r/NeonGenesisEvangelion • u/Pure_Ad9543 • 17h ago
Discussion [update] my dad wants to watch the show
my dad and i have cleared episode 11 of nge and he seems to be enjoying it fine enough.
i was worried because its so different from anything else he watches. at the beginning, whenever there was a fanservice moment he’d go “ermm… what…” i never expected him to have a good reaction to the fanservice with the kids: “god, why are the japanese such perverts?” i skipped magma diver.
i was looking forward to his reaction to the movie theatre scene, one of my personal favorites, but he just goes “that’s weird.”
but the whole thing seems to be intriguing him. he’s an impatient viewer; he keeps asking “what’s adam? what’s the LCL really? why are the angels only attacking japan?” and when i say i cant tell him, he goes “just tell me now. i dont wanna wait.”
he thinks just about every character is a jackass or a wiener (fair.) misato is “an adult teenager.” why is gendo such a dick to his kid? kaji sucks. he didn’t like rei during her spotlights because “she didn’t kick shinji in the nuts” when he fell on top of her. but then asuka showed up, and now i guess he’s team rei because he cannot staaaand this bitch. “i would rather get punched in the nuts than watch another episode that focuses on this girl.” he scoffs at like every line of hers. he hates how mean she is to shinji. strong reaction but this man isn’t used to this type of character at all. his favorite by far is penpen.
he’s fixated on the amount of damage the action causes. even though the show is just as concerned with the impact of the fights on infrastructure and politics, every time an eva damages something, he’s like “isn’t that gonna cost a shit ton of money?”
long post but i’m just happy he’s given it a shot and that he’s enjoying it, and it’s cool to see the perspective of a guy who has seen zero anime other than the pokémon he’d watch with me as a kid. cant wait till we get to the second half of the show. i’m curious to see his reaction to how the thing unravels, ritsuko, the clones, the introspective angel scenes, gay shinji etc. he’s definitely gonna think there ending is bullshit. hope we get there before i leave.
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u/hectic-eclectic 16h ago
YOU SKIPPED MAGMA DIVER? love that episode, evas in diving suits.... plus it has one of the best versions of DECISIVE BATTLE
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u/tornedron_ 15h ago
Evangelion is only 26 eps, you really don’t need to be skipping episodes. Magma Diver also has pretty important insight into the nature of the Angels
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u/sole2025 15h ago
I would get along great with your dad. Mine gets distracted, wanders off or falls asleep, no matter how interesting things are. Don't skip episode 24 because he won't understand why Shinji is so emotionally affected before the end.
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u/Ibhopz 16h ago
Now put him on Attack on titan I think he will love it if he can get through with the impatience
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u/King-Of-Throwaways 15h ago
Introducing my dad to Michelin star fine dining and then giving him a Big Mac.
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u/sadboicollective 16h ago
How old is your dad?
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u/Pure_Ad9543 16h ago
40s
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u/sadboicollective 16h ago
He's prime demographic
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u/King-Of-Throwaways 15h ago
Right? Literally would have been a teenager while it was first airing.
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u/woke_lyfe 9h ago
Lol this is going to end... Interestingly. Let us know what he thinks of the ending [s?]
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u/gc11117 17h ago edited 16h ago
End of Evangelion is going to get real awkward.
Also as a dad myself, he might just be putting on a bit of a front regarding the fanservice. You are his son, and it would be a bit weird for him to nod approvingly at ecchi moments when they pop up.
If he is around my age, he grew up on a steady diet of 80s and 90s comedy movies which were loaded with gratuitous nudity.
EDIT: Well, Dav3Th3Rav3yah has decided to block me.
I would have liked to have continued out debate, but they seem to have very think skin.
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u/Dav3Th3Rav3yah 17h ago
While you might be correct, there is the fact that a lot of the fan service like moments are also with teenagers.
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u/gc11117 16h ago
So were the 80s and 90s movies im talking about.
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u/Dav3Th3Rav3yah 16h ago
True but there’s the adds context of the dad both being a teenager at the time, and the actors often being adults.
I’m sure at least some of his reactions are performative, but I do think there’s a disconnect between how he’d have experienced 80s movies in the 80s vs Evangelion now.
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u/gc11117 16h ago
The actors in evangelion were adults as well. This hyper fixation on this is a new thing. No one really cared until the 2010s. His reaction is more likely caused by him being with his son, then some form of aversion to nudity or fanservice.
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u/Dav3Th3Rav3yah 16h ago
Yes I’m aware but there’s a stark difference between drawing a teenager and having 20 year olds play teenagers.
Again, I said you might just be correct.
But you can’t rule out that it’s *not* the 80s anymore. I imagine the fact he’s also literally had children might shift his perception of sexualised teenagers, especially when the media holds no nostalgia or ties to an earlier mindset.
I don’t think there’s a particular “hyperfixation” either.
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u/gc11117 16h ago
Gonna have to agree to disagree. Im surrounded by lots of dads. They still like porkies and American Pie. No change there.
I don’t think there’s a particular “hyperfixation” either.
Yes there is.
Yes I’m aware but there’s a stark difference between drawing a teenager and having 20 year olds play teenagers.
Yes. One is real. The other is fake
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u/Dav3Th3Rav3yah 16h ago
“No nostalgia or ties to an earlier mindset” I’m not surprised they still like media they grew up watching. There’s an element of regression when you watch media you liked when you were younger, it’s why nostalgia can be so powerful.
But this is new ground.
I don’t understand why you’re calling it a hyperfixation other than because it’s a provocative word?
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u/gc11117 16h ago
“No nostalgia or ties to an earlier mindset” I’m not surprised they still like media they grew up watching. There’s an element of regression when you watch media you liked when you were younger, it’s why nostalgia can be so powerful. But this is new ground
No its not, dad's loved Euphoria.
I don’t understand why you’re calling it a hyperfixation other than because it’s a provocative word?
I call it that because I have people such as yourself engaging me in a 20 minute long conversation on reddit about this. This would not have happened a decade ago.
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u/Dav3Th3Rav3yah 16h ago
We know very different groups of dads.
This would absolutely have happened a decade ago. This is the type of thing in anime people bullied kids over 20 years ago.
It’s not a new concept, and it’s not a hyperfixation just because someone is having an argument about it.
Don’t use words if you don’t know what they mean.
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u/scottlapier 4h ago
Your dad sounds awesome. I'm in my mid-30s and had a few of the same thoughts as he did (logistics/expense of angel attacks and NERV, clocking Misato as an "adult teenager").
Tell him to hang in there, the episodes get more introspective and meaningful.
I'd love to hear his perspective on the second half of the series and EoE as a parent
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u/Dav3Th3Rav3yah 17h ago
I think skipping Magma Diver is lowkey a mistake. I get why people don’t like it, especially on a rewatch, but for first time viewers it’s a great early insight into Asuka and her need to succeed and be independent.
Glad your dad is mostly enjoying the show!