Which Anime are you watching or have watched recently IV?

[Laka Strolistandiler]

I’ve rewatched Dallos recently. Love the old and forgotten shows with fandoms dead for decades.

[Ellbonnia]

I just finished S1 of Great Pretender. Overall, I like its aesthetic, and also actually prefer the dub for this one.

Absolutely. You can tell they put a lot of effort into the dub and it definitely elevates the show just that little bit.
I'd really like a second season in the future, not gonna lie.

[Immoren]

If fanservice OVA has largest percentage of airtime I've laughed at in series, I guess then Kaguya really is wrong kind of series for me. Atleast when it comes to humor. lol

[Perikuresu]

Just finished Horimiya and currently half-way through Jojo Golden Wind (or Jojo Part 5)

[An Alan Smithee Nation]

I wanted to watch Memories from 1995, but it doesn't seem to be available as a DVD or Bluray playable in the UK - except for second hand ones at ridiculous prices. Online versions all seem to be in Spanish. I wish Amazon would put more anime on Prime.

It is on Amazon.

Not in the UK though.

[Free Las Pinas]

I just finished S1 of Great Pretender. Overall, I like its aesthetic, and also actually prefer the dub for this one.

Absolutely. You can tell they put a lot of effort into the dub and it definitely elevates the show just that little bit.
I'd really like a second season in the future, not gonna lie.

Well, I'm pretty sure there is a season two, but yeah I would love for more cases to be added. Also fully agreed on that first point!

[Ameriganastan]

Do you have any examples of this?

See the entire final episode of the original series, the beginning and end of End of Evangelion, and Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0 in particular.

On-the-nose Judeo-Christian symbolism is fine, but once you start delving into nonsensical stock footage, disjointed endings, and dislikable main characters, then it's hard to enjoy a show that expects its audience to know the inner machinations of its creator's mind in order to make heads or tails of it.

Also, the whole "calamity is followed up with another, even worse calamity due to human flaws" is cinematically-impressive, but it honestly gets a bit formulaic and begins to lose its impact (no pun intended) once it happens over and over again in the same franchise.

You. I like you.

[New yugoslavaia]

*Sees people arguing about Eva*

Well, I guess even after 2 and a half decades some things never change.

[Nationalist Northumbria]

Fantastically awful, maybe. I have never gotten the hype. It's dreary, pretentious, Asuka is literally the worst character ever and Anno is a smug, hypocritical A-hole.

Well, yeah, Asuka supposed to be a bad person. All of the characters are bad people. Shinji's a womanizing sociopath, Misato is a nymphomaniac, Asuka is verbally abusive and can't come to terms with her past and hates people that can, Rei is

the cause of the Third Impact

, Kaji is a

triple/quintuple agent

, Kaworu

manipulates and emotionally abuses Shinji so he can get to Adam/Lilith; he's an angel and can't feel emotion

, Gendo is an abusive father and manipulates Ritsuko into doing what he wants via sexual favors, Ritsuko only cares about herself, and Fuyutsuki is covetous of Yui, Gendo's late wife, and later in the rebuilds

forces Shinji to start the Fourth Impact.

How do you get this?

The characters are not meant to be "bad people". Asuka is not "supposed to be a bad person". Shinji is not a "womanizing sociopath", that's a ridiculous description. Misato is not a "nymphomaniac". You cannot seriously say Rei is at fault as the actual cause, that doesn't make Kaji a bad person, and your interpretation of Kaworu's behaviour is but one of many and one of the less charitable at that.

[New yugoslavaia]

Well, yeah, Asuka supposed to be a bad person. All of the characters are bad people. Shinji's a womanizing sociopath, Misato is a nymphomaniac, Asuka is verbally abusive and can't come to terms with her past and hates people that can, Rei is

the cause of the Third Impact

, Kaji is a

triple/quintuple agent

, Kaworu

manipulates and emotionally abuses Shinji so he can get to Adam/Lilith; he's an angel and can't feel emotion

, Gendo is an abusive father and manipulates Ritsuko into doing what he wants via sexual favors, Ritsuko only cares about herself, and Fuyutsuki is covetous of Yui, Gendo's late wife, and later in the rebuilds

forces Shinji to start the Fourth Impact.

How do you get this?

The characters are not meant to be "bad people". Asuka is not "supposed to be a bad person". Shinji is not a "womanizing sociopath", that's a ridiculous description. Misato is not a "nymphomaniac". You cannot seriously say Rei is at fault as the actual cause, that doesn't make Kaji a bad person, and your interpretation of Kaworu's behaviour is but one of many and one of the less charitable at that.

They aren't "bad". More flawed.
Not your typical heroes. They're more morally grey...which makes sense considering the shit they've been through and how the world of Eva is I.e. really sucky...and that's without the angel attacks.

[Laka Strolistandiler]

How do you get this?

The characters are not meant to be "bad people". Asuka is not "supposed to be a bad person". Shinji is not a "womanizing sociopath", that's a ridiculous description. Misato is not a "nymphomaniac". You cannot seriously say Rei is at fault as the actual cause, that doesn't make Kaji a bad person, and your interpretation of Kaworu's behaviour is but one of many and one of the less charitable at that.

They aren't "bad". More flawed.
Not your typical heroes. They're more morally grey...which makes sense considering the shit they've been through and how the world of Eva is I.e. really sucky...and that's without the angel attacks.

Actually in the middle of the series (episode where Shinji kisses Asuka) most of them are pretty good people, it’s after he fails to do this everything goes downhill.

[New yugoslavaia]

They aren't "bad". More flawed.
Not your typical heroes. They're more morally grey...which makes sense considering the shit they've been through and how the world of Eva is I.e. really sucky...and that's without the angel attacks.

Actually in the middle of the series (episode where Shinji kisses Asuka) most of them are pretty good people, it’s after he fails to do this everything goes downhill.

Well the middle of the series is when it's a bit more "typical" mecha affair.

[Nationalist Northumbria]

How do you get this?

The characters are not meant to be "bad people". Asuka is not "supposed to be a bad person". Shinji is not a "womanizing sociopath", that's a ridiculous description. Misato is not a "nymphomaniac". You cannot seriously say Rei is at fault as the actual cause, that doesn't make Kaji a bad person, and your interpretation of Kaworu's behaviour is but one of many and one of the less charitable at that.

They aren't "bad". More flawed.
Not your typical heroes. They're more morally grey...which makes sense considering the shit they've been through and how the world of Eva is I.e. really sucky...and that's without the angel attacks.

They're not even morally grey.

[New yugoslavaia]

They aren't "bad". More flawed.
Not your typical heroes. They're more morally grey...which makes sense considering the shit they've been through and how the world of Eva is I.e. really sucky...and that's without the angel attacks.

They're not even morally grey.

Imperfect's a better word.

[Nationalist Northumbria]

They're not even morally grey.

Imperfect's a better word.

Why do you and the other guy like the show anyway. Explain because I really want to know

[Fedel]

Do you have any examples of this?

See the entire final episode of the original series, the beginning and end of End of Evangelion, and Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0 in particular.

On-the-nose Judeo-Christian symbolism is fine, but once you start delving into nonsensical stock footage, disjointed endings, and dislikable main characters, then it's hard to enjoy a show that expects its audience to know the inner machinations of its creator's mind in order to make heads or tails of it.

Also, the whole "calamity is followed up with another, even worse calamity due to human flaws" is cinematically-impressive, but it honestly gets a bit formulaic and begins to lose its impact (no pun intended) once it happens over and over again in the same franchise.

We're talking about the show specifically but

given EoE shows what was happening in the real world during episodes 25 and 26 of the original series ( with those episodes showing the metaphysical aspect of Instrumentality and Shinji's ultimate decision to allow individual wills to reassert themselves if they wished to )

we can delve into that as well.

-

What about the stock footage is nonsensical in your mind? There were budget and time constraints that demanded such but I thought there use was generally implemented tastefully outside of a few examples. The elevator scene for example ran a little long but it helped to underscore the tension between Rei and Asuka.

What about the endings felt disjointed in a pseudo-philosophical way ( or otherwise ) in your mind?

How is you personally finding the main characters "dislikeable" ( it's unlikeable btw ) related to it being pseudo-philosophical? There are many people who would find Walter White from Breaking Bad to be "dislikeable" but they would still acknowledge the quality of the writing that went behind that character's story arc and development.

What aspects do you feel you need to "understand the creator's mind" to make heads or tails of it? The themes EVA tackles are pretty universal in that everyone has experiences or experiences that causes them to close themselves off to others for fear of not being accepted ( outside of psychopaths and sociopaths of course ).

-

I'm not speaking of the Rebuilds, though I acknowledge your point as I also feel that they ultimately take away from the original series and EoE and wish they hadn't been made.

[Fedel]

See the entire final episode of the original series, the beginning and end of End of Evangelion, and Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0 in particular.

On-the-nose Judeo-Christian symbolism is fine, but once you start delving into nonsensical stock footage, disjointed endings, and dislikable main characters, then it's hard to enjoy a show that expects its audience to know the inner machinations of its creator's mind in order to make heads or tails of it.

Also, the whole "calamity is followed up with another, even worse calamity due to human flaws" is cinematically-impressive, but it honestly gets a bit formulaic and begins to lose its impact (no pun intended) once it happens over and over again in the same franchise.

I'm not the biggest Eva defender, but to be fair, they ran out of money and were forced to use stock footage and have a non-sensical ending simply out of necessity.

How exactly was the ending nonsensical? It's simply

the metaphysical aspect of Instrumentality Shinji was experiencing during Instrumentality in EoE. It's him coming to terms with his trauma and making the decision to allow people to reassert their individuality because he now views life as worth living.

[Fedel]

I'm not the biggest Eva defender, but to be fair, they ran out of money and were forced to use stock footage and have a non-sensical ending simply out of necessity.

Alright, that's actually kinda understandable, but that doesn't explain why it seems like every fan of Eva acts like the ending is some kind of deep, mind-blowing philosophical screed that was consciously intended as such by Hideaki Anno from the outset.

I don't believe anybody's said anything of the kind thus far. I think what's far more relevant is that Eva tackles themes that are pretty much universal to the human condition in ways that many people find compelling and thus it is deeply resonant to many people as a result.

[Fedel]

See the entire final episode of the original series, the beginning and end of End of Evangelion, and Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0 in particular.

On-the-nose Judeo-Christian symbolism is fine, but once you start delving into nonsensical stock footage, disjointed endings, and dislikable main characters, then it's hard to enjoy a show that expects its audience to know the inner machinations of its creator's mind in order to make heads or tails of it.

Also, the whole "calamity is followed up with another, even worse calamity due to human flaws" is cinematically-impressive, but it honestly gets a bit formulaic and begins to lose its impact (no pun intended) once it happens over and over again in the same franchise.

You. I like you.

Going by the justification they're making for their original critique ( which are completely unrelated to it ) it would have been statistically improbably if you didn't.

[Ellbonnia]

Well, I'm pretty sure there is a season two, but yeah I would love for more cases to be added. Also fully agreed on that first point!

There is? I gotta catch up on my wacky Ocean's 11-type shenanigans then.

[Fedel]

Well, yeah, Asuka supposed to be a bad person. All of the characters are bad people.

All of the characters are supposed to be flawed because they're actually well written and not one dimensional, yes. But that doesn't mean they're "bad" people ( though of course that's a subjective term ). If they're "bad people" then so is much of the rest of humanity ( which many would argue is the case, to be fair ). A more accurate term to describe them would be that they're "human."

Shinji's a womanizing sociopath

... What? Shinji is a 14 year old boy going through puberty who lost his mother at a young age and never sees his father making him isolated and alone for much of his childhood before being asked by his absent father to pilot an EVA and risk his life fighting against beings that will destroy the world if he is unable to stop them. Oh, and he feels everything that the EVA feels as well. He's asked to essentially be a child soldier with the fate of the world on his shoulders who will be responsible for its destruction if he fails. He initially refuses ( which if you have any empathy as a human being you would view as completely understandable ) before seeing that an injured girl his age will be forced to take his place if he does not and deciding to do it after all despite all that.

That's the exact opposite of a sociopath.

Misato is a nymphomaniac

Even if that were true ( which you have no basis for, making your statement come across as slut shaming and sexist since the only evidence for this would be that she wears provocative clothing and talks raunchily ) how would something outside of her control make her a "bad person."

Asuka is verbally abusive and can't come to terms with her past and hates people that can

She doesn't hate people that can come to terms with their past. She is an extremely insecure child who is trying to act like a confident adult to suppress her trauma. She despises people that remind her of herself because she hates herself.

Rei is

the cause of the Third Impact

Rei is actually not the cause of

"Third Impact."

Gendo is. He uses her as a catalyst along with

the embryo of Adam to initiate it.

Kaji is a

triple/quintuple agent

And why does that make him a bad person? It makes him a person willing to use dishonest to achieve their aims but do you even know what those aims are? Or do you simply believe anybody who has ever been dishonest for any reason is a "bad person?"

, Kaworu

manipulates and emotionally abuses Shinji so he can get to Adam/Lilith; he's an angel and can't feel emotion

Kaworu doesn't need to form a relationship with Shinji to achieve his aims. He did so of his own volition and ultimately BECAUSE of the relationship he formed with Shinji decides to allow Shinji to make the decision

similar to Rei leaving the decision of whether or not to allow individuality to Shinji in EoE.

[Britanania]

Right, so I finished watching Gundam: The Origin: The Advent of the Red Comet, and I'm not entirely sure I liked it. It's nice to see a lot of the old characters from classic Gundam, and a lot of the old voice actors come back, but at times it felt like characters had no real agency, like, with many prequels, so are forced into situations simply because we know how their stories turn out, and it felt less like actual characters doing things and more like they needed to do things for the plot.

[Ellbonnia]

Right, so I finished watching Gundam: The Origin: The Advent of the Red Comet, and I'm not entirely sure I liked it. It's nice to see a lot of the old characters from classic Gundam, and a lot of the old voice actors come back, but at times it felt like characters had no real agency, like, with many prequels, so are forced into situations simply because we know how their stories turn out, and it felt less like actual characters doing things and more like they needed to do things for the plot.

Let's be honest; The Origin is just fanservice for the most part, but I did really like

the twist where the actual Char is unceremoniously killed and the Char we know and love just steals his name.

Also, we've gotten a whole bunch of new Gunpla models, which is always a bonus. I also would've appreciated some more character development, but the OVA did its job of adding to the original Universal Century canon perfectly adequately.

[Britanania]

Right, so I finished watching Gundam: The Origin: The Advent of the Red Comet, and I'm not entirely sure I liked it. It's nice to see a lot of the old characters from classic Gundam, and a lot of the old voice actors come back, but at times it felt like characters had no real agency, like, with many prequels, so are forced into situations simply because we know how their stories turn out, and it felt less like actual characters doing things and more like they needed to do things for the plot.

Let's be honest; The Origin is just fanservice for the most part, but I did really like

the twist where the actual Char is unceremoniously killed and the Char we know and love just steals his name.

Also, we've gotten a whole bunch of new Gunpla models, which is always a bonus. I also would've appreciated some more character development, but the OVA did its job of adding to the original Universal Century canon perfectly adequately.

Yeah, that was pretty funny, but admittedly I was confused how Casaval knew that was going to happen. Plus there was some bizarre character motivation stuff.

For instance, I get Casaval wants to take down the Zabis, which he does in the OG Gundam, but he had a million and ten chances to do that and just...didn't. The stuff with Lalah also seemed tacked on, and I'm not sure I needed to see Amuro, that was time that could have been spent developing Casaval or Artesia.

All that said, it made me realise I want to see a complete remake of the OG series in that style. Gundam 79 is old enough that it needs a serious facelift.

[Ellbonnia]

All that said, it made me realise I want to see a complete remake of the OG series in that style. Gundam 79 is old enough that it needs a serious facelift.

Funny you mention that, since I decided to finally tackle the original series after years of procrastinating. I've gotta say, if I didn't love the franchise already, all that stock footage, slow pacing, and forgettable-to-annoying side characters makes this show not very appealing compared to later series.

I appreciate the entire fictional world the 1970s show spawned, but I admit it's pretty dated from what I've watched so far.