"Neon Genesis Evangelion" has remained my favorite anime for over a decade. My initial awareness of its existence happened in 1998 when I saw an ad for the Stateside VHS releases, the art designs piqued my interest greatly. Had I seen them at the time there was little chance I would've understood the emotional, psychological and Biblical complexities of the show.
In high school, Cartoon Network aired the series in bits and pieces, first as a couple of episodes for "Giant Robot Week" and then, two years later, the series in full. The show drew me into its post-apocalyptic grandeur, but its deep psychosis, both dark and bright, has remained one of the anime's defining connections with me.
Being depressed is a common condition of the human mind. One that most all of us suffer from, some more than others. We all seek to be with someone as being alone is unrewarding and terrifying, someone to simply hold our hand just to let us know they're there.
"Evangelion" uses this theme as the backbone and ultimate catalyst and trigger for the end of the world as depicted in its finale, the stunning film "End of Evangelion." Protagonist Shinji Ikari has the fate of humanity literally placed in his hands, his off-kilter state either fusing our souls into a single whole or granting us the ability to remain individuals if we can see ourselves happily in our own hearts.
Its sounds a tad mushy, but the truth is, we all want that, for the emotions of our immediate surroundings to tailor themselves to us, to hold and love us when needed. "Evangelion" strikes the right chord here, in all the show's vague, symbolic, insane, violent glory.
It is doubtful that much of what this flawed work of art will ever be replicated, but it is what can be gleaned from its unstable characters and their motives that makes it important and what is learned will especially help frame our interactions.
No comments:
Post a Comment