Help Me I Don't Even What Is This: "Neon Genesis Evangelion"

So I'm starting a new column. I think of myself as a film person, but there are plenty of “classic” film and TV series that I haven't seen. Lawrence of Arabia, The West Wing, The Adventures of Ford McFarlane: never seen 'em. So, as a combination personal journey/excuse to write, I'm going to watch, every week or so, a “classic” and review it.

Now, if you read this blog, you know I loves me some giant robots. I'm all about that Gundam shit, and I love Macross too, as well as more obscure stuff like Dragon's Heaven. But I'd never seen Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Which is weird, because I love schoolgirls!

Neon Genesis Evangelion is arguably the most influential anime of all time, next to Mobile Suit Gundam. If MSG is Japan's Star Trek, NGE is its Twin Peaks, a mindfuck series full of dense symbolism. Superficially, it's about a teenage boy who is coerced by his distant and emotionally abusive father into piloting a giant bioengineered cyborg to defeat aliens known as “Angels” that are attacking what's left of humanity. And for the first half of the series, that's all it is. Every episode is a different battle against whatever weird abomination is coming for humanity this week. But around the halfway point, the series begins to turn inescapably depressing and intense. Monster-of-the-Week battles give way to a razor-sharp deconstruction of the mecha genre and a brutal dismantling of the psyches of the main characters as their every flaw and trauma are analyzed.

For Teh Lols

Another piping-hot tray of funny trawled up from the darkest depths of the Intersphere:

For Teh Lols

I've got a shit-ton of funny pictures on my hard drive, harvested from the darkest reaches of the Internet. 4chan, the blogosphere, and all the little nooks and crannies in between. I know every blog has some kind of "Regularly Posted Funny Pictures Assembled" post. But there are some real gems out there. So as an on-going feature, I'm gonna pick some of the fucking funniest every day or so and serve 'em up piping hot to you.

MEN OF DESTINY: Addendum

So, as a sort-of-continuation of my post on Gundam themes, I'd like to note that in researching it, I somehow got  ZZ Gundam's "Anime Ja Nai" stuck permanently in my head. I'd like to call it an honorable mention, but I don't think that's quite correct. Anyway, here it is:

YA DUN GOUFED

In keeping with my Giant-Sized Gundam post today, here's a wonderful retelling of the Jessi Slaughter saga, as only Gundam can do it.

For information on the meme/video that inspired it, please consult Know Your Meme. Just be careful NOT TO GET BACKTRACED

MEN OF DESTINY: The Top 8 Gundam Themes

Because Gundam is fucking tits and so is its music.

If you've never seen any of the Gundam series, it's one of the most influential in the history of anime (and science fiction in general). It's essentially the Star Trek of Japan, and like Star Trek, most of the plots are the same. They go like this: a guy who's way too young... or inexperienced... or from space...accidentally or reluctantly becomes the pilot of a unique robot death machine, and starts turning the tide during an allegory for World War II.

Nazi's? Never...never heard of 'em. Why?

It's always been one of my favorite universes for its richness, scope, and diversity. Further, the franchise has consistently thrilled me with knock-down, drag-out giant robot action while also fleshing out the moral complexities of war. In particular, the original series in 1979 showed how there really are no "good guys" or "bad guys" in war, except at the top. The rest are grunts, just tryin' to get by.

Of course, all that philosophy is set amid giant fucking robots beating each other into scrap, and that juxtaposition is part of what makes Gundam series awesome. The other part is the KICK-ASS theme music. And it is to those that I devote this post, counting down from 8 to 1 my favorite theme songs from the Gundam universe. LET'S DO IT.