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What genre is Neo Genesis Evangelion?

GraphicViolets

GraphicViolets

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Oct 25, 2017
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I know its a mech anime but I'm more talking about with its themes. Its a Coming of Age... something. Maybe somewhere between Jung and Cosmic Horror.
But I didn't make this thread to talk specifically about Eva, Eva is just the springboard for discussion of similar media in this same genre that I'm not sure has a name.

Other media would include The Wicked + The Divine(iirc), We Know the Devil, Heaven Will Be Mine, Cultist Simulator(specifically Temptation:Change), and possibly Annihilation (haven't seen it since it looks scary but it gives me vibes).

The main similarities between these media are that they often have some kind of deities or unknown entities, they are about finding your place in the universe both on the level of the individual and the human race (this can overlap with Coming of Age), they often represent internal struggles in exaggerated fantastical ways, and theres usually a possibility to choose or be forced to give up your humanity to become something bigger.


So what are your thoughts on this genre and what other media would you suggest might fit in with the characteristics I described?



Hopefully I'm as clear as I meant to be and didn't misunderstand some of the media I mentioned. And tbh the actual reason for this thread is to find out how to find more media like We Know the Devil but I don't think many people would be able to answer that
 
Aurica

Aurica

音楽オタク - Comics Council 2020
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
23,495
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Mecha/scifi/psychological drama seems suiting enough to me. Anything more than than can be expounded on if someone showed interest.

Edit: and that's just how I'd say it for manga/anime fans. Otherwise, "Scific/psychological drama" seems fine.
 
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Bradford

Bradford

terminus est
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Aug 12, 2018
5,423
I think it's a horror-tinged bildungsroman. I don't think it's necessary to get super complex. In Japan it might be referred to as Sekai-kei.

We live in an era of constant genre mixing and subversion so honestly I think the easiest way to approach this sort of thing is just to take the simplest approach.

Edit: I've come back to also say that Annihilation is not a mix of genres. It is very overtly Cosmic Horror, under the banner of the New Weird.
 
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Beren

Beren

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Oct 25, 2017
4,517
Bradford said:
I think it's a horror-tinged bildungsroman. I don't think it's necessary to get super complex. In Japan it might be referred to as Sekai-kei.

We live in an era of constant genre mixing and subversion so honestly I think the easiest way to approach this sort of thing is just to take the simplest approach.
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Aizō said:
Mecha/scifi/psychological drama seems suiting enough to me. Anything more than than can be expounded on if someone showed interest.
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Both of these work for me.

Maybe throw on "apocalyptic" as a sub-genre of scifi if you feel it's necessary.
 
Ruisu

Ruisu

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Aug 1, 2019
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Madoka Magika fits a bit, though the divine entities are a bit more understated in the form of Kyuubei. It's also more surface level than Evangelion.
 

Deleted member 3093

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
4,956
Y'all ain't reading the OP lol

I'd say Paradise Killer COULD apply, but I'm not deep enough to know whether this is the case or not. It deals with the worship of very real, existing gods and all that.
 
HylianSeven

HylianSeven

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Oct 25, 2017
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I'd argue it's still a mecha anime at the end of the day. Every mecha anime has some themes running through it, just Eva's got a lot further in particular.

My wife mentioned me wanting to watch the new translation on Netflix to some of her coworkers (who watch some anime), and they said it was "titty anime"....Oh how incredibly wrong they are.
 
OP
OP
GraphicViolets

GraphicViolets

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Oct 25, 2017
985
Ruisu said:
Madoka Magika fits a bit, though the divine entities are a bit more understated in the form of Kyuubei. It's also more surface level than Evangelion.
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oh yeah good point. I'm not sure how I didn't think of Madoka. Turning into a witch is a pretty cool yet horrifying version of this.
 
Saturday

Saturday

One Winged Slayer
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Oct 27, 2017
6,375
yeah OP ain't being fully read lmao

Honestly, psychological drama might be a catch-all for this one. Whether or not you want to spin off into cosmic horror or anything else is up to the specifics of the story.
 
Pau

Pau

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Oct 25, 2017
5,846
I don't know if I would really compare Annihilation and Neo Genesis Evangelion, but the genre of the former (at least the novel) is called New Weird. Don't know if that helps in finding more stories.
 
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GraphicViolets

GraphicViolets

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Oct 25, 2017
985
Pau said:
I don't know if I would really compare Annihilation and Neo Genesis Evangelion, but the genre of the former (at least the novel) is called New Weird. Don't know if that helps in finding more stories.
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Annihilation might be a bad comparison tbf since I haven't actually saw it and mostly heard about it. It does share a lot of the elements I mentioned but it really depends on the intent behind those elements in the writing.
New Weird definitely sounds like it would heavily overlap with this specific convergence of tropes so it might lead to finding some similar stuff!
Saturday said:
yeah OP ain't being fully read lmao

Honestly, psychological drama might be a catch-all for this one. Whether or not you want to spin off into cosmic horror or anything else is up to the specifics of the story.
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yeah it might just end at psychological which is unfortunately super broad. Still though, hopefully theres even more media out there that overlaps with the specific plot points and themes I mentioned
 
Bradford

Bradford

terminus est
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Aug 12, 2018
5,423
If you are just looking for suggestions of complex and nuanced media that deals with the invidual in conflict with the unknown or undefinable as it relates to their reality and experience:

Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun
John Langan's The Fisherman
Panos Cosmatos's Mandy
Panos Cosmatos's Beyond the Black Rainbow
Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves
Iain Reed's I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Charlie Kaufman's I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin
 
Robin

Robin

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Oct 25, 2017
3,502
By genre it is thoroughly a mecha anime, I say this not to besmirch those who find the psychological elements of the show elevating, because I agree that it's what sets the show apart from the rest and makes it special, but what defines a "genre'" in film or television are it's conventions, iconography, settings, and narratives. These are all thoroughly mecha anime, and the show itself does a lot of meta commentary on the genre. We can bundle a bunch of similar theme and philosophy together and call it a subgenre, like calling it a psychological thriller, or cosmic horror, or something more specific than that, and this is all great and helpful, but ultimately these elements are working through the larger lens of being an animated television show, from japan, about giant robots, that follows the tropes and patterns that typically come with.
 
Kain

Kain

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Oct 27, 2017
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I don't think it's a mecha anime as they are not actually mechas lol

It's a daddy issues anime
 

Deleted member 1003

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I see that gif of Gendo smiling, but I'm having trouble placing exactly when that takes place. I watched OG series over 15 years ago.
 
PickledCucumber

PickledCucumber

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Sep 14, 2019
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A bit off topic, but I've been meaning to ask this:

Did anyone else think the ending of "End of Evangelion" is a bit of a good ending?

I've literally watched the last 20 minutes of the film when I'm depressed because it feels hopeful.

Like, "Yeah, things can be rough sometimes, but that's okay, because there's so much good in the world to see and experience."
 
Kurtikeya

Kurtikeya

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Dec 2, 2017
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It's an Oedipal drama packaged in the form of a mecha anime. In other words, psychoanalysis with robots. Black Swan, Mulholland Drive, Silent Hill 3, Fatal Frame 2, and a lot of Borges all dabble in this. Actually, a lot of Asian horror dabble in this because where they're coming from with it is usually concrete (i.e. post-war trauma, struggles with post-war modernity, the legacy of post-colonialism, etc.).

I'll get back to you on We Know the Devil, but it's quite a break from traditional psychoanalysis given how rigid the latter's exploration of sexuality is. Cosmic psychoanalysis, uncanny literature, magic realism, and Gothic sublime all used to suffice in describing something like this, but as gender literature develops, so does gender studies. For now, I'd describe it as a magic realist story about gender and growing up.
 
Nilson

Nilson

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Nov 5, 2017
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Maybe the Xenosaga trilogy, with Shion's arc.

I actually thought Into the Woods was going to be more like that, I'll have to play We Know the Devil.
 

TwinBahamut

Member
Jun 8, 2018
1,360
Robin said:
By genre it is thoroughly a mecha anime, I say this not to besmirch those who find the psychological elements of the show elevating, because I agree that it's what sets the show apart from the rest and makes it special, but what defines a "genre'" in film or television are it's conventions, iconography, settings, and narratives. These are all thoroughly mecha anime, and the show itself does a lot of meta commentary on the genre. We can bundle a bunch of similar theme and philosophy together and call it a subgenre, like calling it a psychological thriller, or cosmic horror, or something more specific than that, and this is all great and helpful, but ultimately these elements are working through the larger lens of being an animated television show, from japan, about giant robots, that follows the tropes and patterns that typically come with.
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This is the correct answer. Ultimately, almost everything in Evangelion is done to twist, subvert, or reimagine the common tropes of the Super Robot genre. Shinji's refusal to pilot his super robot, his toxic relationship with his "my father created this robot for me" stock genre father figure, his terrible relationships with the female members of the cast, and so on... All of these are rooted in classic super robot tropes, except altered to peel away the heroism to expose something unnatural and uncomfortable.

As a side note, the religious overtones of Evangelion are just window-dressing: Judeo-christian imagery used by people who were not judeo-christian, but just wanted something they considered exotic, edgy, and cool. The creators have even said that they probably wouldn't have used such imagery if they knew it would be so popular in other countries.

If you want more stuff in the same vein as Eva, it is easy to find, since it had an enormous influence on later super robot anime. I'd recommend RahXephon and Fafner. The latter takes a while to really get good, but by the time you reach the second TV series, Fafner Exodus, it is really, really good.
 
KoopaTheCasual

KoopaTheCasual

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Oct 27, 2017
6,742
Add another count for Sci-fi/Psychological Drama if you're trying to find a way to find more movies/shows with those kind of themes.
 
Strings

Strings

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Oct 27, 2017
31,413
I kind of unironically like the satirical genre name 'dementia' for stories with confused and muted protagonists in surreal atmospheres that break down over the course of the narrative. It's wrong, but it kind of gets across the desperation you imagine the characters are facing while falling apart (in stuff like Evangelion, Perfect Blue, Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze, Shinreigari, etc).
TeddieBear said:
A bit off topic, but I've been meaning to ask this:

Did anyone else think the ending of "End of Evangelion" is a bit of a good ending?

I've literally watched the last 20 minutes of the film when I'm depressed because it feels hopeful.

Like, "Yeah, things can be rough sometimes, but that's okay, because there's so much good in the world to see and experience."
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I definitely don't see it as a good in-universe ending, but I do find the film extremely uplifting creatively.

Don't want to get into it too much, but the first time I saw EoE, I was thrown into an existential crisis and pulled out of university as a result. I just couldn't imagine making that film - and in turn, didn't see a point in pursuing film as a career. After about two weeks of doing nothing, I watched it again and had the complete opposite response - there was no way I could make this film, but it would be wonderful to make something nobody else could either. Re-enrolled next semester, blah blah.
 
Imperial Bishop

Imperial Bishop

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Oct 26, 2017
35,584
"Neo" Genesis Evangelion?

360
 

Deleted member 1698

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Fan-service harem anime. Just a really limited/crappy one.

would also accept cicada noise extravaganza
 
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