Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Japanese: 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン Shin Seiki Evangerion) is an anime television series, begun in 1995, directed and written by Hideaki Anno, and produced by Gainax. It takes place in 2015 AD, fifteen years after the catastrophic Second Impact, reportedly caused by a meteor strike, which wiped out half of Earth's population and tilted its axis. Just as humanity finished its recovery from this disaster, Tokyo-3 began suffering attacks by strange monsters referred to as Angels. Conventional weapons are useless against the Angels, and the only known defense against them are the biomechanical mechas created by the paramilitary organization NERV, the Evangelions (Evas).

Characters

Main article: Characters in Neon Genesis Evangelion

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The main character of Evangelion is Shinji Ikari, a shy, dour adolescent boy and Eva pilot. For many years he had lived away from his father with one of his teachers until he was summoned mysteriously at the start of the series. Fellow pilots Rei Ayanami, a silent girl frequently mistaken for being unemotional; and Asuka Langley Sohryu, a fiery, proud, red-headed girl; are also primary characters, as well as Shinji's father and NERV commander Gendo Ikari, NERV's head of strategy and tactics Misato Katsuragi, and NERV's head scientist, Ritsuko Akagi. Most characters are, in their own way, socially maladjusted, and the patterns of relationships between the characters are fairly complicated.

Related Topics:
Shinji Ikari - Eva - Rei Ayanami - Asuka Langley Sohryu - Gendo Ikari - Misato Katsuragi - Ritsuko Akagi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There have been many hypotheses on the nature of the relationships between the characters: some are that Shinji, Rei, and Asuka represent the Ego, Superego and Id; that Rei and Asuka represent the Thanatos and Eros drives in Shinji's psyche; that Shinji, Rei, and Asuka represent the Japanese gods Susanoo, Amaterasu, and Ama-no-Uzume; that Gendo, Shinji, and Rei represent the three parts of the Christian Trinity; that Shinji and Asuka represent Orient and Occident; or that Ritsuko and Misato represent the Antagonism of intellect and emotion.

Related Topics:
Ego, Superego and Id - Thanatos - Eros - Susanoo - Amaterasu - Ama-no-Uzume - Trinity - Orient - Occident - Antagonism - Intellect - Emotion

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The character designs have also contributed to the popularity of Evangelion. The attractive designs of the three main female leads, Asuka, Rei, and Misato have been immortalized in the doujinshi community and in subsequent anime. Other designs, such as the sleek Evangelions, created a great counterbalance to the bulky Gundams of old.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~