Years back, when I was first getting into anime, I got into Eva right off the bat. I collected it on VHS, and in Dub no less. After completing the 26 episode series, I was left lost and confused by the ending. I began researching the show, trying to piece together my answers. I never really found any sites that provided a wealth of information in a concise manner. Dissatisfied with how the community was disorganized, I decided to organize the various kernals of information into one site. That site became known as Eva Monkey. The name of the site itself comes from Taliesin Jaffe on the commentary track of the Manga Entertainment release of the Eva movies. He described himself as an “Eva Monkey”, and I found the term fitting for myself and my site.
This site itself is a resource for fans who have seen Evangelion, and want to learn more. This site is not for those who have not Evangelion in its entirety. If you have not seen the entire Evangelion TV series, Death & Rebirth, and The End of Evangelion, I would suggest doing so before browsing this website further. I had a lot of things ruined for me because of my own curiosity, and while Evangelion is good no matter how much you know of it prior to watching it, it’s far more impactful if you know nothing of it in advance.
The site’s content includes a variety of different content, from the standard trappings of a fan site, such as character bios and an episode guide, to more detailed analysis in the form of archived essays, articles, and editorials. The site also boasts a frequently updated news page, which points out various developments in the official Evangelion universe, as well as various developments in the fan base.
And one final word of advice, as Hideaki Anno once said, Evangelion is like a riddle, you have to search for your own answers. Let others help you find your answers, but be sure to find your own answers, and your own interpretation of Evangelion.
Happy hunting.
Back in the day, I received a VHS copy of Go Nagai’s Black Lion for my sixteenth birthday. And on that tape was a preview for Evangelion featuring a rapid succession of the series’ action sequences accompanied by Beethoven’s ninth symphony. Thinking the show was full of action, it conned me into buying the show on thirteen VHS tapes at $25 each. To this day I don’t really know why I made such a commitment, but in the end it paid off as the ending had a strong emotional resonance with the person I was at the time. It helped me work through a number of my internal issues, and for that, I have a fond place in my heart for the show.
A lousy first year college experience led me to tinker with web design, and over the summer of 2002 I began working on an Evangelion website (Eva Monkey) which was formally launched in January of 2003. I began the site in the hope of creating a unified resource for fans of the show, to squash out confusions and help fellow fans find their answers. I never truly achieved that goal, but I’ve had a good run informing the community, and sharing my love of Evangelion with other fans, many of whom had a similarly intimate fondness for the show.