| The End of Evangelion | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| 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 Kotono Mitsuishi |
| Music by | Shiro Sagisu |
| Cinematography | Hisao Shirai |
| Editing by | Sachiko Miki |
| Studio | Production I.G. Gainax |
| Distributed by | Toei Company |
| Release date(s) | July 19, 1997 |
| Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
The End of Evangelion (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 Gekijō-ban: Air/Magokoro o, Kimi ni) is a 1997 Japanese animated science fiction film written and directed by Hideaki Anno along with Kazuya Tsurumaki; it ended the anime releases in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise until the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy remakes were announced in 2006.
The film is divided into two approximately 45-minute episodes: Episode 25': Love is Destructive ("Air" in the Japanese version) and Episode 26': ONE MORE FINAL: I need you (My Purest Heart for You (まごころを、君に Magokoro o, kimi ni), an allusion to Charly,[1] in the Japanese version). They can be considered as either a 'replacement'[2] for the original ending of the popular animated series Neon Genesis Evangelion or a more detailed, "real world" account of the series' original ending in episodes 25 and 26, which takes place almost completely in the minds of the main characters (the "experimental approach", as the Red Cross Book calls it in the commentary, or style, being largely shaped by time and budget restraints).[3] Gainax originally proposed to title it Evangelion: Rebirth 2.[4]
Contents |
Shinji Ikari, still distraught over the death of Kaworu Nagisa, pleads for help from an unconscious Asuka Langley Soryu. He accidentally dislodges her hospital gown, revealing her body, and masturbates while standing next to her bed. SEELE, with the Angels eliminated and Gendo Ikari's treachery obvious, attempt to take over NERV by hacking the MAGI computer system, but are thwarted when Ritsuko Akagi installs a firewall. SEELE proceeds to coerce the Prime Minister of Japan into deploying the JSSDF to initiate a large-scale assault on NERV. The JSSDF soldiers invade NERV's facilities, killing all NERV personnel on sight; top priority is given to the execution of the Eva pilots and the capture of the Evangelions. Misato Katsuragi orders Asuka to be moved to the cockpit of Unit 02 and placed at the bottom of a nearby lake, and rescues Shinji to have him pilot Unit 01. She is able to bring Shinji to the EVA's bay doors, but is mortally wounded in the process. She persuades Shinji to keep going and pilot the EVA one more time. Misato kisses Shinji, and forces him into the elevator before collapsing from her wounds. With her last breaths, Misato wonders if Kaji believes she has done the right thing.
Concluding that NERV's defeat has become inevitable, Gendo retrievesRei Ayanami and retreats to Terminal Dogma to begin initiating Third Impact. Meanwhile, Asuka is hidden away in the sunken Unit 02, which she is able to reactivate upon reaching the epiphany that her mother has "always been with her" within Unit 02. Asuka engages the JSSDF attack force's aircraft and ground vehicles but her Eva's external power cable is severed during the battle. The "mass-production" EVAs are launched to defeat her. Back in Terminal Dogma, Ritsuko confronts Gendo and Rei, intending to self-destruct the NERV facility to prevent Gendo from carrying out his plans. However, her command is overridden by Casper, one of the three cores of the MAGI, and Gendo kills her. At the EVA launch cages, Shinji is unable to join the battle after he finds that Unit 01 is covered in hardened Bakelite, preventing him from entering it. Outside, Asuka initially seems to cripple the new EVAs before her internal power is depleted, but they reactivate despite their considerable injuries and resume destroying the defenseless Unit 02. Back inside the NERV facility, Unit 01 breaks through the surrounding Bakelite on its own, allowing Shinji to join the battle. However, Shinji realizes he is too late when he sees the mangled remains of Unit 02, and screams in horror.
Inside Terminal Dogma, Gendo attempts to merge with Rei to begin Third Impact. However, Rei takes over the process and reunites with Lilith, forming a luminescent, rapidly-growing being with Lilith's skin and Rei's body. Back outside, the Mass Production EVAs crucify Unit 01 and begin the ritual to initiate Third Impact, as Shinji increasingly loses his grip on sanity. The giant Lilith/Rei being rises out of the Geofront and confronts Shinji, morphing into the form of Kaworu as well as Rei. After several scenes of contemplation, including a surreal and violent confrontation with Asuka, Shinji decides he is alone and unwanted, and as such everyone in the world "can just die". In response, the giant being creates a planet-wide Anti-AT Field, negating the AT-Fields of humanity and causing their bodies to dissolve into LCL, the blood of Lilith (the creature crucified within Terminal Dogma), and the primordial soup from which all life on Earth originates. The souls of humanity are absorbed into the Egg of Lilith, a giant dark sphere cradled by Lilith/Rei, as she grows to ever-greater proportions.
As the souls form a single, complemented existence, Lilith/Rei once again gives control of the process to Shinji. Shinji's emotional sufferings and loneliness prompt him to accept this new form, believing that there could never be happiness in the real world. However, he later realizes, after a series of mental journeys and monologues, that it is necessary to live with others, and that to live life is to experience joy as well as pain. Third Impact is rejected and Lilith/Rei decays and dies, releasing the Anti-AT Field and allowing separate beings to potentially come back into existence. Asuka and Shinji are rematerialized from the sea of LCL together on a beach looking out on the severed head of Lilith/Rei and the apocalyptic landscape.
The ambiguous meaning of the TV series' ending left many viewers and critics confused and unsatisfied.[5] The final two episodes were possibly the most controversial segments of an already controversial series[6] and were received as flawed and incomplete by many.[7] However, Anno and assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki defended the artistic integrity of the finale.[8][9]
Gainax launched the project to create a film ending for the series in 1997, first releasing Death and Rebirth as a highly condensed character-based recap and re-edit of the TV series (Death) and the first half of the new ending (Rebirth, which was originally intended to be the full ending, but could not be finished due to budget and time constraints). The project was completed later in the year and released as The End of Evangelion. Episode 25': Air uses the original script intended for episode 25 of the original series and forms roughly 2/3 of the previous film, Rebirth.
Among the images used in the film are of some of the hate-mail and death threats (including graffiti on Gainax's headquarters) as well as letters of praise sent to Anno.[10][11]
Ritsuko's voice actress Yuriko Yamaguchi had considerable difficulty delivering her character Ritsuko's response to Gendo Ikari without knowing what Gendo had said (as Anno ensured that part of Gendo's line was inaudible). She successfully delivered the line after being shown a hint from Anno.[12]
The script for the film's English dub was written by Amanda Winn Lee (who also served as ADR director and producer for the dub) based on a translation by Sachuchi Ushida and Mari Kamada.[13] The cast was made up primarily of voice actors reprising their roles from ADV Films' dub of the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, with several supporting roles recast because the original actors were unavailable. To accommodate voice actors living in different parts of the country, the dub was recorded in three locations, Los Angeles, Houston and New York City.[14]
Several creative changes were made to the English audio track of the film, including some added dialogue (including harsher language; two uses of "fuck" occur in the dub) and addition of several sound effects. In addition to these alterations some fans have criticized a major mistranslation of a significant line of exposition by Misato to Shinji regarding the relationship between Adam and Lilith.[15]
In discussing the film's English dub, Mike Crandol of Anime News Network determined that "the remarkably strong performances of the main cast overshadow the weaker voice work present", though he criticized the script for being "slightly hammy" in parts. Crandol praised the final exchange between Spike Spencer (Shinji) and Allison Keith's (Misato) characters as "one of the most beautiful vocal performances to ever grace an anime".[16]
The soundtrack of The End of Evangelion was composed by Shiro Sagisu. The film prominently features selections of Johann Sebastian Bach's music throughout the movie. Episode 25' has the Japanese title Air, being named after the Air on the G String which is played during the episode. Among the other pieces included are Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major (I. Prélude), Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (transcribed for piano and later played again with string instruments in the end credits), and Pachelbel's Canon.
Among the other insert songs are "Komm, süsser Tod" (Come, Sweet Death), an upbeat song in which the singer describes their motivations for suicide (which appears in the film at the beginning of Instrumentality), and "THANATOS -If I Can't Be Yours", which is played in both the end credits and the credits to episode 25' (the song is based around "THANATOS", a background music piece used in the series). Another song, "Everything You've Ever Dreamed", was recorded for the film by the same vocalist (Arianne) as "Komm, süsser Tod", but was not used and was later included on the Refrain of Evangelion soundtrack.
A Japanese pamphlet unofficially titled the Red Cross Book (RCB) was sold in theaters when The End of Evangelion was released.[17][18][19] The book is printed on A-4 sized paper, with the cover consisting of the St George's Cross over a black background and the film's title printed on it. The book is written by Gainax and various members of the Neon Genesis Evangelion series and film staff. The RCB contains a glossary of several terms used in the series, manga, and the two films to introduce the film's history. It also includes an interview with Tsurumaki, a listing of voice actors and brief essays written by them on their respective characters, short biographical sketches, commentary on the TV series and production of the films, and a "Notes" section covering the setting of the films. The Red Cross Book was left out in the Manga Entertainment release due to copyright issues.[20] However, it was translated by fans of the series.[21][22]
The End of Evangelion was first released on Laserdisc in Japan. It also included the first release of the video versions of Episodes 21–24. The film was split up into two 40-minute episodes with brief intros (similar to episode 22), edited credits (for each episode instead of credits for both between the two), redone eyecatcher-textboards (showing "Neon Genesis Evangelion Episode..." instead of "The End of Evangelion Episode...") and a next-episode-preview section in Episode 25'. The episodic version of the film was on the last two discs of the Laserdisc release of the series (Genesis 0:13 and 0:14 respectively), each containing 2 episodes (the original TV episodes and the new End of Evangelion episodes respectively), although the film was also released in its original cinematic form on VHS, Laserdisc, and later DVD. The script was serialized in 4 issues of Dragon Magazine from August 1997 to January 1998.
ADV declined to license The End of Evangelion and the associated films; Manga Entertainment "reportedly paid around 2 million dollars" for the rights.[23] The North American DVD release also remixed the film's audio no less than three times according to the packaging. It featured a 6.1 DTS, a 5.1 Dolby, as well as a new stereo track downmixed from the 6.1 in both languages. The original stereo is not included. It is unknown if the subtitled VHS included the original or the remix stereo.
In 2006, The End of Evangelion was shown theatrically as part of the Tokyo International Film Festival in Akihabara.[24]
A new version of The End of Evangelion was released on June 25, 2003 in Japan by Starchild and King Records as part of the Renewal of Evangelion box set (which compiled "new digitally remastered versions of the 26 TV show episodes, 4 remade-for-Laserdisc episodes, and 3 theatrical features" as well as "a bonus disc with never-before-seen material").[25]
This version of the film conjoins the "recap" film Evangelion: Death with End, omitting the Rebirth segment from the first film. Also, on the aforementioned bonus disc is a previously unreleased deleted scene shot in live-action with voice actors Megumi Hayashibara, Yūko Miyamura, and Kotono Mitsuishi portraying their characters, 10 years after the events of Evangelion. In this continuity, Shinji does not exist and Asuka has a sexual relationship with Toji Suzuhara. The sequence concludes with a male voice (implied to be Shinji's) saying, "This isn't it, I am not here," proving it is a false reality seen through his eyes.
Manga Entertainment announced in 2006 that it was "ironing out the contracts" to release the Renewal versions of Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion, with the hope of being able to release them in the United States within the next year.[26] However, Manga Entertainment no longer holds the overseas license for the films.[27]
The film won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize for 1997 and the Japan Academy Prize for "Biggest Public Sensation of the Year";[28] and was given the "Special Audience Choice Award" by the 1997 Animation Kobe.[29] EX.org ranked the film in 1999 as the fifth best 'All-Time Show' (with the TV series at #2).[30]
In Japan, between its release and October 1997, The End of Evangelion grossed 1.45 billion yen.[31] Manga artist Nobuhiro Watsuki wrote:
| “ | A little while ago, I finally saw the theatrical version of Evangelion (I'm writing this in August). It was obvious that the people who created it didn't love the story or the characters, so I'm a little disappointed. But the dramatization, the movement, and the editing were superb. When the story led into the self-improvement seminar, I was nearly fooled for an instant. I don't know if most people enjoyed it, but as a writer, I was able to take home something from it.[32] | ” |
Newtype USA reviewed the film as a "saga of bamboozlement". It also criticized the film's "more biblical overtones, teen melo-drama and bad parenting" and that "for some frustrated viewers, these DVDs might bring on the '4th impact' hurling these DVDs against the wall."[33] Manga Entertainment CEO Marvin Gleicher criticized the Newtype review as "biased and disrespectful" and a "facile and vapid" product of "ignorance and lack of research".[34]
Many reviews focused on the audio-visual production; Light and Sound editorialized that "narrative coherence seems a lesser concern to the film-makers than the launching of a sustained audio-visual assault. The kaleidoscopic imagery momentarily topples into live action for the baffling climax...",[35] an assessment echoed by critic Mark Schilling.[36] Mike Crandol of Anime News Network gave the film an overall passing grade and described it as "a visual marvel". He described the DVD release as "a mixed bag", expressing displeasure over the "unremarkable" video presentation and overall lack of extra material.[16] David Uzumeri of ComicsAlliance summarized the film as "a dark, brutal, psychedelic orgy of sex and violence that culminated in the mass extinction of humanity set to an optimistic J-pop song with lyrics about suicide." Uzumeri also stated that the "themes of [Neon Genesis Evangelion] criticizing the audience for being spineless and lost in a fantasy world were cranked up to eleven, as the protagonist Shinji basically watches everybody die around him due to his refusal to make any effort whatsoever to engage with other people."[37]
Independent filmmaker Patrick Meaney described the film as "an avant garde masterpiece", noting that "it violates virtually every rule of traditional film storytelling" and in particular praising the Instrumentality sequence as "astonishing" and "unlike anything else [he's] ever seen."[38]
In an article for Slant Magazine, writer Michael Peterson remarked that "it was not until the End of Evangelion film that Anno's visual strengths as a director really stood out". He observed that "Anno, like David Lynch, possesses a skill at framing his shots, and using the attendant color, to create visual compositions that stand out not only as beautiful in the story's context, but also as individual images, a painterly quality that he then applies back to the work. When Anno frames an image, the power of that specific image becomes a tool that he can later refer back to for an instantaneous emotional and intellectual response."[39]
Carlos Ross of Them Anime Reviews compared the tone of the film to The Blair Witch Project in that it deconstructed the series while "cashing in" on it. He was especially critical of the film's entire second half by saying:
| “ | The second half of the movie is so incoherent and obtuse that it completely loses the mainstream audience (and in fact, virtually any audience) this series has attracted before. It goes beyond art film and beyond anime. And in doing so, it goes beyond the audience's capability to understand and be entertained, which defeats the purpose of something labeled as entertainment."[40] | ” |
Schilling reviewed the film as more than a deconstruction, but an attempt at unification of mediums:
"Despite the large cast of characters, decades-spanning story, and a profusion of twenty-first-century jargon, much of it borrowed from early Christian sources, the film is essentially a Power Rangers episode writ large: i.e., super-teens piloting big, powerful machines and saving the world from monsters. We've seen it all before. What we haven't seen, however, is the way the film zaps back and forth through time, slams through narrative shifts and flashes explanatory text, in billboard-sized Chinese characters, at mind-bending speed. It's a hyper-charged phantasmagoria that defies easy comprehension, while exerting a hypnotic fascination. Watching, one becomes part of the film's multimedia data stream.
Shinseiki Evangelion is looking forward, toward an integration of all popular media - television, manga, movies, and video games - into new forms in which distinctions between real and virtual, viewer and viewed, man and machine, become blurred and finally cease to matter. O Brave New World, that has such animation in it."[41]
Chris Beveridge of Mania.com described the film as "work[ing] on so many levels", but cautions that it is not meant to be watched without having seen the rest of the series.[42]
Patrick Macias of TokyoScope ranked it one of his 10 greatest films of all time,[43] and the best anime movie of the 1990s;[44] CUT film magazine ranked it third on its list of the top 30 best anime films of all time.[45]
In the final scene of the The End of Evangelion, Shinji and Asuka have separated themselves from the collective human existence. Shinji tries to strangle Asuka, but eventually stops and breaks down in tears after she touches his face. The 1998 Bandai Carddass card D-88 comments on the scene:
"Shinji renounced the world where all hearts had melted into one and accepted each other unconditionally. His desire... to live with 'others' — other hearts that would sometimes reject him, even deny him. That is why the first thing he did after coming to his senses was to place his hands around Asuka's neck. To feel the existence of an 'other'. To confirm [make sure of] rejection and denial."[46]
Their interactions display a wide range of positive and negative emotions. During the recording of the final scene, Shinji's voice actress Megumi Ogata became overwhelmed with emotion and strangled Yuko Miyamura.[47]
The meaning of the final line is obscure,[48] and has been controversial.[49][50] According to an episode of the Japanese anime show Anime Yawa aired March 31, 2005 on NHK's satellite TV, Asuka's final line was initially written as "I'd never want to be killed by you of all men, absolutely not!" or "I'll never let you kill me." ("Anta nankani korosareru nowa mappira yo!") but Anno was dissatisfied with Miyamura's renditions of this line.[51] Eventually Anno asked her a question which described what 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.'"[52]
Tiffany Grant, Asuka's English dub voice actress, made the following statement:
"The most widely circulated translation of the last line of EoE [End of Evangelion] is "I feel sick," but Amanda Winn Lee (Rei Ayanami's English voice actor and director of End of Evangelion) said she asked several translators, and she felt "disgusting" was the most accurate adaptation.[53] 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."[54]
Some state that, despite the somber ending, the results of Instrumentality are not permanent. Both Rei and Yui comfort Shinji and tell him that people can restore themselves to physical existence if they want to, depending on the strength within their hearts. It is suggested that Asuka is one of the first persons to manifest herself back into reality. Another Evangelion trading card explains:[12]
"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...."
It has been debated whether The End of Evangelion is intended to enlarge and retell episodes 25 and 26 or to completely replace the TV ending with a different one. Some believe that The End of Evangelion is an alternate ending to the series, perhaps created to please those fans who were displeased with the TV series' ending. Tsurumaki said he felt the series was complete as it was.[55]
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