the ending of Evangelion, because

of his own prior leanings to him it partially represented some furtive hope for lonely, emotionally stunted sods the world over to find a way to (re)connect with their humanity. Or, rather, that it was a desperate plea, from Anno to the audience he knew it had, saying "Please. Don't be awful to yourselves. Get in touch with people, and have some empathy for others trying to do the same. Things, and people, can seem awful (as we have illustrated we are aware, by exploring characters whose developments were fucked with in as many ways as they could've been fucked with, and who thus emerged fucked up in every way they could've been fucked up), but there's also warmth to be found in other people."

And then, (according to the same guy), fans didn't get it at all, like at all, and Evangelion became a cog in the machine that is the anime industry exploiting otaku tendencies via merchandise and cute girls, which has only gotten worse since the late 90's when it was made.

So, on a meta level, [sic,] Evangelion is also about existential horror from the perspective of Anno himself. "What have I created," etc.

(this guy had some opinions of his own)

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I saw a guy say he liked the ending of Evangelion, because

of his own prior leanings to him it partially represented some furtive hope for lonely, emotionally stunted sods the world over to find a way to (re)connect with their humanity. Or, rather, that it was a desperate plea, from Anno to the audience he knew it had, saying "Please. Don't be awful to yourselves. Get in touch with people, and have some empathy for others trying to do the same. Things, and people, can seem awful (as we have illustrated we are aware, by exploring characters whose developments were fucked with in as many ways as they could've been fucked with, and who thus emerged fucked up in every way they could've been fucked up), but there's also warmth to be found in other people."

And then, (according to the same guy), fans didn't get it at all, like at all, and Evangelion became a cog in the machine that is the anime industry exploiting otaku tendencies via merchandise and cute girls, which has only gotten worse since the late 90's when it was made.

So, on a meta level, [sic,] Evangelion is also about existential horror from the perspective of Anno himself. "What have I created," etc.

(this guy had some opinions of his own)

I actually agree with that, looking at Anno's own judgments and so on. I feel kind of bad for him because of how badly his fans want to overlook anything meaningful. On the other hand, he's also a bit of an asshole.

I personally liked the ending because that's the feeling I got from it, that it was a story about someone who comes into their own after being such a wreck of self-loathing and mistrust. I had a lot of anger towards Shinji until the end because I felt that he was given so many chances to open up but never did. When he did, I felt that it was all worth it and the series had a lot more meaning because of its ending. As someone else once said, a story being happy or sad depends on when you end it. I think they ended it well in both the show and movie to contrast the difference.

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I saw a guy say he liked the ending of Evangelion, because

of his own prior leanings to him it partially represented some furtive hope for lonely, emotionally stunted sods the world over to find a way to (re)connect with their humanity. Or, rather, that it was a desperate plea, from Anno to the audience he knew it had, saying "Please. Don't be awful to yourselves. Get in touch with people, and have some empathy for others trying to do the same. Things, and people, can seem awful (as we have illustrated we are aware, by exploring characters whose developments were fucked with in as many ways as they could've been fucked with, and who thus emerged fucked up in every way they could've been fucked up), but there's also warmth to be found in other people."

And then, (according to the same guy), fans didn't get it at all, like at all, and Evangelion became a cog in the machine that is the anime industry exploiting otaku tendencies via merchandise and cute girls, which has only gotten worse since the late 90's when it was made.

So, on a meta level, [sic,] Evangelion is also about existential horror from the perspective of Anno himself. "What have I created," etc.

(this guy had some opinions of his own)

I mean, that seems true. But the merchandising was around prior, and I don't think it's "exploring otaku tendencies" by having cute girls, as the characters in Rebuild are all faithful adaptations of their earlier selves. I suppose Mari is a bit out of place, but it's yet to be seen exactly what her deal is, and her screentime has been limited to say the least.

The general vibe of the series has remained intact and strengthened, in my opinion. For example, Kaworu and Shinji's relationship was so much more impactful in 3.0 than it was in the original series, it leaves a greater impression on the characterization that unfolds than what originally was.

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I mean, that seems true. But the merchandising was around prior, and I don't think it's "exploring otaku tendencies" by having cute girls, as the characters in Rebuild are all faithful adaptations of their earlier selves.

it did not feel that way to me.

The general vibe of the series has remained intact and strengthened, in my opinion.

and i also disagree here.

For example, Kaworu and Shinji's relationship was so much more impactful in 3.0 than it was in the original series, it leaves a greater impression on the characterization that unfolds than what originally was.

this is true though. maybe it's just cause kaworu is my waifu but i think they created a good kaworu-shinji dynamic. kaworu felt like a somewhat different character in rebuild, though. he seems less neutral.

Edited by fuccboi
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it did not feel that way to me.

and i also disagree here.

this is true though. maybe it's just cause kaworu is my waifu but i think they created a good kaworu-shinji dynamic. kaworu felt like a somewhat different character in rebuild, though. he seems less neutral.

He's less neutral because he remembers everything that happened in the original series. The events of Rebuild are a direct sequel of the anime, not a reboot of the series.

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The events of Rebuild are a direct sequel of the anime, not a reboot of the series.

They're just telling you that so you don't feel like your time has been wasted with a rehash.

Actually I'm just being an ass, I haven't watched any of the new Evangelion

Edited by SeverIan
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According to this person's expanded opinion, it's not that Evangelion has "become a cog in the machine" in the sense that the series has horribly degraded or strayed, at least not beyond the point of creative bankruptcy. It's that the industry at large and fan culture have grown alongside it and gotten worse over time. So it's the stuff after the series' run/creation, like later merchandising and fan response to the characters (and Evangelion has had a longlived lot of merchandising) that constituted "becoming a cog in the machine."

As a corollary to the opinion, Anno's supposedly been tearing his hair out trying to get the message across while still having a hint of warmth left (the "you know which one I'm referring to" scene in End of Evangelion, for example, was interpreted as Anno going "YOU GUYS TOOK EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE FROM THE SHOW."), and it hasn't had the intended impact/reception.

Didn't quite get his opinion on Rebuild as a whole, though seemed to like them okay. Not sure exactly how they connected to his opinion of the original ending they were

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I mean, I guess the industry has changed. I wouldn't necessarily say it's for the worse, I don't think moeblob stuff was all that relevant in the series and there's plenty in the industry itself that doesn't touch upon it. Fans may gravitate towards discussing content or even consuming content in different ways, but I don't think that necessarily means they missed the point of the show: It's impossible to, you're beaten over the head with it throughout the program. They'll just discuss parts that are easily discuss-able with one another. When talking about a story it's much easier to relate with the events that happened and the way the characters act. I think most people, for a lot of media, interpret themes and deeper meaning inwardly and just discuss the "interesting" parts with others.

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If you want to watch another anime similar to that after finishing it check out Genshiken. It's a story about a college club of otaku, and like NHK has characters analyzing their social weaknesses because of obsessions. It's more light-hearted than NHK but equally mundane in its display of everyday life.

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I like shows that make me go, "woah, what in the **** was that"

I'm wrapping up my senior year of hs and have quite a bit of free time on my hands as I look for a job

Serial Experiments Lain

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