How did you first get into Evangelion?

[Erizo]

I think I was reading Carl Jung stuff and browsing articles on the human consciousness when NGE was mentioned. I have seen pics of scantily clad Asukas and Reis across the Internet since I was a kid, but never been interested in the weird looking mecha, and didn't think too much of it when I saw so much fan service. It was only when I read into the synopsis that I realized I was destined to watch this...I honestly don't know how it would have affected my life had I seen this 10 years earlier.

[deeRez]

I had gotten a packet of first episodes from various anime. In this packet, Evangelion happened to catch my eye especially with its catchy opening theme.

Something told me that whoever had such a fine exquisite taste in music must have something deeper below. Not true always, but I took the gamble and requested more episodes all the way up to the last episode and the End of Evangelion movie. I was not disappointed.

The Japanese voice acting was superb. The character design was visually pleasing.

Interestingly enough I dislike giant robot fighting anime. Why have a giant robot fire a gun when you can just have the gun built into a tank or something. In the end the robot is just there for the purpose of looking cool.

I felt that Evangelion closed up that loop hole (something which I felt no other mech anime did except Gurren Lagann) by using biological robots and AT fields to explain why Evas are necessary.

[Sephizim]

Looking back, there were a few opportunities I could have seized upon to watch EVA a lot earlier than I did...

The very first time I can remember coming into contact with the series was sometime in 2001 (or thereabouts). Back then, I spent a lot of time downloading anything related to Invader Zim off of Morpheus (why we had that instead of Napster or Kazaa I don't recall), and one was a montage of clips (mostly explosions) from EVA set to the "Doom Song." I proceeded to more or less forget about this until I had that "Oh I remember!" moment when actually watching the series years later.

Fast forward four or five years. I was starting to seriously get into anime around this time. I started watching Adult Swim (this must have been shortly after they took EVA off of there, since I've never seen an episode of it on AS), based off of the advice of two friends (one pushing for me to watch Inuyasha, the other for FMA). The latter of the two was also very much into Evangelion, of which he related bits and pieces to me (crazy awesome robot fights, an ending that is cerebral as fuck, etc). I thought it sounded neat, but for some reason, it didn't incite me to try to find and watch it.

By the time of summer 2006, I thought myself to be quite something of an otaku. I could correctly identify many characters from various anime and video gmaes, and I had started going to conventions. At this point, another friend of mine had also gotten into EVA, and would constantly relate to me how awesome it was. This was beginning to convince me more and more to watch the series. When we went to Connecticon 2006, he gushed over two cosplayers dressed as Asuka and Rei, squeed over the plush Pen^2 they had, and simultaneously creeped out and impressed by the fact that the Rei had red contacts. When I later asked him what show they were from, he insisted that it was finally time to watch me some Evangelion. Our other friend who was with us (the one who wanted me to get into Inuyasha) owned a boxset of the original release of the dub (OA) on DVD, so I borrowed that.

The DVD player I had at the time was not very good at all (though I think I blamed it on the discs at the time), so many of the episodes would pause for a few seconds at random intervals. As time went on, these intervals got shorter and shorter. I slowly watched episodes 1 - 13 in this manner. Then, I went with my family to Cape Cod on vacation. On a day when everyone except me went shopping, I watched episodes 14 - 23. In one sitting. I believe that was the day I lost my innocence. You see, my experience with both anime and mindfucks was incredibly brief up until that point, so for the rest of the day, I kinda just sat around, not saying much. When I watched the last three episodes, it was back on that other DVD player. At this point, the pauses were happening every 5 seconds or so. Stop and think about this for a second: imagine episodes 25 and 26. Now, imagine that you've never seen them before, and only have the slightest of clues what you're in for (we've pretty much all been there). Now, imagine trying to figure out what the fuck is going on when you're trying to piece the dialog of the ADV dub when you only get 5 seconds of playing time for every 10 to 15 seconds of pausing. Yeah, that was my first introduction to EoTV.

Anyway, sometime after that, I bought my own boxset (Platinum, but the thin ones with no features, which I eventually traded in for the full version, if for nothing else but the booklets). And... yeah. Been obsessed since I first heard the opening lines of "Cruel Angel's Thesis."

So, tl;dr version? I'm a huge nerd.

[Final Messenger]

I just recently got into to evangelion myself. I was watching T.V. and I saw a commercial for 2.22. The commercial was giving it all sorts of praise and I thought it could not be that great. Then a week after seeing the commercial I go to best buy and I see the 2.22 blu-ray I then decide to impulse buy it and might I just say best impulse buy ever. When I saw the movie I was blown away.

SPOILER: Show

I was almost moved to tears during the battle against unit 3 and I thought Asuka was dead (I was very relived when I saw she was alive in the preview).

The only other anime that ever made my heart pound like that was the series finally of gundam seed (characters were dying left and right). And now I am obsessed with the series. I quickly bought 1.11, then I bought the series. Now I just need to find a copy of EoE but I don't think I'll ever find one unless they re release it

[bobbyfischer's ghost]

The first time I watched Eva was at the age of twelve,Been hooked ever since .
also on a side note it was the Spanish dub.

[Aiko Heiwa]

I saw a video of the Congratulations scene a year or so ago and then decided to watch the show this summer...

now I'm obsessed

even though I totally haven't scene EoE yet...BUT I'M WATCHING IT RIGHT NOW SO LEAVE ME ALONE

[AngelNo13Bardiel]

I totally haven't scene EoE yet

Oh dear, are you in for the hayride to Hades...

[Nivek]

Friend told me about it and one day when I was at his house I watched him perusing some episodes of it. Shortly after I got ahold of the series and watched through it and loved it. Eventually he came over we finished the series and watched EOE. He then lent me his REBUILD movies for a while.

[Gecko state]

A really good friend asked me about it one day i told me We are watching it and i saw the first episode and when i wen`t home i watched the rest of the series. Then the retelling of Evangelion came out and we came out and we watched it thank you friend.

[Aiko Heiwa]

Oh dear, are you in for the hayride to Hades...

I was disappointed.

GAINAX GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK!

AND MY SANITY.

[KingXanaduu]

For me, Evangelion was not an easy thing to get into at the start. When I was a teenager I used to be only interested in series that did end on somewhat of a happy note, and most of the shows I watched were Western and thus usually fulfilled that note. Video games, such as Kingdom Hearts, also fulfilled that role as well. :) During that time, I did occasionally stumble upon references to it across the internet, which indicated it was a very popular series. At the time, I hadn't even heard of it, so I did a little research to see what all the hype was about, and like every teenager in the early 2000s, I checked the only source at my disposal: WIKIPEDIA!!

However, when I read about how it was considered to be depressing and controversial series, my interest in it dropped and I didn't look into it from there on. See, I was in High School at the time and it was already a stressful time for me, so I didn't want to watch a series that would put me even further down.

Luckily, that view managed to change sometime during the summer after my Sophomore year in college. While browsing youtube, I discovered the climatic battle between Asuka and the Mass Produced Evas and saw how beautifully (if not disturbingly) animated. This was when my interest in Japanese animation was at its greatest, since I was a HUGE Miyazaki fan at the time.

So, after witness that breathtaking display of animation, I did a little research more on Evangelion, taking sites like Wikipedia again, Tv Tropes, and especially the one and only Evageeks. While my interest in Evangelion was growing, I still was a little cautious about watching the actual episodes still due to its depressive nature. Plus, there was nobody around on campus that was interested in Evangelion who could help me.

Luckily, that view changed during the later half of my Junior Year. During one casual browsing of Tv tropes, I managed to discover one fanfic that would guide me to be a fan of Evangelion once and for all!
"Which fanfic is it?" you ask? That's right! "The Second Try" by our own JimmyWolk!
This fanfic, in a sense, help me change my perception of Evangelion. A beautiful story written with an adorable and unforgettable character (Aki of course!) that provided a well deserved happy ending to the characters who suffered from a somewhat depressing (yet ultimately Idealistic) series.

To me, the Second Try a lot more than a mere fanfiction. It was a transition for an optimistic guy like me to bridge the gap between me and Evangelion, and thus become a fan with a better grasp and understanding of the series and its characters than ever before.

Jimmy, if you're out there, I want to thank you for helping to introduce me into probably one of the most interesting and influential series of our time! I owe you one dude!

[Relvetica]

I first watched Eva in its entirety on VHS over a period of two days in one of Amherst library's AV rooms at the very strong insistence of a friend (as in, I was visiting her at college and she was setting the schedule for the weekend). To be honest, in our mad rush to try to finish it in a weekend, it was too much at once for me to really absorb. Immediately after we finished the last episode, we went back to her dorm room and watched a fansub on EoE on her computer, and I just wanted to put my head between my knees.

It took me a few weeks to really digest it. I wasn't sure if I had liked it, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. And then I had to go back to my friend and say, you were absolutely correct in holding me down and making me watch that, because I never would have done so on my own, and it really is a brilliant series.

[AngelNo13Bardiel]

I was disappointed.

GAINAX GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK!

AND MY SANITY.

There are no refunds on that last item. EoE is nothing if not a guaranteed way to do permanent SAN damage (if you don't get it, ask someone else).

[n2eva]

Not sure of how I got wind of it but knew to pick up issues in random comic book stores by luck during mid 90's(Book Two issues 1-3). I'm sure I hadn't seen any video yet because I remember being intrigued by the blurb in the ad for VHS collection on the back inner cover of issue 1.
"...combines high-tech combat, X-Files conspiratorial mysteries and a searing psychological realism in its characters..."-Wizard Magazine

During early 2000's I'd moved to a new town and found one or two VHS copies at a video store. A year or two later heard about it again from an office co-worker who eventually lent me the entire series.

Totally excellent.

[pedropdea]

Well, I got into it because I was, back in 2000, part of the "Seinen-kai" (in Brazil, Japanese immigrants usually have Brazil-Japan cultural clubs in major cities). I was dating a hard-core fan at the time, and many of other friends entered in (sometimes) hard discussions about Evangelions, Rei x Asuka...
I got curious about it and asked to a friend to lend me his series. After that... never stopped anymore.

Cheers!

[driftking18594]

I originally heard about EVA on an anime thread on a Gran Turismo forum that I frequently visit. "Initial D" was my gateway anime (having kinda felt apathy towards anime ever since I outgrew Pokémon), and EVA was the first anime that I watched after finishing Initial D. Now it has invaded my life and my obsession for it just won't subside.

[Aiko Heiwa]

There are no refunds on that last item. EoE is nothing if not a guaranteed way to do permanent SAN damage (if you don't get it, ask someone else).

Little does AngelNo13Bardiel know

AIKO NEVER HAD SANITY TO BEGIN WITH

I was born crazy

[AngelNo13Bardiel]

Little does AngelNo13Bardiel know

AIKO NEVER HAD SANITY TO BEGIN WITH

I was born crazy

Ah. That...explains a lot, really. And that means you're fitting in nicely.

[Alastor]

There are no refunds on that last item. EoE is nothing if not a guaranteed way to do permanent SAN damage (if you don't get it, ask someone else).

>that feeling when EoE did no damage to you
>That feel when you watch it casually

...So I'm a Newtype or some shit then?

[Cosman246]

I was reading through TV Tropes, and I found it to seem very interesting.


I now harbor an obsession with it