Ou24 Reviews

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995–1996)

A fanboy Bible

[7/10 · 1 July 2004]

Neon Genesis Evangelion is, without a doubt, the most popular anime of all time. People can't go two sentences without praising how profound and impacting it is, how deep and well thought out it is, how painfully realistic the characters are and what a religious experience it was for them... ... ... Shut up! Please! I can clearly see why this anime is popular, but that doesn't make the reason any less stupid. Now don't get me wrong, I like this anime. Really, I do. But it's so overrated the ''Matrix''-trilogy fails in comparison. And that says a lot.

This anime is not ''profound'', ''intelligent'', ''deep'' or any other word of praise ever given to it. Nor is it realistic. The characters were all two-dimensional and oftentimes annoying, not to mention boring. The plot is supposed to be intelligent, but is nothing more than a bunch of incomprehensible blabber. The animation is nothing special, the music is mediocre and the ending is simply not fulfilling.

Then why is it so popular? Simple... This anime might not be deep or profound or anything, nor are the characters realistic... But the creators did a damn good job making it SEEM like it is. Simply by creating an anime almost opposite of what you've seen before. You can't deny Evangelion's plot and characters were completely different as anything seen in most anime, at that time. Therefore people immediately embraced it as ''realistic'', because of the simple fact that most of these other anime weren't, and this one had to be. The creators pull it further by throwing in countless of pointless religious references and cliched psycho-babble, and it was immediately dubbed brilliant.

But none of these religious references mean anything, or stand for anything. None of these characters are realistic... Unless you call people suffering in the worst ways imaginable, with the exact same behaviour at all times, without the slightest sign of development nor change in speech or mood, realistic. I know I don't. I admit the characters are original, at least, but realistic or ''deep'', my ass.

What does this psycho-babble mean? Nothing. It all sounds like phrases taken from one of Freud's textbooks and randomly scattered throughout the series, once again seemingly meaning something, while it doesn't even serve a purpose. (Despite reminding us once again how unrealistic these characters are)

Quite frankly, there's nothing deep, profound, intelligent or realistic about Evangelion. When it comes down to it, it's a gigantic show of vagueness. Then why do I like it? I love vague stuff. I really enjoy watching EVA and then trying to fill in the pieces for myself. I like it gives me something to think about.

But it's so horribly overrated it's annoying to hear people praise it again, in the exact same way as everyone else does, with the exact same tone and words. This almost ruins it for me.

Guys... Get a grip, please. It doesn't interest me anymore to hear how ''deep'' you thought this series, because it's quite clear to me now that it isn't. Stop praising this series in the same, bland way, over and over again. We got the picture. You were fooled by the creators to believe something that wasn't there. Along with all the other thousands. It means nothing.

Rurouni Kenshin (1996–1998)

A Powerful Series... Though Not Without Flaws

[11 May 2004]

When I first saw Rurouni Kenshin, I was still relatively new to the world of Japanese animation. I had only seen a handful of series before, and though they all entertained me, it had yet to earn the same status with me as so many millions of anime fans claim Japanese animation to be worth. Rurouni Kenshin did that for me.

The first 20 episodes or so were nothing out of the ordinary; A lighthearted comedy series, with a bit of action and drama mixed in. And even though these aspects were handled extraordinarily well, it wasn't anything remotely special. The animation was slightly mediocre, though not too bad considering, but the feel was nice. Good music, great characters and average plots, for a swordfighting anime. But with episode 28, the series made an incredible flip over. The change in atmosphere was shocking in fact, and took me completely by surprise. It was like a complete opposite of the episodes that had come before it. All of a sudden, the plot thickened incredibly. The animation went better. The storytelling of the images changed dramatically and the music went through the roof. (Well, at least for a Japanese animation newb like I was at the time)

But all this was only to increase in the coming arc... The plot turned a lot darker, the lightheartedness was all but erased, and the animation increased incredibly. There's a lot of controversy about this change to the Kenshin fans. A lot of people seem to appreciate the lighthearted beginnings more. I am not one of those.. This new arc (Entitled the ''Kyoto Arc'') was indeed really masterful to me. It enchanted me. And to this day, Rurouni Kenshin ranks above the top of my favourite anime list.

However, don't go rushing out and buy this; after this ''Kyoto Arc'', the series takes a dive for the worse. Apparently unable to keep consistent and on par in release speed to the original ''manga'' comic (Which was released at the same time), the animation studio had no choice but to continue with a self-created filler Arc. It was a tedious, boring and quite frankly annoying arc, which disgraced the beauty of before. Even worse: Bad ratings forced the company to shut and end the Rurouni Kenshin series, leaving the final arcs of the original manga (Which were just as powerful as the previous ones) unanimated and untouched.

However, Rurouni Kenshin (Despite the mistake listed above), is truly a powerful series with a stunning storyline and great characters and I recommend it heavily. Though, if you're looking for some brainless entertainment with lots of ''cool'' action, don't go here. Rurouni Kenshin also pleases there, but you'll get a lot more out of it if you can appreciate all the series has to offer.

(9/10)