Age and how you interpret Eva

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Age and how you interpret Eva

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Postby Cybermat47 » Sat Feb 17, 2018 7:43 am

I thought it would be interesting to see the different ages on this forum, and to compare how differently and similarly people of different ages interpret Eva.

I’m 18 years old, and I see Eva as being a show about loneliness, misunderstanding, and terrible mistakes, all of which I’ve experienced and done in my life. I can relate to Shinji’s fear of social interaction and anxiety around people, and Rei’s isolation and lack of social experience (which reminds me of my own experiences having Asperger’s syndrome). But at the same time, I can also relate to Asuka’s anger and hatred for the world, and her desperate attempts to find a connection with someone, be it Kaji or Shinji.
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Re: Age and how you interpret Eva

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Postby silvermoonlight » Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:07 pm

You saw way more than me as I watched it at 18 and totality didn't get the themes but kind of liked Evangelions and fights until I re-watched three years ago and every single thing clicked. I like the series because its one of the few anime series where the people to me feel really real in how they act and behave and how flawed they are they is only one true evil which is Seele where as all the other characters are shades of grey. I also like how it shows all of the characters faces in private as well as public as they are very different and I like how if reflects the themes you mentioned loneliness, depression and difficulty connecting with others.
Last edited by silvermoonlight on Mon Jun 25, 2018 2:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Age and how you interpret Eva

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Postby AdamMalkovitch » Wed Feb 21, 2018 12:33 pm

When I first watched the show, and followed it up with End of, I was 15, and had just re-entered public school after being yanked out in 7th grade and homeschooled for a year and a half. Although at the time, I was obnoxiously optimistic about life, I saw Neon Genesis as a massive "fuck you", and New Theatrical Q as an even bigger insult. What started as a story about giant robots had turned into a depressing drag through the darkest parts of humanity. I vividly remember pausing and getting up and walking around trying to process what I had just seen after the hospital sequence, the awkward, confused laughter after episode 26^1, and continually checking to make sure I was watching the right movie after starting Q. At the time, I simply saw it as a confused, edgy mess.

Now I'm 18, and after watching and rewatching all the episodes and movies dozens of times, I interpret Neon Genesis Evangelion as an exploration of humanity, the potential consequences of fucking with nature and playing god, and a show that humans are not intrinsically good or evil. I interpret New Theatrical as a way of saying "no matter how bad things get, you CAN be happy", although that all depends on what goes down in 1.0+3.0 (god I hate that title, FINAL was way cooler). Despite my outlook on life becoming more bleak and hopeless since my first viewing, my opinions on Neon Genesis and New Theatrical Evangelion have shifted to become more optimistic.
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Re: Age and how you interpret Eva

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Postby ErgoProxy » Wed Feb 21, 2018 4:44 pm

Mmm-kay.

I watched NGE in my 20ies in a German TV, so I couldn't grasp much of the narrative; I was basically "breathing the air" of the series, mostly by reading characters' emotions from seiyuus' voices (the show was subtitled). And for some reason I totally identified myself with Shinji. I remember I developed a serious anger towards Asuka at some point, like "what do you want from the kid, don't press him like that". Some time later I learned about what's going on in EoE and I was... well, shocked a bit, because things like GNR certainly should not happen in a world built by sane worldbuilder.

I rewatched the show in my early 30ies, circa about when Rebuild was announced by Khara. I don't remember my reaction, except that I was stunned by work of sound guys in EoE, especially in the scene when SoL returns from the Moon, because the ambient there is funkin' 100% real. And I was all sympathetic for Rei, so you can guess whom I shipped at that time.

Then... well. Mental illness is certainly not the most funny thing that can happen in your lifetime. The funny thing though is how I saved shreds of my sanity then and there, eventually coming back to life. I launched some kind of psychodrama set in... well, it wasn't quite the NGE world, and the characters I "animated" were borrowed not only from Anno's work. I don't know should I share those writings or not, since they are partially interesting, and partially embarrassing, and partially they are ABSOLUTE MADMAN. Like, I concluded at some point, that Mari is incarnation of Daria Morgendorfer (who learned about NGE from her favorite show, the Sick Sad World). Or that PenPen was launched in space in some EVA Unit (but came back later and started to fly).

Now, on topic: because during my psychodrama I flushed Freudian pornobabble and turned all to Jungian concept of archetypes buried in the collective unconscious – do I really interpret the show? I read it as a kind of symbolic vivisection *) of psyche of some human being struggling in the real world, and how this psyche cracks under pressure, and then begins to rebuild itself. And I don't think it has to be Anno's psyche. I think this story applies to anyone on the verge of collapse; truly a mythos, like someone from the original NGE crew called it.

Yeah. And if you want to know, my current favorite shipment is FuyuMaya. She can't stand the young men after all. :tongue:
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Re: Age and how you interpret Eva

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Postby MetroidHatchling » Mon Jun 25, 2018 1:04 am

When I first saw it I was in 4th grade so I was mostly just like "Yay! Cool giant robot show! Why does Shinji have to whine so much? Rei is super cute! This show has awesome music!". The actual point of the show was pretty lost on me but I had a lot of fun watching it. When I rewatched the show all the way through in almost one sitting in high school though, I realized so many things that I had missed. I've pretty much been stuck in one long unending depressive episode since high school, with the exception of the two years I was with my ex in which I was actually happy, so I definitely related a lot more to the characters and what was going on outside of the giant robot fights. I had always really liked Evangelion before then, but that was the point which I felt I really loved the anime and realized how much was actually going on in it.

To be clear I'm just talking about NGE here. I saw End of Evangelion around 5th grade I think and it was horrifying to me. I didn't watch it again until just today. I still have yet to watch the new films.

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Re: Age and how you interpret Eva

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Postby Mankar » Thu Aug 09, 2018 12:19 am

I'm 14 and I literally just finished watching the series plus EoE and the whole thing left me amazed but at the same time lonely and/or realization of the importance interaction and connection with other humans. I'm introverted and enjoy spending time alone but when I finished NGE I realized the toll it took on me. It made me realize that I was just running away from other people because I was scared of them whether it be me being hurt or me hurting them (I'm very conscious about my image to other people). Me, putting myself in isolation taught myself a lot of things but also amplified my flaws such as interacting with other people, which jut made my social anxiety grow. That's how I connect to Evangelion and what it taught me. But one thing that I saw in this show is Hideaki Anno himself. I was doing some research about him and it seems as if Evangelion is what he put his heart and soul into and it shows you his character. Apparently, he doesn't think much of himself and he was severely depressed during the production of Evangelion and that is reflected heavily in Shinji and Asuka, or thats what I believe personally and I would also want to believe thats what he wants us to do, make us bring ourselves to our own conclusions and opinions on his show. I also saw how manipulative and inhumane humans actually are. the very show scares me to how believable and human the characters are and act/behave. I took a lot from this show and it's probably going to take me a few more days before I can take everything I learned from the show as I'm still processing it haha. Anyway, I probably just rambled on for a while but thats what I took from it so far. I still have a lot more in my thoughts but I just can't put it into words for some reason..

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Re: Age and how you interpret Eva

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Postby Sachi » Sat Aug 11, 2018 5:47 am

Your take and understanding of the show is far more advanced and thought out than my own at your age. I'll be interested in seeing how your relationship with the series evolves and matures as you grow older and mature as well.
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Re: Age and how you interpret Eva

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Postby Blockio » Sat Aug 11, 2018 10:11 am

Someone asked me some 2 years ago what I would change about my favorite show if I had the power to. My answer was "make the characters less dense"." Could still kick myself for that one.
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Re: Age and how you interpret Eva

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Postby pwhodges » Wed Sep 05, 2018 9:17 am

The discussion is about the age of the viewer, not of the media.
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