First, the self. Then, the observing self.
The self that acts and the self that watches. This
The starting point, the place where the mind begins,
Whether the mind of an individual or
The mind of a species.
~I,I,I-Hayden Carruth
Neon Genesis Evangelion has been hailed by many as the anime series that almost single handedly revived the lagging genre. I can see why. This is by far the most in depth and thoughtful anime I have seen to date. The characters are so well developed and real it's amazing. The music is some of the best I've ever heard. Crule Angel's Thesis is probably one of the most recognizable anime songs out there, as are the re-mixes of Fly Me to the Moon. The artwork is unique and pretty to look at. And the battle scenes are intense as well as artful.
The year is 2014, half the human race is dead due to something called the Second Impact. A young man named Shinji is recruited to pilot a mecha called an Evangelion, or "Eva" for short. Because there are entities called Angels that are attacking earth. He has all kinds of problems. His mother died when he was little under mysterious circumstances. He hates his father(I don't blame him). So he ends up living w/ Misato, a woman who works at NERV, the organization his father heads. This show explores the disfunctional relationships between the characters. But there is also plenty of action. The Eva/Angel battles are not to be missed.
Later into it more characters are added. The show-off Asuka, Kouji the ladies man, enigmatic Kaoru. It all starts out with the bad guys and good guys strictly outlined, but twords the middle the lines blur as "good guys" start doing questionable things. Things head up near the end of the series with Shinji retreating to his room and Asuka's self confidence deteriorating. A spy is found within NERV. Through it all Rei remains constant, as does Gendo.
Due to a lot of fans of Evangelion being pissed off about the ending of the tv show there was also an Evangelion movie released. It's actually in three parts, Death, Rebirth and End. I have the End of Evangelion. It picks up where volume 12 left off. Asuka is still in the hospital. Rei is off by herself(as usual). Shinji, after "visiting" Asuka, is of course pouting. All hell breaks loose after a while, but I won't give it away if anyone cares to watch it.
All in all, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a must see for anyone even remotely interested in anime in general. Touted as one of the best anime ever created, it has a great soundtrack and character design is very unique. Slender figures and razor sharp cheekbones grace most of them. Interaction is full of tension. Personalities really shine through. Gendo Ikari(Shinji's dad) is #1 on my "Most Hated People in All of Anime" (Rin Kobayashi is #2). Misato is really cool! Seriously, you all must see it.
Okay, everyone has their own opinion on what End of Eva means. Mine is that Shinji and Asuka have to rebuild the human race, yet Shinji wants everything the way it was. So where do Misato and everyone else come in? Is Shinji going to be their father? In my eyes Shinji has not really grown up a whole lot. He was more independant when he first arrived at NERV. I mean about wanting to live by himself and all. By End he was very dependant on Misato, Asuka and Kaoru it was sickening. I just wanted to slap him and say, "Wake up! There is no one else!" But I didn't have to because Misato took care of that problem.