Review: Neon Genesis Evangelion

Shinji and his fellow pilots are bent to breaking point and beyond in their defence of Tokyo 3 and the secret chambers below NERV HQ...

Eva explores the future of humanity through a fairly small group of people who range from the fairly innocent (Shinji) through the complex (Katsuragi) to the dark and menacing (Gendou Ikari). The fact that they seem to be battling against the agents of God shows that even the innocent are not above reproach. Basically it's all beautifully dark and convoluted.

The ending is somewhat disappointing. The first time I watched I didn't really notice, much, but on second viewing the ending really does ring rather hollow. The ending is the only thing which kept me from awarding a ten...

The Animation rating is pulled down dramatically by severe shortcuts in the final two episodes of the series. Until that point, quality is quite high, with the animation carrying the story very well. While the spare style of the last two episodes suits the subject material to some extent, the impression of a rush job is unavoidable.

English voice acting is pretty good, let down primarily by Spike Spencer (Shinji) who seems to be a two-note song - shy submissiveness and angst. A little more variety would have helped enormously. The rest of the cast does a good job, however, covering the full gamut from quietly sobbing despair to outrageous overconfidence and many degrees in between.

The Japanese VA for Shinji is much better, although the English VA for Gendou Ikari brings a slightly colder air to his role which I think better suits the character. This is a minor quibble, however.

Audio in general is excellent, with spot sound effects and awesome orchestral music backing up the action.