Summary: >

Shinji Ikari is a 15 year old boy who has many issues in his life. His mother died long ago and he hates his father. But he also strives for some sort of acknowledgment by his father as well. But when his father expects him to pilot some giant robot called an Evangelion, Shinji isn't really up to it. However the city of Tokyo 3 was built as a fortress to protect the future of mankind from the beings known as angels. And as it would happen an angel appears right when Shinji is in Tokyo 3. So in the end Shinji does end up being the pilot for the Evangelion.

But his turmoils don't end there. His guardian is Major Misato Katsuragi, who is fairly collected at work, is also a party girl and somewhat of a slob at home. His colleague and fellow pilot Rei Ayanami is just all out weird. And then there was the arrival of another pilot: Asuka, who is determined to show up Shinji at every turn.

But at each turn the Angels provide new challenges. Each one of the 18 is different from the last. And this isn't a game; for if the Angels breach Tokyo 3, then the world will come to an end. There are other mysteries as well. What exactly IS the organization called NERV? What are the angels and what do they want? What exactly is an Evangelion?

Although only the Evangelions can defeat the angels, Shinji has a difficult time justifying being a pilot. He also struggles within himself for various reasons, most of which limit his abilities to pilot the Evangelion. In the end it may come up to Shinji to save the world, but will he be up to it by the time the world needs saving?

Thoughts: >

This is a classic title that should probably need little explanation. If you're into anime at all and haven't seen this, then you should; it's as simple as that. The initial episodes of the series focus on action and comedy, with some introspective looks into human nature and interactions. As the story progresses, the plot continues to deepen and much of the comedy gives way to philosophical questions. By the end you are bombarded by abstract imagery and strange commentary to the point where it's sort of questionable if you're even watching the same series. Some people can handle that, and some people cannot. But fear not because although the ending of this series is one of the most dreaded in anime (I personally liked the ending), then you can check out the Evangelion movies which are meant to be the "true" endings after the public outcry of how the TV series ended.

And when I say public outcry, it really was a big wave of frustrated people, because this is one of the most popular anime titles to date. If you look at my breakdown you can see that pretty much everything scores reasonable or very high. Even the dubbing scored a 10 and that's saying something. If there is any list of "must see" anime, then Evangelion would most certainly be towards the top. Highly recommended.

Screen Caps: >