As an adult-oriented anime — and here, "adult-oriented" refers to its target audience being adults, not anything weird — 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' was never meant to be a show for kids.
From episode one to the final episode, the series always had a central theme and a core of ideas it sought to express.
That's why many plot points feel anything but satisfying — and no matter how you look at it, the male lead's issues seem massive.
Of course, both Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley are troubled girls in their own right, but they're neither the main characters nor male, so the audience is generally less harsh toward them.
But with Shinji Ikari, even with Jing Yu playing the role, by episode eight, the audience's patience had hit its limit.
"This loser."
"I get that he's just a regular person, but come on — even an ordinary teenage boy shouldn't be this pathetic."
"Is Jing Yu being too harsh on this character? Sure, a protagonist's growth arc needs to start with him being pushed down, but we're eight episodes in, and he's still a mess?"
"What a waste of Jing Yu's face. He's so good-looking and yet plays such a wimpy role."
"You guys are too omniscient. Shinji Ikari is just a high schooler, suddenly dragged into an imaginary space by an Angel, completely cut off from NERV, and with only 16 hours of life support left. Of course, he panics! If any of you were in his shoes, you'd probably have peed yourselves already."
"Exactly. Alone, in total darkness, unable to contact anyone, trapped for hours in an empty, surreal space — and he's not even allowed to break down a little?"
"You people seriously have too much time on your hands. You nitpick the protagonist no matter what he does. Real talk — most of you wouldn't even dare pilot an EVA. You'd run straight to the countryside and hide."
While fans continued their furious debates, the plot suddenly shifted.
Unit-01, having drained all of its energy in the imaginary space, went berserk.
Shinji, on the brink of death, seemed to dream of his mother… and then—
Ripped the Angel apart with his bare hands.
In Great Zhou dramas, blood isn't green or blue or rainbow-colored — it's the real deal, bright red.
Unit-01 let out a primal roar and entered a berserk state, tearing the Angel apart and emerging from within its body. Soaked head-to-toe in crimson blood, the towering EVA stood stained in gore. The Angel's blood overflowed the sewers, spilling out into the streets.
This scene—
Silenced the bickering 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' fandom.
It was so brutal that more squeamish viewers felt uncomfortable, but for most people, deep down inside, that moment was...
Awesome.
"This EVA is insanely cool!"
"Damn... I'm crying. It's too cool."
"I can't take it. It's too awesome. I want to pilot Unit-01."
"If they start selling EVA Unit-01 models, I'm buying one no matter the cost!"
"Damn it, Jing Yu, you genius, your imagination is on another level."
"I can't take it anymore. I'm so jealous of Shinji, that dumb kid. He's got three beautiful girls around him and gets to pilot a robot as awesome as Unit-01."
"Never mind how cool the EVA is — what's going on with Unit-01? Why can it still go berserk even after it runs out of power, and be this strong?"
"I swear there's something off about Unit-01. It's saved Shinji on its own multiple times. It's like it has a will of its own."
"This time too — Shinji dreams about his mom, and then the EVA busts him out of the Angel's body. Could it be that Unit-01 is related to his mom?"
"Wait, maybe she built Unit-01?"
"But she's been dead for years... That doesn't quite add up either."
"Another week, another episode where Unit-01 blinded me with its coolness. But seriously, can the protagonist act like a man for once? Let Unit-01 be cool with him inside, not in spite of him. Honestly, it feels like the EVA would be stronger without a pilot. Maybe it's Shinji's fumbling that's nerfing its power."
"For real?"
"Think of it this way: when you're gaming, and you get matched with a total noob, it feels hopeless. Two players combined can somehow be worse than one."
"True, true…"
The second half of episode eight focused on the three main female characters: Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley, and Misato Katsuragi.
Rei stayed by Shinji's bedside as he woke up. Misato rushed in to check on him the moment she heard he was okay. As for tsundere Asuka...
She lingered awkwardly by the door, peeking in. When she saw he was fine, she turned away, too embarrassed to enter.
The episode closed with a single line from Shinji:
"The smell of blood... it won't wash off."
If only it had been like the previous seven episodes — just simple EVA-versus-Angel action.
But this time… Misato drunkenly pouring her heart out to Kaji under the moonlight, the subtle spark of rivalry between Asuka and Rei, the unveiling of the Human Instrumentality Project, the growing darkness surrounding Shinji's father — and Unit-01's berserk rampage.
Episode eight packed an incredible amount of content. Fans who didn't catch everything rushed to rewatch it on video platforms.
Especially the Unit-01 rampage scene — for many, it felt like a divine revelation.
For viewers who had never seen anything like it before, that massive EVA going berserk in battle was deeply overwhelming.
Even though Jing Yu's audience was all adults now, their sense of wonder watching 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' was no less intense than children seeing Ultraman for the first time in Jing Yu's previous life.
This episode reached a peak rating of 12.53%, with an average of 12.11% — proof that, despite all the criticism, fans still tuned in religiously. On Sundays, even little kids playing in the park would rush home early to watch it. Foot traffic on the streets would plummet. In a neighborhood with ten TVs turned on, at least six or seven would be tuned to Yunteng TV.
Such was the status 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' now held in the hearts of Great Zhou's drama fans.
After episode eight aired, discussion threads on every major film and TV forum across Great Zhou lit up with even more chatter.
The media, always eager for clickbait, jumped on the hype train too.
And in that buzz-filled atmosphere, the 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' game also began its promo campaign.
This game had been in development alongside the drama from the start. Unlike 'Fate/stay night', EVA didn't have an enormous volume of story, so it wasn't going to be some massive AAA release.
Jing Yu only meant for the game to complement the series. The story mostly followed the show's plot, though the battles had been given extra polish. Some scenes originally exclusive to the theatrical version were added to the game as a bonus — a little treat for the fans. It was a mid-sized action game at best. Jing Yu didn't expect it to earn huge profits. The main goal was to extend the reach of the EVA brand across different media.
For works like EVA, the real money comes from licensing deals and merchandise sales — not game revenue.
Still—
On day one of the official website's pre-order launch, the number of reservations exploded past 4 million.