End of Evangelion: THE HELL WAS THAT?

[teebeeohh]

think of it as an anime "the room" with really weird visuals.

i have a strong dislike for all things evangelion, i appreciate the influence it had and it looks kinda nice(till they ran out of money) but i always felt like it thought all the emo whitening was way deeper and smarter than it actually was. this is basically what i think of whenever people use the word pretentious.

however i fucking loved the movie, the trippy visuals and the fact that all the hipster douchebag anime fans who told me i had to like the show because it had brilliant things to say about the human condition hated it.
and i absolutely whenever a movie tells me [plot device] only allows exceptionally strong-willed people to survive [plot device] and for some reason everyone who was that strong willed was also a main character.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Snip

There is a simple explanation that makes the entire ending, with it's forced explanations, penguin salutations, and stranding the main characters in a shallow sea.

One simple reason, one thing that gives context and explains EVERYTHING.

Spoiler: It will blow your mind

They ran out of money. This was far from the planned ending, however their was almost literally nothing left in the budget to animate anything else but this.

 

[JagermanXcell]

I saw the entire series including the anti-climactic 26th episode. It was a good show nothing great, then I saw EOE...
It was awesome. That final battle, and the intensity was a sight to see. Until the last 20ish minutes where I was like: What is happening? WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHAT?! ITS OVER?! WAIT WHAT HAPPENED?! TELL MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

My only gripes about the film was that unexplained scene with Shinji in the hospital... with Asuka... (no seriously, what the hell was that?! I doubt that was symbolic, that was just gross). How the character's development through out the series felt dropped from the canon, the story was a bit of a mess, and how the ending wasn't anti-climactic, just very very unexplained and bizarre. So in a nutshell I felt like I was watching Akira for the first time again.

 

[gigastar]

Yeah, back in those days the series was the creaton of a man who was at the time in therapy for manic depression. And i believe End of Evangelion was a result of internet backdraft getting on the creators nerves, a dangerous thing to do when someones legally insane.

So it ended up being something to the tune of "This is the ending you asked for, now enjoy it... or else"

And the masturbation scene in EoE did take a while to sink in while i was autodenying what i just saw.

However, one can hardly deny that Evangelion was a magnificent piece of work. And a very memorable one at that.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'll admit, a lot of this is probably me projecting stuff onto the show. But one of the things I like about NGE, and especially EoE, is how it pretty much displays just how fucked up an event like the Rapture would be. You watch the climax of EoE, and it's not that different to certain chapters out of Revelations- angels practically orgasming while prostrating themselves to a divine being, while the Earth is destroyed and humanity is finally ushered into a higher state of existence. The Bible paints this as being a pretty sweet deal. End Of Evangelion makes the same concept look horrifying beyond belief. In many ways, I see EoE specifically as a deconstruction of the sort of End Of Days prophesising beloved of Abrahamic religions.

The Rapture isn't part of Revelations though. This was unofficially added somewhere in the 17th or 18/th century when some Irishmen heard about a girl who had an apparent vision of Jesus. And then this "the rightious people being beamed up to Heaven during the Apocalypse" message was spread across America. The apostle John didn't write it however.

Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water also has a bit of religious symbolism. It also featured a giant, being considered the first human, called Adam. It's funny how much of what would one day become Evangelion was present in Nadia; The titilur character herself has a bit of Asuka in her, as well as representing Anno's issues with the fairer sex. An issue which would explode come NGE. There's even a scene in which one of the characters wears something very similar to a plugsuit.

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

I'm still left wondering: the fuck did I just watch?

You watched a bigger-budget remake of the last two episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is an anime series that deconstructs the archetypes associated with the "super robot" genre of the 70s and 80s and in the process asks complex existentialist questions regarding recurring themes of alienation, depression, guilt, sexual frustration and parental abuse.

In said remake, you watched the culmination of several plot threads running throughout the series, the deaths of several major characters in brutal fashion, and the advent of the vague apocalypse that the antagonists had been trying to bring about throughout the entire series. Said apocalypse was fundamentally asking the question of whether it's preferable to be a collection of individuals or an individual collective, or more specifically whether it's better to have imperfect relationships between individuals or no relationships at all. The apocalypse is ultimately rejected, although it's left ambiguous as to whether this was a good thing or not.

What I am finding somewhat difficult here is a polite way to express the sentiment that it's kind of stupid to sit there saying you have no idea what you've just watched when you've admitted above that you haven't watched the rest of the series. I mean, we can sit here and talk about the plot all day, but you're really best served by watching the episodes in order instead of jumping into the finale of a very dense series with no idea what's going on.

 

[Project_Xii]

NGE is like Spec Ops

Interestingly enough, that was the only sentence required to make me decide to watch it. Although the rest of your post was very helpful and informative, and prepared me a bit better for what I might see hah. The idea that the creator's mental health affected the series so heavily sounds absolutely fascinating, and will probably make it far more interesting for me to watch with that in mind, so thank you for that. Sometimes some context is all the excuse a piece of media needs to make it that bit more enjoyable/tolerable.

However:

Watch episodes 1-26. Episodes 21-24 have directors cuts versions, so if you can find them online then it's advised to watch those. After those, watch End of Evangelion, the other film (Death and Rebirth) is just a recap.

After that, if you want to you can watch the new Rebuild of Evangelion films which is a new canon. However it hasn't finished yet as only 3 of the 4 films have been released(the 3rd being released in Japan only recently).

This is the kind of guide I needed. So normal ep 1-20, DC 21-24, movie for the final 2. Got it. I'll still watch the original 25/26, but since the general consensus appears to be disappointment, I don't want them to kill my buzz for the series before the movie. Cheers for that! Time to hunt the series down hah.

 

[Blitsie]

^Just prepare yourself though, the huge amount of mindfuck you get from an NGE marathon is quite the experience. I remember being in a very dark mood for days after watching it all back to back.

 

[Tanis]

I suggest you never read/watch Berserk.

If you think what little 'dah hell?' happened in NGE/EoE was scary/bad/weird...

You ain't seen NOTHING.

 

[Flamezdudes]

My only gripes about the film was that unexplained scene with Shinji in the hospital... with Asuka... (no seriously, what the hell was that?! I doubt that was symbolic, that was just gross). How the character's development through out the series felt dropped from the canon, the story was a bit of a mess, and how the ending wasn't anti-climactic, just very very unexplained and bizarre. So in a nutshell I felt like I was watching Akira for the first time again.

Shinji masturabated over Asuka who was was at the time catatonically depressed. What's so hard to figure out? Shinji was pretty much at his breaking point, this was a way of showing that.

 

[Casual Shinji]

For a ridiculous number of years, a large number of fans have been begging GAINAX (who is now a giant in the industry with cash and sponsors to spare) to fix the ending. Anno never had any intention of doing this and the insinuation that there was something in the ending that needed fixing was a deep insult to himself as an artist. Myself, I side with him because the original ending is no more and no less than Anno pouring his heart and soul on-screen, so insinuating the result could be flawed was basically a direct criticism towards Hideaki Anno: the person.

I would've found this easier to believe if the last episode didn't show...

Spoiler

...that quick shot of both Misato and Ritsuko lying dead (floating dead in Ritsuko's case).

This wasn't some symbolism, like the rest of the final two episodes, it was shown as fact of what was going on in the real world. And it was done without any context or follow up. This was really the only problem I had with the series ending: Seeing two major characters, who were very much alive at the end of episode 24, lying dead. Without any explanation given as to why, how, and when.

 

[JudgeGame]

For a ridiculous number of years, a large number of fans have been begging GAINAX (who is now a giant in the industry with cash and sponsors to spare) to fix the ending. Anno never had any intention of doing this and the insinuation that there was something in the ending that needed fixing was a deep insult to himself as an artist. Myself, I side with him because the original ending is no more and no less than Anno pouring his heart and soul on-screen, so insinuating the result could be flawed was basically a direct criticism towards Hideaki Anno: the person.

I would've found this easier to believe if the last episode didn't show...

Spoiler

...that quick shot of both Misato and Ritsuko lying dead (floating dead in Ritsuko's case).

This wasn't some symbolism, like the rest of the final two episodes, it was shown as fact of what was going on in the real world. And it was done without any context or follow up. This was really the only problem I had with the series ending: Seeing two major characters, who were very much alive at the end of episode 24, lying dead. Without any explanation given as to why, how, and when.

That was largely irrelevant to the actual meaning of the story. Episodes 25/26 contain the end of Shinji's journey which is what the story was always about. Every story has open ends somewhere, it's up to the creator to decide what needs tying up. This is no different from how things happen in real life. To be honest, EoE doesn't tie anything up either. It could be summed up as "everyone dies" which doesn't let any of the characters' stories reach a meaningful conclusion; arguably much worse than an open ending that lets the viewer decide how each story could or should end.

 

[Casual Shinji]

For a ridiculous number of years, a large number of fans have been begging GAINAX (who is now a giant in the industry with cash and sponsors to spare) to fix the ending. Anno never had any intention of doing this and the insinuation that there was something in the ending that needed fixing was a deep insult to himself as an artist. Myself, I side with him because the original ending is no more and no less than Anno pouring his heart and soul on-screen, so insinuating the result could be flawed was basically a direct criticism towards Hideaki Anno: the person.

I would've found this easier to believe if the last episode didn't show...

Spoiler

...that quick shot of both Misato and Ritsuko lying dead (floating dead in Ritsuko's case).

This wasn't some symbolism, like the rest of the final two episodes, it was shown as fact of what was going on in the real world. And it was done without any context or follow up. This was really the only problem I had with the series ending: Seeing two major characters, who were very much alive at the end of episode 24, lying dead. Without any explanation given as to why, how, and when.

That was largely irrelevant to the actual meaning of the story. Episodes 25/26 contain the end of Shinji's journey which is what the story was always about. Every story has open ends somewhere, it's up to the creator to decide what needs tying up. This is no different from how things happen in real life. To be honest, EoE doesn't tie anything up either. It could be summed up as "everyone dies" which doesn't let any of the characters' stories reach a meaningful conclusion; arguably much worse than an open ending that lets the viewer decide how each story could or should end.

Like I said, then that shot should not have been there, because all it does is raise questions that detract your mind from focussing on Shinji's journey. When I saw the two of them lying dead, I had a hard time focussing on the rest of the episode, because I was constantly thinking, 'Wait what, they're dead? How did that happen? Did someone shoot them? Why? Did they kill themselves? Did something happen in Nerv headquarters? Am I gonna see what happened?'

EoE was obviously the way they were planning to conclude it, but couldn't realize it at the time because of budget constraints.

 

[Froggy Slayer]

CITIZEN SNIPS STRIKES AGAIN.

First, watching the series first will help a lot. Second, the series as a whole was the creator trying to work out an emotional breakdown through an anime mecha series, and End of Evangelion was that breakdown coming to a cacophanous head. It was supposed to be confusing.

Rebuild of Evangelion apparently makes a lot more sense while still telling the same story, as it's essentially symbolising the creator coming back from that breakdown.

 

[JudgeGame]

-snip-

EoE was obviously the way they were planning to conclude it, but couldn't realize it at the time because of budget constraints.

I'm not denying that, factually, the events of EoE are true to the original outline of the story. What I have trouble accepting is that the message lying in EoE has anything to do with the original message Anno had planned for the show. In my interpretation, the message of EoE is a perversion of the original intent, as was Anno's actual intent.

 

[JagermanXcell]

My only gripes about the film was that unexplained scene with Shinji in the hospital... with Asuka... (no seriously, what the hell was that?! I doubt that was symbolic, that was just gross). How the character's development through out the series felt dropped from the canon, the story was a bit of a mess, and how the ending wasn't anti-climactic, just very very unexplained and bizarre. So in a nutshell I felt like I was watching Akira for the first time again.

Shinji masturabated over Asuka who was was at the time catatonically depressed. What's so hard to figure out? Shinji was pretty much at his breaking point, this was a way of showing that.

True, would have made much more sense if they featured a similar scene like that later on that adds closure to Shinji's character instead of at the VERY BEGINNING. That scene is why people are so turned off by it, the tone that scene has can completely negate interest in the rest of the film. The fans during the time also hated the ending before the film, I bet they didn't take that scene lightly either. Plus like I said, gross.

But yeah, tight budgets and death threats. What are you gonna do?

 

[Casual Shinji]

My only gripes about the film was that unexplained scene with Shinji in the hospital... with Asuka... (no seriously, what the hell was that?! I doubt that was symbolic, that was just gross). How the character's development through out the series felt dropped from the canon, the story was a bit of a mess, and how the ending wasn't anti-climactic, just very very unexplained and bizarre. So in a nutshell I felt like I was watching Akira for the first time again.

Shinji masturabated over Asuka who was was at the time catatonically depressed. What's so hard to figure out? Shinji was pretty much at his breaking point, this was a way of showing that.

True, would have made much more sense if they featured a similar scene like that later on that adds closure to Shinji's character instead of at the VERY BEGINNING. That scene is why people are so turned off by it, the tone that scene has can completely negate interest in the rest of the film. The fans during the time also hated the ending before the film, I bet they didn't take that scene lightly either. Plus like I said, gross.

There was another purpose with that scene. It provided some visual foreshadowing for later on in the film, regarding Gendo and Adam.

Oh, you think I'm kidding?

Spoiler

It was also a callback to Shinji's first (physical) meeting with Rei, when he holds her and he has her blood on his hand.

That damn hand shows up a lot throughout the series. Probably because Yoshiyuki Sadamoto just likes to draw hands.

 

[JagermanXcell]

My only gripes about the film was that unexplained scene with Shinji in the hospital... with Asuka... (no seriously, what the hell was that?! I doubt that was symbolic, that was just gross). How the character's development through out the series felt dropped from the canon, the story was a bit of a mess, and how the ending wasn't anti-climactic, just very very unexplained and bizarre. So in a nutshell I felt like I was watching Akira for the first time again.

Shinji masturabated over Asuka who was was at the time catatonically depressed. What's so hard to figure out? Shinji was pretty much at his breaking point, this was a way of showing that.

True, would have made much more sense if they featured a similar scene like that later on that adds closure to Shinji's character instead of at the VERY BEGINNING. That scene is why people are so turned off by it, the tone that scene has can completely negate interest in the rest of the film. The fans during the time also hated the ending before the film, I bet they didn't take that scene lightly either. Plus like I said, gross.

There was another purpose with that scene. It provided some visual foreshadowing for later on in the film, regarding Gendo and Adam.

Oh, you think I'm kidding?

Spoiler

This is actually pretty legitimate I'll have to admit, wish it was more subtle though. After all I and probably everyone else was looking forward more to the Final Battle more then "the symbolic nature of a kid and his alone time".