Evangeliowned

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

Every time I start to get really into the crazy shit in Evangelion, I am reminded that the characters are as old as my kid sister.

Plus I don't think you can pretend the ending was "meaningful" so much as..... desperate. Like trying to complete a square meal with just 3 dollars at the AM/PM, and the best you can do is a hotdog and a candy bar.

Which one? End of Eva or the original series end because the original and movie endings have different meanings

There is an analysis on each of the endings and what each say about Anno's opinion about the otaku culture
End of Evangelion analysis

Anno may have been desperate near the end due to the budget and scheduling restrictions but he certainly gave it a decent effort to make meaning in them

 

[LazyAza]

For anyone who thinks Evangelion to be "deep and meaningful" I recommend these reviews:
http://benthesage.com/reviews/aa/anime-abandon-neon-genesis-evangelion-death-and-rebirth/
http://benthesage.com/reviews/aa/anime-abandon-the-end-of-evangelion/

Bennet White aka Sage, pointed out everything wrong with the series and the films far better than I or anyone else ever has, and did so in a very entertaining and insightful manner.

But don't mistake me, I own both the original series, the original two films and the newer two film remakes and look forward to the third. But deep and meaningful? ahhahahahah Eva is about giant robots and awkward yet hilarious anime teenager antics and little else to me, and that's all I need to enjoy it. But man that End of Eva movie, what a mind fuck.

 

[BobisOnlyBob]

 

 

[itsthesheppy]

I take my cartoons about high schoolers piloting improbable mech suits very seriously.

 

[hentropy]

Personally I'm just tired of Evangelion as a topic of discussion. I mean, the jokes write themself. Harem-mecha anime with the main character being the whiniest whiner in whine town, and he's whining about driving giant robots and saving the world. It was deep and unique back in 1995, there have been dozens of anime now that have done it better.

I guess people still want to talk about it because it was a major moment for a lot of anime fans (me included) to see a show that had the sort of, in my opinion, nihilism, hatred towards humanity (especially the otaku Anno hated), and brutality inflicted on the characters both mentally and physically. Other shows may have done it better, Psycho Pass did the nihilism of society thing to a good extent and some of the gundam shows after Eva did the character perspective and trauma better, but Evangelion was the show that kicked off this wave of dark and spiteful anime and people will always talk about the big game changer.

I watched Lain and GitS before I watched NGE, and by that time NGE looked relatively simple, almost looking like a pale imitation of what the others were trying to pull off, despite it coming before either of the anime series (although GitS was a manga at the time).

 

[Renegade-pizza]

Dangggggggggggg. I hope their hospitals have good burn wards. Bazinga!

 

[NearLifeExperience]

Brilliant! This made me smile, thanks. Surprised people got whiney over the previous comic, it wasn't even that mean

 

[Eppy (Bored)]

...I shouldn't be surprised that those love pillows exist. That said:

*horror*

My childhood. Why.

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

I wish they'd sold those doritos in Australia

Mind you, its an interesting thought; can something be both deep and meaningful AND a commercial franchise at the same time? Rei, Asuka and the Evangelions are anime icons now, and it would be remiss of any company not to cash in that; especially since Evangelion merchandise is popularly responsible for basically resurrecting Studio Gainax. I myself contributed by buying (at vastly inflated prices), Evangelion action figures.

In this case I don't think the rampant commercialism undermines any of Evangelion's messages, whatever you think of them, but now I have this funny idea that perhaps in the show, part of Nerv's operational budget was from this merchandise and the thought of Shinji shilling a happy meal is just comedy gold.

Well played, Grey, well played.

My issue is that it now seems like a lot of anime studios and publishers are pandering to us in a way that pisses me off. They start treating otaku like money purses instead of people with artistic needs and people keep buying the stuff up even if it sucks. This is why we can't have cheap box set: they know the most devoted will buy no matter what and so they focus on them instead of appealing to all audiences out there. It also leads to the mass proliferation of fanservice items such as hug pillows and cheap promotion like the Doritos. This has not helped the reputation of otaku at all as they keep buying this stuff up

As for the comic itself, on the one hand, it was a humorous and sharp retort that went straight for the jugular and relished in the outcry made. On the other hand, when i saw the Evangelion promotion, only one thing came to mind

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

I think it needed a final panel with Grey taking a sip of his wine/port/maddog20/20 or whatever with a look of smug superiority on his face. Just to rub it in that little bit more.

 

[Sniper430]

I love you guys

 

[Yuuki]

Someone please send me those love pillows, NOW.

 

[The Ubermensch]

I would like to argue that all of the fan service is actually Anno doing meta commentary about the Otaku culture

I WOULD like to argue that but with rebuild I really get the sense that Anno is playing the fiddle while Gainax burns

But no matter what happens, I still want to cuddle Rei and Misato and tell them it's going to be all right.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Dammit, Grey. Stop making me love you more and more.

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

Personally I'm just tired of Evangelion as a topic of discussion. I mean, the jokes write themself. Harem-mecha anime with the main character being the whiniest whiner in whine town, and he's whining about driving giant robots and saving the world. It was deep and unique back in 1995, there have been dozens of anime now that have done it better.

I guess people still want to talk about it because it was a major moment for a lot of anime fans (me included) to see a show that had the sort of, in my opinion, nihilism, hatred towards humanity (especially the otaku Anno hated), and brutality inflicted on the characters both mentally and physically. Other shows may have done it better, Psycho Pass did the nihilism of society thing to a good extent and some of the gundam shows after Eva did the character perspective and trauma better, but Evangelion was the show that kicked off this wave of dark and spiteful anime and people will always talk about the big game changer.

I watched Lain and GitS before I watched NGE, and by that time NGE looked relatively simple, almost looking like a pale imitation of what the others were trying to pull off, despite it coming before either of the anime series (although GitS was a manga at the time).

I read the GitS manga and really liked it and its messages on transhumanism. I wouldn't say Evangelion was simple but that the method of expressing their messages were different. Eva went straight for the throat with dark imagery, violence, and mental damage that drove many into depression based on anecdotal evidence . GitS i would say went for a more subtle approach, presenting a world filled with the technology and issues while having a good amount of quiet moments to allow people to sit back and think about what they saw.

Both methods have their own issues and strengths but they each are valid methods of presenting the points made.

(i'm starting to think that these forums are not the best place to have these types of debates)

 

[shadowmagus]

Alright, who got mad? Seriously, I want to meet these people who took offense to a bi-weekly comic strip.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

*Incoherent screaming of Evangelion fans in the distance*

Aaah... The sound of justice.

I'm a fan and I'm laughing.

The best one, imo, is the razor.

What's kind of funny is that this from Rebuild 'cos Mari's there. Yet what strikes me is that now Gendo has shaved and is smiling, I can sort of get why Yui Ikari might have been attracted to him.

Though what Asuka, Mari and Rei want with a good razor is a subject best left alone lest the police get involved.

Alright, who got mad? Seriously, I want to meet these people who took offense to a bi-weekly comic strip.

Especially since the joke is actually really funny.

 

[PunkRex]

Animu is serious buisnes!... gotta make that money right?

 

[Izanagi009_v1legacy]

snip

Actually advertising during anime has been going on for a while, and still goes on.

One of the biggest examples I can think of is that Dominos the pizza place helped fund the creation of Code Geass, so when CC was obsessed with Pizza, she was always eating out of a Domino's box. For some strange reason though they removed the Domino's references from the actual animation when they imported it and dubed it in america. I have seen product placement in other Anime as well from time to time.

And if I recall correctly hollywood has been doing the same thing since the 80s, so dont worry, its not just us nerdly folks that are getting the purse strings treatment

I thought it was Pizza Hut that was in Code Geass and promoted to an insane level with cheese-kun becoming a meme.

As for the purse string thing, the better example would be the game industry we know and love/hate. All of the talk about DRM, on-disc DLC, and other consumer unfriendly habits exist because publishers know that there are a strong number of people who will still buy the game regardless of what happens afterwards and we get stuck with disasters like Simcity as a result.

This isn't advertising in anime, by the way, this is the use of anime assets to advertise products, some of which have no connection. It's bad enough that we have product placement in anime but the use of the assets in the real world is just discomforting and also off in a way.