Neon Genesis Evangelion

[xscoot]

Shinji is basically, no literally, a child soldier. I can easily see why he wouldn't want to pilot Eva.

It's like going to a child soldier in Africa and saying "How could you possibly hate your life? You get to play with cool guns and hang around all these normal, not completely psychopathic people. Really, you should love the guy that forced you in this position."

See what I mean? It's not like he's playing with a toy, he's fighting eldritch horrors that can easily kill him and everyone he knows. Rei is cold to him, Asuka is a ***** to him, and Misato doesn't understand him in the slightest.

And even with all that, he still is able to pull through and pilot the Eva.

This isn't an attack on the comic, mind you. I actually quite liked it. It's just that there are so many people complaining that Shinji is "a whiny emo kid". If your deadbeat father called you up, and the only reason was so that he could use you as a child soldier in the war, I don't think you'd be happy either. Shinji's got nothing to live for, yet he fights anyways.

On a related note, did any of you guys watch the fan-dubbed movie EVANGELION: REDEATH?

It is the greatest non-pornographic Evangelion related fanwork I've ever seen, which places it at around 30th overall.

 

[Shadowsetzer]

Meh... everyone else has listed all of the downsides of being in the Evangelion-verse, so I'll restrain myself here. Besides, I think it's pretty clear that the comic is meant as a light-hearted poke at the source material, not a genuine criticism.

What I will say is that the reason Evangelion seems to go over a lot of people's heads (including a lot of people in this thread) is that it isn't a mecha show. It's a deconstruction of mecha shows. Complaining about how grim and depressing it is, is like complaining about how violent and nihilistic Watchmen is, or how empty and superficial The Great Gatsby is. Neon Genesis took the tropes that made shows like Gundam popular, and turned them on their head. Why would you need children to pilot giant war robots, over professionally trained military personnel? What would be the psychological ramifications of forcing children to fight for you? Is it really that different from warlords using child soldiers in Africa? How would people deal with the impending apocalypse from an extraterrestrial, god-like threat?

In particular, I've never understood all the bashing that Shinji gets. He is a fourteen year old boy, pretty much forced into circumstances beyond his control, where he is quite literally all that stands between humanity and outright extinction. He's spent his entire life devoid of any parental love or affection, he lives and works with an entire company of dysfunctional neurotics, his own father sees him as nothing more than a pawn to be used and discarded, and he is regularly forced into situations where he is called upon to kill or take out his own friends.

I would not want to meet the person who can get through all that a well adjusted individual. That would be more than any adult could handle. To expect a fourteen year old boy to go through all that with an upbeat smile and a can-do attitude is to miss what Evangelion was about in the first place.

Pretty much this whole thing. I'll add that I identified with him pretty easily when I first watched the show (at around 14, no less). As for the scene that has half of the thread shaking their heads in disgust, it's mainly there to show just how utterly f***ed up his head is by that point.

 

[Abedeus]

"By the way the endings are all bullshit, don't pretend that you understood the ending."

I might as well post the entire video...

 

[xscoot]

You know where none of this matters and Shinji is a total badass?

Rebuild.

Everybody watch Rebuild. You will be amazed by what several million dollars and Hideaki Anno getting a consistent flow of anti-depressants and marital sex does to this show's psychology.

I actually don't like the story of Rebuild too much. It's basically the original run of Evangelion but with significantly less character development.

The action though. Oh man, the action. They drew the angels in full 3D CGI for the action scenes, and it is beautiful.

And the ending of 2 really got me hyped for 3.

 

[The Wooster]

Dear god, I never realized other NGE fans were so funny.

 

[The Great JT]

All I will say is Giant Robot + Hot Chicks = Dad gets free pass to be distant and a dick.

 

[xscoot]

Dear god, I never realized other NGE fans were so funny.

I agree, the fans are hilarious. You on the other hand...

Oh, I'm just kidding. You're vastly better than some of the other stuff Escapist has put out. I still remember Game Dogs. Ugh.

 

[Dafttechno]

Behold, a fanfic with an appreciative Shinji http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3371159/1/Chicks_Dig_Giant_Robots

 

[xscoot]

Behold, a fanfic with an appreciative Shinji http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3371159/1/Chicks_Dig_Giant_Robots

'Behind the two girls, Shinji continued giggling like a ten year old girl. "Heh heh heh, boom, heh."'

I immediately thought of Beavis and Butthead. Oh, man, a crossover fic with that would be glorious. I can just imagine it.

 

[The Wooster]

Dear god, I never realized other NGE fans were so funny.

I agree, the fans are hilarious. You on the other hand...

Oh, I'm just kidding. You're vastly better than some of the other stuff Escapist has put out. I still remember Game Dogs. Ugh.

I am wounded. [http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120512131261/evangelion/images/1/1d/Shinji_Crying_%28EoE%29.png]

 

[xscoot]

I am wounded. [http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120512131261/evangelion/images/1/1d/Shinji_Crying_%28EoE%29.png]

I'm sorry, you basically set yourself up for this:

http://imgur.com/sdf4z

 

[Karadalis]

Actually shinji did good not to hit any of that...

Someone once said some very wise words:

"never stick your dick in the crazy"

And all three of them where batshit crazy...

 

[Infernai]

So....the entirety of Evangellion was really just a long, convoluted plan by Gendo to help Shinji get laid and be a mecha pilot?

Interesting.

Its simple. Kill the Batman After watching numerous 'deep' Animes (Tenchi Muyo won't man up either) i have come to the conclusion that Japanese males in Anime just don't like women. Like at all. They also whine about it. ALL the time.

In the west we call this the "Shut up and fuck her in the ass" hypothesis.

Spoiler

This is Guts and Caska from Berserk:

As you can guess, the opposite scenario to above happens in their series and they end up with one another. Also yes, they have sex.

 

[Karadalis]

So....the entirety of Evangellion was really just a long, convoluted plan by Gendo to help Shinji get laid and be a mecha pilot?

Interesting.

Its simple. Kill the Batman After watching numerous 'deep' Animes (Tenchi Muyo won't man up either) i have come to the conclusion that Japanese males in Anime just don't like women. Like at all. They also whine about it. ALL the time.

In the west we call this the "Shut up and fuck her in the ass" hypothesis.

Spoiler

This is Guts and Caska from Berserk:

As you can guess, the opposite scenario to above happens in their series and they end up with one another. Also yes, they have sex.

Yeah but what happens afterwards.... *makes the cross sign*

Jeebus... and the manga isnt any better either...

 

[philosophicalbastard]

Only thing Shinji Ikari needs is Noah Bright (from MS Gundam) to "Bright ***** slap" the emo out of him. Alternatively Kamina from Gurren Lagann with his Motivational fist would work as well.

Well, I think Anno finally watched Gurren Lagann before making the second Rebuild movie:

Spoiler

OT: I loved pretty much all of NGE, but I still found this comic hilarious.

 

[Shiro No Uma]

Bwaaahahahah!! So true! XD

How can you pass up the opportunity to woo a submissive cutie?

On an unrelated note, how comes someone put that hottie on a website called "fugly"? Insecure males much?

You think that grandpa muscle moose is attractive? To each their own I guess, but did you look at his lifeless, only thought in his head is, "did I remembers to wipe," face? Or were you distracted that the old-timey phone receiver stretching out of his smooth happy trail region? I guess I must be insecure because that's what a man should look like.

 

[sumanoskae]

Okay, so this is funny, but.

"Hey son, I want you to risk your life to pilot this robot and fight Lovecraftion horrors. And I'm entrusting you to a super hot alcoholic chick, she's twice your age but probably has the hots for you anyway. There's also this redhead to treat you like shit, I hope you enjoy sadomasochism! Not uncomfortable yet? well I went ahead and cloned your dead mom, too! "

And oh yeah! theresthisthingthatsgonnacausetheendoftheworld! Bye!

Now, I'm not the biggest Eva fan, and I agree that Shinji's a brat, but I do not envy his lot in life.

 

[Tanis]

I do love the series, but you kind of missed the part where:
'O, hey, and she's basically a clone of my mother' bit.

Shinji was inside in mom, more then once.
;3

 

[Infernai]

So....the entirety of Evangellion was really just a long, convoluted plan by Gendo to help Shinji get laid and be a mecha pilot?

Interesting.

Its simple. Kill the Batman After watching numerous 'deep' Animes (Tenchi Muyo won't man up either) i have come to the conclusion that Japanese males in Anime just don't like women. Like at all. They also whine about it. ALL the time.

In the west we call this the "Shut up and fuck her in the ass" hypothesis.

Spoiler

This is Guts and Caska from Berserk:

As you can guess, the opposite scenario to above happens in their series and they end up with one another. Also yes, they have sex.

It takes Guts YEARS before he can trust someone enough to engage in any kind of relationship, let alone a romantic one. Even now he still has trouble trusting people, and every now and then the demons resurface and he ends up harming those he cares for the most.

True, however Guts does have a VERY good reason why he takes a long time to trust others. But the fact remains that as opposed to say Tenchi, Guts actually does, at one point become romantically involved and ends up becoming sexually intimate with some one. I don't deny he still has problems, especially now given what's happened but, at one point, he was able to open up and allow himself to care for another person in a way Shinji and Tenchi havn't been able too.

 

[Draconalis]

I think that in the end, Gendo really ended up caring more about his daughter, Lizzie. [http://lparchive.org/Princess-Maker-2/Update%202/]

I want to punch you...

As if I didn't ALREADY have enough to read!

Are you going help me make time for this?! HUH!?

Spoiler

He jerked it to the red head... but in his defense... her tits did pop out when he was trying to make her wake up...

It's a perfectly normal response that we'd all do... right?

...Right?