shin seiki evangelion

it’s quite difficult for me to review this one as it’s my favorite anime of all times. a masterpiece. truly unique. if you pick this up i promise you, you’ll either love it or hate it. (it’s important that you watch the entire series and don’t stop halfway through at episode 14)

an acquaintance of mine from france once told me when i inquired about him seeing eva that he is not into mecha anime. EVANGELION IS NOT ABOUT MECHA!! keep this in mind. if you want an action mecha anime pick up gundam, macros or anything else, there are a million plus one titles out there. for those unfamiliar with the term, mecha stands for anything from powered armor to giant robots/mechs (basically any mechanical thingy that has 2 or more legs and is piloted by humans).

the anime is rather old (it’s 10 years anniversary will be sometime in spring if i’m not mistaken) so the animation might seen somewhat outdated by today’s standards. but it really doesn’t matter. it’s not the animation or the action scenes that make eva great, it’s what lies underneath. and i can assure you, there are plenty of layers below the surface. i could write about the philosophy or the religious symbolism or the psychology of the show, but i won’t. just get the anime, find some time to watch it and if you liked it you’ll find plenty of forums and sites with detailed info and interpretations. just don’t expect to understand everything after the first viewing, you won’t.

after watching the 26 episodes of the series there’s also a full length feature called “the end of evangelion” which is an alternate ending, but it’s as much an integral part of the show as the 26 episodes (so don’t go to sleep before you watch that too). again, i can’t emphasize enough (maybe some caps will help) THIS ANIME IS A MUST SEE !! it doesn’t matter what genre you like, if you are into anime, you must try this one out.

also, as a not entirely off-topic side note, if you are interested in a crash course on kabbala you might want to read “inner space” by rabbi aryeh kaplan (amongst other things it explains in a comprehensive manner the basics about the ten sefirot and their standing in the context of jewish mysticism). just keep in mind that by reading what some contemporary rabbis wrote about some medieval rabbis who wrote about the kabbala, you won’t become an expert on the subject, unless you’re madonna of course.

and to finish with a well suited quote:

"god's in his heaven, all's right in the world!" - robert browning