After years of not being readily available on the internet, Neon Genesis Evangelion (one of the most groundbreaking, influential, and beloved anime series from the '90s) finally found a streaming home this year on Netflix.
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While many fans were excited about the prospect of being able to legally binge-watch Evangelion online, that excitement quickly wore off when they found out that Netflix's new English dub of the 26-episode anime seems to erase the queer subtext between main character Shinji Ikari and a pilot named Kaworu Nagisa.
For those unfamiliar with Neon Genesis Evangelion, the anime (which originally ran from 1995-1996) follows a group of teenagers who must work with a shadowy organization called NERV to pilot giant mechs called Evangelions and fight monstrous beings called Angels to save a future Tokyo. The main protagonist is a teenager name Shinji and throughout the show, Shinji fights Angels, copes with a seriously messed up father-son relationship, has one existential crisis after another, and explores his sexuality with Kaworu. As we've previously mentioned on PRIDE, though Kaworu only appears in two episodes, his relationship with Shinji made a huge impact on fans, especially during a time where LGBTQ representation was almost nonexistent in many forms of media.
To say queer Evangelion fans were disappointed is an understatement, and many took to Twitter to vent out their frustrations.
So what are your thoughts on Netflix's new dub of Neon Genesis Evangelion? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter.
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