Crossover With Non-anime Series Fan Fiction ❯ Terdwilicker's Anime Reviews ❯ Neon Genesis Evangelion ( Chapter 5 )

Neon Genesis Evangelion is an important anime, and all serious fans need to see it, though it is hard to watch. There are a lot of issues with it. Two of the staff committed suicide during production because it was so depressing to make and they were running out of money. It is also the first anime for TV with cinematic style like that used in movies. It has actual direction, and it is noticeable. It is also a very confusing mess. First, a translation error. The enemies are called Angels in the sub and dub, but this is not right. They are aliens, attacking aliens, like Berserkers as described by Fred Saberhagen in his mid-80's series of short stories. Their origin is unknown, but they decided to tie-in the recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls, which at the time were considered a miraculous document of an intact 2000 year old bible. And it is, however all the scrolls really prove is that copying over the last 2000 years was surprisingly faithful. Good job, monks. 

The characters of Evangelion are very tormented, and their actions are often driven by mental health problems, but there's something people watching it don't realize until they are told, and I'm going to tell you here, right now. 

The characters of Evangelion are all gender-flipped. The story is pretty much any giant robot story, but all the actions of the characters make sense if you gender flip them. Shinji is whiny and afraid because he is written like he's a girl. Asuka brags and glories in battle because she acts like a man. Rei Ikari is a stoic samurai man, wounded in battle, ready to die to save the girly Shinji. Misato is a loud bro-dude. And all the other characters suddenly make sense. 

If you want to see Evangelion with better execution and animation, watch Rah Xephon. It even has a better ending.