Let Me Tell You About Evangelion - Audio Entropy

We're back from Actual Play Camp, with a little trip across the lake to Anime Camp, to talk VeggieTales again! It's two mostly fine stories about being nice while we try to piece back together our dumb lore.

It's the end? It is! The long awaited fourth and final Rebuild movie has finally come out and both Ashley and Luke are surprised it came out. They look at the questions the series has left us. What if someone was a responsible adult? Why are these kids so horny? Is this movie too meta? And what was Mari's point at the end of the day?

We arrive a little bit late to the Easter episode but it’s okay cause Easter is gonna last FOREVER in this Christmas Carol parody. We talk about how it squanders the original story, the weird grudge against plastic and get mad at the idea of only being moral if there’s a heaven.

We are finally back, and the episode might be short but we still dig into coats, casual slavery, bible jerks and bad rap numbers.

God always loves us, even when we make mistakes! Mistakes like mashing together a weird cgi film festival, random songs and a half baked satire of “lol random” humor into one thing. Well, at least it’s futuristic!

Emily joins for a show that seems to exist in the aftermath of the great failure of Big Ideas. Bob and Larry want to put on a show and they’ve forgotten the good word. So they decide to steal from children. Bit of a mixed metaphor. Also there’s a lot of talk about death fearing kids, goofs and musicals.

We watch the first Veggie Tales movie that was so bad in bankrupted the studio. Was it the confusing timeline? The use of a bible story with a downer ending ? The racism? Oh we hope so, cause this movie is SO racist.

Lexi joins us for another takeover of the show that hopefully has a bit more class. We've got musicals and Shakespear and not so silly, but still really silly, songs.

Maxie joins for one of the weirder stories for Veggie Tales to adapt, as it involves forced marriage and Jewish genocide. Well let’s see how they handle it! We also talk a lot about sexy veggies, great songs about awful subjects and Luke describes his greatest Veggie Tale fear.

We sit down with our bud Dan to watch an episode all about *looks through notes* child soldiers and cucking???? Also Larry masturbates to a manatee, we get in depth with veggie dicks and we join the Church of Gaming.

Larry Boy returns as we’re joined by a new Kevin! We talk a lot about rumors, robots and plant body horror. Then we talk way too long about our past criticisms of the show and what people say by “just saying.”

Molly joins us for an it turns out we already covered, so let's tell Molly about our insane trip into this show!

Larry has hit rock bottom. He’s lost his job, he lost his faith and he’s lost his way. Mark joins as we examine an episode that is both a clip show and a deep dive into the soul.

We’re joined by Kevin for a episode theoretically based on a classic piece of literature. So we spend a lot of time talking about Wal-Mart, consumerism, berry poops and cheeseburgers.

The hosts are alone again, forced to wander the desert of this guestless podcast. But they make do talking about a city with big walls, along with the prequel of the bible, Aunt shaming, and SNL politics.

Brooks joins us for our first real Larryboy adventure and it’s not the epic we thought it was a kids. We talk about youth pastors, bloodthirsty Alfreds and fibs.

The Veggies must save Christmas and bring the true meaning to a town gripped by capitalism. Jordon joins us for an ep all about a little toy that gains sentience and brings God to this world. Also a snowman has a carrot nose and we all lose it at implications of that and more.

Luke and Ashley look back at a classic tale and while they don’t get as in depth as usual they do talk about Larry Boy, transphobic jokes and agree that they’re going to hell.

We are joined by Maxie and Frankie for a lot of talk about this episode, which is probably the most infamous Veggie Tales ep. We talk about all the changes the episode has gone through, the way it unintentionally criticizes capitalism and also how they turn a story about the persecution of Jewish people into a story about keeping Christ in Easter. Also all the racism, so much racism.

We're joined by Sean for an episode all about loving your neighbor, no matter if they're from space or from one city over. We also talk the Butter Battle Book, Luke Being Horny For Larry, Hairbrushes, How Junior is a racist, and our new theory that the veggies are being tested by a judgmental god.

After a disastrous act of Pod we had to re-record this episode. We still have a lot to say about how this show messes up it’s moral of forgiveness, the Garden of Eden, the existence of french fries and the fact that Larry might be a god in training.

Luke and Ashley get started on their new mistake. They talk about their history with religion, try to get to the bottom of what the creator believes and try to figure out this new world.

We reach the end of our Evangelion journey (for now) with the love it or hate it Evangelion 3.0. We come firmly down in the “it’s perfectly okay” camp but that doesn’t mean that we can’t talk about how Shinji sucks, gay piano sequences, the shakey look of characters being perpetually young and the thrilling conclusion to Luke’s “steal everything” story line!

Frustrating is a word we use a lot around Evangelion. That words sums up both our viewing and discussion of Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0, a movie that manages to have some great moments while also making infuriating and baffling choices as it sets off on it's own path. We like the new Angel designs and a drunk PenPen but making all the girls stories revolve around trying to woo Shinji sucks. Then there's the question of "Just what is Mari's purpose being here?" It's a long and winding pod and we're in a madder place at the end but the almost end is near.

Luke and Ashley have come back around to Evangelion and while they're happy to be back on familiar ground it's perhaps too familiar. In fact for all the episodes that could do with remake episodes 1-8 are probably the least needed. Especially when you're adding even more uncomfortable content. At least we got our fav death diamond Ramiel and that cliffhanger of an ending to chat about.

Ashley & Luke get in-depth on the 2016 Shin-Godzilla, the biggest live action movie directed by Hideaki Anno. Bringing Godzilla back to it's original role as a symbol for disaster the film looks into how modern Japan would react. We talk about the wonderfully gross designs of Godzilla, how the cinematography matches Anno's animated work and whether this film is dropping nationalist/libertarian dog whistles.

I love all my friends!After worrying about all the ways it could become a complete mess Ashley & Luke are happy to see that FLCL: Alternative keeps it's thoughtfulness and fun throughout. The planet is being heated up by Medical Mechanica and the rich and powerful are leaving the Earth. Kana is more concerned about trying to make everything stay the same, whether it's with the boy she likes or her best friend. Unfortunately things change, romance fades and sometimes friends aren't what they seem. Luke and Ashley love the story and the emotion but the still wish Haruko was brought in more naturally.

In this city, I will.After the disappointment of season 1 and the nothing of season 2 Luke and Ashley aren't looking forward to the last season of the show. They're expecting more horny teens with no character who suck. So they're very surprised to find a collection of characters they really love! Kana and her friends are a fun collection of non-horny teens who are layered and support each other. As they try to find out they're doing next they're confronted with questions about maturity, helping friends and being themselves in ways that work way better then any previous season. That said it's not all great, Haruko is still around and while she has grown up a bit she still can't help but be a creep, and an undercurrent of fatphobia hurts Mossan who is a great character otherwise. We also talk about how Kana is totally gay, how people are leaving Earth, and worry about how this season might disappoint us again.

Luke and Ashley finish FLCL: Progressive and find a series that is a mixture of boring and infuriating despite it's flashes of interesting moments. With no real main characters other then the pedophile villain we're supposed to feel bad for because she can't force one person into a controlling relationship we wonder how the show could have been better. Maybe don't put all of Hidomi's important character choices into the hands of other people. Maybe do something with Aiko other then make her a prop. Maybe make Marco and Goro matter. Maybe make Ida a character rather then just the boy everyone wants to kiss. And what the fuck happened to Hidomi's gore fetish that was a key part of her character????

Ashley & Luke look at the FLCL follow up that's considered not as good, but after they came away from the original in low spirits maybe this one will be great? Nope! We talk about how the show handles Haruha, how Hidomi doesn't have a character except being super horny for gore, how the lower budget affects the show and how the choice to have one of the main characters be a guy in a skirt is unfortunately loaded.

Wasn't this show supposed to be good? Luke and Ashley are looking forward to the part of the show they considered the best as kids and are resoundingly disappointed. The show plays with treating it's pedophile antagonist as a serious threat but doesn't do enough, while making jokes about a 12 year old's big genitals. Meanwhile our fav Mamimi (who is also super into kids who don't know better) is pushed to the side, even when the sub-plot is all about her. Combined with disappointing plotting, random Nazi imagery and a quick but bad gay joke it's all a mess. Well at least the animation is nice!

Wanting to get away from the serious thoughts we had on Evangelion we take it easy with... almost three hours on the first three episodes of FLCL. Come on guys.We talk about the controversy that has come up around the Netflix translation of NGE, the way FLCL was localized so well, the way it falls into some of the same pitfalls NGE does and hey how did kid us not realize that Mamimi was homeless?

CW: We talk a large amount about sexual abuse, both shown and implied, violence towards women and depression.The end of a series is also the joy of rewatching.Luke and Ashley talk about the feature film End of Evangelion, this time with Luke giving it more of a shot and Ashley going in with lowered expectations. They discuss how Shinji throughout the move is a great look at how the depression and anxiety that made him so relatable can fester into an ugly resentment of the world, especially women. Looking through that lens they find the movie is a righteous takedown of people who expect women to love them at the drop of the hat... while also turning the sexually abused Rei into a McGuffin that turns to Shinji cause he's such a Nice Guy. Also we compare the movie to a Calvin and Hobbes strip and wonder why this film is seen as better then the TV show finale when it's just as weird and so pointedly vicious.

We get in depth on the second half of the show as we discuss the twists and turns. We also get in depth on how the show treats the sexuality of it's teen character, the use of sexual abuse as a metaphor and child abuseChild abuse talk from 2:15:00 to 2:19:40 and mentioned sometimes after that.Note: We recorded this before the Netflix dub had come out, we’ll probably discuss it in an upcoming episode.

Luke and Ashley figured they would finally get around to those Rebuild movies but first we had to re-watch all of Evangelion. Here we examine the first 14 episodes of the series. We talk about trying to make non creepy shows about burgeoning sexuality, how Shinji is a relatable view of depression and realizing sexuality and how the series flips between fun action show and depressing subversion mid scene sometimes.

Luke and Ashley both watched the movie Detective Pikachu and felt the need to talk about it somewhere, and well, they do have an anime podcast. We talk for a too long time about Pokemon Jobs, PokeFan Bill Nighy, Justice Smith Holding The Movie Together and Mr. Mime.

Ashley and Luke sit down one last time to discuss their thoughts on End of Evangelion, and the series as a whole. Thank you so much for listening, everyone! This podcast is melting away into the sea of LCL until the fourth rebuild film finally releases, at which point we'll resume our physical forms just long enough to do four new episodes, one for each film. Until then, farewell, and congratulations!

Wow, the last episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion was one of the most satisfying half hours of television ever. A showcase of strange and bold creative decisions that seamlessly wove the resolution of the show's core emotional arc with a visually engaging multimedia experience that simultaneously made the ending unforgettable and helped them deftly avoid the budgetary problems that plagued the show. How could anyone possibly be anything less than in love with it?... Wait, what? Everyone hated it, and sent absurd amounts of hate mail to Gainax and Hideaki Anno? The reaction was so incredibly negative that they had to make a movie that completely reworked the ending? Well, that might be good too, I guess... wait. It opens HOW? Commentary starts at 12:31 and runs through the end of the episode.

We've finally arrived. In this special double header episode, Luke and Ashley witness the first version of the end of Evangelion. Something strange and horrible is happened. The real world seems to have dissolved, and everyone has become a singular, amorphous conscious. Shinji sits either at the center of this mental miasma, or in some obscure corner of it, talking to people who are either his old friends or simply his memories of them. The thing is, it's impossible to tell which is which, as all concepts of identity and discrete metaphysical values are consumed by Shinji's all-pervasive self-loathing. But... maybe it doesn't have to be that way. Commentary runs from 15:50 to 39:12, and from 43:27 1:05:28.

With Tokyo-3 in ruins, a new Eva pilot shows up to bolster NERV's dwindling ranks. But like the second they start talking about the mysterious final Angel it's like, super obvious that it's definitely him. Which is a shame because Shinji wants to kiss this new boy SO BAD, and apparently there's a lot of controversy over whether their relationship is platonic or romantic and that just makes me weep for the state of arts education because if it was any more obvious that shinji wants to ride Kowaru's Lance of Longinus then Neon Genesis Evangelion would just be softcore porn. COME ON PEOPLE. Commentary runs from 6:31 to 32:45

We're in the homestretch now, and things are never gonna stop getting more and more crazy. Ashley and Luke watch on as Rei sacrifices her life to kill the penultimate angel, destroying most of Tokyo-3 in the process. And then... she shows up for school the following morning. Commentary runs from 4:46 to 31:31

Merry Christmas everyone! Here's an adolescent girl having the most private inner sanctums of her mind utterly violated by a being on a higher order of intelligence. Also we talk about Storage Wars? Commentary runs from 9:27 to 38:09

After like a full minute of dead air, Ashley and Luke realize that they are quickly running out of podcast juice and better get this episode underway. We see back into the past, the aftermath of the Second Impact, the relationship between Gendo and Shinji's mother, Yui, and her absorption into Eva 01. Everything is centered around the actions that Kaji has taken to undermine Seele, something that cannot be allowed to go unpunished. Commentary runs from 7:38 to 37:04.

After Ashley makes fun of me for 8 minutes straight, we get into the surreal fallout of last week's explosive episode. In its berserk state, Eva 01 has annihilated Shinji's physical form. While the NERV team works desperately to rescue his soul, he goes on yet another heady journey into himself, confronted with all of the unpleasant truths of his existence. Commentary runs from 9:59 to 33:21.

Stuff is going DOWN. After being forced to sit and watch while his Eva nearly murders his friend, Shinji decides to quit the giant fighting robot business for good. But of course, he can't actually stay away. To the contrary, he finally unlocks the true potential of Eva Unit 01, to the awe and horror of everyone. Also, Ashley and Luke discuss which Eva character would be the most likely to trap someone behind a brick wall until they die. Commentary runs from 3:21 to 26:45. It's a short one this week because we were so DANG EXCITED to get to the next episode!

Ashley sits down with Luke to finally discover the truth of the Fourth Child. It's... exactly what the show's been saying it is for two episodes. The new Angel reveals itself to be a sentient fungus-like creature that infects and takes control of Unit 03, and it's up to Shinji to defeat it. When he fails, NERV's new Dummy Plug kicks in and brutally destroys the Eva with no regard for its captive pilot. Ashley and Luke watch on as Shinji is forced to strangle one of his closest friends, while Luke strangles HIMSELF with the rope he hung himself by with his consistently wrong prediction. Commentary runs from 7:46 to 31:10.

After singing way too many stupid songs, Ashley and Luke settle in to check out the aftermath of last week's shocking episode. As the Angels grow stronger, NERV is seeking out a new pilot, as well as further developing their "dummy plug." And amidst all that, Luke aggressively and steadfastly REFUSES to accept that Toji is obviously the Fourth Child in his desperate bid to contextualize a major spoiler about the final Angel.

Luke opens this episode by calling Ashley the devil and it’s only getting wilder from here. We get the Zebra Ball Angel and we finally hit the point Luke has been waiting for. We talk about Entry Plug safety, ugly feelings of NERV personal, naked hugs, the Gainax Archetype, more thoughts or Rei, Rap Game’s Young Shinji and get into the depths of Evangelion. Commentary is from 6:11 to 29:31

Luke is still in shock over the complete non-episode last week and is ready for an episode where absolutely nothing is revealed, especially in the last 30 seconds. Ash and him talk about: Russian taunts, Body Tubes, The First Angel, Clones and Kissing On The Anniversary of Your Mom’s Death Commentary is from 7:20 to 30:40

Luke is very, very, VERY excited. Then he’s met with crushing disappointment. We talk about the series so far, about educational VHS at work, goatse, Math Puppy, corrections about the number of Angels and we take our first turn into surreal town. Commentary is from 7:15 to 30:35

Luke and Ashley watch an episode where there’s so much techno babble it might as well be Star Trek. They talk a lot about Phoenix Wright translations, NERV getting a virus, Ritsuko’s mother and Luke loses it over the fact they reference the Dead Sea Scrolls. Commentary is from 4:40 to 28:00