PSA: The "Scream" scene in Evangelion still gets me every time, 20 years later

I was rewatching Neon Genesis Evangelion last week, the original series not the rebuilds, and I got to episode 18 where Unit 03 goes berserk. That whole sequence where Shinji has to fight it while his friend is inside, the music and the animation just hits different now that I am older. I first watched this show back in 2003 when I was 15, staying up late on a crappy CRT TV in my bedroom. Back then I thought it was just a cool mecha fight with some weird stuff happening. But last Tuesday night, sitting there at 32 years old, I actually felt sick watching Shinji break down. The voice acting in that scene, especially the Japanese dub, is just brutal. Has anyone else gone back to an old favorite and had it hit you way harder than before?

2 comments

2 Comments

karenw902mo ago

Wait, am I the only one who ugly cried during that scene and then had to explain to my cat why I was sobbing at 2 AM over a cartoon robot fight? Because I definitely did that last month when I rewatched it at 31. I used to think Shinji was just being whiny as a teenager, but now I get it - that helpless feeling of trying to save someone while everything falls apart is way too real as an adult. The way his voice cracks when he screams just wrecked me, and I had to pause it to go make a cup of tea so I could pretend I had it together.

matthewperry2mo ago

Totally did that thing where I forgot I had roommates and they walked in on me clutching a pillow yelling "JUST TALK TO HIM" at the screen like he could hear me through the TV. Had to pretend I was doing some intense core workout to explain the red eyes and sniffling. The fact that I'm almost 40 and still get wrecked by a fictional kid's panic attack in a mech suit is honestly my biggest character development.