/lit/ - Literature

Neon Genesis Evangelion could be considered the most Nietzschean anime out there, sadly the core concept behind the series is often completely overshadowed by the amazing plot, animation and music throughout the whole thing. Many wrongly think that the Christian symbolism found in the series, ranging from its title to the usage of crucifixes and biblical names, is just there because it may sound cool or interesting.
Christianity is based on the idea of salvation, that the world one day will come to an anticipated end brought by God and that our souls will finally be free from this mundane existence and be united with him for eternity. Evangelion on the other hand had a very similar idea in the form of "The Human Instrumentality Project", that the world one day will come to a manufactured end through the "Third Impact" brought by an almost mythical organization known as "SEELE" and that all the souls will be free from their lonely and painful existence and be united together in complete peace and harmony for eternity. A lot of us know right now that the Christian idea of salvation along with many other aspects of the Abrahamic religions are false, but Evangelion decided to treat the idea as a reality and explore its implications.
After a long eventful plot The Human Instrumentality Project does become a reality through Shinji Ikari, who after experiencing this new mode of purely spiritual existence, sees it for what it is—nihilism. Both in the anime and the original manga Shinji realizes that the real suffering he had to endure throughout his life will always be better than a manufactured reality where no one and nothing exists, where no events good or bad ever occur, where nothingness prevails. Shinji then decides to end the project and return to a destroyed and ravaged world.
In the anime he admits that he doesn't know where happiness lies anymore and then it ends with him facing his own continued suffering in the form of "patheticness" as Asuka puts it, while in the manga he is reborn in a slightly altered reality where the Human Instrumentality Project never existed and then it ends with a monologue by Shinji about how suffering is his only path to achieving anything worthwhile in life.
In the end, through a lot of beautiful Christian symbolism and a magnificent plot, the series followed the Nietzschean concept where there is no deus ex machina, where divine and supernatural salvation are an impossibility, and most importantly, where only man can save himself and turn it into something better and higher through his own work and suffering in this world.

Looking for more scifi Neon Genesis Evangelion/Rebuild like novels.

Similar authors I've already enjoyed works from: PKD (especially Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch), Dan Simmons (Hyperion), Lem (Solaris), Strugatskys (especially the Time Wanderers), Watts (Blindsight + Echopraxia).

What is the Neon Genesis Evangelion of literature?

Is Borges the patrician/literary equivalent to anime?
Hear me out:
>his characters are self-consciously characters, somewhat detached from reality, just as it is fundamentally with all anime characters due to their animated nature
>his plots are fantastical and creative due to the detachment from reality and emphasis on imagination over realism, just like anime plots
>he often has a lot of self-conscious deconstruction of literature within the genre, exploring and parodying tropes and other literary devices, just as anime often does with anime tropes and cliches
>he often references other literature, just as anime references other anime constantly
>his stories are often just adaptations, fan fictions of other earlier stories, just as anime is often an adaptation of a manga
>He was deeply influenced by the philosophy of Schopenhauer, just as Evangelion was as well as many of the other great animes, like Texhnolyze and Ergo Proxy
>One of his main themes is identity, a theme running across anime as a whole, including classics like Ghost in the Shell, Serial Experiments Lain, Angel's Egg, My Neighbor Totoro and of course Neon Genesis Evangelion

What do you guys think?

This might seem dumb, but I have a question. I really liked the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion and I was wondering if there is an any literature that comes close to it that I could read. If you couldn't guess by what I am insinuating, I am looking for some books that really fuck with you psychologically and make you question everything.

What is the Neon Genesis Evangelion of fitness? What is the Neon Genesis Evangelion of literature?

What's the book equivalent of Neon Genesis Evangelion?

What's a book that's deeper than neon genesis evangelion?

What is the literary equivalent to Neon Genesis Evangelion?

What's the Neon Genesis Evangelion of literature?

I've read most of the stuff on this starter kit list but I'm new to this board, any other recommendations to add to my cart while I'm finishing it?

I like dystopian art such as BNW and 1984, and literature that messes with psychology and morals, religion, etc.

Do Androids Dream, Dante's Inferno, and Brave New World are a few of my favorites. I'm going to pick up the General Zapped An Angel as well, because I'm a big fan of neon genesis evangelion.

Any recs like these that aren't on the list would be much appreciated!

I'm a fan of tv shows like The Prisoner, Carnivale, Twin Peaks, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Serial Experiments Lain, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Haibane Renmei or The Maxx. So psychological dramas with surreal elements. What are some books similar to those?

Is neon genesis evangelion a crash course for the bullshit called nihilism? If so thanks god I never wasted my life reading it.

What are some books similar to Neon Genesis Evangelion in themes and plot?

Is there any literature that's similar to Neon Genesis Evangelion?

Find a book as deep as Neon Genesis Evangelion.
protip: you can't.

i find most books to be incredibly boring. pretty much the only writers i can tolerate are people who write like bukowski, cormac mccarthy, hemingway, you get the idea. most other stuff actually makes me want to vomit it is so fucking boring. i have access to youtube and the rest of the information on the internet so no i am not going to read your faggoty slow paced story about two people on a train and blah blah blah. i want something with a weird ass scifi fantasy plot that isn't an 'action' book because i'm not an idiot. why doesn't this exist? like if you took the anime series Neon Evangelion Genesis but then made it way less retarded and with less perverted shit and childrens cringeworthy shit. does this exist? why not? literature needs to adapt and get with the times and not be so boring. are there any writers who do this?

What is the literature equivalent of Neon Genesis Evangelion?

Has there ever been a novel that provided as much of a cathartic experience as the conclusion of the final, 26th episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion?

What is the Neon Genesis Evangelion of fictional literature?
What is the Neon Genesis Evangelion of non-fictional literature?

Guys, what's the literary equivalent of the following:

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Like many of you /lit/, I don't read actual books and instead immerse myself in the labyrinthine, tantalizingly exotic worlds of Japanese mangas and their animated adaptations.

Unlike most of you though I recognize this as a flaw.

And so I seek your aid. Which books are most likely to be enjoyable to me, a fan of things like the manga adaptation of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and "Hunter x Hunter", while simultaneously having the mysterious and most desirable quality of "literary merit"? Is Welcome to the NHK good?

I'm desperate here. Prove me wrong.

Hey /lit/, help me out here. I want to relate romantic poetry to modern media for my students, to show the influence it has had. (Basically, it is included in the curriculum.) A lot of my class are weeb fags, so when I asked them what they wanted me to do as an example for them, they chose Neon Genesis Evangelion. Now I have seen Evangelion, and I can see a few areas that can be related to the romantic era (religious symbolims, nature, man playing god, freedom etc.) but I can't really think of a poem from the romantic era that suits it well. If worst comes to worst, I have a few backup poems that sort of relate, but not really. Can you guys think of a poem from the romantic era that really relates to the romanticism present in Evangelion. My next class with them is Thursday, but I have year 12 tests to mark. Thank you for our help, and feel free to hijack the thread if you wish(with related contend of course).

What is the Neon Genesis Evangelion of literature?