The end has come.
With the Angels finally vanquished, SEELE turns its attention towards
finally attaining human instrumentality.
NERV is attacked and massacared, personnel eliminated left, right and
center. In the mind of Shinji Ikari,
this isn’t making his life any better or any worse. Kwaoru’s death is weighing on his mind as his
world crumbles further. What’s left of
NERV prepares for the inevitable and as Third Impact begins, the world braces
for an uncertain future…a future resting in the hands of Shinji Ikari.
This is the end…at long last and to quote Tyrion
Lannister from this past season of Game of Thrones, “If you want justice…you’ve
come to the wrong place.”
As previously stated, Neon Genesis Evangelion’s series
finale was met with reactions split right down the middle. Some fans thought it was an excellent ending
that kept pace with the intelligent story line established well into the second
half of the season. Others were flat out
pissed off, feeling like they were denied a grand finale that tied up all loose
ends and gave us the Evangelion action sequences to end all Evangelion action
sequences. Well low and behold a couple
of years later, Anno decided to shut everyone up with a feature film that would
encompass the entirety of what he ORIGINALLY had planned for the grand finale. And if there was ever a better example of “be
careful what you wish for?” look not further.
What was originally supposed to be a big single feature,
The End of Evangelion was not complete for its planned release. So the first of two films was released: Death
and Rebirth-Death being a one hour recap of the television series through the
eyes of various characters while Rebirth was a sneak peak at the first 15-20
minutes of the End of Evangelion (and seriously, it is just that, the first act
of that movie, if you finish Death just go ahead and plug in The End of Eva,
there is nothing different about the opening lol).
We’ll start at Death, which I think was my first real
exposure to Evangelion after Toonami’s edited broadcast of the first two
episodes. This piece isn’t bad. It does exactly what it sets out to do: bring
us up to speed, while also giving us a final look at some beloved characters
before everything goes to hell. Shinji,
Asuka, Rei, Misato, Kaji, Ritsuko and Gendo all get their own sections to
observe events from their point of view and truthfully, this one hour piece
does a better job at summing up and condensing story elements better than most
compilation OVA’s. There is some new footage
sprinkled here and there: the frame story is a scene that is impossible for the
series to have had but is interesting nonetheless-Shinji, Asuka, Rei and Kaworu
gathering to practice as an orchestra quartet.
Speaking of Orchestra, Pachelbel’s Cannon and Beethoven’s Ode To Joy
both make an appearance in this film and are used absolutely beautifully. I’ve seriously never heard these two done
better than here and Ode to Joy’s reappearance reminds me of why the showdown
and final scene with Shinji and Kaworu is my favorite moment of the series. Also, the film benefits greatly from having a
feature film budget. The touched up
scenes from the series look incredible and the subtle new scenes fit in just
fine. This film is just plain gorgeous. This is the ultimate Evangelion Cliff Notes
film and an excellent refresher before…
The End, the brutally horrifically, excellently ,
beautifully executed End of Evangelion.
I should probably say before I go any further…SPOILER
ALERT!!!
Now don’t get me wrong, this film is chock full of
problems, plot holes and generally unanswered questions. Plus it’s just down right depressing. All of those visions you saw of dead Misato
and Ritsuko briefly in the series finale, those happen and happen in grand
fashion. In fact, if Death was the last
chance to see these characters up to this point then End of Eva is your very
last time to see most of them alive.
It’s an all out bloodbath as soldiers literally butcher the staff of
NERV left, right and center. While it
does give the three bridge techies (Aoba, Hyuga and Ibuki) a chance to fire
some guns rather than shout situational reports, the brutality of NERV’s defeat
is almost haunting. But the one who
maybe gets the worst of it is Asuka.
Granted, once she wakes up from her coma she does get to kick some
serious bloody ass with Eva Unit 02. Her
showdown with the Mass Produced Eva series is very well done and one of
Evangelions most defining moments, complete with Bach’s Air for
atmosphere. More so is it’s outcome as
Asuka’s Eva finally loses power and is viciously mauled to death before stabbed
numerous times by their lances…proceed to gasp for air and vomit at the same
time. Indeed Asuka, Misato and Ritsuko
along with most of NERV meet brutal ends by the end of the first half of the
film.
And where is Shinji you might ask? Oh he’s finally hit that low where the only
way to get him to do anything…besides do something unspeakably unforgivable in
front of a comatose Asuka, is to drag him everywhere. And when he does get set to battle what’s the
first thing he sees…Mass Produced Eva’s chewing and flying around with bits of
Asuka’s Eva…cue Shinji’s most iconic and memorable scream (Props to Spike
Spencer, the immortal American voice of Shinji who gives this role his all and
manages to keep his voice after the credits role ). And that’s all before we get into the head
spinning final act that is Third Impact.
Now here is where fans get really divided. Some argue that the first half of the The End
of Eva is strongest because it delivers some form of closure and action lacked
in the series finale. However, once the
Third Impact segment of the film kicks in, we find ourselves transported into a
more visually moving and fleshed out rendition of the final episodes of the
series, complete with the end of the world and a miraculous rebirth. Those two episodes feel like they were what
was going on during Third Impact without the scenes leading up to it. But unlike going through everyone elses mind
a la the series, this is all purely from Shinji’s POV…and we all know by now
what it’s like going through Shinji’s head…a heaping helping of “SHUT THE F***
UP SHINJI!!!” His psychological torment
throughout this series comes to a head as he basically denies humanity it’s
future because he doesn’t want to cry or feels like no one loves him. Granted he hasn’t had a lot of positive role
models but to say that the rest of humanity should be punished because of it is
one of the most selfish decisions I think a human being can make. But the choice of humanity’s future has been
given to Shinji…how did anyone not realize they were screwed from Day One. Now if this had been the Shinji before the
show took a dark turn OR the Shinji we see at the end of Evangelion 2.0 (part
of the Rebuild series where he almost sacrifices the world to save Rei) the
world would have a better chance at surviving the apocalypse.
And while all of this leads to one of the most visually
stunning sequences in all of Anime, it once again doesn’t give viewers
everything they want. There are plenty
of water cooler questions left unanswered: like how could SEELE count on Shinji
to be that freaking depressed to pull off the mental unification of humanity? Was Gendo really going through all of this
just to get back together with his dead wife, why? Could this whole event had gone another way
if someone gave Shinji a hug or if Asuka or Rei 2 or Misato were put in his
place? And more importantly, after
Shinji makes his mind to let the world return to normal, where does humanity go
from there and is that really Askua with Shinji on the beach? It’s funny, despite the lack of answers I
still think it helps strengthen Eva’s appeal for fans of its intellectual side. It’s what prompts multiple viewings to try
and guess the answers and formulate some theories that Anno could confirm,
deny, and just snicker about in the shadows.
Visually, The End of Evangelion is hands down some of the
best Anime out there and is a feast for the eyes: from NERV’s demise to Asuka’s
Eva throwdown to the nice live action segments leading into the films final
sequence. And it looks like the budget
was given in full and put to good use.
This looks so much better than the TV Series (as it should for a film)
but still keeps the aesthetic look and feel of the characters and mecha. The end of the world sequence is just as
spectacular, with a chilling song to go along with it. Rip the story to pieces as much as you want
but the visuals cant be touched (kind of like Ghost in the Shell 2 but I liked
that one more lol).
Final Judgment Time-What did I think overall?
I thought this was quite a fun ride to kick off the summer. Somehow I think I enjoyed Evangelion as a whole more this time than any other time I had watched it prior. Was it because I was doing it to review and share? Eh…maybe but frankly I was having a nice fun romp down Nostalgia Lane with a series that still stands the test of time, flaws and all. The characters are memorable but grating, the mecha battles are epic if few in number, the story is fascinating if way too complex and head scratching at times. It has all the elements that keep viewers new and old coming back for more. The Rebuild of Evangelion series may be attracting new viewers and otaku eyes to the story but the classic remains the top contender. If you are an Anime fan, this is series that should part of your collection if not viewed at least once. It changed the rules, pissed us off and made it clear it is here to stay…and stay it has.
I thought this was quite a fun ride to kick off the summer. Somehow I think I enjoyed Evangelion as a whole more this time than any other time I had watched it prior. Was it because I was doing it to review and share? Eh…maybe but frankly I was having a nice fun romp down Nostalgia Lane with a series that still stands the test of time, flaws and all. The characters are memorable but grating, the mecha battles are epic if few in number, the story is fascinating if way too complex and head scratching at times. It has all the elements that keep viewers new and old coming back for more. The Rebuild of Evangelion series may be attracting new viewers and otaku eyes to the story but the classic remains the top contender. If you are an Anime fan, this is series that should part of your collection if not viewed at least once. It changed the rules, pissed us off and made it clear it is here to stay…and stay it has.
Final Score
Neon Genesis Evangelion-9/10
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth-7/10 (points
docked for the second half being totally skipable)
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion-7.5/10
Overall-8/10
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