Retrospective: Neon Genesis Evangelion (1994)
I'll just lock my heart away deeper and deeper. If I do that I won't have to feel pain outside or inside... or the fear... I won't have to feel anything at all.
2015, Tokyo-3. Fourteen year old Shinji Ikari lives with his uncle after being abandoned by his father a decade earlier. He then gets a letter from his father who is sending his attractive young assistant Misato to pick Shinji up and bring him in for a reunion. Why now, after all these years?
Shinji is a mopey, disconsolate introvert with no goals, no friends and no joy in life. Still, he is intrigued by the summons... However, when he sets out to meet Misato a state of emergency is declared across the whole city and the monorail station shuts down. Walking to the next stop, he sees a large shape descending from the sky, a gigantic alien creature. Fighter jets attack it with missiles but they have little impact. Then a huge robot appears and the two behemoths begin fighting. Misato arrives in her car and ushers him in quickly. They race away from the scene of battle, barely escaping with their lives.
She leads him to a secret underground base, the site of the mysterious organisation NERV. His father works here on a project to defend the Earth against the invading giants (called 'Angels') by using huge mechas ('Evangelions' or 'EVAs') piloted by human operatives.
Not just anyone can pilot an EVA, however, only a very few people are able to 'synchronise' their brains with the great machines. One of those few, it turns out, is Shinji. After ten years of silence, Shinji's father has called him in, at very short notice, to step into some VERY big boots, with the briefest of explanations, in order to save the human race from extinction.
Shinji is, somewhat understandably, a bit thrown by all this. Reluctant at first to risk his life in combat, he eventually concedes and soon finds himself in the heat of battle with a gargantuan alien monster that is intent on destroying everything in its path...
Neon Genesis Evangelion by writer/artist Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, first published in 1994, is a hugely successful manga which went on to become one of the highest grossing media franchises of all time. Anime series, films, a radio series, audio books and games based on the original manga have all been very popular. NGE is probably the definitive reference point for mecha vs kaiju battle scenarios.
The story follows Shinji as he becomes NERVs number one pilot, learning to synchronise with the EVA and forming relationships with other people. Shinji's social development is a central theme; when he is not battling humungous aliens he is learning how to make friends with his classmates from school and dealing with his complicated feelings towards Misato.
Yoshiyuki's artwork follows the classic manga style with sleek mecha designs, exotic and bizarre monsters and overly expressively rendered human characters. The various teenage protagonists are drawn with a sensitive touch, emphasising their youth and vulnerability, in contrast to the extreme violence within the narrative.
The reader easily relates to these plucky kids, both during their life-or-death battles and also during their awkward (and, it seems, equally terrifying) first forays into the world of romance. The target audience for the original manga was teenagers, who would relate to the excitement of sci-fi action as well as the trials and tribulations of young adulthood.
The story develops further and certain mysteries are revealed, but questions still remain. The EVAs are remarkable machines but the crucial human component within is made of fallible flesh and blood. The battles often leave the pilot exhausted and wounded. There seems to be no end to the Angel attacks, so how long can the young pilots keep fighting before it all gets too much?
And if they fail, nothing stands between the Earth and an enemy determined to exterminate all life...
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION on Amazon
Zak Webber
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