Neon Genesis Evangelion

This is not going to be my final review. I'm already anticipating a rewatch of the anime that started it all for me. Not that I'd recommend people start off with Neon Genesis, which is a bad idea for most newcomers due to it's avant-garde story. Though now that I'm 20 something animes deep, with big titles like Naruto and Jojo in the mix, I'm starting to realize how different Neon Genesis is compared to all of them. To be fair, I haven't watched any other 'mecha' animes. Shinji is in a league of his own when it comes to protagonists. Imagine someone like Zenitsu but without any redeeming qualities. I can't shit on this kid enough. He's terrible. The only reason he's the focus is because his distant, unloving father summoned him to do the important job of saving the world... which is exactly what makes him such a great character. We get to feel the weight of his responsibility as he does. Everything is uncertain and the world could fall apart at any moment.  Neon Genesis blew my expectations out of the park and is the reason I pressed play on my next watch. Cowboy Bebop.

---