The fellas return for a landmark second episode, never achieved in their efforts to put their voice to podcasting thus far. Extensive discussion of their own qualities as hosts and producers continues. The opening credit sequence is considered with astonishing restraint. In the fullness of time, the episode topic is reached and it turns out to be a listicle: "The 5 Hottest Reasons to Watch Evangelion on Netflix Right Now!"

• The challenges of discovering who wrote "Cruel Angel's Thesis" are overcome, accompanied by wild imaginings of the identity of Evageeks' secondary translator.
• Recommendations to check out other Evangelion Podcasts are narrowly avoided.
• Michael cannot resist talking through another extended analogy of Hideaki Anno to Kurt Cobain.
• Several bits end in sad contemplations of our future quality of life!
• We'll let the listener decide whether the experiment of playing Evangelion in the background improves their own experience in any way.

After a long "summer break" due to being ostensible heads of family and home, the cousins return. Conversation quickly returns to whether the their podcast and unfortunately even their subject is any way vital or current. Months have past since the show's big outing on Netflix and the cultural dust has settled with only a few articles in nerd journals.

Not ones to dwell on or really even maintain focus on any subject for long, the litany of technical strides mastered in order to publish the pod are rolled out like a balm. There is a moment of audible relief from Michael when Steve says he likes the website.

Eventually, the second episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion is watched live! With noodles! Hope you like mouth sounds!

• As the centerpiece of this episode of Evangelion is a party at casa Misato, the fellas join in according to her tastes with instant noodles and Japanese beer.
• The idea that we could actually edit the worst of our gaffes and stutters from the pod is floated. Were horrible things said and later hidden? A mystery!
• A potentially misguided commitment to only making "honest follow-backs" is made. There is considerable doubt regarding this choice.
• Vague blanket threats are made against products mentioned during the recording.
• Steve condemns the brewing practices of entire nations.
• "Plugcast" is settled on as the handle for episodes of the podcast to avoid confusing them with episodes of the show. See? It's confusing. Anyway, this decision is pushed through on the grounds that it sounds cool.

Crazed with enthusiasm and hopped on various legal pharmaceuticals, our hosts hit record late in the evening. They immediately proclaim not only mastery over the show, but stake claims on certain insights as having been never before discovered. How far they fall as the cruel hours tick by and the simple fact of their advancing age renders them into gibberers by the conclusion of the episode.

A new section of covering editorials, interviews with Anno, and other bits of Evangelion media is tried on, and Steve reports back after giving a collegial listen to the podcast of our first Liker. We finally hit the intended topic of the larger world of Evangelion in the show until words fail us when midnite approaches. Despite all this, after the recording clicks off of course we stayed up until 230am watching Mandy!

• Steve's revelation that Shinji is staring back at himself through the eyes of Unit 01 at the end of NGE Episode Two is actually pretty stunning.
• The first of likely many rants regarding the state of the Evangelion Rebuild films.
• An awful lot of loudly cracking into carbonated beverages on this one.
• Finances are openly discussed, as is the purchasing of actual microphones, challenging our aesthetic of adorable effort with scrappy low quality energy.
• At one point Michael struggles through the word "conceptually" over two whole seconds, and then appears to recover from a minor stroke. You wish you could help him somehow.
• A discussion of the concept "Tiers of Canonicity", including an essential obscure Japanese video game manual.
• Our habit of making vague threats to corporations and celebrities is given context in the story of how Steve's twitter handle was banned.

A roller coaster of highs and lows for your listening pleasure. Some highs: new equipment, adherence to the format and some degree of pre-show preparation. The lows: New tech learning curve and improvisation skill ceilings.

Actually though, this one moves along at a good clip, featuring the third episode of Evangelion watched live. Thrill to the cousins agreeing on a pausing and commenting style! Deal with the results! After the mics were switched off, they listened to a couple minutes toward the end for reassurance and Michael declared "Damn fine podcasting."

• We are at Mouth Sound Alert Level 17, as our hosts continue eat live on air after switching to mics poised an inch from the face. Hope you don't mind haha!
• A warm up discussion of Michael's habits around Dragon Warrior. In true older cousin style Steve decides to overtake his record, likely effortlessly.
• Also, a review of the inspirational dedication of "The CRPG Addict" and his defense of analyzing esoterica.
• First official forays into Evangelion online communities are discussed. I wish one could say the results weren't predictable. Tentative discussion is made toward starting a Twitter account for the show.
• "If we were quicker on the draw we could draw some connection between them ... (silence) ... um, anyway ..."

After a few months off partaking in presumably more wholesome activities, the cousins return with a mix of new and old. For the sake of tying this escapade to some measure of reality, let's just implicate the new decade with a new format for the show, a new level for our technical kit, and let's just hope a new grip on their thus far perennial podcast existential angst.

The over-all topic broadens from "Evangelion" to "Let's better understand Hideaki Anno's work to better understand Evangelion." That's progress worthy of a mid-series Evangelion episode! To start we watch some early works from the proto-Gainax "Daicon Film": The rapturously unglued otaku convention opening animations DAICON III (1981) and DAICON IV (1983), followed by the we-were-there satire/historical fiction on early 80s otaku Culture "Otaku No Video" (1991).

• Listen to grandpa talk about his wild west days slinging the cardboard cocaine.
• Recommendations made openly for higher quality podcasts. Though it'd be puzzling that anyone this deep in lists quality as one of their top values.
• There's a new last Star Wars out right now, and some *cough* comparisons to Star Blazers are brought up.
• Witness the cousins rendered breathless by the contrast between Daicon III and IV.
• A quick glimpse into the cousin’s contrasting takes on body modification. Some golden "dad used to be cool" moments.
• About two minutes of Evangelion content on the sixth episode of a podcast with Evangelion in the title. Those minutes mostly spent trying to recall what was going on in the last episode.

This episode may be most notable as the first that doesn't feature an extended period of ennui regarding the purpose and value of the project. An overall feeling that we are meant to take these presenters as podcasters of their own merit pervades. Some self-doubt and impostor syndrome emerges once solid evidence of an actual damn listener with positive feedback is found. Our hosts swell gratitude like Shinji hearing about someone's dead mother.

This being an "episode plugcast", the proverbial thousand words are used to describe an episode of beautiful pictures in frugally efficient animation. Our fellas really dig deep trying to get at the souls of the protagonists, and it must be said, get damn wistful at the romance of the ending. It is agreed in whispers that train stations are romantic places.

• Thrill to the pounding drums and horns of “Decisive Battle” due to our new capability to line-in to our recording. Struggle to hear us over it!
• Overconfidence from mouth sounds not being picked up during the last few sessions come back to bite us here. Heavy editing was required.
• Without thinking it through Michael tries to find NSFW pics for his cousin on the Evangelion subreddit.
• More Magic cards 'n' Goths chat. Imagine the Venn diagram sliver of interested audience. The untapped dozens!
• Michael reveal some dangerously close-to-home similarities between his less healthy tendencies and the lowest forms of obsessive otakuism discussed in the last episode.

Every podcast has one, and here is theirs: Neon Podcast Evangelion COVID Edition! Recorded in a pristine neutral location agreed upon by their wives, alteration of production values are in effect. Afraid to say an awful lot of post-production work went into making this one listenable. That metallic spinning? You’re not having a stroke, that’s what’s left of cleaning out the noise from the poorly calibrated impromptu remote set up.

This plugcast is an odd one for it's own reasons as well, due to this being the second step along our Hideaki Annography and very early in his career. The Hideaki bits being somewhat thin on the ground. Our hosts gamely present and do their best to draw similarities between it and later work, but mostly get tangled up in deciphering the weird male gaze presented in early 80s anime intended for preteens.

• More stories of rustic childhood tomfoolery, as Michael presents tales from the legendary War of the Woods. Oh boy!
• Dear listener, I'll have you know that the fancy transition into "Barefoot in the Park" didn’t crossfade itself.
• Steve is especially on message with advertisement of our online presences... @neonpodcasteva1 especially!
• Confidence our growing online empire leads us to research objective evidence of the visitor count for this website live. The number of 0s astounds us.

And they're back! Deemed a triumphant return within seconds of beginning to record, our hosts attack the challenge of podcasting with renewed energy. A rethought format is announced, one that seeks to focus more on the episode and to try and capture the best of both worlds: in-depth analysis and meandering live episode commentary with mouth explosion noises.

Our hosts are pleased to present this Evangelion episode and eagerly provide the superlative: "an all-timer." It really is a masterpiece of whatever the the animation term is for "when to show what pictures." Probably just directing? Anyway, this is an episode of Evangelion that ought to canon for anime fans. Praise crazy, that's the brand around here.

• To really pare down their scant listenership right off the back, the episode opens with harrowing medical tales. I don't even want to get more specific.
• This one is recorded at our home NPE studios, and it damn well sounds just fine, maskiness and all.
• The new format is chat - watch - analyze the first half, and then repeat for the second half, with the popular(?) segment Evangelion in the News to break it up in the middle.
• For lack of noting it anywhere else, there were two other recordings between now and the last published plugcast. Those efforts were deemed "unlistenable". Quality control is part of life here at NPE.
• Coverage of the encounter at Rei's apartment is mature and responsible. And not just because that is asserted numerous times.
• The gif at right is one of the proudest discoveries so far. It could at least be entered into some Evangelion analysis competition.

Their 10th plugcast! Their 20th labored exploration of what "plugcast" is meant to mean! Ten in a year and a half ain't bad. Certainly plenty of time for the new set of anime fans coming up with the loaded anime line-up on Netflix to have passed through a full healthy course of Evangelion fandom and now only occasionally reference the show. Maybe, ultimately, this podcast is for those gripped by the show and never let go.

The new format featuring shot-by-shot analysis continues. This episode of NGE introduces the show's love of magically well orchestrated military logistics. Interspersed with this is much digging into scraps of Rei psychology. Shinji screams; gets back in a robot. It really hits all the Eva buttons.

• There's a light hip-hop thread as Steve brings in a reminder of the power of connecting an interest (anime in this case) with one's creative endeavors with a short eulogy for his favorite MC.
• Steve shares his excitement for the Eva dropping rapper Open Mike Eagle.
• Some good cogitations on the timeline of production and how it broke down at the end. Who has the scripts of the theoretical original last episodes of the series?
• Analysis of NERVs emergency medical protocol.
• The arbitrary over-analyzed room background feature of this plugcast is the multitude of monitors around Shinji’s medical coffin.
• The new format naturally highlights that a way to share all these screenshots would be welcome. Watch our Twitter for this...

Steve has got Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 fever, and the only prescription is going 30 minutes into overtime watching 10 minutes of bootleg footage from the Paris 2019 Japan Expo. "At last, I've been waiting a long time to see this" Michael sighs during the screening, meaning of course the on-screen destruction of the Eiffel Tower since his expectations for the ultimate film of the spin-off(?) franchise are lowwww.

Besides contemporary Evangelion animation, the main course is another episode of the series that made it famous. It seems like a runner is being built in the first minutes as the cousins differ in their appreciation of this episode, but nothing really comes of it. This is another episode taped in what Steve has dubbed "cousin mike's murder shed", and the fellas enjoy themselves throughout.

• A visit to the archives of Gwern.
• Review of the logistics of the geofront. How do you get to that pyramid? Are there shops down there?
• Michael speculates on what positive mental health message is going to be the heart of Eva 3.0 + 1.0.
• Spirited discussion on how a robot flying forward could land skidding backward.
• Behind the scenes: discomfort. Three hours in a cold shed with drinks and no ready toilet access. FOR YOU.

A few days before recording Steve texted Michael, "I've been a little obsessed with Evangelion lately." Although this might be hoped to be baseline for hosts covering a very niche topic, here it represents a nice window of opportunity to record during a spike in the general level of knowledge available. Another stroke of good fortune has the Hideaki Annography topic as a sequence from Miyazaki's Nausicaä, Michael's favorite film from the director. This plugcast can't help but succeed!

In such favorable conditions, this might be best seen as a recovery from recent challenges. The full schedule of bits are covered while keeping the runtime intact. Both main project and the Hideaki Annography make ground. Questionable material as we approach ground zero for fan service starring 14 year olds: skirted! So to speak.

• Is it this or the previous episode where the cousins fervently insist that they are not weirdos for liking something in the show? Never mind, that's going to reach drinking game levels going forward.
• Yep, the same guys in a podcast episode with a story where teen Steve gets his grandma to buy him a Xanth book, which she discovers is "rife with horse sex".
• Michael is on the far fringe of normal human height. Steve is up there too for a hāfu. They both gush with projection over Kaji being portrayed as a tall hunk.
• The straight scoop on Anno working for Miyazaki on Nausicaä, and Michael's pleasant fantasy that they are good friends. Could be true!

Too lengthy to be a hiatus, but too long to have remained on the subscribed list of most listeners. A banger of an episode, featuring foundational Asuka character work. This plugcast also features some material stretching the hosts' ability manage the big topics swirling around Evangelion. Come ready to judge!

The release of 3.0 + 1.0 has overshadowed everything in the Evangelion world. After their takes on the grand finale of their project's reason for being, where to take the show but a lengthy discussion of healthy perspectives on teen sexuality in media! Yep, from forty-something male cousins recording alone in a shed at 10pm.

• New feature! The screenshot coverage is cross posted on YouTube. So you can follow along instead of wondering why they are using screenshots in an only audio medium!
• Special guest for this episode is shrimp chips! After a little treat at the start, Mouth noise fans will want to tune in around 34:00.
• The best name they can come up with for fans of the show is "Avid Listeners." This phrase gets a lot of play.
• Listen for another reference to a "tall handsome dude" slipped in, calling out a random background character. More oblique discussion of Kaji's height as well.
• As promised the first comment received on Apple Podcasts is read on the show. Feel free to contribute. Feel free to offer a dissenting take!

Billed right up front as a straight forward and efficient episode, this plugcast eschews any fancy special topics and focuses on arguably the least essential episode of the series. The cause of this being that, nearly miraculously, they decided they should probably record and actually made it happen that day. As Steve puts it, "this is almost a bonus episode!"

So, expect solid coverage of the NGE episode, near embracing of despair over the longevity and aims of the franchise 25 years after it's debut, and Steve managing a Beavis boi-oi-oi-oing amidst our continuing go at mature discussions of teen sexuality.

• We were called out by a listener on not giving enough time between our call for comments and the recording. Best comment we've ever received.
• Interesting convo on the potential for longevity of the Eva franchise in terms of Anno's career success, citing excesses of the Star Wars franchise.
• More tall guy self-promotion: "She's just bald-faced in her adoration... Being out with our tall hunky dude here... Our super-spy... he's very handsome."
• Steve answers the question of Asuka's red hair v her possibly Japanese heritage through his actual genetics education and career practice.
• Just want to amend that Eva has roughly five great characters, not four. You know which ones.

The quality of this plugcast speaks for itself. Quite literally - it's very long and the sound has a strong feeling of "didn't put any work into those levels before starting the recording." It was very nearly pulled after publishing, but while working on an apology, it was deemed "too funny" and left up. The facts are loose, the shed is cold, and the snacking is loud! We got what you came for.

As an encouragement, this plugcast proves an important point: two fans can spend three hours on a mid-series episode of NGE. There are a lot of analysis diamonds in this sonic rough. Also a heads up to anyone looking forward to the visual version of the shot-by-shot coverage: corporate Khara is alive and well, and quite capable of immediately shutting down the YouTube version of that effort. Stay tuned for the next attempt.

• Steve arrives at "Saint Bernard" as the best comparison for Rei's hair.
• "This is just one drawing, except the man is animated." Quality analysis worth listening for there two hours in.
• Splinter Cell. That's the Tom Clancy sneaking around game franchise. Protagonist is Sam Fisher. Kee-rist.
• OK, this is pretty good: at 2:27ish Michael pulls off a might fine "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" (of course calling it 7 due to his brain issues) from Ryoji Kaji to the English title of this episode.
• Learn about the Palmaris Longus! Turns out is is possible but uncommon to NOT have one. Hahahaaaaa...

Welcome to Neon Podcast Evangelion, your number one resource for high quality podcasting. Notably lucid commentary, complete sentences, and a sophisticated absence of mouth sounds await the listener. To appreciate the environment that produces such excellence, perhaps while considering the poor quality of the previous plugcast, note that for this round our hosts did test that the dedicated mics and mixer were recording instead of the laptop mic.

Along with understandable speech, efforts were also made to improve the "truth/what?" ratio of the facts given on this ostensibly information-based service. Foremost this means that the topic is the big Hideaki Anno doc covering the production of 3.0 + 1.0, with an emphasis on the professionalism of the auteur himself.

• It's shorter than the last one too!
• We also respond to listener requests for better cohesion in covering NGE vs Rebuild character traits in an arguably non-defensive manner.
• Hideaki Anno does not appear in our recording, but we'd like to think he would honor us with one of his signature "ultimately, this is boring."
• In case you're wondering, we do think that if you're in the tiny slice of humanity that fits as an audience for our show, you'd definitely get a lot out of this doc.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to throw yourself further in time without the experience of living it to numb the changes? To hear your the fresh anxieties that come with a currently unknown circumstance of life? To hear even the voice attempting to reach about and connect over them itself weakened from the erosion of those changes? Then envy our hosts, dear listener, and live for today.

Besides grim spectacle this episode features Evangelion! That life experienced speaker is attempting to put into counselling language the journey Shinji takes to a false understanding of happiness. Much appreciation is expressed of the excellent elevator work of the series. Evangelion in the News is a little light but plenty long! Evangelion chat shines bright even as the sun crosses the sky of life.

• Steve describes some awesome nightlife experiences. Normies beware hearing this classy dude describing his life well lived.
• Two strong candidates for Steve's inevitable (too hopeful?) Evangelion tattoo: the intense bodybuilder flex explosion of Unit 01, and Shinji's happy idiot face.
• Yes, recording ended damn hell late. You could tell?
• Old man Michael gettin bitter about people not starting with the first Final Fantasy "... do whatever you want I guess."

Is that a PlayStation 1? No sir, that's a PlayStation 2 running NGE Platinum Edition in a cold shed. Is this 2000? nope it's 2023, the future, and they are doing it to it still. If God in His Heaven rewards tenacity, he hast done smiled on the Cousins Ayres this evening.

Gripping the imagination of our arrestedly developed hosts is this unique entry in the Evangelion epiverse, where the rough grip on biology (and perhaps a rough grip on translation) that show has always had is brought to the forefront. What if the whole base is biological? What if we just call a laser robot a polysome. The similarly rough grip of our college graduates is on display trying to work sense into the sci-fi told here.

• The idea of this as a 'guest episode' is run with, even though there's not really much to go on for that idea. Regardless, the science concepts brought into this episode that are never further explored are unique and fun.
• Though the play NERV makes to defeat the Angel truly makes less sense the further it's scrutinized. Just keep it at Gendo's take that evolution ultimately produces destruction.
• Another weak showing for Neon Podcast Evangelion's Hebrew Corner. Hoping for a strong return next week!
• It'll happen to you too, young listener: pretty much every reference we couldn't place was immediately vividly recalled with a little post show googling (i.e. Pribnow Box, Daft Punk anime videos). C-as-integer means nothing.
• Apologies from the editor for not taking a blade to all the 'printer chat.' He must have nodded off during it.

Wherein our hosts free up an evening to continue Neon Podcast Evangelion. When challenges were made to Michael's availability for the evening, Steve presented his alternative: "That's fine. I can go find somewhere to drink beer."

Long breaks make the show into more of an update on their lifelong relationship with Evangelion, and with developments in the Evangelion franchise. Sometimes just popular anime in general. The last year has seen Ghibli win another Oscar (and another Japan Academy Best Animated Prize - the final Eva Rebuild film won in 2022), A US limited release of EoE, and Anno continue with non-eva projects as apparently Japan's premiere server of anime nostalgia. We also cover the NGE clip episode and the first freaky monologue in the show, sometimes known as "Rei's Poem."

• Additional context for the Rei poem are truly fascinating, as described in Anno trying to write from a schizophrenic point of view and finding the disembodiment hitting a bit too close to home.
• Hebrew corner covers some good background on the inclusion of Lillith as an "Angel".
• Lots and lots of vaguery regarding show details. Michael volunteers this as a feature for the listener to enjoy the experience of knowing the correct facts themselves.
• No screenshot coverage, ideal for a clip show and the editor's family life.
• Truly mad claim from Steve's daughter that her friends had listened to the show. Not possible.