Poll: Your prefererred Evangelion ?

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Considering how many times and in how many ways the Evangelion franchise keeps getting regurgitated out in various forms, I thought appropriate to ask which version The Escapist likes best.

My pick goes to the manga, which all fans of the franchise should definitely read. It stands miles above both the series and the Rebuilds with great art, more comprehensible plot, characters that make a lot more sense, far more coherency in just about anything you can think of, and an ending that, while not really great, at least provides a decent sense of closure at last. Just read it, and you'll understand why.

Your picks? The "other" option on the poll includes the more minor adaptations such as Shinji Ikari Raising Project (has it ever been even released in the west?) and that weird high school "Campus Apocalypse" thing.

captcha: love me. No, Evangelion, I will never love you. Not after 3.0: You Can (Not) Understand.

 

[Vegosiux]

Now, I'm going to be a bit of "that guy", but I'll keep it as, like, just my opinion, man.

I prefer the original series specifically because it's surreal, hardly ever makes a lick of sense and gives a rather good insight into the workings of a troubled mind (especially scene where Asuka gets basically mind raped by Arael and has a breakdown to dwarf even Shinji's issues; one of the most cringeworthy fictional scenes I've ever seen, and at the same time one of the best). And the manga, if I recall correctly, leaves a couple angels out.

Also, I don't care about what anyone says, Kaji was assassinated by a conspiracy of the watermelons.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm going to single out the original anime as well. I've never been a big fan of manga or remakes.
Even though I never managed to become that much of a fan of Evangelion.
I'm up to episode 15 more or less and still don't quite find myself hooked. I don't really care for any of the characters. Shinji and his bland inaction are annoying. Tsundere Asuka is annoying. Emotionless Rei is annoying. Super Mega Secretive Ikari Sr. is annoying. The only characters I like are Misato and Ritsuko, they get paired a lot and come across as two sides of the same [cool] coin. Even the angels are something of a disappointment. None ever topped the first angel in terms of awesomeness or design.

 

[Queen Michael]

Obviously the manga. To be precise, this manga:

Seriously though, I only encountered NGE through the first manga they made. I still love it.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

The one where everyone isn't an asshole. I'm still waiting for this version to come out. I really don't like watching Eva for the story. I find it unpleasant, cultish, and incredibly mean spirited. I know that people will point out that that is exactly the point of the show, and they're probably right. Doesn't make it entertaining though.

What I do find entertaining is watching it from an outside perspective, viewing it through a fandom view and that of the creator, Hideaki Anno. It becomes much more interesting to watch when you are trying to piece together where Anno did what when appeasing or spiting the fans while dealing with a mental breakdown. End of Evangelion was written as a gigantic FUCK YOU to fans who sent him death threats after the series ended the way it did.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Well, let's see. Only one version has Mari, so I'm going to have to vote for Rebuild.

That said, 3.33 is... piano. All piano all the time.

 

[Casual Shinji]

The original series obviously!

At this point I'm sure there's no need for me to go into great detail why the Rebuilds suck, so I'll just say 'see through plugsuit' and quietly walk away.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

I only watched the original series, so it would have to be that.

Though I have to say that I avoid recommending NGE to anyone as it barely makes any sense, even with the better movie ending.

 

[Dr. Cakey]

I've only seen the pair of anime versions, although I intend to read the manga fairly soon. I'm not going to judge the Rebuilds until I've seen 3.0, seeing as 1.0 was just the show with a fresh coat of paint, and 2.0 was a solid piece of awesome that could go anywhere. That leaves the original series, although seeing as it's one of my favorite anime, "leaves" isn't quite the right word. End of Eva ftw

And hey, Critical Miss, give us another Eva strip. The gleeful reactions of Eva-haters who don't get them amuse me.

 

[Baron_BJ]

The original series obviously!

At this point I'm sure there's no need for me to go into great detail why the Rebuilds suck, so I'll just say 'see through plugsuit' and quietly walk away.

I'll be honest and say that I've quite literally got no idea what you're talking about, so please good sir, elaborate.

OT: First off, I'll get a confession out of the way that will probably cause some to completely disregard my opinion; I've only ever cared to watch the dub (like, come at me bro). Having put that out there I'll say that I prefer the rebuild, but there's some qualifications to be made there; I watched it directly after finishing the main series, so everything was fresh in my mind and in 1.11 some characters were rushed through, to the point that they were practically ignored and they really needed more screen time (the school friends were practically ignored in their entirety and are just there) and I felt the film really only worked because these were all the characters I already knew and liked. I still loved the film, but that doesn't change the fact that a film that relies on me knowing and liking the thing it is remaking doesn't make a good film. It was a highlight reel, it wasn't an actual movie, it recapped the series up to the point where they chose to make it diverge. The comes 2.22 which was a really good movie and just went at its own pace, 1.11 was seemingly there to push everything out of the way, 2.22 felt like everything had been lined up for it and was just flat-out ready to give us what we wanted. I've still not seen 3.33 because its dub has yet to be released, but I'm still really excited and I plan to marathon them all together the day it comes out.

 

[glider4]

I'm going to say the original series because only half of rebuild has come out. I read some of the manga and I liked some of the changes, they made it more mainstream yet some of it was appreciated. Just a shame it didn't properly end. Also Rebuilt 1.11 was like a highlight real and 2.22 was much better but I wasn't a fan of the ending. As in the "OMG I can go against all logic and science because of my will power" Cliché you see in anime all the time.

 

[Souplex]

Your poll needs a "None" option.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Your poll needs a "None" option.

Sir or madam, your opinion disgusts me.

 

[Loop Stricken]

gah. watch eureka seven and see a dumb brat grow a bit.

See, when they introduced Anemone, all I could think about was "YES BUT WHAT ABOUT ANEMONE SHOW ME MORE ANEMONE SHE IS AWESOME".

 

[Casual Shinji]

The original series obviously!

At this point I'm sure there's no need for me to go into great detail why the Rebuilds suck, so I'll just say 'see through plugsuit' and quietly walk away.

I'll be honest and say that I've quite literally got no idea what you're talking about, so please good sir, elaborate.

You know the part in Rebuild 2 where Asuka pilots the newly arrived EVA unit (the one Suzuhara pilots in the original series)?
She wears a plugsuit there that conveniently has a see through torso section for no reason. Even going as far as letting the audience gander at the crack of her ass and her nearly exposed vadge. Cuz why not.

But then these are movies where each has a preview that ends with "And next time even more fanservice. ;D", so what do you expect.

 

[Baron_BJ]

The original series obviously!

At this point I'm sure there's no need for me to go into great detail why the Rebuilds suck, so I'll just say 'see through plugsuit' and quietly walk away.

I'll be honest and say that I've quite literally got no idea what you're talking about, so please good sir, elaborate.

You know the part in Rebuild 2 where Asuka pilots the newly arrived EVA unit (the one Suzuhara pilots in the original series)?
She wears a plugsuit there that conveniently has a see through torso section for no reason. Even going as far as letting the audience gander at the crack of her ass and her nearly exposed vadge. Cuz why not.

But then these are movies where each has a preview that ends with "And next time even more fanservice. ;D", so what do you expect.

If I recall the ending for EVERY episode of the original series had that same line in them as well, though that one moment was kind of awkward, especially when I'm staring at a 14 year old's camel toe. Not awkward enough to turn me off the movies though.