Top 5 Dead or Alive: Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) is the esoteric laced, adolescent pscyhodrama and coming of age story that Ingmar Bergman would have made with Alejandro Jordowosky in an alternate reality where they were born as Japanese twins in 2099. Fortunately, Hideaki Anno crafted this series in the early 1990’s as a Mecha series with heart and soul, basing much of it on his own struggles with clinical depression. For the uninitiated, Wikia Evangelion Fandom provides – ” – the Evangelion series revolves around the organization NERV, using large mechas called Evangelions to combat monstrous beings called Angels. They are piloted by several of the main characters, including Shinji Ikari, Asuka Sohryu, and Rei Ayanami. While the initial episodes focus largely on religious symbols and specific references to the Bible, the later episodes tend to go deeper into the psyches of the characters, where it is learned that many of them have deep seated emotional and mental issues. Through the exploration of these issues, the show begins to question reality and the existences therein. If you choose to enter from there, you will discover so much more…

I.  “Back in the days when I was a teenager . . .” Amongst us walk people who, believe it or not, had the best time of their lives in high school and during their teenage years.  They attend every five, ten, twenty, and fifty-year reunion function, every class meeting, every cookout.  Then there are the rest of us – disinterested, uninvited, or often ob…