Evangelion Episode 25
| The End of Evangelion | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Hideaki Anno Kazuya Tsurumaki |
| Produced by | Mitsuhisa Ishikawa |
| Written by | Hideaki Anno |
| Starring | Megumi Ogata Megumi Hayashibara Yūko Miyamura Kotono Mitsuishi Fumihiko Tachiki Yuriko Yamaguchi Motomu Kiyokawa Akira Ishida |
| Music by | Shirō Sagisu |
| Cinematography | Hisao Shirai |
| Edited by | Sachiko Miki |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Toei Company |
Release date | |
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Box office | ¥2.47 billion[1] |
The End of Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン劇場版
Though it won awards including the 1997 Animage Anime Grand Prix, The End of Evangelion initially received mixed reviews. A 2014 Time Out poll of filmmakers voted The End of Evangelion one of the 100 best animated films of all time.[2]
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-Laserdisc episodes, and 3 theatrical features' as well as 'a bonus disc with never-before-seen. 'A World That's Ending' is the twenty-fifth episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The Human Instrumentality Project begins, merging the souls of humankind into a single entity.
- 1Plot
- 5Release
- 5.2Distribution
- 6Reception
Plot[edit]
Teenager Shinji Ikari is the pilot of EvangelionUnit 01, one of several giant cyborgs designed to fight hostile supernatural entities called Angels. Distraught over the death of his friend Kaworu Nagisa, Shinji visits fellow pilot Asuka Langley Soryu in a hospital and masturbates to her unconscious body.
The shadowy committee SEELE discovers that Gendo Ikari intends to use NERV, the paramilitary organization that deploys the Evangelion units, for his own plans. SEELE dispatches the Japanese Strategic Self-Defense Force (JSSDF) to seize control of NERV, killing most of the staff. NERV major Misato Katsuragi orders Asuka moved to the cockpit of Evangelion Unit 02 and placed at the bottom of a lake, then rescues Shinji from JSSDF troops. Determined to have Shinji defend NERV, Misato brings him to Unit 01's bay doors, but is shot in the process. Before her death, Misato implores Shinji to pilot Unit 01, kisses him, and forces him into the elevator. Shinji discovers Unit 01 immobilized in bakelite.
Concluding that NERV's defeat is inevitable, Gendo retrieves Evangelion pilot Rei Ayanami. He plans to use her to initiate the Third Impact, a cataclysm which will kill everyone on Earth and reunite him with his deceased wife, Yui. Attempting to stop him, NERV scientist Ritsuko Akagi sends a computer command to destroy NERV. Casper, a computer core modeled on Ritsuko's mother, overrides her command and Gendo kills her. Meanwhile, inside Unit 02, Asuka overcomes her trauma and re-activates the unit. She destroys the JSSDF forces, but SEELE unleashes a fleet of new mass-produced Evangelion units, who disembowel her and Unit 02. Unit 01 breaks free of the bakelite and ascends above NERV headquarters. From the cockpit, Shinji sees the mass-produced units carrying the mutilated remains of Unit 02 and screams.
Gendo attempts to merge with Rei, who carries the soul of Lilith, an angel hidden beneath NERV headquarters, to begin Third Impact. Having merged with another angel, Adam, he will become a god if he merges with Lilith; however, Rei rejects Gendo, absorbs Adam, and reunites with Lilith, growing to a gargantuan size. The mass-produced Evangelion units pull Unit 01 into the sky and crucify it with the Lance of Longinus, which transforms into the 'Tree of Life', beginning Third Impact.
After several dreamlike contemplations, including a fight with Asuka, Shinji decides that he is alone and everyone in the world should die. In response, Rei/Lilith dissolves humanity back into LCL, a conscious primordial soup, reforming the souls of humanity into a single consciousness. Shinji rejects this new state when he realizes that life is about experiencing joy as well as pain. Unit 01, seemingly moving on its own, breaks free of the Tree of Life, wielding the rematerialized Lance of Longinus to destroy the Mass Production Units and end Third Impact. Rei/Lilith's body splits into pieces, crashing to the surface of the Earth.
Shinji awakens on a shoreline littered with the wreckage of Mass Production Units and the body of Rei/Lilith, and finds that Asuka has also rematerialised. He begins to strangle Asuka, but when she caresses his face, he stops and breaks down in tears.
Interpretation[edit]
In the final scene, Shinji and Asuka have separated themselves from the collective human existence. Shinji begins strangling Asuka, but when she caresses his face, he stops and breaks down in tears. Asuka utters the film's last line, '気持ち悪い' (Kimochi warui), which has been variously translated into English as 'I feel sick' or 'disgusting'.[3] The meaning of the scene is obscure and has been controversial.[4] David Uzumeri of ComicsAlliance stated that the series themes of 'criticizing the audience for being spineless and lost in a fantasy world [are] 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.'[5]
Cast[edit]
| Character | Japanese | English (Gaijin Productions/Manga) | English (VSI Group/Netflix) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shinji Ikari | Megumi Ogata | Spike Spencer | Casey Mongillo |
| Rei Ayanami | Megumi Hayashibara | Amanda Winn-Lee | Ryan Bartley |
| Asuka Langley Soryu | Yūko Miyamura | Tiffany Grant | Stephanie McKeon |
| Kaworu Nagisa | Akira Ishida | Aaron Krohn | Clifford Chapin |
| Misato Katsuragi | Kotono Mitsuishi | Allison Keith | Carrie Keranen |
| Gendo Ikari | Fumihiko Tachiki | Tristan MacAvery | Ray Chase |
| Kozo Fuyutsuki | Motomu Kiyokawa | Michael Ross | JP Karliak |
| Ritsuko Akagi | Yuriko Yamaguchi | Sue Ulu | Erica Lindbeck |
| Makoto Hyuga | Hiro Yuki | Keith Burgess | Daniel MK Cohen |
| Shigeru Aoba | Takehito Koyasu | Jason C. Lee | Billy Kametz |
| Maya Ibuki | Miki Nagasawa | Amy Seeley | Christine Marie Cabanos |
| Keel Lorentz | Mugihito | Tom Booker | D. C. Douglas |
| Yui Ikari | Megumi Hayashibara | Amanda Winn-Lee | |
| Ryoji Kaji | Kōichi Yamadera | Aaron Krohn | Greg Chun |
| Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu | Maria Kawamura | Kimberly Yates |
Production[edit]
The ambiguous ending of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series, broadcast in 1995 and 1996, left some viewers and critics confused and unsatisfied.[6] The final two episodes were possibly the most controversial segments of an already controversial series[7] and were received as flawed and incomplete by many.[8] Director Hideaki Anno received death threats from some fans dissatisfied with the ending.[9] However, Anno and assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki defended the artistic integrity of the finale.[10][11]
Gainax launched the project to create a film ending for the series in 1997, first releasing Death & Rebirth as a 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.
Music[edit]
Regular series composer Shirō Sagisu scored The End of Evangelion. 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 instruments in the end credits), and Pachelbel's Canon.
Among the other insert songs are 'Komm, süsser Tod' (Come, Sweet Death), an upbeat song (which appears in the film at the beginning of Instrumentality), '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). Another song, 'Everything You've Ever Dreamed', was recorded for the film by the same vocalist (Arianne) as 'Komm, süsser Tod', but was not used and was later included on the Refrain of Evangelion soundtrack.
Release[edit]
The End of Evangelion was first released in Japanese theaters on July 19, 1997. The film was later distributed on Laserdisc 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. The movie was released on Blu-ray along with Death and Rebirth and the TV series in a box set on August 26, 2015.[12]
In 2006, The End of Evangelion was shown theatrically as part of the Tokyo International Film Festival in Akihabara.[13]
Red Cross Book[edit]
The Red Cross Book (as it is unofficially known, for the large red St George's Cross on its cover) was an A-4-sized pamphlet sold in Japanese theaters during the release of The End of Evangelion.[14][15][16] The book was written by Gainax and various production staff of the Evangelion TV series and films, with 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, a 'Notes' section covering the setting of the films, and a glossary of terms used in the series, manga, and the two films. The Red Cross Book was left out in the Manga Entertainment release due to copyright issues.[17] However, it was translated by fans of the series.[18][19]
Distribution[edit]
In North America, ADV Films, the license holder and distributor for the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, declined to license The End of Evangelion and the associated films, with Manga Entertainment 'reportedly [paying] around 2 million dollars' for the rights.[20] Rei Ayanami's English voice actress Amanda Winn Lee wrote the film's script for its English subtitled and dubbed adaptations, and produced and directed the dub.[21] The cast consisted of mostly voice actors reprising their roles from ADV's English adaptation of the 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 Los Angeles, Houston and New York City.[22]
In 2018, Netflix acquired the rights to the film, as well as Death (True)² and the overall Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series. It became available for streaming on June 21, 2019.[citation needed]
In discussing Manga's release, 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'.[23]
The End of Evangelion: Renewal[edit]
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-Laserdisc episodes, and 3 theatrical features' as well as 'a bonus disc with never-before-seen material').[24]
This version of the film joins the 'recap' film Evangelion: Death with End and omits the Rebirth segment from the first film. Also, on the aforementioned 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.[25] 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 the next year,[26] though their rights to the film have since expired.[27]
Home media release[edit]
On June 10th, 2002, Manga Entertainment had released Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion on DVD and it was presented in Anamorphic Letterboxed widescreen theatrical format and the audio presented in 6.1 DTS-ES Digital Discrete Surround audio and 5.1 Dolby Digital EX sound in both English and Japanese language.[citation needed]
Manga Entertainment also released the film on VHS on September 24, 2002, in both dub and sub.
Reception[edit]
End of Evangelion won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize for 1997 and the Japan Academy Prize for 'Biggest Public Sensation of the Year'[28] and was given the 'Special Audience Choice Award' by the 1997 Animation Kobe.[29] EX.org ranked the film in 1999 as the fifth best 'All-Time Show' (with the TV series at #2).[30]
In Japan, The End of Evangelion earned ¥1.45 billion in distribution income during 1997.[31][32] The film had a total lifetime gross of ¥2.47 billion.[1]
Manga artistNobuhiro Watsuki wrote:
| “ | A little while ago, I finally saw the theatrical version of Evangelion (I'm writing this in August). It was obvious that the people who created it didn't love the story or the characters, so I'm a little disappointed. But the dramatization, the movement, and the editing were superb. When the story led into the self-improvement seminar, I was nearly fooled for an instant. I don't know if most people enjoyed it, but as a writer, I was able to take home something from it.[33] | ” |
Newtype USA reviewed the film as a 'saga of bamboozlement', criticizing its 'biblical overtones, teen melodrama and bad parenting', and suggested that the film would frustrate viewers.[34] 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'.[35]
Many reviews focused on the audio-visual production. Light and Sound wrote that 'narrative coherence seems a lesser concern to the film-makers than the launching of a sustained audio-visual assault,'[36] an assessment echoed by critic Mark Schilling.[37] 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 lack of extra material.[23] David Uzumeri of ComicsAlliance described 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.'[5]
Legacy[edit]
In a 2008 article for Slant Magazine, writer Michael Peterson wrote 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.'[38]
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, saying:
| “ | The second half of the movie is so incoherent and obtuse that it completely loses the mainstream audience (and in fact, virtually any audience) this series has attracted before. It goes beyond art film and beyond anime. And in doing so, it goes beyond the audience's capability to understand and be entertained, which defeats the purpose of something labeled as art.[39] | ” |
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.[40]Mt65xx preloader mac. | ” |
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.[41]
The End of Evangelion is frequently ranked among the greatest anime films. Patrick Macias of TokyoScope ranked it one of his 10 greatest films,[42] and the best anime movie of the 1990s;[43]CUT film magazine ranked it third on its list of the top 30 best anime films.[44]
In 2014, Time Out New York ranked the film at #65 on its list of the top 100 animated movies as voted for by filmmakers.[2] Critic Keith Uhlich described the film as an 'immensely satisfying' conclusion to the TV series, the climax as 'an end-times free-for-all that mixes Christian symbology, Jewish mysticism, sexual paranoia and teenage angst into a searing apocalyptic stew,' filled with 'sights and sounds you'll never forget'.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ ab'アニメが映画界をけん引!?最近のアニメ映画事情'. Merumo (in Japanese). GMO Internet Group. June 19, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ abcRothkopf, Joshua (April 15, 2014). 'The 100 best animated movies: Full list'. Time Out. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
- ^'Current Info' - (a personal FAQ page by Tiffany Grant)
- ^'Review - The End of Evangelion'. Anime News Network. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^ ab'Alan Moore x Hideaki Anno: Their Failed Assassinations of Their Genres'. Comicsalliance.com. January 17, 2011. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^'The kaleidoscopic imagery momentarily topples into live action for the baffling climax, which alternates Disneyesque bromides ('Truth lies in your heart') with metaphysical blather ('So long as the earth, sun and moon exist, everything will be alright.').' Sight and Sound (2003)
- ^'The stunning originality of these final episodes cannot be overstated … the series deals with these elements in breathtakingly creative ways to create a unique and memorable vision of inner and outer collapse, and, perhaps, renewal. It should be noted that many viewers were outraged by the two final episodes. Expecting a more conventional end-of-the-world scenario, fans were baffled and indignant that, instead of outward explosions and satisfying combat, the cataclysmic struggle occurred wholly in the character's mind.' 'In these last two episodes the machines have literally stopped, and both characters and viewers are left with no recourse but to confront their/our own flawed humanity in all its desperation and insecurities without the technological armor of the typical sf text.' pg 427 and pg 428 respectively of Napier 2002
- ^'The End of Evangelion: Commentary'. EvaOtaku.com. February 20, 1998.
- ^'Anno Hideaki allegedly created the two episodes contained here in response to death threats from fans dissatisfied with the original conclusion to his anime sci-fi saga.' Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion, M.L., Sight and Sound, vol 13, issue 4, April 2003; pg 59
- ^'Lately due to the ending of episodes #25 and #26, some people started watching Evangelion. They were not anime fans. In fact many of them are females and they tell me that they really enjoyed episode #25, objectively. Most anime fans are furious. I understand their anger. I can't help laughing when hard-core anime fans say that we did a very lousy job, with intentional negligence. No we didn't. No staff members did a lousy job. In fact, every member at Gainax gave more energy than anybody can imagine. I feel sad that those fans couldn't see our efforts. Personally I think the original TV ending we showed ended up beautifully.' Hideaki Anno, Protoculture Addicts 43
- ^'My opinion was, 'Why don't we show them the entire process including our breakdown.' You know — make it a work that shows everything including our inability to create a satisfactory product. I figured that, 'In 10 years or so, if we look back on something that we made while we were drunk out of our minds, we wouldn't feel bad even if the quality wasn't so good.'
Q: Really?' 'KT – So, no matter what the final form, I feel it was great just being able to make it to the end of the TV series. ' Tsurumaki interview, RCB - ^'Evangelion Gets New Japanese Blu-Ray, DVD Boxes'. Anime News Network. December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^'Exclusive Screening Report: Shin Seiki Evangelion Movies Death (True)2 / Air / Magokoro Wo, Kimi Ni (The End Of Evangelion) At animecs T!FF In Akihabara 2006'
- ^Moure, Dani (March 21, 2001). 'Neon Genesis Evangelion: Special Edition Movies Box Set'. Mania. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
..the data here is translated from the 'Red Cross Book', a source of oodles of information made for sale as the programme book for the movie in Japanese cinemas. It's extremely comprehensive and it's a good way of presenting the data
- ^'Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth DVD'. Animefringe. August 2002. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
- ^'AICN Anime Report'. Ain't it Cool News. November 28, 2001. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
- ^'Manga Entertainment Press Panel: Metreon Festival of Anime''. Archived from the original on February 2, 2002. Retrieved September 14, 2011.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
- ^'Answerman: Late To Work'. Anime News Network. July 23, 2002. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
- ^'The Top 25 Must-Visit Anime Websites'. Animefringe.
- ^'October 8-14 Anime News'. Anime News Service. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
- ^The End of Evangelion (DVD). Los Angeles, California: Manga Entertainment. 2002.
- ^Lee, Amanda Winn; Lee, Jason C. (2002). Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth DVD commentary (DVD). Manga Entertainment.
- ^ abCrandol, Mike (September 24, 2002). 'Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion'. Anime News Network. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
- ^'Neon Genesis Evangelion: Renewal of Evangelion DVD-BOX'. Mania. June 25, 2003. Archived from the original on June 5, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
- ^The first half (roughly) of End of Evangelion live-action sequence on YouTube
- ^'SDCC: Manga Entertainment Announces A New Co-Pro; Talks 'Karas,' 'Eva' And 'GitS''. Toon Zone. July 22, 2006. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
- ^Sargento Soma - ANNCast. Anime News Network (November 6, 2009). Retrieved on December 28, 2010.
- ^'MY EMPIRE OF DIRT: The End of Evangelion'. J-pop.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 1999.
- ^'Animation Kobe 1997: An Attendee's Report'. Archived from the original on July 12, 2000. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- ^'1998 Animage Grand Prix Results'. EX media. May 16, 1999. Archived from the original on October 3, 2000. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
- ^'1997年（1月～12月）'. Eiren. Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- ^December 1997 Newtype, p.90[title missing]
- ^Act 147, Rurouni Kenshin volume 17, ISBN1-59116-876-7
- ^Newtype USA issue 1 pg 157[title missing]
- ^'Manga Criticizes Newtype'. Anime News Network. November 8, 2002. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
- ^Light and Sound 2003
- ^'[EoE] throws so much visual and narrative data at its audience, including titles zapping by at almost subliminal speed, that total comprehension is all but impossible. The experience is similar to watching a kid play a Final Fantasy video game at warp speed or flipping through a Shonen Jump comic in a blur'. Contemporary Japanese Film review, Mark Schilling, ISBN0-8348-0415-8, pg 334
- ^'The Economy of Visual Language: Neon Genesis Evangelion'. Slantmagazine.com. August 28, 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^Ross, Carlos. 'Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion'. THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
- ^Contemporary Japanese Film 1999
- ^Beveridge, Chris (September 30, 2002). 'Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion'. Mania.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
- ^Top Tens - Archive of Lists (2003) - Senses of CinemaArchived March 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Archive.sensesofcinema.com. Retrieved on December 28, 2010.
- ^'TokyoScope's Patrick Macias found them magnificent bastards, actually, judging The End of Evangelion the most important anime film of the past decade and a considerably more progressive work than that year's other cel-phenom, Princess Mononoke.' https://web.archive.org/web/20060822225929/http://www.pulp-mag.com/archives/6.03/flcl.shtml
- ^'An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla'. Patrick Macias. November 18, 2006. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
The new issue of Japanese film magazine CUT is about to street..Anyways, here is CUT's list of the 30 Greatest Anime Films of all-time, forever, always, never changing, no arguments. And for the record, I agree with about 5 of them..3. End of Evangelion
Further Reading[edit]
- Napier, Susan J. (November 2002). 'When the Machines Stop: Fantasy, Reality, and Terminal Identity in Neon Genesis Evangelion and Serial Experiments Lain'. Science Fiction Studies. 29 (88): 418–435. ISSN0091-7729. Retrieved May 4, 2007.
External links[edit]
| Wikiquote has quotations related to: The End of Evangelion |
- The End of Evangelion
新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 劇場版 on IMDb - The End of Evangelion
新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 劇場版 at AllMovie - The End of Evangelion at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- 'The Economy of Visual Language: Neon Genesis Evangelion', Slant Magazine
Neon Genesis Evangelion is an anime series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production and directed by Hideaki Anno. It began broadcasting in Japan on TV Tokyo on October 4, 1995 and ended on March 27, 1996. Evangelion is an apocalyptic[1]anime in the mecha genre. It focuses on a teenage boy recruited by a paramilitary organization named NERV to control a giant cyborg called an Evangelion to fight monstrous beings known as Angels. The show takes place largely in a futuristic Tokyo years after a worldwide catastrophe. It also centers on other Evangelion pilots and members of NERV as they try to prevent another catastrophe.
The series was first aired in North America on San Francisco-area PBS member station, Superstation KTEH (now KQEH) in 2000 as part of its Sunday Late-Prime (9pm-after 12 midnight) Sci-Fi programming line-up. The first two episodes first saw nationwide broadcast in dubbed format on Cartoon Network as part of Toonami's Giant Robot Week on February 24–25, 2003; both episodes were heavily edited for content. Later, the entire series aired nearly unedited on Adult Swim from October 20, 2005, to April 13, 2006.
In 2004, A.D. Vision, the English language licensor, released the director's cut versions of episodes 21 through 24 on its Platinum Edition DVDs. The director's cuts included several new and reworked scenes to better explain the events that occurred in The End of Evangelion.
- 2Episodes
Airing history[edit]
After several episodes were produced, the first episode aired on October 4, 1995, long after originally planned. Initially ignored (although received positively by those Gainax fans invited to early screenings), viewership grew slowly and largely by word of mouth.
The 16th episode marked a distinct shift that would characterize the second half of Evangelion as being more psychological than action or adventure.[2] This change in emphasis was partly due to the development of the story, but also partly because by this point, production had begun running out of funding and failing to meet the schedule; this collapse has been identified by at least episode director Kazuya Tsurumaki as the impetus for Evangelion's turn into internal conflict:
I didn't mind it. The schedule was an utter disaster and the number of cels plummeted, so there were some places where unfortunately the quality suffered. However, the tension of the staff as we all became more desperate and frenzied certainly showed up in the film .. About the time that the production system was completely falling apart, there were some opinions to the effect that, 'If we can't do satisfactory work, then what's the point of continuing?' However, I didn't feel that way. My opinion was, 'Why don't we show them the entire process including our breakdown.'[3]
Despite this, by the 18th episode, it had become enough of a sensation that Eva-01's violent rampage 'is criticized as being unsuitable on an anime show that is viewed by children', and the 20th episode would be similarly criticized for the offscreen depiction of Misato and Ryoji having sex.[4] With this popularity came the first merchandise, 'Genesis 0:1' (containing the first two episodes). Beginning a trend, it sold out. When the series finale aired, the story apparently remained unresolved: Third Impact and the Human Instrumentality Project are implied to have begun or even finished, but the episodes focus largely on the psychology of the characters, leaving deeply unclear what actually happens. The End of Evangelion was meant to replace or complement the original episodes 25 and 26, in order to better explain the events of the ending.
Episodes[edit]
Each episode has two titles: one is the original Japanese title, and the second is an English title that was chosen by Japanese studio Gainax itself and appears as an eye catch. Most often, the official English title is not a direct translation of the Japanese title. For example, the direct translation of the Japanese title of episode 2 is 'Unfamiliar Ceilings', but the English title is 'The Beast'. Sometimes, however, the two titles are either similar or exactly the same, as was the case with the first episode 'Angel Attack'. The 2019 Netflix release uses the direct translation of Japanese titles, which are those shown below.
Many tracks on the original soundtracks are named after the English episode names in which they are first used.
Special features include:1. The Whistler 1730 also offers the benefit of the VG-2mode.To fully acquaint yourself with the operation of the Whistler radar detector and to better understand the differences between detecting radar, laser and safety radar signals, we recommend reading this entire manual.Enjoy the Whistler 1710/1730 and please drive safely.Sincerely,THE WHISTLER GROUP1. 
1710/1730 manual 10/19/01 3:56 PM Page 5TABLE OF CONTENTSWHISTLER FEATURESWhistler 1730 shown82176534Whistler’s ergonomic and user-friendlydesign provides a new level of operating convenience.
| No. | Japanese title | English title | Director | Writer | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 'Angel Attack' Transcription: 'Shito, shūrai' (Japanese: 使徒、襲来) | 'Angel Attack' | Kazuya Tsurumaki | Hideaki Anno | October 4, 1995 | |
| In 2000, the first disastrous contact with the mysterious beings known as Angels resulted in the global cataclysm referred to as the Second Impact, which wiped out half of the human race. To defend humanity against future Angel attacks, the United Nations established the NERV organization in Tokyo-3 to develop giant bio-mechanical mecha known as Evangelions. Fifteen years later, the Angels have finally returned, and the untested Evangelions can only be piloted by specially selected 14-year-olds. Shinji Ikari, estranged son of the director of NERV commander Gendo Ikari, arrives in Tokyo-3 and is dragooned into piloting Evangelion Unit 01 to fight the Angel, Sachiel, which is attacking the city. | ||||||
| 2 | 'Unfamiliar Ceilings' Transcription: 'Mishiranu, tenjō' (Japanese: 見知らぬ、天井) | 'The Beast' | Kazuya Tsurumaki | Hideaki Anno Yōji Enokido | October 11, 1995 | |
| Shinji wakes up in the hospital, unable to remember the fight against the Angel the night before. Gendo wants nothing to do with him, so NERV's head of operations, the young and attractive Captain Misato Katsuragi, becomes his legal guardian. Settling into life in Misato's apartment, he eventually recalls the furious battle. | ||||||
| 3 | 'The Silent Phone' Transcription: 'Naranai, denwa' (Japanese: 鳴らない、電話) | 'A Transfer' | Hiroyuki Ishido | Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa | October 18, 1995 | |
| Shinji begins school at Tokyo-3 and meets classmates Toji Suzuhara, Kensuke Aida, and Hikari Horaki. Toji resents Shinji because his sister was badly injured in Shinji's first fight against the Angel Sachiel. Another Angel, Shamshel, appears, and Shinji must defeat it. Shinji is pushed to his mental limit during the battle, going berserk during the last seconds, engaging the Angel in close combat and savagely disabling it. Afterwards, he is devastated by the emotions he experienced during the battle. Toji, witnessing the toll Shinji's life as a pilot puts on him, decides to let go of his resentment. | ||||||
| 4 | 'Rain, After Running Away' Transcription: 'Ame, nigedashita ato' (Japanese: 雨、逃げ出した後) | 'Hedgehog's Dilemma' | Tsuyoshi Kaga | Akio Satsukawa | October 25, 1995 | |
| Overstressed from being made an Evangelion pilot, the previous fight with Shamshel, and fighting with Misato, Shinji runs away from home, soon encountering Kensuke in a field. Shinji is soon recaptured by NERV and reluctantly accepts to resume piloting EVA Unit 01, but Misato states that if he cannot have the right attitude then he should quit being a pilot. She forces his resignation, and after saying goodbye to his classmates Shinji prepares to leave Tokyo-3 by train. However, at the last minute both Shinji and Misato have an epiphany that gives them a deeper understanding of each other. Shinji does not board his train to leave Tokyo-3 and decides to stay. Misato welcomes him back. | ||||||
| 5 | 'Rei, Beyond the Heart' Transcription: 'Rei, kokoro no mukō ni' (Japanese: レイ、心のむこうに) | 'Rei I' | Keiichi Sugiyama | Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa | November 1, 1995 | |
| Evangelion Unit 00 is finally repaired after it went berserk during the experiment it was in before the events of the first episode. Shinji tries to get to know the pilot of Unit 00, Rei Ayanami, better but finds that she is incredibly insular, has no friends, and records of her past have been erased. A new and powerful Angel arrives: Ramiel, a floating monolithic metal diamond with a powerful particle beam blast which nearly kills Shinji in Unit 01. | ||||||
| 6 | 'Showdown in Tokyo-3' Transcription: 'Kessen, daisan shin Tōkyō-shi' (Japanese: 決戦、第3新東京市) | 'Rei II' | Hiroyuki Ishido | Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa | November 8, 1995 | |
| The Angel Ramiel is boring down through the upper layers of Tokyo-3 to reach NERV headquarters in the geofront below. Possessing a strong beam attack and the strongest AT field ever observed, a direct assault by an Evangelion would meet with failure. A plan ('Operation Yashima') is devised in which Shinji in Unit 01 will use an advanced prototype positron rifle to shoot Ramiel from outside its target zone, which must use the entire electrical output of Japan in order to operate, while Rei in Unit 00 shields Unit 01. Shinji's first shot misses while Ramiel retaliates with its energy beam, but Rei steps in front of Unit 01 to shield him. The shield is quickly worn down by the Angel's attack, and Shinji just barely manages to fire the second shot in time, destroying the Angel as Unit 00 is almost destroyed. He then comes out of his Evangelion to open the hatch's to Rei's, finding her alive and crying with relief. When Rei shows her confusion at not knowing how to respond, Shinji just tells her to try smiling. | ||||||
| 7 | 'The Works of Man' Transcription: 'Hito no tsukurishimono' (Japanese: 人の造りしもの) | 'A Human Work' | Keiichi Sugiyama | Hideaki Anno Yōji Enokido | November 15, 1995 | |
| Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, NERV's chief scientist, explains to Shinji more of the classified real nature of Second Impact, the Angels, and the mission of the Evangelions to defeat them. A rival organization of NERV builds a prototype giant robot, Jet Alone, meant as an alternative to the Evangelions, which this new robot line will supersede. Unlike the Evangelion units, which rely on external or limited battery power, the Jet Alone has an on-board nuclear reactor and can thus function indefinitely without external power. However, during the first public test of Jet Alone, it goes out of control and starts marching toward a nearby city with its reactor building to a meltdown. Shinji keeps the robot at bay in his Evangelion while Misato gets inside and attempts to shut down the reactor, only to find out that the apparent threat of a meltdown was staged by an act of sabotage. After everything is said and done, Ritsuko and Gendo discuss the fate of Jet Alone, revealing that they were behind the sabotage. | ||||||
| 8 | 'Asuka Arrives in Japan' Transcription: 'Asuka, rainichi' (Japanese: アスカ、来日) | 'Asuka Strikes!' | Kazuya Tsurumaki | Hideaki Anno Yōji Enokido | November 22, 1995 | |
| Misato brings Shinji and his friends Toji and Kensuke on a flight to a United Nations carrier battlegroup which is transporting Evangelion Unit 02 and its fiery German pilot, Asuka Langley Soryu, to Japan. Escorting Asuka to Japan is Misato's old boyfriend, Ryōji Kaji. In the middle of some awkward introductions and reunions, a massive aquatic Angel, Gaghiel, begins attacking the fleet, and Asuka determines that she will fight it using Unit 02, by playing 'hopscotch'. However for both due to their unfriendly meeting, she takes Shinji with her. The Angel drags Unit 02 underwater, and Misato devises a plan to kill it by lodging two sunken battleships in its mouth and then firing all weapons into it. By cooperating, Asuka and Shinji pull off the plan and the Angel is killed, and it is revealed that both Shinji and Asuka broke their synchronization records. Kaji is seen delivering Adam to Gendo, and Asuka transfers to Shinji's class. | ||||||
| 9 | 'Mind, Matching, Moment' Transcription: 'Shunkan, kokoro, kasanete' (Japanese: 瞬間、心、重ねて) | 'Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!' | Seiji Mizushima | Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa | November 29, 1995 | |
| Asuka moves into Shinji and Misato's apartment where he and Misato live. As Asuka adjusts to Japan, the Angel Israfel attacks. After apparently being defeated, Israfel splits into two identical copies and defeats both Units 01 and 02. In desperation the UN takes the drastic step of dropping an N² bomb on the Angel, temporarily disabling it and giving NERV six days to find a way to defeat it. They determine that both parts of the Angel must be defeated perfectly simultaneously, so on Kaji's suggestion, Misato puts Shinji and Asuka in a training regimen which has them spending as much time together as possible in order to synchronize their actions to pull off a coordinated dual attack set to a timed dance routine. Asuka and Shinji do not take well to such close conditions however, and the training is almost deemed a failure. Nevertheless, Shinji and Asuka eventually learn to put aside their differences and are able to pull off the routine almost flawlessly, destroying the Angel. | ||||||
| 10 | 'The Magma Diver' Transcription: 'Magumadaibā' (Japanese: マグマダイバー) | 'Magma Diver' | Tsuyoshi Kaga Hiroyuki Ishido | Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa | December 6, 1995 | |
| The Evangelion pilots (save for Rei) are excited about their upcoming class trip to Okinawa, but they are upset to learn that they cannot leave Tokyo-3, since they have to be on standby in case of an Angel attack. A dormant Angel, Sandalphon, is discovered in an embryonic stage nesting deep in the magma of an active volcano, and in the hopes of gaining greater insight into the Angels, Asuka is sent to capture it by lowering Unit 02 into the magma, while it wears a special giant coolant suit for protection. However, the Angel soon awakes and advances beyond its embryonic stage, forcing Asuka to battle Sandalphon while deep beneath the surface of the magma. Asuka defeats the Angel, but almost dies when Unit 02's protective equipment fails after suffering damage during the battle. Shinji, however, jumps to her rescue the last moment. | ||||||
| 11 | 'In the Still Darkness' Transcription: 'Seishishita yami no naka de' (Japanese: 静止した闇の中で) | 'The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still' | Tatsuya Watanabe | Hideaki Anno Yōji Enokido | December 13, 1995 | |
| The electrical power in Tokyo-3 is completely cut off as a result of sabotage by parties unknown, trapping most NERV personnel inside, and worse, trapping all three Evangelion pilots outside of the base. A new Angel, Matarael, appears and begins to burn its way down to NERV headquarters by using a corrosive acid attack, and everyone inside must struggle to power up the Evangelions, as the pilots try to make their way back into Central Dogma through a maze of closed corridors and air ducts. The pilots then enter their Evas and go into battle. After traversing more vents and passageways, they come face to face with the Angel. Asuka defends Shinji and Rei from Matarael's corrosive acid, while the other two pilots retrieve Shinji's rifle. Shinji then uses the rifle to destroy the Angel. | ||||||
| 12 | 'A Miracle's Worth' Transcription: 'Kiseki no kachi wa' (Japanese: 奇跡の価値は) | 'She said, 'Don't make others suffer for your personal hatred.' | Hiroyuki Ishido | Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa | December 20, 1995 | |
| While Gendo and Fuyutsuki are out on a mission to Antarctica, a massive Angel, Sahaquiel, appears in Earth's orbit, well beyond the reach of the Evangelions, and launching several N² bombs at it has no effect. The Angel attacks by dropping small pieces of itself onto Earth below, calibrating its aim: once it has zeroed in on Tokyo-3, the main body of Sahaquiel will fall to Earth in a massive kamikaze attack to destroy Tokyo-3. All three Evangelions are deployed at once in a race to reach the Angel before it hits, hold it back by projecting their own AT fields, and destroy it. The operation is a success, and Shinji, much to his own surprise, receive words of praised from Gendo for his efforts. Shinji realizes that getting praise from his father might be his main motivation for being a pilot. | ||||||
| 13 | 'Angel Infiltration' Transcription: 'Shito, shinnyū' (Japanese: 使徒、侵入) | 'Lilliputian Hitcher' | Tensai Okamura | Hideaki Anno Mitsuo Iso | December 27, 1995 | |
| The pilots are undergoing a synchronization test directed by Ritsuko deep within NERV headquarters when a new Angel, Ireul, appears within the base itself, being initially mistaken for corrosion. This Angel is actually a collection of millions of microscopic organisms, which interact to create a living biological computer circuit. Ireul infects NERV's computer network, and then infiltrates two of the three Magi supercomputers that control the base before Ritsuko is able to set up a firewall to slow its advance. Ritsuko comes up with a scheme to use the Angel's rapid adaptive ability against it and force it to evolve into a benign state, but must race to implement the program before the Angel gains control of the base's self-destruct. After successfully pulling off the plan and destroying the Angel, Ritsuko gives Misato some insight about the Magi's workings, relaying the story of how her mother based its design on her own personality. | ||||||
| 14 | 'Seele, the Seat of the Soul' Transcription: 'Zēre, tamashii no za' (Japanese: ゼーレ、魂の座) | 'Weaving a Story' | Masahiko Ohtsuka Ken Ando | Hideaki Anno | January 3, 1996 | |
| The first half of this episode is a clip show, in the form of a report by Seele reviewing Gendo's actions, summarizing the first season of episodes and the story up until this point. In the second half, Ritsuko conducts an experiment to determine if pilots can be switched between the Evangelions they normally pilot. Rei can synchronize with Unit 01 fairly well, but when Shinji attempts to synchronize with Unit 00, it goes violently berserk inside of the base, in a manner identical to the failed activation test that took place before Shinji's arrival in Tokyo-3. As before, Unit 00 attacks the hangar's observation booth, smashing the window. However, Rei was standing at the window instead of Gendo, as was the case in the first test, causing Misato Katsuragi to wonder if Unit 00 was trying to kill Rei. Meanwhile, Ritsuko feels that Unit 00 was trying to attack Ritsuko herself. At the end of the episode, Rei uses Unit 00 to bring the Lance of Longinus recovered from Antarctica to the deepest level of NERV's base, Terminal Dogma. | ||||||
| 15 | 'Lies and Silence' Transcription: 'Uso to chinmoku' (Japanese: 嘘と沈黙) | 'Those women longed for the touch of others' lips, and thus invited their kisses.' | Naoyasu Habu | Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa | January 10, 1996 | |
| Kaji begins to make clandestine investigations into NERV's dark secrets, after which he, Misato, and Ritsuko attend a wedding. Meanwhile, Rei and Shinji stay after class to clean up while Asuka is set up on a blind date by Hikari. Shinji meets Gendo at his mother's grave. Later that night, at Misato's apartment, Asuka kisses Shinji, which nearly suffocates him. Misato and Kaji end up rekindling their old romance, but she also discovers he is a double agent, sent as a spy by the Japanese government. Kaji, in turn, reveals to her that NERV is hiding things from her. He shows her what he believes to be Adam, the first Angel, which is being kept deep underneath NERV headquarters. | ||||||
| 16 | 'The sickness unto death, and then..' Transcription: 'Shi ni itaru yamai, soshite' (Japanese: 死に至る病、そして) | 'Splitting of the Breast' | Kazuya Tsurumaki | Hideaki Anno Hiroshi Yamaguchi | January 17, 1996 | |
| A new and extremely bizarre Angel, Leliel, appears in the sky over Tokyo-3, apparently a black and white sphere. All three Evangelions move in to attack, but Shinji's attack is useless, and he along with Unit 01 are absorbed into a growing shadow that has engulfed the city. Ritsuko determines that Leliel exists on a higher dimension of existence, which can only be explained by mathematical concepts. The shadow on the ground, described as being 600 meters wide but only three nanometers thick, is the actual body of the Angel, and the sphere in the sky is its true shadow. Fearing that Unit 01 has been completely lost, NERV prepares to drop all of its remaining N² bombs into the Angel, hoping that this will destroy Leliel even though it could easily kill Shinji as well. While trapped in Leliel, Shinji goes on an introspective mental journey. As the battery power completely drains and life support runs out in Unit 01, Shinji suddenly feels a ghostly woman embracing him, and he realizes that she is his mother. Outside Leliel, Misato and Ritsuko witness Unit 01 violently tear its way out of Leliel's shadow, thereby killing the Angel. Shinji is recovered alive and well, but his experiences inside the Angel have left him deeply unsettled. | ||||||
| 17 | 'The Fourth to be Qualified' Transcription: 'Yoninme no tekikakusha' (Japanese: 四人目の適格者) | 'Fourth Child[a]' | Minoru Ohara | Hideaki Anno Shinji Higuchi | January 24, 1996 | |
| Disaster strikes unexpectedly when NERV-02, NERV's second branch base in Nevada, mysteriously disappears in a flash, resulting in the loss of everything in a radius of eighty-nine kilometers and thousands of people. The incident coincided with an experiment to install an S² engine, capable of giving an Evangelion an unlimited power supply, into Evangelion Unit 04, one of the two new Evangelions which have recently finished construction in the United States. Panicking after the accident involving Unit 04, the United States government demands that Evangelion Unit 03, built in NERV-01, NERV's first branch base in Massachusetts, be removed from its soil as quickly as possible. As Unit 03 is about to arrive in Tokyo-3, Toji Suzuhara becomes the new pilot for it. | ||||||
| 18 | 'Life and Death Decisions' Transcription: 'Inochi no sentaku o' (Japanese: 命の選択を) | 'Ambivalence' | Tensai Okamura | Hideaki Anno Shinji Higuchi | January 31, 1996 | |
| Unit 03, being transported from the United States to Japan via airplane, flies through a microscopic Angel disguised as an odd cloud, infecting Unit 03. During Toji's first synch test, Unit 03 goes berserk and mutates into the Angel Bardiel. Possessing both the power of an Angel and the form of an Evangelion, Unit 03 destroys the test facility and advances toward Tokyo-3. All three Evangelions are sortied against Bardiel, but the Angel rapidly defeats both Unit 02 and Unit 00. Although Shinji does not know that Toji is trapped inside Bardiel, he refuses to use Unit 01 to attack it, wanting to try to save the pilot. As Unit 03 attacks Unit 01, Gendo orders that Shinji be cut off from control of Unit 01 and that Unit 01's dummy plug autopilot system be activated. Under the control of the dummy plug, Unit 01 savagely attacks Bardiel, tearing the possessed Evangelion to shreds and crushing its entry plug. After the battle, the already emotionally devastated Shinji is even more horrified as he sees Toji being taken from the wreckage of the entry plug. | ||||||
| 19 | 'A Man's Battle' Transcription: 'Otoko no tatakai' (Japanese: 男の戰い) | 'Introjection' | Masayuki | Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa | February 7, 1996 | |
| Shinji, horrified and emotionally devastated by the battle between Unit 01 and Bardiel and witnessing Toji's near-death, as well as Gendo's indifference to the situation, quits NERV for a second time. However, as he is leaving Tokyo-3, the Angel Zeruel appears and easily defeats the other Evangelions. After speaking with Kaji, who reveals the truth as to why the Evas are necessary to combat the Angels, namely to prevent them from making contact with Adam and thereby trigger the Third Impact which will result in the annihilation of mankind, Shinji returns to NERV just before the Angel penetrates NERV headquarters and engages the Angel in Unit 01. The Angel succeeds in overpowering Unit 01 as its batteries expire and blasts away the Evangelion's chest armor, revealing a core identical to those of the Angels. As the Angel attacks Unit 01's core, Shinji pleads with the Evangelion to start working again. Unit 01 goes 'berserk', re-engages and defeats the Angel, and then tears apart and eats the Angel's corpse, absorbing its S² engine in the process. | ||||||
| 20 | 'Of the Shape of Hearts and Humans' Transcription: 'Kokoro no katachi, hito no katachi' (Japanese: 心のかたち 人のかたち) | 'Weaving a Story 2: oral stage' | Masahiko Ohtsuka | Hideaki Anno | February 14, 1996 | |
| During the climax of the massive fight against the Angel Zeruel, Shinji achieved a 400% synchronization ratio with Unit 01, a level thought impossible. However, because of this, Shinji has merged with the Evangelion, and his body has reverted to LCL inside the entry plug. Over the course of thirty days, as Unit 01 stands immobile in its hangar, Ritsuko struggles to come up with a way to restore Shinji. Meanwhile, Shinji's consciousness goes on an introspective odyssey while merged with Unit 01 in which he comes into contact with the soul of his mother, Yui Ikari. After speaking with Yui, Shinji is 'reborn' from Unit 01's exposed core. Later that evening, Misato and Kaji resume their love affair. During their meeting, Kaji hands her a chip which details all his findings from spying on NERV, telling her it might be his last gift to her. | ||||||
| 21 | 'The Birth of NERV' Transcription: 'Nerufu, tanjō' (Japanese: ネルフ、誕生) | 'He was aware that he was still a child.' | Hiroyuki Ishido (TV) Shunji Suzuki (DC) | Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa | February 21, 1996 | |
| Deputy Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki is kidnapped and interrogated by Seele, who are outraged that in its last battle Unit 01 absorbed the S² engine from an Angel into its body, so that it no longer requires an external power source and can now function indefinitely. Meanwhile, Kaji goes AWOL to try to find out the truth about NERV. As Fuyutsuki is interrogated by Seele, he recounts in flashbacks how he first met Gendo and Yui, the dark events surrounding Second Impact, and how NERV and the Evangelion project were born. Flashbacks also reveal the history of Misato, Ritsuko, and Rei. Fuyutsuki is rescued by Kaji, and Fuyutsuki warns him that Seele will want him dead now. That evening, Kaji is shot by an unseen assassin. Misato receives a voicemail from Kaji, in which he urges her to continue his search for the truth about NERV, and from its nature she deduces that he is dead and breaks down in grief. | ||||||
| 22 | 'Staying Human' Transcription: 'Semete, ningen rashiku' (Japanese: せめて、人間らしく) | 'Don't Be.' | Akira Takamura (TV) Kazuya Tsurumaki (DC) | Hideaki Anno Hiroshi Yamaguchi | February 28, 1996 | |
| After being defeated yet again by an Angel, Asuka's synchronization ratio continues to drop, affecting her ability to pilot Unit 02. Flashbacks reveal Asuka's tragic childhood, which shaped her current abrasive personality. A new Angel, Arael, appears in Earth's orbit, well outside the range of any Earth-based weaponry, including the Evangelions. Asuka is told that she will be Rei's backup for the confrontation with the Angel. Infuriated, she launches herself and confronts Arael on her own. However Arael uses a telepathic attack which forces Asuka to relive traumatic events from her past, causing such mental distress that Asuka completely loses synchronization and Unit 02 shuts down. Gendo orders Rei to retrieve the Lance of Longinus and then use it against the Angel. The Lance succeeds in penetrating Arael's AT field and destroys it, but the Lance achieves escape velocity and enters a lunar orbit. Asuka is again angered by her defeat, worsened by her hatred of Rei. | ||||||
| 23 | 'Tears' Transcription: 'Namida' (Japanese: 涙) | 'Rei III' | Shoichi Masuo (TV) Masayuki (DC) | Hideaki Anno Hiroshi Yamaguchi | March 6, 1996 | |
| Following the last Angel's assault on her mind, Asuka sinks into clinical depression. The next Angel, Armisael, attacks, and attempts to merge itself with Unit 00, causing it to make contact with Rei's mind, as past Angels did with Shinji and Asuka. In order to save Shinji, Rei self-destructs Unit 00 in order to destroy Armisael. Rei is revealed to be 'recovered' after a supposed near-death experience. Seele, wanting to get to the bottom of the incident, subjects Ritsuko to a humiliating interrogation with Gendo's consent. Wanting revenge on Gendo, Ritsuko betrays him by revealing several dark truths to Shinji and Misato about the Evangelions and Rei, particularity that the latter is but one of several backup clones. In her anger at Gendo, Ritsuko coldly murders all the Rei clones. | ||||||
| 24 | 'The Last Cometh' Transcription: 'Saigo no shisha' (Japanese: 最後のシ者) | 'The Beginning and the End, or 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' | Shoichi Masuo (TV) Masayuki (DC) | Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa | March 13, 1996 | |
| As Asuka's depression has grown to the point that she is reduced to catatonia, Seele sends Kaworu Nagisa to NERV in order to be the replacement pilot for Unit 02. At first Shinji and Kaworu bond and quickly become friends. However, it is soon revealed that Kaworu is in fact the final Angel, Tabris, and has been sent to merge with Adam in Terminal Dogma at the bottom level of NERV headquarters. Kaworu commandeers Unit 02, and Shinji engages it with Unit 01 in a fierce fight while in free-fall as they descend to Terminal Dogma. Kaworu reaches the Angel in Terminal Dogma as Shinji defeats Unit 02, but realizes that the Angel is not Adam but Lilith. Realizing it is the way things are meant to be, he then implores Shinji to kill him to prevent humanity from being destroyed. Shinji hesitates, but finally kills Kaworu. Later, traumatized by the day's events, Shinji tries to talk to Misato, but she is too distracted by her own struggles to be of comfort to him. | ||||||
| 25 | 'The Ending World' Transcription: 'Owaru sekai' (Japanese: 終わる世界) | 'Do you love me?' | Kazuya Tsurumaki | Hideaki Anno | March 20, 1996 | |
| The Human Instrumentality Project begins, merging the souls of humankind into a single entity. Shinji, Rei, Misato, and Asuka struggle with their reasons for existence. Shinji discovers that he has created a solitary existence for himself, a world in which he alone can exist. | ||||||
| 26 | 'The Beast that Shouted 'I' at the Heart of the World[b]' Transcription: 'Sekai no chūshin de 'ai' o sakenda kemono' (Japanese: 世界の中心でアイを叫んだけもの) | 'Take care of yourself' | Masayuki Kazuya Tsurumaki | Hideaki Anno | March 27, 1996 | |
| The Human Instrumentality Project continues as humankind attempts to complete its existence. Shinji continues to struggle with the impact of his personal existence, and eventually views a world (resembling a light-hearted, comedic high school setting) in which he is not an Evangelion pilot. Shinji, now understanding that his existence is not fixed, destroys the constrictive shell which he had formed around himself. He is met by all of the other characters from the series, who applaud and congratulate him, and, in response, he thanks them all. | ||||||
Complementary ending[edit]
The complementary ending to Neon Genesis Evangelion is first teased in Rebirth, the second half of the theatrical film Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth. Rebirth comprises the first twenty-five minutes of Episode 25' and ends as the Mass Production Evangelions under the control of SEELE sortie to combat Asuka under command of NERV. The full ending, split into two 45-minute long episodes, 25' and 26', is shown in the theatrical film The End of Evangelion.
Evangelion Episode 25 Air
| No. | Japanese title | English title | Director | Writer | Original theatrical release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25' | 'Air' Transcription: 'Ea' (Japanese: エア) | 'Love is Destructive' | Kazuya Tsurumaki | Hideaki Anno | March 25, 1997 (Rebirth) July 19, 1997 (End of Evangelion) | |
| With the Angels defeated, Commander Gendo Ikari and Seele finally break their relationship and Gendo attempts to start Third Impact with Rei and the Angel Lilith in Terminal Dogma. Seele orders the Japanese Strategic Self Defense Forces (JSSDF) to attack Tokyo-3 and NERV headquarters, eventually leading to Tokyo-3's destruction with an N² mine. Asuka, realizing that her mother's soul was watching over her inside Unit 02 all along, manages to synch up again with the Evangelion and repulses the JSSDF's attack on NERV, prompting Seele to retaliate by sending in the nine Mass Production (MP) Evangelions, Units 05 through 13, to fight Unit 02. Meanwhile, Misato rescues Shinji from advancing JSSDF troops and brings him safely to Unit 01, but is mortally wounded. Ritsuko tries to initiate NERV HQ's self-destruct as an act of petty revenge against Gendo, but it fails due to her mother's programming, at which point Gendo kills her. In a tough battle, Asuka is able to defeat the MP Evangelions, but Unit 02's batteries run out, and the MP Evangelions reactivate despite their wounds because they are fitted with S² engines. The MP Evangelions proceed to brutally eviscerate Unit 02. Shinji leaves the Geofront in Unit 01 and, upon seeing the remains of Unit 02, cries out in anguish. | ||||||
| 26' | 'Sincerely Yours[c]' Transcription: 'Magokoro o, kimi ni' (Japanese: まごころを、君に) | 'ONE MORE FINAL: I need you.' | Hideaki Anno | Hideaki Anno | July 19, 1997 | |
| Gendo starts Third Impact with Rei, but feeling Shinji's anguish, she rejects Gendo and merges with Lilith to become a god-like being. The MP Evangelions crucify Unit 01 with their Lance of Longinus replicas, and centering around the Rei/Lilith being, create an Anti-AT field which spreads over the entire world, reducing everyone to the primordial soup of LCL, merging into a single super-being as all souls merge. In a surreal sequence (in which Shinji imagines himself in different scenarios interacting with the people he has come to know and care about during his time as an Eva pilot), Shinji examines his life's meaning with Rei and what he truly wants, and after talking with the soul of his mother in Unit 01, decides to reject Instrumentality, accepting individual existence and the possibility of pain over the painless loss of identity. He is told all living things will have the choice of returning to individual existence if they can remember it. The Rei/Lilith being and the MP Evangelions die. In the end, Shinji wakes up on the beach of the Sea of LCL, which has formed over Earth, and finds that Asuka is lying next to him, inexplicably alive, her injuries sustained during her battle with the Mass-Produced Evas covered in bandages. Shinji, still in an emotionally fragile state, straddles the seemingly unresponsive Asuka and attempts to strangle her, but stops himself when she raises her hand to his face and caresses it. At Asuka's action, Shinji comes to his senses and breaks down, crying uncontrollably. | ||||||
Reception[edit]
While the entire series has received wide attention, individual episodes have also earned praise and occasionally been recipients of awards. For instance, in the 19th Annual Anime Grand Prix, a readers' choice award hosted by Animage magazine, seventeen episodes of Evangelion gained enough votes to be included among the one hundred 'Best Loved Single Episodes'. Episodes 24 and 26 took first and second place respectively with roughly six hundred votes each.[5]
Neon Genesis Evangelion Full Episodes
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^According to Matt Greenfield at the 2011 Sydney Supanova Pop Culture Expo, Gainax, who titled the English episodes, kept insisting on calling an individual Evangelion pilot a 'Children', as Japanese has no plural to differentiate one from several if a number is not stated. Greenfield says the English team kept correcting it as 'child' and that they 'eventually won' with their version of the word.
- ^Alternatively translated as 'The Beast that Shouted 'Love' at the Heart of the World'; the katakana word アイ (ai) is deliberately ambiguous as to whether it is the transliteration of 'I' or the Japanese word for love (愛ai), in reference to Harlan Ellison's book and short story of the same name.
- ^Alternatively translated as 'My Purest Heart for You', or with the additional bracketed title, 'My Purest Heart for You (Sincerely Yours)'
- ^'The rise of apocalypticism: What on earth is the world coming to?'. The Montreal Gazette.
Currently, says DiTommaso, we're in an upswing of apocalypticism, both in traditional forms and in new hybrid varieties. 'Beyond the biblical aspect, it's gained a secular aspect as well .. in music, in videos, in role-playing games, in graphic novels, in fiction,' he says, citing The Matrix, the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, and books such as Cormac McCarthy's The Road as examples.
[dead link] - ^'Fans liked the concept, praising it for a psychoanalytical look at anime that had never been attempted before. Sato sees Episode 16 was of particular importance. A spherical black Angel called Ririeru (Leliel in English) appears and Shinji's Eva Unit 01 is absorbed into it. Normally, such close contact between an Evangelion and an Angel would have resulted in combat. Instead, in this episode, Shinji is confronted by another version of himself. The two Shinjis engage in conversation as the young boy probes 'himself' about who he really is and the meaning of 'self.' The episode clearly shows how Shinji explores his inner self as he continues asking why it is that he has been selected to pilot the Eva. The series continues in this way with a strong focus on Shinji's internal struggles until Evangelion draws toward its climax.' From the Mainichi News article 'Evangelion Special: From phenomenon to legacy'
- ^'A Story of Communication: The Kazuya Tsurumaki Interview'. End of Evangelion theatrical program book, translated by Bochan_bird.
- ^pg 162, Fujie 2004
- ^'19th Annual Anime Grand Prix'. Animage. Tokuma Shoten (228). June 1996.