/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.14230482]

Are there any books that are similar to Neon Genesis Evangelion in regards to its themes, style, and endings? I want to read something that makes me feel a similar way to the abrupt, anticlimatic ending of the show or the massive culmination of the movie.

[Anonymous No.14230573]

>>14230482
Lord of the Flies. Just as terrible and empty, yet pseuds see endless symbolism in it.

[Anonymous No.14230586]

Hamlet unironically inspired like half of evangelion
Shinji is just hamlet without the charisma to fool the audience into liking him

[Anonymous No.14230590]

>>14230482
can someone tell me why this show is deep? I watched it and it was about 80% filler with some oblique references to existentialism and psychoanalysis. I am missing something, right? also what does it have to do with GR? I have a strong feeling I just got meme'd into watching shitty high-school mech warrior anime

[Anonymous No.14230603]

>>14230590
It’s children’s first exposition to these themes. And nostalgia makes it seem better than it actually was.

[Anonymous No.14230608]

>>14230482
Childhood’s End is pretty similar in terms of content. I don’t remember much about the style though.

[Anonymous No.14230635]

>>14230590
I just finished watching it for the first time, and found everyone unlikable. Shinji is a whiny loser, Asuka is a brittle bitch-queen, Rei has as much charisma as a wet noodle, Gendo is a shitty father and possible murderer, Misato is a drunk with daddy issues, etc.

[Anonymous No.14230639]

>>14230635
its relatable

[Anonymous No.14230646]

>>14230573
>>14230590
It is overacclaimed by a lot of people who have never read a book but it is a great psychological portrayal put to screen. It is full of iconic imagery which fuels its popularity and increases the impact of its plot. If you compare an anime to a book and expect it to work as a book you won't enjoy it the same. It's meant to be more personal and likened to any struggles you may have as a person instead of studied.

[Anonymous No.14230657]

>>14230590
It's not, it just so happens there's a lot of fanservice and the character designs are very good and distinct for the time. Also the last two episodes were "so bad it's good", which made it much more memorable than it otherwise would've been.

[Anonymous No.14230664]

>>14230657
Asuka has like the highest amount of hentai doujins out of all anime characters. Good for fapping = popularity.

[Anonymous No.14230665]

>>14230635
You disliked it because the characters weren't heroes?

[Anonymous No.14230673]

>>14230590
It's not a philosophical work, it's an anime. It just portrays these things in place of fully understanding them. The comparisons to oneself that you can make by watching it are why it's so popular. The mecha thing is just a plot device. When acclaiming its style people usually point to episode 16 and beyond, episodes where they dropped the Angel-of-the-week script.
>>14230635
That's the point. Don't act like you're unable to sympathize with any of them.

[Anonymous No.14230683]

>>14230590
Damm came to post this. I too wonder if this is some in joke because I don't get what the big deal is

[Anonymous No.14230699]

>>14230646
What about the shitty dialogue and exposition that gets spouted every 10 seconds. This show is bad. Most anime is childish and bad. Anime feels like the new Harry Potter, something which is perfectly okay for kids and young adults but has been appropriated by manchildren who won't grow tf up so now we have to pretend it has some merit

[Anonymous No.14230719]

>>14230699
Do you listen to the dialogue in porn? Nope, you fap to the action. Same here.

[Anonymous No.14230760]

>>14230673
>>14230699
I don't even think of it like this, there are some really good animes for this sort of thing. I'm not a weeb so I usually don't like it, but shows like Monster, Mushishi, and Cowboy Bebop actually manage to pull of some really meaningful episodes.

[Anonymous No.14230831]

>>14230590
I think the show is not supposed to be that great, but it's necessary for the watching the movie which is pretty good. Although it's often presented as a 2deep4u anime, I actually think it's pretty accessible (hence its popularity) compared to more cryptic/weird shows like Serial Experiments Lain. The show isn't necessarily profound in any sense, but I think it does a remarkable job making an argument for why interacting with people is worthwhile. I think a lot of people who have already come to this conclusion on their own don't find a lot of value in this show, but I think it's very valuable for people who are struggling with ideas of intimacy and understanding of tohers.
>>14230635
I find people who hate the characters either find them immature/unsophisticated (which i think stems from you probably already believing the shows conclusion), or each character enflames issues you have with yourself which makes you frustrated. If you're the latter, I think you would really enjoy embracing the characcters and taking them more seriously. It would be a unique opportunity to explore the parts of yourself that are afraid of other people which is, what I believe is, where the show's acclaim comes from

[Anonymous No.14230979]

>>14230699
You're probably thinking of the scripted episodes which mirror a typical anime in format. Those parts just aren't for you.

[Anonymous No.14230980]

>>14230673
>unable to sympathize with any of them
Said unlikeable, not unsympathetic..

[Anonymous No.14231205]

>>14230590
Was deep when I was 11.

[Anonymous No.14231248]

She pooped in the tub, it's canon. How does it feel that your waifu needs diapers so she doesn't pee pee poo poo herself, Asukafags? :)

[Anonymous No.14231341]

>>14231248
It's just rust.

[Anonymous No.14231486]

>>14231341
nope

[Anonymous No.14232499]

>abrupt, anticlimatic ending
The Controversy of Zion

[Anonymous No.14232509]

>>14230482
yeah, the manga adaption of Evangelion

[Anonymous No.14232585]

>>14230482
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

[Anonymous No.14232724]

>>14230831
>but I think it does a remarkable job making an argument for why interacting with people is worthwhile. I think a lot of people who have already come to this conclusion on their own don't find a lot of value in this show, but I think it's very valuable for people who are struggling with ideas of intimacy and understanding of tohers

Disclaimer: I have not watched it and I think Anime is gay.

From what I can tell, it presents an absurd dichotomy AND several absurd ideas ascribed to the element that it cautions against. The "unity" supposedly opposite to the plurality of Selves is a kind of Buddhist nightmare where all are diluted into "one", Mereological decomposition which assumes that the whole is emergent from parts, or the parts "active" or "full" and the whole "passive" or "empty" immanently, and which coincides the absolute, transcendent, whole with absolute "passivity" and "emptiness". Which is quite silly and antithetic to the perennial "that man is I and I am that man" Dialectical unity of Jesus, Plotinus, Hegel, etc.

>>14230482

Moreover, how do you think she comes?

[Anonymous No.14232823]

>>14230831
>it's necessary for the watching the movie which is pretty good

yeah the movie is unironically good. each time I re-watch it I expect it not to hold up, but it just is a good film.

[Anonymous No.14232838]

>>14230482
notes from underground

[Anonymous No.14232853]

>>14230608
>>14232585
Have you even watched the show or read the book? They are nothing alike.

[Anonymous No.14233366]

>>14230590
It's not deep, it hits deep. It's Feels: the children's cartoon.

[Anonymous No.14233382]

>>14230482
I don't get people who rag on the ending of the original series. It was a stroke of accidental genius, and as pretty as the movie was visually, it did kind of ruin the ambiguity of Ep. 26.

[Anonymous No.14233661]

What were the themes in Evangelion, I only got the part where giant robots were wrecking shit

[Anonymous No.14234014]

>>14233661
>he thinks the show is about giant robots wrecking things
OH NONONONONONO HAHAHA NOOOONONONONONO!!!

[Anonymous No.14234025]

>>14230664
niqqa

[Anonymous No.14234027]

>>14234014
It is

[Anonymous No.14234062]

>>14234027
It certainly isn't man
Out of all the shows and in general pieces of art out there, NGE is probably the least about its non-symbolic, front layer subject matter.

[Anonymous No.14234097]

>>14230590
The shows real artistry comes from it’s visual representation more than it’s themes.
>>14230635
You probably think Holden was just a whiny loser too, you ledditor

[Anonymous No.14234213]

>>14234027
They aren't robots, they're genetically engineered angel-human hybrids with armor on.

[Anonymous No.14234221]

>>14234213
They are also moms.

[Anonymous No.14234244]

>No one ever wants to talk about Studio Gainax's deepest show

[Anonymous No.14234272]

EVA is unironically too personal and unorthodox for general audiences. How it became one of the biggest mainstream anime in the world is still somewhat of a mystery to me. I assume a huge amount of repressed younger nips connected with it and memespam in the west spread it.

[Anonymous No.14234311]

>>14234244
>deepest
I don't know abut that. It's pretty much a far more concise and lighthearted EVA. Probably their masterpiece formally.

[Anonymous No.14234357]

>>14230482
It's the greatest animated show of all time and one of the greatest pieces of motion picture art of the last 30 years. This is irrefutably fact btw please don't be so arrogant in your ignorance to vocally disagree.

[Anonymous No.14234621]

>>14230482
Me on the left, mediocre girl in the middle and best girl on the right.

[Anonymous No.14234671]

For a seemingly abrupt ending maybe but its not robot battles
>The Sun also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

But the I think the point of both is that the stories are about the characters development in a specific way.

Starting with the character flaw being shown and ending with the character flaw being realized and rectified by the main character

[Anonymous No.14235179]

>>14232724

At least engage because I said Anime is gay...?

[Anonymous No.14235185]

>>14234014
the first like 14 episode are exactly this, there are what, two episodes that get experimental

[Anonymous No.14235187]

>>14230635
You know what a tragedy is right

[Anonymous No.14235198]

>>14230699
Oh? Can you show some examples of shitty dialogue and exposition? Then contrast it with good examples? Interested to see what you think here anon.

[Anonymous No.14235207]

>>14234272
>too personal
what was too personal about it? it doesn't have the emotional complexity you seem to think it has
>unorthodox
>teenagers
>highschool
>mechs
it helped form the concept of orthodox anime lmao

[Anonymous No.14235209]

>>14234014
I just asked what were the themes Jesus fucking christ

[Anonymous No.14235212]

>>14235179
>>14232724
>Dialectical unity of Jesus, Plotinus, Hegel, etc.
anon the show is about teenage sexuality and mech warriors, no one knows what you are talking about

[Anonymous No.14235221]

>>14235207
>it helped form the concept of orthodox anime lmao
that's somehow good? who even watches anime besides pathetic losers?

[Anonymous No.14235244]

>>14235221
why would you assume I think that's a good thing? I don't really like anime at all, there are a handful of anime I think are good but this isn't one of them

[Anonymous No.14235266]

>>14235221
Who even reads books besides pathetic losers?

[Anonymous No.14235268]

>>14234272
make something obscure enough some retards will start believing it's actually deep and meaningful. the creator himself said that he used all of those images (i.e. not symbols) because they looked cool.
the power of anime, lol
the only worthwhile animations are those along the lines of mushishi and miyazaki

[Anonymous No.14235305]

>>14235268
Isn't that literally the point of symbolism, to insert something that is spiritually provocative but has ambiguous meaning?

[Anonymous No.14235331]

>>14235207
It's 'unorthodox' in its presentation. 'teenagers, highschool, mecha' are the standard elements but it's a major subversion of the usual themes and attitudes in these shows, and ceases entirely to be about standard mecha conflicts by the end. It's a psychological journey, one that purposely isolates the issues for an individual characters and fundamentally explores them in the abstract. This is basic shit and not inherently good stuff in itself but your misunderstanding of it just shows your retarded. A fucking anime remains an essential pleb filter.

[Anonymous No.14235336]

>>14235212

Well...yes, that was my point.

[Anonymous No.14235361]

akutagawa.

[Anonymous No.14236008]

Why she so cute guys?

[Anonymous No.14236035]

>>14236008
whats cute about a self-centered bitch? that kills it all.

[Anonymous No.14236043]

>>14235336
w-what was the point? was it a joke?

[Anonymous No.14236048]

>>14236035
She's troubled anon. Troubled and vulnerable and CUTE

[Anonymous No.14236049]

>>14236043
Thanks for proving my point.

[Anonymous No.14236052]

My man Hermann Hesse. Ignore anyone who recommends trash sci-fi, since you are looking for psychoanalytic themes and not fascism.

[Anonymous No.14236057]

>>14236048
>Troubled and vulnerable

yeah, well she will use that cuteness to make you vulnerable and trouble you too.

[Anonymous No.14236065]

>>14236049

[Anonymous No.14236072]

>>14230586
Now the influence comes full-circle and we can now appreciate Hamlet through the superior medium of manga

[Anonymous No.14236075]

>>14236057
Sounds hot

[Anonymous No.14236098]

desu i prefer lain. those eva kids are too troubled, it is too late for them. they failed to assimilate the machine and now have to live with the deformation it caused in them

lain, on the other hand, is still fresh and is not judging as negative the shit that machines impose on humanity. she is just adapting to whatever she finds there, at her pace, and building a person based on that adaptation, not on ideals imposed from the outside.

>>14236075
yeah, that will sure burn you inside.

[Anonymous No.14236123]

>>14236098
You sound like a soulless pussy.

[Anonymous No.14236138]

>>14236098
I agree

[Anonymous No.14236155]

>>14230482
The most important central theme of the entire show is the debate over free will and wether it should be sacrificed to minimalist suffering or wether our individual forms are worth it. Unfortunately the show has horrible pacing and most of the central themes are only expressed in End of Evangelion not in the actual TV show. Brothers Karamazov is the literary equivalent of this show because it deals with themes of Psycho analysis, existentialism, nihilism, and the debate of faith and free will.

[Anonymous No.14236321]

borges

[Anonymous No.14236369]

>>14235268
>he used all of those images (i.e. not symbols) because they looked cool
It's literally a show about humanity taming an inconceivable power to use it against giant, majestic beings that come from heaven and have motives beyond the understanding of a select few, and humanity perishing on a global level to be then transported to another plane of existence. The religious symbolism is not out of place at all.

[Anonymous No.14237120]

The manga

[Anonymous No.14237784]

>>14234244
>anything gainax
>deep
watch more anime

[Anonymous No.14237845]

>>14237784
Recs?

[Anonymous No.14237852]

Idk if detractors of this show are being contrarian for the sake of it, but Evangelion is top 3 easily in regards of anime. Few anime come close in regards of in depth characterization (lain is another one).

[Anonymous No.14237869]

>>14230590
I watched it high as fuck once a week when it was coming out when I was in high school and everything you say about it is true and it's also fucking great animé

[Anonymous No.14239150]

>>14237852
uhhhh cowboy bebop or double zeta???
watch more anime

[Anonymous No.14239177]

>>14239150
>bebop
Reddit

[Anonymous No.14239229]

>>14239177
>eva is 4chan
>bebop is reddit
wtf I love reddit now

[Anonymous No.14239239]

>>14239229
Yep, best head back there.

[Anonymous No.14239308]

>>14239150
Nigga I’ve seen these anime. Evangelion is still on par with these or slightly higher. Stop being a pretentious fuckwit. You’re not cooler than everyone else because you decide to have a basic bitch contrianian opinion to a popular anime that’s highly regarded as one of the greatest in the medium.