Neon Genesis Evangelion (Series) Mini-Review

Neon Genesis Evangelion, or simply Evangelion for short, is, to put it simply, a brain fuck.  The entire series is a train that has been derailed.  You wait for it to finally wreck, with a morbid fascination at each bump and jostle that threatens to cause it to finally come to a fiery end, and right when it's about to tip, it's hit by a meteor instead.

The anime follows Shinji, a rather pathetic young boy thrown into the middle of a battleground between giant mecha and giant alien-monster-things called Angels.  The focus is on about 3 primary characters or so, who collectively have enough issues to archive in a 20 volume set, and enough baggage to open up their own airline.  Add to this a world bordering on apocalypse, secret cabals, and an emphasis on Freudian symbolism, and you have a pretty good description of Evangelion.

I give this anime a 54 out of 100, which is 3 stars, though I wouldn't recommend this anime to someone looking for anything other than character growth and a philosophical debate.  The anime has some interesting moral and philosophical themes regarding life, individuality, and abandonment.  Expect to have no idea what's going on, even after the series ends, though.  The character perspectives are also intriguing, though much of the development occurs right at the end of the series.

Glossary

Mecha:  Giant robots.  Most accurately, mecha are generally piloted machines of war in a generally humanoid shape.  They are a common staple in anime.