Forum - View topicThe Evolution of Evangelion: Rebuild vs. TV
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Vaisaga
 Posts: 13227 |
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As a hardcore Shinji/Rei shipper I much prefer the Rebuild movies since their relationship is a huge focus. Well, the first two films, anyways. Hopefully the 4th film will end things in a satisfying manner.
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wolf10
 Posts: 905 |
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My Eva experience is rather odd in that my First Impact was a copy of Death and Rebirth that somehow found its way into my Christmas presents one year (absent any other required-viewing or even the second movie), back in the days when parents were still "what's an anime?" Eventually I found the (eternally-incomplete) manga on the shelves of my local library, and aside from the fleshed-out Shinji/Kaworu dynamic contributing to my realization that I was gay (in 10-years-later hindsight), didn't really seem like that big a deal.
Eventually, I caught the first Rebuild film at an anime convention, but it wasn't until 2.0 was out that I finally broke down and gave the original a shot. It was only then I realized that the reason my friends had been so dismissive of it all, and why much of what I read about it seemed so critical, was that Anno hadn't made Evangelion for them. He made it for me. And there really isn't another show out there like it. |
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Vukir
 Posts: 66 Location: California |
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Eva 3.0 was really off the rails... I watched it once. I need to go back and re-watch it, but I loved 2.0 (in particular, the re-done falling angel, Asuka's development and other points were fantastic), but that's not to say it was perfect. 1.0 I was a bit bored with, since it was almost shot-for-shot the same as the episodes it replaced. It was only when Shinji stood up with the positron rifle that I found enjoyment in it.
That said, I didn't want them to make a movie version of the series. I think the series is fantastic. Watching it as a young teen resonated a lot of feelings. Will I like Rebuild more than the original? Right now no. But I still have another rebuild movie to get through, and maybe things will change. |
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Andre Andrews
Posts: 8 |
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I personally like both, but for entirely different reasons.
I like the original series because it is my first Deconstruction anime and it has proper character exploration. It might not be as pretty as Rebuild, but it has a bit more thematic weight than what I've gotten with Rebuild so far. However, that's not to say that I hate Rebuild; in fact, I like Rebuild for actually playing up the Sci-Fi elements and running with it. I really like the world of Rebuild and how alive it feels. Unfortunately, it just so happens to be populated by characters that just simply don't have enough time to be explored. Though the one glaring flaw I have with EVA as a whole is that it seems to not know when to tell as story as opposed to telling a sermon. I get it! Depression is a horrible thing, Anno! Happiness is attainable if you're willing to take that first step! Just tell a story already! And that is my issue with EVA; I understand the message to the point where I'm just waiting for him to get on with it. Not to mention the message is speaking to a specific person... or rather a specific person with a specific type of depression. To quote someone on Tumblr, okay you know you've irritated me as an audience member if you've got me quoting Tumblr of all places, "His depression isn't MY depression. His self-loathing isn't MY self-loathing." And that is the crux of EVA's faults: it's not universal. It is speaking to a niche audience and as a result, it comes off as closed off from other perspectives. Maybe Rebuild might change this opinion, but I'm not holding my breath. But hey, at least it will be pretty to look at. But there is a bright side to being a fan of EVA that recognizes it's faults like I do... MORE FANFIC FODDER FOR ME!! 
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Ggultra2764
 Subscriber Posts: 3876 Location: New York state. |
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Neither version personally. Always preferred the manga adaptation of Eva from Yoshiyuki Sadamoto since it struck a balance between making the characters more bareable to put up with as the Rebuild movies do while dabbling into the mental issues affecting them as the original TV anime did, while also creating a more coherent plot to follow. Sadly, too many folks tend to debate over the merits of the TV and film adaptations of Eva than to consider the merits of the manga adaptation since Hideaki Anno is forever associated with Eva in the eyes of many fans.
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5825 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Pretty informative topic today. I found it interesting. Hopefully, there will be a fourth Rebuild movie to see where Anno actually takes us too.
I really have no interest in who or if Shinji hooks up with anyone. But considering what we know of Rei, can there really be a (shipping) relationship with Shinji, outside of the realms of doujinshi. I liked the TV series, despite episodes 25 and 26. I also liked the End of Evangelion. But I find the Rebuild movies to be fantastic. Fingers crossed for 4.1.1, or 3.0 + 1.0, whatever they plan on calling it. |
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Parsifal24
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I've always preferred the TV series to the movies the movies have their own strengths but I find the tv series when taken away from the sometimes pretentious and pedantic over analysis of some fans is a pretty simple story.
That gets over complicated because complexity gets confused for depth by some. As far as the angle of Evangelion and Depression as someone who has struggled with depression since early adolescence your mind is never really "normal". You can take antidepressants have a good support structure gain some kind of distance from who you were and ultimately your brain is simply different my normal is a despondent and cynical view of life. That's just who I am ultimately I think the TV series does a better job of showing that you have to accept yourself "warts and all." Even then that's really only the first step to becoming emotionally balanced, as you need to find something outside of yourself to believe in some kind of transcendent objective truth if I may digress. Wich is one of the reasons I've never understood the "Shinji is too whiny" criticisms over the years. All that being said I still think the TV series has the ultimately more hopeful ending if one removes all the Existential window dressing and over focus on the supposedly gnostic terminology. I can only speak for myself though |
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amagee
 Posts: 333 Location: Orlando, FL |
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Loved the editorial; work calls so I can't do much processing on it, however. Please do another one of these when/if the 4th film ever comes out; I'd love to see the author's perspective.
This is something I always try and emphasize when I give my panel on Evangelion's Judeo-Christian imagery. There's still a lot of cool stuff to unpack with what they do with said imagery and digging into where they pull their references, but you walk a fine line when doing so; digging too deeply on this stuff risks taking away from the power of the story's emotional core. |
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TarsTarkas
Posts: 5825 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Considering everyone is dead, and what Shinji is doing to Asuka at the very end, I don't see a very hopeful ending. |
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jroa
Posts: 537 |
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I don't have any specific criticisms regarding the editorial, Gabriella's analysis is pretty interesting and plausible enough from a purely intellectual perspective, but I would be far more personally invested in reading one of these massive retrospectives only after the fourth Rebuild of Evangelion film comes out.
At this point, even the best of analysts can't help but either attempt to extrapolate, speculate or otherwise give Hideaki Anno the benefit of the doubt concerning his current ability to satisfactorily conclude the movie series, whether on a narrative or thematic level, after a third film that has not exactly been universally acclaimed. Love or hate it. I am frankly undecided about what to expect. We don't even know if the final movie will have any practical equivalent to the conclusion of the TV series or End of Evangelion, or if it'll just go in a completely different direction that may or may not be worthy of such a long wait. Either way, I am sure it'll be wonderfully produced and will give the fans a ton of food for thought, both above and beyond whatever specifically happens on the big screen. |
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Nyren
Posts: 702 |
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Evangelion is a bit of a weird one for me. A lot of people told me to watch the original series and after a while I finally sat down to watch it. I got 6 episodes in and then stopped flat. Never picked it up again and a few years later I still don't understand why I dropped it as quickly as I did.
I get more confused by the fact that I like the first Rebuild film, which is basically just a rehash of the series first 6 episodes. I liked it so much that I went straight into the second Rebuild film which has become one of my all time favorite anime films. |
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Hameyadea
 Posts: 3679 |
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Until the 4th film is released, I can't form a solid opinion about the movies, but so far it feels like they are more shōnen-y, when the TV series was more about psyche and psychology.
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Knoepfchen
 Posts: 698 |
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This was a great read, thank you Gabriella.
I don't care about being "faithful" to an original. If they wanted to be faithful, why remake anything in the first place, when we could just go back and re-watch the original? I don't understand that concept. However, I do care about characters being interesting or not, and the Rebuild characters, while not too bad in comparison to a lot of shows, are only shadows of the ones from the TV series. I can appreciate the production values, I'm interested in seeing how this new take on things will end, but it leaves me cold and uninvolved, while the rawness of the original series, with all its flaws and madness, left an impression on me that I can never forget. I wish Anno would move on, for his emotional sake and my far greater interest in what he would do if he finally let Shinji go. |
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fuuma_monou
 Posts: 1817 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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For better or worse, the anime character I identify with most is Shinji Ikari.
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Merxamers
 Posts: 720 |
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An excellent editorial, very thought provoking!
I actually only recently watched the original NGE series (you guys should check out the opening; it's pretty funky, you probably haven't heard of it). I certainly have thoughts about it! I take a bit of umbrage at the implication that NGE "becomes" this dark portrayal of depression; it gave me that impression from the very first episode. In fact, the first 4-5 episodes have a weird tone and cinematic style i hadn't seen before; everything seemed really unsettling, menacing, and grim. The rest of the show i enjoyed a lot; i'm guessing that the plot is criticized quite a bit, but i actually liked the various episodic battles. There were a lot of clever scifi plots, like the nano-machine angel. My biggest problem with it is probably the problem everyone has with it; the last two episodes give almost no closure to anything. In a character-focused story like NGE, not getting closed arcs for anyone (except Shinji, sort of), was like a slap in the face. I have the Rebuild blurays, but haven't watched them yet; i hope they do a bit better. I definitely understand why this is such an iconic series; i hope it gets a proper conclusion within my lifetime
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