The End of Evangelion
Encyclopedia
is a 1997 Japanese animated
science fiction film written and directed by Hideaki Anno
along with Kazuya Tsurumaki
; it ended the anime releases in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise
until the Rebuild of Evangelion
tetralogy remake
s were announced in 2006.
The film is divided into two approximately 45-minute episodes: Episode 25': Love is Destructive ("Air" in the Japanese version) and Episode 26': ONE MORE FINAL: I need you ' onMouseout='HidePop("42838")' href="/topics/Charly">Charly
, in the Japanese version). They can be considered as either a 'replacement' for the original ending of the popular animated series Neon Genesis Evangelion or a more detailed, "real world" account of the series' original ending in episodes 25 and 26, which takes place almost completely in the minds of the main characters (the "experimental approach", as the Red Cross Book calls it in the commentary, or style, being largely shaped by time and budget restraints). Gainax originally proposed to title it Evangelion: Rebirth 2.
, still distraught over the death of Kaworu Nagisa
, pleads for help from an unconscious Asuka Langley Soryu
. He accidentally dislodges her hospital gown, revealing her body, and masturbates while standing next to her bed. SEELE, with the Angels eliminated and Gendo Ikari
's treachery obvious, attempt to take over NERV by hacking the MAGI computer system, but are thwarted when Ritsuko Akagi installs a firewall. SEELE proceeds to coerce the Prime Minister of Japan into deploying the JSSDF to initiate a large-scale assault on NERV. The JSSDF soldiers invade NERV's facilities, killing all NERV personnel on sight; top priority is given to the execution of the Eva pilots and the capture of the Evangelions. Misato Katsuragi
orders Asuka to be moved to the cockpit of Unit 02 and placed at the bottom of a nearby lake, and rescues Shinji to have him pilot Unit 01. She is able to bring Shinji to the EVA's bay doors, but is mortally wounded in the process. She persuades Shinji to keep going and pilot the EVA one more time. Misato kisses Shinji, and forces him into the elevator before collapsing from her wounds. With her last breaths, Misato wonders if Kaji believes she has done the right thing.
Concluding that NERV's defeat has become inevitable, Gendo retrieves Rei and retreats to Terminal Dogma to begin initiating Third Impact. Meanwhile, Asuka is hidden away in the sunken Unit 02, which she is able to reactivate upon reaching the epiphany that her mother has "always been with her" within Unit 02. Asuka engages the JSSDF attack force's aircraft and ground vehicles but her Eva's external power cable is severed during the battle. The "mass-production" EVAs are launched to defeat her. Back in Terminal Dogma, Ritsuko confronts Gendo and Rei, intending to self-destruct the NERV facility to prevent Gendo from carrying out his plans. However, her command is overridden by Casper, one of the three cores of the MAGI, and Gendo kills her. At the EVA launch cages, Shinji is unable to join the battle after he finds that Unit 01 is covered in hardened Bakelite, preventing him from entering it. Outside, Asuka initially seems to cripple the new EVAs before her internal power is depleted, but they reactivate despite their considerable injuries and resume destroying the defenseless Unit 02. Back inside the NERV facility, Unit 01 breaks through the surrounding Bakelite on its own, allowing Shinji to join the battle. However, Shinji realizes he is too late when he sees the mangled remains of Unit 02, and screams in horror.
As the souls form a single, complemented existence, Lilith/Rei once again gives control of the process to Shinji. Shinji's emotional sufferings and loneliness prompt him to accept this new form, believing that there could never be happiness in the real world. However, he later realizes, after a series of mental journeys and monologues, that it is necessary to live with others, and that to live life is to experience joy as well as pain. Third Impact is rejected and Lilith/Rei decays and dies, releasing the Anti-AT Field and allowing separate beings to potentially come back into existence. Asuka and Shinji are rematerialized from the sea of LCL together on a beach looking out on the severed head of Lilith/Rei and the apocalyptic landscape.
Gainax launched the project to create a film ending for the series in 1997, first releasing Death and Rebirth
as a highly condensed character-based recap and re-edit of the TV series (Death) and the first half of the new ending (Rebirth, which was originally intended to be the full ending, but could not be finished due to budget and time constraints). The project was completed later in the year and released as The End of Evangelion.Episode 25': Air, uses the original script intended for episode 25 of the original series and forms roughly 2/3 of the previous film, Rebirth
.
Among the images used in the film are of some of the hate-mail and death
threats (including graffiti on Gainax's headquarters) as well as letters of praise sent to Anno.
Ritsuko's voice actress Yuriko Yamaguchi
had considerable difficulty delivering her character Ritsuko's response to Gendo Ikari without knowing what Gendo had said (as Anno
ensured that part of Gendo's line was inaudible). She successfully delivered the line after being shown a hint from Anno.
, Houston and New York City
.
Several creative changes were made to the English audio track of the film, including some added dialogue and addition of several sound effect
s. In addition to these alterations some fans have criticized a major mistranslation of a significant line of exposition by Misato to Shinji regarding the relationship between Adam and Lilith.
In discussing the film's English dub, Mike Crandol of Anime News Network
determined that "the remarkably strong performances of the main cast overshadow the weaker voice work present", though he criticized the script for being "slightly hammy" in parts. Crandol praised the final exchange between Spike Spencer
(Shinji) and Allison Keith
's (Misato) characters as "one of the most beautiful vocal performances to ever grace an anime".
. The film prominently features selections of Johann Sebastian Bach
's music throughout the movie. Episode 25' has the Japanese title Air, being named after the Air on the G String
which is played during the episode. Among the other pieces included are Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major (I. Prélude), Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
(transcribed for piano and later played again with string instrument
s in the end credits), and Pachelbel's Canon.
Among the other insert songs are "Komm, süsser Tod" (Come, Sweet Death), an upbeat song in which the singer describes their motivations for suicide (which appears in the film at the beginning of Instrumentality), and "THANATOS -If I Can't Be Yours", which is played in both the end credits and the credits to episode 25' (the song is based around "THANATOS", a background music piece used in the series).
over a black background and the film's title printed on it. The book is written by Gainax and various members of the Neon Genesis Evangelion series and film staff. The RCB contains a glossary
of several terms used in the series, manga, and the two films to introduce the film's history. It also includes an interview with Tsurumaki, a listing of voice actors and brief essays written by them on their respective characters, short biographical sketches, commentary on the TV series and production of the films, and a "Notes" section covering the setting of the films. The Red Cross Book was left out in the Manga Entertainment release due to copyright issues. However, it was translated by fans of the series.
in Japan. It also included the first release of the video versions of Episodes 21-24. The film was split up into two 40-minute episodes with brief intros (similar to episode 22), edited credits (for each episode instead of credits for both between the two), redone eyecatcher-textboards (showing "Neon Genesis Evangelion Episode..." instead of "The End of Evangelion Episode...") and a next-episode-preview section in Episode 25. The episodic version of the film was on the last two discs of the Laserdisc release of the series (Genesis 0:13 and 0:14 respectively), each containing 2 episodes (the original TV episodes and the new End of Evangelion episodes respectively), although the film was also released in its original cinematic form on VHS, Laserdisc, and later DVD. The script was serialized in 4 issues of Dragon Magazine from August 1997 to January 1998.
ADV declined to license The End of Evangelion and the associated films; Manga Entertainment "reportedly paid around 2 million dollars" for the rights. The North American DVD release also remixed the film's audio no less than three times according to the packaging. It featured a 6.1 DTS, a 5.1 Dolby, as well as a new stereo track downmixed from the 6.1 in both languages. The original stereo is not included. It is unknown if the subtitled VHS included the original or the remix stereo.
In 2006, The End of Evangelion was shown theatrically as part of the Tokyo International Film Festival
in Akihabara.
episodes, and 3 theatrical features" as well as "a bonus disc with never-before-seen material").
This version of the film conjoins the "recap" film Evangelion: Death with End, omitting the Rebirth segment from the first film. Also, in the forementioned bonus disc is a previously unreleased deleted scene shot in live-action with voice actors Megumi Hayashibara
, Yūko Miyamura, and Kotono Mitsuishi
portraying their characters, 10 years after the events of Evangelion. In this continuity, Shinji does not exist and Asuka has a sexual relationship with Toji Suzuhara. The sequence concludes with a male voice (implied to be Shinji's) saying, "This isn't it, I am not here," proving it is a false reality seen through his eyes.
Manga Entertainment announced in 2006 that it was "ironing out the contracts" to release the Renewal versions of Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion, with the hope of being able to release them in the United States within the next year. However, Manga Entertainment no longer holds the overseas license for the films.
Anime Grand Prix prize for 1997 and the Japan Academy Prize for "Biggest Public Sensation of the Year"; and was given the "Special Audience Choice Award" by the 1997 Animation Kobe
. EX.org ranked the film in 1999 as the fifth best 'All-Time Show' (with the TV series at #2).
In Japan, between its release and October 1997, The End of Evangelion grossed 1.45 billion yen.
manga artist
Nobuhiro Watsuki
wrote:
Newtype USA reviewed the film as a "saga of bamboozlement". It also criticized the film's "more biblical overtones, teen melo-drama and bad parenting" and that "for some frustrated viewers, these DVDs might bring on the '4th impact' hurling these DVDs against the wall." Manga Entertainment CEO Marvin Gleicher criticized the Newtype review as "biased and disrespectful" and a "facile and vapid" product of "ignorance and lack of research".
Many reviews focused on the audio-visual production; Light and Sound editorialized that "narrative coherence seems a lesser concern to the film-makers than the launching of a sustained audio-visual assault. The kaleidoscopic imagery momentarily topples into live action for the baffling climax...", an assessment echoed by critic Mark Schilling. Mike Crandol of Anime News Network
gave the film an overall passing grade and described it as "a visual marvel". He described the DVD release as "a mixed bag", expressing displeasure over the "unremarkable" video presentation and overall lack of extra material. David Uzumeri of Comics Alliance summarized the film as "a dark, brutal, psychedelic orgy of sex and violence that culminated in the mass extinction of humanity set to an optimistic J-pop song with lyrics about suicide." Uzumeri also stated that the "themes of [Neon Genesis Evangelion] criticizing the audience for being spineless and lost in a fantasy world were cranked up to eleven, as the protagonist Shinji basically watches everybody die around him due to his refusal to make any effort whatsoever to engage with other people."
Independent filmmaker Patrick Meaney described the film as "an avant garde masterpiece", noting that "it violates virtually every rule of traditional film storytelling" and in particular praising the Instrumentality sequence as "astonishing" and "unlike anything else [he's] ever seen."
In an article for Slant Magazine
, writer Michael Peterson remarked that "it was not until the End of Evangelion film that Anno's
visual strengths as a director really stood out". He observed that "Anno, like David Lynch
, possesses a skill at framing his shots, and using the attendant color, to create visual compositions that stand out not only as beautiful in the story's context, but also as individual images, a painterly quality that he then applies back to the work. When Anno frames an image, the power of that specific image becomes a tool that he can later refer back to for an instantaneous emotional and intellectual response."
Carlos Ross of Them Anime Reviews compared the tone of the film to The Blair Witch Project
in that it deconstructed the series while "cashing in" on it. He was especially critical of the film's entire second half by saying:
Schilling reviewed the film as more than a deconstruction, but an attempt at unification of mediums:
Chris Beveridge of Mania.com described the film as "work[ing] on so many levels", but cautions that it is not meant to be watched without having seen the rest of the series.
Patrick Macias
of TokyoScope ranked it one of his 10 greatest films of all time, and the best anime movie of the 1990s; CUT film magazine ranked it third on its list of the top 30 best anime films of all time.
Their interactions display a wide range of positive and negative emotion
s. During the recording of the final scene, Shinji's voice actress Megumi Ogata
became overwhelmed with emotion and strangled Yuko Miyamura
.
The meaning of the final line is obscure,and has been controversial. According to an episode of the Japanese anime show Anime Yawa aired March 31, 2005 on NHK
's satellite TV, Asuka's final line was initially written as "I'd never want to be killed by you of all men, absolutely not!" or "I'll never let you kill me." ("Anta nankani korosareru nowa mappira yo!") but Anno was dissatisfied with Miyamura's renditions of this line. Eventually Anno asked her a question which described what he was going for with this scene:
Tiffany Grant
, Asuka's English dub voice actress, made the following statement:
Some state that, despite the somber ending the results of Instrumentality are not permanent. Both Rei and Yui comfort Shinji and tell him that people can restore themselves to physical existence if they want to, depending on the strength within their hearts. It is suggested that Asuka is one of the first persons to manifest herself back into reality. Another Evangelion trading card explains:
It has been debated whether The End of Evangelion is intended to enlarge and retell episodes 25 and 26 or to completely replace the TV ending with a different one. Some believe that The End of Evangelion is an alternate ending to the series, perhaps created to please those fans who were displeased with the TV series' ending. Tsurumaki said he felt the series was complete as it was.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
science fiction film written and directed by Hideaki Anno
Hideaki Anno
is a Japanese animation and film director. Anno is best known for his work on the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. His style has come to be defined by the touches of postmodernism that he injects into his work, as well as the thorough portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotions,...
along with Kazuya Tsurumaki
Kazuya Tsurumaki
Kazuya Tsurumaki is a Japanese anime director. He was born on February 2, 1966 in the city of Gosen, located in the Niigata Prefecture.He is the protegé of Hideaki Anno, and a longtime animator at Gainax...
; it ended the anime releases in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise
Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise
The franchise is an umbrella of Japanese media properties generally owned by the anime studio Gainax. It has grossed over 150 billion yen since 1995. The central works of the franchise feature an apocalyptic mecha action story which revolves around the efforts by the paramilitary organization...
until the Rebuild of Evangelion
Rebuild of Evangelion
Rebuild of Evangelion, known in Japan as , is a Japanese animated film series and a remake of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series. It is being produced by Studio Khara and KlockWorx in partnership with Gainax...
tetralogy remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
s were announced in 2006.
The film is divided into two approximately 45-minute episodes: Episode 25': Love is Destructive ("Air" in the Japanese version) and Episode 26': ONE MORE FINAL: I need you ' onMouseout='HidePop("42838")' href="/topics/Charly">Charly
Charly
Charly is a 1968 American film directed by Ralph Nelson. The drama stars Cliff Robertson , Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala, Leon Janney and Dick Van Patten and tells the story of a mentally retarded bakery worker who is the subject of an experiment to increase human intelligence...
, in the Japanese version). They can be considered as either a 'replacement' for the original ending of the popular animated series Neon Genesis Evangelion or a more detailed, "real world" account of the series' original ending in episodes 25 and 26, which takes place almost completely in the minds of the main characters (the "experimental approach", as the Red Cross Book calls it in the commentary, or style, being largely shaped by time and budget restraints). Gainax originally proposed to title it Evangelion: Rebirth 2.
Episode 25': "Love is Destructive"
Shinji IkariShinji Ikari
is a fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise created by Hideaki Anno. The protagonist of the series , he is the Third Child and pilots the Evangelion Unit 01...
, still distraught over the death of Kaworu Nagisa
Kaworu Nagisa
is a fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. He is the Fifth Child and the seventeenth Angel, Tabris. He is sent to Nerv by Seele as a replacement pilot for Unit 02 after Asuka Langley Soryu's synchronization ratio falls below usability...
, pleads for help from an unconscious Asuka Langley Soryu
Asuka Langley Soryu
is a 14-year old fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. Within the series, she is designated as the Second Child and the pilot of the Evangelion Unit 02...
. He accidentally dislodges her hospital gown, revealing her body, and masturbates while standing next to her bed. SEELE, with the Angels eliminated and Gendo Ikari
Gendo Ikari
is a fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. He is the commander of Nerv. While all of the English versions romanize his given name as Gendo, Gainax's website romanizes it Gendoh, and some fansites romanize his name as "Gendou"....
's treachery obvious, attempt to take over NERV by hacking the MAGI computer system, but are thwarted when Ritsuko Akagi installs a firewall. SEELE proceeds to coerce the Prime Minister of Japan into deploying the JSSDF to initiate a large-scale assault on NERV. The JSSDF soldiers invade NERV's facilities, killing all NERV personnel on sight; top priority is given to the execution of the Eva pilots and the capture of the Evangelions. Misato Katsuragi
Misato Katsuragi
is a fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise created by Hideaki Anno. She is the operations director at Nerv, initially with the rank of captain; she is later promoted to major. In Rebuild of Evangelion Misato's rank is lieutenant colonel...
orders Asuka to be moved to the cockpit of Unit 02 and placed at the bottom of a nearby lake, and rescues Shinji to have him pilot Unit 01. She is able to bring Shinji to the EVA's bay doors, but is mortally wounded in the process. She persuades Shinji to keep going and pilot the EVA one more time. Misato kisses Shinji, and forces him into the elevator before collapsing from her wounds. With her last breaths, Misato wonders if Kaji believes she has done the right thing.
Concluding that NERV's defeat has become inevitable, Gendo retrieves Rei and retreats to Terminal Dogma to begin initiating Third Impact. Meanwhile, Asuka is hidden away in the sunken Unit 02, which she is able to reactivate upon reaching the epiphany that her mother has "always been with her" within Unit 02. Asuka engages the JSSDF attack force's aircraft and ground vehicles but her Eva's external power cable is severed during the battle. The "mass-production" EVAs are launched to defeat her. Back in Terminal Dogma, Ritsuko confronts Gendo and Rei, intending to self-destruct the NERV facility to prevent Gendo from carrying out his plans. However, her command is overridden by Casper, one of the three cores of the MAGI, and Gendo kills her. At the EVA launch cages, Shinji is unable to join the battle after he finds that Unit 01 is covered in hardened Bakelite, preventing him from entering it. Outside, Asuka initially seems to cripple the new EVAs before her internal power is depleted, but they reactivate despite their considerable injuries and resume destroying the defenseless Unit 02. Back inside the NERV facility, Unit 01 breaks through the surrounding Bakelite on its own, allowing Shinji to join the battle. However, Shinji realizes he is too late when he sees the mangled remains of Unit 02, and screams in horror.
Episode 26': "ONE MORE FINAL: I need you."
Inside Terminal Dogma, Gendo attempts to merge with Rei to begin Third Impact. However, Rei takes over the process and reunites with Lilith, forming a luminescent, rapidly-growing being with Lilith's skin and Rei's body. Back outside, the Mass Production EVAs crucify Unit 01 and begin the ritual to initiate Third Impact, as Shinji increasingly loses his grip on sanity. The giant Lilith/Rei being rises out of the Geofront and confronts Shinji, morphing into the form of Kaworu as well as Rei. After several scenes of contemplation, including a surreal and violent confrontation with Asuka, Shinji decides he is alone and unwanted, and as such everyone in the world "can just die". In response, the giant being creates a planet-wide Anti-AT Field, negating the AT-Fields of humanity and causing their bodies to dissolve into LCL, the blood of Lilith (the creature crucified within Terminal Dogma), and the primordial soup from which all life on Earth originates. The souls of humanity are absorbed into the Egg of Lilith, a giant dark sphere cradled by Lilith/Rei, as she grows to ever-greater proportions.As the souls form a single, complemented existence, Lilith/Rei once again gives control of the process to Shinji. Shinji's emotional sufferings and loneliness prompt him to accept this new form, believing that there could never be happiness in the real world. However, he later realizes, after a series of mental journeys and monologues, that it is necessary to live with others, and that to live life is to experience joy as well as pain. Third Impact is rejected and Lilith/Rei decays and dies, releasing the Anti-AT Field and allowing separate beings to potentially come back into existence. Asuka and Shinji are rematerialized from the sea of LCL together on a beach looking out on the severed head of Lilith/Rei and the apocalyptic landscape.
Production
The ambiguous meaning of the TV series' ending left many viewers and critics confused and unsatisfied. The final two episodes were possibly the most controversial segments of an already controversial series and were received as flawed and incomplete by many. However, Anno and assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki defended the artistic integrity of the finale.Gainax launched the project to create a film ending for the series in 1997, first releasing Death and Rebirth
Evangelion: Death and Rebirth
is the first movie in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. It consists of two parts, Death and Rebirth, respectively. It was released, along with the follow-up, The End of Evangelion, in response to the success of the TV series and a strong demand by fans for another ending...
as a highly condensed character-based recap and re-edit of the TV series (Death) and the first half of the new ending (Rebirth, which was originally intended to be the full ending, but could not be finished due to budget and time constraints). The project was completed later in the year and released as The End of Evangelion.Episode 25': Air, uses the original script intended for episode 25 of the original series and forms roughly 2/3 of the previous film, Rebirth
Evangelion: Death and Rebirth
is the first movie in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. It consists of two parts, Death and Rebirth, respectively. It was released, along with the follow-up, The End of Evangelion, in response to the success of the TV series and a strong demand by fans for another ending...
.
Among the images used in the film are of some of the hate-mail and death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
threats (including graffiti on Gainax's headquarters) as well as letters of praise sent to Anno.
Ritsuko's voice actress Yuriko Yamaguchi
Yuriko Yamaguchi (voice actor)
is a Japanese voice actress who was born in Osaka. Previously a member of Vi-Vo, Yuriko is currently freelance. She is most known for the roles of Nico Robin and the second voice of Nurse Joy . Her hobby is overtone singing. Her nickname is "Yuruko"...
had considerable difficulty delivering her character Ritsuko's response to Gendo Ikari without knowing what Gendo had said (as Anno
Hideaki Anno
is a Japanese animation and film director. Anno is best known for his work on the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. His style has come to be defined by the touches of postmodernism that he injects into his work, as well as the thorough portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotions,...
ensured that part of Gendo's line was inaudible). She successfully delivered the line after being shown a hint from Anno.
Localization
The script for the film's English dub was written by Amanda Winn Lee (who also served as ADR director and producer for the dub) based on a translation by Sachuchi Ushida and Mari Kamada. The cast was made up primarily of voice actors reprising their roles from ADV Films' dub of the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, with several supporting roles recast because the original actors were unavailable. To accommodate voice actors living in different parts of the country, the dub was recorded in three locations, Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Houston and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Several creative changes were made to the English audio track of the film, including some added dialogue and addition of several sound effect
Sound effect
For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
s. In addition to these alterations some fans have criticized a major mistranslation of a significant line of exposition by Misato to Shinji regarding the relationship between Adam and Lilith.
In discussing the film's English dub, Mike Crandol of Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
determined that "the remarkably strong performances of the main cast overshadow the weaker voice work present", though he criticized the script for being "slightly hammy" in parts. Crandol praised the final exchange between Spike Spencer
Spike Spencer
Charles Forrest "Spike" Spencer is an American actor best known for dubbing Japanese anime films. He is best known for roles in ADV Films dubs of Neon Genesis Evangelion , Martian Successor Nadesico , and Excel Saga . He has also performed voice acting for radio, especially commercials...
(Shinji) and Allison Keith
Allison Keith
Allison Keith is an American actor and voice actor who is best known for her English-dubbing work with ADV Films on such anime movies and television series as Neon Genesis Evangelion, in which she voiced the character Misato Katsuragi...
's (Misato) characters as "one of the most beautiful vocal performances to ever grace an anime".
Music
The soundtrack of The End of Evangelion was composed by Shiro SagisuShiro Sagisu
is a well-known Japanese music producer and composer. With a career spanning over 25 years , he is best known for his work as a record producer for acts including Misia, Satoshi Tomiie, and Ken Hirai...
. The film prominently features selections of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's music throughout the movie. Episode 25' has the Japanese title Air, being named after the Air on the G String
Air on the G String
The "Air on the G String" is an adaptation by August Wilhelmj of the Air, the second movement from Johann Sebastian Bach's Orchestral Suite No...
which is played during the episode. Among the other pieces included are Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major (I. Prélude), Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring is the most common English title of the 10th movement of the cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. A transcription by the English pianist Myra Hess was published in 1926 for piano solo and in 1934 for piano duet...
(transcribed for piano and later played again with string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
s in the end credits), and Pachelbel's Canon.
Among the other insert songs are "Komm, süsser Tod" (Come, Sweet Death), an upbeat song in which the singer describes their motivations for suicide (which appears in the film at the beginning of Instrumentality), and "THANATOS -If I Can't Be Yours", which is played in both the end credits and the credits to episode 25' (the song is based around "THANATOS", a background music piece used in the series).
Marketing
A Japanese pamphlet unofficially titled the Red Cross Book (RCB) was sold in theaters when The End of Evangelion was released. The book is printed on A-4 sized paper, with the cover consisting of the St George's CrossSt George's Cross
St George's Cross is a red cross on a white background used as a symbolic reference to Saint George. The red cross on white was associated with St George from medieval times....
over a black background and the film's title printed on it. The book is written by Gainax and various members of the Neon Genesis Evangelion series and film staff. The RCB contains a glossary
Glossary
A glossary, also known as an idioticon, vocabulary, or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms...
of several terms used in the series, manga, and the two films to introduce the film's history. It also includes an interview with Tsurumaki, a listing of voice actors and brief essays written by them on their respective characters, short biographical sketches, commentary on the TV series and production of the films, and a "Notes" section covering the setting of the films. The Red Cross Book was left out in the Manga Entertainment release due to copyright issues. However, it was translated by fans of the series.
Release
The End of Evangelion was first released on LaserdiscLaserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
in Japan. It also included the first release of the video versions of Episodes 21-24. The film was split up into two 40-minute episodes with brief intros (similar to episode 22), edited credits (for each episode instead of credits for both between the two), redone eyecatcher-textboards (showing "Neon Genesis Evangelion Episode..." instead of "The End of Evangelion Episode...") and a next-episode-preview section in Episode 25. The episodic version of the film was on the last two discs of the Laserdisc release of the series (Genesis 0:13 and 0:14 respectively), each containing 2 episodes (the original TV episodes and the new End of Evangelion episodes respectively), although the film was also released in its original cinematic form on VHS, Laserdisc, and later DVD. The script was serialized in 4 issues of Dragon Magazine from August 1997 to January 1998.
ADV declined to license The End of Evangelion and the associated films; Manga Entertainment "reportedly paid around 2 million dollars" for the rights. The North American DVD release also remixed the film's audio no less than three times according to the packaging. It featured a 6.1 DTS, a 5.1 Dolby, as well as a new stereo track downmixed from the 6.1 in both languages. The original stereo is not included. It is unknown if the subtitled VHS included the original or the remix stereo.
In 2006, The End of Evangelion was shown theatrically as part of the Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo International Film Festival is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biannually from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter...
in Akihabara.
The End of Evangelion: Renewal
A new version of The End of Evangelion was released on June 25, 2003 in Japan by Starchild and King Records as part of the Renewal of Evangelion box set (which compiled "new digitally remastered versions of the 26 TV show episodes, 4 remade-for-LaserdiscLaserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
episodes, and 3 theatrical features" as well as "a bonus disc with never-before-seen material").
This version of the film conjoins the "recap" film Evangelion: Death with End, omitting the Rebirth segment from the first film. Also, in the forementioned bonus disc is a previously unreleased deleted scene shot in live-action with voice actors Megumi Hayashibara
Megumi Hayashibara
is a Japanese voice actress, singer, radio personality, and lyricist from Tokyo. She is currently affiliated with Aksent. Her nicknames include: Megu-san, Megu-nee, Bara-san, Kakka, and Daijin...
, Yūko Miyamura, and Kotono Mitsuishi
Kotono Mitsuishi
is a prolific Japanese voice actor from Tokyo. As a young girl, Mitsuishi lived in Nagareyama, Chiba. Mitsuishi graduated from high school in 1986, and entered the Katsuta Voice Actor's Academy. While attending the academy, she began working part time as an elevator girl in the Sunshine 60 building...
portraying their characters, 10 years after the events of Evangelion. In this continuity, Shinji does not exist and Asuka has a sexual relationship with Toji Suzuhara. The sequence concludes with a male voice (implied to be Shinji's) saying, "This isn't it, I am not here," proving it is a false reality seen through his eyes.
Manga Entertainment announced in 2006 that it was "ironing out the contracts" to release the Renewal versions of Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion, with the hope of being able to release them in the United States within the next year. However, Manga Entertainment no longer holds the overseas license for the films.
Reception
The film won the AnimageAnimage
is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, was serialized in Animage from 1982 through 1994...
Anime Grand Prix prize for 1997 and the Japan Academy Prize for "Biggest Public Sensation of the Year"; and was given the "Special Audience Choice Award" by the 1997 Animation Kobe
Animation Kobe
The is an event created by Kobe city in 1996, to promote anime and other visual media. In the event, the are awarded annually by Kobe and the Organizing Committee of the event, to creators and creations.-Event:...
. EX.org ranked the film in 1999 as the fifth best 'All-Time Show' (with the TV series at #2).
In Japan, between its release and October 1997, The End of Evangelion grossed 1.45 billion yen.
manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
Nobuhiro Watsuki
Nobuhiro Watsuki
is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his samurai-themed series Rurouni Kenshin. He once worked as an assistant for his favorite author Takeshi Obata.-Biography:...
wrote:
Newtype USA reviewed the film as a "saga of bamboozlement". It also criticized the film's "more biblical overtones, teen melo-drama and bad parenting" and that "for some frustrated viewers, these DVDs might bring on the '4th impact' hurling these DVDs against the wall." Manga Entertainment CEO Marvin Gleicher criticized the Newtype review as "biased and disrespectful" and a "facile and vapid" product of "ignorance and lack of research".
Many reviews focused on the audio-visual production; Light and Sound editorialized that "narrative coherence seems a lesser concern to the film-makers than the launching of a sustained audio-visual assault. The kaleidoscopic imagery momentarily topples into live action for the baffling climax...", an assessment echoed by critic Mark Schilling. Mike Crandol of Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
gave the film an overall passing grade and described it as "a visual marvel". He described the DVD release as "a mixed bag", expressing displeasure over the "unremarkable" video presentation and overall lack of extra material. David Uzumeri of Comics Alliance summarized the film as "a dark, brutal, psychedelic orgy of sex and violence that culminated in the mass extinction of humanity set to an optimistic J-pop song with lyrics about suicide." Uzumeri also stated that the "themes of [Neon Genesis Evangelion] criticizing the audience for being spineless and lost in a fantasy world were cranked up to eleven, as the protagonist Shinji basically watches everybody die around him due to his refusal to make any effort whatsoever to engage with other people."
Independent filmmaker Patrick Meaney described the film as "an avant garde masterpiece", noting that "it violates virtually every rule of traditional film storytelling" and in particular praising the Instrumentality sequence as "astonishing" and "unlike anything else [he's] ever seen."
In an article for Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
, writer Michael Peterson remarked that "it was not until the End of Evangelion film that Anno's
Hideaki Anno
is a Japanese animation and film director. Anno is best known for his work on the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. His style has come to be defined by the touches of postmodernism that he injects into his work, as well as the thorough portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotions,...
visual strengths as a director really stood out". He observed that "Anno, like David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
, possesses a skill at framing his shots, and using the attendant color, to create visual compositions that stand out not only as beautiful in the story's context, but also as individual images, a painterly quality that he then applies back to the work. When Anno frames an image, the power of that specific image becomes a tool that he can later refer back to for an instantaneous emotional and intellectual response."
Carlos Ross of Them Anime Reviews compared the tone of the film to The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur footage. The film was produced by the Haxan Films production company. The film relates the story of three student filmmakers The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur...
in that it deconstructed the series while "cashing in" on it. He was especially critical of the film's entire second half by saying:
Schilling reviewed the film as more than a deconstruction, but an attempt at unification of mediums:
"Despite the large cast of characters, decades-spanning story, and a profusion of twenty-first-century jargon, much of it borrowed from early Christian sources, the film is essentially a Power Rangers episode writ large: i.e., super-teens piloting big, powerful machines and saving the world from monsters. We've seen it all before. What we haven't seen, however, is the way the film zaps back and forth through time, slams through narrative shifts and flashes explanatory text, in billboard-sized Chinese characters, at mind-bending speed. It's a hyper-charged phantasmagoria that defies easy comprehension, while exerting a hypnotic fascination. Watching, one becomes part of the film's multimedia data stream.
Shinseiki Evangelion is looking forward, toward an integration of all popular media - television, manga, movies, and video games - into new forms in which distinctions between real and virtual, viewer and viewed, man and machine, become blurred and finally cease to matter. O Brave New World, that has such animation in it."
Chris Beveridge of Mania.com described the film as "work[ing] on so many levels", but cautions that it is not meant to be watched without having seen the rest of the series.
Patrick Macias
Patrick Macias
Patrick Macias is an author and co-author of several titles on pop culture fandom, specifically relating to Japanese culture and otaku culture in America...
of TokyoScope ranked it one of his 10 greatest films of all time, and the best anime movie of the 1990s; CUT film magazine ranked it third on its list of the top 30 best anime films of all time.
Interpretation
In the final scene of the The End of Evangelion, Shinji and Asuka have separated themselves from the collective human existence. Shinji tries to strangle Asuka, but eventually stops and breaks down in tears after she touches his face. The 1998 Bandai Cardass card D-88 comments on the scene:“Shinji renounced the world where all hearts had melted into one and accepted each other unconditionally. His desire… to live with ‘others’ — other hearts that would sometimes reject him, even deny him. That is why the first thing he did after coming to his senses was to place his hands around Asuka’s neck. To feel the existence of an ‘other’. To confirm [make sure of] rejection and denial.”
Their interactions display a wide range of positive and negative emotion
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
s. During the recording of the final scene, Shinji's voice actress Megumi Ogata
Megumi Ogata
is a female seiyū and singer from the Tokyo Metropolitan area. As a singer, she goes by the name em:óu. She attended Tōkai University, but left due to lack of interest. She is also best known for voicing Sailor Uranus, Kurama and Shinji Ikari....
became overwhelmed with emotion and strangled Yuko Miyamura
Yuko Miyamura
' is a Japanese voice actress, actress, J-pop singer and director of audiography. Her married name is ', although she still works under her maiden name. Miyamura was born in Kobe, and graduated from the theater division of the Tōhō Gakuen College of Drama and Music. Her pet name is '...
.
The meaning of the final line is obscure,and has been controversial. According to an episode of the Japanese anime show Anime Yawa aired March 31, 2005 on NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
's satellite TV, Asuka's final line was initially written as "I'd never want to be killed by you of all men, absolutely not!" or "I'll never let you kill me." ("Anta nankani korosareru nowa mappira yo!") but Anno was dissatisfied with Miyamura's renditions of this line. Eventually Anno asked her a question which described what he was going for with this scene:
"Concerning the final line we adopted, I'm not sure whether I should say about it in fact. At last Anno asked me 'Miyamura, just imagine you are sleeping in your bed and a stranger sneaks into your room. He can rape you anytime as you are asleep but he doesn't. Instead, he masturbates looking at you, when you wake up and know what he did to you. What do you think you would say?' I had been thinking he was a strange man, but at that moment I felt disgusting. So I told him that I thought 'Disgusting.' And then he sighed and said, 'I thought as much.'"
Tiffany Grant
Tiffany Grant
Tiffany Lynn Grant is an American voice actress and script writer who is known for her English-dubbing work with the former ADV Films on such anime films and television series as Neon Genesis Evangelion, in which she voiced the character Asuka Langley Soryu...
, Asuka's English dub voice actress, made the following statement:
"The most widely circulated translation of the last line of EoE[ End of Evangelion] is "I feel sick," but Amanda Winn Lee (Rei Ayanami's English voice actor and director of End of Evangelion) said she asked several translators, and she felt "disgusting" was the most accurate adaptation. You could say she is disgusted with/sick of the situation or with Shinji himself. My favorite explanation though, is this one: My husband, Matt GreenfieldMatt GreenfieldMatt Greenfield is the American co-founder of the now-defunct ADV Films. Originally an avid fan who ran an anime club in Houston, Texas with John Ledford , he and Ledford founded ADV Films in 1992. ADV Films began as an importer of anime, marketing primarily to the existing network of anime fans...
, directed the TV series and is very familiar with the whole Eva franchise. Matt has said that although (Eva creator) Hideaki Anno seems to change his mind frequently about what various things mean in Eva, Anno once said that Asuka's comment about feeling "sick" was a reference to morning sicknessMorning sicknessMorning sickness, also called nausea gravidarum, nausea, vomiting of pregnancy , or pregnancy sickness is a condition that affects more than half of all pregnant women. Related to increased oestrogen levels, a similar form of nausea is also seen in some women who use hormonal contraception or...
. Now THAT gives ya something to think about, doesn't it! Of course, Anno is quite passionate about the idea that every person should decide for him or herself what Eva means to them."
Some state that, despite the somber ending the results of Instrumentality are not permanent. Both Rei and Yui comfort Shinji and tell him that people can restore themselves to physical existence if they want to, depending on the strength within their hearts. It is suggested that Asuka is one of the first persons to manifest herself back into reality. Another Evangelion trading card explains:
"In the sea of LCL, Shinji wished for a world with other people. He desired to meet them again, even if it meant he would be hurt and betrayed. And just as he had hoped / wanted, Asuka was present in the new world. Only Asuka was there beside him. The girl whom he had hurt, and who had been hurt by him. But even so, she was the one he had hoped/wished for...."
It has been debated whether The End of Evangelion is intended to enlarge and retell episodes 25 and 26 or to completely replace the TV ending with a different one. Some believe that The End of Evangelion is an alternate ending to the series, perhaps created to please those fans who were displeased with the TV series' ending. Tsurumaki said he felt the series was complete as it was.
See also
- Japanese films of 1997Japanese films of 1997A list of films released in Japan in 1997 .-1997:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...
- List of Neon Genesis Evangelion media
External links
- Eva Otaku FAQ
- The End of Evangelion
- "The Economy of Visual Language: Neon Genesis Evangelion", Slant MagazineSlant MagazineSlant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...