Dec 18, 2022
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a fantastic exploration into the human mind and just a really really good anime. A lot of people give the ending shit because it dives, very deeply, into the Human Instrumentality Project - an idea that was very quickly established in an earlier episode. But if you really hang on to every word, a viewer can start to find the ways that the the anime has been exploring these ides of self-worth since the very beginning.
One of the most prominent themes in Evangelion is that of value. What makes a person valuable? The ways that others see that person? The
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things that that person puts out into the world? The person's own self-worth? The main character, Shinji, spends the entire show trying to find some sense of value in himself and he does this by grasping at the praise and appreciation that others give him. This never fulfills his own self-worth, and by the end of the show Shinji has convinced himself that those people hate him and that he is a person with no value to anybody. Meanwhile Asuka also spends time trying to find value in herself, but her own sense of value comes from the accomplishments that she manages to finish. When she is no longer able to put out that sense of value, she too loses her self worth and falls into despair.
The way that Evangelion plays with themes of self-worth and value is incredibly coherent throughout the show, showing the slow decline of the psyche of each child in the Human Instrumentality Project. In the last two episodes, we come head to head with this decline. While these episodes are the source for almost all criticisms of the show, I found these two episodes to be the most fascinating. They take everything that has happened to the children and put them to the test. The end goal: to derive where value truly comes from. At the end of this wind-chamber of questions and words and jarring visualization we find the conclusion: value comes from the self. It comes from a decision to live in our own bodies and to find worth in those bodies because others truly see worth in that same body. Because we cannot live in another body. In the end Evangelion is telling us to stop listening to what others say to us, stop internalizing the negative off-handed comments of the world, don't hate you because the world hates you. Love you because you are you, and there is nothing wrong with struggling with yourself. Its something that we have to come to terms to as young people. Because even far beyond our childhoods, we will still struggle. But we must still keep that sense of value in tact and alive.
It is also saying a lot more than that, but that is definitely its most prominent message for me. I would for sure check this one out. I would offer a bit of a warning. There is a fair share of fan-service in this show (especially in the first half). It's gross and its unpleasant and I absolutely hate it. But the meat of this show is in its exploration of mental health so hold on to that and don't let go, because it will pay off if you're really looking for the message.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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