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  • Neon Genesis Evangelion - Reflections on a Legend

    Posted on December 15th, 2006 by Darkshaunz - 10,511 Views

    Darkshaunz on Neon Genesis Evangelion

    With the new Evangelion remakes coming along in 2007, its going to be a sort of awakening for Evangelion fans all around the world. Some, like myself, have been waiting for the “second coming” of the series, some would have just thought, “Hey, I remember that anime”, and of course it wouldn’t be the same without the critics (who have been lurking in the shadows waiting to lash out at Evangelion once more, we love you guys). Sharing some thoughts about Evangelion with our friend Danny (thanks for sending the Cruel Angel Thesis tracks) over at Novastorm and some of the folks on AB IRC, I thought it was time we reflected upon the Series and the movie: End of Evangelion, and why it made the footprint as a cult hit in modern anime.

    Alarm Clocks just don’t cut it for Comatose girls.

    You hate it or You love it - Do it for the right reason.

    Evangelion doesn’t pull any punches when trying to determine the type of fanbase it wants. As an Evangelion enthusiast, I have met many people who really disliked the anime. I’d like to start off by saying that, I wholeheartedly respect their opinions, its not an anime for everybody. Saying that its the best would also be wrong on my part, as a true fan of any anime, its important to know that regardless or how much you love it, it has flaws. Granted, if you love it even though you know of the flaws (Great or Small), then you can passionately read and explore more about Evangelion and the mysteries which precede some of the main characters. If you don’t like Evangelion because you cannot enjoy it, then thats fine and obviously I hope that you folks out there find the right genre and setting which entertains you, thats first and final rule when it comes to anime, have some fun.

    Both haters and lovers, love to hate Shinji.

    What I don’t appreciate as an Enthusiast, are people who dismiss an anime simply because it is overhyped. Evangelion was controversial in the beginning, what with the Jeudo-Christian references and whatnot (also some real life individuals getting affected and mentally disturbed). Do yourself a favour and watch it, it may be what you expected and then some, watch it using your personal benchmarks, not standards which have been virally spread across the media. Like I mentioned previously, if its not your cup of tea, then by all means, say nay to anything Evangelion related (you will find that most of the serious fans can undertstand where you are coming from). I also can’t stand an Elitist standpoint, whereby Evangelion fans look down upon those who don’t like the anime citing that, “They don’t deserve such a masterpiece” or “They don’t understand it”. This is wrong, if you’re a true fan, then you’d want to share the Evangelion story with people, if they don’t understand, do your best to explain to them (sure is better than mocking and belittling them).

    There’s always Shinji to mock (look at him curl up)

    If you’re a fellow Evangelion fan, then continue reading this spiel and I hope you can feel the nostalgic moments rushing through you. If you stumbled on this entry because you actually wanted to find Retsgip’s Bleach Entry (This week’s a doozy of a fight), then you clicked one entry too high :p, importantly, if you are a critic of Evangelion, I welcome you, but please criticize constructively.

    In 2015, Ninjas are still as lethal.

    Manga Versus Anime

    Anno and Sadamoto. Both are visionaries and the absolute port of call when it comes to Evangelion-Plotline discussions. Anno’s artistic talents lies with his directive and narration of what transpires in the world of Evangelion. His anime interpretation of the story, from Shinji’s constant crying and Asuka’s powerful demonstrations of a flawed ego really bring the story to life. Anno did not create the anime to anyone’s likes and dislikes but himself. I guess thats the pivotal rule to creating something successful, one must create something that one’s self admires and enjoys, then and only then will others appreciate such works. Towards the mid and later stages of the series, things get darker, and more visceral. Shinji’s mind becomes clouded by hallucinations mid-fight and his mind wanders, speaking to imaginary representations of his friends, is just one example of how Anno portrayed a pretty darn Emo kid (for a lack of better description). His vision was that Evangelion was about the climbing up a set of stairs, falling down and only to rise up in the end. The anime also concentrated a lot on Asuka and Shinji as a pairing, their chemistry is explained with a lot of interaction and dynamics. The focus on Asuka was paramount during her preconceived “failures” towards the end of the series, and of course the event she was mentally-violated. Anno was captivated by Asuka’s energetic aura and also how her interior was as frail as that of a young child.

    Manga Rei is just pure Awesome.

    Sadamoto is a different kind of visionary, he is the mangaka of the official Evangelion manga (no, Re-take and Angelic Days are only fan-material, admittedly, Re-Take is kind of good). They say that Great minds think alike, though unfortunately, Sadamoto had a different take to Anno’s interpretation to the characters that he designed (the manga is still going by the way, latest scanlated chapter is 75). The manga is well illustrated, no, ridiculously well illustrated. Evangelion never looked better out of animation cells, onto a still white sheet of paper. Like Anno, Sadamoto really focused on bringing the characters to life in his own way, by successfully emphasizing on their emotions through the use of non-moving graphics (I might add, is way harder than when you can animate the expressions). I won’t spoil the manga storyline for you, but I will say that some parts in the beginning and most parts towards the later chapters are definitely different from the anime, though the similar abd familiar scenes are nostalgic and pleasant to read. The manga sees more focus on Rei’s side of the story, and her interaction with Shinji and Gendou Ikari. Like Anno’s Fixation on Asuka, Sadamoto is equally captivated by Rei, and it really shows by just how much detail he puts into illustrating her and developing her character. As a Rei (II) fan, its safe to say that you can’t miss the manga.

    I know what you’re thinking, “which one’s the better one?”. There’s no such thing, what we have now, is not just one interpretation about Evangelion and the story of it’s characters, but two viewpoints. Evangelion has always been about interpretations and conceptualization, and what better way to demonstrate this point than having two of it’s flagship creators provide fans with their respective translations on what the world of Eva is all about?

    Every day is a “Blues” day for him.

    Whats the deal with Shinji?

    Seriously, whats the deal with Shinji right? We know he was created to be an Anti-Hero, but damn is he Emo and Angsty! For a lot of Evangelion fans, Shinji proved to be a breaking factor of the anime, a lot of people have said to me, “Shaun, that Shinji guy pisses me off, he spoiled Evangelion for me”. I can’t help but agree with those people, the guy has pissed Evangelion fans around the world too, I am sure. How can you not hate such an inward-thinking, cowardly and over-critical guy who won’t spare an ounce of his strength to carry the burden of protecting the ones that matter to him most? I believe the there’s a huge line of people who would really love to punch him in the face, or blow him up with an RPG (conditions apply). I know he has his sympathisizers, but they don’t have much to work with. Sorry, but even a worm has more of a spine.

    So Emo, Im gonna die.

    But hang on. Would Evangelion be Evangelion if Shinji was like Saito from Zero no Tsukaima, that is, a Badass Pimp (OH GOD LOUISE IS HOT), and a hardheaded fight-to-the-death to preserve personal integrity kind of guy. I’d be inclined to say that the premise of having a badass, womanizing Shinji would be pretty hilarious. Can you imagine Shinji shouting at Asuka everytime she rags on him, “Does Shinji have to smack a Bitch!?”, I can, and it would make for a comedy mecha setting. However, Evangelion’s not meant to be funny like that, it’s meant to expose the human condition to the audience. We are reminded that Shinji’s just a 14 yeard old boy who really can’t handle the burden, and in doing so, he pushes away those he cares most about and thinks that by pretending the problem isn’t his, he can just pass the buck, even though his reality contradicts his desires.

    Those aren’t manly tears.

    So unlike many other feel-good and inspiring anime, where the Hero/Heroine is always doing it right, we get Shinji. A boy, who has as much backbone as a slug, who is seriously doing it wrong. In other feel-good anime, the Hero really has his or her boot up the villain’s ass so high, that said henchmen and evil villain limp back to their den of evil with a sore ass, whilst the Hero has his way with some hot elven babe or something. Then again, we get Shinji, who instead of sticking it to the man, basically tries his hardest to avoid the darkness, even though he is already cornered, to which he responds by sitting down in a corner and crying. The heroes we know of will fight to the absolute DEATH, but Shinji will more often than not, choose to run away. Our brains can’t take this faggotry, because for once an anime director shows us the consequences of a Hero just doing it wrong. A different perspective, a moral story of rejecting one’s responsibility, this is what Shinji is about.

    Anger management classes failed for Shinji.

    To his credit, even though he was caught strangling his Eve (the Asuka/Rei hybrid), he decided to stop running away at the very end to preserve mankind at the expense of being stuck on an LCL island, remember folks, just because he did it right at very end, doesn’t mean his doing it right, Movie version Shinji still sucks (Anime ending Shinji is more of a winner). Seeing as I am feeling generous this evening, I’ll give him some points for scoring with Rei in the EoE movie, it only took the prick an Eternity to go for it (he already let Asuka slip through his fingers).

    Not even Shinji could complain.

    lol, Symbolism.

    Probrably appropriate to start this part off by saying that Anno never really intended for the Christian-symbolism to be taken so seriously. To him, it was just a factor among many to incorporate his personal touch to the Evangelion story. He could have called “Angels”, “LOL ALIENZ” or “Pokeymans frm Spaze!”, but he chose “Angels”. Point being, he could have called it anything and it was not meant to make any difference. But, we all know that the Christian references was also a major factor in the Evangelion package, without, it wouldn’t be the same. If you’re reading this far into my spiel, then you must be either a) A very bored non Eva fan or b) A very bored Eva fan :p. If you are (b), then I won’t bore you with the obvious references made in Evangelion, namely, such as Adam being the first angel and how there is the ancient picture of the tree of life in Gendou’s office. Also things like the Third Impact was meant to represent the second coming of Christ, where all of God’s Children would become one with the lord, so basically a divine apocalypse, and how Misato represented divine cleava-ok so maybe Misato isn’t really part of the whole symbolism thing. I guess the point here is that, everything in Evangelion can mean something cosmic, if you want it to, it doesn’t necessarily mean it has to mean anything, however.

    3 guesses what this is meant to symbolize

    Admittedly, most of Evangelion’s symbolism was left up to the fans to interpret and decipher, this is what made it fun. I’ve seen so many discussion boards and fansites come alive with theories, speculations and some even bringing in verses of the Bible to backup arguments. None of these things may be even close to correct, or they may all be correct. It doesn’t matter who is right or who is wrong, but the Evangelion universe has allowed us to capture the biblical imagination of ages past. Lost parables now represented by Cyborg Mecha killing Aliens from space, its like the Bible took some Pixie Juice and is now riding a Unicorn Gundam (No, I am not under the influence of drugs at the mo-LOOK A LEPRECHAUN!!!). With the new Eva movies, I heard that they were changing the NERV logo to a half-bitten apple to represent original sin. I can’t say I’m too excited to see that, but I guess part of symbolism is seeing where the apple is represented in the anime (before I can pass judgment). Still, Rei, Asuka, Maya and Misato are all simply divine (if you know what I mean).

    Water symbolizes life, and is the medium in which Eva 02 was rejuvenated.

    I’d like to mention some of the symbolism present in the movie, especially the Evangelion with Wings, obviously they were meant to represent God’s (SEELE’s) will for the Third Impact (and also that they looked like real biblical winged angels), but what about their teeth? Maybe that is symbolizing dental health week, I mean those Eva-05s had more shine than any Colgate formula could muster. Near the ending of the movie, there was a massive event where the world was finally assimilated into one into Humanis (The 18th Angel), there was so much interlocking CG sequences and whacked out shit that was probrably meant to symbolize the celebration, joy and euphoria of all human beings finally becoming as “One”. I’ll admit that they were threading a fine line between epic symbolism and representing what a man who just loaded himself with vodka and crack sees.

    Eva 02 loves Crack and Vodka, why do you think it bounces around like a Kangaroo?

    Anime Ending versus Movie Ending

    If you were anything like me when you first saw the last episode of the anime series, you would have been saying, “WTF!?”. Yes, I am pretty sure they ran out of budget at this point, but still it was a bit of fun pretending like I knew what was going on. The more I rewatched it, the more hilarious it was, drinking coke and eating spicy snacks help with the confusion and disorientation. Okay, but I am sure you remember the “Omedetto” part where everyone Shinji knows is clapping their hands congratulating him for finally breaking the “barrier”. The Barrier being the transparent reality that Shinji had enveloped himself in whilst trying to reject the fate of mankind, and his sole responsibility to shoulder the burden. This ending can be considered to be the “Happy” ending for Evangelion. Shinji is finally in his “higher plane of existence”, and his friends and family are all there cheering him. Even his Father (which was a pivotal figurehead in his internal battle) and Mother were present, smiling and all. Here we are led to assume that Shinji is rewarded in his own personal world for his acceptance of fate, a fantastical realm where Rei is just a hot new exchange student and where Asuka is his childhood friend. If you wanted a non-emo gloss finish to the series, choose the anime ending.

    Things don’t get this ugly in the anime series.

    The Movie Ending is the direct opposite of the anime ending. Unlike the end of the anime, the movie is Anno’s way of showing how a Hero does it wrong…right until the bitter end. That’s not to say that watching Shinji’s Hardheadedness and Selfishness consume what was left of his innocence and humanity was anything but a tour de force of emotion and energy. Shinji doesn’t want the Third Impact to happen, to him, nothing could have possibly justified the deaths of everyone in the world and nothing would persuade him to shoulder the burden of being the key to the instrumentality project. Now we all know about him fapping to a comatose Asuka, but it was obvious in the pictured scenes of his subconscious, Shinji lusted for all three females in his life. He imagined himself basically having sex with all three of them, this can be connected to a person’s so-called “Baser” desires, so Shinji wanted ultimately, the simplest things in life but could never get them (such as a relationship with a girl). His reluctance eventually disrupted the Third Impact (which happened anyway), and instead of the world becoming one, he became a God-Adam figure of this new world he subconciously wished for. The result of it was not happy acquaintances congratulating him in a perfect world, but a broken, LCL drenched beach-head world with an equally broken “Eve”, an Asuka-Rei hybrid. Which he ends up strangling anyway, lol enjoy your world Shinji (he doesn’t, by the way).

    Reisuka: “….how disgusting”

    The Difference between the two endings are quite notable indeed. I guess Anno really wanted to explore his avenues, which means a third possible alternate ending when the new movies come out in 2007. If you think that the anime didn’t deserve to go down in a massive ball of hate and depression, then choose to go by the anime series ending. If you think that the movie represented Evangelion’s conceptualization of human frailty and baser desires, then the movie ending should have sufficed. Personally, I think fans of the anime should go by the movie ending, because the facts were clearer than a few characters sitting on chairs with spotlights and weird sequences, also the movie obviously had the budget for crisper aesthetics and a bigger time slot for more storytelling. Just watching the movie by itself is a very powerful experience, it was Anno’s closing verse to what had been a forceful and vibrant series, and go out with a bang (and a choking) it did. It was also the only opportunity to see Rei and Shinji “doing it” and watching a really kickass sequence with Eva 02 (if you liked Evangelion for its raw cyborg mech action).

    HUEG like Xbox.

    Zomg teh Rei!!! - Its always the Quiet one.

    I just had to have a part for her. Rei is my favourite female lead of all time, of course I am a huge fan of Revy and Yuki all the same, but none of them could wrestle the number one spot from her. So whats the obssession with Rei Ayanami? A lot of people really find it difficult to fathom just how and why anybody could possibly like what appears to be a lifeless doll. For me, Rei’s got an aura about her, her character doesn’t say much in the anime, and there’s not a massive focus on her like in the manga, but even though all the factors of popularity are against her, there’s a subtlety about Rei. Its something I can’t put my finger on, its beyond the blue hair and red eyes (those help too, sure). Rei is calm, composed and whenever she appears, we reel for her to do or say something, she has presence. She doesn’t have an overt charisma, but its almost as if she’s a quietly devious, silent observer watching the events of mankind unfurl (which is what is implied in the End of Eva when all the Rei-spirits grant each man and woman their fantasy goodbye).

    She is simply Ir-Rei-sistable.

    Rei also is shown to have desires and emotions, and in the movie, her third revision ultimately rejects Gendou’s dominion over her and goes off to do what her free will dictates her to. Serious Rei fans would be asking me right now, yeah you say you are a Rei fan…but which Rei are you a fan of? Well I personally am a fan of Rei II, which forms the largest fanbase I think. Rei II and died in the most spectacular and selfless style that no Asuka fan can claim (take that! Asuka fans). The anime didn’t really do justice to Rei II’s act of sacrifice, so I would recommend the Manga version of the encounter for maximum effect. The tragedy of Rei’s replaceable nature also adds another dimension to her, and we see this when the third Rei clone receives the essence of the previous, she starts to weep uncontrollably, she does not know why, but it is actually due to her former self being unable to convey some important feelings to Shinji (who she no longer has any proper memory of).

    She crushed Gendou’s glasses like Vegeta crushed his scouter.

    Not to worry, as many of you know, Rei II (well the Rei that loved Shinji) finally reconvened with her beloved Emo Boyfriend in the End of Evangelion and basically it was a pretty randy reunion. Then again, not even he could complain about finding a naked Rei on top of him (position 32 perhaps?). I think Sadamoto influenced the movie quite a lot, as I am sure Anno would have liked Asuka to pair with Shinji instead. As things would have it, there was a massive Rei focus for Part II of EoE movie (hey, Im not complaining), and she once again proved to us that she’s a big wheel (sexy big wheel) in this whole Instrumentality/Orange Juicifying business of mankind. Also, pardon the ardent fanboyism, but Rei’s the first child…which means she’s Number One baby.

    I forget the number of this position.

    Evangelion - It was the sum of all parts.

    Much like the theme it was trying to represent of humanity, Evangelion as a series was as fluid as the organs of the human body working in tandem. Why was it such a hit? When you break it down into smaller, more digestable parts, it was just a Mecha, with some character development and a tacked on christian - symbolism gimmick. That’s because it fails if you break it down into its smaller parts, Evangelion was a series that excelled only when all the parts were flowing, were geared and interconnected together. The Eva units alone meant nothing, hell a Gundam would have had more firepower than an unmanned Eva unit. Once they were docked with a Pilot, a “Child”, they were no longer machines, the Evangelions had their own personality and tendencies, we were watching a person pilot a larger person (groovy!). The personification of these machines were then draped with a setting of hopelessness as mankind threw its futile space age weapons at an Angel, suddenly these machines were important to us, important to the Evangelion world. They had meaning, purpose and motivation…and I am just speaking on behalf of the Eva units, watching the characters, plot and symbolism intersect each other allowed me to immerse myself into their world, allowing for a kind of audio-visual connection with the anime which is pretty much unforgettable.

    Question yourself - What the hell is happening?

    So the anime can make a machine movement…big deal, a lot of anime have done that down the track, like Cowboy Bebop and Serial Experiments Lain, titles which are heavy hitters in their own rights. What do these great titles have in common? They all force the viewers to question and object, yes, thats right. In Serial Experiments Lain, we question ourselves about the abstract and esoteric nature of Lain playing God of a Matrix-like world. In Evangelion, we question, we do it a lot, a lot of things that some of the characters do are out of social norms. A lot of what is expected of characters in Evangelion are unreasonable (getting teenagers to shoulder the burden of mankind), is it meant to represent the Biblical concept of God testing the faith of his subjects? Is it their right to reject the responsibility of protecting mankind? What would I do if I were in his/her position?. The series teases our cognitive, it allows to search ourselves for our values and beliefs and overlap these aspects onto the actions of the characters on screen.

    SEELE, do you believe their ends justified their means?

    The series also had a very good transition strategy. Things started off slowly and comical at some parts, with the mid-part setting the stage for the final verse of what would be the song of mankind’s destruction, and finally the roaring closing ceremony that was End of Evangelion. In the first episode, Shinji saw what was Rei’s spirit at the side of the street whilst walking to a Phone booth. From the very beginning, Evangelion was foreshadowing something bigger than us, something cosmic and out of reach, we were expected to expect something unexpected (Ha!). Another thing was, it didn’t pull any punches, if Shinji went Emo, he really went Emo to the point of hallucinating (CRAWLLINNGG IN HIS SKINN, rofl), that is, Anno basically had a no-nonsense approach. If something major had to be done like killing Rei II (in the series) and killing Misato (in the movie), it would be done for the advancement of the plot, nobody and nothing was spared from the Instrumentality Project. This sense of indifferent slaughter (so-called Sacrificial lambs) and sacrifices was just the right horn-grabbing approach to protray the frailty and inhumanity of the world.

    Officials thought that Airshow 2006 went too far.

    How do I got flaws?

    The series is legendary, whether you are fan or you aren’t. You just can’t deny it’s impact and influence, even in today’s anime. You’ll see a bit of Evangelion everywhere. Just because its been elevated to such a status does not mean it is not without its flaws. The first major one would be the lack of cohesion. The story picks up and leaves at the weirdest of ports, for example, Kaji’s death. We never knew who killed him, we don’t get so much as a hint, all we know is that Kaji knew the person. I know guesswork of that sort adds to the mystique of the anime, but it just serves to confuse the audience, especially when we Never find out even at the finale of the End of Evangelion. There’s no real reason to leave a pretty big loose end like that untied, especially when the series has already ended. Since most of the anime is left to the audience’s interpretation and perception, Anno’s real reason for including a particular scene may have been lost in translation (Literally, lost).

    Rei is constantly confused with some over-symbolism.

    AT Fields are also never really explained properly, especially on the part of the Eva units, all we know is that Shinji’s Eva-01 can create one and tear through one at 400% synch ratio, so much so it becomes a Berserk and Cannibalistic unit, I also know the AT field is what keeps our physical bodies bound together before we explode in Orange Juice or Tang…but we know nothing else of this Godlike Shield Technology (maybe its Protoss!?). I mean I am nitpicking at some really technical aspects of the anime, but AT fields form an important part of combat everytime an Eva engages an Angel, if I can spend a lot of time and detail explaining the small things Evangelion does right, it means I should also be able to identify the minor details which are left out and have the potential to break the “immersion”. Another part I don’t enjoy is the random real world stills inserted into the later anime episodes, if you want to talk about breaking the immersion, just slap in some random stills, that was really annoying, if they ran out of budget, they should have just used a blank screen and some writing to pass off as “Artistic Expression”, but copping out with real world photographs just confuses and annoys.

    Needs more hot scenes like this.

    Also, towards the end of the series, we saw very little or none of the side characters. I know this is to shift the focus of the anime to the key individuals which will guide the direction of the Instrumentality project, but seriously, it forced us to see the same old crew over and over again. I believe that variety is what keeps the interest of the audience, its like when you have a group presentation, you keep the audience from falling asleep by switching presenters all the time, the different voices help with retaining attention. I enjoyed the side characters, Maya Ibuki was probrably the coolest tertiary character you’d find anywhere, plus she was hot. However, some plot advancement later, and characters like the Class President (Hikari) and Touji Suzuhara (Shinji’s only true best friend) were pushed into literally non-existence. Sure, they weren’t crucial, but even lesser known anime could hold the cast till the end or the climax, heck some anime even have the whole damn cast come back for some massive reunion, and that’s always nice to watch.

    Maya cant stand her lack of screentime.

    The Moral of the Story - We’re Human

    There’s always the question, what was the whole point of Evangelion? It’s such a massive consolidation of emotion, power and energy. It’s characters have a disturbing depth and the environments are stark, is it meant to represent the apocalyptic destiny that mankind has to face?. The answer lies not with the anime’s outward finale of Shinji and Reisuka (thats what Im calling the Hybrid), however it lies more with Shinji’s actions and their consequences. The anime has been about perceptions and interpretation, and since Shinji was the proxy and key to the Instrumentality project we see him make decisions, as selfish, cowardly and sometimes cruel as they may be, he is making human decisions. People are making decisions like his everyday and in every way you can imagine. Evangelion is not trying to lecture us on anything, its not saying, “Hey mankind, this is what happens when you try to screw with the nature of the universe!”. Its just representing ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, and how our human condition takes us to places we don’t want to be, both physically (say inside an Eva) and Mentally (when your synch rates drops too low). If you want stories about ordinary people in some really extraordinary situations, read World War II documentaries and reports, only difference of course, is that combat troops in World War II were real. They made decisions and took actions under circumstances which make our daily stresses seem like a sob story.

    We are our own greatest enemy.

    The series is also a celebration of humanity. Its not sugar-coating the bad aspects of our world, its not there to make us feel good. No, Evangelion reminds us just how human we are, and what the actions of just one individual can do to change the face of the world. It reminds us that every human being is interconnected in more ways than one (Instrumentality Project), and that its okay to be human. Both Anno and Sadamoto address this approach in their respective works. Every character in Evangelion have made very human choices throughout their journey. This begs the question, “The movie ended on a bad note, the world ends, and in the series the third impact occurs anyway, whether or not Shinji is being congratulated is a moot point”. Yes, even Albert Einstein saw this coming, because we’re human, we are our own greatest enemy, it was SEELE that orchestrated the Instrumentality project (they believed that their values were the right ones, and that sacrificing the world was a small price to pay for eternal enlightenment), it was Gendou who wanted to sacrifice his own son to become a God-like figure, and it was none other than the JDSF that led the massacre at NERV headquarters in EoE, it was ironic that in the end, their greatest killer was fellow man, and not some scary Angel. Lets not get hypocritical though, these are all common human actions and consequences as harrowing as they may be. Sure, the anime may point us at the *fantastical* consequences of our actions, but thats all it is doing, portraying it.

    Ritsuko’s actions were governed by a serious mother complex (yeah human condition).

    The Movies of 2007 - Fears and Hopes.

    There’s an uncertain cloud hanging above the Evangelion scene. In a sense, the announcement of the 2007 and beyond movies is everything Eva fans have dreamed for since the beginning, but its a bittersweet engagement of everything we fear could go wrong. The fact that Sadamoto, Anno and Khara are once again joining forces, form a pretty strong blanket of assurance for fans. We are guaranteed that Shinji won’t suddenly go Super Saiyan on us, or Rei begins to start acting Tsundere (lol we wish). We are guaranteed a remake from the creators of the original great, and also the same fluid animation which displayed the energetic burst of Angel power and Mech acrobatics. Above all, the team knows what is at stake, the series’ reputation, legacy and most importantly, the fans. Haplessly waiting, and patient individuals such as myself whom have fed the Gainax-merchandise capitalistic machine (just ask my Rei I-Doll for proof) to ensure the increased chance of the series’ revival.

    Essentially, the movies are a remake, with addition of scenes at Anno’s whim and also the introduction of a new character in the second movie, the first being a prequel. As a fan, I personally hope that the main storyline is maintained, with artistic licenses used sparingly, and that it at least holds its own when compared to the original. But the main concern lies with the new character and whether this individual will fit into the concept and theme of Evangelion as a whole, or will he or she be the obligatory new character that are included in remakes? I know what some of you are thinking, “Eva fans will love it whether or not it is as good as the original”. I don’t think so, we’ve waited a long time, long before the announcement, talk of a new Evangelion was spoken merely for discussion’s sake. Now that it is a very real event, the scrutiny of the remake will be at it’s highest yet. Genuine disappointment cannot be masked by fanboyish denial. Todays’ anime fans are better informed, better versed in anime norms and they know what to expect, it’ll be pointless for any Eva fan to lie to themselves if the movies do not live up to expectations.

    How most fans would look if the new movies fail to deliver.

    Folks, I’ll tell you honestly, to be able to worry about a series still in the drawing stage as a Evangelion fan, its something I have not felt in a long time. I’m bloody excited, regardless of my concerns, there’s always the risk that things can go wrong, but on the other side of spectrum, everything can go just right. When it does, it will be Evangelion that we all know and love and then some. It will be refreshing and there will be a new breed of Evangelion fans, for the first time, a cult hit classic will have two viewpoints, the oldskool eva generation and nextgen eva generation, just imagine the interaction between these two groups, this is what excitement and anime is about, sharing the passion, and sharing that intangible feeling of seeing your favourite character kick some sweet Angel ass one more time (Im in it for Rei, of course).

    You’ve survived this post! Have a freaking cookie!

    If you’ve read this far- A Thank you

    Major thanks to Retsgip as always, for giving me the green light to do this feature post. There is no better place to post my essay entry than your blog, always your biggest fan, champ <3. Also, you owe me a couple of Gartender blogs (yeah, as if I would forget).

    To the rest of you who have reached the End of this Entry (The end of something is merely the beginning, remember)…This has been a pretty awesome experience, being able to sift through my mind and just unlocking all my Evangelion perceptions and conceptualizations. Sometimes all it needs is a trigger, and for me it was a friendly discussion with some fellow Eva fans. I am but one, ladies and gentleman, One of many passionate Evangelion fans. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading my somewhat random spiel of everything Evangelion (especially Rei!). If I value anything more than sharing my thoughts and reflections, its hearing from fellow enthusiasts. I want to hear your criticisms and hopes for the future of Tokyo III. With that, I bid you a Good Evening.

    Cheers,

    Darkshaunz

    38 comments to “Neon Genesis Evangelion - Reflections on a Legend”

    Please use <spoiler></spoiler> tags when appropriate, thanks!

    1. Awesome read, thanks.


    2. Thanks for the nifty read, it’s fascinating to see other people’s views on Eva.

      It’s important to note that the show came out of Anno’s depression. Like any good piece of art(and this is the only anime that I have ever considered such) there are different ways to interpret what the author was trying to convey. To me it was his own struggle to live with the pain that we find all around us, to stand up to it, and eventually overcome it instead of running away(ignoring it/suicide/etc). In the TV end he does such, and even in the movie end he eventually comes to terms and stops running away by picking pain and separation(and the chance of being happy) instead of joining as one in the collective unconscious(no pain, but no happiness). Albeit he ends up in a very broken world with a disgusted Asuka, that is somewhat beyond the point. But I saw the movie end as actually a positive way to go, because there is hope. A minor hope considering the world around them but there is still a chance. Besides, how could it get any worse?

      But that is just what I took away from it~


    3. @Ben: Thanks, Glad you enjoyed it! :D

      @Rioes: Thank you. Yes, that is indeed a different perspective of viewing the ending scene of EoE, I am glad that you shared that angle. I guess what you are going into is the “Uphill Battle” concept of Hope. Shinji’s got to accept a lot of new things in his new reality (its a pretty barren and broken world), he’s got to know that he can only rely on himself. He’s got a lot of work to do, but as you said, there is hope for proof of mankind indeed.


    4. I always saw much of EoE to be happening (if my memory serves correct on the timeline) kinda concurrently with the final two episodes and in between 24 and 25; not as an alternate take on the end.

      And that after Shinji got all his congrats in ep 26 it would have gone to the broken world part anyway.

      It’s been a long time and I can’t really remember why I think that, but I stand by it anyhow. Shinji never really bothered me that much either, come to think of it… I just went along for the ride, and didn’t spend much time thinking about Shinji manning up instead. Maybe because I was pretty emo when I watched it all those years ago.


    5. Thanks for the great article.

      I personally am not an eva fan by any means, in fact after the first time I watched the whole thing I was baffled to say the least that this was the amazing series that people were clamoring about. The ending to the series was a diaster, shinji is still #1 on my ‘he’s so emo he’d make me /wrists’ list.

      Years later, I had nothing to do other then rewatch the entire series on DVD (couldn’t find the moving box that had my computer/dvd case so i borrowed the only anime series my uncle has). The series was so much more enjoyable the 2nd time since this series is very in-depth, to say the least, and the fact that I had more knowledge about psychology/religion in general. Not to mention I could tune out shinji’s emo attitude with the mute button when things got too out of hand.

      Still I’d consider the series to be just decent after the second watch. I understand somewhat why it’s considered a legendary series, and I do enjoy anime that forces you to warp your brain around it but I found it way too incoherent at times and simply not as enjoyable as other philosophical titles that were inspired by it, like Rahxephon.

      All that said I will forever dislike Anno, nor recognize him as a great director, after the butchery that was His and Her Circumstances. I can’t consider him a great director when he destroyed one of my favorite manga series of all time and left half way while doing it.

      I’d also like to say again that it was a great read, was certainly an informative and extensive article about a franchise which will always be one of the faces of anime throughout time, for better or for worse.


    6. @Crayotic Rockwell: Yeah, Shinji’s got a different effect on people. So I knew I had to write about him, his actions had a lot of weight in the series and I see that you somehow had the ability to tolerate him (kudos!).

      @Atobe: Thank you for reading it, you are most welcome. The anime ending to what was a celebrated series was indeed disappointing (believe me, even Eva fans like myself agree 100% with you). I am glad that you decided to watch the series for a second time, its reassuring that you got to understand the plot a little better and pick up on the small details you may have missed on the first viewing.

      Yes, the incoherency was one of the flaws which somewhat lessened the immersion of the setting, granted, I believe it was meant to be passed off as artistic expression. The thing with Rahxephon is, I think they had time to be pragmatic about what Evangelion did right and wrong, and they worked around that to boast the strengths of the concept and minimize flaws. Its unfortunate that Anno butchered such a well-known romance title (if I recall correctly).

      As I mentioned in the article, Anno and Sadamoto are visionaries, they have a somewhat skewed and unique take on their works. Sometimes they go overboard (some of this was evident in the movie), they love to experiment, so we get a refreshing view on an anime on one side, but they may completely miss on the other.

      I’d like to thank you once again for such a commendation, it was equally as enjoyable reading such a well composed response to my work.


    7. It took me quite a while to read this, but I did. :)

      I cried when Rei died. I forgot everything else about the anime, but I really cried when Rei died, and she still remains to be among my favorite women characters of all time.

      Good work.


    8. “A boy, who has as much backbone as a slug, who is seriously doing it wrong.”
      —-
      Slugs around the world are grievously insulted. Sleep well tonight, Darkshaunz, they will be paying you a visit soon enough.
      ~~~~ ~~~~

      On a more serious note, interesting read. I learnt a few things from it that never occured to me before( maybe it was because I was still young when I first watched NGE?).

      Not much I can add to it, but I will point out that NGE has the distinction of being the first anime that made me genuinely angry. Angry against Shinji of course. Never has a show ever made me so want to physically punch a 2-D rendition of a fictional character. Not before, and not even until now.

      Shinn from GSD came close though. They even share similar names. ^^;

      I like to think of myself as being very tolerant, and it takes a lot to make me snap. Oh, but Shinji, Shinji really takes the cake. If I ever meet a guy like Shinji in real life, I would probably need to be restrained from beating him up senseless and ripping out his spine, because he doesn’t deserve to have one.

      I could go on and on about the shortcomings of Shinji, but I think anybody who has seen NGE will get what I am trying to convey here.
      ~~~~ ~~~~

      As for the side-characters, the ones that I felt were under-used were Shinji’s classmates, especially the romance between the ‘tough’ guy and the class representative( forgive me, it has been too long and I have forgotten their names). It was just so sugary sweet and bitter. I would have loved to find out whether it went any further before all Hell broke loose during the 3rd-Impact.
      ~~~~ ~~~~

      Some nitpicks, but I am fairly certain that the white angel-like EVAs have the designation of EVA-06, not EVA-05. If I am not mistaken, EVA-04 and EVA-05 were EVAs in the USA that got attacked. We never actually got to see what 04 and 05 looked like( and this is what they might show in the new series with the new character).

      Cheers.


    9. Wow, I am one of the few Shinji sympathizers. I’ve always felt angry at the people who went AGAINST Shinji, and always hoped he would gives his dad a good smack or too.

      Oh well.

      Anyway, yes I did read the whole thing. :-P And I thought the AT field is a barrier of the soul, and the ‘orange liquid’ is LCL, the basis of all life, which everyone became when their AT field was neutralized. I think I had something else to say as well but I forgot while reading the rest of the post lol. I’ll post it up here if I ever remember!


    10. @Michael: Thanks, and its very pleasing to see another Rei fan! Viva teh Rei!

      @Skane: Yes, I just got raided by some serious Ninja Slugs man. It was horrible they were threatening to eat my garden and everything (I bribed them off with a naughty picture of Shana changing though). Aye, Shinji has a certain special effect on people, how shall I say, a raging effect. You just want to give him a brightslap so he can man up a little bit to his situation. I enjoyed reading your passionate description of a “mortality” move on Shinji’s back (ouch!).

      I too had hoped that the side characters would have been better utilized, just to see different faces from time to time would have really helped the variety. I don’t mind the nitpicks as usual =), but I do believe that Eva-04 wa blown up at Nevada, whilst the Eva-05 series are the white “smiley variants” shown in the movie. Always a pleasure, Skane.

      @Danny: Avast! A Shinji supporter…make im’ walk the plank I say! Haha, its quite alright man, consider yourself special. You belong to a small echelon of people who sympathizes with him (though I can see where the support is coming from, he is only a 14 year old with such a massive burden after all). He did kind of give his dad a good smack, after all, his eva unit chomped on his dad in the movie (it was pretty delicious).

      Congrats for surviving the entry and Thank you for reading. I think that is the general gist of an AT Field, yeah, it binds the LCL to provide us with our human form. Also, I understand, there’s a lot to go through in this particular piece of mine. Please do post if you do recall the points you were going to share. Cheers.


    11. You crazy ass. 6.2k words is quite a fucking lot of words. I’m glad you finally put this down on paper, so to speak. I was wondering when it would happen and anxiously counting down the days until you decided to do a writeup.

      I haven’t done anything except look at the pics and captions, but at some point I’ll probably get around to reading this. I kinda want to watch the series again and read the manga before the new season comes out, but I dont know if that’s possible with all my distractions.


    12. A great post, let me remember so much of the series and added some levels on my anticipation-o-meter for the new movies. Thanks!


    13. @Retsgip: Awww you love it. I heard that my entry crashed your MS Word (lol!). Thats ok, at least you got to see the shiny pictures I captured from my newly purchased End of Evangelion DVD. I’d definitely recommend watching the old series before starting on the new movies.

      @Saibotlieh: Thank you. Just like you, I too was feeling very nostalgic about the first time I was awed at Evangelion (and I am still continuing that trend with the manga). If my entry has gotten you excited and in anticipation in for the new movies, then I’ve accomplished a small part of ensuring the Evangelion legacy. I hope that Gainax delivers the goods when the time comes.


    14. […] Ok, so I went braindead after reading Darkshaunz’s NGE post and took an hour nap. Even now though, I feel very sluggish and drained, the feeling you get when it’s 40 degrees celcius and you just can’t rejuvenate your energy no matter how much you sleep. So yeah, my new theory is that Ayu died when her parents went on vacation. I’m pretty sure she’s a spirit, so that would also explain why she suddenly ‘forgot’ about her parents. BUT, I find it much easier to just enjoy the show, instead of thinking too deeply about what the deal is with everyone, since everyone’s starting to act up. Kaori somehow made her line important too, when she says that miracles don’t happen so easily. Garten also mentions that Nayuki is dangerous and he’s afraid for Ayu for sleeping with her. Hmm, I dunno about that; either something happens in the future, which I obviously wouldn’t know, or I missed some significant indication in the past. But what does this mean? Does she go psycho from jealousy of Ayu being friendly with Yuuichi or something? […]


    15. Ah, I loved Rei. She beats Asuka anyday xD I can hardly remember the Rei-Asuka hybrid…I think I definitely need to rewatch this series xD But I liked the anime ending, because it was happier than the movie’s xDD


    16. @Whispered Hope: Chalk one up for another Rei Fan! If you do feel like you want to rewatch the series, then you should, just grab some snacks and enjoy the show. In relation to the endings, many also prefer the anime ending, mainly because its a lighter note as you’ve mentioned (and it shows Shinji with a spine and some form of integrity). I personally chose the movie ending because it tied up some loose ends (but created new ones too), it had better aesthetics and the storytelling was slightly less abstract. Enjoy.


    17. 6200++ words … FUCK YOU SHAUN. :D

      Again, good job. REI KICKS YOUR ASS EVERYDAY AND ANYDAY. :V


    18. Once again, I am reminded how few Misato fanboys there are.

      Narf.


    19. Oh yeah I remember what I was gonna say. I had been thinking that wasn’t Gendo’s ultimate plan not to be a god-like figure, but just to be reunited with Yui, his wife? And I’m pretty sure SEELE were the people who wanted to be gods by controlling the third impact. However, in the end no one becomes a god because no one controlled the third impact.


    20. @Michael: Haha, Much <3 Michael. Thank you again, and yes…Rei kicks so much ass, it hurts sometimes.

      @Skane: We all love Misato, thats a given. Especially her fine a-I mean, her well developed character. By character I mean body.

      @Danny: Let’s just say that Gendo’s an ambitious man =D. He knew that he would eventually be reunited with Yui, but if he became a God-like figure or had enough power over the Third Impact, he could bring his wife back without giving in into SEELE’s Apocalyptic sceheme. As you said, in the end nobody could control the Third Impact because the keys were Rei and Shinji, not SEELE and Gendou.


    21. I would just like to add my take on things -
      1) Rei is sweet. We all agree on that one :) .
      2) I don’t think that anime and movie endings are mutually exclusive. Instead I say they are different perspectives (Shinji’s internal vs. “real world”) of the third impact (see dead Misato and other NERV personnel in ep25&26).
      3) I don’t think that the girl Shinji meets at the end of the movie has a shred of Rei inside her. I’d say it’s 100% Asuka. At that time Rei is dispersed in huge chinks of angel-flesh covering the landscape. Asuka’s weird eye color is caused by the post-apocalyptic lighting.
      4) A Misato is fine too ;) .


    22. 3) should read …CHUNKS of angel-flesh…
      And I forgot to add (BTW Remind me to never post again at 3AM on a night before work day.):
      5) While I was watching NGE the first time I also felt a great urge to bash Shinji’s face in, but the second time around it occurred to me it might be a good idea to imagine myself in his place. And not my current mid-20s soldier me, but a 14 year old snotty bratty dumb-as-fuck-virgin me. I would have probably snapped and failed even harder than Shinji. Fate of the world is a big burden for a 14-year-old to carry.


    23. I just caught up with the manga and this is what i believe and well yea practically a point of view

      Let’s say Adam is shinji, eva is rei, and lilith is asuka, in the manga kaworu says “you are not adam”, the big thing stuck in the nerv basement is lilith,

      If you read an article in wikipedia about lilith, you see she was the first wife of adam, but she left, it says adam urged God to make her come back, and the angels threated lilith to kill her children.

      Now if you think about it the angels are coming to kill lilith, but gendou the maniac is preventing that for some kind of reason(still working it out). If you read the lilith article you really can make a lot of sense out of it.

      “Lilith then went on to mate with Samael and various other demons she found beside the Red Sea, creating countless lilin. Adam urged God to bring Lilith back, so three angels were dispatched after her. When the angels, Senoy, Sansenoy, and Semangelof, made threats to kill one hundred of Lilith’s demonic children for each day she stayed away, she countered that she would prey eternally upon the descendants of Adam and Eve, who could be saved only by invoking the names of the three angels. She did not return to Adam.”

      Red sea? part of the antartica in the nge and anime is blood, and is the basement thing its also a river of blood i’m guessing.

      “An 18th or 19th century Persian amulet, a protective charm for a newborn boy, kept in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, depicts Lilith in chains, with “Bind Lilith in chains” written under each arm.” funny she looks more like crucified :|

      Kaworu asked shinji if he didn’t want his desired world he been yearning for, kinda makes sense if the angel kills lilith all this jumbo crap can end. but shinji decided to kill him blindly.

      “she countered that she would prey eternally upon the descendants of Adam and Eve, who could be saved only by invoking the names of the three angels.”

      Literally we are descendant of adam and eva, if you think about it, i’m still trying to get more information.

      I’m by no means an eva fan and i don’t feel like debating whether i’m right on wrong. this is a pure POV.

      anyway lets see how it turns out :o and btw i said asuka is lilith.. i’m probably wrong there :3


    24. A long post, but it more or less summarizes my thoughts on Evangelion as well, though unlike DarkShaunz I’m more partial to Derr Redhead myself… Yes, much anticipation, yet much trepidation as well. We’ll just have to see when the prequel arrives this 2007.

      Oh, and I think it was already mentioned in one of the director’s-cut DVDs that the girl Shinji was strangling was actually Asuka herself, not a Rei-Misato-Asuka hybrid; much like the ‘regeneration’ of the EVA series (the only reactivated, due to their S2 Engines, but still were supposed to show the damage EVA-02 caused), it was a production error.


    25. Ok, I gotta call you out on all this “Shinji is unbearably emo” stuff. He’s no action hero, but he doesn’t spend all his time curled up in a little ball weeping either. Name me ONE Angel fight he ran from.

      I don’t mean to single you out, but the Shinji-is-a-spineless-coward myth really has no basis in the TV series. Shinji mopes and angsts a lot, and likes to run away from his personal problems instead of fixing them, but when push comes to shove he does in fact get the job done.

      Don’t even get me started on the people that think Misato==h0r because she slept with one person, and her old college boyfriend at that.


    26. “I also know the AT field is what keeps our physical bodies bound together before we explode in Orange Juice or Tang…”

      I’ve always assumed the AT Field is just what keeps our souls locked tight in our bodies.


    27. I remember when i first watched the series. I turned it off and walked away..for a week


    28. Hello. ^_^ I read your post and it was very interesting, to say the least. However, I don’t agree with everything you stated (My personal thoughts on Eva: End of TV and End of Eva are concurrent, It’s ASUKA and Asuka only on the beach with Shinji, Shinji-kun isn’t your typical anime lead but that’s why I like him so much…He goes against the stereotype of how the lead of a show is “supposed” to act. ^_^)
      Personally I can’t wait for Rebuild myself. ^_^ I think Gainax will do us proud, I just pray that they’ll be able to get back all of the original seiyuu or at least the important ones.
      By the way, the Tang (LCL) reference makes me think you might know about it, but this is a really great site that explains various Eva goodness such as what the fuck is going on in each episode and why. ^_^;
      http://www.evacommentary.org/
      Take care! ^_~


    29. Whatever you all say, I’ll just say this:

      hawt wimmin, nice mecha, WTF thar wuz a story, and who’s this Shinji feller? And why is he so spineless?

      Also, needs moar hawt yaoi buttsechz. IT’S ALL ABOOT TEH KAORU PEOPLE.
      Oh, and Misato.


    30. One more thing I remembered just today. There’s no way that that Asuka/Rei or Asuka/Rei/Misato “theory” (and I use the term loosely) could work as Rei herself is shown in that FINAL SCENE. She’s floating above the LCL Sea before disappearing and it seems to bring the series full-circle as Shinji first saw Rei in the street (yes that was ALSO Rei III. Quantam MagicTM people ;) ) when arriving to New-Tokyo-3. Just wanted to point that out.


    31. shinji…. why people hate em so much? is shinji created to be hated in this anime? is he created just to show a type of condition we human have or can be? isnt Shinji just a boy that suddenly needs to meet his long gone dad, use eva and fight angels on 1 day… lolx if shinji’s a stereo type hero then he would do what he must to save the world and no need for thinking… but he is just a boy with many problems that suddenly had to be a hero. If u hate shinji then maybe u r use to the all perfect hero, i thought this anime is bout shiji? or humanity? humans r not perfect shinji is not perfect or u want it to be like that James Bond… wow…damn lucky fella..eheheh…

      Rei… is my fav also, i saw the anime before the manga and thought…why is rei character didnt developed more? and i found that shinji (for me) is worse in the anime. Then i tried to find the manga, and glad sees rei have more presence in the story. I dont know why i liked her, i really dont know, but still there this urge to know her better… nice character. I like all the Reis, and damn annoyed when rei II …err.. u know..

      asuka….now thats a girl all u guys wanna have is it? ( not me ) lolx

      well i like both anime and manga, but the manga i think is better.

      cant wait to see the new mov…. hope its balanced..( uh.. in all evangelionly aspect ^^ )


    32. I liked reading this. I just have one note. Seeing as how Evangelion is definetly inspired by Freudian Psychology, the definition of an AT Field should come to you, a guy who’s caught onto all other references just about.

      I believe, now I could be wrong, that the AT Field is translated as the Absolute Terror Field, which is a Freudian concept. It’s a psychological barrier that children (most often orphans) create to keep those who wish to enter their social or emotional space at bay. This is due to the lack of a loving parental figure in their life, who would traditionally condition them to socially interact.

      Each of the pilots seem to be likely candidates to carry such a condition. Rei, has no real loving parent (just Gendo who uses her as if she were a tool). Shinji has abandonment problems and was left to face complete denial from his father and the death of his mother at an early age. And Asuka, whom lost her mother and father also at a very young age. The three were brought up by secondary guardian figures who never really expressed any form of emotional or social interaction past the required for survival.

      I would suppose the Angels have these extreme psycho-energy barriers that would prevent conventional weapons from harming them. So when the EVA pilots enter their mecha (being replicants of Angels) their natural AT Fields and psycho-link up with their EVA would allow for the projection and penetration-capability to destroy or block similar barriers/attacks created by said barriers.

      I could be wrong, but that sounds like a pretty good explanation to me.


    33. Finaly - an explanation that wasn’t too fancied up and un-jumbled into the wrong order. Well put my friend, well put. Was a good read (and I assure you I did read it all - instead of doing art coursework I will add. =P)

      I don’t remember how I first got into Eva, but I know I was one of the unfortunates ones to miss the series on tv. If it was ever shown on Brittish television then I definately missed it.
      But seeing has I would only have been 5/6 years old, at the time it was running. I don’t think the imagery of, say for example: Shinji crying out in suffering as he takes the nerve conneced backlash of an angel whooping poor old unit 01’s ass (yet again) would do the fragile mentality of a 6 year old any good.

      Besides it was early days - before the wonderous days of cable =P

      But I will say thank you again - for finaly clearing up the underlying messages. I have seen all that the Eva project has to offer to date, and out of the 2 endings (the series finaly and end of evangelion) I gotta agree with you in saying end of evangelion was definately better. But I can’t help but still feel un-satisfied.

      At least with the show ending (in all its ink-less glory) you could safely say - Shinjis a twat, but by god he saw the show through to the end, he sat through and put the effort into thinking about the experience, he final overcame his cowardness and selfish traits and acheived his goal (being stuck on a blue globe with his friends and family clapping for him - so you know [acceptance i guess it symbolises]) and he reached the end of the show.
      SO I thought if shinji, why shouldn’t I be able too, I mean it was shinji for gods sake.
      So i actualy read the (subtitled) dialogue and got to the end. And yeah ok it was an ending - but only in the sense that there were no episodes following it. I mean you could easily continue on the story….

      You know you got shinji, happy go-lucky teen - whos just broken free of this horrible personality with a no-looking back attitude.
      But heres the icing on the cake. He pilots this big purple robot/monster/human/his mum/’the devil himself’ [as I quote from random soldier bloke in EoE]
      and so shinji is his purple ….uh…thing, gets to fight baddies with all the action of ninja on a prozac overdose in a shopping mall full of zombies.

      Which is why the series ending left me dissapointed. Yeah there was a revelation in character. It was good people were smiling you were cheering ‘em on from your computer seat chair (once again kicking your art coursework aside) and then you reach the credits
      and its like

      whoah

      wait

      hold up

      thats it?

      nothing else?

      best series ever and what….kapoot….zilch….action-LESS.

      I do of course appreciate the whole meaning behind the mecha but I need a bit of AT feild smashing, Eva jumping, Nail Biting statergy to be satisfied.

      Which leads me too why I almost loved End of Evangelion -

      par 2 bits -

      *Shinjis creepy little “comatose girls don’t say no.” experiment.
      * The real life photos at the end

      but the main reason I didn’t like evangelion - again its back to the “what happens next ending.”
      only this time as you put it “what if the hero cocks it up situation.”

      So instead of happy go-lucky shinji skipping through the trees of the geo-front followed by his loveable classmates and a few 40 storey robots.
      We’ve got -
      worlds gone to shit -
      but don’t worry shinji - we made you this rei-asuka combo (cleverly named reisuka) for you to you know - make some humanity with.
      But poor old shinji, the silly sausage
      chokes her to death

      d’oh!

      But End of Evangelion was a decent movie - definately taking pirde of place in my eva dvd collection (which i swear i’ll start buying the dvds one day - honest.) since its just a cracking good movie
      Even if you didn’t get the whole underlying background ideas - such as the third impact being the second comming (which took me by suprise - but clicked straight away)- you still learn to love to appreciate the art work (which is probably my favourite thing about eva.), the quality action and of course the quality characters: who are so flawed that they all mess each others lives up so much yet still cling to each other (you can’t help but think - aaaawwwww)

      But me being a young one - and relatively new to the Eva universe a few questions

      probably questions Anno himself hoped we would never venture into.

      but questions none the less.

      1) what the bloody hell did Gendo say to Ritsuko before he shot her?

      I mean it was short and quick but obviously the dark truth we’ve all been waiting for. Its impossible to tell by her facial expression.
      [I had guessed that it would be “I am your father.” (to quote a certain sci-fi legacy.) it would clumsily fit into the plot - I mean think about it Ritsukos mum and Gendo where lovers, and Gendo is not exactly an ideal father figure.
      Thats one specualtion I have come too, anyone got anything else.

      2) right how are Kaworu and Rei related (and not just like family related. What connections do they have)?

      I mean its the whole bit about him and Rei being present together at the end where Reis big gargantuan body flops up through the cloud bank to give shinji a good morning he’ll never forget. and then Kaworus there like floating in the sky with him.
      *This point might have to be ignored as I may be basing this all on a bit of fanart i’ve seen - was Kaworu in the EoE movie? I haven’t seen it in a while =P.*

      and the way in the series - around episode 24 - I think when Kaworu first appears. Rei looks at him when she reaches the top of the elevator.
      And the look she gives him
      Its a look that says “whats he doing here!?”
      Rei’s connected to the angels somehow. It just impossible to guess how.

      and my final question

      3) (Eva is like a copy of adam - the first angle, but with a human soul. So its like the soul is why people can synch with it better - due to the fact the soul comes from the mother of the person who syncs best. So evas a maternal bond, thats how it works right?) So how the bloody hell does Rei sync with an Eva if shes a clone?

      I mean we no shinjis mum - the closest relative to Rei we would presume - is unit 01. so other than the soul of the origanal Rei being in unit 00 (which is a long shot) I can’t think what else.

      So all in all - amazing show, realy makes you think. It is definately the best anime i’ve ever watched though i do appreciate other shows.
      Thank you very much for the guide that opened my veiws a little wider

      and heres waiting fingers-crossed for the new movies - and of course the live action one due a few years from now.

      peace out Eva fans

      =)

      -Zoogeneous.


    34. For AT fields: Mike’s explaination is very close to what i understand. The field is basically where the soul ends and the rest of the world begins, giving a framework for LCL(described in the anime as a sort of primordial soup)to make up the human form. The field is formed from the mind’s desire to be a singular entity and keep the rest of the world at bay. For some reason, Angels and Evas seem to be able to physically manifest theirs(more-so than usual, i mean). I’m pretty sure i read this in the back of one of the manga volumes.

      For references: NGE sorta kinda takes its pick of whatever it wants from apocrypha and culture. The fact that much of the references are Judeo-christian is more from what fit the plot best. The angels could have all been named after Greek Titans for all the difference it would have made, functionally, but somehow, it just wouldn’t be the same.

      For Emo-ness: Yeah, Shinji is a bit of a whiner, but you can sort of feel where he’s coming from(if you try at least).

      For this article: Excelent work,Darkshaunz

      For Rei: I’m sorry, but your spot in my heart has been userped by a certain bespectacled Data Entity. Please forgive me.

      For this post: sorry it’s so damn long. and i was originally just going to ask for an explanation of what an S2 engine was…


    35. Evangelion is so established in Japan, they’ve even got Evangelion stamps now
      http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/japan-post-offers-neon-genesis-evangelion-stamps/


    36. Noone’s posted here in a long time, but I just had to throw in my MASSIVE thanks. This has been an amazing read. You are my hero, as is everyone else that read through this whole thing.

      The S2 engine still confuses me a little bit, but maybe they’ll explain that in time? Maybe they won’t? Maybe, I’ll enjoy it more if they don’t?

      Either way, THANK YOU SO MUCH!


    37. Hey guys!,
      This was an amazing read!, I went over to Japan last year twice and nearly started to cry with happiness when I got there, Evangelion 1.0 was just about to come out which blew my mind!, I was like Eva is BACK!.

      Its one anime I can NEVER put down, been on Wikipedia trying to brush up on all Eva facts but still SOOO CONFUSED about so many things, I think its one of the most amazing animes ever made!.

      IF ANYONE KNOWS OF CHAT ROOMS or anything of the sort I would love to chat and learn all the details!, even been reading into the Dead Sea Scrolls, whoa how nerdy am I!…

      Anywho, thankyou for this its been an amazing read!, hope to chat with some of you guys very soon!

      Peace Marcus


    38. hey, so has anyone ever heard of a post that’s lasted nearly 4 years, this being 2009. I haven’t so this is a first for me. Anyways after reading the essay and all the posts I must agree that Evangelion is one for the books. But i must admit the ending for the movie was a finish suited for a roller coaster. The scene before the ‘choking’ scene was filled with so much hope, and from there it… well fell pretty far. To be honest Evangelion was one of the best animes I’ve ever seen but that ending kinda made me want to forget it. (Obviously I can’t cause i’m posting on a 4 year old wall.) Nevertheless, if anyone’s still rereading this wall do you have any thoughts as to the reason behind the last scene of eoe. Its been bugging me for weeks. By the way I am more or less referring to the choking part of the last scene.


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