Week 10: Cyberpunk + Neon Genesis Evangelion

I've always liked mecha animes, I started with Gundam Wing years ago. Looking back, still, I can't confidentially say why I have an affinity for mecha as it's the most distant of what I usually like in my anime; as it tends to be hyper masculine and one-note. I do like the possibilities that robots and the technology offers to the story. But if we look at the genre as a whole, sci-fi and further more cyberpunk, we can see more animes utilizing the visual conventions of the genre to discuss different things these days.

Cyberpunk in Japanese media often opens up a large library of alternative ideas about politics, economy, and sexuality due to it's future setting and technology. For example, Ghost in the Shell discusses themes of what it means to be human through a robot heroine in a future struggling with the political nuances that come along with advanced technology. Cowboy Bebop emphasizes the lonely, existential dread of humanity that happens upon an intergalactic backdrop. Psychopass discusses how an integrated morality system controlled by a computer is inherently flawed and how it affects society. As much as I love mecha animes of the late 90s where robots punch each other, cyberpunk anime largely talks about capitalism and how technologies affect various social classes. Even Astro Boy spoke to Japan's greater need to aspire in mechanics and electronics.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a great example of a mecha that speaks about the errors in human communication and the economy & politics of a war-torn Japan, all with religions overtones. Additionally, the Evas, AKA the mechs, are awesome. Their designs are still one of the most original I've seen from a mech anime in years. The Evas being inspired by human biology, simulating bleeding and such, causes the fights to be incredibly brutal. Their deaths and battle cries are not just mechanical, it is viscerally painful.