Thread by @arune, I’m lucky to be married to @Varessa for a number of reasons [...]

I’m lucky to be married to @Varessa for a number of reasons and now I have another:

She’s watching #Evangelion for the first time ever simply because she wants to understand a show I love and that defined a large part of my teen and every adult years.

I’ve never watched the TV series with anyone - saw Death/Rebirth and End of Eva at a U of T screening (go UTARPA!) over twenty years ago...and that opening with Shinji is even worse in a crowded theater.

So it’s interesting to see this show through the eyes of my wife.

It’s striking how much the music, while awesome, is incredibly jarring in those first episodes as it shifts between scenes.

And the show really does take a few episodes to get going. You’ve gotta have faith it’s taking you somewhere good.

Once Asuka arrives, the show takes on a whole new life - it needs someone loud to break through the muted emotions and truckloads of subtext.

It’s also a show you gotta watch - no multitasking. So much is told in quick glances and seemingly innocuous remarks.

It might the surround sound, but the sound of insects (cicadas?) are super, super annoying once you really hear them.

That may well be intentional but I never noticed it till now (and I’ve seen this series through at least a dozen times).

One of the things I want to articulate in writing one day is how profoundly Evangelion not only helped me survive but fundamentally changed how I saw myself and the world. It’s a quiet, “slow” show that I believe only works if you open yourself up when watching it.

As a kid I related intensely to Asuka and a need for a very specific kind of validation - for folks who’ve met me in the last few years, I’m actually less loud than I was in years past. Rewatching the show during medical leave in 2016 was profound.

But as an adult I definitely relate to both Misato and Gendo.

The former because of her struggles to be more than the parts of life that haunt her. And the latter because now I know what it is to love, so the idea of that lost twisting one’s best intentions is understandable.

The more I’ve engaged with the mythology - in anime, in manga, etc - the more I appreciate how the show tackles depression, abuse (self and external) & how we’re all suffering in ways that are not so different.

And would all be helped by simply being vulnerable w/those we love.

We hit episode 14 today - finally the crazy truly begins.

I sometimes forget that this show is actually really funny. “It smells like Ikari.”

Somehow the world of Evangelion doesn’t feel so far away anymore...

Every time I rewatch the series, I’m always surprised by how little I care about SEELE’s Eva series, Gendo’s master plan or who killed Kaji. I understand why folks want those answers, it’s just never been of interest to me. I love the character stuff so much more.

It’s not binary - you can want more of both and that makes perfect sense to me. I usually care more about mystery boxes but this show was always about the exploration of depression and self-hatred for me.

I would love to see a new EVA tv series one day with a more balanced approach to pacing and the budget to tell the story - and with Asuka as the lead. She’s easily the most compelling character for me, followed by Misato and then Shinji.

I don’t know I ever want an action packed EVA - End of Evangelion has never been my thing, always feeling a bit too cruel for my tastes. That final scene is incongruent with my view of the show.

I would love more of the characters just...existing. Let’s see an episode that’s a day in the life of Misato and her young wards. Or let’s get a better sense of life in Tokyo 3.

It’s such a fascinating world and I wanna explore it more between the brutal fights.

We are now on the final two episodes and then onto End of Eva.

But then comes new territory for me - the Rebuild films! Never seen them and want to be prepared for the (hopefully) summer release of 3.0+1.0, the 2 Fast 2 Furious of Evangelion naming conventions.

Every time I’ve watched END OF EVANGELION there’s a moment where I doubt if it’s as cruel, callous and repellent as I remember (I’ve only watched it a few times in my life).

And every time somehow it’s even more frustrating.

First time I saw it was in a crowded University of Toronto theater during a screening by their anime club UTARPA. That was one uncomfortable group of folks - even as a teen it was clear to me that this type of movie would never be my thing.

Michelle and I watched it tonight. It was her first time and she enjoyed the TV series.

Her response to the movie? “I’m never going to watch that again.”

Her gif review of the movie:

This is my preferable END OF EVANGELION and I don’t even know what’s going on.

Finished EVNAGELION 1.11

I’m torn - one one hand this just feels like compressing the first few episodes of the show into a movie with less supporting cast.

But...I kind of liked it? Rei, in particular, felt stronger to me.

And I even dig the Hikaru Utada song. Change is good.

But I don’t know why we still needed the Misato cleavage and ass shots when Shinji moves in. C’mon folks, get over it. We don’t need fan service.

Now onto 2.22. Introducing Kaworu so early has me intrigued.

EVANGELION 2.22 does so much stuff right.

It solves the “whiny” Shinji problem by giving him more agency and more courage while not losing the internal struggle that made him relatable.

The film also makes his connections with Rei and Asuka much stronger than the TV series.

I’m not sure I really understand the need that Mari fulfills in the show - Rei and Asuka are so much stronger and could use the screen time here.

Still, it’s a real fascinating remix of Evangelion, but I’m terrified of the third film. Everything seems ready to go off the rails.

But I love EVANGELION. I’ll watch anything they release in this franchise.

The series saved my life. It changed my life. It’s a completely f’d up show and I love it because of that, not in spite of it.

Also gotta say, Utada Hikaru’s “Beautiful World” is the definitive Evangelion song to me now - more than even “Fly Me to The Moon.”

So, EVANGELION 3.33 is...not what I expected.

One thing these movies have abandoned is all the philosophical debate of the TV series. It’s in the background but we don’t really dig into the psyche or choices of these characters.

It’s definitely more action-centric.

On one hand, the plot is more more comprehensible - but on the other hand, I miss staring into the abyss that is the soul of these characters and seeing what it means to be damaged.

This doesn’t feel as insightful or as daring as the original, even though 2.22 improved a lot.

I also don’t think we get enough time with Misato & Co to understand their POV. It’s an interesting dynamic but it’s hard not to side with Shinji - no one will talk to him in any way to help him understand things.

And Misato is the one who told him to save Rei!

While I’m glad the films eliminated a lot of elements from the TV show - the excessive dead air, the Shinji stuff, etc - they speed up so much that we don’t get to invest enough in the relationships. 3.33 was the perfect place to dig deeper but instead we get MORE new characters.

It really feels like we needed a movie between 2.22 and 3.33 to really establish more relationships ...instead of jumping right into the Third Impact.

Even the mysteries are just revealed through info dumps. It’s very unlike what I expected.

These films are trying something different and not being slaves to canon, so I applaud that - I’ll just need to adjust to Evangelion being SO different from the version I know.

Bring on 3.0+1.0.

I will say - they’re EVANGELION in name only. It’s the action movie variant version thst abandons any of the depth.

But it’s never cruel - and that’s a huge improvement from how I felt about End of Evangelion.

And look - even Kaji is progressive! cc @chaoticute @takehenning

Glad to know I’m not alone in loving the manga - it’s still my favorite Evangelion but I think there’s an even better version of this story waiting to be told.

https://twitter.com/cbr/status/1255665683234533381?s=21 https://twitter.com/CBR/status/1255665683234533381

https://twitter.com/cbr/status/1255665683234533381?s=21

I’m rereading the EVANGELION manga and it truly is 100% my favorite version of this story.

Yeah, they still go all End of Eva at the end but for the most part the series feels much less cruel and cold where I think it goes too far on its animated forms.

In part this is because we get more time with the characters and with them expressing themselves differently than in animation.

Rei, a character I never really “got,” is fantastic here because we get inside her mind. She’s not just a set of circumstances - she’s a person.

Ive made no secret of how much I despise End of Eva or how much Shinji/Asuka never made sense.

But it works for me here. And their ending is perfect for both of them.

It’s beautiful and kind.

It’s not a total promise of happiness, but simply a chance at a better tomorrow.

And for all the EVA stories that have been told, I still want my college romcom stories starring Misato, Ritsuko and Kaji.

It can’t be overstated how much more sympathetic Shinji is the manga - a more active participant in his life and someone who actually shows care for others.

Most importantly, he actually enters the final battle to help Asuka instead of just sitting on the side.

There’s certainly a value to the more tortured Shinji and I get that - but it never sat well with me that a) he didn’t meet the moment to save Asuka, b) what he did in the opening of EoE and c) how he behaved at the end of EoE.

With all the new Evangelion merch, I’m still surprised there isn’t a statue set of these three and/or way more Pen-Pen in general.