ATTENTION, THIS ARTICLE 100% HAS SPOILERS, BECAUSE IT ANALYSIS THE STRUCTURE OF THE PLOT OF THIS TITLE!!!

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)

Tv series links: Wikipedia Myanimelist
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Dementia, Psychological, Drama, Mecha
Director: Hideaki Anno
Writers: Hideaki Anno, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
Studios: Gainax, Tatsunoko Production
Numer of episodes: 26

Neon Genesis Evangelion (Evangelion for later using) is an iconic anime tv series with the giant fan base. But info on the script structure and semantic undertone of the episodes are not so spread in the fan community.

Hideaki Anno is a director and one of the scriptwriters and also Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, an author of the manga, in collaboration with another three scriptwriters make the base of the tv series plot from the monomyph, which was created by Joseph Campbell in 1949 in his book "Hero with thousand faces". In Campbell's work, the myphological character walking throws the stages of initiation and at the end of the story rebirth in the new social and mental status.

The main character of the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion called Shinji Ikari. During the tv series, the main character walks through the adolescent crisis. He is closed, an asocial teenager who doesn't want to take the responsibility for himself even about his own life. At the end of the story, the protagonist gets over his limits and getting mature. He gets the responsibility for himself and his life, and beginning makes his own decisions.

Plot guide's viewer who can have the same feelings as the protagonist through the number of trials and give a chance to face the adversities of mature life on the subconscious level.

Main heroes in the tv series are teenager pilots of the mechas (a giant humanoid-like robot which controlled by its own pilot). This machine protects the rest of humanity from the threat of apocalypse desiring by the group of aliens antagonists which called here "angels". They trying to make the contact with one of the first ones of aliens who came on earth and bring the " first and second strikes" which turned around a global cataclysm who destroyed the most part of all humanity all over the world. If the rest of humanity will give the "angels" get contact with first one of them, the earth will meet with " third strike" which will completely destroy all humankind.

Angels aliens come on earth one by one and making attacks on the main base of japanize headquarters of "NERV" organization to destroy the human defense of the first alien which stay under the NERV base. Ikari Shinji and a few other pilots of the giant robots created by NERV. They resist of angels being the last hope of humanity.

The mecha of the main character represents the visualization of the will, psychological condition, and emotions of the main character.

New angel attacks the japanize NERV base almost in every episode of tv series and every new angel are completely different from the previous one. In this huge difference and uniqueness of each one of the angels and they unstopping assault hide the key to phychotherapy effect of tv series and connection with emotional experiences of the audience.

Each angel as the same as every mecha in tv series had it's own meaning and presents in the story nonaccidental and nonrandom way. Before the appearance of the angel and it's defeat, the protagonist often faces the unknown experience which represents for the viewer in the battle with the new type of angels. But it's not announced for the viewer by words. This information delivers only to subconsciousness of the audience.

Consistant analisys of the line of angels by the order in which we met them in tv series:

The first angel with whom protagonist fight the first time:

Serial number: 3
Name: Sachiel

This angel has the humanoid form and masculine tips. He represents the "other", "the concept of other" identify the other human being, in their differences from the Self. It means the "any other people and particular person around the protagonist" with whom he had to interact. It is not being the main character decides to communicate with anyone especially with persons which Ikari Shinji doesn't know. It brings a lot of stress to the protagonist and embodies in a giant monster which walks on the background in the first episode and brings massive disturbance.

Good to notice, that the main character was not put his attention on that alien and he is more focused on his own problems. Not on the safety of humanity. The characters around the protagonist force him to fight with a monster and this situation directly make Ikari Shinji interact with "others" around him. The consequences of all of that events bring the hero to the nervous breakdown. Ikari Shinji loses himself in the delirium and goes to the berserk mode, which helps him to defeat the first monster.

After the defeat of the monster: The main character starts to communicate with other characters of the story and become more socialized.

The second angel:

Serial number: 4
Name: Shamusiel

Particularly on this angel, we can see that all futuristic and oddly design of monsters are represented symbolical forms of events in the daily life of the Ikari Shinji. They percepts him as adversities which he couldn't solve. And this oddly figures also effects on audience subconscious by becoming the enemy which the audience couldn't clearly describe and understand.

As we can see from the comparison, the appearance of this enemy is similar to the woman's uterus. This angel accumulating a bunch of women representations, shapes, and images. Shinji forced to face with them, especially because he had to live with the woman curator in the one flat. The woman theme will play a big role in the future life of Shinji and the plot of tv series, so because of them, he had to defeat this new type of personal crisis.

The third angel:

Serial number: 5
Name: Ramiel

This angel has a form of the mirror-sided cube. It is not easy to guess the conflict in Shinji's life which he represents but his role in the plot is far from pointless. This monster using the drill to get into the center of the NERV base. The process of drilling becomes some kind of timer. During this time the main character and his coeval had to defeat the new monster in their collaboration. Both characters are closed for contacts and have unsocial behavior. This fact creates a difficult challenge for the teamwork. The monster must be destroyed by the main character which will be covering by teenager female partner who also piloting her own giant mecha. To get two chances to kill the angel, the protagonist will need accumulation electro energy from whole Japan which also symbolized the proportions of mobilizing protagonist's emotional resources.

The defeat of this angel helps to improve communicative skills and collaboration ability of the main character.

The fourth angel:

Serial number: 6
Name: Gaghiel

Before protagonist encounter with the fourth enemy, he met with the second teenager female pilot of the Evangelion(name of the particular mecha types of giant robots).

Meeting the main character with the pilot of a mecha "Evangelion 02" which called Asuka Langley marks the quality level up of personality of the protagonist. After that moment the conflict of personal grow of the main character goes on the level of the novel "The Sandman" (1816) by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (E. T. A. Hoffmann). At this moment we can see only the tip of the same problem. In the future, the audience with the protagonist will not only make acquaintance with the girls. Sinji will become explore the other sex and also will meet the contradiction between the imaginary girlfriend and the real one.

Rei Ayanami alike one of the characters of the novel "The Sandman" - "Olimpia". She represents unreal women. Ayanami is a clone. She almost not sharing with her opinion and practically purposed to be base for protagonist's and the audience's projection for her self the all best merits and virtues of the future girlfriend. Asuka Langley is completely different from Rei Ayanami. She painted in red color in the comparison with light blue from Ayanami. Asuka is very brawled, selfish, ever need in attention and likes to loud declare her opinion. In comparison with Rei Ayanami, Asuka makes the first step to communicate with Shinji. Asuka very contradictive and inconsistent in her actions. She wants the attention of Shinji and wants to like to him and at the same time, she has a feeling for another person who not interested in relationships with her.

Once Asuka met Shinji, she forces him to put on her reserve pilot costume for Evangelion control and go with her for fighting with new one angel to see her skills. Here we can see that the main character literally don her clothes and get into the cockpit of the Asuka's Evangelion, which symbolize the putting himself in the place of the real girl. Shinji gets into the girl world and be the only observer of her actions, decisions, and unknown to him new model of behavior. This event can be called the meeting with the real girl.

Asuka as the bride of the protagonist from the novel "The Sandman" causes the main character not a lot of sympathies. She is rather conflict and unpleasantly character than the first one girl. In spite of that, she symbolizes living person with all her contradictions, desires, goals, which can go against the main character or the audience wishes. The choose between Asuka Langley (the real girl) and Rei Ayanami (an imaginary concept of the girl) is the additional conflict which protagonist must solve on his way to becoming mature.

About the fourth angel. In this particular case is hard to analyze his design. But the battle with the angel which appears for the viewer as the wearing by the main character the girls dress and also being together with a girl in the cockpit of her mecha telling us about more close contact with girls mind and the real girl's behavior. The process of the fight with the angel and his defeat can reference us to the Sigmund Freud ideas. Running ahead, I can tell that the associations of that type are not absolutely useless here if we will bring to our analysis the meaning and role of the next one's angels.

The fifth angel:

Serial number: 7
Name: Israfil

The fifth enemy represents the new level of sex mature of the Ikari Shinji. At this particular case, we can make a parallel between the strategy of a fight with a new angel includes the victory on him, and the starting of the sexual relationships between Shinji and Asuka, and also living them in the one flat together.

The fifth angel is actually the two angels twins, which could be defeated only with synchronously teamwork. The angel itself from the moment of arrival, are not put the existence of all humanity in the danger, don't kill anyone from of the key characters of the story, don't change any rules of the world of a story. But to get a victory on him, the main characters are working on them selfs and changing their personalities. This is the role of this particular enemy in the plot.

Good references to the plot of the "The Sandman" being moment in the Shinji and Asuka dance training. When they start to live in the same apartment and began the pair training, Shinji and Asuka met with the fact that they can't synchronize they moves and rhythm. The basic first tests were awful. Asuka want's to quit from that. But the Misato (her and Shinji curator) shows Asuka that if her will replaced by Ayanami Rei (which represents imaginary not the real girl) the pair dance they will have synchronization close to 100%. This example hurts the Asuka's pride, and she comes back to working harder and trying to adapt for the rhythm of the Shinji, even she trying to hide it by a lot of jibes on Shinji of any kind.

I want's to highlight that if plot progression needs only defeating the monster, then the getting Shinji and Asuka's relationships on the new level, the NERV organization just take the already working pair between Shinji and Rei. Wasting 6 days for a risky idea of collaboration between two pilots with low synchronization is not the best way of defending the rest of humankind.

The sixth angel:

Serial number: 8
Name: Sandalphon

Also a very important symbol of the mature of the main characters. This angel symbolizes a new stage of Shinji and Asuka relationships, and the new type of adversity need to solve by the experience of the new level. This particular angel symbolizes a meeting Asuka the problem of pregnancy.

This angel excelent addition to the metaphor of a sexual stage of the main characters relationships. This fetus of the monster not born yet. He located in the deep of the volcano which could symbolize the woman's womb. Also notable that against this angel fights only Shinji and Asuka. Here is no place for Ayanami Rai. And Shinji couldn't get into the deep of the volcano, so he stays Asuka alone to fight this adversity. Shinji could make only verbal support to his partner.

The article is already too huge, and further analysis of each angel will make the text lingering.
Analysis of the meaning and role each of the angels in this tv series demonstrates new standards of the modern animation industry which were created by the authors of the Neon Genesis Evangelion.

I hope, I could put your attention on this feature of the modern culture.
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Text was written specialy for the STEEMIT project.
Author: Philipp-James West