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The END OF EVANGELION: Shinseiki
(Neon Genesis)
Reviewed by Isaac Hayward
The End of an unbelievable
chronicle.
Neon Genesis : Evangelion
has proven to be one of the most successful anime ever
to come out of Japan. Finally bringing worldwide attention
to the medium as a form of entertainment not only for
children, but for adults alike. Directed by Hideki Anno,
(my idol), there were two evangelion films designed to
compile, compliment and complete the 26 episode series.
The first movie released was that of “Death & Rebirth”, as it consists of a compiling of the series into a 1.5 hour artistic masterpiece. This movie examined the hearts of the characters and the events of the series in a new light. The second movie, “The End of Evangelion”, consists of entirely new footage intended to replace the last two episodes of the series in a more physical world context instead of the surreal, inner-mind investigation context of the last two episodes. While “Death & Rebirth” is a very good movie in itself, it is more of a documentary of the characters from the series rather than a proper movie. Therefore I thought it would be appropriate to review “The End of Evangelion” first, as it is a true movie, or more like THE movie. Evangelion will appear at first to some to be just another anime mecha with giant fighting robots and so called ‘fan service’ in the form of beautiful women in tight outfits. But due to the direction taken by the director with the desire to display the states of the human heart, the series went above and beyond all past conventional series of the same orientation. Due to the main prospect of the series being focused on the human soul than that of the plot, fighting and mysteries, all of which are unsurpassed in themselves, the series climaxed in the spiritual fulfillment of the main character, Shinji Ikari. This occurs as he finally finds inner-peace after so much sorrow and pain inflicted on both himself and those around him. Due to this, the climax was set, literally, within Shinji’s disturbed and twisted mind, while the other events outside reached an anticlimax. This upset and outraged many hard-core fans who were desperate to find the answers to the mysteries raised in the series like, what really happened at Second Impact, an explosion in Antarctica which drowned half the world population. Or, what are the evangelions, humans, gods, or devils, and most importantly, what happened at third impact, humanities ending or resurrection from the death we bring onto ourselves. To this end, “The End of Evangelion” was created in the hopes of displaying the events that took place during the last episodes inside Shinji’s mind. But instead of the happy and fulfilled effect portrayed at the completion of the series, this film adaptation of the ending, to put it mildly, is a macabre, vengeful, and bitter creation by Hideaki Anno. The movie itself is dark, depressing, violent, sexually frustrated and immensely grotesque. This doesn't mean in anyway however that the film is bad (if it was, why would I label it as the best film ever!) The movie is a masterpiece of entertainment and storytelling. By the time the movie occurs, Shinji has become a placid, fragile, pitiful being whom we wanted put out of his misery and ours. He is lost to all those around him and himself, he becomes the Antichrist of everything honorable and respectful. He beat up and masturbated over the unconscious form of Asuka, he refused to fight for the sake of others, he whined and indulged in constant self-pity even as those who cared for him died around him. The film's strongest point is the inclusion of details concerning the step-by-step initiation of Third Impact and the effects it has of humanity, bringing about the end of our each individual bodies and merging as one to return to god's side. Those who couldn't understand the purposes of Rei, Lillith, Adam and many other mysteries can have their questions partially answered as the movie shocks, amazes and stirs the emotions of the audience as I have never witnessed through any other film. .... the Third Impact Throughout the action of the first half of the movie, where Asuka battles back from her coma and fights against the invading SEELE forces and Eva Units 5-13, the relationships of all the characters climax in more than tragic circumstances. All hope is pulverized as the twists and turns of the movie lead you to an unavoidable end, that of our beginnings. Then as Third Impact is initiated in the second half of the movie we are again introduced to Hideki's distinctive directing methods as again we enter the tortured mind of Shinji Ikari, while all of humanities future rests on his shoulders, with a final decision you will not expect. On a final note, Evangelion, from my experience is more than a movie, it is a journey through yourself. The characters are each constructed on our own distinctive faults and they face the same fears of isolation, rejection and pain like the rest of us. To that end as we watch the methods used by Hideki expressing his own mental anguish and cannot help but feel this grief and self-analysis ourselves. So make shore you experience this movie yourself as well as the series that prologues it. And as the it is simply stated in the movie just remember...... "God's in his heaven, all's right with the world."
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