Busy friend wants to watch Eva, so I cut out 5.5 hours of it

[ibot]

First off, I'd like to say that I'm a massive fan of the series and rarely does a day goes by where the show doesn't cross my mind. I want to share the joy of watching this with the people I know, but they often don't have the time to sit through 10 hours of anime. My plan would cut the viewing time of the entire series + EoE to a little over 5 and a half hours.

So, I wanted to make it short as possible without skipping any major plot details. Consider it "Bare-Bones Evangelion." Here's the viewing order:

Episode 1
Episode 2
[Here I'll tell him how Shinji makes friends with Toji and Kensuke, and explain their story]
Episode 5
Episode 6
[Here I'll tell him how and why Asuka moves in with Shinji and explain how the Magi function]
Episode 9
Episode 15
Episode 18
Episode 19
Episode 21
Episode 22
Episode 23
Episode 24
End of Evangelion

I know it won't be absolutely perfect, but will he miss anything major if he watches the series in this order? What do you guys think?

[BornIn1142]

I will never, ever fathom why anyone would want to do this.

Also, considering Evangelion's story is one of subtle characterization, missing something "major" is only half the problem. The other half is missing something minor.

[ibot]

I will never, ever fathom why anyone would want to do this.

My friend lives somewhat far away and, to be honest, he lacks the motivation and energy to watch something like this on his own. When he comes over in a few days, I think that'll be my only chance to show it to him. He wants to see it, but he just needs a little push.

Also, considering Evangelion's story is one of subtle characterization, missing something "major" is only half the problem. The other half is missing something minor.

Understandable. I'll be sure to rewatch the series in this order before the day of his arrival.

[NemZ]

Tell him it's worth the time investment. If he doesn't agree... well, his loss.

[Hyper Shinchan]

Couldn't you show him the new movies instead to see if he's interested in Evangelion? It'd make more sense than butchering Evangelion like an 80s anime licensor would do.

[Alaska Slim]

I will never, ever fathom why anyone would want to do this.

Indeed, I laughed when I read the title.

Evangelion is a head-fake, with the journey being just as important as the final dialogue, as the journey gives that dialogue context.

If you skip over scores of it there's a good chance the conclusions it makes will make little to no sense to you, or at best, you'll appreciate it superficially. You won't really feel what the cast has gone through to get to where they're at.

Your friend should be willing to go on the ride, or not bother. I'm not saying every moment within Evangelion is crucial, but to dissect so that he watches just the "key" elements is a futile exercise IMO.

[TomasJC]

If your friend doesn't have time to watch the series, you could always just show New Movie Edition (1.xx and 2.xx). It takes up less time, considering there is only two releases at the moment, and your friend might get intrigued into finding out what the original series is about.

[Blue Monday]

Tell him it's worth the time investment. If he doesn't agree... well, his loss.

Quoted for emphasis.

I stopped trying to push my interests onto my friends back in primary school I think, haha. Learned that everyone has to go their own way, you know. Just makes it all the better when you do meet people you can talk about this kind of stuff with...

It's why people come to a site like this - To talk and discuss Eva with people who actually like Eva.

[riffraff11235]

I've introduced three of my friends to Evangelion, and I would never even have thought of cutting anything out. Sure, your friend may get the general idea of the show, but he won't be someone you can have an in-depth discussion about the show with. Even if it does take him a while to watch the whole thing, I think that's what he should try to do. In those 5.5 hours, you could show him at least half of the series, and by that time your friend may be interested enough that he'll want to watch the rest of the series on his own. Then during your next meeting you can watch the movies together!

[SaVaGe]

Odds are he's just going to watch it in its entirety after you two finish the first time. Eventually. They all come back. They all do.

[The Eva Monkey]

Episode 16 (and to a lesser extent episode 20) is quite possibly one of the most important episodes in Shinji's character arc, and one of the most important for revealing the true nature of how the Evas function.

I also agree with what has already been said, if they don't have time for the whole thing, it's their loss. Evangelion is not one of those show where you can just cut out half the series and expect the effect to be the same.

[deeRez]

Have him read the manga where every page is golden.

The way TV episodes are done, there's a lot of filler to make 10 minute plots into 24 minutes. So all the stuff people glorify as being super-critical is usually gunk bs thrown in.

This is why I stopped watching episodic anime and prefer to go with anime movies.

[Restriktion]

If you want to make it really short, you could show them a version of Death, and then End of Evangelion.

But i guess this will leave hundreds of unanswered questions and will postulate a lot of explanation. I recommend showing him the Rebuild movies, and maybe mention that they are a modern remake of a cult-animé in order to inspire him to watch it himself.

[Fin.de.Siecle]

I agree with everyone else: just show him the first two Rebuild movies, and hopefully he'll be so hooked he pursues the series and EoE on his own!

[JoeD80]

Is 26 half-hour episodes that big a commitment? It's not like we're talking about an endless multi-season story here. Also I think there are a lot of thematic explorations even in the less story-heavy episodes. Seeing Asuka and Shinji's interaction in episode 9 for example. Picking and choosing what one finds most intriguing about the story isn't going to be the same as another's choice. I say let the art of the entire story unfold.

[Warren Peace]

You're proposing skipping over the introduction of Asuka.

...

Asuka!

[riffraff11235]

You're proposing skipping over the introduction of Asuka.

...

Asuka!

Unacceptable. Alternately...

ANTA BAKA?!

[Xard]

Terrible idea.

Either he has time to watch it properly or he doesn't

[CaasiBoy]

Holy shit, you might as well just show him End of Evangelion and be done with it if he's so "busy".

[Der Kommissar]

Either you have time to watch a series divided into 30-minutes bits or you don't. I personally wouldn't ever take it upon myself to cut up source material.