Entertainment Value of Evangelion

[Tumbling Down]

What is it you find entertaining about Evangelion? Not intellectually interesting, but entertaining.

[ChaddyManPrime]

Meh, entertainment value for NGE isn't very high, Rebuild on the other hand is chock full of entertainment.

I mean unless you are entertained by angst and dysfunction, then NGE is right up your alley.

[Sgt. Griff]

The action arc was pretty entertaining, Dance Like You Want To Win especially.

[Ray]

The spectacle of seeing giant robot battles being done in a pseudo realistic way for one. The rest is the empathy we have with the characters, the slice of life comedy aspects.

The thing is though Eva is meant to engage and inform its audience as much as it entertains, it baits you in with promises of a fun lighthearted Giant Robot anime. Then shows it's true colors as a grand tragedy about the pros, cons and inherent importance of human communication.

Of course then we have to ask ourselves, what makes a work of fiction entertaining to begin with?

[Nuclear Lunchbox]

I find that intellectual interest and entertainment are very closely linked as far as I'm concerned. What did I find entertaining? Pretty much all of it. That's why I'm here on the forums, you know.

[El Squibbonator]

I think Evangelion can still be considered entertainment. Sure, it has a lot of deep intellectual themes, but it's still fundamentally a TV series meant to provide entertainment.

[Guy Nacks]

I think Evangelion can still be considered entertainment. Sure, it has a lot of deep intellectual themes, but it's still fundamentally a TV series meant to provide entertainment.

Yeah, this. Sure, Anno wanted to make something groundbreakingly different, but he still understood that the show is supposed to be entertaining so that people keep tuning in.

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

Entertainment is from the word “entertain”.

en·ter·tain

ˌen(t)ərˈtān/

verb

1. provide (someone) with amusement or enjoyment.
"a tremendous game that thoroughly entertained the crowd"
synonyms: amuse, divert, delight, please, charm, cheer, interest; More
antonyms: bore
receive (someone) as a guest and provide them with food and drink.
"a private dining room where members could entertain groups of friends"
synonyms: receive, host, play host/hostess to, invite (around/round/over), throw a party for;

2. give attention or consideration to (an idea, suggestion, or feeling).
"Washington entertained little hope of an early improvement in relations"
synonyms: consider, give consideration to, contemplate, think about, give thought to;

I would say Evangelion does all of these very well, with the Action Arc there to provide amusement and enjoyment, and the latter half there to give attention or consideration to various ideas, suggestions, and feelings. In the Next Preview at the end of Episode 17 the voice-over even invites the viewers to “bring their friends,” which would mean that Evangelion is defined in that Next Preview to be able to entertain a group of friends. Evangelion somehow ends up being the very all-encompassing definition of “entertainment”.

[Guy Nacks]

In the Next Preview at the end of Episode 17 the voice-over even invites the viewers to “bring their friends,” which would mean that Evangelion is defined in that Next Preview to be able to entertain a group of friends.

Given what happens in ep. 18, this is hilarious.

[IronEvangelion]

Let's see... A genetically engineered little girl trolling a female scientist, a teenage boy using his giant momborg to fight a giant living laser-tentacle dildo, an alchoholic major with a pet penguin trying to be a mother to a couple of teens who don't get along, Rei Ayanami, giant cyborgs fighting bizzarre-looking angels, and... just about everything else, too.

[Compiling_Autumn]

My answer is yes, except for episode 7 and maybe episode 13. The angel in episode 11 is pretty lame too

[Rodeo]

Wouldn't be a very good show if it wasn't, Evangelion IS entertainment.

[Tumbling Down]

I guess I'm in the minority. I find the action arc rather boring. The show doesn't really get good for me until the end.

[mechashiva]

The action arc was pretty entertaining, Dance Like You Want To Win especially.

This. It happens to be my favorite episode. Shinji and Asuka clashing and learning to work together to beat Israfel through the power of dance.

[s]Noooo, I don't ship Shinji/Asuka. Of course not! *shifty eyes*[/s]

I think for me, the show benefits from the rewatch. I kind of knew vaguely what I getting into the first time around but what I enjoyed, in a storytelling/worldbuilding way, is how the early episodes foreshadow at least vaguely "Things are not right here". One example that jumps out at me is dialogue from this news radio or tv talking about how since the Second Impact, the world is in a perpetual summer. Its meant to be background noise but if you're paying attention to it, it makes the world so much richer, in a way.

[Giji Shinka]

Rebuild on the other hand is chock full of entertainment.

True, NTE manages to feel entertaining (Even 3.0 is entertaining, even though it's depressing asf and the atmosphere is one of the darkest/bleakest I've ever witnessed) and deep at the same time, which is pretty rare to see in films/anime.

[Rosenakahara]

^ and thats why i love NTE
uh.........NTE or NGE? if NTE: the fights dear god are they awesome.
if NGE:.....................i'll get back to you on that

[EvangelionGodMode]

At first i didn't expect a mind fuck experience from Eva, so pretty much i watch it at first for entertainment value. I was not disappointed, the battles were beautifully animated, the Evas were cool looking and the characters all felt realistic and believable so that made it that much better to watch. The angels were all defeated in different manners, so that kept the fights from getting boring. The entertainment value of eva lies in the first 19 episodes, not to say 20-24 weren't entertaining, but they were more psychological experiences meant to mess with viewers head than to entertain them.

[Dream]

Seeing Rei naked was pretty entertaining.

[strawhatpatriot]

The way the series focused on the psychological crap during the last 9 episodes.

IT was entertaining seeing how depressive the episodes were. I will never forget hearing "Rei I" and "Thanatos" being used a lot at that time.

[SawItAtAge10]

The things I found entertaining about the original series were the epic fights, especially the action arc (the fight in episode 19 being the most brutal Angel (physical) attack imo). I also like the characters' "off days" when they were just sitting around having conversations or were at school etc. These held some pretty humorous and humanizing moments that were fun to watch.