The following is a collection of opinions first posted on my original blog, regarding my first complete viewing of Neon Genesis Evangelion. For those who are unfamiliar with it, Evangelion is a Japanese animated series that ran in the mid-’90s. It featured a complex story that dealt with the human condition, existentialism and the end of the world in a futuristic sci-fi setting, which utilized the anime mainstay vehicle of giant weaponized robots while parodying that genre at the same time.
Widely regarded as either one of anime’s greatest works of genius ever, or a hopelessly overwrought piece of animated garbage, Evangelion managed to capture my attention and keep my brain working for hours and hours trying to make sense of it all. If you’re someone who, like me, enjoys overanalyzing works of mind-twisting ambiguity, you too may find it more fascinating than frustrating.
With the renewed interest in Evangelion stemming from the recreation of the series into four feature-length films, I thought it might be an interesting time to revisit not only the series, but also my own thoughts from my first experience of it — and see how the passage of time and the evolution of my own existence has contributed to a different understanding of its mysteries.
As part one of this undertaking, I present the following amalgamation of blog entries from early 2003, written during (and immediately following) my first viewing of Evangelion.
Posted 2/4/2003
During the evenings when my wife works, I enjoy a bit of “dinner theater” — watching a DVD of some sort on my 57″ widescreen TV while I eat. For a while now I’ve been reviewing the entire Star Trek original series, but having exhausted all the episodes I own, I went looking for other options last weekend. For some reason I selected the first volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion, a legendary Japanese animated series that I was introduced to by friends back in high school. I only own the first DVD (four episodes) in the series, as for some reason when I bought it I never really “got into it” enough to buy more. Anime DVDs aren’t cheap, you know.
But then last weekend I watched the entire first disc again — and for some reason, it had a totally different effect on me this time. The story seemed so unbelievably compelling, I felt like getting in the car, going down to the store and buying more DVDs from the series. Maybe I was just in an anime mood, but I was struck somehow by how cool the whole thing was. Normally I’m not much for the giant mech combat that seems to be a hallmark of anime, but this is different.
Not only is it a good story, but I really love all the high-tech user interfaces, warning messages and readouts the series utilizes throughout. And I had forgotten just how good the music in this series is. The voice acting is spot-on, too (and I don’t mean the dub; I wouldn’t watch the dub if you shot my arm off.) Overall, it’s a complete package.
So I decided to complete my collection of Evangelion as rapidly as possible. Normally that would mean buying seven more individual $25-30 DVDs, but the entire TV series is now available in a handsome boxed set. Since I found it on an anime retailer’s website for $103, I’m going to order it. After that, I’ll have to pick up the two cinematic features that were created after the series’ end. But I guess that’s the advantage of taking forever to warm up to something like this — by the time you want it, it’s more highly accessible and usually cheaper.
Posted 2/9/2003
Well, after a very crappy Thursday, this weekend has more than made up for it! I received my Evangelion Perfect Collection in the mail on Friday, and have been enjoying it all weekend. I’ve watched the first 11 episodes so far, and I’m hooked. I can’t wait to see the rest. The series seems so much shorter somehow than it did back when my friend Reaper was collecting the VHS tapes, but maybe that’s because they can stuff more episodes onto a DVD than a tape. (Boy, when I think about all the money we collectively wasted on overpriced VHS crap, I really feel like vomiting.)
Posted 2/11/2003
During my continued adventures of watching Neon Genesis Evangelion these last few days, I’ve noticed an uncanny amount of references made to the 1971 Michael Crichton / Robert Wise film The Andromeda Strain. Obviously GAINAX included at least a few of these references deliberately, although some of them are loose enough that they may be mere coincidence. Still, I present several of the items I’ve found for your consideration.
Code 601
The computer error code 601 appears in both The Andromeda Strain (hereafter “TSA”) and Evangelion. In the former, 601 is the error returned when Wildfire’s computer is overloaded with too much data (while attempting to run a simulation of the organism’s cell lifecycle). In Eva, the MAGI computers use code 601 when material (Angel DNA, for example) cannot be analyzed. Below are the actual visuals from both shows:
Andromeda Strain 601
Evangelion 601
“This Isn’t a Secure Line…”
Both Eva and TSA contain very similar scenes wherein someone requests the implementation of a coded government order, and is then reminded by the other party that their transmission line isn’t secure. The requester then responds with something to the effect of, “I know that.”
In TSA, here is the dialogue:
Dr. Stone: “The town is finished. Contaminated beyond all–”
Major Manchek: “Careful, sir. This is an open transmission.”
Dr. Stone: “I’m aware of that, Manchek. Order up a 7-12.”
In Evangelion episode #10, “Magma Diver”, here is the dialogue from the dub:
Katsuragi: “Katsuragi here. I need an A-17 from Commander Ikari, top priority.”
Aoba: “Watch what you’re saying, Captain. This isn’t a secure line.”
Katsuragi: “I know that.”
Other References
Late in the Evangelion series, Kensuke is talking to Shinji on the phone when the call is cut off by Nerv for security reasons. This same thing happens in TSA after Dr. Stone is escorted out of his home by armed government personnel on a secret mission, and his wife calls her father (a senator) to get some answers. Both conversations end with, “Thank you for your cooperation.”
The entire 13th episode of Evangelion (“The Lilliputian Hitcher”), in which the MAGI are taken over by an Angel in the form of a supercolony of microcomputers, is reminiscent of Crichton’s Andromeda Strain idea. The hexagonal nature of the Angel’s form is not unlike that of Andromeda’s cell structure (or, for that matter, the cell structure of the “teaser” entity at the end of the movie). In Evangelion episode #13, the Angel infects the MAGI and begins ordering them to self-destruct — just as Andromeda confused the Wildfire computer into thinking the lab had become contaminated and initiating emergency self-destruct procedures.
And under the heading “Homage or Coincidence?” we find this entry: In Evangelion episode #20, black placards reading “Nth DAY” are used to mark time, identical to the method used in TSA.
Since The Andromeda Strain (the 1971 original — Ed.) is one of my favorite sci-fi films, this stuff immediately jumped out at me, especially the “601″ references. I suppose I might have gone a little overboard on some of this stuff, but I’ve found a bit of other documentation on the Web to back up my theories. I have a weird appreciation for this kind of thing, so don’t mind me.
Anyway, to those of you screaming “IT’S JUST AN ANIME! FOR GOD’S SAKE!”, I have this to say: At least I wasn’t drawing references between Evangelion and the Doctor Who episode “The Robots of Death”. If I ever start doing that, I imagine Hideaki Anno himself will pay me a visit with the express purpose of carrying out my total annihilation.
Hey, I wouldn’t blame him.
Posted 2/15/2003
Tonight may very well be the final night of Evangelion viewing! I have four episodes left. It also appears that in the next episode, Rei will become a martyr. Whether this is a permanent death or not I don’t know, but if it is, it really sucks. I like Ayanami’s character. She’s odd, but not in a bad way. Just odd like there are secrets there begging to be unlocked. As for Asuka, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel fulfilled somehow when her synch ratio fell flat on its ass. But despite what a bitch she’s been through most of the series, I still felt sorry for her when she and Unit 02 were under psychic attack in Episode 22.
Before this series is over, they had better explain the connection between Rei Ayanami and Yui Ikari. Is Rei secretly Gendo & Yui’s daughter? Is she some kind of recreation of Yui? If they just drop it like it never happened, I will have a coronary.
AND NO, DON’T TELL ME! I WANT TO FIND OUT FOR MYSELF!
Posted 2/22/2003
Dance, Fyutsuki! Dance like you want to WIN!
Okay, as of a couple nights ago, I’ve seen the entire 26-episode Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series. Overall, this has been probably the best anime I’ve ever watched. But the last two episodes prompted me to ask one last big, burning question:
What the hell was that?
The ending of the series was definitely creative. It was definitely interesting. It was also about the most metaphysical hour of television I’d ever watched. About a hundred conclusions could easily be drawn — at the viewer’s discretion — about everything that happened. Did Shinji become God? Were Misato and Ritsuko really shot dead, or was that just an image from the disturbed mind of Gendo Ikari? Did anyone else have their own reality created from their thoughts besides Shinji? And did I miss anything?
Well, shortly I’ll be off to pick up the two Evangelion OVAs, Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion. I’ve heard them referred to as “the REAL ending”, created primarily because Hideaki Anno himself was not satisfied with the finale of the original TV series. (Nor were some of the fans, I’d imagine.) While I loved the Eva series as a whole, I’m hoping for a little more substance from the OVAs. Perhaps some icing on the cake…a few knots for the many loose strands of thread the series provided?
Major Katsuragi: Nice Girl or Assassin?
I’ve also noticed, according to the rather skittish essays I’ve read on the Web lately, that there seems to be a big debate amongst the Eva community as to who exactly killed Kaji. Personally, when I watched the episode in which he meets his maker, I figured it was a SEELE henchman, since SEELE must have known it was their double-agent Kaji who freed Fyutsuki. But then after watching the last two episodes, I find myself beginning to subscribe to the controversial theory that maybe Misato shot him. After all, during her character analysis at the end of the world, she shrieks an admission that while she loved Kaji, she simultaneously hated and feared him for reminding her of her father. Plus, she seemed to be expecting his “final message” on her machine — and granted, she knew his double-agent nature was going to get him killed — but it seems suspicious to me somehow.
On a side note, now I’m hooked on the Evangelion soundtrack. I already have the first three BGM albums, and the 7-disc S^2 Works boxed set is on its way to me as we speak. There’s just something so damn cool about the EVA-01 theme. And while the sheer number of Fly Me To The Moon variants is disturbing, the “Rei” versions are really quite nice.
Posted Today: A Retrospective
So here we are, six years hence, and I find myself evaluating Neon Genesis Evangelion anew. The depth of this anime is legendary, to the point where merely reading my thoughts from 2003 prompts me to chuckle at how I had barely scratched the surface. (And I actually bought into that “Misato killed Kaji” conspiracy theory — ridiculous!) Indeed, I can remember being mightily confused by all of the biblical references, the meaning of the Human Instrumentality Project, and the ramifications of its finally coming to fruition, to say nothing of what actually happened when all was said and done. Today, after watching and rewatching the series and reading pages and pages of translations from canonical sources and fan analysis, I feel like I have a much clearer understanding of it all.
Although (back in 2003) I went on to watch the “definitive” ending of the story, The End of Evangelion, it is the TV series’ final two episodes that I still remember most vividly as the conclusion. Despite the fact that those episodes have since been discredited as evidence that the production team had completely fallen apart by the end of the TV series, director Hideaki Anno has insisted that they sufficiently describe the end of the story and could stand on their own. The End of Evangelion OVA is definitely more revealing and satisfying to the average viewer, and doesn’t require a fine arts degree to appreciate, but admittedly I still have a soft spot for the originally aired finale. I find that both endings have their own merits.
In the coming days, I’ll be presenting my up-to-date viewpoint on the series, based on everything I’ve seen and learned over these last six years. Also, I’ll have an in-depth look at of the new Rebuild of Evangelion feature films and the way they’re introducing the story of the anime to a whole new generation. They’re looking pretty exciting.
In light of all this, it seems apparent — now more than ever — that the legacy of, appreciation for, and shameless milking of Neon Genesis Evangelion may truly never reach its end. Which, truth be told, is just fine with me.
I’m pretty sure the TV series ended the way it did because the project ran out of funding. No money = lots and lots of static shots and shoddy quality animation.
And I seem to recall reading that Anno had a nervous breakdown during the making of the series, which may partially explain the sudden hard right turn into metaphysical goo…though probably not.
I like Eva and all, though it’s been years since I watched it; I think the last viewing came when I watched the entire TV series and two movies in one day — I do not recommend doing that EVER. However, its attempts to be TRUE ART and MEANINGFUL ring a little hollow to me when Gainax continues to exploit the license with stuff like this, this, this and (God forgive me) this — that last one is very NSFW, by the way.
Heck, I should have just linked to the entire EVA store to illustrate my last point, I think.
Still, it’s an entertaining series, and I’m looking forward to reading more of your thoughts.
I’ve heard a great number of similar things about the reason why the TV series went down the toilet towards the end. I’ve never researched it thoroughly, but apparently it got so bad that the team decided, let’s just show the audience our take on this script from our perspective of being broke, wasted and sick of doing this. It would sure explain a lot — like those 50, 60 or 90-second static shots (hello, Rei and Asuka in the elevator) that seemed like less of a deeply weighty scene and more like a cheap time filler.
I had also heard the bit about Anno being clinically depressed or having some kind of breakdown, but I don’t recall specifics. Not sure what effect that had, but I’m sure it had some.
Besides being fascinated by the subject matter, really loving the director’s style, identifying with Shinji in some ways — and really just digging the soundtrack — I think I still remember this series quite fondly because I deliberately stayed away from the relentless excess of the supplementary product tie-ins and endless fanwanking. I watched the series, read some of the canon that was released subsequently (the Red Cross Book, for instance) and interviews with the production staff, and otherwise let it rest.
From seeing the official Eva store, I’m even more glad I mostly ignored all of that. I mean, WTF. I’ve seen plenty of “H class” resin figures before, including some Eva ones, but never imagined that these would be officially sanctioned products for sale in the official store. Pretty devoid of class IMO.
I think Evangelion suffers from a huge amount of commercial overexposure and overanalysis (which I realize I am only contributing to here), but like you said, I still think it’s an entertaining piece of work — one of the more memorable and meaningful (on a personal level) that I’ve seen.
I guess I’m not as lucky as you — I never went out of my way to find any of that superfluous stuff like the dolls and what not…it just seems to find me. Like that NSFW Rei doll — some dude posted it in a forum a while back, which is how I found out it was an officially licensed product.
It might not even be so bad if a) Eva was actually an h-anime (the creepy Shinji/Asuka hospital room scene at the beginning of End of Evangelion nonwithstanding) and b) (and most importantly) if Rei wasn’t depicted as being 14 years old in the anime. Obviously there’s no way to conclusively “prove” a fictional character’s age, but still….creepy city there.
Indeed — the fact that the Marduk Project kids are all 14 makes the ecchi stuff of them massively disturbing.
Most of the time, the muscle car crowd doesn’t cross over with the anime crowd, so since I rarely visit message boards outside of the car theme, I usually don’t accidentally blunder into stuff like this.
Thankfully.
But yeah, that Shinji/Asuka scene you mentioned was a great big WTF moment, and certainly not one of the times at which I found myself identifying with him. Overall, I think I was more disturbed by the entirety of End of Evangelion than anything else in the series, including the episode where EVA-01 essentially cannibalized EVA-03. Hmm; perhaps that’s why I prefer to remember the TV ending. (That, and the fact that I’ve seen the TV ending two or three times, and EoE only once.