With Neon Genesis Evangelion’s launch last Friday, the crew here at Waypoint Radio has finally had time to dig into and talk about the first seven episodes of the series. We talk about all the show’s larger-than-life battles (against both its surreal “angels” and its very real trauma), its messy handling of gender and sexuality, and, of course, its lore.
One thing that stood out to first-time viewers Patrick Klepek and Danielle Riendeau was the way the show slowly developed the details of its world through tiny comments made on the periphery of a scene. Yes, there’s the occasional lore dump, and there are lots of proper nouns. But these small asides make the world feel lived in, and importantly, make many of the characters feel at home in the crisis they’re living through. Even after the Second Impact, those left alive keep living.
Read an excerpt of our conversation and listen to the full podcast below.
Patrick: I will say that one of my favorite sequences right in that little introduction bit is the way it presents a bit of exposition, of world-building about the second impact on what we know of it so far. Which is brilliantly just panning over this classroom of students bored out of their fucking mind as the teacher is revealing, fundamental (what at least we know what the time in that episode) truths about what happened. Which is that there was a meteor that immediately melted the ice caps and whoops, like the world went into a bad place, 50% of the population died, all economies like just crumbled, and everyone's just giggling and like sharing notes.
It was just like a really interesting way to convey something that's really true, right? Like I think they're all sorts of things in class that lots of us like "We're being told about horrible atrocities and you're more worried about if like that person around the corner has a crush on you," as it goes over your head. Now granted, this is something that happened 15 years ago, it's not like learning about the Civil War or something that is so far removed that like your emotional context.
Cado: But it's like if the extinction of the dinosaurs happened 15 years ago or something, right? It's the level of event that is so world shaking that I feel like that it's past even like an individual history level.
Austin: But importantly none of these kids remember the world before.
Danielle: [None of them] were alive right?
Austin: Right, they're 14.
Danielle: Is this more of a like 9/11? I know it's not cataclysmic on the same level. But like, for Americans it's almost like, yeah, kids now wouldn't have been born at the time.
Austin: Right.
Patrick: Right, yeah. I think everyone has those things. Like for us World War II, Vietnam, there are all sorts of like, I just liked how something that every generation has experienced at one point or another and then the way it just conveys that like very cleverly, both on an emotional level, and then also giving like a little bit of world building that's like "Oh ok. This is why XYZ." It's just doing both those things at once while also looking beautifully shot and it's just like, you know, a really good example of like how the show is often and operating on multiple levels in a way that it constantly returns to.
Danielle: Yeah, yeah. Briefly, if I may, on that very point. I think that really underscores the thing I like the most about the show (and we'll talk more about it later) ... That's a really perfect example of how the show feels like "Oh, in a slow-motion horrifying apocalypse people are still going to try to live their lives." And kids will still be kids, even if they are fucked up by the trauma. Like they will still be a 15 year old. Shinji's 15?
Patrick: "Oh, Susie's dead this week? Eeehhhh."
Danielle: It's very like, It's messed up but it still feels emotionally resonant in that way.
Episodes Discussed: 1: Angel Attack, 2: Unfamiliar Ceiling, 3: The Silent Phone, 4: Rain, After Running Away, 5: Rei, Beyond the Heart, 6: Showdown in Tokyo-3, 7: The Works Of Man
You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher. If you're using something else, this RSS link should let you add the podcast to whatever platform you'd like. If you'd like to directly download the podcast, click here. Please take a moment and review the podcast, especially on Apple Podcasts. It really helps.
Interaction with you is a big part of this podcast, so make sure to send any questions you have for us to gaming@vice.com with the header "Questions." (Without the quotes!) We can't guarantee we'll answer all of your questions, but rest assured, we'll be taking a look at them. And remember, next week's Waypoints will cover episodes 8-13.
Have thoughts? Swing by the Waypoint forums to share them!
from VICE https://ift.tt/2xiWB6I
via cheap web hosting
No comments:
Post a Comment