End of Evangelion is the conclusion that comes after Evangelion: Death and Rebirth, designed to appease fans who were unsatisfied with the last two
episodes of the TV series.
Seele has decided to attack NERV and destroy all EVA units along with their
corresponding pilots, while Gendo Ikari unveils the final phase of his plan to
be reunited with his wife Yui. Mankind's fate lies in Shinji's hands...
Review: Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
End of Evangelion is set after Evangelion: Death and Rebirth. I've said it
before and I'll say it again -- do not even attempt to watch this without
having watched the TV series, because it's not going to work.
Evangelion is already convoluted as it is, and trying to make heads or tails
of this movie without the necessary background will just result in your utter
frustration. I was not overly impressed with End of Evangelion anime's artistry and profundity.
Quite frankly, Asuka Langley was what made the whole film worthwhile for me.
Every moment of screentime devoted to Asuka radiated pure raw power and
emotion.
Her indomitable fighting spirit and will to succeed were nothing short of
admirable, and I felt for her every step of the way down to the bitter end...
or was it?
End of Evangelion shows you what happens after all is said and done, after
characters you had come to know and either love or hate die, after NERV is
decimated... but it still doesn't mean that you'll be able to understand
Evangelion fully.
To my knowledge, End of Evangelion was created in such a way that it would be
open to a person's individual interpretation... sort of an as-you-see-fit
ending. It could be either happy or sad, depending on how you look at it.
Religion seems to play a central role in this movie. References to Adam, Eve,
and angels are made, symbolisms like crucifixes abound.
There's also the concept of becoming God, an omnipotent, omniscient, and
omnipresent consciousness -- and saving the world.
Personally I was half-wishing that Hideaki Anno would have expressed his ideas
in a more down-to-earth way, but I was just thankful that they replaced the
flashing texts sequences that they employed for the last two episodes of the
TV series (and to some extent Death and Rebirth) with powerful imagery
instead.
Suffice to say it would not have been a fitting conclusion to Evangelion if
Anno had simply dropped all pretenses and spoonfed his ideas to us.
The art and animation are superb, my main complaint being that great as the
character designs and scene compositions were, they looked rather pale and
washed out on R1 Evangelion DVD. Other than that, the visuals were basically flawless.
Aside from the usual fighting action, End of Evangelion shows a lot of blood,
guts, nudity, and even sexual situations.
The English dubbing is okay, except
for Shinji's voice which I found annoying.
The Japanese language version features some really renowned seiyuus, among
them Megumi Ogata
(Princess Emeraude in "Magic Knight Rayearth", Sailoruranus in
"Sailormoon")
as Shinji Ikari; Megumi Hayashibara
(Faye Valentine in "Cowboy Bebop", Lina Inverse in "Slayers") as Rei
Ayanami; and Mitsuishi Kotono
(Sailormoon herself, also Juri in "Revolutionary Girl Utena") as Misato
Katsuragi.
Overall I liked End of Evangelion movie, although probably not as much as most EVA
fans did. I just don't care for too much profundity.
While I wouldn't call it one of the best movies ever, it is undeniably an
unforgettable viewing experience that comes but once in a great while.
Miscellanies: Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
Is this really the end of Evangelion?
Related Articles: Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV) Anime Review
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion | |
| Genre | Avant Garde, Drama, Sci-Fi |
|---|---|
| Episodes | 1 |
| Status | Finished Airing |
| Aired | Jul 19, 1997 |
| Producers | TV Tokyo, Toei Animation, Kadokawa Shoten, Movic, Sega, TV Tokyo Music, Audio Tanaka |
| Studio | Gainax, Production I.G |
| Rating | R+ |
| Themes | Mecha, Psychological |
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