Neon Genesis Evangelion 720p +RAW - (1995 Lang: English, Japanese, RAW)

Evangelion blows your mind. First few episodes may seem like regular giant-robot-post-apocalyptic nonsense for kiddies but soon it begins to unmask itself. The background story is very complicated and not every detail of it is ever revealed. Characters are developed more than in many regular movies out there. Simply lovable.

The show can feel ultimately silly, weird, technologically naive, even insane. But it has a purpose - you shall experience every mood and emotion thinkable over the episodes. Pure originality seeps out of the series all the time. But it's all just the beginning. The real weirdness, packed with substance nonetheless, comes in the last three episodes. No matter how you will anticipate the story would end, it won't be anywhere near the real conclusion. I can't describe it without spoiling it. Evangelion just blows your mind.

In 2015, fifteen years after a global cataclysm known as the Second Impact, teenager Shinji Ikari is summoned to the futuristic city of Tokyo-3 by his estranged father Gendo Ikari, director of the special paramilitary force Nerv. Shinji witnesses United Nations forces battling an Angel, one of a race of giant monstrous beings whose awakening was foretold by the Dead Sea Scrolls. Because of the Angels' near-impenetrable force-fields, Nerv's giant Evangelion bio-machines, synchronized to the nervous systems of their pilots and possessing their own force-fields, are the only weapons capable of keeping the Angels from annihilating humanity. Nerv officer Misato Katsuragi escorts Shinji into the Nerv complex beneath the city, where his father pressures him into piloting the Evangelion Unit-01 against the Angel. Without training, Shinji is quickly overwhelmed in the battle, causing the Evangelion to go berserk and savagely kill the Angel on its own.

Following hospitalization, Shinji moves in with Misato and settles into life in Tokyo-3. In his second battle, Shinji destroys an Angel but runs away afterwards, distraught. Misato confronts Shinji and he decides to remain a pilot. Evangelion Unit-00 is repaired and Shinji tries to befriend its pilot, the mysterious, socially isolated teenage girl Rei Ayanami. With Rei's help, Shinji defeats another Angel. The pilot of Evangelion Unit-02, teenager Asuka Langley Soryu, loses her self-confidence following her defeat, and spirals into depression. This is worsened by her next fight, against an Angel which attacks her mind. In the next battle, Rei self-destructs Unit-00 and dies to save Shinji's life. Misato and Shinji visit the hospital where they find Rei alive but claiming she is "the third Rei". Misato forces Ritsuko to reveal the dark secrets of Nerv, the Evangelion boneyard and the dummy plug system which operates using clones of Rei.

Kaworu Nagisa replaces the catatonic Asuka as pilot of Unit-02. Kaworu, who initially befriends Shinji, is the final Angel. Kaworu fights Shinji, then realizes that he must die if humanity is to thrive and asks Shinji to kill him. Shinji hesitates but kills him. Nerv and SEELE trigger the "Human Instrumentality Project", a forced evolution of humanity in which the souls of all mankind are merged through Rei. Shinji's soul grapples with the reason for his existence and reaches an epiphany that he needs others to thrive, enabling him to destroy the wall of negative emotions that torment him and reunite with the others, who congratulate him.

Although Eva begins like almost any mech anime series, it quickly transcends the traditional bounds typical of such anime and becomes a fascinating piece of character study in an apocalyptic setting. While the action is sometimes excessive and often takes away from the psychological aspect, the premise itself is quite fascinating.

Eva heavily borrows from various religious dogma, and that is one of the reason it has a mystical, albeit often nonsensical atmosphere (Lance of Longinus is an example of religious allegory which misfired). Lots of time is spent on various pseudo-technological scenes, the only good thing about that being that it nicely contrasts with the religious thematics. "Fan Service" was also mostly unnecessary.

Overall, Eva is a fascinating anime but does not fulfill all of its potential. The characters, although are fascinating and have great interaction, are static (although the writers try to make them seem dynamic) and their emotional makeup sometimes does not smoothly flow from episodes to episodes.

Nonetheless, despite its flaws, this is a great series. It grabs onto the viewer like few others, and only later can be analyzed without bias. Saying that it is thought-provoking would be an understatement. Everyday life is beautifully juxtaposed with the apocalyptic motifs, creating a nostalgic feel (which is especially worthy of praise because the anime takes place in the future). It is vague yet involving, impressionist in the sense that it affects the viewer like no other. Great musical score raises it above many others. Although a detailed unbiased analysis may show multiple flaws in various areas, as a whole Evangelion is amazing. Recommended to anyone who can appreciate art as a whole without looking too much into specific details, and is involving even after multiple viewings.