The End of Evangelion

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The End of Evangelion 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 劇場版
Directed by	Episode 25': Kazuya Tsurumaki Episode 26': Hideaki Anno
Produced by	Mitsuhisa Ishikawa
Written by	Hideaki Anno
Starring	Megumi Ogata Megumi Hayashibara Yuko Miyamura
Distributed by	Toei Manga Entertainment
Release date(s)	July 19, 1997
Running time	87 min.
Language	Japanese / English
IMDb profile

The End of Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン劇場版 THE END OF EVANGELION, Shin seiki Evangerion Gekijō-ban: The End of Evangelion^?) is an animated movie by Hideaki Anno. The movie presents an alternate ending to the popular animated series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Many Japanese viewers felt unsatisfied by the series' two episode resolution, episodes 25 and 26, which take place completely in the minds of some of the characters. Only a few brief scenes hint at what happens outside of main character Shinji Ikari's mind, and viewers wanted a more satisfying explanation of these events. Additionally, episode 25 was originally planned to take place in the physical world; but it was changed due to time and budget restraints. The movie is divided into two parts, Episode 25: Air and Episode 26: まごころを、君に (Magokoro o, kimi ni, "My Purest Heart for You").

The first part, Episode 25: Air, is based on the previous movie, Rebirth. Rebirth is roughly equivalent to 2/3 of Air. The End of Evangelion later became the second half of Revival of Evangelion, a concatenation of Death(true)² and The End of Evangelion.

In contrast to the series' happier ending, the movie shows the apocalyptic completion of the Human Instrumentality Project, where individual identity is destroyed to create a single existence for all human beings - that is, people's AT-Fields are destroyed and are turned into LCL. In the movie it is believed that Shinji rejects the Human Instrumentality Project (he was never explicitly given a choice, but did say that he preferred individual existence), whereas in the show it was left more ambiguous.

Although the movie appears somewhat more straightforward in plot, many fans are displeased with its violence and shock value relative to the television series and many continued to harbor a dislike of Hideaki Anno's work. It is a common misconception that Hideaki Anno created the movie as revenge on the ex-fans of the TV show, who sent numerous hate-mail and death threats after their disappointment in the ending of the last two episodes (in truth, a large part of the movie's script was planned as the original ending but was dropped due to censorship and budget issues^{[citation needed]}). Some of these letters are briefly flashed in the movie, towards the ending of The End of Evangelion. Also, it may be another reference to the series Space Runaway Ideon, which also had a similarly-apocalyptic movie ending entitled Be Invoked.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Postmodernism in the film 3 The Final Scene 4 The End of Evangelion: Renewal 5 Gendo's silent line 6 Trivia 7 Music in the Film 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] Plot

This summary only includes the main events of the movie, and not any of the characters' personal or emotional journeys.

The movie begins with SEELE hacking into NERV's Magi super-computer; Gendo Ikari duped SEELE - he had his own agenda which involved the Human Instrumentality project. Ritsuko Akagi sets up a protection system for the Magi that lasts for 62 hours; as time is short, SEELE is forced to send in the army (the JSSDF or Japanese Strategic Self Defense Force). The JSSDF directly infiltrates NERV, killing all personnel they come across. The NERV staff make a last stand in the Command Center where the Magi is located. Asuka, after realizing her mother's soul has always been with her in Unit 02, awakens from her comatose state and defends NERV HQ, easily destroying the attacking force. After the JSSDF forces are repelled with the aid of Unit 02, SEELE then sends their mass-production Evangelion units to the Geofront (exposed after the detonation of an N² weapon). Misato drags Shinji to Unit 01, is mortally wounded, and convinces him to pilot it once more before she dies. Asuka is more than a match for the Eva Series and butchers them with less then three minutes of battery life left. However the units reactivate and they systematically eviscerate Unit 02, apparently killing Asuka. However, Asuka's body is never shown and there is no footage of any Eva actually attacking Asuka's cockpit, or "plug". Despite that, the explosion caused as the Human Instrumentality Project takes place leaves no doubt whatsoever that Asuka either died, or was reverted to LCL beforehand.

Gendo Ikari secretly intends to perform Instrumentality in a different way than that proposed by SEELE, allowing him to reunite with his dead wife, using Rei. To start this process, Gendo merges the angel Adam with Rei's body (Adam had been previously merged to Gendo's right hand and conceaded beneath his glove). However, Rei defies Gendo's control and merges with Lilith on her own, transforming into a moving giant, glowing white figure; this composite Rei / Adam / Lilith entity finally placed the process of Instrumentality into Shinji's hands. In order for people to willingly let down their AT-Fields for her, Lilith takes on several forms and approaches each human individually in the form of the person he or she loves the most (as trust is the only force that breaks an AT-Field), or simply forces her way past their AT-Fields if he or she has no loved one (as is the case with Aoba); these actions reduce every human to a pool of LCL.

This is Instrumentality starting, possibly initiated on Shinji Ikari's decision from within Evangelion Unit 01. The Egg of Lilith (which turns out to be a black moon within the earth) rises from the Geofront, into Lilith's hands, who has grown to planetary proportions and takes the form of Rei Ayanami. The souls of all human beings, represented as a red, marble-sized dots, make their way back into the egg. At the last moment, however, Shinji rejects Instrumentality and decides to live his life as a separate individual, thereby undoing all Lilith had sought to create. Lilith's physical form dies and decomposes, and the egg explodes. Shinji returns to earth with his physical form, but Unit 01 with Yui's soul in it and the Lance of Longinus, drift off into space, seemingly for the rest of eternity. The mass-production Evangelion units fall to Earth in crucifix-like postures. In the final scene, the only two people on the entire planet are Shinji and Asuka (who has reappeared alive without direct explanation), as the rest of humanity has not yet come to terms with its ability to "return to individuality".

[edit] Postmodernism in the film

The movie contains some highly postmodern sequences, including a scene showing a young Shinji playing in the Geofront with film lights around him (indicating he's on a film set), and some live action sequences including scenes of the seiyuu of Misato, Rei, and Asuka (supposedly posing as their characters), and some footage of a movie theater. In addition, much of the artwork can be considered superflat (a Japanese genre of postmodern pop art) for its depiction of perverse, distorted sexuality of one of the film's main sex symbols, Rei, and its general criticisms of otaku sexuality, such as an infamous scene in the beginning of the film that depicts Shinji masturbating over a comatose and partially nude Asuka. Scenes from the film have been featured at Takashi Murakami's exhibitions, and was discussed in depth in his book and exhibition, Little boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture.

In addition, there are letters from fans, including a few death threats via the internet, along with graffiti on Gainax's headquarters shown in the film. These scenes are difficult to spot, but can be seen as a quick succession of flashes after the line "this is the end of your dream" and before a giant Rei bleeds from her neck.

[edit] The Final Scene

The closing scene of the movie is vague and highly interpretive, where Shinji manages to separate himself from the collective human existence, with Asuka following. Their interaction shows a wide range of positive and negative human emotions. The world remains irreversibly changed, however, and what happens from there is only hinted at. This scene has caused several controversies as to its interpretation.

Some fans have speculated that Asuka may be the amalgamation of Asuka, Rei, and Misato because of her apparent red/brown eyes, the same color as Rei's / Misato's. In addition, she is wearing bandages that correspond to the physical damage she suffered during her last fight in Unit-02 (pierced left eye, injured right arm) which mirror Rei's from the opening of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Furthermore, Rei appeared to Shinji above the ocean of LCL moments earlier.

This theory has been around for a while. One point against the theory is that Asuka's eyes are blue, not brown, at the end of the film, as a scan of the Cardass Wide Card for the scene in question shows. (They look somewhat greyish, but this is because of the color tones/lighting of the scene). [1]

Shinji rejected the Human Instrumentality Project, and as such he has no control over whatever happens next. He is an ordinary boy. Yui says earlier in the film that anyone who can "imagine themselves in their own heart" can come back, on their own. Asuka is one of those people and re-emerged from the LCL pool after her own mental journey (partly shown in episode 25) was complete.

The closing line, "気持ち悪い。" ("Kimochi warui."), spoken by Asuka, likewise can be interpreted in a number of ways. It was translated on the Manga DVD as "How disgusting", but it can also be translated as "I feel unwell", "What a disgusting feeling", "Feels bad", "I feel sick", etc. This has caused much confusion among Western fans, though the true meaning of the line is undefined for the Japanese as well. A recent episode of a Japanese show dedicated to animation described this final line and its original meaning. Initially the final line was written as, "I'll never let you kill me," but Anno was dissatisfied with this. In the episode Asuka's seiyuu, Yuko Miyamura, described what Anno told her he was going for with this scene:

Concerning the final line we adopted, I'm not sure whether I should say about it in fact. At last Anno asked me "Miyamura, just imagine you are sleeping in your bed and a stranger sneaks into your room. He can rape you anytime as you are asleep but he doesn't. Instead, he masturbates looking at you, when you wake up and know what he did to you. What do you think you would say?" I had been thinking he was a strange man, but at that moment I felt disgusting. So I told him that I thought "Disgusting". And then he sighed and said, "I thought as much." (1)

However, Tiffany Grant, Asuka's English dub voice actor, says this:

The most widely circulated translation of the last line of EoE is "I feel sick", but Amanda Winn Lee (voice of Rei Ayanami, who also directed EoE) said she asked several translators, and she felt "disgusting" was the most accurate adaptation. You could say she is disgusted with/sick of the situation or with Shinji himself. My favorite explanation though, is this one: My husband, Matt Greenfield, directed the TV series and is very familiar with the whole Eva franchise. Matt has said that although (Eva creator) Hideaki Anno seems to change his mind frequently about what various things mean in Eva, Anno once said that Asuka's comment about feeling "sick" was a reference to morning sickness. Now THAT gives ya something to think about, doesn't it! Of course, Anno is quite passionate about the idea that every person should decide for him or herself what Eva means to them.(2)

Another explanation can be found on an Evangelion trading card: the scene "ONE MORE FINAL: I need you." affirms Shinji's choice to return to reality, and in doing so has separated himself from Asuka once more. His first impulse is to strangle her, to finish what he started during Instrumentality, but once he feels her caress (which is very similar to the one he received from his mother only moments before), he realizes what he's doing. He releases his grip and collapses as an emotionally broken little boy, which disgusts Asuka. This presents a more human response in showing Asuka's opinion over Shinji's behavior, but the act of caressing his cheek may represent a better connection between the two, since it deviates from Asuka's normal response to fight back or slap Shinji.

Another interpretation involves what has happened to Asuka during The End of Evangelion: she has just woken from a long coma, only to be torn to shreds inside EVA-02, die (supposedly) and awaken after Instrumentality's failure to being strangled by Shinji seconds before delivering the line, it may in turn just be her reaction to what has transpired.

Despite the somber ending, there are clear references that there is the possibility that every living thing or person who "died" as part of Instrumentality can be returned to their normal state. In fact, both Rei and Yui comfort Shinji and tell him that people can be restored if they want to, depending on the strength within their hearts. This being said, it is obvious that Asuka is the first person to manifest herself back into reality. Another Evangelion trading card explains:

"In the sea of LCL, Shinji wished for a world with other people. He desired to meet them again, even if it meant he would be hurt and betrayed. And just as he had hoped / wanted, Asuka was present in the new world. Only Asuka was there beside him. The girl whom he had hurt, and who had been hurt by him. But even so, she was the one he had hoped/wished for...."

Many also speculate that because a lambent image of Rei in a school uniform was either present over the bodies of the already dead during the soul collection (as the case with fallen NERV personnel) or present at their death (such as Misato and Ritsuko), it could be said that their souls were in fact collected either before or after they died and that they can all return one day. However, Yui's quote may only pertain to those who actually died during Third Impact. Thus, it leaves much up to the viewer to decide whether or not the rest of humanity returns. This kind of choice could be analyzed as parallel to Shinji's choice in what kind of world he wanted, and perhaps was intentionally planned out that way, as it leaves the viewer as "God" of the fate of the post-Third Impact world.

[edit] The End of Evangelion: Renewal

A new version of The End of Evangelion was released on June 25, 2003 in Japan by Starchild / King Records as part of Renewal of Evangelion, a box set which "compiles new digitally remastered versions of the 26 TV show episodes, 4 remade-for-laserdisc episodes, and 3 theatrical features" and "includes a bonus disc with never-before-seen material". [2] This version of the film conjoins the "recap" film Evangelion: Death with End, omitting the Rebirth segment from the first film (as it serves as little more than a teaser for the second film). The point of interest is the never-before-seen-material, which includes a live-action sequence with the voice-actresses of Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Soryu, and Misato Katsuragi portraying their respective characters. In The End of Evangelion, some of the live action scenes are from the film's original copy, namely the scene in which there are schoolgirls facing away from the camera as a track of Rei, Asuka, and Misato criticizing Shinji is played. It is now clear that the theatrical release of The End of Evangelion is not the movie's complete or original form. The live-action sequence in Renewal was indeed part of the original movie, but it was scrapped for reasons unknown. One feeling shared by many who have seen it is that it is too ambiguous, unclear, and inconsistent with what is accepted as the story of Neon Genesis Evangelion as a whole; a few of the problems are that 10 years have lapsed (the Eva pilots are all 14 years old at the end of The End of Evangelion, here they are 24 years old), Shinji does not exist in it, and Asuka has a sexual relationship with Touji Suzuhara (in the TV series, they have almost no relationship, exchange no more than a dozen lines, and are very antagonistic toward each other).

The true value and purpose of this live-action sequence remains a widely debated topic among fans. One theory, which is supported by the time that this sequence occurs in the movie, is that Rei, who has merged with Adam and Lillith to form the giant, white angel-entity is showing Shinji (though her reason is not clear) what the world would be like without him. All of this is occurring outside of physical and temporal reality, this is certain. Also, there is no indication of whether the live-action sequence is part of the world after the Human Instrumentality Project has succeeded or the world where it has failed. No conclusions can be drawn for certain about this theory or about the live-action sequence overall.

At this time, Manga Entertainment is "ironing out the contracts" to release the Renewal versions of Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion saying that they hope to have these versions out sometime next year if things work out.[3] Currently, Manga Entertainment holds the overseas license for the pre-Renewal versions of the movies, whereas A.D. Vision holds the license for the Evangelion TV series, including the Renewal editions of the TV episodes (released under the subtitle The Platinum Edition).

[edit] Gendo's silent line

Gendo's final words to Ritsuko are muted and were never scripted. There was originally meant to be an explosion in the background making the line inaudible, but even after it was cut Anno still wanted the line to be unheard. Yuriko Yamaguchi (Ritsuko Akagi) had difficulty delivering the subsequent line "Liar" without knowing what Gendo had said. Anno gave her one small hint as to what the line was, and she knew exactly how to deliver the line. To this day, nobody except for those two people have any idea what that hint was and therefore what the line might have been.

In the subtitled version the line reads "Akagi Ritsuko-kun, I truly ...", however in the dubbed version the line is "Ritsuko Akagi, the truth is ...". Though the change is minimal, some fans believe it changes the connotations of the statement.In foreign versions of the Film, the silent line doesn't exist, and Gendo says "I'd always love her" (refering to Ritsuko´s mother).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Trivia

• Nearly half of the film was used in Evangelion: Death and Rebirth, which is a film that told the back story to Neon Genesis Evangelion.
• Episode 25': Air is titled after the Air (on the G String) from the 3rd Orchestral Suite, BWV 1068 by J. S. Bach, which is played during the episode.
• The song in the credits, which is entitled "THANATOS -If I Can't Be Yours-" and performed by Loren & Mash, is based on "THANATOS", a background music piece used in the series.
• The song that plays near the end of the movie is entitled "Komm, süsser Tod" and is performed by Arianne. The song's name in English is "Come, Sweet Death". It is possibly taken from Wolf Haas' novel of the same name, taken at the same time from an orchestral composition of Bach.
• The red dummy plugs we see injected into the Mass Production Eva series before they launch are labeled "Kaworu". This is never explained, but has lead many to believe that they are either programmed with Kaworu's personality, or that, like Rei, there were extra Kaworu clones which were used.

• When Misato is reading the disk containing the information of the second impact given to her by Ryoji you can read what it says on the screen. It's a text which speaks about anime but it has certain words like "Second Impact" in capital letters to make it look as if it is speaking about Evangelion. The text is actually a parody of Gainax's own studio origins and mentions mock names of several of their series.
• The scene where Maya is reading information pertaining to Asuka's Eva 02 Unit contains anatomical information of the Evangelion on top and a large list of seemingly random letter combinations. Upon closer inspection, the letters are in sets of three and either feature the letters "A", "T", "C", or "G". These numbers are most likely a reference to the nucleotides held in a single strand of DNA of Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine.
• Ritsuko sets the firewall as Type 666, Devil's Number. The number 666 also makes several other appearances in the movie, in quick "flashing" content scenes. As Shinji and Misato are in a garage early on in the film, a sign on a column indicates that Garage 667 is to the left, thus implying they are both standing in Garage 666.
• Three minor audio changes were deliberately made to the English dub of the film for creative purposes: the line "Hit 'em again," was added to the scene in which the JSSDF soldiers are burning NERV employees (offscreen) with a flamethrower, whereas there was no corresponding line in the Japanese; a splattering sound effect was added to the scene in which Misato shoots a JSSDF soldier through the head; and also, a similar splattering effect is added to the scene in which the replicas of the Lance of Longinus on which the Mass Production Evangelions are impaled swell and explode. In the commentary on the Manga Entertainment DVD release of the film, English language-version director Amanda Winn Lee pointed out and took responsibility for all audio changes, explaining why she felt them to be appropriate.
• Some fans have criticized the English dub of the film for its (supposed) use of gratuitous profanity; namely, the word "fuck" is used twice in the film:

Shinji: "I'm so fucked up."
Misato: "So fucking what if I'm not you??"

Previous dubs of Evangelion had always kept profanity to a minimum; however, English-language director Amanda Winn Lee defended both uses, contending that they were completely appropriate given the context of the scenes.

[edit] Music in the Film

• J.S. Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major (BWV 1007); I. Prélude
• J.S. Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major (BWV 1068); II. Air
• J.S. Bach's Cantata No. 147 "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben"; VI. Chorale: "Wohl mir dass ich Jesum habe" (transcribed for piano)

[edit] See also

• Red Cross Book
• List of Neon Genesis Evangelion media
• Human Instrumentality Project

[edit] External links

• Eva Otaku FAQ (English)
• The End of Evangelion (English)
• The End of Evangelion at MusicBrainz
• Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia