What's it about, and what's so great about it?
At first glance, Evangelion seems like just another giant robot anime. This deserves much more than a single glance, though. Evangelion is far from a simple robot anime. This is the slightly off-whack story of a boy's life, told in a very offbeat fashion. The focus of Evangelion is not so much the mechas, but the people who pilot them.
The story goes that humanity has been decimated by the "Second Impact" that supposedly took place because of a meteorite impace in Antarctica. It is now under threat from the mysterious creatures known as the Angels, and the last line of defense is the UN organisation known as NERV. NERV has created a number of "artificial humans" called the Evangelions to battle the Angels and protect humanity. The pilots of these mechas are all 14-year old children born on the day of the Second Impact. One of these children is Shinji Ikari, a boy with pathetic self-esteem and the neglected son of the head of NERV. The storyline sounds clichè, but as it proceeds, it becomes very apparent that all is not as it appears to be.
Evangelion has top-rate character designs and an engaging, if somewhat confusing, storyline. The only trouble would be the somewhat mediocre animation (The series suffered from a woefully inadequate budget). The last two episodes consist of nothing but stills, and serve to illustrate the inner struggle within many of the characters.
If you like deep, realistic characters, and philosophical storylines, check out Evangelion. If not, talk it with a pinch of salt. It's bound to impress anyone.
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