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.