What the hell? Catching up with Eva
There’s a lot of talk of Evangelion these days. Myself, I’m debating whether to go after a fansub of the new movie right away or not. But get this: I watched the first DVD of the Neon Genesis/Shin Seiki Evangelion Platinum Collection yesterday. For the first time.
The hell you say?
I bought the Platinum box a couple years ago for my wife, who promptly affixed the NERV sticker to her car and didn’t watch the DVDs at all. To be fair, this is before the hardcore Shame began on my part and I really didn’t know what the purpose of the Platinum box was, other than it was a DVD box set and it was currently being made. I had never heard of the “Eva jump” or “Eva twitch” or what the hell ever they call that jumpy effect that happened when the original DVDs were created. Neither of us had ever even seen the show on DVD.
Really? I know!
I spent the last couple years denying myself the pleasure of watching them: yes, she’d asked for them, but giving presents and then using them before the giftee does, it’s hard on my already-shaky moral foundations.
Yesterday I was in need of a work break and since it was fresh in my mind after reading about the new movie starting its wide trek across the non-US globe, I popped one in. Now, I barely remember the details of how the show looked when I first watched it but holy hell it looks great now. Those colors belong in a 21st-century show. And if you don’t mind me getting nostalgic, I think any fan of anime is going to get a slight rush from watching the opening seconds of that dated-ass theme song. Thinking back to my first time seeing, say, episode 20, that song had the power to put me instantly on the edge of my seat.
Any re-watching of Evangelion will inevitably involve someone either confirming that it’s the greatest thing ever or pretending to be the first person ever to posit that it’s overrated. I’m gonna go with neither, because I’m a cold fish like that. Truth is, it’s great — incredibly great. Maybe not the best, but I’m not one to go with superlatives. I think superlatives belong at the bottom of the ocean, in a dark cave somewhere near one-to-ten-scale ratings, where people who can read and think for themselves never have to actually look at them.
Or to put it more simply, superlatives are the worst thing in the world.
While we’re being truthful, I actually can’t find much to fault the series for; its storyline will forever be re-analyzed, and yes you’ll find that some things seem deeper than they are, but like Gainax’s other (far different and less universally accepted) masterstroke Fooly Cooly, it gains levels of meaning each of the first few times you watch it. That’s no small feat in a serial of any kind, no matter how bizarrely Jungian the ending is (or how many times they re-tell that ending). It’s pretty neat to watch, knowing SEELE’s motivations from the start.
The only thing I can really fault is the dub, but after watching the commentary track with ADV’s director it seems like they really did a fantastic job with nothing. Most of the performers were rookies, and given that I think they did a fine job. And as I recall, they got better as they went along. HOWEVER. It is undeniable: Tiffany Grant’s Asuka will forever itch on my nerves a good bit, and I remembered as soon as I started watching that I was not prepared for another 500-some-odd minutes of Spike Spencer’s endless whine.
So for the first time ever, I watched the Japanese audio for a while. Frankly, I’m unimpressed. It’s clear that Anno and crew were going for a more serious, understated feel that seems fairly appropriate for the story. But that doesn’t make it like the acting in a David Lynch movie, it’s just kind of drab.
Back to the dub it is, and I’ll ride it out.
But I think the gist of what I’m trying to say is, this show is still hot like lava. The uniqueness of it shows through from minute one with the Angel designs, through the character designs that have more size in their chins than in their eyes, and the endless techno-speak and blinky lights. And no amount of slightly dated look or dilution of the themes by followers (Eureka 7, for all its cool and unique elements, relies on the central organic mecha idea) will kill the greatness this thing has. Greatest ever? Maybe not, but for something made by guys who originally set out to be nothing more than the ultimate fanboys, not bad. Certainly one of the most ambitious ever, and still not quite like anything else out there.
- otou-san out!
