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A couple weeks ago, I happened upon the article Evangelion Special: Genesis of a major manga. I'd never seen it, perhaps never heard of it, so...
The full English name of the show is Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's an awkward name and through the 24 episodes and subsequent episodes 25 and 26, I considered numerous alternatives. I'm quite fond of Oedipus Mechs as a title, though simply Mommy! isn't bad.
At first glance this is really not my thing. There are big honking robots that defend the earth against some malevolent alien force. Here we go again, bring out the techo proxy phallus, mech smash! The first episode sets the stage with an insecure boy (our hero, Shinji), his awkward father (Commander Gendo) relationship, a couple of female interests, a robot (Evangelion Unit 01, or simply "Eva") that only he can control, and impending mortal doom. Yes, it seems all very formula.
However, as Hamlet took the basic revenge play and turned it into a strange rumination of conscience, religion, and lack of commitment, so Eva does for the battle mech. The first dozen or so episodes seem pretty straight forward, not that much fighting, but a lot of Japanese sulking, sexual tension, high school stress. At this point it is notable for the lengths it goes to analyze it's cast.
Then, something happens. The show takes a slow, circling the drain movement toward total mental breakdown. The last two aired episodes caused both fandom adulation and death threats. The ending is so over the top that a movie was made with an alternate or extended ending. This is not to be confused with another movie that was made the same year that's basically a summary of the whole show.
There are couple of dominating aspects that make the show different. One is the very heavy use of Christian symbology, as well as any possible related symbols. There's occult, masonic, Babylonian, kabbalistic, and probably other stuff I didn't catch. Indeed, it was the use of two Tree of Life symbols in the opening credits that kept me watching through the first few episodes. The same symbol is also stenciled on the commander's ceiling, among other places. It doesn't make a real appearance in the show, but pops up again in the movie; albeit pointing the wrong way. That could be intentional, who knows.
The second force in the show, and strongest, is Freud. With the plethora of symbols I'd also say there's a little Jung, but mostly Ziggy. Actually, there's a whole lot of German philosophical, Existential stuff going on. For example, episode 16, about where you know the shark wasn't just jumped but is now sushi, was called Sickness Unto Death; shout out to Kierkegaard. Probably some Sartre floating around there too.
But mostly Freud. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, has mother issues. All of the Eva pilots are children who've lost mommy. It's implied, though never specifically outed, that their semi organic mechs have some of mom's genetic material mixed in. The way the pilots mount their Eva's is also heavy with metaphor. They're inserted via a cigar shaped plug, but inside the plug they're suspended in what amounts to amniotic fluid; so they can strengthen their connection to their particular unit.
The only character that lacks any kind of humanity is Gendo, who is also the only bearded character, ala Freud. Hideaki Anno, writer, director, driving personality, is said to have had his share of psychotherapy, but from various stories still sounds a little cranky.
This is a very different and odd anime. It predates things like Lain and obviously influences them. The thing I like most about anime is that the product can be purely driven by a single individual's vision. This is Anno's. For his sake, let's hope he's had more therapy.
I'll end with this little jewel I found on IMDB: For the version of "Fly Me To The Moon" used in the final episode, director Hideaki Anno reportedly asked singer Megumi Hayashibara (who also voices Rei Ayanami, Yui Ikari, and Pen-Pen in the show) to perform the song while imagining herself "strangling a little cat with a big smile on [her] face."
The full English name of the show is Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's an awkward name and through the 24 episodes and subsequent episodes 25 and 26, I considered numerous alternatives. I'm quite fond of Oedipus Mechs as a title, though simply Mommy! isn't bad.
At first glance this is really not my thing. There are big honking robots that defend the earth against some malevolent alien force. Here we go again, bring out the techo proxy phallus, mech smash! The first episode sets the stage with an insecure boy (our hero, Shinji), his awkward father (Commander Gendo) relationship, a couple of female interests, a robot (Evangelion Unit 01, or simply "Eva") that only he can control, and impending mortal doom. Yes, it seems all very formula.
However, as Hamlet took the basic revenge play and turned it into a strange rumination of conscience, religion, and lack of commitment, so Eva does for the battle mech. The first dozen or so episodes seem pretty straight forward, not that much fighting, but a lot of Japanese sulking, sexual tension, high school stress. At this point it is notable for the lengths it goes to analyze it's cast.
Then, something happens. The show takes a slow, circling the drain movement toward total mental breakdown. The last two aired episodes caused both fandom adulation and death threats. The ending is so over the top that a movie was made with an alternate or extended ending. This is not to be confused with another movie that was made the same year that's basically a summary of the whole show.
There are couple of dominating aspects that make the show different. One is the very heavy use of Christian symbology, as well as any possible related symbols. There's occult, masonic, Babylonian, kabbalistic, and probably other stuff I didn't catch. Indeed, it was the use of two Tree of Life symbols in the opening credits that kept me watching through the first few episodes. The same symbol is also stenciled on the commander's ceiling, among other places. It doesn't make a real appearance in the show, but pops up again in the movie; albeit pointing the wrong way. That could be intentional, who knows.
The second force in the show, and strongest, is Freud. With the plethora of symbols I'd also say there's a little Jung, but mostly Ziggy. Actually, there's a whole lot of German philosophical, Existential stuff going on. For example, episode 16, about where you know the shark wasn't just jumped but is now sushi, was called Sickness Unto Death; shout out to Kierkegaard. Probably some Sartre floating around there too.
But mostly Freud. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, has mother issues. All of the Eva pilots are children who've lost mommy. It's implied, though never specifically outed, that their semi organic mechs have some of mom's genetic material mixed in. The way the pilots mount their Eva's is also heavy with metaphor. They're inserted via a cigar shaped plug, but inside the plug they're suspended in what amounts to amniotic fluid; so they can strengthen their connection to their particular unit.
The only character that lacks any kind of humanity is Gendo, who is also the only bearded character, ala Freud. Hideaki Anno, writer, director, driving personality, is said to have had his share of psychotherapy, but from various stories still sounds a little cranky.
This is a very different and odd anime. It predates things like Lain and obviously influences them. The thing I like most about anime is that the product can be purely driven by a single individual's vision. This is Anno's. For his sake, let's hope he's had more therapy.
I'll end with this little jewel I found on IMDB: For the version of "Fly Me To The Moon" used in the final episode, director Hideaki Anno reportedly asked singer Megumi Hayashibara (who also voices Rei Ayanami, Yui Ikari, and Pen-Pen in the show) to perform the song while imagining herself "strangling a little cat with a big smile on [her] face."
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Yep, I've found the finishing song offputing. I'm not sure it's always the same rendition, either. Sometimes it sounds different.
One thing I found odd was the acent. Most times music stangely erases the acent of the singer, but the song always makes me think of Hanoi Hannah. "How are you, GI Joe?"