I'm going to watch Evangelion for the first time.

There are two important things to remember while watching the series. I have found that most people who don't like the show either don't know or don't acknowledge one or both of these two things:

1) This isn't a mech anime, and this isn't a religious anime. It's about human beings, and the human beings are the core of the show. They are what you should focus on.

2) The humans in the show are real. This means that they can get on your nerves, and you may not like them, but you've surely met people before who are just like some of the characters. If you've never met anybody like anybody in the show, then you must have lived in a damn good neighborhood all your life.

A lot of people say that Shinji is a whiny bitch, but he's a fucking fourteen-year-old with a dead mother and a father who acts like he hates him. That last part is really important. Whenever someone complains about Shinji being emo, I think, "I'm sure you'd be all happy and sunshiny if your mom was dead and your dad treated you like you're worthless."

If people can watch movies like Varsity Blues, where the main character is angry because his dad makes him play football, and think it's realistic, why can't people accept that Shinji should be a little bitch? I remember 14 being a shitty age, and my parents were both alive and loved me.

Good series, have fun.

Can't wait for 2.0, Asuka is one of the hottest girls in anime

did you cry every night at 14? Even kids with shitty lives have enough sack to not cry at the drop of a fucking hat. I don't expect much epic gar out of a 14 year old, i just don't expect him to be the weepy vag that he was... male anime protagonist... I should have expected it... my bad.

I haven't watched it yet as well. Its one of those untouchable classics that I haven't gotten around to watching. Grave of the fireflies is another...

Planning on downloading it soon though :)

well evangelion is a good series, enjoy it

though the story is seems to be confusing, but it seems real to me
the interaction between characters and the girls especially

but to be honest watched the end of evangelion make me more confused...

Such vehemence on all sides!
To those who have suggested I not watch this, thank you for your opinions, but I've already downloaded the set and it's currently eating about 15 gigs of space, so I'll watch it.

Thank you, all others, for your insight. Omegasin, I think I'll watch it that way.

To be honest, depressing and confusing have always attracted me, as well as a more "adult" cast and theme. I don't mean added sex and violence, I mean instead of those "It's all ok" and "Good always triumphs" themes, the ones that explore the soul and the nature of man. (Ok, it's cheesy, but what the hell, this is a porn forum) Oh, and, Crying emo boy leads are nothing new to me. I like to laugh at them.

watch it and itll rock your world lol

Part of what I always liked about NGE was that it was more realistic than other series. I like fantasy, but it is refreshing to see some reality.

Sure, Shinji isn't a completely real person, but he's closer to reality than 90% of all teenage anime characters out there. Hmm, 90% might be pushing it, but it was definitely at least 90% when the series came out. Since then, there have been a lot more realistic series.

Maybe a 14-year-old kid with a dead mother and a cold father wouldn't cry himself to sleep every night, but he would have emotional problems and trouble connecting with people. Shinji is much more realistic than a 14-year-old who can jump from one tree top to another and beat adults who have 20 more years of experience.

it happens, to me.

Been there, done that, with a little extra shit on the side maybe.

Fucking hell, when your family is like that, if someone comes around and offers you the chance to use a Mecha and blow shit up, "To Save Humanity" or fucking not, you jump at the chance.

You do not cry your ass off in public. You do not fap to comatose friends. You do NOT refuse to sleep with Asuka on half a dozen occasions.

'kay?

This makes me sad... God, why couldn't it be me...?

Arizth is completely correct, and even if something like that were to happen to someone they are more likely to repress it until much later in life; when shit really hits the fan they tend to go on shooting sprees, they don't act like retarded sexual confused vaginas. Had something similar befallen me as a child do you think I would have given up the chance to pop Asuka? no. I would go so far as to say Shinji would qualify as one of the most unrealistic male protagonists I've ever watched fuck up a show. I do believe the show had it's epic moments but it simply tried too hard to mindfuck, often creating overly complex/dramatic moments when it was completely unnecessary. I really did appreciate some parts of the show, but if i wanted to watch ridiculous drama about people I would watch reality television... and therefore be a downie.

Emo Shinji sucks dead gophers - no question about it. Never considered him realistic because they piled up too many issues and angst in one character. They do this sort of shit in low-level soap operas and also call it realism ...

I enjoyed NGE because of Rei/Asuka/Misato, it's uniqueness and stunning quality (for a 14 year-old title).

Yay for remakes!

agreed as well, for 14 years ago this is probably one of the highest quality animes of it's generation. Another anime which is slightly older but delivered on the quality: cowboy bebop.