Evangelion Redux

As classic anime series in the mecha-mold go, Neon Genesis Evangelion [aka Shin seiki evangerion] (Japan-1995-1996; TV series, animation) is among the elite of the species. It is spectacular, complex, confusing, emotional, fascinating, beautiful, and flawed, especially toward the end where creator Hideaki Anno and his team ran out of money and had to resort to a minimalist form of animation and abstract narrative techniques in order to complete the story. This somewhat foggy, though arguably profound and interestingly different, climax never diminished the series’ status — and in some quarters even enhanced it.

Though some don’t “get” the appeal of the series, many derive and continue to derive endless pleasure from its vastly pretentious metaphysical depiction of a humanity struggling to survive in, and gain evolutionary fulfilment from, the chaos of its own destruction. The manga subsequently produced by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto is a worthy re-forging of the story; more coherent and less metaphysical, its narrative diverges from that of the series after a certain point, while capturing the spirit of Anno’s creation.

In 1997, after the reputation (and fanbase) of Neon Genesis Evangelion soared with its success in the West, Anno and animator Masayuki produced Evangelion: Death & Rebirth [aka Shin seiki Evangelion Gekijô-ban: Shito shinsei] (Japan-1997), which first retold the TV series in a condensed form and then took a stab at giving the previous ending a less-obscure, more externalised re-work. Where the final episodes of the TV series put the viewer completely inside the tormented mind of its main character — Shinji Ikari, a young pilot of one of the EVAs who is desperate to gain approval from a cold and seemingly indifferent father — and thus gave it what seemed like an abstract, left-field incompleteness, the “new” ending shows us what was going on from an external POV while the subjective events of the TV series played out. It did not eschew the metaphysical nature of the series, but it provided the mecha action that fans had wanted.

“Rebirth” ends abruptly, however, and the Gauntlet of Narrative Clarity is then thrown down in the form of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion [aka Shin seiki Evangelion Gekijô-ban: Air/Magokoro wo, kimi ni] (Japan-1997; animation; dir. Hideaki Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki). In this OVA “movie” the end of the series is finally re-told in spectacular, and quite satisfying, fashion.

But Anno wasn’t finished. He decided to do a re-boot of the whole story, using newer animation techniques and drawing on a decade’s reflection on the show’s perceived “shortcomings”. Four feature-length films are planned. The first of these was released in Japan in 2007, made it to the cinema in the West in 2008 and is now about to appear on DVD.

Evangelion 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone [aka Evangerion shin gekijôban: Jo] (Japan-2007; animation; dir. Masayuki, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Hideaki Anno [supervising])

Synopsis:

After the second impact, all that remains of Japan is Tokyo-3, a city that’s being attacked by giant creatures called Angels that seek to eradicate the human kind. After not seeing his father for more than eight years, Shinji Ikari receives a phone call, in which he is told to urgently come to the NERV Headquarters. NERV is an organization that deals with the destruction of the Angels through the use of giant mechs called Evas. Shinji’s task is to pilot the Eva Unit 01, while teaming up with the Eva Unit 00 pilot, Ayanami Rei, in a struggle against the Angels that could destroy them all.

Apparently this first film represents a spectacular re-visioning of the first 6 or so episodes of the TV series, with updated animation that respects the “look” of the original while taking advantage of current advances.

English Version Trailer:

Neon Genesis Evangelion has fascinated me since I first saw it. In part that fascination is a product of my interest in daikaiju eiga (Japanese giant monster films), for the TV series (and subsequent films), though situated most comfortably in the “mecha” subgenre, rings changes by sliding between the two types of fantasy. To quote myself (from my extensive article on the history and development of Japanese giant monster films, “Man and Super-Monster: A History of Daikaiju Eiga and its Metaphorical Undercurrents”):

One “mecha” series that more directly aligns with daikaiju eiga is the well-known Neon Genesis Evangelion. The series is based on a mecha format, featuring giant humanoid machines (EVAs) that can only be piloted by adolescents – or more precisely, those born in the aftermath of an apocalyptic incident that occurred 15 years earlier. The series rings changes that take it much beyond ordinary mecha tropes. With its surreal, metaphysical “Angels”, its city-based battles, its sinister conspiracies, secret genetic experiments and apocalyptic escalation – not to mention the semi-sentient, fleshy nature of the EVAs – Neon Genesis Evangelion presents a complex kaiju scenario that on one level examines generational relationships and on another explores concepts of physical and spiritual evolution. What is really going on in this series rarely happens on a surface level; the symbolic interplay of imagery serves to externalise emotions and implications, with the result that the overall effect is that of an all-encompassing metaphorical construct – an extended metaphor.

IMDB