End of Evangelion vs. original ending to Neon Genesis?

[bananafishtoday]

I kind of prefer the series ending. In a way it's the culmination of what the series was about, dispensing with the fighting angels artifice (even if only bc they had no money) and instead providing closure to the character study side of things. Eva's whole things was always, "Yo extreme stress will fuck with your head," so 25 and 26 were, "Woosh, stressful situation gone because reasons, let's see what makes these characters tick." They were so immersed in the stressful plot shit that it came to define them, and at least in Shinji's case, we saw how he was able to reconstitute himself on his own terms rather than those of his circumstances.

It helped that I saw Eva in the 2000s, so I had EoE and the DVD commentaries for that and Death/Rebirth to explain the "intricate" (nonsense) plot. Plus knowing the show's irl backstory (ie "Anno was super depressed") beforehand. Also it's worth noting that EoE isn't really the ending they would have made for the series if they'd had the money, and it's as tied to irl events as the series ending is. ("You want a 'real' ending, so you hate me and send me death threats? Fine. Here's your ending. Everyone dies and everything is ruined forever, how's that for a fucking ending.") I really like EoE too though. It's really interesting in its own ways... I think the series ending may be more "fitting," but EoE is still really good.

Though tbh I can't stand Rebuild (most people seemed to like the path it was taking until 3.0, but I disliked 1.0, and I hated 2.0 to the extent that I doubt I'll continue) for most of the same reasons that I couldn't stand Rah Xephon (all plot and polish and etc with no real pathos), so I might be in the minority.

 

[SajuukKhar]

EVERYBODY DIED!

The end

Except
1. no one really died, they were just merged into one super being
2. its specifically said everyone has the ability to come back
.
.
Toi answer the Op's question, I prefer EoE's ending over the Tv shows because EoE actually shows that Shinji manned up and rejected the BS, whereas the TV show ending leave it rather ambiguous, with shinji's mental state pointing to accepting the BS, which clashes wth the whole damn rest of the show.

Though rebuild is probably gonna have the better ending.

 

[uchytjes]

Spoiler

Or why they even have an airship that's somehow powered by Unit 01 (since they only recovered it at the beginning of 3.0)... Or what the hell happened to Unit 06 that Kaworu was piloting at the end of 2.0

Well those are actually pretty easy to explain

Spoiler

The reason why they have the ship right after they get Shinji is because of either A: THE POWER OF TIME SKIPPING or B: They built the ship before and just had to plug Eva 01 in to power it. Also, it is powered with the S2 engine in Eva 01 most likely.

As for Eva 06, we actually see it at one point towards the end. If I were to guess as to why it is where it is, I would say that Kaworu caused the "near third impact" he kept mentioning.

Why didn't the movie tell us these things? BECAUSE IT ISN'T REALLY THAT GOOD. Seriously, Evangelion is an amazing show and the rebuild movies are good to watch if you are a fan, but by all other accounts, they pretty much suck and are way over-hyped by the fanbase (of which I am a part of)

 

[SajuukKhar]

Or what the hell happened to Unit 06 that Kaworu was piloting at the end of 2.0

As for Eva 06, we actually see it at one point towards the end. If I were to guess as to why it is where it is, I would say that Kaworu caused the "near third impact" he kept mentioning.

Kaworu specifically mentions that Unit 6 was taken from him, and modified to work by itself, without a pilot, and that use by Selee/Nerv caused it to get into the state it is is now.

As for WHY that happened..... because plot.

 

[ItouKaiji]

I actually like to the two endings about the same and think they go well hand in hand as they are trying to accomplish two very different things. Eva in general gets labeled as psychological anime, but the series itself up to the last couple of episodes was actually pretty standard shounen mecha fair that had been done before then and has been done a million times after however those last two episodes really bring out the psychological underpinnings of the series as well as a way for the author to work out his own depression issues. True, it came out that way because they didn't have any money to animate anything more, but I think they turned that weakness into a real strength. If you look closely at the extended episodes then you'll notice that the numbers Shinji's cassette player give the clue that these two episodes are actually running parallel to the events of the series as the whole and I think once you understand that then you can understand the ending a bit better. It's taking Shinji on a complete emotional journey as he tries to reconcile his own hero's journey throughout the series, or at least it's a play on the old hero's journey trope, but instead of just following the outline of hero's journey the series tries to show the actual effect it would have on a teenage savior/heroes mind. It's really interesting stuff to me at least and the it's what made the Eva series interesting to be, before that ending my feelings toward the series were tepid at best.

EoE is something of a different beast, if the series end gives closure to Shinji and his version of the hero's journey then EoE is giving closure to the actual story of Eva and it does the best it can, but a lot of the series was a mess of philosophical and religious ideas drawing pretty heavily from the Gnostic Gospels and for the most part that stuff was pretty meaningless in the long run. It was a lot of potentially interesting ideas that never really went anywhere and then they ran out of money and had to change course. The movie tries and mostly succeeds at giving closure to the story of the series so I do like it for that and for the record dark and depressing endings are pretty much my thing. As for the ending itself I don't think it's quite as dark as some here seem to, it wasn't exactly optimistic but they do have the chance to come back.

But anyway, I think both endings achieve what they set out to do and can actually be taken in tandem as they actually fit together rather well.

 

[uchytjes]

Or what the hell happened to Unit 06 that Kaworu was piloting at the end of 2.0

As for Eva 06, we actually see it at one point towards the end. If I were to guess as to why it is where it is, I would say that Kaworu caused the "near third impact" he kept mentioning.

Kaworu specifically mentions that Unit 6 was taken from him, and modified to work by itself, without a pilot, and that use by Selee/Nerv caused it to get into the state it is is now.

As for WHY that happened..... because plot.

Oh, that makes MORE sense now. Basically, because Shinji is locked inside of of Eva 01, there is no one capable of creating the third impact. Because of that, they put Shinji's dummy plug inside of 06 and use that, along with the mass-reproduced Evas, for their plans (also, wasn't there something about that being the original plan somewhrere?) Because the dummy plug wasn't enough, however, the impact stopped at some point causing extreme damage to the earth. But you know what? THIS STILL DOESN'T EXPLAIN WHY MISATO IS SUCH A ***** TO SHINJI.

 

[Lunar Templar]

EoE, but thats only cause it actually made sense, well as much as that show ever made sense.

they both suck, but EoE is better

 

[SajuukKhar]

But you know what? THIS STILL DOESN'T EXPLAIN WHY MISATO IS SUCH A ***** TO SHINJI.

Because she blames herself for causing Third Impact by egging shinji on, and is taking it out on him because shes an adult, and selfish, and its eaiser to blame stuff on someone else and run away. ut you can tell she still loves him because she hesitated to blow off Shinji's head with the collar when Rei-Q took Shinji from the Wunder.

At least that is the most common theory I've heard.

 

[Dansen]

EoE, but thats only cause it actually made sense, well as much as that show ever made sense.

they both suck, but EoE is better

You suck

I like em both, I heard someone mention a cool idea with having the final two episodes and EoE merged together. Having Shinji's delusions scattered throughout the movie at appropriate times, I would pay to watch that with some remastered animation.

 

[Dr. Cakey]

Gah, I'd appreciate it if people could keep the Eva 3.0 discussions to a minimum, or at least keep them in spoilers, considering it hasn't gotten an English release yet.

Anyway, I prefer EoE by a million miles. Like a lot of other people here, I watched Eva only recently, and knew in advance about the wonky ending, so those last couple episodes to me were nothing more than a blip to be pushed past on the way to End of Eva. I do need to rewatch Eva in general and EoE in particular, though, as my interpretation of the movie differs monstrously from basically everybody else's in that I saw a moderately positive spin to it, and I need to rewatch and see if I was forcing that interpretation or if the evidence is really present.

 

[Lunar Templar]

EoE, but thats only cause it actually made sense, well as much as that show ever made sense.

they both suck, but EoE is better

You suck

I like em both, I heard someone mention a cool idea with having the final two episodes and EoE merged together. Having Shinji's delusions scattered throughout the movie at appropriate times, I would pay to watch that with some remastered animation.

'don't ask a question if you don't think you'll like the answer' - LT

 

[ShinyCharizard]

When watching the final two episodes of the series I had zero clue as to what the fuck was going on so I reckon EoE is better.

 

[anthony87]

Personally I think they're both kinda shite.

But the EoE ending is better shite.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Also it's worth noting that EoE isn't really the ending they would have made for the series if they'd had the money, and it's as tied to irl events as the series ending is. ("You want a 'real' ending, so you hate me and send me death threats? Fine. Here's your ending. Everyone dies and everything is ruined forever, how's that for a fucking ending.") I really like EoE too though. It's really interesting in its own ways... I think the series ending may be more "fitting," but EoE is still really good.

This isn't exactly true. While it is true that Anno probably let a lot of the negative fallout from the series ending seep into EoE, the movie's story is basically what they were going for before the budget constraints. As I said earlier, in the final two episodes you see flashes of prominent characters lying dead, so things were going to get brutal regardless.

And I know it's common knowledge that Anno got... a bit down during the making of the series, but if you've seen his prior shows it's obvious the guy has always been kind of a cynic. Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water already had a good couple of depressing moments despite being sort of a kids show. And Gunbuster probably has the most bittersweet ending you'll ever see.

 

[Ikasury]

i personally LOVED how delightfully dark/twisted/and f*cked up beyond all measure EoE was... especially for Asuka's battle... whereas the show ends with the 'high' note of 'the angels are gone, yay humanity!' and goes for the introspection of Shinji figuring himself out (i will admit i love Rei with Toast) and coming to terms with himself and all that jazz... to me, the 'darker' ending of EoE fits better with the overall themes and feel of the original series... once all the angels are dead, what now? its funny that throughout the series no one really asks that or thinks about it, you get the feeling from EVERYONE that they all figure they'll die before that even comes as an option to think about, so the fact they actually DO survive to be there is just 'huh... what do we do now?' and thus the true conclusion of humanity, without a common goal, turns on itself... *sits back drinking tea* that sounds about right~

visually its better, but that's from budget technicalities and what-not, the 'high' note of the end of the series is 'nice' but i'm not looking for 'nice' in a show as dipped in the darker bits of the human psyche as Eva is... validation, fulfillment, confirmation of one's will, and overall 'accepting' oneself is 'nice' and all... but idealistic... the gritty-ness of EoE, the shock and awe and complete WTF?! of them all GETTING what they thought they wanted, only to realize that Nirvana is absolutely nothing... hehe... i enjoy that kind of cosmic b*tchslap...

but overall, what i found the most 'profound' about EoE is the end-end, where despite all the bullshit, despite all the carnage, the crazy, and overall WTF?! of it all... Shinji, on his own, said 'no' to the infinite existence of the world without AT-fields, and literally recreated himself in the 'real world' because he realized he WANTED to live, with people, with heartache, with everything that hurt, because despite it all, there was still something worth having about it... Eva is the kind of anime that SHOULD NOT have a 'happy' or remotely 'positive' ending, its just not designed that way, i don't discount the series ending, i like it for its own sake (and Rei with Toast) but its the kind of series that NEEDS an ending as completely WHAT THE F*CK?! as EoE... tragedy, depression, and everything... that's part of what made it a good and need-to-see series, just how visceral it is...

i won't go into rebuild, but i'll say that 'taking its meds' bit has kinda dampened my love, despite the rainbows... oh those godd*mn rainbows x.x

 

[Talaris]

In my honest opinion, neither ending has set right with me. Episodes 25 and 26 were just too much visual introspection on Shinji's mind, and in 26 he gets just 3 lines that make him go from majorly depressed to suddenly overjoyed, which felt like such a cop out. On the whole though it just not that engaging.

After finishing it, I am told by my brother that it's not the "true" ending, and I needed to see the EoE film. Well the combination of half arsed explanations as to origins of Adam/Lilith and the Evas already started things out as pretty confusing (only after expanded reading did I understand everything, not a good start), though I would say the action sequences were well done, even if we did see all of the cast die horrible deaths.

And then third impact comes along and disturbs the hell out of me, whilst providing some pretentious imagery to convince the gullible that there is a deep pseudo-religious point the film wants to make about all this. Yes it was visually amazing to watch, but at an emotional level it just fell rather flat.

Two things it got right however were first the amazing Kom Susser Tod track playing over the scenes of instrumentality, as if it were the feelings of joy from Seele for ending the world, very unsettling indeed. The second was Shinji's rejection of instrumentality which was much more convincing than the series, and his strangling and weeping over Asuka. That, at least, made sense.

So to answer the OP, I would still say EoE, but it was by no means perfect.

 

[dscross]

Some interesting insights here guys and all valid reasoning. I love how people can interpret Eva in so many different ways.

"Episodes 25 and 26 were just too much visual introspection on Shinji's mind, and in 26 he gets just 3 lines that make him go from majorly depressed to suddenly overjoyed, which felt like such a cop out."

Just to add my perspective to this, I would say that I think rather than it being a 'cop out' it was the intent. Shinji recognised his ego as essentially false and he reached 'spiritual enlightenment'. He had a life altering epiphany and joy arose in him for the first time.

The entire two last episodes were essentially about self-realisation. For me, rather than focusing on the narrative, it was better to focus on that element of it - ie, the themes throughout the series of identity, self-concept and how to find happiness without relying on the superficial values of society - of course that's only my interpretation, but it really does work on a lot of levels.

That's why the EoE doesn't do it for me to quite to the same extent. It DOES work really well to illustrate other themes about human existence, as well as being a cool, arty film. But the idea of separateness and how to find the depth in yourself was tackled much better in the original ending.

Like I say though, it's all good stuff in my eyes.

 

[dscross]

I kind of prefer the series ending. In a way it's the culmination of what the series was about, dispensing with the fighting angels artifice (even if only bc they had no money) and instead providing closure to the character study side of things. Eva's whole things was always, "Yo extreme stress will fuck with your head," so 25 and 26 were, "Woosh, stressful situation gone because reasons, let's see what makes these characters tick." They were so immersed in the stressful plot shit that it came to define them, and at least in Shinji's case, we saw how he was able to reconstitute himself on his own terms rather than those of his circumstances.

I very much agree with this and would add my previous comments to it (on the importance of the themes in the original ending).