Evangelion 2.0 I Can (Not) Get Into This or Is This Head Trip Necessary?




Creepy kid, Asuka and Mari from Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.
Photo credit: Studio Khara

 
                                    Evangelion 2.0 I Can (Not) Get Into This

                                                                  or

                                             Is This Head Trip Necessary?

                                                                  by

                                                                     Jay Agan

Disclaimer: The following is not a misinformed review of a show I did not watch. Rather it is a reasonably informed non-review of a franchise I have no intention of getting into.

      I'm pretty much turned off by the "giant robot" sub genre as there is so much of it out there. I know there are a few good ones but as "90% of everything is krap", one hardly knows where to look. One I was urged to look into is the Evangelion franchise. After some examination, I have decided not to.

      Where does one begin with this? First we have the TV anime from the 90s. Because of time/budget constraints (And the creators' personal problems.) the 26 ep series ended rather vaguely. Because of the "defects" in the last two episodes there have been 4+ supplementary movies of rehashing/reinvention, corrections, & retellings. Already it looks like it would be too much of an investment in time, money & energy. I'm sure I could figure it all out if I got in, but life is short.

      Now there's this Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance flick out complete with a new character. Along with the previous reinventions this looks like another attempt to inject new life into a tired item. Time to drop it & move on.

      A turn off to many shows/movies for me is "deeply flawed characters" & the Evangelion series/flicks abound with them. Some more than deeply flawed. I understand, some are severely damaged psychologically &/or downright a------s. This is something pioneered by James Stewart & Randolph Scott in restarting their careers & should have ended after Clint Eastwood. Now it's everywhere. I like my "good guys" larger than life & above that moody, edgey, introspective garbage. Ya gotta be GOOD to fight the "good fight".

      Which brings me to another gripe I have with this Evangelion phenomenon. It seems (In my eyes.) that the "good guys" not only act like the "bad guys" but actually are nothing more than another set of villians to begin with. Which brings me to:

                                         The Human Instrumentality Project

      I have absolutely NO sympathy for anyone (Albeit many unknowingly.) whose ultimate goal is to meld the human race (Including ME!) into a colossal puddle of sludge. I don't care about good intentions of relieving me (And everyone else.) of conflict, pain, & lonliness. I LIKE this "simian" construct I inhabit & the individuality that goes with it. I don't care to be "one with the glop"! Do the latter episodes of the series & parts of the movies show any of the general population being assimilated? If so, are they happy with this "arrangement" or does it come on without warning? I'm not a "rapture believer" but even if I were, this is something I'd be more than happy to be ..... Left Behind (Score one for Mr. LaHaye!).

      What the heck is this? Animes' "spiritual" equivalent to Obamacare? I mean ..... is this mandatory? Can I opt out? How many states have filed suit so far? Are Gendo & that creepy Ayanami kid going to implement this before the 2012 elections? Will the Supreme Court strip out the more onerous provisions before getting slurped up?

UCC coffee. Is LCL listed in the ingredients?

      As far as I'm concerned, Shinji, Asuka, NERV, & the rest of that sick bunch can go "save" someone else. Not interested. (If it's FLCL instead of LCL, I might consider it.) One can only hope they & the "angels" cancel each other out & leave the universe (And ME!) in peace.

      As I already have Gunbuster, I think I'll just spend my dough on Diebuster & complete that saga instead. Evangelion in any form? I'll pass.

                                              Article copyright © 1-27-2011 Jay Agan

addendum:

      I have recently bought (At Armageddicon 6) & viewed Evangelions 1.11 & 2.22 & have somewhat revised my opinion of the franchise. As these & the next two films will be the "definitive" version I will settle for that & pass on the previous works. I must say the artwork excellent & plot to be fast moving. Only real technical gripe is a little too much on the "quick cuts" in the action scenes. Why go to all that trouble "drawing" everything when you can't see anything long enough to appreciate it?

      As for my views on antiheros, they still stand. At least here we don't have one weekly episode after another of Shinji doing his Holden Caulfield/Woody Allen routine. Gendo seems genuinely sincere in his desire to "help" mankind which makes him all the more a menace. You can deal with a greedy thug, but a comitted dogooder/altruist? There's no limit to the damage such a "crusader" can do to any & everyone. In his case it's the total "destruction" of mankind & individuality into a single colossal mass of nonentity.

      I would have thought Lilith to be a lot prettier & a LOT smaller than "the thing in the basement."
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