In truth, while the scenes of the protagonist piloting the Eva to battle the Angels were impressive, the real draw of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' lay elsewhere: it was in how the protagonist and those around him grew through each encounter — that was the core of the story.
However, in Jing Yu's previous life, this work had one major point of contention among viewers: the protagonist, Shinji Ikari.
Indecisive, weak-willed, and always full of fear when facing adversity.
But character judgments need to be made in context. His mother died during an experiment when he was a child, and his father never fulfilled his role as a parent. Given all that, his fragile personality was understandable.
Still, by this point in the first episode — about ten minutes in — many viewers watching the show started to feel Shinji was… a little too cowardly.
Thankfully...
Rei Ayanami, played by Xia Yining, made her critical appearance.
Heavily injured, wrapped in bandages, she was still forcibly carried from the emergency room under Gendo Ikari's orders, preparing to pilot Unit-01 against the Angel rampaging through the city.
And it was only at this moment that Shinji finally stopped hesitating and agreed to pilot Unit-01.
After all, if he didn't do it, Rei would — and in her condition, that was practically a death sentence.
Watching Shinji finally make his decision, Chen Zhou's furrowed brow finally relaxed.
From an objective standpoint, he understood the hesitation. Why should Shinji, who was suddenly summoned to a hidden base by a father he barely knew, be expected to risk his life fighting some massive alien monster?
He wasn't a soldier. He wasn't some special forces operative. Just an ordinary high school student. Saving the world had nothing to do with him. Being brave made him a hero — but lacking courage? That's only human.
But this was fiction, not reality. If a show's protagonist acted exactly like a normal person, what would be the point of watching?
Still, let's be honest: the dad? Gendo Ikari? The absolute worst. Cold-blooded and inhuman.
Yet Chen Zhou's thoughts were quickly overtaken by the unfolding plot.
Unit-01 went berserk. Without a pilot, it instinctively protected Shinji. Then, Shinji climbed into the cockpit and launched.
"It's been over ten minutes — finally! Time for the MC to shine?"
"Classic slow pacing from Old Thief Jing Yu…"
"Here we go! The battle I've been waiting for — mecha vs monster!"
"Haha, get ready for Shinji to shut his dad's arrogant mouth."
"Sure, the MC might be a bit of a coward, but his dad's the real asshole here. Dragging him to the base, yelling at him to fight, and if he refuses, kicking him out? I'm fuming!"
"The early plot is a bit heavy. Hope things lighten up soon."
By standard drama conventions, the next scene should've been Shinji's glorious launch — crushing the Angel and becoming a hero.
But instead...
Chen Zhou watched as Shinji smoothly launched Unit-01, soaring up from the underground base to the skyscrapers above.
Expectations: Maxed.
"Holy crap, these effects are insane!"
"The level of detail… I'm blown away."
"This is a man's romance. So this thing's called Unit-01, huh?"
"My son's sitting next to me with stars in his eyes. Keeps yelling for me to buy him a Unit-01."
"Forget your son — I want one, and I'm a grown-ass adult!"
"Even '86' wasn't enough for Old Thief Jing Yu. Now he's going full Evangelion!"
"Too bad Natsuki isn't here."
"Natsuki would rather cry in a Mercedes than smile in an Eva."
"You memers are ruining the tension in this drama chat."
Chen Zhou chuckled at the memes in the fan chat. But soon, the episode snapped him right back into serious mode.
Everyone had been waiting for Shinji's epic one-on-one showdown with the Angel.
Instead, Unit-01 got absolutely wrecked.
First, the arm was broken. Then the head was nearly crushed. Even the cockpit was about to be breached.
Shinji was knocked unconscious.
Chen Zhou?
Just as stunned.
"Wait... what the hell did I just watch for the past 20 minutes?"
All he'd seen was a cowardly protagonist getting chewed out by his dad. Then, when he finally manned up and acted heroic, he got demolished by the monster?
But credit where credit's due — the effects were mind-blowing.
The animation when Unit-01 was getting torn apart was flawless. Even the shot of Shinji passed out inside the cockpit looked like a painting.
And honestly? With Jing Yu playing Shinji, even getting beaten down by a kaiju somehow looked… graceful. Sure, his personality wasn't very "manly," but that face? Absolutely stunning. He was a beautiful man — even while getting wrecked.
So, the much-hyped debut battle of Unit-01? A failure — or at least, that's what the audience thought.
Then the scene shifted.
The next day.
A conversation between Gendo Ikari and top government officials revealed a critical term — the show's central plotline:
The Human Instrumentality Project.
Then we returned to Shinji, regaining consciousness.
For unknown reasons, the Angel had retreated. He shared a quiet conversation with Misato Katsuragi.
This segment was mostly about fleshing out the side characters.
An unfeeling father. But Misato, who cared for Shinji in the base, won over a lot of viewers.
But...
"Wait, what's going on?"
"Where's the Angel?"
"Didn't the MC lose? Why is everyone acting so relaxed?"
Many viewers were confused. Did they miss something?
Just then — the story flashed back.
Back to the moment Unit-01 was being annihilated.
The scene left viewers stunned.
"Huh? What's going on? Didn't the MC get wrecked?"
"Wait... he was unconscious. What's happening now?"
"Yo — it moved!"
"It really moved!"
"Isn't that thing supposed to be a robot? Why is it moving without a pilot?"
"Foreshadowing?"
"This scene is so damn cool!"
The final sequence of episode one focused on Unit-01 springing to life after Shinji had passed out — fighting back on its own, killing the Angel.
It wasn't rational.
It wasn't human.
It was feral, like a beast — more monster than machine.
Shinji was knocked out and wrecked by the Angel. But then Unit-01, as if protecting him, went completely berserk and obliterated the enemy.
From a viewer's perspective, it looked like Unit-01 had a consciousness of its own — reacting purely to Shinji's life being in danger.
Once Shinji passed out, the Eva went into savage overdrive, delivering the most insane fight scene yet.
Buildings crumbled. Lasers flew. In mere seconds, the city became a fiery hellscape.
It was brutal. It was violent. But visually?
It was glorious.
Sure, it was a little gory, but after 30 minutes of emotional pressure and dread, this release of action and spectacle was exactly what the audience needed.
The choreography.
The animation.
The movement.
The VFX.
All of it — god-tier.
"Forget Shinji. Who's the real MC here?"
"Shinji? Pfft. He wishes."
"It's Unit-01 that's the real badass."
Chen Zhou's eyes sparkled.
"No way... don't tell me the real protagonist of this show isn't Jing Yu's Shinji Ikari, but Unit-01 itself?"