Favorite Eva Music

[Xard]

yeah, EoE has fantastic OST. Gotta love me sum 2.0 OST too

Merged with that old 2004 thread.

I swear this has been confusing me for a long time....so Sachi IS mod in the end? Yet he isn't part of board staff...

[The-Happy-Go-Lucky-Wacko]

"Good or Don't Be" is most certainly one of my favorites.

Congratulations!

[Theos]

End of Evangelion soundtrack for sure - especially Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude. I get goosebumps every time I hear that one.

[BeoX2]

The classical versions of Cruel Angel, The Heady Feeling of Freedom and Good or Don't Be (played at the very end of EoTV, as Shinji is having his revelation) are very beautiful and well placed. All of the classical selections, especially in EoE are gorgeous, but Ode to Joy in Ep. 24 is sublime. I also enjoy Hedgehog's Dilemma and the Rei theme (I, II, III and Opus V). Occasionally, I like the bombastic themes in Rebuild 1.0 and 2.0, which are Angels of Doom and The Final Decision, respectively.

And, of course, Komm. Mainly, the places the music was put is far better than the actual selections. Like Jesu (which I love, btw). It's put in such a great section that it sticks out in my mind, and the only anime I know that can match this is Bebop, or perhaps anything by Yoko Kanno (I'd marry that woman.)

[kylethestrange]

A cruel angels thesis is one of the best anime openings ever. The rest of the music is ok, I like Misato's theme, but I think only because of when it is used, not musical merit. I think the classical music works in every case but Asuka vs the Eva series, I think there would have been better pieces for that scene.

[Eva Yojimbo]

I always thought the OST was one of the few weaknesses of the series, but it does have some good moments. I tend to like all of the more atmospheric, meditative mood pieces. But NGE is really at its best when it's using classical music; though Komm Susser Tod is an undeniable highlight too.

[EvangelionFan]

I have Neon Genesis Evangelion I, II & III and The End of Evangelion on my computer and I like almost all of the tracks across the albums. A shortlist of my absolute favourites would go something like this:

SPOILER: Show

From Neon Genesis Evangelion I:
A Cruel Angel's Thesis (Director's Edit Version)
A Step Forward Into Terror
EVA-01
Fly Me to the Moon
NERV
Rei I
Rei II

From Neon Genesis Evangelion II:
A Vision
Borderline Case
Rei III
She Said, Don't Make Others Suffer For Your Personal Hatred
Thanatos

From Neon Genesis Evangelion III:
Eternal Embrace
Fly Me to the Moon (Aya London Beat)
Good, Or Don't Be
Happiness Is the Smell of Sin
Infantile Dependence, Adult Dependency
Separation Anxiety
The Heady Feeling of Freedom

From The End of Evangelion:
Escape to The Beginning
Expansion of Blockade
II. Air
Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude
Komm, süsser Tod (Come, Sweet Death)
Thanatos - If I Can’t Be Yours
The Passage of Emptiness

[Killer Bee]

Nothing can hold a candle to Komm, Susser Tod as far as I'm concerned.

[Hyper Shinchan]

I tend to become melancholic each time I heard "Komm, süsser Tod" but it's not like I dislike it, I just prefer to don't hear it too often.
Anyway I've always liked the opening and especially the 10th Anniversary Edition version.
Between the BGM my favourite ones are "Thanatos" and "Ikari Shinji" but I find amazing most if not all of the tracks, Shiro Sagisu has always been a genius (Nadia's OSTs is an other examples of his greatness) imho.
The classical tunes that they used are classical in every sense (most of them are quite popular and you could know them without being a fan of Beethoven or Bach but this could have been wanted) yet they've been used in a outstanding way, giving to audience that feeling that the animation alone probably could never give.

[Azathoth]

I always thought the OST was one of the few weaknesses of the series, but it does have some good moments. I tend to like all of the more atmospheric, meditative mood pieces. But NGE is really at its best when it's using classical music; though Komm Susser Tod is an undeniable highlight too.

I'm with you there. Sagisu isn't a terrible composer, but his up-tempo stuff does nothing for me - and sometimes it apparently did nothing for Anno, either; Angel Attack II and III appear a grand total of once each, if I recall. But Angel Attack itself will always be a favorite of mine, gives me pleasant flashbacks to Mobile Suit Gundam.

Rei I and the associated Thanatos are near the top of my list; all the more pity that Asuka never really gets a musical motif of her own (nor does Shinji, really, since his barely gets used). Borderline Case (and the version of it without the beat, which I can't remember the name of) has always been a great favorite of mine; back when I smoked it was my go-to chill music. Mother is the First Other always gets me too, mostly because I invariably think of Unit 02's awakening when I hear the opening chords. Infantile Dependence, Adult Dependency was another one of my smoking-up favorites; I wonder if Sagisu had been listening to Koyaanisqatsi that day.

On the other hand there's always Ikari Shinji, which gets shamefully underused, in my opinion - I can only think of one appearance, in episode one - and The Beast II/Normal Blood, the retake of which is my favorite thing about Rebuild so far (although it, too, gets rather underused).

Every utilization of classical music in the series is pretty much glorious, although the Hallelujah Chorus threw me for a loop the first time I watched it.

However, my all-time favorite - and this is never likely to change, although Rebuild has been doing some things with the soundtrack that I truly do like regardless of my other misgivings about it - is the last two songs from End of Eva. Expansion of the Blockade and Opening of the Dream are genuinely beautiful pieces of music, on the one hand the dirge for Lilith/Adam meeting the hymn of Yui Ikari's triumph and ascension, on the other the quiet, uncertain resolve of the poor kid she leaves it all to. I still cry my fucking eyes out every time I watch that scene, and even the OST sends me off from time to time.

I have only two big complaints with EoE, and one of them is that there's so little sound during One More Final. I appreciate that the scene is so stark and minimalistic that you wouldn't want to have Good, or Don't Be playing during it or anything...but I do think that one last repetition of the last few chords of Expansion of the Blockade (not the ones it took from Rei I but the brass flourishes) should have been in there, orphaned piano chords on pure white screen, segueing slightly into the melody of Opening of the Dream. One last passing of the torch of "you're fucked, but stay with it" from semi-sane mother to semi-sane child.

完.

[tomrule123]

Practically, I love the entire score for NGE and EoE (especially the classical music used, for those were given a bigger dramatic effect). NGE's score did not sound like a regular TV score at all. This score made the show as if it were a theatrical presentation. EoE, though, made the film more messed up... in an excellent way. The music made the scenes fitting. "Come, Sweet Death" was my personal favorite.

SPOILER: Show

A F-ed up scene with happy-themed tune... can it get any better? (Thankfully, it was done again in EVA 2.22.)

Also, the final two pieces of the score were beautiful and heartbroken at the same time.

As for the Rebuild music, it was a lot better than the NGE music in my opinion.

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

I always thought the OST was one of the few weaknesses of the series, but it does have some good moments. I tend to like all of the more atmospheric, meditative mood pieces. But NGE is really at its best when it's using classical music; though Komm Susser Tod is an undeniable highlight too.

I think a lot of this is because Sagisu was asked to write only a set amount of music tracks that could be reused throughout the TV series. The few good moments that you mentioned were a result of writing for a specific moment. The music tracks for the mood pieces were a little more finely tuned to their moments only because there wasn't much of them, and they all were structured similarly anyway.

I think Expansion of Blockade played right after Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude in EoE was perhaps one of Sagisu's best works ever.

[Theos]

I think Expansion of Blockade played right after Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude in EoE was perhaps one of Sagisu's best works ever.

Oh yeah. Definitely have to agree with you on that one.

[InstrumentalityOne]

Tsubasa wo Kudasai sung by Megumi Hayashibara(Rei´s VA) sent chills down my spine in 2.22.

[MJHx]

Does anyone know if there are any Eva sheet music books available to purchase? It'd be incredibly rewarding to learn some of these songs, I think...

[soul.assassin]

Personal favorite at the moment? When I Find Peace of Mind.

[IrkenEvangelion]

Does anyone know if there are any Eva sheet music books available to purchase? It'd be incredibly rewarding to learn some of these songs, I think...

There's a couple on ebay. You can find a lot of it online too.

[MJHx]

There's a couple on ebay. You can find a lot of it online too.

Thanks!

[tomrule123]

Tsubasa wo Kudasai sung by Megumi Hayashibara(Rei´s VA) sent chills down my spine in 2.22.

That part definitely felt like "Komm Susser Tod" in EoE, except the EoE version was better. But I definitely love the 2.22 segment (a happy tune during an WTF scene). Though if you change "Tsubasa Wo Kudasai"'s pitch to one level, you would get a completely different listening experience than the original.

[EvangelionFan]

I now have Jikai Yokoku as my ringtone. Awwww yeah.