How is Evangelion mainstream?
 

In my view, there's not enough action and it's too philosophical to be mainstream.

I suppose this depends on your definition of 'Mainstream', but if we're going by the most obvious one, it's because a lot of people have watched it.

/thread

That doesn't answer my question...

ummmm... I'd say it does...

Why have a lot of people watched it? Why does it appeal to people?

As a game developer, I try to understand what appeals to people.

The question was 'How is Evangelion mainstream?', not 'Why is Evangelion mainstream?'. It's mainstream because people watched it a lot for various reasons.

If you want to know why they did so, I'd venture to say because a lot of people really enjoy trying to read into vaguely symbolic storylines. Further, such storylines lend themselves to mass discussion by the userbase, something that itself contributes to a growing fanbase/widespread attention and notoriety, regardless of whether those watching it enjoy it or not.

Also, it has giant robots, and giant robots are cool.

Unless RebornZombie or killshot visits this thread, that's probably the best answer you'll get here.

OK I appreciate your feedback.

It's interesting and different. That's my guess as to why it's popular. It's why I like it. That and the compelling story and relatable characters.

Well IGPX has all those things but it's not popular.

It's also a very controversial show, that redefined one of the most popular genres at the time.

http://i.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/ph..._slide.jpg?v=1


footnote: this isnt real.

Spooky necro post incoming.

I was thinking about Eva recently (mostly wondering if Rebuild 4 is ever going to be released) and I remembered I had intended to come back to this thread. No one cares anymore, but I felt like doing this.

Why is Eva mainstream?

For many people, it is just an entertaining show. It came at the right time and followed an established formula that worked for people. I don't think most fans of the show really understand why they like it so much, other than the fact that it is a fantastic "monster of the week" type story. Eva has many layers and the most superficial one also happens to be an exciting story about giant robots punching monsters to death. It doesn't take any more thinking than that to enjoy the show at face value.

Even fans who haven't taken the time to dig beyond the surface are at least familiar with Eva's reputation as a "deep" anime. I imagine many Eva fans are content to praise the show as a complex or deep anime without really understanding for themselves what makes it so. Everyone likes to feel smart and if your enjoyment of a cartoon about robots fighting monsters can be viewed as intellectual, then that's a win win. There are many moments in Eva where the action breaks down and characters monologue about philosophy, religion, or other lofty subjects which adds credibility to the idea that this is a "deep" show. Even if the average viewer doesn't really understand what is going on, its enough to brag to their friends that they are watching and enjoying an intellectual show even if they are only watching it for the action.

"But all that religion and philosophy stuff is all nonsense! Eva is just a show for pseudo-intellectuals who want to seem smarter than they really are!"

For anyone who is coming into Eva with fresh eyes untainted by nostalgia, it may seem strange why this show has such a following. In the age of the internet critic, where film school graduates freely share the secrets of movie magic with anyone who will listen, new viewers are quick to see through the fluff that passes for religious symbolism and philosophical ponderings. Despite all the apparent symbolism relating to Judaeo-Christian mythology, Eva's creator has personally acknowledged that none of these symbols have anything to do with the themes of the show and are only present because he thought they looked cool. So all that buzz about a deep religious subtext turns out to have not meant anything at all.

As if that weren't enough, the plot of the show is near incomprehensible. If you combine the events from Eva with information cobbled together from creator commentaries, you end up with a mess of a story backdrop that goes something like this:

Long ago, the First Ancestral Race sowed seeds throughout the universe that would become other forms of life. Earth received two of these seeds, a seed of knowledge which would give rise to man, and a seed of power that birthed the Angels. Since the two seeds were never meant to coexist, a fail-safe was put in place where if the two seeds ever made physical contact, a great disaster will occur that will destroy them both.

This backstory provides character motivation for the whole of NERV, yet is never really explained in detail. The threat of the angels is much more menacing if their goals are understood and they are more than just giant monsters rampaging through Tokyo. Just knowing this small setting detail clears up so much confusion about what is happening in the show. What kind of hack writers bury vital information like this under layers of nonsense? Unfortunately, viewers who believe they are exposing flaws in the show by pointing this out are missing the true brilliance of Eva which is

None of it matters to the real story they are telling

All of the complicated plot details, religious subtext, and philosophy is nothing but a smokescreen for the real story, Shinji's story. Evangelion, first and foremost, is a coming of age story where the main character, Shinji Ikari, learns what it means to become an adult. The confusing plot and philosophical discussions that lead nowhere are thematically perfect for a show that wants you to see the world through the eyes of a teenager. Throughout the course of the series Shinji shows real growth as a person. Over the course of the series, he grows in the following ways:

-wanting to run away from things that seem beyond his ability
-doing what others tell him to because he seeks validation
-questioning the motives of those giving him orders
-rebelling against those who he once sought validation from
-finally being able to validate his own existence

His transformation and the events responsible are the purpose of Eva and everything else is just window dressing. This is not to diminish the other great aspects of Eva such as the excellent fight scenes, the deconstruction of the giant mecha genre, the depiction of personality disorders in the main cast, the subtleties of character interaction as portrayed through body language, and other layers that when combined with the central story of Shinji's growth make Eva a work of near perfection. Many layers are at work in Evangelion and each one builds from the central idea that Shinji is a confused and lonely teenager that must endure hardship to reach maturity.

A Post in 2023
 

Howdy Y’all, I’m back again to inflict my thoughts on an unsuspecting public forum over a decade past relevancy. It was always my plan to return to this thread after the final Evangelion film dropped and would you believe that took 8 whole years? I clearly remember watching the third film and seeing the promo at the end stating “Evangelion 4 coming December 2015!” At the time, being the sweet summer child that I was, I thought to myself “wow, I can’t believe I have to wait another two whole years!” only to grow increasing skeptical that the movie would ever be released in my lifetime.

Finally, late summer of 2021 I got to witness the final chapter of the series that I’ve followed practically my whole life. Hype around this movie had become a powder keg. The third movie left the series in such a precarious position that even evaluating if the film was good or not would depend entirely on the outcome of the fourth movie. And I was not disappointed.

I won’t bother summarizing the plot, but rather the emotional beats of the movie. Act one follows Shinji as he was left at the end of Rebuild 3, a hollow shell of his former self. Turns out destroying most of the world, time-skipping to see the future devastation your decisions have wrought, witnessing the death of your best friend, then fucking things up even worse by trying to undo your mistakes will leave a person with a bit of a gloomy outlook on life. Shinji spends most of the first half of the film in a depressive, non-verbal state. This is contrasted by Rei, or at least a version of Rei, learning about life outside the NERV facility for the first time. While Shinji seems to be languishing in his own sorrow, Rei discovers a whole new way of life and begins finding her place in it.

Around the midpoint of the movie, Shinji has overcome his depression and volunteers to move the plot forward. From what I have seen online, this event seems to be the most divisive element of the story. Shinji goes from being a traumatized, walking corpse to a confident hero. Many of the posts I’ve seen from Reddit and Something Awful claim his transformation was too dramatic and is totally unrealistic. Shinji goes on in the film to settle the main conflict with his father, not through giant mecha battle but through conversation. Having understood the feelings of everyone involved, Shinji rewrites the laws of the universe not to tear down the barriers between individuals that are the source of so much anxiety like his father wished, but to create a world without Evangelion. This ending brilliantly ties together Shinji’s arc by removing from the universe the one thing that made Shinji special and stating that he doesn’t need to rely on his unique talent for validation as he has found meaning in living on his own. It also nods to the audience that Evangelion is over and it’s time to stop living in the past. I especially liked how the final scene transitions from anime to footage of the real word as if to say, “go the fuck outside and stop watching cartoons you’re 30 years old for Christ sake.”

In my opinion, this is a perfect film and I wouldn’t change a single thing about it. To those who say it treats depression too lightly and portrays an unreal expectation of recovery, I offer the following evidence from the film:

• Shinji and Rei spend months in the village surrounded by kind and compassionate people that give them space when they need it and give them tough love when necessary.
• Shinji begins working with Kenji to help the people of the village. Doing something for others helped put his own suffering into perspective.
• Despite what happens to Rei, seeing her flourish in her new life might have inspired a change in Shinji himself.
• The appearance of Kawaru toward the end implies some kind of time loop where an infinite number of Shinji’s may have failed to overcome their depression and this is the one universe where he succeeds in conquering it.

So no, I do not believe Shinji overcoming his depression was an unrealistic depiction of mental illness. The messages I took away from the movie are that even if life causes great suffering, the bonds formed with others give value to an otherwise meaningless existence. Even if success is not guaranteed, there is still value in attempting to forge these bonds and obstacles like depression should be fought like hell to overcome. This is what I believe to be the core of Evangelion as a series and what the creators were trying to convey with each iteration of the series.

evangelion is bad

True.