What was the saddest part of Eva for you?

[SJCrew]

Rei is just a sad character in general. Shinji was the only good thing to happen to her throughout the series, but then she dies, gets replaced and can't remember a damn thing about him. In that light, I suppose I'd consider Episode 23 to be the biggest downer in the entire series.

While it's true that Evangelion in and of itself is a tragic series, Rei is easily the most miserable of the bunch. I have to wonder what was seriously going on in Sadamoto's head when he created her.

EDIT: On second thought, that's a little unfair; Sadamoto created the character, and quite an interesting one at that, but the series direction and stuff was all Anno. Guess I can't complain too much, given Evangelion as a whole is a masterpiece, I just wish they didn't have to do Rei in as badly as they did.

[supershinjiasukashipper]

He wanted to explore the nature of what constitutes life, of the semblance of what we call the soul.

[Sammaeloo]

When Shinji is trapped in Leliel and is slowly dying while experiencing bad memories.

Either that or when Rei II sacrifices herself.

[SJCrew]

He wanted to explore the nature of what constitutes life, of the semblance of what we call the soul.

In that case, I suppose Rei was just a little vessel for their foray into the unknown, which would explain their unapologetic deconstruction of her character throughout the series (and now that I think about it, she isn't really unique in that regard...).

Great. But I still think they took her in a rather sadistic direction. Perhaps throwing an "I love you" in there somewhere before her death would have made it more of a beautiful tragedy. Who knows, maybe they'll do something similar in 3.0.

[Joseph the PRPD]

Hey, im just saying.

No, seriously. What the hell?
Explain yourself.

Would it be wrong for me to say I feel no sympathy for any of the characters during the would-be sad parts of the show?

I don't think so.

[Sachi]

Would it be wrong for me to say I feel no sympathy for any of the characters during the would-be sad parts of the show? As far back as I can remember, I had a strong connection with Shinji and I sort of understood what he was going through (you know, without the giant f*cking robots and sh*t), however this only helped me become a stronger person and didn't in any way make me sad for him or for myself.

[tomrule123]

You know, this should be in the DISCUSSION SECTION! EITHER THAT OR STOP SPOILING UNLESS YOU USE THE "Spoiler" BUTTON!

[NatTheWriter]

The entirety of episode 23, really. From Asuka's sobbing over how much she hated herself to Rei II's death to Ritsuko's breakdown.

Also, in EoE, right before Instrumentality kicks off, Shinji asks, "Is it okay for me to be here?" The poor kid just gets a black screen with white text reading "silence". D:

[Sachi]

You know, this should be in the DISCUSSION SECTION! EITHER THAT OR STOP SPOILING UNLESS YOU USE THE "Spoiler" BUTTON!

Being that this is a forum dedicated purely to Evangelion, it is safely assumed that an overwhelming percentage of its members have seen the series (though this is not always the case). Spoiler tags are not necessary for talking about the show. Further, the Discussion forum is for in-depth analysis regarding the series; the content of this thread regard only the viewers experience with the series, and can be taken as light conversation, thus categorizing it within the Chat-Chat forum.

[skikes]

This... no more words are needed.

[tomrule123]

This... no more words are needed.

SUCH A SAD FATE, INDEED.

[kirri]

The only part that really made me baww out in tears was during the start of Instrumentality, specifically when Maya saw Ritsuko before she got tanged. I actually had never cried like that while watching TV, a movie or anything else before. Something about it just really got to me. It could've been a culmination of everything else leading up to that point that just caused me to finally break down, like Misato's death, and Asuka's death, both of which I didn't cry to. I think the music played a big part in it also. I continued to cry all the way until Gendo's death, which was also heartbreaking to me when he says the phrase, "Forgive me, Shinji." I'm starting to tear up just thinking about that.

[Eva Yojimbo]

Oddly enough, in a series that manipulated and toyed with my emotions to ridiculous degrees, I can't really single out a moment that I would qualify as being wholly sad. It's not because there aren't sad moments, but it's more because the series is so emotionally complex I usually find it difficult to reduce scenes to JUST being said.

Well, I take that back. The one scene I think was just plain sad was when Misato found out Kaji was dead. Her listening to his last message on her machine and watching as her tears hit the table I thought was quite moving. Other than that, I can't think of any purely "sad" moments.

[Sailor Star Dust]

The usual (Misato losing Kaji, Rei-2's death, Asuka's mindrape, etc) come to mind, but for me:

Rei 3's "No, I'm happy. I am one that wishes to die. All I need is despair." in 25 and Gendo's "Forgive me, Shinji." in 26' are 2 moments that upset me the most, along with Misato's dying speech and actual demise.

[WonderBug]

When Ritsuko finds out her cat died. It's so subdued that's it's both sad and chilling. I can't help but feel especially terrible for her in that moment (among others).

When Toji got smushed. He was the only pilot that wasn't a total buttmunch.

[BrikHaus]

The saddest part of Eva is that Misato didn't die sooner. The whore.

[Mr. Tines]

No, remeber at the end she has the last line of the movie.

Asuka dies in that big-ass explosion. It's just that she gets better later (for limited values of better).
---
Like Jimbo, I'm not sure that there are all that many parts that I'd label simply as "sad" -- it never really goes for the easy sort of emotional buttons like that. The most purely poignant incident that comes to mind is Asuka's reaction to Misato's thoughtless "You are number one!"

[DIDDY]

THIS:

Oddly enough, in a series that manipulated and toyed with my emotions to ridiculous degrees, I can't really single out a moment that I would qualify as being wholly sad. It's not because there aren't sad moments, but it's more because the series is so emotionally complex I usually find it difficult to reduce scenes to JUST being sad.

Well, I take that back. The one scene I think was just plain sad was when Misato found out Kaji was dead. Her listening to his last message on her machine and watching as her tears hit the table I thought was quite moving. Other than that, I can't think of any purely "sad" moments.

[toe mash]

Misato's death scene, definitely. The rhythm only version of Thanatos coupled together with her sad final speech really got to me. That piece is now subconsciously connected directly to whatever I felt back then, so its always very moving to hear it.

Nowadays that version of Thanatos is my favorite OST from eva, but still for a while after seeing EoE for first time I really avoided hearing it, watching the scene or thinking about it.

Not sure why that scene bothered me so much, maybe because I was watching NGE to rapidly and as was mentioned before the feelings sort of culminated at that obvious "this is the time to be sad" scene. Never cried from something emotional since I was little, but this is probably the closest I was.

[Halicat]

The sandbox sequence in EoE. That scene to me, was just Shinji's life and how much it sucked, and everytime I see it, I can't help but feel hollow. When Asuka caresses his cheek and how he slowly lets go of her throat at the end would be another one. I don't really know why.