cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/4787748
I am terrible at media criticism. I do not understand the media that I watch at all and I heavily rely on others explaining it to me.
I watched Neon Genesis Evangelion because I really like mechs. It's been a long while so my memory is fuzzy. As it started, I noticed that the overall tone of the anime was more sober and grim than I had anticipated.
In the beginning, I liked it when new Angels revealed themselves. The fights were not the best but I still liked them. I really love the concept of an incomprehensible foe whose secrets are slowly unraveled.
As the show went on though I ended up extremely confused. I realised that the mechs are sort of a side-aspect of the whole thing which was a bit of a bummer. It seemed more about the difficulties of an ill-adjusted Shinji being forced into the role of being humanity's child soldier. Other child soldiers had issues of their own which I did not fully grasp. Even the adult lady whose home Shinji lives in had boy troubles of her own which I did not grasp at all as to how it fit in with the whole theme.
I watched the last few episodes extremely high and was completely lost. You cannot imagine my face when that scene where Shinji fantasises about sex (I think that's what he was doing) came on.
So can someone tell me what the general theme of the show is? If you wanna link to other articles or videos on thiz topic that would be swell as well. I cam understand not wanting to type out about an anime that has been analysed probably more than any other.
The contradictory impulse of wanting to understand and love people while simultaneously being scared of them understanding you. Essentially, the hedgehog dilemma. Each of the characters wants to love and be loved. They want genuine human connection. But they're also terrified of being rejected by others or being abandoned. AT fields, the energy shield thing, are literally "Absolute Terror" fields that exist to prevent people from getting close to you. Angels just have a beefed up version that can block physical matter rather than just emotions.
The last few episodes get metaphorical but essentially the message is "Start with loving yourself." Everything with the mechs and angels is cool but not really relevant to the meaning of the series.