Reaction: Divergence Eve

What has Evangelion wrought upon the anime world? I'm 4 years late to the game but I finally checked out Divergence Eve for two big reasons: I read a very hostile review about it (which pretty much raised my curiosity about a thousand-fold) and secondly, the local shop had the slim-pack DVD set for only $40.
Well, about a week later, I've gone through all 13 episodes and I have this to say... look at the image above and tell me if you are offended or not? If you are, this anime is not for you and you will also have a hostile reaction. If you think it's a fun image, you will probably have a hostile reaction but for entirely different reasons.

I reference Evangelion because that was probably the big turning point in the early 90's when anime became a forum for metaphysical discussion. I figure since it's 15 years removed from the debut of the Eva series, I'm not spoiling anything by telling you the series ended the human race as we know it in the finale. It's pretty hard to beat that when it comes to f*cked up story endings. Divergence Eve comes pretty damn close. The universe gets destroyed, I kid you not.

The story basically follows a cadet named Misaki (the one in the blue uniform) who's come to Watcher's Nest to join the elite mech-jockeys stationed there, charged with protecting the secret that there is an alien presence trying to invade our dimension. Through the story, we are treated to bits and pieces of the invaders' history up until the ultimate reveal of Misaki's true nature... So either, you got distracted by her huge disproportionate breasts, or you wish anime was back to the simple good-guys-win-in-the-end format of the 80's, either way, you'll probably be hostile.

But then when you're done, you look back on the series and can't help thinking, "what a ride!" And I guess in the end, that's all that matters. I'm definitely going to look up the sequel series "Misaki Chronicles" which features Misaki back at the academy as a fresh recruit. Yes, you read that right: it's a sequel, not a prequel. It'll all make sense when you get to the end of this series' finale.