Eva makes... sense?

[Dave]

Evangelion makes perfect sense. All of it, every last bit. However, I don't think it can be explained with just words. If it could have been than Anno would have just written a novel, n'est pas? Thoughts? Comments? Witty remarks?

[Olin of Xephon]

Evangelion is confusing, sometimes confounding, and infinatley discussable. But I always thought the work itself made perfect sense.

Don't ask me to explain it though...I'm getting tired... maybe another time? :?

I don't think Anno should have gone the novel route though, things wouldn't have been quite as screwed up.
In novel form thigs can not be so cryptic because it would have been hell of a lot harder to read. In books everything needs to be explained in words.

In anime, the images speak for themselves...excpet for those few naggin images that flash across the screen in EoE I'm still trying to dissect...

[Vulkurt]

Evangelion makes perfect sense. All of it, every last bit. However, I don't think it can be explained with just words. If it could have been than Anno would have just written a novel, n'est pas? Thoughts? Comments? Witty remarks?

Perception.

We each have a different brain in our heads. Your version of Eva may make perfect sense to you, which is great and fine. Given the number of interpretations of single events in Eva, perceptions differ. Your crisp, clear version of Eva is most likely different from any number of viewers.

Sometimes, one of the hardest things for a human to do is to take abstractions (the firing of synapses and flow of chemicals in the brain) and make them concrete (put pen to paper, fingertip to keyboard, manipulation of tongue inside mouth). Most of us have a predilection for some form of communication (written, oral, art, etc.). If Anno had wanted to write his story as a novel, I am sure that is what he would have done. How he expressed himself is his perogative, and completely deliberate.

[kosure]

I'm going to agree... Conditionally.

The things in Eva that can make sense make perfect sense. Like the concrete data, and timelines and stuff like that. The tricky part, is that most of it isn't told outright, and only on the second pass throughthe series are you able to start piecing together an accurate timeline.

The other stuff in Eva, (like thoese effed up flahses in EoE) I totally think are up to personal interpretation.... As we all know..


Speaking of timelines, it might be fun to get together with someone and work on a big giant timeline of Eva. From the First Impact, to Shinji strangeling Asuka... Maybe.

[The Eva Monkey]

There are multiple levels to understanding and appreciating Eva. There are some people who understand it on a surface level, while others have a very metaphysical understanding, while others have a very cold analytical understanding. It varies. I try to move from one level to another, getting more and more to the heart of it. But I think as you move from one level to another, and begin to understand it as a composition, story, and cartoon, then you begin to understand what to put stock in and what not to. There are many things in Eva that aren't supposed to make sense, because it is a human creation, and is subject to the same laws and errors of any other. When you create a show with a truly complex story and characters, you are bound to have mistakes and contradictions. This is the case with Eva. I've given up trying to make sense of mistakes and discrepancies. I'm to the point where I'm trying to determine what is a mistake, and rule it out. Eva makes sense, in some senses. But not EVERYTHING makes sense. But in a way, that's what's fun about it.

And trust me on this, for if there was ever anyone who want a bit too far in analyzing Eva, it would be me. :oops:

[Karma Burn]

Dave! Explain yourself now! How can it possibly make perfect sense? That's like blastemphy of the ultimate sort!

[the_seventh_child]

The things in Eva that can make sense make perfect sense. Like the concrete data, and timelines and stuff like that. The tricky part, is that most of it isn't told outright, and only on the second pass throughthe series are you able to start piecing together an accurate timeline.

The other stuff in Eva, (like thoese effed up flahses in EoE) I totally think are up to personal interpretation.... As we all know..

I agree with you.

[Dave]

Dave! Explain yourself now! How can it possibly make perfect sense? That's like blastemphy of the ultimate sort!

I guess what I was trying to say is that it makes perfect sense as an anime... but if you ask me to explain I'd be stumped. The ultimate cop out I know, but it's what I believe is true. Amanda Lee said something like this in the EoE commentary regarding Shinji and Rei's dream discussion.

[Phaze]

Not only does Eva more or less make perfect sense, it's not that hard to figure out. All it requires is your utmost attention, and perhaps a second viewing.

[aranami]

My dad has seen Episode 26, and he understood every thing. He is a Psych major though.
I also did the unthink able and quoted some of the more confusing bits of Eva for one of my English papers. My Prof understood everything, even though it sounded like sigmund freud wrote it.

[RubberSoul]

I kind of though that too. I always hear or see people saying that Eva is really confusing, but I thought it made a lot of sense. I'm suprised I'm not the only one who thought this.

[coff]

Most of it makes sense, although it may take a few viewings to grasp it.

[Kiel]

Once again Dave, you say what we're all thinking!

...or at least something I thought of last week and didn't post...I think...

Just Kidding. I believe that Eva makes sense, It just takes time to understand.

While I understood Eva the first time through, there were many things I didn't pick up on the first time through.

A second viewing is always good...so's a third....a fourth isn't bad either.

When you're watching Eva through for the umpteinth time, pondering the reasoning behind the existance of man and Shinji's final choice, while the rest of your own life has passed you by...then you've gone to far!

:shock: wait a minute...
...
...THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING! :shock:

Um...I gotta go...

[Reichu]

There are some plot holes and plot contrivances, yes, but overall I find that NGE is a remarkably sound piece of fiction and holds up extremely well to overanalyzation (whereas many other anime would fall apart the moment you stop suspending your disbelief). Truly understanding the series is something that I am still working on, though.

At one point I went the fairly popular route, by which I came to my own conclusions about everything and felt content with those. However, I then started to become involved in the NGE forum community (first over at Anime-boards, and then to AnimeNation, where I have been for over a year) and it quickly became apparent how much of the show I really DIDN'T understand. It's a matter of "It's okay to have your opinions -- just some opinions are better than others" -- and, well, my opinions kind of sucked, being as they fell apart on further analysis.

The lesson I learned is, "If you think you really understand this damn show, there's probably something you missed that shoots all of your theories down." In the search for the truth, opinions are the greatest casualty.