Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

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Anime movie
title Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
Original title 新 世紀 エ ヴ ァ ン ゲ リ オ ン 劇場版 Air / ま ご こ ろ を 、 君 に
transcription Shin Seiki Evangerion Gekijōban: Air / Magokoro o, Kimi ni
Neon Genesis Evangelion The End of Evangelion logo.png
Country of production JapanJapan Japan
original language Japanese
Publishing year 1997
Studio Gainax , Production IG
length 87 minutes
genre Science fiction
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Hideaki Anno ,
Kazuya Tsurumaki (episode 25)
script Hideaki Anno
production Mitsuhisa Ishikawa
music Shirō Sagisu
synchronization

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion ( Japanese 新 世紀 エ ヴ ァ ン ゲ リ オ ン 劇場版 Air / ま ご こ ろ を 、 君 に , Shin Seiki Evangerion Gekijōban: Air / Magokoro o, Kimi ni ) is the second feature film for the anime television series Neon Genesis Evangelion .

Released in 1997, the film is a retelling of the last two episodes of the television series and thus offers an alternative ending to their plot. The film consists of two parts, the episodes 25 Love is destructive (Japanese Air ) and 26 Sincerely yours (Japanese ま ご こ ろ を 、 君 に , Magokoro o, Kimi ni ). Episode 25 contains the second part of the first film Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth , which is called Rebirth there . The plot of the two parts builds on the plot of the series .

action

Air / Love is destructive

Asuka is in a coma in the hospital to recover from her injuries in recent fights. When Shinji visits her, he tries to wake her up because he is afraid of the others and hopes for help from her. He exposes her bare torso and then masturbates in front of her.

Later, NERV is attacked by the JSDF , which was initiated by SEELE. This is to prevent NERV from opposing SEELE under Gendo Ikari. In addition, they want to bring the EVA units as well as the computer MAGI for the upcoming Third Impact and the execution of the Human Instrumentality Project (HID, "Project for the Perfection of Mankind") under their own control. During the battle, the geofront is exposed and the Japanese forces penetrate into NERV's command center, the Central Dogma. NERV can hardly do anything to counter the attack, as it is only equipped to fight angels. In addition, the JSDF wants to kill all EVA pilots. Despite her poor health, Asuka is sunk in EVA-02 in the lake in the geofront to protect her. Shinji is hiding in the NERV complex, is in danger and is wanted by Misato Katsuragi. Rei is in the LCL pool near the Central Dogma.

After she realizes that her mother's soul lives in EVA-02, Asuka manages to reactivate EVA-02 so that she can fight the JSDF. But then suddenly the EVA series of units 05 to 13 appears, which is controlled by SEELE. Meanwhile, Misato and Shinji fight their way through the NERV complex, which now has JSDF soldiers everywhere. Misato manages to get Shinji to the elevator to see EVA-01, but she dies shortly after saying goodbye to him and giving him her necklace with a cross. Asuka almost manages to defeat the EVA series before their power reserves run out. But a serial unit can break through its AT field with a copy of the Longinus lance. After their collapse, the defeated EVA units rise again and destroy EVA-02. Despite Asuka's attempts to fight again, EVA-02 is then pierced by the EVA series lances. During the fight, Gendo leads Rei into the Terminal Dogma, where Lilith is kept, and meets Ritsuko Akagi there. Gendo wants to stop them by giving MAGI the order to self-destruct. But MAGI's part Caspar, who represents the personality of her mother Naoko as a woman, rejects the order. Gendo then shoots her. After Asuka's lost battle, EVA-01 activates itself and allows Shinji to enter. Thereupon EVA-01 breaks out of the NERV headquarters and builds a wing-like AT field. Shinji discovers the remains of EVA-02 and screams out of himself. The Third Impact begins - the process of perfecting humanity.

My pure heart for you

After Shinji's cry, his AT field forms a crucifix around EVA-01. Longinus's real lance then shoots back from the moon, to which it was shot by Rei in an earlier fight, and towards EVA-01. She holds the point in front of her throat. After that, units of the EVA series pierce the hands of EVA-01 with their false lances, bite into the wings of the AT field and carry it further upwards. They form a sephiroth tree (also tree of life ) and trigger a huge explosion that encompasses all of Japan and exposes the black moon , Lilith's egg cell. This is also where the geofront is located. In Terminal Dogma, Gendo Rei tries to merge with Adam in his hand, but she repels him. She merges independently with Lilith. She throws off her mask and becomes a female figure similar to Rei, who is constantly growing. She rises to heaven to the EVAs. When Rei / Lilith takes the form of Kaworu Nagisa, Shinji's AT-Field collapses and EVA-01 merges with the Longinus lance to form the cross-shaped Tree of Life. The black moon rises between the hands of Rei / Lilith and Shinji deals with his life and Asuka in dreams. In these they quarrel and Shinji chokes Asuka. He eventually loses the will to live and also wishes all others death. The voice of Rei calls on him to be reasonable.

Meanwhile, Rei / Lilith and the EVA series generate a strong anti-AT field that continues to spread. This dissolves everyone's AT-Field and people dissolve into LCL. Shortly beforehand, a ghostly figure of the person they love most appears to everyone. The souls of the people then return to Rei / Lilith. The tree of life with Shinji also penetrates Rei / Lilith through her forehead. Thereupon Shinjis comes to an argument with Rei and Kaworu in his psyche, in which they explain to him that he wanted this world so. Shinji then decides that he would rather continue to live as an individual among others than in an LCL sea in which everything is one. Then EVA-01 comes out again with the Longinus lance from Rei / Lilith and Rei / Lilith disintegrates. LCL flows onto them from the black moon, the EVA series falls to earth in the form of crucifixes after their lances shattered and Shinji's mother Yui explains that every living being can return to its shape as long as it has the will. She tells Shinji that he can find happiness anywhere. Then she says goodbye to her son and EVA-01 drifts with the lance of Longinus into space, away from earth. It should still exist forever and be a testimony to the fact that humanity existed.

One more final: I need you

Shinji wakes up and lies on a beach by a red sea from LCL. Misato's cross is nailed to a wooden stake and Asuka lies quietly next to him, in her plug suit and bandaged. Shinji sees Rei floating over the red sea for a short time, she is wearing her school uniform. Then Shinji Asuka begins to choke. When she touches his cheek, he stops and cries.

Emergence

motivation

The two theatrical films were produced because numerous viewers of the television series were not satisfied with their end, especially the last two episodes. The second film, Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion , should now show the events in the real world, while the last two episodes of the series played almost entirely in the mind of the characters. The basic topic of episodes 25 and 26 was The Heart of the People , but the implementation of this topic was only seen as an incomplete ending by the viewers. Therefore, one wanted to follow up with an alternative that still does not ignore the topic.

production

Hideaki Anno

Hideaki Anno directed the production of the film and wrote the script with Masayuki . The director of the first part was Kazuya Tsurumaki . The character design comes from Yoshiyuki Sadamoto . In addition to Hideaki Anno, Ikuto Yamashita also worked on the mecha design . The responsible producer was Mitsuhisa Ishikawa . Some scenes, such as Asuka's fight against the EVA series, had already been created during the production of the television series, but were not used there and are now incorporated into the film. The first part, Air , is based on the original script for the 25th episode of the series. The film begins immediately after the 24th episode and thus creates an alternative to the plot of the last two episodes. It also continues the previously released film Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth . Evangelion: Rebirth 2 was originally planned as the title .

The part Air consists of about two thirds of Rebirth , the second part of the first film. This was not finished in time for the theatrical release of Death & Rebirth and was submitted in full in the second film. The first part was left to Kazuya Tsurumaki to direct ; Hideaki Anno only wrote the script. For the second part, Anno did the directing himself. There were two artistic directors for the first episode, three for the second. Including Masayuki, who directed Death & Rebirth and was now responsible for difficult background animations, such as water. The film also shows the mood of director Hideaki Anno after the production of the series and at the time of the film production. Anno found himself in a similar emotional state after the end of the television series as the character Shinji in the first half. Both are often identified with one another, also by the production team. However, this resulted in a break between the 24th episode of the series and the beginning of the film, although both should follow each other, because for the employees there was a year between productions. The situation was different, in particular the tension during the production of the last episodes was no longer there.

Stylistic means

Real film recordings are used at several points in the film, for example in the cinema version right at the beginning and also in Shinji's dream scenes during the Third Impact . The recordings show images from Tokyo, about which Shinji philosophizes, especially with Rei. Some of the scenes show the characters as real people. Later a filled and then empty cinema will be shown. These real film recordings, however, have been optically alienated without exception. Computer graphics created by Production IG and Omnibus Japan are also used several times. They are mainly used during the Third Impact and “Perfection of Humanity” scenes in the second part of the film. Several times the film also shows letters and messages that Hideaki Anno received after the series and the first film were completed. In addition to praise for his work, there are also death threats directed against him.

Controversial scenes

The film contains some scenes that were changed several times during production or that are controversial in their meaning. These include the masturbation scene at the beginning of the film, the meeting of Gendō and Ritsuko in Terminal Dogma, and the final scene. Susan J. Napier writes about the masturbation scene that it shows the sexual maturation of Shinji in the most bleak way (“bleakest of terms”), without any symbolic substitute action common in films.

Gendō and Ritsuko

When Ritsuko and Gendō face each other in the terminal dogma, he says "Ritsuko Akagi, the truth is ..." (" Akagi Ritsuko-kun, honto ni ... "), whereby the end of the sentence cannot be heard. Ritsuko replies with "... liar" (" usotsuki ") and is then shot by Gendō. She also seems to have said something incomprehensible. Gendō's sentence is also translated as "Akagi, actually ..." (" Akagi, actually ... ") or "Dr. Akagi, I ... ". In other language versions, Gendō completes the sentence and says, "I really loved her." In the original script, Gendō's words were supposed to become inaudible through an explosion. However, this was then left out so that you can see him moving his lips but not hear any words.

Final scene

For the last scene of the film, two more variants were designed. In the first variant you see Shinji standing at graves where the names of the main characters (except for Rei) can be read. The stele of Asuka's grave is knocked over by her. Then the two are back on the beach. In the next shot you can see EVA-01 lying on the moon without a mask. She has a woman's hair, but her face cannot be seen. The last pictures show the red earth, the moon, the sun and the stars. Asuka does not appear in the second variant. Shinji is lying on the beach and holding one hand. He says, “I will never see her again. Maybe it's better that way. I'm still alive, so I should go on living. ”The hand belongs to an arm without a body.

The graves from the first variant can also be seen in the version that was finally published. However, the names have been removed here. The wooden stake on which Misato's cross hangs was also intended as such a grave. In the final version, Asuka says “ kimochi warui ” in the original after Shinji stopped choking her. This means 'gross' or 'what a hideous feeling'. Other versions of this sentence, such as “I feel sick” (from “ I feel sick ”) can be found. The interpretation of the scene is very controversial, as the film changes from the rather positive mood of the previous scenes, corresponding to the end of the series, into an apocalyptic, unexplained scenario. Asuka's last text was originally supposed to be something like "I never wanted [by all men] to be killed by you". But Anno was unhappy with the speaker Miyamura's result, so he asked her what she would think if a man came into her bedroom while she was sleeping and masturbated in front of her the moment she woke up. Her answer " kimochi warui " then became Asuka's last sentence.

music

The music for the film was composed and arranged by Shiro Sagisu . Pieces of music by Johann Sebastian Bach are played several times . The sequence Air is named after Bach's Air piece Orchestral Suite No. 3 . This is played during Asuka's fight against the EVA series and the scene with Gendō and Ritsuko in Terminal Dogma. Furthermore, the Cello Suite No. 1 in G major and heart and mouth and deed and life are used. Heart and mouth and deed and life were used in the film because of Christian symbolism. In Shinji's dream scene, the piece is played by a piano during the "Perfection of Humanity" and repeated by strings at the end.

The song Come, Sweet Death ( 甘 き 死 よ 、 来 た れ ), which is played during the Third Impact , was sung by Arianne and is named after a song by Bach that also has similar lyrics. The melody is partly very similar to Johann Pachelbel's canon in D , which is also used in the first film. The original text was written by Hideaki Anno . For the international version, the text was translated by Mike Wyzgowski, although there are differences in meaning between the original and the translation. During the credits of the first part, Thanatos - If I Can't Be Yours - is played by Loren & Mash. This song is based on Thanatos , a background tune from the television series.

Publications

The End of Evangelion was released in Japanese theaters on July 19, 1997. This was followed by publications on Laserdisc , both in the theatrical version and reworked into two 40-minute episodes including opening and closing credits and a preview at the end of the first part of the second. This version appeared as the last part of the television series' laserdisc release. The film version was also released on VHS and DVD. The film was later re-released under the name Revival of Evangelion along with Death (true) 2 , an edited version of Death .

In Germany, the film was released on DVD by Panini Video in August 2005 . In English, the anime was broadcast on Encore Action and Special Broadcasting Service . It has also been published in Arabic, French, Italian and Spanish, among others.

The film script appeared as accompanying material for the film from August 1997 to January 1998 in four issues of Dragon Magazine . In addition, an art book published by Studio Gainax with sketches, interviews and background information was added to accompany the screenings. Because of the cover picture, it was also called the "Red Cross Book".

synchronization

The synchronization was carried out by G&G Tonstudios in Kaarst. For the most part, the speakers for the television series were used again; the roles of Kaji Ryōji and Lorenz Kiel were newly cast with Stephan Schleberger and Bernd Kuschmann . In 2019 a second German dubbed version was created for Netflix . This second dubbed version was produced by postperfect Berlin GmbH . Directed by Olaf Mierau, the dialogue book came from the pen of Lydia Hibbeln.

role Japanese voice actor ( seiyū ) German voice actor (1st voice over version) German voice actor (2nd voice version)
Shinji Ikari Megumi Ogata Hannes Maurer Christian Pointer
Asuka Langley Sōryū Yūko Miyamura Julia digit Johanna Dost
Rei Ayanami Megumi Hayashibara Marie Bierstedt Franziska Lather
Misato Katsuragi Kotono Mitsuishi Julia Kaufmann Anna Amalie Blomeyer
Gendo Ikari Fumihiko Tachiki Erich Rauker Urs Remond
Kensuke Aida Tetsuya Iwanaga Gerrit Schmidt-Foss Frederic Böhle
Tōji Suzuhara Tomokazu Seki Julien Haggége
Kaworu Nagisa Akira Ishida Robin Kahnmeyer Jeremias Koschorz
Ritsuko Akagi Yuriko Yamaguchi Peggy Sander Cornelia Waibel
Kōzō Fuyutsuki Motomu Kiyokawa Hans-Werner Bussinger Sven Riemann
Lorenz Kiel Mugihito Bernd Kuschmann Horst lamp
Kaji Ryōji Kōichi Yamadera Stephan Schleberger Daniel Kröhnert
Hikari Horaki Junko Iwao Ilona Brokowski

reception

Cosplayer as Lilith

The End of Evangelion won the 1997 Animage Magazine Grand Prix in Japan and the 1998 Japanese Academy Award for Most Popular Film. It also grossed 1.5 trillion yen in Japanese cinemas. In the USA, the film was sharply criticized in Newtype USA magazine , as the first 20 minutes are just a repetition in which the viewers' low desires are satisfied. The biblical allusions are getting too out of hand and the plot is characterized by teenage drama and poor parenting. The film would be frustrating for the audience. Marvin Gleicher of Manga Entertainment counters that the film is more than a doomsday scenario and is full of symbolism. The End of Evangelion is one of the most creative and thought-out animated films. The critic of the Newtype is ignorant and refuses any attempt at interpretation.

Carl Gustav Horn calls the film extremely violent and surreal and compares it with Akira , but both characteristics are not represented more strongly than in the television series or some other animes. The end of the film, according to Horn, is the same as that of the series, only that it is staged with a lot of effort, blood and violence. Several critics particularly praise the audio-visual implementation. This has received greater care than the not always consistent action, so Light and Sound . Mark Schilling emphasizes the incredible density of information with which the film confronts the viewer. Keith Uhlich calls the film an extremely satisfactory end to the television series with an apocalyptic ending, mixed with Christian and Jewish symbolism and psychological problem treatment. In a survey of filmmakers by Time Out magazine , the film came in 65th of the 100 best animated films of all time.

The German trade magazine AnimaniA describes the plot of the film as "unusual" and "captivating". In addition to the struggle for the survival of mankind, conflicts of each character with themselves and their past would also be carried out. The appearance of the film is outstanding thanks to the performance of the Production IG studio . The interspersed real film recordings would fit well into the overall work, create an eerie atmosphere and invite self-reflection. However, the film hardly provides the answers that the viewers of the television series want, but instead raises numerous new questions. The viewer has to interpret the story himself. In Slant Magazine , Michael Peterson wrote that End of Evangelion was the first time Hideaki Anno's skills came into their own. Like David Lynch , he has the ability, with the choice of perspective, color and composition, to create images that are not only aesthetically pleasing in the context of the moving image and the story, but also as individual images. While some describe the film as a deconstruction of the anime genre and especially in the second part as completely inconsistent and incomprehensible, others call it the attempt to take up long-known narrative patterns such as the fight of the group of young people against extraterrestrial attackers and the new visual implementation Anticipate the future merging of media such as television, comics and video games and their content.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d English translation of the Red Cross Book , Chapter Production
  2. ↑ a b English translation of the Red Cross Book , Chapter Commentary
  3. ↑ News Briefs - The End Evangelion is nigh on July 19 . In: EX media . March 31, 2005. Archived from the original on December 2, 1998.
  4. ↑ Interview with director Kazuya Tsurumaki in the English translation of the Red Cross Book , the film book for The End of Evangelion
  5. ↑ a b AnimaniA , edition 07/2005, p. 10
  6. ↑ letters , in End of Evangelion occur (English)
  7. ^ Susan J. Napier: Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation . Palgrave 2001. p. 102.
  8. ↑ Translation of the film script by Air ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at evangelion-armageddon.com (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.evangelion-armageddon.com
  9. ↑ German subtitles
  10. ↑ Translation of the film script of My pure heart for you ( memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at evangelion-armageddon.com (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.evangelion-armageddon.com
  11. ↑ Understanding Evangelion . Anime News Network. Retrieved August 29, 2011: “By opening their hearts to one another Shinji and Asuka at last have a chance at happiness. Unfortunately the brutality of this scene obscures its tender meaning, and the Evangelion saga ends on a dour note despite reprising the positive message from its television conclusion. "
  12. ^ Asuka's final line in the Evangelion movie was Miyamura's idea . In: Animania blog . March 31, 2005. Archived from the original on March 27, 2008.
  13. ^ Moure, Dani: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Special Edition Movies Box Set . Mania. March 21, 2001. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 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 program book for the movie in Japanese cinemas. It's extremely comprehensive and it's a good way of presenting the data " @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mania.com
  14. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on September 20, 2019 .
  15. ^ A b Carl Gustav Horn: My Empire of Dirt: The End of Evangelion . In: J-pop.com . Archived from the original on January 29, 1999.
  16. ↑ Jonathan Clements : Anime - A History . Palgrave Macmillan 2013. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-84457-390-5 .
  17. ^ Newtype USA # 1, p. 157.
  18. ↑ Marvin Gleicher of Manga Entertainment to Newtype magazine , on Anime News Network (English)
  19. ↑ Light and Sound 2003
  20. ^ A b Mark Schilling: Contemporary Japanese Film review . ISBN 0-8348-0415-8 , p. 334.
  21. ↑ a b Joshua Rothkopf: The 100 best animated movies: Full list . Time out. April 15, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  22. ^ The Economy of Visual Language: Neon Genesis Evangelion . Slantmagazine.com. August 28, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  23. ^ Carlos Ross: Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion . THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved July 26, 2016.

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This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on May 2, 2008 .