Neon Genesis Evangelion

Oh, it sure to end with this:

You know, I never knew a suicide song can be so upbeat.

edited 9th Jul '14 4:02:46 PM by AfroWarrior27

I've thought for a while (it keeps escaping my mind) that I should really give Eva its own Soundtrack Dissonance page one of its days, its entry on that trope is truly impressive.

You think that's bad? Remember the OP theme. Now consider that it keeps playing even on the Everything-Keeps-Getting-Worse Arc episodes.

It does makes sense when you consider that the series really is about overcoming hardship and how relationships are hard but we go through it theme.

Except because at the end, hardship destroys mankind and nothing is really overcame, no relation gets to any semblance of a good end. At best we're left with a huge 'maaaaaaaaaaaybe some humans can make it back from the Tang'. At worst we're left with 'Shinji and Asuka will die alone in a wasteland'.

edited 10th Jul '14 6:35:01 PM by NapoleonDeCheese

I'm pretty sure Evangelion is about Anno having a breakdown rather than that.

Evangelion is about Anno having a mental breakdown while the rest of Gainax tries its damn best to sell merchandise about it.

Well, unless it's Rebuild, then it's about outright fucking with the audience.

While still trying your damn best to sell them merchandise.

Although, being honest, I didn't see that much of a merch push with 3.33 in comparation with 1.0 and 2.2.

edited 10th Jul '14 6:45:48 PM by NapoleonDeCheese

I fall into the "Relationships are hard" interpretation. Is Shinji seemingly alone and insane? Yes. Is the only other person we see alive filled with contempt for him? yes. But that's not how it has to be. Shinji can build real relationships, something he couldn't do before because of his own wall. It'll be hard, and he's not sure how to do it yet, but he can now.

But then again that's the really great thing about Eva's ending. As grandiose and crazy as it is, you can draw several distinct endings from it.

Hey, surely the two fellas who couldn't establish healthy relationships in a world that more or less worked okay and made sense will be able to function better around each other in a wrecked world, probably facing impending doom, and perhaps alone and dragging their prior emotional baggage to boot. (Because trying to strangle others is totally something to do when you've exorcised your inner demons). Yeah, that makes sense.

edited 10th Jul '14 7:01:16 PM by NapoleonDeCheese

Doesn't have to be with each other, asuka can just leave. Point is though, Shinji doesn't have the barrier between himself and the real world anymore. He's out there, still trying to relearn basic things like talking and restraint, but he can do it now, whereas before he couldn't.

I still think the setting they are at the end is even more adverse to proper emotional healing than the one they were at the start. Sorry, but I think all the 'barrier breaking' psychobabble the end tries to sell us is just that. I can't honestly believe it, even if that's the intended point. It's just not convincing.

You would have a point with the manga ending, though.

edited 10th Jul '14 7:06:11 PM by NapoleonDeCheese

Well, in a literal sense yeah the wasteland would be a really fucked up place to be, but I'm working more symbolically. The post third impact earth is suppose to be the real world, or rather the world after shinji lowers his guard. harsh, merciless, and terrifying. The fact that Asuka is the first person he meets and she rejects him is suppose to underline that. I'm coming at this from the idea that Shinji's journey is suppose to mirror that of depression, since a lot of it paralleled my own.

Basically, after rejecting the easy route of becoming a full on introvert (leaving the tang) Shinji finds the real world harsh and merciless. It's a long time before he finds someone he can try to connect to, he's forgotten how to do it in the first place, and she ends up brutally rejecting him. Basically, just by overcoming depression and putting yourself out there, you're not going to have an easy time. As has been stated, Anno struggled with depression himself, so he may have been at this stage when he finished eva.

My interpretation is more optimistic, since by leaving the Tang Shinji gains the ability to make more meaningful relationships, even if his first attempts are disastrous. But there's a lot of obvious interpretations with this theory. Shinji can die alone, he can never forge real relationships because only he rejects instrumentality, or he can return to the tang.

Well, that's a pretty way to look at it, but symbolism kinda stops working when you have twisted the social and physical environment so much, in my opinion. I think the end shot itself in the foot with what it was trying to convey and how it actually portrayed it.

But shouldn't it be the opposite? Typically, the more bizarre something is the more symbolism is derived from it.

Yeah, but the more bizarre you get, the more detached from emotional realism, which is a handicap when you are trying to connect emotionally with your audience, especially in an uplifting way.

I'm not sure what message Eva was supposed to have(I'm also pretty sure Anno doesn't know either), but I'm pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be uplifting.

I'm working with the poster above's take on it being uplifting.

I just finished watching all the currently released chapters of EVAbridged

Freaking hilarious, my favorite part were Rei's interactions with Shinji.

Hey, considering what little we know of the First Ancestral Race, which strongly implies that modern humanity and the Angels are effectively reincarnations of the souls of the FAR's last generation(s), do they count as the Original Man to humanity (in the extended meaning of "human" that is used in-universe, that is)?

I just learned NGE was at least partly inspired by The Andromeda Strain. Even if it was the movie and not the book, I am impressed and give them props.

(Michael Crichton fan here)

Aw crap.

The more I think about it, the more I think Steven Spielberg would be the best director for a live-action NGE movie.

Wait, is that necessarily a bad thing?

Hmmm…

Well, NGE was created by a guy who was at lowest point in his life and wanted to burn into film. If Spielburg could create the same atmosphere in theoretical Live Action Eva, I might be for it but I am not holding my hands for it.

So who here has read the manga?

Someone recommended I read it after I watched the anime and reported being disappointed with it.

I dunno, debating Eva here and elsewhere has motivated me to try and read some of the manga series. I'll try the "official adaptation" or whatever you want to call it and also some of the spin-offs.