Last year, one of my offline friends kept telling me about NGE and how I should watch it. So, about a month ago, I was browsing this anime store, saw an NGE set for sale and thought "drat, why not?". I bought it, started watching the episodes and instantly got addicted.

First saw it on Tv back in the 90's, I cant remember if it was on cable or satellite. I had no idea that the series got so deep towards the end until I watched reruns on the web a few years ago when I was in college. I rediscovered it looking through an archive of anime watching titles that I was familiar with. It was really by chance that I rediscovered the series. I had no clue at all that Rebuild was about to happen either.

Not many will get this but LOCOMOTION!

^So somewhere in South America...

I've kinda known about Evangelion for awhile at least since 1998 when it started showing up in video game/anime magazines but I never really took an interest into it being the kid I was at the time. I know that I at least watched the first two episodes before 2000 but, again, I didn't really appreciate it or understand it so it kinda got buried away as 'that show'.

Skip ahead a couple of years later to around 2008. I was looking on the Internet for a new anime to watch when I read about NGE and how it critically acclaimed it was and how it's really good but needed to watch out for the complete 180 degree turn at the ending. Watched it online and got hooked straight away.

I think what really grabbed me was how different it was in comparison to the anime I had grown up with - I had watched and read a lot of shonen manga as I grew up and as I grew older, I found that they just didn't entertain me or gave me something to relate to anymore. I saw some parallels between some characters and myself. As incredibly depressing as it was, it actually helped me (amazing, right?) emotionally through high school.

I'm not as fanatical as I was a couple of years ago - I don't think I could really hold a debate against anyone in regards to NGE if you challenged since it's been awhile since I watched the show/Rebuild. But Shinji has stuck with me since 2008 and I don't intend on forgetting about the series yet!

When i used to go and visit my uncle's house when i was little, i noticed he had a poster for End of Evangelion, being around 8 at the time that poster used to scare the crap out of me, and i didn't have a clue what it was, it was only last year when i randomly remembered it and i decided to find the series, which i did, i watched the first episode and i was hooked.

I now have the complete series, Death and Rebirth, End of Evangelion, Evangelion 1.11,2.22 and now i'm waiting for 3.0 :)

well being the geek that im i was watching a bunch of dif shows kinda staying away from any new cartoon network anime but one sat night i decided to check out new anime on cartoon net and i can remember catching eva ep 15... and the thing that really stole my attention was this beautiful narcissistic red head named Asuka lol and than i proseeded to watch the rest of the series and was very confused and than i purchased the dvd and yea thats how i firsted found eva hahahaha sorry if the sounds like a kid wrote this im a lil bit cheesed if u kno wat i meen

I'd first heard of Eva on a random Youtube search. I didn't really bother to look at it until my Freshman year in High School, at which point I wanted to look into a predominately psychological series. I would've chose NGE or Death Note, so I decided to go with the one that had more critical acclaim.

I certainly didn't regret it. In a way, it's sort of made me understand human nature a bit better.

I was a fan of WalrusGuy's Youtube Poops, and I realized that he's a huge fan of Eva. I then decided that I should watch the dubbed TV series and EoE this week since I had nothing better to do (Easter break). I've been a fan ever since.

edit: I just found out NAveryW posts here! I should thank him personally.

I found Evangelion 1.01 you are (not) alone, on DVD for 5 dollars, and I bought it, thinking"I wanted this years ago, but it was too expensive, so heck, I'm buying it!"
I fell in love, and I actually am watching it right now..for the 4th time. (I just got it a few weeks ago)

plus when I used to have a subscription to an old anime mag, Rei and Asuka were on the cover, and I love the design, and the whole series sparked my attention, becasue it was "controversial" either way, I <3 Eva!

It’s a long story, but it’s of love, so it should be alright… here you go: As a young-in born in 1993, I may have not watched or been introduced to the series as early as most of you, but I will tell you my story nonetheless. Back when I was a small child, sometime before the year 2000, I was into all of the stuff that most kids were into. I remember that one day my parents and I picked up a Japanese magazine (I think it was given away at a yard sale we went to or something) of some sort, which was advertising the new volume of manga in what I would later find out to be NGE. The cover of the magazine had the cover of the new Volume 4 (Or whatever volume Asuka first appears, sitting next to a rock) on it. I was a weird kid, so I became somewhat infatuated with the girl in the picture because I thought that she was pretty, though I had no idea what it was about, and who it was, because I couldn’t read Japanese (My parents bought it for me so that I could look at the pictures, haha.).

Anyways, as a result, I saved the picture throughout the years in the back of my closet, and never got around to throwing it out because I never felt like cleaning out my stuff, and as a kid you are generally attached to material possessions, and when you get older, you sometimes appreciate the things from you childhood. So, now the time period jumps to this past summer, where I have just gotten back into anime / manga (My first real experience was watching shows on cartoon network back around the year 2002). Unfortunately, my parents say that I have to clean out everything in my room before I go away to college the following fall, or they will throw everything out by themselves. I didn’t like this because I am a pack-rat, and have so much stuff to throw out, but, not wanting my parents to throw away anything important, I meticulously searched through every single paper / item that I never threw away until I finally came across a ripped up cover to a magazine which ended up being the picture that I remembered as a child, and hadn’t seen since I originally stored it away around 11 long years ago.

So, actually having a computer now, curious to find out who this girl on the cover was, and to what anime she belonged, I scoured the internet, but unfortunately to no avail. So I gave up for the time being, and set the picture aside for safe keeping and for future reference, and continued throwing stuff away. Then, after my first semester of college, I came home for winter break, and I turned on the TV. I am searching through the channels, and eventually stumble across the channel 262, which is the Funimation channel on Verizon Fios (Or used to be until they removed it … : ( … ). I was surprised that such a channel exists, and excited because I have been progressively watching more and more anime.

I came into the channel on a commercial I believe, and it was for, none other than the second Rebuild movie, Evangelion 2.0, You Cannot Advance. Then, seeing an image of what I was to later find out to be Asuka, I immediately made the connection between this girls face, and the cover of the magazine. So now I went back to the internet, but this time with the name of the series… Evangelion. So, I looked up its information on the internet, and found out all about it. I found out that Rebuild was actually a recreation of the original series, so, wanting to watch the original first, I watched NGE TV, then EoE, then the Rebuild movies. I thus fell in love with the series, and in love with Asuka all over again, haha, just kidding (But also kind of the truth, haha).

I actually wasn’t expecting anything great from the series… I just wanted to see Asuka for nostalgia’ssake, but after seeing a few episodes with her in it, I was thoroughly and completely hooked on the series by episode 12. I still don’t know what happened to the rest of the magazine, but luckily since I kept the cover, I was introduced to the best anime ever… NGE!!! I was also surprised that I never heard of it before, because after watching it, realizing that it was the best thing since sliced bread, and that others might share the same opinion, I looked online to discover that it was on many people’s lists of their favorite anime of all time. Who would have thought? It is such a small and lovely world. … Haha,

I’m pretty sure that someone could publish this, with a little added detail, and it would become a very popular romance novel, lol, and maybe, with a bit more extensive modifications to the story, it could even pass as a great erotica novel, hahaha. Example from future novel: “At last the boy was reunited with the face from his most beloved childhood magazine cover, Asuka Langley Soryu! Through trials and tribulations, true love has brought together the two who were destined to be!!!” Haha, a load of crap like that would fit the bill perfectly, lol. Anyways, sorry for the long story, and hope you enjoyed it (Not sure if it is even interesting to someone else, but it certainly does bring a tear of happiness to my eye every time I think about it, haha. I think I’m kidding again, or am I?). … Fin.

- Oh, and I found the picture of Asuka that I was talking about, that I found on the magazine cover. --->
...
My Sweet Magazine Cover:

I will always love you. Haha.
...
- Well, there you go. A sweet love story from my childhood. Take care you all.

When I looked at anime recommendations in general on internet, Evangelion was commonly named. I thought it was worth watching.

After watching, I was amazed about how the story developed, the psychological problems and of course the end.

Code intercepts on file sharing networks. Found the manga story interesting, captivated by the NGE TV series, addicted to the musical scores and waiting for the release of the films so I can finally get back to sleep again!

^ So you're an Evangelion fan who's 51?

Huh. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Henry Spencer wrote:^ So you're an Evangelion fan who's 51?

There's nothing wrong with that.

Henry Spencer wrote:^ So you're an Evangelion fan who's 51?

Huh. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Bear in mind that I cut my anime teeth on Urotsukidoji many years back. Then I got married for a decade. That shut me down a lot from such enjoyments. Then along came divorce and Evangelion, in that order. To say I relate is putting it mildly. It's true, you're only as young as you feel!

As stated in another thread, I was looking for pics of Sailor Mars back in fifth grade and landed on a site that was featuring Asuka as their character of the month. Looked up more info on Asuka and became interested in Evangelion.

Mr. Tines wrote:There's nothing wrong with that.

Never said it was.

Also, a fellow Texan?

Henry Spencer wrote:Never said it was.

Also, a fellow Texan?

A'yup! Always glad to make another Texan acquaintance too BTW.

How did I get into this??? - I have watched different anime from DBZ to Fullmetal Alchemist, to Suzumiya Haruhi and other recent anime - but everytime I went to conventions I would see EVA merchandise and see all of these Asuka and Rei toys and be like...what the heck is all of this???

So I decided to buy the Rebuilds when they were cheap during a holiday sale last year and was going to watch them...thinking I did not need to watch the originals, until I was recently at a convention and wound up speaking with some vendors on EVA and bought a little merchandise.

From here I researched the series and was intrigued by its depth, symbolism, and psychological emotion - something that seems to be missing from the majority of today's anime...my opinion of course.

So I bought the whole Platinum thin pack and the movies and what a masterpiece I have discovered...changed my life...and here I am :)