Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time!

Original image located here. Accessed 28th January 2022

IV - Rebuild
I can't recall the last time I sat down and watched Evangelion - clearly End of Evangelion left a bad taste in the mouth. But what i do know is that I spent a fair chunk of my twenties and thirties sorting myself out and overcoming the demon that is self-loathing - and much like Shinji it was down through a lot of self-analysis. Of course, the only difference is when i overcame my self-loathing I didn't get a round of applause accompanied by "Congratulations!" (would've liked to though).

 So when i found out a new Evangelion reboot, Rebuild, came about it was a case of "You Again"
Which now brings us here: Facing down the fourth and final movie in this rebuild, therefore the endpoint of this journey taken over this pat month - and also the endpoint of a longer journey that started back in late 1998.

Firstly this movie is long, at two and half hours. Granted this nothing new for movies in general but to see an animated film at such a length is indeed an anomaly. With such a length it wouldn't be that much a of a stretch to draw comparisons to Avengers Endgame. So can this movie pull off the same trick?

Well...kinda.....

A number of things of note: I like the quiet moments - that may sound odd but thy work. And considering that Evangelion has a reputation for bombast when it decides to be quiet it does so superbly.
I like the revelation of Gendo's history. It has indeed been along time coming - and who would've guessed that one of fictions most reviled characters could command empathy?
And I I like that this is effectively the big farewell that Anno wanted: There are indeed surprises throughout and we finally FINALLY get to see Shinji grow up and take control of his life. And yes, I do feel happy for him.
Of course, there are a lot of things that don't work: The action is fast and aggressive to the point of being difficult to keep up, certain characters are sidelined and, once again, the mysteries of Evangelion are never resolved to the point of aggressive.
Still, this movie does what it set out to do: Conclude Evangelion as a franchise for good so I give it that much. Furthermore, I will forever maintain that End of Evangelion was Anno urging us the audience to move on. And here i do believe he is saying the same thing - just in a far less passive-aggressive manner.

Well this month-long odyssey has now come to an end and what a heavy one it has been. So next week, i think I'll watch something a bit more fun.
And that s a guarantee.

Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo!

Original image located here. Accessed 21st January 2022

III - Distance
The year was 2001. I finally did get to see the End of Evangelion, by which stage had entered a 'Holy Grail' type status. And at the time i was astonished by it. It wasn't so much a movie being freed from the restrictions of TV but what was being portrayed on screen. The Shock and Awe tactics did indeed work but, once I processed what I had witnessed, the shine wore off quickly.
The disappointment from the End of Evangelion took it's toll: It was ugly, nihilistic and made me appreciate the original ending more. Come on, Shinji Ikari had been through so much crap that he deserved a happy ending. Indeed it is a bold move to end a series with your lead character achieving self-respect. But is such a thing that a hard sell to angst-ridden teenagers?
No matter: Such was the disappointment from the End of Evangelion that I distanced myself from this franchise. Indeed it is telling that in the years since, Shinji became a punchline for being 'whiny' and 'sexually-repressed'. Clearly having a protagonist who is emotionally vulnerable struck a nerve.
Also it is well-documented that End of Evangelion came about because creator Hideaki Anno received death threats over it;s ending - some of them actually appear onscreen during the movie. With such bitterness involved, is it any wonder that I would move on?
Furthermore my tastes in anime were evolving. One telling incident: When i was enthusiastic about Evangelion, I did, at the same time, dismiss the movie Royal Space Force (Wings of Honenamise). The people who made fun of me for liking Evangelion in turn thought very highly of Royal Space Force. Of course they were obviously trying to wind me up but in the years since, I have come to see Royal Space Force in a more favorable light.
Finally, the distance from Evangelion made me see it in a new light: Because this is not a series about giant robots, invading aliens and layers of conspiracy. This is about the Anno laying out his fears and doubts. The real enemy is not the Angels; It's self hatred. Therefore, to be a fan of Evangelion one must accept this along with the fact that the mysteries in it many never be properly answered and this series must be approached on Anno's terms.

And that mindset is indeed present with the third movie in this rebuild. The movie starts with an interesting scenario but at the same time, questions are raised which, being Evangelion, are never answered. It may be exasperating but this start is nothing more than a red herring.
The real meat is seeing Shinji encounter Kaworu and the bond they build. Consider: If you're depressed and have trouble building connections and then you meet someone who provides inspiration and is genuinely interested in you, would you turn them away? I know a lot of people challenge 'soul-mate' narratives with the reasoning of "No one's coming to save you" but here we have such reasoning being put into practice. As such, to be tempted in such a a way leads to distrust to outside forces, learning the wrong lessons and making bad decisions.
But ultimately that is my interpretation: I am okay with Evangelion not being about giant robots - indeed the opening half hour come across as coming from a completely different movie - but not so with many other (and angrier) Evangelion fans.

So to wrap up this very long post, it has been theorized that 1.0 is Eva, 2.0 is the Eva fan see as Eva and 3.0 is what Anno sees as Eva.
I believe it.

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance!

Original image located here. Accessed 14th January 2022

II - End
And it came to pass that in 1999 i became a fan of Evangelion. But when one becomes a fan of something one begins to notice people who do not share a similar opinion and are therefore able to provide an outsider's opinion. And boy did I hear the complaints about Evangelion., Chief along them that Shinji is too whiny a protagonist and the rather baffling ending.
I find the complaints about Shinji interesting because he does have an everyman quality to him: Who doesn't feel despair, have parental issues and have trouble making friends (among other things)? Did having such recognizable qualities strike such a nerve with people? And by the end of the series, Shinji does indeed realise that not only does he wants to be liked but he wants to move beyond such a thought pattern. And to that end I felt happy for him.
When i reached the end of the original TV series, the ending took me completely by surprise. It was indeed a bold move to end such an action/-packed-thought-provoiking series on something of a personal note. I did appreciate it at the time but there were too many questions left unanswered. What on earth was going on? What were the secrets that the series had hinted at previously?
Of course I would later find out that a lot of other viewers were angered by the ending and so Hideaki Anno produced a new movie with a new ending: The End of Evangelion.

As for the second movie in the rebuild, if the first movie was to rely on familiarity to pull us in, here the rug is pulled from underneath. Sure some familiar story beats are here but by the movie's end, a different direction has been firmly established.
What is of particular note is the various character moments speckled throughout: Asuka enters, is still hostile but benefits from some interesting development. Rei is making an effort to bond with the people around her. And Shinji is whining less and showing a more proactive characterization.
If anything, the only major character that does not receive some development is the newcomer Maki, who certainly does an interesting first impression but is, let's be honest here, far too well-adjusted to be an Eva pilot.
And special mention must go to Gendo's line "Grow up Shinji'. It amuses me as it gives voice to many a thought many a viewer of Evangelion has had.
In the end, there are some great moments of animation and action but, much like it's predecessor, Evangelion's real strength is in it's heart. So with the movie ending on an astonishing note, it would be interesting to see what happens next.....

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th January 2022

It's a new year and i want to kick it off with a bang. So I'm going to aim for something ambitious: On each Friday of this month, i will be watching one of the new Evangelion movies (and confuse all the non-anime fans in my audience).
I have been holding out on these as i wanted to wait until all of them were readily available. Well the time has come to finally watch a saga that has been fourteen years in the making.
But that's not all: As I will be going through each of these movies, i will be sharing my own experiences with these franchise. I will be sharing my own perceptions on this and how they have evolved over the years. After all, creator Hideaki Anno went through his own odyssey in creating Evangelion, the franchise itself has been through a separate odyssey, but I have an odyssey of my own to bring to the table: That of the viewer. I want to talk about my thoughts on this franchise and how they have evolved over the years, contrasting Evangelion with my own journey through this thing called life.

So here we go:

I - Genesis
It was late 1998 - a time when SBS began flogging an anime TV series called Neon Genesis Evangelion. As this was an age well before online streaming, and one had to actively hunt down anything resembling anime, my interest was well and truly piqued (that and the trailer SBS used was monumental). I watched every episode, every weekend, expecting to see giant robots knocking the stuffing out of giant aliens. Well that was exactly what i got but at the same time there was something else: As I watched I noticed that a lot of the characters were going through a lot on a psychological level. I was puzzled by this at first - and at times annoyed as I wanted to get to the action - but what did it matter? I had found something new and was eager for it. I do recall someone people at the time made fun of me for liking it but did it matter? After all, i was getting a lot out of it - even if it's lead character, Shinji Ikari was a whinger to the point of exasperating.

As for this new movie, it wears it's intention as a reboot on it;s sleeve: It's a reconstruction of the first six episodes of the TV series. The familiar beats and themes are there - with many shots looking exactly the same - and there are some new footage thrown in. Some mysteries are revealed early on, Shinji is less whiny (mercifully) and, although things are moving at quicker pace, it is all there, just as i recalled it.
Obviously a sense of familiarity is being applied here - a perfect scenario to have the rug from pulled out from under them.
And that really is the only goal of this movie: to welcome back it's viewers. But in the end, it is still a big ask: I mean, I can't expect this movie to deliver the same thrill as it did back in early 1999. I mean i am the same person i was back then? I hope not