Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, Shin Seiki Evangerion^?), also known simply as Evangelion, or Eva , is an anime series created by the Gainax studio and animated by Tatsunoko Production, directed by Hideaki Anno. The story of the work takes place in a futuristic world in which a paramilitary organization called NERV protects humanity from attacks by beings of unknown origin and nature, the "Angels", using humanoid bio-wicks called Evangelion (shortened to EVA). As the plot progresses, it gradually becomes more confusing and psychological, where the personalities of the characters become more and more unstable and their development becomes essential. Hideaki Anno, the director and screenwriter, has expressed that the development of the series was inspired by his own experience, whereby the characters display a wide range of their emotional affections and personality.

The anime has twenty-six episodes that were broadcast for the first time between October 1995 and March 1996. Due to its fame, various spin-offs were soon created, among which were they include manga series, movies, and video games that complement or offer an alternate reality of the story. Despite the fact that the anime is the original work, the manga created by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto began to be published before the animation was released to increase public interest. Sadamoto claims that the manga is his own interpretation of Evangelion, while the anime is Anno's interpretation.

This series has been classified in the genres science fiction, mecha and dystopia, containing various elements of philosophy, psychology and religion, with marked Abrahamic influences. Members of the series team have stated that these religious symbolisms have been more for aesthetic than narrative reasons, since in Japan Judeo-Christian symbolism is seen as exotic. In addition, its technical and thematic characteristics, as well as the complexity and symbolism of its story, have made this production considered one of the best examples of the epic realism genre. It has also received some of the biggest animation awards. For all these reasons, Evangelion is considered by many to be one of the greatest anime productions.

Source of title

The Japanese title of the series, Shin Seiki Evangerion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, ' Shin Seiki Evangerion'^?), consists of two parts: «Shin Seiki» (新世紀, lit. "New era" or "New century"^?) and «Evangelion», from the classical Greek εὐαγγέλιον (good messenger, good news), Hispanicized as gospel. Evangelion is etymologically unrelated to the Hebrew word eva (living). However, the title Neon Genesis Evangelion means "Messenger of the New Beginning". Anno considered its Christian connotation of presumed blessing and chose that name because it seemed "complicated". series was Alcion (Arushion in Japanese), but this was rejected for its lack of hard consonants, so Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and Anno ended up confirming Evangelion.

Plot

Antarctica, site of the Second Impact.

The series begins in the year 2015 of the Christian era, fifteen years after the disastrous first contact with mysterious beings known as angels, which resulted in a worldwide cataclysm called Second Impact, which halved the human population on Earth. To prevent future angel attacks, the UN established in Tokyo-3 the organization NERV, which developed a series of biomechanical giants called Evangelion—abbreviated EVA—to combat them. Because the Evangelions can only be piloted by teenagers, NERV leader Gendō Ikari contacts his estranged son, Shinji, to pilot Evangelion Unit 01, and kill the Third Angel, who is is attacking the city. Although Shinji initially refuses to cooperate, he eventually agrees upon seeing his father's seemingly cruel act of forcing the badly injured Rei Ayanami to pilot the EVA. Aboard the Evangelion, Shinji is soon knocked unconscious. It's time to start the battle, but suddenly the EVA acts on its own and destroys the angel. After that, Shinji adjusts to his new life in Tokyo-3, living with Captain Misato Katsuragi as his tutor. the city meets what will be her best friends, Tōji Suzuhara, Kensuke Aida and Hikari Horaki, as well as the enigmatic Rei Ayanami, pilot of Unit 00. Shortly after, she and Shinji are tasked with defeating the following angels, Shamshel and Ramiel, objectives that consi go with great difficulties.

As the series progresses, Misato leads Shinji, Tōji, and Kensuke on a naval convoy tasked with transporting Unit 02, piloted by Sōryū Asuka Langley. In an unexpected battle, the angel Gaghiel attacks the fleet, but is destroyed by Shinji and Asuka aboard Unit 02. At the same time, the true cargo of the convoy is revealed to be the embryo of the angel Adam, carried by a ship. Misato's old friend named Ryōji Kaji. Shortly after, Asuka moves into Misato's house, finding difficulties in the coexistence between her and Shinji; however, both overcome their differences to defeat the angel Israfel together. Later Shinji, Asuka and Rei face and defeat the angels Sandalphon, Matarael, Sahaquiel Iruel, Leliel, with great dangers in each of them. that push the psychological resistance of the pilots to the limit. Later, Unit 03 is sent to Tokyo-3, being Tōji Suzuhara in charge of piloting it, but the Evangelion is possessed by the angel Bardiel and Shinji is forced to confront him. Faced with Shinji's refusal to fight, Gendō Ikari activates an Evangelion remote control method called the Dummy Plug and destroys his opponent, nearly killing Tōji in the process. After the battle Shinji decides to leave NERV for good, but the angel Zeruel arrives and defeats Asuka and Rei, prompting Shinji to return, after speaking with Kaji, to pilot unit 01 and attack the angel. Over the course of combat, the EVA depletes its energy and goes into Berserker Mode, ripping apart and devouring the angel, and causing Shinji to be reduced to LCL; but a little later the young Ikari interacts with the spirit of his mother, inside the Evangelion, and is reborn from the liquid. After Kaji is killed after rescuing the vice commander of NERV, Kōzō Fuyutsuki, from the hands of SEELE, the angel Arael, which attacks Asuka's mind and causes her a strong clinical depression that prevents her from continuing to pilot. In turn, Rei dies destroying the angel Armisael, but is replaced by a clone. Later, a mysterious young man named Kaworu Nagisa arrives to pilot Evangelion unit 02 to replace Asuka. Shinji forges a strong relationship with him, but Kaworu turns out to be Tabris, the last angel to be expected, and Shinji is forced to kill him to prevent him from causing Third Impact.

Ending

Towards the last episodes, the characters begin to understand that NERV's true plan is the so-called Human Complementation Project, with which they intend to eliminate human individuality and merge all of humanity into one being to put an end to all conflicts, loneliness and pain caused by individual existence. NERV and SEELE come into conflict over the execution of the project. Once the Project begins, the main foursome, Shinji, Misato, Rei and Asuka are forced to face their doubts and fears and examine their courage. This ending was made up of flashbacks, visions, flickering text, and a montage of grim imagery, including grim black-and-white photos of desolate urban motifs. An alternative life with the same characters is also shown, which would fit into a youth comedy genre. When Shinji eventually realizes that life is worth living and that there is no need to be an EVA pilot to justify his existence, he is surrounded by most of the characters applauding and congratulating him. After these scenes, Shinji concludes his reflections and dismisses the series.

The ambiguous and unclear meaning of the last two episodes left many fans confused and dissatisfied. These episodes were the most controversial of an already controversial series, described by many as imperfect and incomplete. However, Anno and assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki defended the artistic integrity of the ending, although in the film The End of Evangelion shows a different ending, which complements that of the series. The film can be considered as an expansion of the series finale, showing not only Shinji's mental reflections that lead him to return to shape itself, but also the outer events that precede and follow them. Some scenes from the later episodes are reused in The End of Evangelion to draw further parallelism between the two endings. For example, the images of the deaths of Misato and Ritsuko, the scene in which Gendō goes to look for Rei or another in which Asuka is shown at the bottom of the lake. In the apocalyptic course of Third Impact, Shinji, given the choice of going ahead with the Human Complementation Project or canceling it, he concludes with a series of mind trips and monologues that the Project would actually strip people of their humanity by removing individuality.

Characters

Main

The characters in Evangelion continually struggle with interpersonal relationships, inner demons, and traumatic events from their past, creating a complex pattern of relationships. Anno describes the protagonist, Shinji Ikari, as a boy who "cringes at human contact", and who "is convinced that he is an absolutely unnecessary person, so much so that he cannot even commit suicide". He describes Shinji and Misato Katsuragi as "extremely afraid of being hurt" and "unsuitable—lacking a positive attitude—to be what people call heroes in this adventure". Compared to the stereotypical hero, Shinji is characterized more by lacking in energy and emotion than for possessing any type of heroism or bravery. Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Sōryū, the other protagonists, have similar deficiencies and difficulties in relating to other people.

According to Anno, Evangelion was an attempt to converge all perspectives of personality into one carried out by creating characters representing different concepts, which has forced viewers to theorize. about it. For some, the characters are psychological representations, while for others they are philosophical, religious, historical, or even representations of human nature itself. Apparently, the main goal was to present characters that reflected the deep depression and subsequent recovery that Anno experienced earlier. before starting work on Evangelion: each character reflects a part of his personality. However, the pessimistic nature of the series, as well as the rarely seen variety of problems its characters suffer, It has sparked curiosity as to why there is no true happiness in the configuration of the world. Deputy director Kazuya Tsurumaki said, "But when all was said and done, Hideaki Anno commented on Evangelion that it's a message to anime fans, including himself, and of course, me too. If a person who already lives and interacts with others normally sees him, he does not learn anything ».

The design of the characters by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, with his markedly realistic style, with very plastic features that allow to reflect the state of mind through the posture of the body and the expression of the face, has also contributed to the popularity of Evangelion. Sadamoto's attractive designs of the three main female characters, Asuka, Rei and Misato, have greatly increased the sale of merchandising —especially of Rei, the "Premium Girl"—, and have been immortalized in the dōjinshi community in garage kit models, and in the following animes.

• Shinji Ikari ( 。, Ikari Shinji^?)

The main protagonist of the series. He is a fourteen-year-old son of Gendō Rokubungi and Yui Ikari. His father abandoned him for unknown reasons at the age of four, but a decade later he meets with him again to force him to pilot the Evangelion 01 unit, giving him the title of Third Child. Shinji is a character whose torments make him physically and morally weak, passive, and extremely timid. His initiative to obey what they tell him will lead him to pilot EVA-01 despite the hatred he feels towards his father, but thanks to the characters that will enter his new life, Shinji will begin to accept himself as a person and make his own decisions. decisions. In the Japanese adaptation his seiyū is Megumi Ogata, while in the Spanish dubbing he is Albert Trifol Segarra, and in the Spanish-American dubbing he is Víctor Ugarte.

• Misato Katsuragi (城 English 城 English 城 城 城 English 城 城 城, Katsuragi Misato^?)

She was the sole survivor of the start of Second Impact in Antarctica. The strategic leader of NERV, Misato is an intelligent, determined, and courageous woman. Behind this personality she hides a forced but successful process of maturity that helps her understand many other characters and will lead her to discover the secrets of all of them. In the Japanese adaptation, her seiyū is Kotono Mitsuishi, while in the Spanish dubbing she is María Moscardó, and in the Spanish-American one she is Toni Rodríguez.

• Rei Ayanami (波 galvanizing, Ayanami Rei^?)

The first chosen one, commissioned to pilot the unit Evangelion 00 by order of Gendō Ikari. Rei is an enigmatic fourteen-year-old girl with an expressionless, hermetic and introverted personality, who hides all emotion and rarely utters a word. Her data on her childhood, family and origins are unknown; In addition, she bears a striking physical resemblance to Yui, Shinji's mother, making Rei's origin doubtful. During the series she and Shinji will slowly attract each other's sympathy, which will cause Rei to take initiatives and come to express himself in unexpected ways. In the Japanese adaptation of her, her seiyū is Megumi Hayashibara, while in the Spanish dubbing she is Joël Mulachs, and in the Spanish-American one she is Circe Luna.

Rei and Asuka school uniform.

• Asuka Langley Sōryū ( の・ンンンード ・, Sōryū Asuka Rangure^?)

Pilot of Evangelion Unit 02. Fourteen-year-old American national, with a quarter of Japanese origin and a quarter of German origin, both on his mother's side. Despite her nationality, her primary language is German, as she grew up in Germany, the manufacturing country of unit 02. She is defined as an energetic, emotional girl with the opposite temperament to Shinji and Rei: in contrast to them, she is independent, competitive and rebellious. Her dream is to propel herself into adulthood in an attempt to escape a dramatic childhood, which at times makes her seem like a strange and childish character.During the series, she has a complicated love/hate relationship with Shinji.. In the Japanese adaptation her seiyū is Yuko Miyamura, while in the Spanish dubbing she is Ana Pallejá, and in the Spanish-American one she is Norma Echevarría.

• Kaworu Nagisa ( , Nagisa Kaworu^?)

He is unexpectedly introduced as the Fifth Child at a hectic time late in the series. Kaworu is a young man born on the day of the Second Impact and who maintains a mysterious connection with the leaders of SEELE. In the only episode that he appears he will forge a deep emotional relationship with Shinji, whom he professes his love for. However, at the end of the episode, his identity as the last angel is revealed, with which Shinji must fight to give his all in a tragic ending. In the Japanese adaptation his seiyū is Akira Ishida, while in the Spanish dubbing he is Jordi Pons, and in the Spanish-American dubbing he is Ernesto Lezama.

• Gendō Ikari ( ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン ン, Ikari Gendō^?)

Commander of NERV, Shinji's father, and one of the creators of the Evangelion units, as well as the architect of the Human Complementation Project. He is a cautious and manipulative man, rarely showing emotion and tending to be considerate of others people as tools. According to other characters, he bears a certain emotional resemblance to Shinji, and is as estranged from his son as his son is from him. His birth name is Rokubungi, but he adopts the surname Ikari upon marrying Yui Ikari. In the Japanese adaptation his seiyū is Fumihiko Tachiki, while in the Spanish dubbing he is Juan Carlos Gustems, and in the Spanish-American dubbing he is Humberto Solórzano.

The EVAs

Another of the main features of Neon Genesis Evangelion are the biodroids called "EVA units", created for the series by Ikuto Yamashita. Its outward appearance is that of a gigantic combat robot —the typical manga and anime mechs—, but behind this image are hidden secrets that involve the origin of human beings and their relationship with angels. Although many EVAs are mentioned in the series, only three of them are shown in action for most of it:

• The Gospel Unit 00 (号, Zerogōki^?) is piloted by Rei Ayanami. This is a prototype unit, so its capabilities are less than the rest of the units. Its external colour is a combination of white and blue, although it was originally an orange and white—universal colours for the test units—the change was due to damage to its structural integrity and shielding in the battle against the angel Ramiel. His distinctive feature is his only eye on his face.

• The Gospel Unit 01 (◊, Shogōki^?) is the first to make his appearance when confronting the angel Sachiel. This unit was built in Japan, and its assigned pilot is the young Shinji Ikari. Its outer color is a combination of dark and green violet, and has two eyes in the shape of a slot on the face, as well as a horn in the middle of the forehead. It seems to possess certain hidden features of those that lack the rest of the units, such as the ability to continue working without having connected your umbilical cable thanks to a mode called Berserk. In the interior of unit 01 is the soul of Yui Ikari, the mother of Shinji, who was absorbed after reaching a level of synchronization greater than 400%, when beginning the activation experiments of unit 01.

• The Gospel Unit 02 (号, Nigōki^?) is assigned to pilot Asuka Langley Sōryū, also fourteen years old. It was built in the Third Branch of NERV in Germany, and is the first unit built outside Japan. The predominant color in his body is red, and on his face four eyes are appreciated. It was the first unit created exclusively for combat; after the construction of the EVA-02 there would be no more prototypes, the 02 would be the beginning of an era of mass construction of EVA. Inside is part of the soul of Kyoko, mother of Asuka. According to the series, films and video games, it is deduced that Kyoko's "maternal" part was absorbed in an experiment of "contact" with the EVA as Yui Ikari did, only that Kyoko could get out of it. However, he suffers from irreversible psychological damage manifested in a state of delusion and his subsequent suicide.

Angels

The main antagonists of the series are the angels, mysterious beings whose names and attributes come from angelology. They range in size from the gigantic to the microscopic, and there is no common shape for all of them. It is said that they are composed of a matter "with the property of both particle and wave", but that their genome is, in terms of arrangement and coordinates, 99.89% equal to that of humans. Their origin, but until well into the series, says that they are the progeny of Adam, the first angel, and that their goal is to reach the second, Lilith, who is in the depths of the Geofront. The exact reason for that desire is never revealed, although it is hinted that if any reach their goal the end of humanity would occur. The generic name of angels is originally shito (使徒, apostle^?), instead of the word for "angel" », which would be tenshi (天使, angel^?).

Origin and production

Gainax studios in Tokyo.

Production plans at the Gainax studio began in July 1993, running through 1996. Hideaki Anno worked as director, co-producer, co-designer and co-character writer with Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, as well as co-art director with Hiroshi Kato. Also participating were assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki, screenwriter Akio Satsukawa, and art designer Ikuto Yamashita, who created the EVA designs with Anno, while producers were Noriko Kobayashi and Yutaka Sugiyama. The animations were part of Studio Production I.G and Studio Ghibli, as well as Tokyo TV and Tatsunoko. In March 1992, Gainax had started planning and producing an anime film called Aoki Uru, that it was going to be a sequel to Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise set in a future located 50 years after the events of the first film; like the previous one, the sequel would continue with the plot of a group of fighter pilots. However, the budget was not sufficient for the proposed project, and as a result the studio ran into financial difficulties. When the project was finished in 1992—in the same month that Neon Genesis Evangelion was planned—the studio began to cut costs wherever possible. Then, in September 1994, Takami Akai's group of employees, who were working on the Princess Maker 2 video game, parted ways with the company and founded the firm AKAI.

Hideaki Anno had suffered from a severe depression in the period before the production of the series, which greatly influenced the content of the series. With the idea of a new production, Anno regained vitality, and from the basic theme From Aoki Uru, the concept of "no running away", Neon Genesis Evangelion was developed. The series was originally conceived as a distant sequel to Gainax's previous hit, Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, but the connections between the two had to be severed due to the copyright of Nadia being held by NHK, reverting to Evangelion an independent story. Initially it was proposed that, with Anno's ideas, the production should be attractive enough to increase the number of otaku in society. Therefore, the plot was conceived as a battle between humans and gods. At first, a female protagonist had been suggested, like previous studio productions such as Gunbuster or Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, planning a design similar to the later character of Asuka; but this idea was rejected due to its repeated use in the other productions, as well as because it was judged that a male lead would be more suitable as a fighter pilot. The idea that the souls of the deceased mothers of the pilots linger inside the EVAs was proposed by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto after he saw a television documentary on which he would later be inspired for the A-10 systems. With the early death of their mothers, the pilots would have undergone a very particular psychological development. Furthermore, Asuka and Shinji's relationship was inspired by Nadia and Jean's from Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, while Rei would be designed as a foil to Asuka. Originally, the series' plot was otherwise planned. The first episode would be a battle between Rei and an angel named Raziel, with Shinji not piloting and defeating him until EVA-00 was badly damaged. Although most of the following episodes followed the original concept, from episode 13 the script underwent several changes. The outcome would consist in the advent from the Moon of the last twelve Angels. Rei would be defeated and "her secret of hers would be revealed". When "approaching the promised time, when humanity returned to nothingness", and against the wishes of Gendō, the UN would decide to abandon the Human Complementation Project to focus on the destruction of the last angels. The characters would remain in the artificial evolution laboratory located deep within the Geofront, where they would search for the "ancient ruin and key to all, Aluka [perhaps Ark], the promised land". In the final episode, the lab would be destroyed and "all the secrets and dramas would be completed".

Hideaki Anno wanted the series to revitalize the anime genre and take a new direction. Shinji's character is Anno's own confirmation in a symbolic and non-literal sense. The director introduced, especially in the second part, much of himself; However, he stated that he did not like the comments about it.The script for the series was developed during the broadcast of the series, because only part of the conceptual plot had been approved. Thus, the evolution of Evangelion was influenced by fan feedback and Hideaki Anno's rethinking, as well as the lack of time that occurred towards the end of the series. The Sarin Gas Attack in the Tokyo subway perpetrated by the Aum sect caused that there could be several interpretations in Anno's work, so it was changed so that the parallels with reality were less evident. However, Anno commented that behind the incidents of the Aum sect and Neon Genesis Evangelion was the same problem of social differentiation between society and alienation. From episode 16, "On the brink of death and then...» (死に至る病、そして, Shi ni itaru yamai, soshite^?), the conception of the series was changed and the plot moved further and further away from the original project, since Hideaki Anno was not satisfied with the results of his work. a more critical direction, which was rejected by the fans. Anno insisted on the presence of sex scenes and an understanding of real life, since in this way the public, mostly young people, would be made aware of what what life would bring them. This was because in this period the director began to read books on psychology and mental illness. Intrigued, he wanted to show what happens in the human spirit. This time, Anno wanted to create and develop something new for the anime. According to director Kazuya Tsurumaki, episode 16 is the border between the two parts of the series: the first, action-packed, and the second, full of monologues. The second half caused tension in the team, since they were ignoring the original planning and therefore the time, which was short. Some of the officials wanted to stop production because it didn't seem possible to finish the series with enough quality. The last two episodes were not produced from the original script, but were redesigned.

Development

Hideaki Anno, creator of Gospeln.

Production on Aoki Uru would finally cease in July 1993: a full-length anime film was a bit beyond Gainax's financial capabilities, as many of its main sponsors had gone out of business. or produced insufficient amounts of money:

General Products has closed. He pulled us out of the Wonder Festival — a market for garage kits, that is, sets of collector figures of the series—and garage kit as a whole. We didn't have subcontracting work for anime production. We continue to play PC —Akai it's a sample of it—but there wasn't much work in our way. With a few cents in our pockets, it cost us enough to pay everyone's wages. Finally, we were ordered to stop production Aoki Uru. We were simply unable to carry the project beyond.

Yasuhiro Takeda

With the project's failure, Anno, who had originally planned to direct Aoki Uru, became inactive. However, he would soon manage to establish a collaboration agreement between King Records and Gainax while drinking with Toshimichi Otsuki, a representative of King, with King Records guaranteeing him solvency for a while, Anno set about making his next anime project a reality. Due to his enthusiasm for the elements of Aoki Uru , most of these were incorporated into the nascent Evangelion :

One of the key topics in Aoki Uru had been “not to flee”. In history, the main character faces the difficult task of saving heroin... He ran away from something in the past, so he decides he stays there this time. The same subject was taken to GospelBut I think it was more than the transposition of one theme show to another...

Yasuhiro Takeda

The original plot of Evangelion remained relatively stable through development, though some late episodes changed drastically from the fluid early conceptions; for example, there were originally 28 angels and not 17, and the climax would deal with the defeat of the final 12 and not the Human Complementation Project. Also, Kaworu Nagisa's appearance was changed from being a nondescript classmate of the pilots —that he would change into his "Angel form" to fight—accompanied by a cat to his final and current design, and various other similar changes. Sadamoto's manga publication caused problems for many publishers because they said that he was "too past fashion to succeed"; the stylized design of Evangelion's mecha, though praised for its modernity later, was initially frowned upon by some of the would-be mecha anime sponsors, mostly toy manufacturers, as being too difficult to manufacture —possibly on purpose—, and the designs for the Evangelion models were said to "never be sold". Sega eventually agreed to license all toy and video game sales. you.

The first episode of Evangelion aired on October 4, 1995, much later than anticipated. His fame grew slowly, largely through word of mouth. Episode 16 marked a shift that characterizes the second half of Evangelion as more psychological than action-adventure. This shift in emphasis is partly due to the development of the story, but also because from from this moment the production had begun to run out of time due to not meeting the schedule. This collapse was identified by the deputy director of Gainax, who explains why the series turned to metafiction:

I don't care. The calendar was a total disaster and the number of cells collapsed, so there were some parts where unfortunately the quality suffered. However, the tension of the staff, since everything became more desperate and frantically, certainly appeared in the film... By the time the production system was completely falling to pieces, there were some opinions that if we cannot do a satisfactory job, then what is the point of continuing? However, I didn't feel that way. My opinion was “Why don’t we show them the complete process, including our distribution?”

Kazuya Tsurumaki

However, episode 18 rather felt that EVA-01's violent outburst during it was "rejectable for being inappropriate in an anime show that was watched by children", and episode 20 was similarly criticized for indirectly showing Misato and Kaji having sex. With this popularity came the first merchandising : "Genesis 0:1", VHS containing the first two episodes. Although the series celebrated its end on March 27, 1996 with its last episode, the story apparently remains unfinished: it is not defined whether Third Impact and the Human Complementation Project have begun or ended, as the episodes focus mainly on psychology. of the characters, leaving very little clear what really happens. The radically different and experimental style of the last two episodes left many fans confused and gave rise to debate and analysis, both academically and informally; even a leading publication such as the Mainichi Times would comment that «when episode 25 first aired, almost all viewers felt betrayed... When commentator Eiji Otsuka sent a letter to Yomiuri Shimbun complaining about the end of the series Evangelion, the debate was national".

Theme and style

Title of an episode of Gospel, highlighting the use of white text on black background.

Gospel It's like a puzzle. Anyone can see it and find their own answers. In other words, it allows to think for itself, so that each one creates his own world. You'll never get all the answers, even in movies. Many Gospel fans have the hope that a lot of book will be released. All about GospelBut that won't happen. Do not wait for others to give you the answer to your questions, to put it all in front of you. We all have our own answers.

Hideaki Anno

Apart from the apparently dominant theme of the fight between NERV and the angels, other themes in the series are the fear of change and technology, as well as the relationship between it and man, as well as the abuse of science In addition, the series shows Shinji Ikari's inner growth and search for identity, with the EVA being his own representation and the angels the problems he must face. The characters suffer physical and psychological damage, being the EVAs representations of protection.

Outwardly, the series is heavily influenced by 1970s mecha anime, a genre of which Anno was a great fan. The second half of the series increases the work with white text on a black background, a method previously used by Jean-Luc Godard. This text connects well with the mood of the characters, especially with Shinji; Furthermore, it is especially used in the last two episodes of the series. Unlike the anime films Akira and Ghost in the Shell, which were also released around that time, Neon Genesis Evangelion does not have detailed images, used to give more information, but quick cutscenes. However, in other scenes complex images are used, as well as others in which a fixed image is shown for a long time, or with slow movements in one direction. As for the animation technology, like all the creations of Gainax, Evangelion was produced with limited animation. This is used by Hideaki Anno in scenes where an object is moving against the background in order to achieve a sense of depth. In the latter part of the series, especially the last two episodes, simple image, text and image sequences are frequently used. The cuts are deliberately fast or slow. These two chapters are devoid of the usual style of the series, and are described by Japanese critics Eiji Otsuka and Tetsuya Miyazaki as "mental purification" or "psychotherapy".

Inspiration and symbolism

Evangelion is full of allusions to motherhood, biology, military, religious, and psychological concepts, as well as numerous homages and references to other anime series. For example, the basic plot of this work had been seen in others, such as Space Battleship Yamato, a trend that earned it the nickname "remixed anime". This trend of Anno's has been criticized. as plagiarism. However, Anno has defended himself by denying the possibility of creating an entirely original work without references to another:

There is no longer room for absolute originality in the field of anime, especially considering that our generation grew under massive amounts of anime. All stories bring with them an inevitable sensation of déjà vu. The only open expression for us is a collage of existing works.

Hideaki Anno

People who make anime and people who see it want to see the same things. The creators have been making the same story for 10 years, the viewers seem to be satisfied and there is no sense of urgency. There's no future in that.

Hideaki Anno

Regardless, Anno seemed to hope to reinvigorate the anime genre—seen as lifeless and dying in the early 1990s—and restore originality by creating a new anime. This desire was also the reason why Anno wanted to create Rebuild of Evangelion:

Many different desires encourage us to create a new film Gospel[...] The desire to fight against the continuing trend of stagnation in anime. The desire to support the strength of the heart that exists in the world. [...] Many times we wonder, “It is a 10-year-old title. Why now?" «Eva It's too old," we feel. However, in the past 12 years there has been no more recent anime than Eva.

Hideaki Anno

Interpretation of symbols and concepts varies from individual to individual, it is unclear how many are intentional or significant, nor if limited to design elements or coincidences. Anno himself said "it can be fun if someone with free time investigates it". References to historical events are also made. The First Impact, for example, is based on the impact of a meteorite that produced the creation of the natural satellite of the Earth; for their part, the individual attacks of the angels have been interpreted as a reference to the Pacific war, seen from the Japanese point of view. Many character names come from Japanese warships of this era, such as the Sōryū, the Akagi and Katsuragi, although written with different kanjis with the same pronunciation. Other character names refer to works of fiction, such as the names of two characters in Ryu Murakami's novel Ai to Genso no Fascism: Kensuke Aida and Tōji Suzuhara. There are homages to various classics from science fiction. The title of the last episode, "The Beast That Screamed For Love From The Center Of The World", is taken from Harlan Ellison's short story The Beast That Screamed Love At The Heart Of The Universe, while the uniform by Gendō Ikari is a reference to Space Battleship Yamato, another famous anime series. Additionally, Anno was influenced by Devilman (Go Nagai), Mobile Suit Gundam and Space Runaway Ideon (Yoshiyuki Tomino). of commander and subordinate between Gendō and Fuyutsuki was taken from the television series UFO.

Psychological and psychoanalytic theory

Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis.

Evangelion has long been regarded as a deeply personal expression of Hideaki Anno's inner struggle. From its inception, Evangelion invokes many psychological themes, whether either through phrases used in the episodes, episode titles, or background music names, which are often derived from Sigmund Freud, and possibly with some general Lacanian influences. Examples include " Thanatos", "Oral Stage", "Separation Anxiety" and "Mother is the first Other". The landscape and buildings of Tokyo-3 seem loaded with psychological importance, even in the first episode. Likewise, the hedgehog's dilemma, a concept described by the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and later adopted by Freud, is the subtitle of the fourth episode. and is mentioned by Dr. Akagi to describe Shinji Ikari and Misato's relationship. Later in the same episode, Misato accepts Shinji's departure as the best thing for him, since his closeness only brings them pain. For their part, the personalities of the three main characters evoke various mental pathologies: Shinji has an oral personality, Rei schizophrenia, and Asuka narcissistic personality disorder.

Many of the characters have deep psychological traumas in relation to their parents. Shinji's introversion and social anxiety stem from his mother's death at a young age and his father's abandonment. Asuka Langley was the target of her mother's madness, and she herself discovered her corpse hanged from her; Her tough and intimidating personality is a way of distracting herself from her pain, and she has made piloting Unit 02 her only source of pride and satisfaction. Misato's father neglected her when she was a child; after he died on Second Impact, she stopped speaking for two years. In episode 15 Misato states that Ryōji Kaji is partly attracted to her because she reminds him of her father. In fact, the last two episodes are "deprived of the high-tech and colorful visuals that characterized the previous episodes of the series; these last two chapters take place primarily in subdued tones. [...] A form of interrogation is carried out by Shinji asking himself—or is prompted by an invisible voice—psychological probing questions." Questions get unexpected answers, particularly those that have to do with Shinji's motivation for piloting the EVA: he feels worthless and fearful of others—especially his father—if he isn't piloting the EVA.

Asuka Langley and Rei Ayanami also show deep introspection and consideration into their psyche. Asuka comes to the conclusion that her entire being is in piloting the EVA and that without it she has no personal identity: "I'm trash... No one needs a pilot who can't control their own EVA." series shows a very limited amount of emotions, reveals that he has an inclination towards death: «I am happy. Because I want to die, I want to go back to nothing." In episode 25 Shinji and Asuka show that they suffered from similar pasts and found different ways to get over it. This is established in Shinji when he states that he cannot live without his EVA, but later denies that idea in the last episode. Through the events of the series, Shinji's immersion inside his EVA constitutes a sort of "return to the womb" Shinji's estranged relationship with his father Gendō and his attraction to Rei, a clone of his own mother Yui, are modeled on the Oedipus complex postulated by Freud. All of this makes Evangelion in a receptacle of multiple Oedipal influences, represented by his feelings of love and hate towards his father figures. The last episode, in which the young man concludes his reflections with "To my father, thank you" and "To my mother, goodbye", thus constitutes a reconciliation of Shinji with these figures, symbolizing that he has reached an understanding with his father and emerged from his former maternal dependency.

Religion

The Sefirot appears in this series as the Tree of Life, along with many other references to the cabal.

In addition to psychological and philosophical influences, Evangelion also abounds in allusions to religions exotic to Japan, such as Judaism and Christianity, which play a central role. This characterization was due to a attempt to make the series more interesting and engaging. An example of these references is that the knowledge of the SEELE organization is based on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Kabbalah elements are also used, such as the Sefirot and the tree of life. The angels are a reference to the angels of the Old Testament, based largely on angelology. The Spear of Longinus is reminiscent of the Holy Lance, with which Longinus pierced the side of Jesus on the cross; however, according to Patrick Drazen the spear has other meanings as well, being the spear used by the Shinto gods Izanagi and Izanami to create the world. Through Drazen, the characters Shinji, Asuka and Rei can be seen as the embodiment of the gods Susanoo, Uzume and Amaterasu: Shinji, like Susanoo, is not accepted by his environment; Asuka is like Uzume, proud and fierce; while Rei, like Amaterasu, is "born" again.

In the series there is a ghost company called the Marduk Institute, which refers to the main god of the Babylonian religion; the company has 108 branches, the same number of sins of Buddhism. On the other hand, the shape of the EVAs is reminiscent of the onis of Japanese mythology, as well as their attributes. In episode 9, Asuka describes the sliding door between her and Shinji as "the wall of Jericho”, which in the Book of Joshua was an impenetrable wall that was demolished by the armies of Israel when the trumpets of Yahweh sounded. Likewise, the entire scene in which Asuka divides the space of the room between herself and Shinji is also a reference to the Clark Gable film It Happened One Night. The MAGI supercomputers are named Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar, names traditionally given to the wise men who visited Jesus in Bethlehem. Deputy director Kazuya Tsurumaki said that originally only Judeo-Christian symbology was used in order to attract a larger audience than its mecha genre competitors, and therefore might not have a single meaning, Hiroki Sato, head of Gainax's Public Relations Department, made similar statements. The explosions caused by the angels' attacks have a shape similar to the Christian cross.

Allusions

Neon Genesis Evangelion, and especially the Human Complementation Project, appears to be heavily influenced by Arthur C. Clarke's novel Childhood's End, made which Anno has acknowledged. Evangelion also shows influences from science fiction author Paul Linebarger, known by his pen name Cordwainer Smith. Other fictional allusions are the work of Philip K. Dick The Divine Invasion and the television series The Prisoner, Thunderbirds, Ultra Seven, UFO, The Andromeda Strain, and even The Hitcher. The existential themes of individuality, consciousness, freedom, choice and responsibility are very much shown throughout the series, especially through the philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre and Søren Kierkegaard. The title of episode 16, "Near Death and Later, Deadly Illness" (死に至る病、そして, Shi ni itaru yamai, soshite^?) is a reference to this work. The Human Complementation Project may be inspired by the philosophy of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.

Content of the work

Anime

The Evangelion anime was directed by Hideaki Anno, animated by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and produced by Japanese companies NAS and TV Tokyo. It began airing in Japan on October 4, 1995 until its end on March 27, 1996, with a total of 26 episodes of about 25 minutes each.

The series has also been released in DVD format. The Spanish version of these DVDs was distributed by Selecta Visión in Spain. The series was later re-released under the name Renewal of Evangelion in nine videos in DVD format, which were released separately from March 26, 2003 to October 22, 2003. A box-set, including all videos except the first DVD, was released on June 25, 2003. The differences with the original version are in the remastering of sound and images. Now the sound is in Dolby 5.1 format. New sounds and some dialogue have been added, as well as improvements to the color and sharpness of the images. Contains both episodes 21 to 24 and 21' to 24' -that is, the episodes with the scenes called "Director's Cut"-, although with respect to 23, the images of the scene of Ritsuko Akagi speaking in front of the clones of Rei Ayanami in the dummy system facilities have been omitted.

The Spanish dubbing of the anime was made in three different versions, two in Mexico for Latin America and another in Spain. The dubbing in Spain was made at the Q.T: Lever studios, while it was broadcast by AXN, Buzz and Cuatro. In Latin America, the dubbing was done by Román Sound for the first version and by New Art Dubb for the Renewal version. The first was supervised and premiered by Locomotion, which would later be distributed in the Latin American region by Xystus and broadcast by other television channels such as I.Sat, and the second was broadcast by Animax. Other networks that have broadcast it have been Adult Swim —United States—, as well as Animax —Hungary, Hong Kong, Portugal—, Sci Fi, among others. At the end of 2018, Netflix announced the acquisition of the worldwide broadcast rights of the series and the films Evangelion: Death (True)² and The End of Evangelion, which due to licensing issues, would have a new dubbing for each region. The premiere took place on June 21, 2019, and the version added to the catalog of said platform was Renewal of Evangelion. Due to rights issues, the ending theme "Fly Me to the Moon" was replaced with "Rei I" from the series' soundtrack.

Manga

The Neon Genesis Evangelion manga was created by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, who was in charge of designing the characters for the anime. He published the manga in Kadokawa Shoten, with its first appearance in Shōnen Ace magazine in December 1994; it was published before the anime to increase public interest. In 2008, it was announced that it would go on to Kadokawa's magazine Young Ace. This manga does not follow the events of the series faithfully, but is a second interpretation of the story. Given the ability to narrate the story in a manga format, Sadamoto chose to change several aspects of development. He thus created a large number of new or very different scenes and gave clearer and more direct explanations to enigmas that could only be inferred in the anime. The cover was printed in Mexico with the Evangelion logo, and with the name written in English in the United States. The publication of this manga in Argentina is in charge of the Ivrea publishing house, in Mexico by Grupo Editorial Vid and in Spain by Norma Editorial.

In addition to Sadamoto's manga, Evangelion has seen three others released. The first was Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days by Fumino Hayashi, published in 2003 and completed in 2005, and based on the video game Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel 2nd. Two years later it was followed by Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Raising Project, created by Osamu Takahashi and also based on a video game of the same name. Then, in 2007, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Gakuen Datenroku was published, written by Ming Ming and finished in 2009; This manga uses a large part of the characters and concepts of Evangelion in a different theme than the anime.

Movies

Death and Rebirth

Death and Rebirth is the first film in the franchise and was released in theaters in Japan on March 19, 1997. The film consists of two sections: Death, which is a recap of the series that revolves around a string concert with Shinji, Asuka, Rei and Kaworu where scenes from the series relating to each character are shown; and Rebirth, an all-new animation that makes up the first part of his new ending. Due to lack of time, this part was not fully finished at the time of release, and only the first 27 minutes out of a total of 40 were released. The End of Evangelion, the second film, contains the 40 minutes corresponding to Rebirth. This film had two reissues released later called Death (True) and Death (True)² —the latter included in Revival of Evangelion— that they contained some redrawn scenes.

The End of Evangelion

This is the second Evangelion film, which was released in theaters on July 19, 1997. Its name was originally going to be Evangelion: Rebirth II, but it was decided to finally leave it in The End of Evangelion. It is made up of two parts: Air and Magakoro wo, kimi ni, also known as the 25' episodes. and 26', since they would become the counterpart of the original episodes 25 and 26. There are two versions of this film, film and video. The release of the video edition included two compilations called Genesis 0:13 and Genesis 0:14, in which chapters 25 and 25 were included.; and 26 and 26', respectively. The film and video versions have minor differences in the ending of the Air episode, such as the inclusion of credits or a trailer for the next part of the film.

Revival of Evangelion

Revival of Evangelion is the unification of the first two films, with video and sound remastering. It was released only in Japan in March 1998 in video format and is considered as the ending that Gainax wanted for Evangelion and for different reasons could not achieve. Revival of Evangelion consists of Death (True)² and The End of Evangelion; the Rebirth part of Death and Rebirth is removed and remains as a definitive part of The End of Evangelion.

Rebuild of Evangelion

On September 1, 2007, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone was released, the first film in the tetralogy called Rebuild of Evangelion, an expression in English of "Reconstruction of Evangelion". This time the production was carried out by Studio Khara in collaboration with Gainax. Khara is Hideaki Anno's new studio, for which he has managed to recruit much of the original staff that produced the series at Gainax.

Rebuild of Evangelion, originally considered a remake of the series, uses the story elements narrated in the anime, but leaves out the psychological themes a little to focus more on the action and thus attract the attention of casual viewers. It consists of the following films:

• Gospeln: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, relatively faithful adaptation of the first six episodes. However, it has totally new scenes and takes advantage of recent advances in computer animation.

• Gospeln: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, premiered on June 27, 2009 with new EVA, Angels and characters. Because of this, it's been let in between Rebuild of Gospeln It's not a remake of the series, but an alternative story.

• Gospeln: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, came to the Japanese cinemas on November 17, 2012. It happens 14 years after events 2.0; contains a totally new script with little attachment to the original series.

• Gospeln: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Timethe fourth and last saga film Rebuild. It was released on March 8, 2021, after several years of delay and speculation about its launch. It generated 800 million yen on its first day of exhibition in Japan, according to the Khara study, which amounts to USD 7 million. By May of that year it had become the most paid film of Anno, with 8.28 billion yen generated in box office, equal to 75 million USD.

Live Action Film

The development of a live-action film of Evangelion, long anticipated by the fan community, was announced at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2003 by Gainax, Weta Workshop Ltd and ADV Films—then the main distributor of the series outside of Asia and Australia. Early reports of the project said that ADV was raising "half of the $100 to $120 million needed to produce the film", and that Weta had begun drawing concept art.

As the years passed, however, the project began to show signs of difficulties in its development. At Anime Expo 2008, ADV founders Matt Greenfield and John Ledford revealed that they had hired John Woo as producer, after considering other names such as Jerry Bruckheimer and Steven Spielberg, and that the production had garnered interest thanks to its premiere. of Transformers in 2007. At Ohayocon in 2009, Matt Greenfield announced that several US studios were competing for the rights to the project, promising to officially announce the members of the production team in nine months. Although the sudden collapse and subsequent sale of AD Vision in September 2009 raised questions about the viability of the project, Greenfield, Ledford, and producer Joseph Chou insisted that it was still going, and that they were looking for a director. In August 2011, AD Vision sued Gainax on the grounds that its refusal to accept a payment option for the rights to the film Evangelion was a breach of the contra to and that they had lost the opportunity to produce the film with a major studio as a result.

Video Games

The first game in the series, Neon Genesis Evangelion: 1st Impression, was released for the Sega Saturn on March 1, 1996, shortly after Evangelion first aired. >. Set after the eighth episode, it featured an original story from the series, with an RPG dynamic and videos featuring the voices of Evangelion. A year later, a sequel called Neon was released. Genesis Evangelion: 2nd Impression, from the same production company and with a similar structure. Later, in 1998, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel was released, whose story originated with the appearance of the Jet Alone in the series, complete with new characters and stories. Several other games with a wide range of themes were released afterwards, such as Secret of Evangelion and Evangelion: Battle Orchestra. That same year, the Neon Genesis Evangelion video game was released for the Nintendo 64, which was only released in Japan. In 2003, Gainax released a visual novel called Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel 2nd, which explored the alternate universe seen in episode 26 in a romantic comedy theme. This game had its own manga adaptation by Fumino Hayashi, known as Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days.

Soundtrack

Several albums of background music from the anime and films have been released, composed almost entirely by Shirō Sagisu, who received the 1997 Kobe Animation Award for "Best Soundtrack" for the three OST albums of the television series. One of the highlights is the series' opening theme, "Zankoku na Tenshi no These" (残酷な天使のテーゼ, Zankoku na Tenshi no Tēze^?, lit. Thesis of a cruel angel) , by Neko Oikawa, Hidetoshi Satou, and Yōko Takahashi. Equally famous is its ending theme, "Fly Me to the Moon" originally by Bart Howard, which is performed by different voice actresses from the series and whose main version is performed by Claire Littley, changing depending on the episode. Three soundtrack albums of the series were released, the third volume of which brought Sagisu the Kobe Animation award for best musical work of 1997. Several albums were also produced after the anime ended: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Addition and various other studio albums; a series of four albums called Neon Genesis Evangelion Classical containing classical music by Beethoven, Verdi and Bach, among others; and compilations such as Neon Genesis Evangelion Decade. The two films that followed featured various well-known pieces of classical music, the anime's own themes, as well as new compositions by Sagisu and vocal singles.

In Death the pilots gather for musical practice, while Shinji waits, he plays part of the prelude to Solo Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007, then Asuka arrives and begins the third movement of Partita for Solo Violin No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006, and as soon as they're done, they all play Canon for string quartet. Strings by Johann Pachelbel. In a game with ambient tension, peaceful works of classical music are interrupted by "memories" of great existential angst. Like chapter 24, part of the fourth movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 is heard after the last angel is revealed; then the climax relaxes violently and gives way to calm credits with Canon for string orchestra. In turn, Rebirth ends with "Tamashii no Refrain" (魂のルフラン, Tamashii no Rufuran^?, lit. Chorus of the Soul) by singer Yoko Takahashi.

Among the pieces from The End of Evangelion are the Air movement from Suite for Orchestra No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068 and Jesus, Joy of Men for piano, while tracks like "Manatsu no Shuen" and "Huan to no Mitsugetsu" exacerbate the tension. The orchestral theme "Heisoku no Kakudai" stands out in the denouement of the film. It featured the English songs "Thanatos (If I Can't Be Yours)" (Thanatos [Si no puedo ser tuya]) with vocals by Loren & Mash in the credits of Air and after Magakoro wo, kimi ni and “Komm, süsser Tod” (Come, sweet death in German; perhaps a reference to Bach's piece of the same name), for piano, Hammond organ and orchestra with Arianne performing accompanied by choral sections. The latter was used during Third Impact, and its lyrics, created by Anno and adapted into English by Mike Wyzgowski, reveal Shinji's desire to return to nothing. Its sound has a certain resemblance to "Hey Jude" by The Beatles. As usual Sagisu was in charge of the background music for Rebuild of Evangelion, arranging the anime's themes and composing new ones. In Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone he and Toshimichi Otsuki arranged the anime's themes for performance by the London Studio Orchestra, the climax of which corresponds to the unpublished choral "Angels of Doom". In the following two installments, tracks for orchestra predominate, accompanied by a strident choir, in the manner of a choral symphony and imitating the denouement of the Ninth. In Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance stand out "The Final Decision We All Must Take" and "Tsubasa wo kudasai", composed by Kunihiko Murai and performed by Megumi Hayashibara. "Gods Message" and "From Beethoven 9" followed suit on Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo. For her part, Utada Hikaru interprets the closing themes of all installments, in sequential order: «Beautiful World», «Beautiful World -PLANiTb Acoustica Mix-» and «Sakura Nagashi» (桜流, "Sakura Nagashi"^?).

Drama

A humorous drama called «After the End» (終曲の続き, Shūkyoku no Tsudzuki ^?) was released on December 12, 1996 as the second track on the soundtrack album Neon Genesis Evangelion: Addition. 23 minutes long, written and directed by Anno, the story reflects the deliberations of the seiyuu of the characters of Evangelion, after being brought together to "extend the series due to its unexpected popularity". Panic spreads when he finds out that the recording must be ready for the night of that same day; In desperation, they brainstorm changes to increase their popularity, which lead to various failed scenes.

Kensuke proposes to bring Kaworu back. Asuka, who didn't know him until then, greets him by calling him a "homo boy", to which he responds by berating her for calling him such without evidence, offending her in turn and provoking her anger. Asuka thinks that the mistake of the series was to have chosen the wrong protagonist: she reproaches Shinji for being so evasive, since he hasn't even said a word since they started, and for apologizing without really feeling it just to escape his problems.. She then accuses Rei of being melancholy personified of her and of having an unjustified charisma, because according to her, she only stands silently in the corner of fame, and barely speaks, with repetitive and submissive phrases like a doll. The rest of her clarifies that Rei is the most popular in the polls and they decide to leave her unchanged. For their part, the high command of NERV agree that the nature and purposes of the angels were never clear and no one seemed to understand them, so they decide to elucidate the mystery and allow it to be presented openly: an evil Martian general leads a legion of " BlackGod-ians" in order to destroy humans.

The discord continues and time is running out, so they finally decide to produce a "sound only anime" so they don't have to pay cartoonists and make more money. This concept consists of a parody of the first episode, a blackout and special effects and a cappella background music. Shortly after the live broadcast began, the audience's reaction was so adverse that, embarrassed, they decided to cut the broadcast of "episode 27".

Supplementary Books

• Newtype 100% Collection: a compilation of articles on Gospel of the magazine Newtype in 1997, particularly of visual art of the series.
• Pamphlets Death " Rebirth and End of Gospeln: Limited edition supplementary information books that were distributed in Japan's cinemas during the premiere of both films. The second of them, nicknamed "Red Cross Book» by the Anglo-speaking fans, it contains descriptions and definitions of areas and terms of the series.
• Der Mond and Die Sterne: two artbooks created by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto that include conceptual art, character designs and commentary on the series. They also contain a selection of Sadamoto's works, such as Fushigi no Umi no Nadia and Fatal Fury 2.
• 2015//The Last Year of Ryohji Kaji: A limited edition of the magazine Newtype published in 1997, containing 16 "documents" on the Ryōji Kaji character belonging to the series. These include letters, notes and poems written by Hiroshi Yamaguchi—old screenwriter Gospel— and photographs created by Ichiro Kamei.
• Groundwork of Gospeln: is a group of artbooks containing production designs. The first three cover the anime, and the rest the film The End of Gospeln and the first two deliveries Rebuild of Gospeln.

Others

The franchise has also spawned the production of various games, such as pachinko versions such as CR Neon Genesis Evangelion, CR Neon Genesis Evangelion Second Impact, CR Neon Genesis Evangelion —Kiseki no Kachi wa—; or pachisuro games, such as Neon Genesis Evangelion. On the other hand, on July 22, 2012, the Fuji-Q Highland amusement park opened a section dedicated to Evangelion, including a full-scale representation of an entry plug, a three-headed Spear of Longinus meters, a reproduction of the NERV facilities, the SEELE monoliths, a statue of Mari Illustrious Makinami and a life-size bust of unit 01. In 2011 Fuji-Q Highland declared the intention to make another bust of Rebuild unit 02, which was never realized.

Reception

Reactions

Cosplayers Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley.

The series attracted enormous attention from the Japanese public, even more than Bandai's series Gundam Wing, which was the biggest exponent of anime on TV at the time. The dōjinshi of Evangelion became the most popular in the Japanese market. 800 million videos and merchandising items were sold in Japan alone, earning more than of 400 million US dollars. Likewise, the last episode of the series was watched by more than 10 million people. Series" in 1995, an award from Animage magazine. This award was given to the series in 1996 with a whopping 2,853 votes, compared to 903 votes for the second-placed series. The series also he won first place in 1997 and stayed there for several years, until Code Geass finally took it from him in 2006. Character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto commented that the success was probably due to the fact that Evangelion was simply what people were looking for. According to Lawrence Eng, it is also due to the well-thought-out mix of genres in the series.

Hideaki Anno was heavily criticized at the end of the series by fans, who said that he had ruined Evangelion in its last chapters. However, Anno defended the ending as it was and was displeased that the studio's work was not recognized, although he stated that he was somewhat disappointed that the anime revolution he expected had not occurred. It was also speculated that the ending of the series had been censored, but this was denied by the production team. In several interviews after the series' conclusion, Anno stated that anime fans needed to "have more respect for themselves" and "get back to reality".. He also noted that "social media is the graffiti on bathroom walls". After the airing of its first half, Evangelion was declared the best anime since Mobile Suit Gundam. Later, the series would be selected by a group of Japanese critics, among which was Noboru Ishiguro, as one of the four pillars of anime. This was decided according to the criteria of innovation, evaluation of the impact on the audience and financial success of the series. In October 2006, through a poll conducted by the Japan Media Arts Festival attended by 80,000 fans, Evangelion was named the best anime of all time. Shortly after, TV Asahi aired a list of the top 100 anime of all time according to an online survey of Japanese viewers, with Evangelion ranking second, after Fullmetal Alchemist.

Interpretations

Japanese cultural critic Hiroki Azuma highlighted angel figures as the embodiment of irrational fear, and Rei as the embodiment of the coldness of modern science, especially in the field of laboratories. This is substantial in the context of the series, where unjustified fear and the coldness of science play an important role. Thus, the series shows various social problems with these characteristics. According to Azuma, Evangelion meant a renaissance for anime; Anno had surpassed the norms established in his era, and had revealed a completely different direction. In fact, in the Anno series there is also a death and rebirth. Other critics have pointed out, among other things, that the angels are interpreted as father figures, while the EVAs are identified as maternal, due to the presence of the mothers. of Shinji and Asuka inside them. The pilots' immersion in LCL within the EVAs is seen as an allegory of pregnancy and childbirth when compared to the aforementioned motherly figure of the EVAs.

Impact

Gospeln RT Test Type-01 Apple Shiden, a racing car inspired by the Eva-01.

Some see the series as a major turning point in the history of anime and otaku culture, although this view is not universally accepted. Hideaki Anno continued to use various techniques employed in Neon Genesis Evangelion, such as the montage of images and text, in his subsequent works, such as the 1998 television series Kareshi Kanojo no Jijo and the 1999 film Love and Pop. Also, composer Shiro Sagisu used pieces of his work on Evangelion for other series, such as Bayside Shakedown . Compared to the Gainax studio, which was experiencing financial difficulties, the success of Evangelion brought a stable income through the sale of merchandising.

Several books have been published in Japan providing basic information about the series, its architecture and engineering, or its design and psychological background. In addition, a series of dōjinshis and adaptations by other artists have been published. Literary critic Hiroki Azuma described the effect of Evangelion as a shock to anime fans, as well as the rest of the spectators. Neon Genesis Evangelion went beyond the previous series and produced a great event. Azuma attributed the success to high-quality and detailed animation, as well as the fact that the series highlights various social issues. Anno used a series of new storytelling techniques that gave the anime, which was, according to Azuma, in an infertile context, a new impetus. The quality of the action also launched Hideaki Anno's authorship prowess to fame. According to Azuma, the arrival of Neon Genesis Evangelion in 1995 produced a split in the anime industry. Thereafter, Evangelion remained unbeaten in this divisive role for ten years. The series contributed to increased interest in anime by adult audiences; furthermore, it caused fans who had distanced themselves from anime in the early 1990s to regain their interest. In Japan, the rise of the series originated and inspired the creation of other anime, such as Blue Submarine No. 6, Kidō Senkan Nadeshiko and Gasaraki. In short, Evangelion produced growth in the anime industry. In 2020, the Japanese government minted a series of commemorative coins to mark the 25th anniversary of the series.

Impact in the United States

The series was very successful in the United States and is still well known in fan circles in that country. According to Manga Entertainment, the series breaks the tradition of already existing stories in anime, and thus opens up new ones. gender possibilities. For them, Hideaki Anno revolutionized the mecha genre and brought it out of a so-called "psychological paralysis". The large number of fans in Japan demonstrates the importance of the work. The series has contributed significantly to the increase in airing of anime in the United States. Susan J. Napier stated that Evangelion, along with Princess Mononoke and Ghost in the Shell, gives a very intellectual image about the anime. The series is compatible with other anime works oriented towards an adult audience in the 1990s. Evangelion is defined as a deconstruction of the mecha genre, due to characteristics such as the young protagonist, evil enemies and a near future with high technology that leaves the viewer confused. Thus, already in Shinji's first fight against an angel an unusual scary mechanic is shown: the combat is not a visual spectacle, since it has a simple decoration, and Shinji does not use high-tech weapons, but basically a big knife. The final result disappointed many viewers due to the lack of action and effects, however the scenes offer a psychoanalysis of the main character, Shinji Ikari, as well as a personal and psychological background. During the series, scenes with little action take on a special meaning, that of supporting the psychological part of the plot.

Cultural influence

In the anime

From the period of 1984 until the creation of Evangelion, the most acclaimed anime had a style, in a certain way, far from the usual in the genre. For example, Hayao Miyazaki's work on My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and other works were the key works, while Akira (1988) was based on the style of the American comics. To all this, director Mamoru Oshii said that, in the words of Hiroki Azuma, "nobody wanted to see simple anime". Evangelion, however, shows the reversal of this trend.

Just as Evangelion was influenced by other works, this one has become a staple in Japanese fiction. The nature of the series marked a milestone for its psychological and sophisticated sense, which was picked up by other anime, such as Shōjo Kakumei Utena (1997) which, like Evangelion, focuses on a changed world that could ensue. The anime Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō (1998) was also directed by Hideaki Anno, using the same ripping-apart techniques —alternating real world photography with animated images— and portrayed psychological conflicts in the same way, although the different cinematic devices date back to works prior to Evangelion, for example, the works of Osamu Tezuka. Neon Genesis Evangelion it also radically changed the style of the classic giant mecha robots of the Japanese genre of the same name. Previously, as in Mazinger Z, Kotetsu Jeeg, Mobile Suit Gundam and other series from the 1970s and 1980s, robots were presented as suits. "heavy" mechanics. Evangelion introduced their swift and graceful EVAs as giant organic humanoids, making a striking contrast to mecha designs of the past. In fact, the style established and created by Evangelion has become more common since its release, though series like The King of Braves GaoGaiGar stick with the old style. RahXephon, a program with designs inspired by 1970s mecha, was compared to Evangelion by many English-speaking respondents. As a result, Evangelion is generally considered a vital part of the science fiction genre, for its psychological struggle and metaphysical symbolism.

In popular culture

Eva-01 Statue, Shanghai.

Neon Genesis Evangelion has been frequently parodied and explicitly referenced in various other anime, video games, and popular culture series. For example, in the anime Keroro Gunso countless parodies of Evangelion are made, since its author, Mine Yoshizaki, was the creator of the commemorative figures for the tenth anniversary of Gainax, Angel Chromosome XX. On the web, numerous webcomics, such as Punks and Nerds, offer tributes to Evangelion. Anno himself made a parody of Evangelion, including in the soundtrack of the series an audio drama called "After of the End", where characters and producers meet and talk, happily breaking the fourth wall, about producing another episode.

Evangelion has also been mentioned in popular culture in the United States. In the 2002 film Portraits of an Obsession, starring Robin Williams, Dylan Smith's character tells his father to buy him the Eva Series action figure, and Williams' character gives it to him. free later. The toy was part of the personal collection of Williams, who stated that he was a fan of the series. Also, in one of Gwyneth Paltrow's newsletters on the The Huffington Post website, director Wes Anderson ranked Neon Genesis Evangelion in the "top 5" of their favorite entertainment, while IGN ranked it tenth on the "Top 100 Animated Series" list of January 2009, being the highest anime on the list. In the 2008 film The Day the Earth Stood Still an action figure of Unit 01 can be seen Jacob's room. Several EVA action figures can also be seen in Michael's son's room in the movie Michael Clayton. The creations of Evangelion fans have ranged from reinterpretations of a scene to plot extensions through fanfictions, such as "Evangelion: Redeath" or "Reprise of Evangelion"; screenplays; and dōjinshis, such as Re-take and Re-take After. The 2013 film Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro and defined by him as a tribute to the mecha and kaiju genres, presents strong influences from Evangelion. Among them are the confrontation between humans and alien monsters, mechas controlled by neural connections, the use of a liquid similar to LCL to stimulate this connection, the internal struggle of the characters and their vital memories, the relationships between some of them, and numerous scenes and specific motifs. Despite this, both del Toro and screenwriter Travis Beacham denied having seen Evangelion before conceiving the film, stating that Pacific Rim was not it was based on not one anime, but several within that genre. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, character designer for Evangelion, praised the film's visual effects and choice of homages, but did not comment. about the similarities.