Fans of Evangelion, what do you make of all the "fan service" found throughout the series and the films?

[Dracil]

Watching the rebuild, it was definitely distracting and felt unnecessary.

I've read that it was supposed to be from the perspective of Shinji's mental state, which I can get for the original series. But in the Rebuild, where Shinji's supposed to be in a better mental state, and everyone, including the creators, are supposed to be more mature, it feels off.

 

[Acetown]

Watching Eva at that age this kinda stuff was part of the appeal, not gonna lie. Despite the hype in the previews though, I don't actually recall that overt "fan service" was actually such a prominent part of the show, but it's been many years since the last time I watched it so I might be remembering wrong.
Fast forward to the Rebuild movies and it's definitely gotten pretty egregious though, and I know that's not just because I'm older.
2.0 is the worst of the bunch with its translucent plugsuit scene. I mean, they didn't even try to come up with an excuse for this one, Asuka was this close from simply turning to the camera and going "lololo merchandising amirite?"
Actually, that sort of cringeworthy self-awareness may in itself be the excuse, like how a lot of anime use a veneer of subversiveness to keep regurgitating the same old stuff.

 

[mrmickfran]

It's fucking creepy pedobait shit and drags the films down significantly.

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I stopped watching first movie after Shinji groped Rei in an accident 🙄

 

[nonoriri]

Watching Eva at that age this kinda stuff was part of the appeal, not gonna lie. Despite the hype in the previews though, I don't actually recall that overt "fan service" was actually such a prominent part of the show, but it's been many years since the last time I watched it so I might be remembering wrong.
Fast forward to the Rebuild movies and it's definitely gotten pretty egregious though, and I know that's not just because I'm older.
2.0 is the worst of the bunch with its translucent plugsuit scene. I mean, they didn't even try to come up with an excuse for this one, Asuka was this close from simply turning to the camera and going "lololo merchandising amirite?"
Actually, that sort of cringeworthy self-awareness may in itself be the excuse, like how a lot of anime use a veneer of subversiveness to keep regurgitating the same old stuff.

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When Mari got a boob jiggle immediately after the dramatic moment where Kaworu is brutally decapitated really sealed the deal for me on the problems of Rebuild. The original at least let dramatic moments be.

like I kinda laugh and shake my head because I do love the franchise but it's way trying to have its cake and eat it too in Rebuild.

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

When Mari got a boob jiggle immediately after the dramatic moment where Kaworu is brutally decapitated really sealed the deal for me on the problems of Rebuild. The original at least let dramatic moments be.

like I kinda laugh and shake my head because I do love the franchise but it's way trying to have its cake and eat it too in Rebuild.

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The boob jiggle in Rebuild was the first sign they weren't going to hold back. Considering that doesn't even happen in the original series (or it's very easy to miss), says a lot in itself.

 

[Roubjon]

It's dumb and it would be better without it. I still love the franchise to death though.

 

[sanstesy]

It sucks and drags everything down.

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This is it.

There was some small merit for some of it in the original compared to other fan service but that little merit eroded with the doubling down on fan service in Evangelion 1.0+ and beyond.

 

[Inugami]

It's a bane on modern anime, but especially any that's trying to convince you it's a mature story with deep meaningful things to tell you.

(Modern as in the last 30 years, though it's certainly forced itself into far more genes as time has gone on)

 

[Lord Fanny]

The boob jiggle in Rebuild was the first sign they weren't going to hold back. Considering that doesn't even happen in the original series (or it's very easy to miss), says a lot in itself.

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She wasn't in the original series. Unless you mean the boob jiggle, the Gainax bounce or whatever they call it from Gunbusters. And I feel like it was? But it was never as pronounced as some of Gunbuster.

 

[Stop Motion Pornography]

It always kind of just confuses me when this kind of thing pops up in animation. Like, that many people are legitimately turned on by cartoons? The market is that big?

But I've visited Akihabara, so I know the answer is a resounding yes.

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

She wasn't in the original series. Unless you mean the boob jiggle, the Gainax bounce or whatever they call it from Gunbusters. And I feel like it was? But it was never as pronounced as some of Gunbuster.

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I meant the boob jiggle in general because Mari isn't the only girl in Rebuild that jiggles. Honestly, the "Gainax bounce" is super tame and much more grounded than modern boob jiggle in anime.

 

[jaymzi]

Series probably wouldn't be as popular when it first came out without them.

The amount of obsessive Rei and Asuka fans were something else back then.

 

[J-Skee]

Having just binged the entire series within 72 hours this past weekend… yeah, it's insane. They're 14, so it's already creepy as hell, & to even do it to the adult women in the show is creepy as well. There's even a line about "big boobs" in the new movie & I'm just like, "why?"

I really enjoyed my time with all of it, but if you take out all of the fan service, you literally miss nothing & can enjoy everything else just fine.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

I thought Anno would have grown up by now but I guess not. The last movie was trying to tell a serious story while throwing crotch closeups of the girls at you.

 

[Deleted member 1698]

Could be worse, they could have made the kids in the mechs naked because of very loose "reasons"

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

Could be worse, they could have made the kids in the mechs naked because of very loose "reasons"

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The plugsuits leave very little to the imagination. Which is the point and was a "bold" choice back in the day, which is completely normalized now.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

The plugsuits leave very little to the imagination. Which is the point and was a "bold" choice back in the day, which is completely normalized now.

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I feel like they're referencing 13 Sentinels

 

[subpar spatula]

it's gross and makes the entire thing gross. don't know why people watch stuff like that and just ignore it.

 

[Tavernade]

I think some of it 'kind of' works in the original series since it just kind of makes things more unsettling… but I don't think that's actually intentional.

I wish it either wasn't there or was toned down. Like, I'd avoid recommending the show to people over it, and I love the show.

I didn't notice Rebuild being significantly worse other than the scene where Asuka straight up calls out how her plug suit is needlessly transparent and skin tight. Lampshading it just makes it worse since it's clear you know it's not ok.

 

[Rhaknar]

the same way I think about fan service in anything I watch / read / play.

it's trash and I wish it wasn't there

Some people do this with Kill La Kill and it always bugs the crap out of me.

"you don't get it, they do it to the guys too, its subversive, its very empowering!"

I watched the whole thing (I love studio Trigger despite how dumb they can be sometimes) and Kill La Kill isn't being clever, its a celebration of the worst aspects of anime like this as if its all in good fun or nostalgic to creep on high school kids.

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yuuuuuuuuuuuup. I've said this a million times, but when "parody" is as bad or worse than what its being a parody of, is it still parody?

 

[rsfour]

It always kind of just confuses me when this kind of thing pops up in animation. Like, that many people are legitimately turned on by cartoons? The market is that big?

But I've visited Akihabara, so I know the answer is a resounding yes.

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I can't imagine how big hentai is; I wonder how much it'd be if it was more mainstream or had a site equivalent of pornhub.

 

[Kurtikeya]

Freudian theory is still some of the most fascinating out there for me, and for the most part I just didn't like how it was deployed here. Anno took the Oedipus complex too literally, took semen-based creation stories too literally, took everything too literally. I really liked the Wall of Jericho scene where Shinji and Asuka have to sleep in the same room. But I also don't like a bunch of other stuff, like Shinji masturbating onto Asuka or when Shinji falls onto a naked Rei the first they meet. I know what Anno was trying to do in both cases, but these characters ought to be people first, not symbols.

Haven't seen the Rebuilds so I don't what goes on there.

 

[Khanimus]

It's shitty. Not there aren't moments of more complex intentionality, but more often than not, it's extremely leery in the creepiest way.

 

[munchie64]

It's something where I have to like the series in spite of it, not because of it.
But unfortunately, that's most anime I love.

Rebuilds are definitely way worse.

 

[Lunar Wolf]

I think some of it 'kind of' works in the original series since it just kind of makes things more unsettling… but I don't think that's actually intentional.

I wish it either wasn't there or was toned down. Like, I'd avoid recommending the show to people over it, and I love the show.

I didn't notice Rebuild being significantly worse other than the scene where Asuka straight up calls out how her plug suit is needlessly transparent and skin tight. Lampshading it just makes it worse since it's clear you know it's not ok.

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I think the only time where I felt it was 100% intentional was the scene where Shinji jerks off over Asuka. It pretty much destroys Shinji's self-image for the rest of the movie as he can't think of himself as anything but a scumbag and it connects to the final scene of End of Evangelion where Asuka calls Shinji disgusting as he cries on top of her.

It's very edgy but it's obviously not about trying to make the audience horny.

 

[CO_Andy]

imagine if Godzilla got fan service

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

Freudian theory is still some of the most fascinating out there for me, and for the most part I just didn't like how it was deployed here. Anno took the Oedipus complex too literally, took semen-based creation stories too literally, took everything too literally. I really liked the Wall of Jericho scene where Shinji and Asuka have to sleep in the same room. But I also don't like a bunch of other stuff, like Shinji masturbating onto Asuka or when Shinji falls onto a naked Rei the first they meet.

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Anno plays with ideas from both Freud and Jung but I don't think the overt Freudian stuff is supposed to be taken at face value. Not all of it anyway, though some of it is very much for aesthetic like a lot of the religious iconography/imagery. Misato essentially having a type of Madonna–whore complex that affects her relationship with Kaji isn't taking Freud literally.

I know what Anno was trying to do in both cases, but these characters ought to be people first, not symbols.

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This I very much agree with. The Rebuild films are slightly better in their gender politics (setting aside the male gaze) but all of the girls and women having truncated character arcs hurts everyone except for Rei. Well, actually Misato is the only woman in Rebuild with an arc. Ritsuko just exists and is about as fleshed out as Mari.

 

[Unknownlight]

This I very much agree with. The Rebuild films are slightly better in their gender politics (setting aside the male gaze) but all of the girls and women having truncated character arcs hurts everyone except for Rei. Well, actually Misato is the only woman in Rebuild with an arc. Ritsuko just exists and is about as fleshed out as Mari.

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Eh, it's it's not like there are any good character arcs on the male side either. There's Shinji and kinda-sorta Gendo... and I think that's it? The Rebuilds are really heavily dependent on knowing the characters from the original series because they do very little to develop most of them.

 

[Princess Bubblegum]

Eh, it's it's not like there are any good character arcs on the male side either. There's Shinji and kinda-sorta Gendo... and I think that's it? The Rebuilds are really heavily dependent on knowing the characters from the original series because they do very little to develop most of them.

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Oh definitely, I was just talking about the girls/women. Even Shinji's arc is truncated and worse off without knowledge of the TV series. Honestly, Rei probably has the best arc across Rebuild that can stand on its own.

 

[nonoriri]

She wasn't in the original series. Unless you mean the boob jiggle, the Gainax bounce or whatever they call it from Gunbusters. And I feel like it was? But it was never as pronounced as some of Gunbuster.

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I'm currently rewatching and there's surprisingly no boob jiggle. Like most of the fanservice is blatantly the focus of the scene, such as scenes where Misato is leaning over Shinji and he's looking up at her boobs and then the camera cuts to an ass shot. Or scenes with Asuka and Shinji being horny around each other. There's not a lot of random fanservice, if that makes sense. There's lighter scenes that almost seem to exist to include some fanservice and some humor but the fanservice doesn't really invade the atmosphere like modern boob jiggle does where they just toss it in anywhere, without regards to the tone of the scene. Rebuild massively has this problem.

Also to their credit there was one fanservice scene in the first episode where Ritsuko gets out of the Eva storage pool and unzips her wet suit and I was like... you know what, that's kinda classy and hot. I'll give ya that one Gainax.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

Rebuild massively has this problem.

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Its the fastest way to make people go "oh, right, this is just a product aimed at young men" and disengage with what's happening.
Except Eva is an old series now so everyone grew up and that aspect only got more blatant.

 

[Cloud-Hidden]

Off topic but I just watched the anime for the first time a few months ago and I didn't know there were movies. Are they canon? Do they change the ending or continue the story in some way, or are they just self contained things? Are they also on Netflix and I missed them?

 

[Kurtikeya]

Anno plays with ideas from both Freud and Jung but I don't think the overt Freudian stuff is supposed to be taken at face value. Not all of it anyway, though some of it is very much for aesthetic like a lot of the religious iconography/imagery. Misato essentially having a type of Madonna–whore complex that affects her relationship with Kaji isn't taking Freud literally.

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By literally I mean stuff like Shinji masturbating onto Asuka. Freud refers to myths a lot to demonstrate his ideas, so on hand the scene shows Shinji's desperation and helplessness, but on the other psychoanalytical hand it's a scene where these two characters are presented as infertile originator deities, as protagonists of a creation story where no creating ever happens. Anno was already presenting them as that prior to this point, but there had to have been a better climax for it (no pun intended) other than him literally recreating what Freud may have talked about in his writings.

 

[nonoriri]

Its the fastest way to make people go "oh, right, this is just a product aimed at young men" and disengage with what's happening.
Except Eva is an old series now so everyone grew up and that aspect only got more blatant.

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I think that's what is frustrating about it. Evangelion has a lot of female fans because of how the female characters were written. Like sure there was fanservice but they were all deep and interesting characters. Rebuild now adds stuff that's a big turn off, while also pandering to a subset of those fans with stuff like Kaworu's expanded role.

I did like Rebuild but it's a fucking mess in so many ways the original was not.

 

[Unknownlight]

Off topic but I just watched the anime for the first time a few months ago and I didn't know there were movies. Are they canon? Do they change the ending or continue the story in some way, or are they just self contained things? Are they also on Netflix and I missed them?

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The End of Evangelion is on Netflix and is the end to the original series.

The Rebuilds are four films available on Amazon Prime Video. They are... well, it's debatable. They're kind of a remake, and kind of continue the story. Ultimately, it's all part of one narrative, at least thematically.

 

[Cloud-Hidden]

The End of Evangelion is on Netflix and is the end to the original series.

The Rebuilds are four films available on Amazon Prime Video. They are... well, it's debatable. They're kind of a remake, and kind of continue the story. Ultimately, it's all part of one narrative, at least thematically.

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Fascinating. So rebuild is like a retelling of the story? Are these old or new? Fuck me I'll just use Google.

 

[mikeys_legendary]

Honestly...I don't pay attention to it. I guess for me, Eva is more about Shinji's struggle through his mental health issues and his relationship with Gendo, Asuka wanting striving to be the best Eva pilot and Rei's...situation.

I recognize that others can't necessarily do the same.

Edit:

For what it's worth, I haven't seen 3.0 + 1.0.

 

[Lord Fanny]

Fascinating. So rebuild is like a retelling of the story? Are these old or new? Fuck me I'll just use Google.

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It's hard to really answer this question without going into spoilers or more heady discussion, but as basic a description as possible they are a retelling of the series that start pretty close to the original series. That's the best you can get unless you want to spoil yourself on both the original show and new films.

Also, Rebuild are 'new' as in the newest. It was a project that began in, I believe, 2006 and finished in 2021. There was a 12 year gap between the third and final film.

 

[Unknownlight]

Fascinating. So rebuild is like a retelling of the story? Are these old or new? Fuck me I'll just use Google.

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Basically, the Rebuilds start off the same as the original series, but over time the butterfly effect kicks in and it becomes radically different. It's kind of like Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 vs. FMA: Brotherhood (assuming that comparison means something to you).

Apparently it was originally intended to be a more "classic" remake, but as it stands it's clearly supposed to be viewed after the original series, and it indirectly follows up on dangling plot threads/themes/etc.

 

[krazen]

I enjoy it despite the fan service which is terrible and honestly could easily detract from the storytelling. Lucky for them the character/plot curves and mindfucks they throw at you makes forget that the female characters old and young dont wear bras in an apocalyptic future…kind of like watching an arthouse movie where out of nowhere there's a male gaze focused sex scene.

But it will remain a huge gaping flaw and while you can discuss artistic and characterization reasons why, at the end of the day it's grotesque considering the story they are trying to tell. It's like having the Fast and the Furious omnipresent race girls in bikinis show up in a serious Academy award nominated drama when a character is pulling out of their driveway

 

[munchie64]

This I very much agree with. The Rebuild films are slightly better in their gender politics (setting aside the male gaze) but all of the girls and women having truncated character arcs hurts everyone except for Rei. Well, actually Misato is the only woman in Rebuild with an arc. Ritsuko just exists and is about as fleshed out as Mari.

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That said, the scene where Ritsuko shoots Gendo in the face like 5 times was cathartic as fuck.

 

[yap]

Not a fan and they are by far the worst, detrimental aspects of the rebuild films.

 

[AIan]

I hate watching a profound anime only for there to be blatant fan service. It's tacky indeed and feels grossly out of place.

 

[SolidSnakeBoy]

The Rebuild really just throws this stuff everywhere specially in 4.0. Absolutely inexcusable and sticks out like a sore thumb.To be honest I think I am desensitized to it after watching so much Anime. I still think it's not that difficult to decouple the meat of the series from these elements, specially in context of the demographics that really pay for this stuff.

 

[Astral]

Rolled my eyes every time of course. I just don't understand why you wanna sexualize a bunch of 14 year olds.

 

[Deleted member 5491]

Like with so many Anime, stuff like boob jiggle is just embarrassing. Don't do this.
So I really disliked seeing this in the Rebuild movies. Other than that... well to use sexualized scenes and context in this
series, where we have people entering puberty and sexuality being something that has an impact on you as a human being and
your mental state, I think it is perfectly fine to have that, especially in something like EVA. It is all about how it is done.
And for Shinji someone of his age can/might be attractive. For us old farts not, but if the series sexualized someone (without that fanservice shit)
like in the original series where Askua was in coma and Shinji jerked off, well it fits to the overall theme.

 

[DealWithIt]

It's fucking creepy pedobait shit and drags the films down significantly.

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We're done here. It's awful, weird and misplaced. Don't sexualize child characters.

 

[Schwarzbier]

Watching rebuild with my wife right now, we're about to start #4 or whatever the fuck you wanna call it... anyway, I never said a word until during one of the first two films my wife goes "WTF?!? what's up with the pedo crotch shots?!?"

Rebuild is fucking bad. I don't remember the original series being nearly as exploitative as rebuild, maybe it was, but rebuild has been pretty fucking gross thus far. My wife is a child psychiatrist so she has an large magnifying glass on entertainment aimed towards adolescents. Strangely she's not a fan of exploiting children sexually even if it's "just" animated exploitation.

I haven't found it that bad myself but I'm male so I guess it's different(?). The show wasn't as sexualized IMO... it was tame more compared to rebuild. I don't think the exploitation takes away from rebuild, but it took me out of the movies every single time it happened.

 

[NaDannMaGoGo]

I don't think the exploitation takes away from rebuild, but it took me out of the movies every single time it happened.

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Isn't that a contradiction?

I see it as a clear negative when my immersion is shattered to the point that I actively think how bad/weird of a filmmaking choice something is.

 

[nelsonqos]

The original series and film have some bad moments, but on a recent re-watch I found it manageable. A sign of the times.

The Rebuild series is an absolute abomination of fan service, right from the moment when Mari arrives. I hated it and found it unbearable. So many crotch and jiggly boob shots. That Rebuild series can get in the sea.