Forum - View topicGrowing Up With Evangelion
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Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2516 |
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For as much as Anno made Evangelion an "achingly personal" tale at two points in his life now, your review is a surprisingly deep and personal look at you and is one I at least applaud as well as mirror having tread the same path thirty years ago with a different classic anime. Not sure if I will ever watch Eva, but if I do, I will keep your insights in mind as you made it sound interesting. Thank you.
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JintoLin
Posts: 44 |
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Now you really need to watch 'Hidaeki Anno: The Final Challenge of Evangelion", also on Amazon Prime. You'll see what took Anno and the rest of Khara four years to achieve, what Anno put his staff through, and what Anno put himself through. I found it really enlightening.
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tintor2
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Heard Anno had to ask for Megumu Ogata (Shinji's voice) for ideas in regards to how to finish Shinji's story since the dude had a big writer's block. Then again, the poor dude admitted he suffered from strong depression sometimes. I watched 3.0+1.0 and it kinda reminded me of the End of Evangelion but in a more positive view of Shinji's growth.
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Albert Camus
Posts: 1 |
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I've been dying to talk to somebody about this movie, as my partner is...well they've never appreciated EVA in the same way I have. And yet this article felt like an entire conversation to me. As it was for you, this final movie came out at the perfect time for me, as I literally started a job the other day working in a field that requires a lot of empathy for very damaged and maligned people. As a former addict trying to help other addicts get out of the self destructive cycle, it's hard sometimes to not feel like Shinji, in a constant cycle of feeling forgotten, judged, self-loathing, and hopelessness, as life seems designed to keep pushing you back despite doing your best. Starting this job sorta symbolizes for me a new chapter in my life and this movie coming out literally two days after starting feels symbolic of something. I'm not saying it's destiny (I'm not that naiive), but watching the final scene, taking off the collar, it just resonated so much with me, watching this poor kid who seemed to only make the wrong decisions in life get his happy ending. Just like me, getting a second chance to help people, escaping the cycle of destruction and poverty. Idk, it just meant a lot to finally see that. I know almost no one will relate to this at all. But I appreciate seeing an article like this, hearing how this story, the entire lore of EVA affected them. Because while my path to EVA was very different, I still feel like I grew up after absorbing the story and the 3.0+1.0 just felt like a great book end to my old life and a nice prologue to my new one, wherever it takes me. I feel like my life has just begun! Lol sorry for rambling so much, great article, hope other people get as much out of the final movie as I did.
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Scias
Posts: 43 |
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Awesome review, I see we're still around the same age group. I never really got into NGE until my early 20s, but sadly, even in my 30s I still haven't really grown up or moved on from my own trauma and pain and confusion. It kind of hurts when people look at Shinji and say that they've moved on and grown up from those feelings and can't relate to him anymore, hell, I still feel like Shinji Ikari and still stuck in that cycle of self-loathing, depression and hopelessness
I'm hesitant to revisit the series or movies, it might strike a little too much of a chord with me now, but I would still like to |
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Multi-Facets
Posts: 216 |
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Well said, Mr. Beckett.
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Top Gun
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I have this profoundly weird bundle of feelings toward Eva, and it's swung between both extremes of the pendulum at different points over the years. I first saw it when it wound up on [adult swim] a good 15 years ago, and all I really knew going in is that it had a sort of legendary status to it. I don't remember a lot of my initial impressions of it, only that I enjoyed the more standard earlier part, and then felt like it was getting pretty weird as it went on. (And then the ending was...yeah.) What I do clearly remember, however, is attempting to defend it against some of my friends who were gleefully shitting on the series in general and Shinji in particular. I made these impassioned pleas that I could understand where he was coming from and why he acted like he did...but in retrospect, my opinion wound up much closer to my friends' than to my past self. I watched Eva super-early in my anime fandom, when almost everything seemed fresh and new, but as time passed I found it much harder to identify with Shinji or most of the rest of the cast, and they seemed more like archetypes out of a psychology textbook than actual functioning characters. This wasn't borne out of callousness or anything; in fact I think part of what led to this change is that I suffered through my own bouts of anxiety and depression, yet my experience with them shared very little with how they were portrayed in the series. (I would have done anything for someone to tell me what to do, to "get in the robot," consequences be damned, but that never happened...) I had a fantastic back-and-forth with Zac about those differing perspectives in response to one of his articles a good while back. I'm sure we'd all give anything to read his take on this final installment.
As far as the Rebuild films, I watched the first two when [as] aired them years ago, and I honestly generally enjoyed them. The first played as a pretty straight remake of the start of the series, but I was genuinely fascinated by the changes in 2.22 and the implications they had. In particular, it seemed as though Shinji was finally taking his own initiative by the end, and I was looking forward to seeing how that was developed. However, after reading about 3.33, it seemed like a real...thing, and I never got around to watching it. Someday I'll sit down to it, but I'm not in a big rush. (As for End of Eva, I mean absolutely no personal offense to James or anyone else who enjoyed it, but my reaction to it can generally be summed up by "unintentionally hilarious." It'd be one hell of a drunk-watch, at least.) Taken as a whole, I definitely don't hate Eva, but I also don't think I can say I like it either at least not as a narrative work. Differing opinions on characterization aside, I can't really get behind something that spends 90% of its length setting up one narrative, only to pull an about-face with a "None of that narrative actually mattered, here's the real content!" (Grossly oversimplified, yes, but you get the picture.) That being said, I think Eva is an absolutely fascinating watch in the context of seeing an author undergoing severe personal distress and using a creative medium as his outlet for it. I can't think of anything else I've experienced that does something like this. |
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14763 |
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Try watching this 2 episodes at a time, every few months as it's being released. Imagine all the speculations and long theses written after each release
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Desa
 Posts: 285 |
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If you were 14 in 2006 I guess I'm just a bit older. I also grew up with Evangelion (which for the longest time I was pronouncing completely wrong lol). What drew me in were simple reasons: I wanted to see giant robots fight giant aliens. And anime tiddies. I actually started with the manga before watching the anime. Checking out those VHS tapes as they came out was a real rush let me tell you.
I still remember the moment I first encountered Evangelion. I was at my local library in the comics section looking for any new volumes of Garfield or Sherman's Lagoon, and at the bottom shelf, there it was, Volume 03 of this 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'. My first thought was, "Why is this book backwards? Am I reading this right? Right to left? Weird." But with Rei front and center on the cover, needless to say I was intrigued. So I chucked it in the pile of other books I was borrowing, and took it home to read. Naturally I was soon back looking for Volumes 01 and 02 (lol) and waiting patiently for Yoshiyuki Sadamoto to release more volumes. Little did I know it would take nearly 20 years to release all 14 volumes. Thankfully in between there were many enjoyable spinoff series and doujins (so many doujins). I liked both the manga ending and the ending of Eva 3.0+1.0. The manga ending was very fitting for the story of Eva told by Sadamoto, and Thrice Upon A Time was a fitting ending for Anno's vision of the Eva anime. The inclusion of Mari's character was pivotal in completing the arc and bringing closure to Shinji's story because being more of an outside character allowed Mari to do what the others couldn't. Rei, Asuka, and Kaworu all had relationships to Shinji that weren't quite "whole" as they all had to complete their own stories outside of the Eva project as Shinji had done prior to getting back into Unit 01, one last time. |
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Honeyman
Posts: 135 |
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I think I glimpsed it the other day but after watching the final film yesterday I might watch the documentary this evening. Not many creators would be capable of fusing a story about the main character's mental health with giant robot/beast action and make it work but somehow Anno and his team were able to achieve it greatly. I'll be interested in checking out what he works in next. Despite his ongoing battle with his own state of mind the guy is a respected creative and I'm sure after seeing 3.0+1.0 many will be eager to see what he chooses to direct next. |
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RacingManiac
Posts: 28 |
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I really enjoyed reading this column. As someone who is a good bit older but still relatable to the author's experience. Eva was something that I loved but always kinda on-and-off over the years. Friend in Taiwan before I immigrated to Canada introduced it to me in the late 90s. Watched on VHS tape but never got to the ending before I left. Then it was years before I got myself Death and Rebirth and then a few more years after that I got to EoE. It went from a series that I enjoyed as mecha show that was different to Gundam Wing, to something much more intense and philosophical even if I never did find the experience as personally relatable.
Then the Rebuild started and at first it seems like a new coat of paint to an old car, but then as it change so does my opinion of the show. 3.0 was really weird to me as it never shook off the WTF feeling the entire time. And it sorta continued into the the new movie, but something really different happened in the movie near the beginning start to change me. Seeing Touji, Kensuke, Hikari grew older, seeing the world moved on past the N3I/3I, it already start to bring me closer to this intensely alien Eva world. Then as the author said it still was rather intensely weird, jargon filled, constant bombardment of the increasingly crazy imagery in the film's 3rd act as 4th impact begins. But then Shinji dons the plug suit, something familiar, then the 4th wall breaks, it almost seems as if Anno is telling us all of this was, and is, absurd. And then Gendou and Shinji just talked and got over their years long issues. Shinji then did the same with the others and things just seem to step out of the surreal and into the reality. And to me, all of a sudden, all the mysteries, questions, or whatever the 2nd half of the Rebuild saga, or really much of the OG content didn't matter. They found the ending, it was fulfilling to me. I read a lot of analysis, breakdown, people's thoughts about it since and really I feel like a few things really resonated with me. Anno chose to have a 14 years jump to let the show moved on much like how a lot of the older fans have and it broke out of a fixed point in time and its with that I feel like you can have closure with the Evangelion. I really like how it worked at a meta level. |
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jdnation
Posts: 1998 |
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Great read James!
I too am in my 30's, and like many came across Evangelion in the anime heyday. I grew up in my childhood watching stuff like Robotech and some other robot shows. But those were just some amongst many other cartoons like TMNT and G.I. Joe etc. I only started getting into anime as a teen towards the end of 8th grade, when I saw Macross Plus on late night TV along with other stuff like Todd McFarlane's Spawn. I was like, "Oh shit! Is this Robotech???!" (well, yeah! lol!) It was like magic! Then the floodgates opened up with other stuff like The Vision of Escaflowne, Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon and other stuff on TV, but I also got into checking out other stuff like Ninja Scroll and other VHS rentals that were available of more adult anime stuff. Back then, the internet was also becoming a thing, and the only way to access other anime through fansub downloads, where you could get Trigun in stunning 480i over dial-up. Other friends would also download anime and share stuff on CD-Roms. But that's how it began, and eventually I'd discover cool stuff like Cowboy Bebop, Serial Experiments Lain and odd stuff like Boogiepop Phantom, Hellsing and more. Then finally I discovered these things called anime conventions, and I attended my first one, back when the majority of it was not panels, but viewing rooms where you could watch episodes of series and movies with other fans and it was a magical time! Then you could meet vendors in the market area and find plenty more. By this time I had money, so I was buying my favorite shows and OVAs and movies at HMV and at convention vendors. Somewhere in the interim I'd heard of and seen images of Evangelion, primarily it's two well designed iconic girls Asuka and Rei, and heard whispers of its rumored cult status. For whatever reason came across the original DVD set of the series, and being in a splurging mood at a convention, I basically just bought the DVD set blind. And since then I've followed the similar road of hype and adoration as many others, then eagerly waiting for the End of Evangelion film to make sense of those last two episodes, which I didn't like at the time, but End of Eva made up for it. Long story shorter, it become one of my favorite series, and being a Catholic, all the religious symbolism, iconography and lore also interested me. I loved the characters, and kept wanting something better for them, so Eva always haunted me, even though I was perfectly fine with the bleakness of End of Eva. When the Rebuild movies were announced, I was interested, but not necessarily hyped, as I thought they were just going to be remakes of the series, and when 1.0 finally came around, it was pretty much that. Things only really shot through the roof when 2.0 began diverging and boy was it an ass-kicking time! 3.0 pulled the rug out from everyone and while many people didn't like it, I still dug the hell out of it, the sheer balls on Anno to do this! But there's also another reason 3.0 resonated with me. For some time since college when I felt I was on top of the world, I experienced burnout towards graduation. Things were not going so well for me. I tried tackling many things that I thought would go well, but it was just one disappointment or disaster after another, and finally I just... stopped... I got into my shell and grew a complacent and had just been wandering around, not really feeling like I was living as I was when I was younger, and grew more cynical about the world, about relationships and mundane happiness. So... totally goth! Heh... But I recognized that immediately when I saw Shinji's condition, and really empathized with the idea that sometimes you go all out to do the thing you think is good and right and hopeful, only for it to spectacularly blow up in your face and achieve the complete opposite result of what you intended! Let me tell you, it's a long, hard road back. Forget about growing up and maturing, it's a hard road back even to the younger optimistic person you used to be! This also reminded me of all I'd read and heard about Anno as he made the series and committed to the decisions he did and all he went through in his life reflected on the series. So I was very eager to see how the Rebuild story would end, and I am jubilant that Anno delivered and despite that he shys away from the idea that his films can change people's lives and feels Eva has done more harm than good, I'd say I am definitely one of those it has done good to! I'm glad for the upbeat hopeful note that 3+1 ends on, and it's been a long time since I watched something that really resonated with me, and it's the rare piece of entertainment that does this! In a way, with all these government lockdowns and other BS going on in life, Eva 3+1, feels like it released just for me! I know someone else up above said it felt like fate or destiny, but it really does feel like that for me! Even as just a piece of entertainment, Anno gave us all these fan favorite moments to see a little bit more into the lives of Toji and Class Rep, Kensuke and everyone gets their moments, so there's lots of fan-service, there's comedy, there's all these light-hearted sunny day things in the film that happen despite Shinji's angst, and its was great watching him finally recover and grow. And I'm like, damn straight, that's what I need to do too! There's also the critic in me that has other things to say, but overall, the finale of the Rebuild was an absolute delight and dare I say, taken all together Evangelion as a whole cements itself as a masterpiece! I'd have loved to have seen it in a theater. But I guess I'll be waiting for the official blu-ray release to binge the whole thing over again. Maybe someday with friends, or I'll just start a class to deconstruct the series and films. Whatever the case, I just want to talk about it with other long-time fans who get it like I do! One of the absolute best things I've seen in a long time, and considering everything I've consumed in the past 30 years, that says a lot! I'm finally feeling like I've got a little something back again from that kid I used to be, and I'm hoping he sticks around! |
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JohnRhogan
Posts: 164 |
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You wanna talk about growing up Eva? I remember buying the English Dub as it was being released on VHS (anyone know what VHS is nowadays?) I originally got into Eva because of tbe Evas and the characters, but then I became hooked. I even had Death/Rebirth and The End of Evangelion on VHS fansubbed. That was an awesome experience to watch in Japanese. Then I bought the DVDs for said movies and was blown away by the dub as well as the commentaries (which are funny by the way). I was excited about the Rebuild movies when I first heard about them and have been waiting to watch Thrice, whether in English or Japanese.
I too would love to know what happened in that 14-year timeskip, so I Anno-san decides to explore that. That would be awesome. |
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KitKat1721
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This so much. I didn't grow up with the same deep attachment to Eva growing up, first watching it early in college, but I can definitely share the sentiment of having an anime that deeply resonated with me and was incredibly formative at a young age. And I can't imagine how much heavier that feeling is for a series like Eva with the rebuilds and long wait between 3.33 and this very final finale. I know Eva licensing has been cursed as hell over the years. Even Netflix discourse aside, I was glad I re-watched the first three rebuilds this weekend with someone who had a language preference, because it was hard deciding between closed-captioning quasi-dubtitles vs. a significantly worse version of the Funimation dubs. I understand a ton of time has passed, and its one thing losing Mike McFarland as a director over a director who's never worked in anime ADR before, but things like leaving in the JPN screams instead of taking the time to dub them (or at least edit in the screams from the Funi dub) is super unfortunate. But I think it speaks to how lasting and impactful Eva is to people that all those bull licensing decisions and long waits have not hurt its reach as much as they would a lesser series. I love reading more personal stories like this (or Lynzee's Sailor Moon retrospective), and this was a really fantastic piece! |
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P€|\||§_|\/|ast@
 Posts: 3498 Location: IN your nightmares |
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