Emily FinlayEnd of Evangelion: my favourite anime
November 21st 2007 07:59
As a disclaimer to start out with, I wouldn't consider myself, strictly, an anime 'fan'. I used to, when I was younger, but over time I came to realise I didn't like to tag myself as a fan of something purely because it's an anime. I like a good anime, in the same way I like a good movie, a good song, a good television show, a good painting, etc. I'm not more likely to go out and watch something purely because it's an anime, I'll watch an anime if I've heard good things about it or it appeals to me. In this sense, I'm no more a fan of anime than I am of most other styles of film or series.
End of Evangelion is the theatrical ending to Hideaki Anno's megahit series, Neon Genesis Evangelion (or Shinseiki Evangelion, if you prefer the proper Japanese name), released a good 16 months after the end of the series. Evangelion was essentially another 'teenagers piloting giant robots and fighting aliens' series, but managed to seperate itself from the pack with its intense imagery, political and religious sub-plots and wonderful (if disturbing) plot, as well as its very well realised setting and compelling characters. It's a very confronting series, dealing with youth issues in a more full-on way than most of these series do, and with some amazingly brutal violence (the Volume 6 DVD has a PG rating, yet the first episode on the disc has entire streets getting soaked in blood- go figure.)
The movie was made from a unique perspective: the series went way over production company Gainax's budget, and simply recycling cells wasn't enough to keep up- the last two episodes were real mental hurdles, low on animation, high on dialogue and still images, obtuse and difficult to follow. Many fans took to this style and continued to praise Anno, but many were enraged, to the point where Anno received a startling number of death threats from his once loyal fans.
Understandably, he was pretty enraged, and this movie is seen, by many, as a big "Screw You" to everyone who turned on him (many of these 'death threat' letters actually pop up on the screen throughout the film). Anno decided to deliever to audiences everything they wanted (fan service, massive battle scenes, important character revelations, romance), but in very perverse, intense and angry fashions, completely breaking down his characters (characters who were fan favourites are literally torn to shreds on screen) and ultimately tearing apart the very universe he had established, making sure all along that the people who were so confused by the television ending still wouldn't be able to grasp what was happening here.
You have to be pretty open minded to make it past the first two minutes of this film. It deals with the frustration, fear and anger of young 14 year old Shinji Ikari (our main protagonist, a whiny introvert with severe abandonment issues who becomes more and more prone to disturbing bouts of psychosis as the series goes on) in a way you sure as hell couldn't get away with in a live action film. When I first saw this movie, I was 14 myself, and not even remotely prepared to deal with what I was being confronted with, but now, over time, I've come to regard the film as a masterpiece.
I'd be mad to try and condense a series and movie this complex into a single update, so I won't, suffice to say what I really find interesting about this film is that it finally switches over to what the series was always hinting at- a conflict entirely within the human realm. The whole series has been about fighting these seemingly alien creatures (the 'Angels'- all part of the biblical references, see), but this movie is essentially dealing with a merticulously planned and co-ordinated apocolypse, generated on purpose. To speak of the themes of the movie, or the series, without going into ridiculous detail would ultimately show me up, I feel- it's a pretty complex sort of a movie, so I'll move onto the part that everyone should be able to appreciate- the aesthetics.
End of Evangelion has easily one of the most beautiful soundtracks I have ever heard. Hell, if my heart wasn't made of stone I'd probably weep for half the movie on the strength of its soundtrack. The orchestral pieces set a perfect tempo against the images on screen, and soundtrack choice for each individual scene feels perfect. Furthermore, this is a beautiful film, even if it's quite disturbing at the same time. As it moves into its second half, it becomes a movie largely of visual metaphor and splender. The visual and aural beauty of this film perfectly compliments the experience, while at the same time contrasting the insanity of the actual plot (there's a beautiful seven minute song partway through the film where the singer essentially sings about how she wants to die- this combination of wonderful singing and horrifying subject matter is typical of the film in general).
Obviously, I can't reccomend this to anyone who isn't a fan of the series. All I can say is, if you're just now getting into anime, give Evangelion a shot. If you watched the movie a few years back and felt lost, give it another shot- it took me about three viewings of the whole series over a few years to feel like I had a really good grip of what I was watching, and I think I'd need to watch another three times before I could well and truely write something that would accurately capture the experience of End of Evangelion. A wonderful movie, no matter how high Anno raises his middle finger at the audience.
The movie was made from a unique perspective: the series went way over production company Gainax's budget, and simply recycling cells wasn't enough to keep up- the last two episodes were real mental hurdles, low on animation, high on dialogue and still images, obtuse and difficult to follow. Many fans took to this style and continued to praise Anno, but many were enraged, to the point where Anno received a startling number of death threats from his once loyal fans.
Understandably, he was pretty enraged, and this movie is seen, by many, as a big "Screw You" to everyone who turned on him (many of these 'death threat' letters actually pop up on the screen throughout the film). Anno decided to deliever to audiences everything they wanted (fan service, massive battle scenes, important character revelations, romance), but in very perverse, intense and angry fashions, completely breaking down his characters (characters who were fan favourites are literally torn to shreds on screen) and ultimately tearing apart the very universe he had established, making sure all along that the people who were so confused by the television ending still wouldn't be able to grasp what was happening here.
You have to be pretty open minded to make it past the first two minutes of this film. It deals with the frustration, fear and anger of young 14 year old Shinji Ikari (our main protagonist, a whiny introvert with severe abandonment issues who becomes more and more prone to disturbing bouts of psychosis as the series goes on) in a way you sure as hell couldn't get away with in a live action film. When I first saw this movie, I was 14 myself, and not even remotely prepared to deal with what I was being confronted with, but now, over time, I've come to regard the film as a masterpiece.
I'd be mad to try and condense a series and movie this complex into a single update, so I won't, suffice to say what I really find interesting about this film is that it finally switches over to what the series was always hinting at- a conflict entirely within the human realm. The whole series has been about fighting these seemingly alien creatures (the 'Angels'- all part of the biblical references, see), but this movie is essentially dealing with a merticulously planned and co-ordinated apocolypse, generated on purpose. To speak of the themes of the movie, or the series, without going into ridiculous detail would ultimately show me up, I feel- it's a pretty complex sort of a movie, so I'll move onto the part that everyone should be able to appreciate- the aesthetics.
End of Evangelion has easily one of the most beautiful soundtracks I have ever heard. Hell, if my heart wasn't made of stone I'd probably weep for half the movie on the strength of its soundtrack. The orchestral pieces set a perfect tempo against the images on screen, and soundtrack choice for each individual scene feels perfect. Furthermore, this is a beautiful film, even if it's quite disturbing at the same time. As it moves into its second half, it becomes a movie largely of visual metaphor and splender. The visual and aural beauty of this film perfectly compliments the experience, while at the same time contrasting the insanity of the actual plot (there's a beautiful seven minute song partway through the film where the singer essentially sings about how she wants to die- this combination of wonderful singing and horrifying subject matter is typical of the film in general).
Obviously, I can't reccomend this to anyone who isn't a fan of the series. All I can say is, if you're just now getting into anime, give Evangelion a shot. If you watched the movie a few years back and felt lost, give it another shot- it took me about three viewings of the whole series over a few years to feel like I had a really good grip of what I was watching, and I think I'd need to watch another three times before I could well and truely write something that would accurately capture the experience of End of Evangelion. A wonderful movie, no matter how high Anno raises his middle finger at the audience.
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Comment by Damo
I enjoyed the movie but also found it a dark and disturbing view of the world.
Totally insane visuals worth a look.