How to Understand Neon Genesis Evangelion (A.K.A.: Eva)

In simple terms, Eva is an anime that deals with profound psychology, science/technology, and human relationships.

To understand the material (Eva eps 1-26, End of Evangelion), watch the series . Personal preferences may lead one to either watch an English dubbed or a Japanese subbed version of the episodes and the movie. I recommend picking one and sticking to that version of the Anime throughout the series; except for episodes 25 and 26. These episodes should be watched in both English dub and Japanese sub.

Watch episodes 1-24 , the movie, and then episodes 25-26. 25-26 have often been described as an unsatisfying ending and are VERY hard to understand without watching the movie first. WATCH THE MOVIE BEFORE 25-26 PEOPLE, TRUST ME.

Re watch any episodes or scenes that you find controversial and watch 25-26 about three times each.

Now it's time to start decoding the series . To understand the psychology behind the cool looking robots, you must first understand the definitions of EVERYTHING in the series. For an accurate dictionary of Neon Genesis terms and definitions.

If you have any questions about the characters, look them up on Wikipedia (.org), too. CAUTION: beware of spoilers, only look the character up when you are done with the series.

Now that you understand the words and the characters, it's time to analyze the characters .

Spend some time reflecting on important events , character relationships, characters, and what the characters said. I recommend discussing this with fellow eva-lovers. Discussion will bring a better understanding and deeper meaning to everything in eva.

Remember, you can't become an eva-whiz in just one night. You'll have to work at comprehension and watch repetitively, but it's definitely worth it.

Tips

• A background in sci-fi would be helpful
• A knowledge of biblical stories would be helpful
• Know the difference between Lilim and Lilith
• It's not essential to the series, but it is relevant background material: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith#Lilith_in_the_Bible Click on 'Adam and Lilith'

Warnings

• If you are strong of faith (mainly Christian), have strict morals, are easily squeamish, are younger than about 10, access Eva on a public computer, have strict parents, etc... I strongly suggest that you pick another Anime to watch. While Eva is beautiful and deep, not all people can/will appreciate it; keep that in mind while watching Eva