The End of Evangelion

[REG]

The Evangelion series has been a source of much controversy in the anime world, but it's ending is probably the biggest source of controversy. The End of Evangelion combined traditional animation, live action, and CG into quite possibly the most esoteric anime movie ever. Many feel that End was simply a backlash from Anno towards fans of traditional anime, while others saw it as a director going in a bold new direction. So what were your reactions?

[Mr.Saxophone]

It was good. Definitely better than the later half of the series. I can't say I truly liked it, though. Some parts were great like the action scene with Asuka vs Those Bord Things. The story just got really screwed up. Plus, Shinji's a little pussy. A series and a movie based on someone like that would annoy rather than entertain me. I've never been a big fan of Eva and I think Anno is psychotic. IMO, Rahxephon did Eva better and is most deserving of the attention. Eva is way too hyped. Just look at all the nude figurines and porn based around Rei and Asuka. You'd think they were fucking porn stars, not anime characters. Disturbing, man!

[Mzo]

Still sucked, but at least it felt like a half-assed effort to end it unlike the series's original end, which had nothing to do with anything.

[Grey's Anatomy]

Still sucked, but at least it felt like a half-assed effort to end it unlike the series's original end, which had nothing to do with anything.

True that. That ending insulted me.

[Gymkata]

hold up

The ending to the TV show was fine when you consider the fact that the company (Gainax) nearly went bankrupt. The Movie is teh fail. Shinji is a puss, Asuka nearly saved the movie Yoda style, (give her props even though she is a huge bitch). Imean hell, EVERYONE stepped up to the plate, except Shinji. I thought he learned better from his growth experiences throughout the series. I guess Anno diddnt care about little old Gymkata and the story he loved so much.

Its like the ultimate cock tease. The story was great. And it ended like a donkey punch. Hell naw.

[REG]

I actualy didn't get really into the movie until everything went nutty around with the end and Anno started experimenting with live action footage. I think there was definately a hint of spite in the ending of the movie (montage of angry letters and death threats), but ultimately Anno's goal was to make the antithesis of the typical anime movie.
End of Eva is meant to be a psycological journey, and probably a journey through Anno's on psyche. It's not exactly your typical anime fare. It's almost like it's too much artsy cinema for the anime geeks, and it's too much anime for the cinema geeks.

It may be a hard pill to swallow, but I think End is a fascinating work of cinema. Oh, and is it true Anno hasn't made a US appearance since 1996?

[animegirl]

Weird, I just watched this again the other day. I really like it, the last 20 minutes are insane. I love the image of the huge Rei freeing all the souls of the earth at the same time, everybody screaming in complete rapture in unison. The music on the part is awesome as well. Asuka kicking ass was fucking great, she went out like a hero for sure. This series always puts me in a weird frame of mind.

True that. That ending insulted me.

I liked the minimalist ending, it really went into the character's motivations and weaknesses. I know it was because of budget cuts, but if you really think about it, the TV series did not have a happy ending despite all the applause and clapping. Shinji accepted Instrumentality which means he became one with everybody which is why they were cheering for him. I guess whether or not this is good is subjective, but I tend to think that to not not exist as your own entity is a horrible way to be.

[Salsashark]

*sigh*

This topic has got to be one of the most notorious pointless nerd battle traps on all of the internets. Yet here I go.

The problem with movie/anime nerds isn't that they don't read into things enough, it's that they only do it literally. They're in it only for the escapism, which Evangelion is definitely guilty of offering, but don't seem to care about the real meaning that's intended by the creator. That brings up the question of whether or not it's even worth injecting your crazy ideas into these stories anymore, but hey...let's not get ahead of ourselves. And don't call ME pretentious just because I realize Anno was trying to tell you something.

There was a time when I spent a lot of time reading interviews and plot summaries and stuff after watching the series and movie. I don't think it's as hard to understand as most people make it out to be, but it's definitely vague and cryptic in many areas. A lot of it is admittedly totally random and for aesthetic reasons only, like all of the fancy Christian imagery.

Basically, what I remember is that from the start the series was to be about "communication", and that's an obvious theme running through the entire show. Then they're making everything up as they go along, Anno is reading more and more books on psychology, the show runs into budget trouble etc., and they get more and more creative artistically as the show runs. I don't remember the specifics, and really they don't matter, because the core of the show is Shinji. The whole thing is about the whiny otaku nerd that most whiny otaku internet nerds totally miss the point of. There's definitely a lot of personal stuff in there from Anno, since a lot of it recurs in his other projects, but really the original idea of the show was to try to tell the kids watching it that there's more to life. Condescending? Probably...but you can't tell me there aren't SOME people out there that could use such a message (yes, yes..me). Was burying this message in tons of fan service and awesome geek-out action a genius idea? Perhaps not.

But yeah, if you can’t tell I think they’re great. Misguided and cryptic? That too I guess, but the movie’s beautiful and the ending of the show was really probably as appropriate as could be.

[REG]

That's all very interesting, but I wasn't making a discussion about what it all means, I was just wondering what people thought of End as a work of cinema sepparate of the anime world. What I'm wondering is what kind of a director is Anno, and why did he choose to blend action scenes and fan-service with an analysis of otaku psychology.

Edit: Also, I'm pretty sure Anno is opposed to the way Asuka and Rei have been whored out with merchandising since the end of the show.

[Salsashark]

Oh.

Oh yeah.

The End of Evangelion combined traditional animation, live action, and CG into quite possibly the most esoteric anime movie ever. Many feel that End was simply a backlash from Anno towards fans of traditional anime, while others saw it as a director going in a bold new direction. So what were your reactions?

Yes, on the esoteric side. Less so than something like Angel's Egg. I think the director was probably a little spiteful when he made the movie, but beyond that it speaks for itself. It's obvious it wasn't just slapped together, it's just an alternate ending. I don't see what the big deal is about using live action footage. And I think the stuff I said before is still relevant, kinda.