What made Evangelion so popular?

[pmkava]

is it the Art and music, the characters, the plot, the way the series presents its self?

In all seriousness what is it that made NGE into the phenomenon that it is?

[THE Hal E. Burton 9000]

the Art and music, the characters, the plot, the way the series presents itself

[Mr. Tines]

The way it hits otaku where they live.

[PuppetChaos]

It was unique when it first came out, mecha anime was being dominated by Gundam, Gundam and more Gundam; and therefore a lot of mecha series looked and felt like Gundam... but that was starting to get boring, and then out of nowhere comes this crazy new Gainax anime with these creepy-awesome mecha and whoa hey dude this is really different.

I'm not trying to take away from Eva's merit on its own, but a big part of it was Right Place, Right Time.

But isn't that how it works for anything popular?

[Sailor Star Dust]

I think it's just everything about how Eva was done makes it popular, but the fact it managed to reach out and either "hit otaku where they live" like Tines pointed out or simply reach people who HAVE depression just like Anno...

It's just really amazing how such a seemingly personal work could affect so many people.

[Timstuff]

I can't speak for the rest of the Eva fan community, but the reasons I liked Evangelion was that it had a great coming of age story with three dimensional characters, and that giant monster-on-monster battles really pushed my buttons in the right way. When I was a kid I was obsessed with Godzilla movies, and as such I've always had a soft spot for two giant beasties bludgeoning each other amidst a crumbling city. Throw in a 50 foot long desert eagle and a sniper rifle the length of a football field, and I am sooo there.

Of course, all of that wouldn't really mean anything without good characters, as is the case with any good story. The fact that Evangelion eventually got me to care more about what the next turn in the characters' personal journeys would be more than I cared about seeing the next monster mash up is what truly set it apart from being typical Saturday morning escapism (although obviously, I never saw the show on a Saturday morning unless it was on tape).

Basically, Evangelion is the perfect mix of drama and science fiction, which is something I've always put a high value on. Liking Evangelion probably is a large part of why I would later get into Battlestar Galactica and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. When a show knows how to use sci-fi elements as a vehicle for telling a human drama, it has some pretty great potential for awesome.

[Evangelionfreak]

it was the tobacco companies.

[Fast Tony DeNiro]

It was a mecha anime that wasn't really a mecha anime. Obviously the giant robots are there and they fight, but it takes a backseat to the character's stories themselves.

So yes, you've got a crapload of action, but it's only there to support this intense drama played out by kids, which is obviously the main audience for Evangelion.

[Joseph the PRPD]

A mecha anime that was like no other. Very controversial and psychological elements that also touched real world problems and made people think about certain things differently. With a few funny moments as well and of course some dramatics and action. And of course

[BattleMonkey]

It was the first of it's kind and really was completely different to anything in the mecha genre. It was the defining mecha show of the 90's and probably the most popular anime to come out of the 90's. Mecha shows originally were all super mecha shows, usually for younger audiences until Gundam came and changed everything. Gundam was a new milestone for mecha shows and hence afterwards we saw so many shows take on similar serious war drama like approaches as that series through the 80's and on. In the 90's Eva came along and twisted mecha conventions into something completely different. Heavy on dialogue, complex characters, "artsy", complex plot that most will miss through one viewing, somewhat unique takes on mecha as well.... it was just so different from the countless other shows that came before it. So many mecha shows in the 80's and early 90's all seem to share similarities to gundam with some shows being nearly carbon copies.

I would think the whole controversy with the shows ending also helped boost the shows visibility in the publics eye.

[GAP]

I am not sure if there is any mecha after Eva that is just as good, it just seems like that hasn't been any mecha that is even remotely as engrossing as Eva as they all focus on the mechs while leaving the characters flat. I may not expect a masterpiece or "Artsy" from other mecha anime but still I wish that they focus on characters and story so that they don't get so convoluted and filled with plot holes. I guess it is the constant fanwanking and discussion you get from from a show like Eva, even Gurren Lagann (yes, Gurren Lagann) has some symbolism in it and all of Gainax's shows seem to have some theme that is somehow ecthed into the story that makes you go

[honsou]

It was unique when it first came out, mecha anime was being dominated by Gundam, Gundam and more Gundam; and therefore a lot of mecha series looked and felt like Gundam... but that was starting to get boring, and then out of nowhere comes this crazy new Gainax anime with these creepy-awesome mecha and whoa hey dude this is really different.

This has a lot to do with it, at this point in anime Real Robot dominated the scene. With Eva starting a lot like Mazinger Z, I think a lot of people in Japan wanted a "monster of the week" mecha anime again. Add in a group of hot girls giving fan service and you have a hit. What gave it the staying power was its the character development, mystery and a very good ending that was unique in its own time.

[BattleMonkey]

There was regular monster of the week and old school styled mecha shows around the time as well though. Eva though was completely different in style than anything before it. It wasn't for kids, it wasn't your generic Tomino inspired war drama, and it wasn't straight forward retro action.... it was truly revolutionary for its time and changed the way mecha shows were approached.

[Gendo'sPapa]

The Rei

[Sachi]

And of course

IT WAS THE BOOBIES!!!!!!!!!111oneoneoneone

And teh Rei. (BOOBIES!!!!)

[VoidEater]

The metaphysics and procreation symbology give it an enduring curiosity factor.

[Eva Yojimbo]

I think what initially attracted people to NGE was the skill seen in its utilization of classic forms, genres, and tropes. Everyone was familiar with its base premise, but it had rarely been done with such outstanding technical achievements; I include everything into the mix such as the art, animation, sound, and, from a dramaturgical perspective it was handled equally masterful. Simply put, it was something classic done extremely well on all fronts. Along the way, people got attached to it; the characters, the mystery, etc. and all of this can be seen as a result of how well it executed such tropes. But when its second half hit it was something completely unexpected. Like an alternate universe of some completely new and alien property that nobody understood invading the series. All of the philosophy, psychology, symbolism, the density of the narrative, the inexplicable happenings, the "so pregnant with meaning" things that go by so quick the audience didn't have time to process. All of this was such a jolt and contrast to the series' so normal first-half that it created this kind of wonderment reaction where people simply had to come back to it.

I see in NGE the kind of quality that all great art possesses, and that's the ability to affect people and make them give a damn about it to an almost extreme degree. Wes Anderson said that NGE was the kind of film-making that could create a religion like Scientology and, while the comparison isn't too flattering, I know what he meant about the passion and obsession it breeds. But I see further elements of great art; that of passion and an extremely high caliber of artistic execution on the part of the creators, a complexity, depth, nuance and equivocality that provokes people to keep discussing it, studying it, staying involved in it. NGE is popular because it's simply the best of its kind. It's the unique work that has enough entertainment factor to appeal to the masses, but enough artistic, intellectual, and aesthetic substance to make "those types" care, and enough mystery, nuance, and depth to keep people caring about it decades after it's over. I also don't think we can underestimate how much its popularity is due to just how many people have been profoundly impacted by it.

[Timstuff]

Well said. And as an animator, I am obligated to agree that much of the show's success likely comes from how well drawn it was.

[Evangelionfreak]

i still like my answer

[Gamer_2k4]

It's just really amazing how such a seemingly personal work could affect so many people.

Not at all. It's the personal works that diverge from the tired and the generic. It's the personal works that give us elements we can relate to. It's the personal works that provide depth that doesn't (and probably can't) exist anywhere else.