Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV Series) Weaving a Story 2: Oral Stage (1996) User Reviews

A deep study of the main character.

[felipeandresrodriguezberrocal · 10/10 · 2 September 2019]

This is a deep study of the main character of this tv series, very interesting.

Microcosm of Humanity

[liammc-73274 · 10/10 · 7 September 2023]

"Oh, as long as you have the will to live, you can turn anywhere into paradise."

Everything from the concept/design of the Evas; illustrations of the conception of biological life as well as the human soul; transcendent OST from Shiro Sagisu; an artful splicing together of prior cuts of animation; and a wholly unique directorial vision from Anno, synthesize to create a single episode that perfectly encapsulates the core spirit of Evangelion. Shinji's disembodied reflections impeccably demonstrate the accumulation of subtle contradictions that composes the human psyche, and beautifully depict his literal and metaphorical struggle towards self-actualization. Additional bits of foreshadowing are introduced, while further questions are raised. If anyone comes away thinking Evangelion is wholly nihilistic, I'd recommend they watch this episode again. Thematically poignant, artistically bold, and admirably optimistic, this is the definitive Evangelion episode for me.

I was wrong

[bardy9 · 10/10 · 10 April 2021]

EXTREMELY MOVING - possibly the best episode of the whole thing (but then again any of them in this half of the series could be). I did NOT think that the first time I watched this, but rewatching it revealed to me its mastery of exploring the human mind, and how we deal with the loss of loved ones.

Artful and tense cutting between reality and Shinji's mind, too, led to one of the most impactful and meditative scenes I have ever seen on TV. Sadness and happiness, which is which once you've watched this (or in my case, watched it twice)?

An Exercise in Expressionism

[richardtownsley-19550 · 10/10 · 17 December 2020]

This episode sees some very interesting artistic choices; pushing the medium to its furthest logical expressionistic conclusion, and it is really quite interesting. We see more layers behind our protagonist, Shinji, and of others. It is a very unique 20 minutes; sometimes melodramatic, sometimes weird, and sometimes profound, I applaud the writers and animators of this episode for taking such bold artistic choice.

Jesus christ...

[coldenohmer · 10/10 · 5 August 2021]

Amazing episode. Life changing. Extraordinary character development.

Definitely the pinnacle of the Shinji introspectives

[sevskirita · 9/10 · 31 January 2023]

I always love these mindscspe retrospectives, and although we've already gotten probably too many of this same concept with Shinji, this one was executed very well and a lot more emotionally compelling than the others. Same sort of things, Shinji struggling with his father and why he's putting himself through the Eva program, just perhaps a bit deeper. I think the same can be said for the premise of Misato mulling over a trapped Shinji, although to a much less extent.

The mystery of the Eva's is, pretty much as always, again furthered in an interesting way. Are they really implying that the Eva is Yui?

That's great, but for the mindscape things it's fortunate this series is coming to a close, because I'm really not sure how much farther they could have stretched these same repeat concepts lol.

return of Shinji and...

[ajtwlsalsdl · 9 January 2022]

It's nice to Shinji returning reality. Before that, in the middle of the episode, we could see Shinji's unconscious mind. It was rather artistic direction. After the episode, I want to see Shinji's past stories and Commander Ikari's real scenario.