Neon Genesis Evangelion is the most controversial anime series ever, in that one either loves it or hates it.
Those who hate it cite the horrible, shallow, shrill-voiced and inexplicably-motivated characters, the endless banter of sci-fi "who cares, it's made up" technojargon, and the slow-and-go trafficjam pacing.
A typical episode has this ratio: 60 seconds of MECHA BATTLE THRILLING EXPLOSIONS MISSLE LAUNCH HUGE DETAILED SMOKE CLOUDS IN DEVASTAING DETAIL!... encased by 21 minutes of camera panning over stillframe or two-cel animation that makes Speed Racer look
sophisticated.
Fans often cite the show's "religious" references as evidence of the depth of the story, because nothing's more relevent and just-plain-cool than gnostic and Jewish mysticism. Why, just last Sunday, Reverend Hushpuppy used the parable of the prodigal Shinji and his father in the sermon.
Of course, I'm kidding - Shinji is a whiny
little bitch, and any boy/man who empathizes with his character doesn't deserve the endowments of the gender.
It's said
over and over that Neon Genesis Evangelion is
the highest rated anime series ever. Maybe they watch the subbed and not the dubbed version - which features the most hamfisted acting voice talent imaginable - so that the subtitles are where the REAL story is. Maybe when they gush about the animation quality, they were just confused and actually thinking about another show playing somewhere very far away.
So, forget the depth and relevence of "
Paranoia Agent," or the animation quality of the "
Ghost in the Shell" spinoffs, or the humor of "Azumanga Daiyoh," or the driving storyline of "Cowboy Bebop" - apparently Eva has it all, plus lots of Rule 34 hentai to support it. So if you watch Eva, and you're thinking the emperor just isn't wearing any clothes here, YOU'RE the idiot and there's something wrong with YOU.
