[Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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[Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby The Eva Monkey » Mon Mar 13, 2017 2:42 pm

Hi everyone, after a debate between "A Human Work" and "Magma Diver", I'm trying to collect some data about how people like and dislike particular episodes in Evangelion. I would appreciate your time in filling out the form. Don't worry, it will only take about 30 seconds.

Thanks!

https://goo.gl/forms/5VxHW14KJ9c1uPcZ2


UPDATE

Conducting one last poll, as some people may have mixed up episodes 3 and 4. Please take a look. Thanks!

https://goo.gl/forms/ozifE7UKDuYtRQbV2

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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby Ray » Mon Mar 13, 2017 2:47 pm

I think we can all agree that The Jet alone episode was the worst one in the series. It didn't contribute much the plot or to push the characters or The Narrative forward. There weren't any lasting consequences for it.

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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby The Eva Monkey » Mon Mar 13, 2017 2:48 pm

View Original PostRay wrote:I think we can all agree that The Jet alone episode was the worst one in the series. It didn't contribute much the plot or to push the characters or The Narrative forward. There weren't any lasting consequences for it.

See, this is why we're doing this. Because I like Jet Alone. I feel the way you feel about Magmadiver.

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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby pwhodges » Mon Mar 13, 2017 2:49 pm

The fact that Jet Alone is the least integrated into what's around it doesn't necessarily make it bad in itself, though. :devil:

I expect I'd answer the poll differently tomorrow...
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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby Guy Nacks » Mon Mar 13, 2017 2:59 pm

Maybe there should be a limit on how many episodes you can like? Like, nominate your top 5 and then pick your absolute favorite.

I'm just throwing this out there because I could put a check mark next to damn near every episode and find something I like about it.


If it wasn't for the second half of episode 14 giving us an insight into Rei's mind and laying the groundwork for the Lance of Longinus, that would have been the winner of worst episode for sure. Any episode with a clip show is gonna get flak like that because it's lazy and nothing new is added from a series of already seen clips.

Episode 7 is my big loser by default since it is perhaps the only episode where none of the events in it are of any consequence later in the show and there aren't any character moments that supersede or equal anything that came before it.

Episode 11 (or whatever one was The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still) is a close runner up for worst just because I fucking hate the character models in that episode.
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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby Snow » Mon Mar 13, 2017 3:13 pm

My personal favourite was likely episode 23. Plotwise it clears a lot out of the way and connects many of the strings together. Nevertheless, it also features the 'death' of a main character.
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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby The Eva Monkey » Mon Mar 13, 2017 3:14 pm

View Original PostGuy Nacks wrote:Maybe there should be a limit on how many episodes you can like? Like, nominate your top 5 and then pick your absolute favorite.

I wasn't sure what would have been the best way of handling this sort of thing. The main thing I'm looking for is strong opinions on best/worst episodes, but I wanted to make it a bit softer, so I can also see people's attitudes in general.

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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby NemZ » Mon Mar 13, 2017 5:13 pm

Hmm... Best/worst lists need a slider, can't see them all on phone.

I like jet alone quite a bit actually. It's the first solidly Misato episode, helps establish her relationships with Ritsuko, and shows that she is willing to put herself in harm's way and not just order others into the breach. That it also cements Ritsuko is in on the shady side of NERV and didn't share this with her friend sets the stage for things to come.

All the Asuka-centric episodes are the worst because Asuka is the worst, but dance like you want to win is the lowest point in the series. 14 is not saved by Rei's poem, though it was a valiant effort... Clip shows are always terrible by default, it's an immutable law. 24 is a rushed, conflicted mess of a narrative that still doesn't make great sense after all these years if analysis so it falls off the good list too.
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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby Reichu » Mon Mar 13, 2017 5:24 pm

Where the blazes are episodes 25' and 26'?
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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby Guy Nacks » Mon Mar 13, 2017 5:38 pm

View Original PostNemZ wrote:All the Asuka-centric episodes are the worst because Asuka is the worst.


Damn, I should have remembered this. Fuck that little uppity cunt. She's basically Anno's creative abortion. She should have just killed herself quickly in episode 24, but she fails at doing even that! Why couldn't she just swipe Misato's gun and blow her brains out? What a completely useless waste of a life! Shinji should have put the moves on her in DLYWTW; THAT would have taught her and made the episode at least passable! Sad!

Conversely, I agree with you about episode 24 being rushed. Kaworu should have been introduced a couple episodes earlier.
Among the people who use the Internet, many are obtuse. Because they are locked in their rooms, they hang on to that vision which is spreading across the world. But this does not go beyond mere ‘data’. Data without analysis [thinking], which makes you think that you know everything. This complacency is nothing but a trap. Moreover, the sense of values that counters this notion is paralyzed by it.

And so we arrive at demagogy. - Hideaki Anno, 1996

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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby SoryuUberAlles » Mon Mar 13, 2017 6:21 pm

It's the first episode that screams "Man's greatest enemy is man himself". But hey, that's why I like Matarael and the blackout even though he's completely gimped. He is performing his role. Good ol' weeping illuminati eyes. If technological conspiracy at the heart of civilization is you thing, then episode 7 is your thing. The Commander and Ritzy snatch the light of humanity that is science from the naive fools who think this is about saving the wrold and sothreaten to unleash the worldfire that burned Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Fukushima of late, all for the sickly, weak and utterly human desires. It is connected to the larger series - it's just connected in a way the children and the evas aren't center stage.

Episode 24 is a operatic hurricane of beauty, conspiracy and terror. LOVE IS DESTRUCTIVE.

The elevator scene is rightly picked out as THE moment in Evangelion and you can't have that with her sacred rage. If you can't handle Asuka at her worst you don't deserve Eva at its best

Anyway, Mr. Monkeymaster, did you see this poll on Studio Ghibli? Apparently whether you like Mononoke or Spirited Away has a huge effect on which other Ghibli movies you like. Interesting to see if there's anything like that in the Ghibli fandom.
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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby The Eva Monkey » Mon Mar 13, 2017 6:31 pm

View Original PostReichu wrote:Where the blazes are episodes 25' and 26'?

That's a movie. I don't care how they formatted it, it was produced in a different format, for a different venue, under different constraints. It's a movie.

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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby Sachi » Mon Mar 13, 2017 6:42 pm

It was difficult for me to pick a least favorite, because there's no true filler episodes. I settled with A Human Work, even though there's a lot about the episode I still like. I actually quite like Magma Diver as an episode.

Dance Like You Want to Win is my favorite, because it perfectly reflects the action arc of the show.
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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby Reichu » Mon Mar 13, 2017 7:13 pm

View Original PostThe Eva Monkey wrote:That's a movie. I don't care how they formatted it, it was produced in a different format, for a different venue, under different constraints.

You were asking about favorite episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion, though. 25' and 26' are indeed episodes of NGE, so if you wish to be true to your premise, they should be included, rather than left out for arbitrary reasons.
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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby NemZ » Mon Mar 13, 2017 7:16 pm

View Original PostSachi wrote:Dance Like You Want to Win is my favorite, because it perfectly reflects the action arc of the show.


...which is exactly why I don't like it. :tongue:
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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby The Eva Monkey » Mon Mar 13, 2017 7:50 pm

View Original PostReichu wrote:You were asking about favorite episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion, though. 25' and 26' are indeed episodes of NGE, so if you wish to be true to your premise, they should be included, rather than left out for arbitrary reasons.

It's not a part of the television series. It's a film. It's outside the scope of this.

That would be like saying that you have to include Star Trek: The Motion Picture in a poll of favorite Star Trek episodes because it started its lifespan as a script for an episode.

I know that initially, spiritually, and in presentation, it's two episodes, but If they had kept the restrictions of length, budget, and content... and then aired it on TV, that would be one thing. But as far as I'm concerned, they're not episodes of the TV series. They're a film, a movie.

To quote George Carlin, "These are my rules, I make em up."

Besides, I'm not interested in including EoE, or making a distinction between OA and DC, when what I'm most concerned about is what episode people generally dislike the most. I'll give you a hint, it's my most favorite episode in all of Evangelion.

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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby SoryuUberAlles » Mon Mar 13, 2017 7:59 pm

View Original PostThe Eva Monkey wrote:That would be like saying that you have to include Star Trek: The Motion Picture in a poll of favorite Star Trek episodes because it started its lifespan as a script for an episode.


OTOH you could say episodes 25 and 26 aren't 'episodic' in any meaningful way. They're just one continuous thing. That's why End of Evangelion is so named right? "it was an, um, artistic interpretation, sorry, here's how the last two episodes really went'.

View Original PostNemZ wrote: 24 is a rushed, conflicted mess of a narrative that still doesn't make great sense after all these years if analysis so it falls off the good list too.

Episode 19 is incredibly troubling if you want to explain what S2 engines do. But I bet you Pound Sterling to Sterling-Post-Brexit it's probably going to come out top as the fave episode. Kaji says 'the old men won't stand for this' and then they do...nothing. Which is why they use episode 19 as a crutch to introduce Kaworu earlier in the manga.

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and end the world in 2.0. I read this as admission of narrative guilt.


The fact this doesn't go so well is why you realize episode 24 is the special achievement that it is.

Like Hodges says, if I answer tomorrow I might change my mind completely. But it's true, I defend Asuka but I like the action arc the least. I prefer to see her as the star of 'Bitter End'.
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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby Reichu » Mon Mar 13, 2017 9:28 pm

View Original PostThe Eva Monkey wrote:That would be like saying that you have to include Star Trek: The Motion Picture in a poll of favorite Star Trek episodes because it started its lifespan as a script for an episode.

That analogy doesn't even begin to work. You can find the episode-based naming and numbering scheme for the two halves of EoE everywhere that matters, from the film itself, to the packaging, to all official literature. In every conceivable way, they are episodes of the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.

If you're going through the trouble of conducting a poll, I'm not sure what you have to gain by omitting two of the most important episodes. You do have some potentially interesting data to lose, however. I gotta say, I don't get it.

View Original PostSoryuUberAlles wrote:OTOH you could say episodes 25 and 26 aren't 'episodic' in any meaningful way. They're just one continuous thing. That's why End of Evangelion is so named right?

Well, technically, it's named "End of Evangelion" because they blew their deadline for it being named "Rebirth". :p

Also, it's not continuous. It's broken in the middle by the film's credit sequence. The second part begins with a repeat of the previous episode's ending, as is frequently practiced in TV serials. The Japanese "Genesis" video release even split EoE into its respective episodes, and paired each half up with its EoTV counterpart. (So, one volume had 25 and 25', and the other had 26 and 26'.) This is not something that was repeated, but that it was done at all is telling.
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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby Guy Nacks » Mon Mar 13, 2017 9:46 pm

EOE is held to a different standard because there were no creative limitations. I don't think Anno could have gotten away with having oodles of vaginas, cum, and bloody carnage in a regular television episode.

It's a theatrical finale. Not a television episode. That's what EM means. And both those "episodes" were significantly longer than the standard 20 minutes.
Among the people who use the Internet, many are obtuse. Because they are locked in their rooms, they hang on to that vision which is spreading across the world. But this does not go beyond mere ‘data’. Data without analysis [thinking], which makes you think that you know everything. This complacency is nothing but a trap. Moreover, the sense of values that counters this notion is paralyzed by it.

And so we arrive at demagogy. - Hideaki Anno, 1996

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Re: [Poll] What episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion do you like and dislike?

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Postby The Eva Monkey » Mon Mar 13, 2017 10:06 pm

View Original PostGuy Nacks wrote:EOE is held to a different standard because there were no creative limitations. I don't think Anno could have gotten away with having oodles of vaginas, cum, and bloody carnage in a regular television episode.

It's a theatrical finale. Not a television episode. That's what EM means. And both those "episodes" were significantly longer than the standard 20 minutes.

Not to mention they spent more time and money on them. Comparing an episode of the TV series to End of Eva is like comparing apples and oranges.

Serenity is like a really long episode of Firefly.

Mask of the Phantasm is like a really long episode of Batman: The Animated Series.

But in these instances, they're made and exhibited in very different circumstances, so it's unfair to toss them in with the TV series that spawned them and consider them equatable, regardless of whether the creators stylistically broke them up into "episodes" within the film as a whole.

If you ask someone what The End of Evangelion is, they will say "a movie", not "two more episodes of Evangelion that were released to theaters".


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