Early Access - Neon Genesis Evangelion | Reaction & Review Episode 2 "An Unfamiliar Ceiling/Beast"

Perfect Blue!!

Yinki

Re: the episode titles - I can't remember where, but I read an interview with the series' director Hideaki Anno. He recalled watching a show translated into Japanese, then being surprised when the English episode titles turned out to be completely different from the ones chosen by the Japanese adaptation. The English titles sometimes focused on completely different aspects of the episode! So he decided to give a similar feeling with Evangelion - each episode has a conventional Japanese title at the beginning, then a more mysterious (to the audience) English title given at the post-commercial eyecatch.

GSMD

I never noticed until you pointed it out that the hand in the background of the first episode looks like its coming from eva 00 in that short frame where they showed its hand through the wall, also i love the uses of purples, reds, and greens in this series.

Wesley Owens

This show seriously has some of the most effective compositions and editing I've ever seen. Also the pair of shots you pointed out in this episode drawing attention to the uncrossed threshold between Shinji and his father and then the shot of him crossing Misato's threshold are some of the most quietly powerful moments in Eva to me.

Payam Sharifi

I think this chapter is the one that shows what Evangelion is all about. Great analysis, waiting for your theories. P.S I think you could see the opening from episode 9, I don't think there will be any spoilers after that. What do the others think?

Luis M

Enter the Chad, the hearthrob, the absolute GOAT; Pen Pen! Any nay-sayers who suggest as to the existence of any merchandise-focused characters should be shunned from polite society.

A Toilet Duck

Finally I came around to watch the reaction/discussion, I personally love the 90s/80s anime aesthetics, didn't watch that many anime from that time but I dig it. My fav aestethic though is prob in the beginnings of 2000, like Monster or Mushi-shi. I'm surprised you didn't talk about the music at all in this discussion cause I feel like it was in this episode far more present and grand than the last episode. The music that Shiro Sagisu created for this seems like to be really cinematic and different than most typical anime soundtracks, works with the general cinematic approach. I'm already holding myself back to watch more episodes but I want to watch Neon Genesis Evangelion weekly for the first time, it makes it for an interesting and different experience for me.

Sloopgamer

I would love to see your reaction to the original Ghost in the Shell. It is so heavy on philosophy, it would be great for your analysis skills.

Soul Nibbler

Haha, I forgot to mention this, but you did end up recognizing Koyasu this time, just a different character than the one he primarily voices in the show 😂 My man's is so recognizable that he can't escape no matter who he's voicing. He also voices Aokiji in One Piece, btw.

Agree with Perfect Blue ^

tom

The aesthetic is unmatched

tom

Takeshi Honda Animation Supervision: https://i.imgur.com/VRHZrcd.png Key Animation: https://i.imgur.com/Temzehc.mp4 One of the greatest animators, not only in Japan, but arguably the entire world. It’s telling when his nickname in the industry is “shishou” which literally translates to “master.” Honda does not work on TV anime anymore, so I recommend taking in every second of his work on this show. Last time he worked on TV was in 2014 when he was one of the key animators on an episode of Space Dandy, which is an outlier freak production so I can’t even say that it really counts. He is, however, the animation supervisor in the upcoming Miyazaki film; super eager to see what he’s been cooking. Stupid strong layouts throughout the episode. Numerous cel-heavy ones, which are even more impressive when you're working with actual celluloids. Friendly reminder that it's the animation supervisor who is mainly in charge of overseeing the layouts that point out what elements on screen are going to be done by which department. The role isn't limited strictly to 'animation' work. Exemplary showing, as expected from this guy. Back in the ‘90s chief animation supervisors (who maintain consistency throughout the production) were pretty much non-existent. You are going to be seeing many different supervisors’ takes on the designs throughout this. Many fans, including myself, prefer Honda’s take on the designs over anyone’s who has touched the franchise, even over character designer Sadamoto's. Reject consistency, embrace artistic individuality. Good drawing isn't synonymous with on-model drawing. And what about Ikuto Yamashita’s inventive mechanical design work? The EVA unit itself is so iconic, but not just that alone; all of the mechanical stuff we see in here. Absolutely love this guy’s work on this show. EVA-01 design sheets: https://i.imgur.com/65SkZsp.jpg Bonus sheet: https://i.imgur.com/UfcykPH.png

If 90's anime includes movies, would definitely recommend some Perfect Blue and Rurouni Kenshin Trust and Betrayal. It's not 90's a bit older, but recently been watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes and I must say it has aged well! And is very surprising how good it is!

traydo0r

The hard cut to the hospital, the impeccable framing of the shots, the montage style quick cut editing, all just ooze style and the series doesn't stop serving them up. Also I can't believe how quickly you're picking up on the symbolism and little character beats that the show is starting to plant. Man, this is going to be great

edamammy

Lain is great. If you want a psychological thriller, I recommend Perfect Blue, it’s a movie

Olga

Yeah gotta upvote that Cowboy Bebop recc. Was my first *classic* anime I watched and it's really unforgettable.

Jak

The art is amazing. There are many pieces of media that actually have payed homage or parodied scenes (other animes, cartoons and more) maybe you’ll even recognise something someday. I don’t want to end up writing a long rant so I’ll save thoughts for later. I’ll just say Pen pen is the best

Olga

Oh wow, Serial Experiments Lain sounds fascinating, looked it up.

FILMBuFF

Second this. Anything by Ryutaro Nakamura, Chiaki J. Konaka, and Yoshitoshi ABe is great. Of course, the obvious trio of shows would be Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze, and Haibane Renmei. But a lesser known Nakamura anime (or at least one I didn't realize was by directed by Nakamura) is Kino's Journey.

Leaky Peach

😆

FILMBuFF

I saw your post in the community section about that Anime adaptation, definitely something I might cover.

FILMBuFF

Pokémon reaction series when? 😂

Chelle

So many classics to experience. Can't wait for you to get to Bebop, man. Check out Serial Experiments Lain as well, could be something that piques your interest.

Lol NGL, now I have the urge to check out more 90s Anime.

FILMBuFF