Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV series)

is a reference to this work. [cite book | last = Kierkegaard | first = Søren | authorlink = Søren Kierkegaard | others = translated by Howard V Honh and Edna H Hong | title = The Sickness Unto Death | origyear = 1849 | origmonth = | edition = | year = 1980 | month = | publisher = Princeton University Press | location = | language = | id = | pages = 1–67 ]

Sartre in Being and Nothingness calls the conditions that bring about consciousness (ourselves, the world, others) "instrumentalities." Martin Heidegger, another existentialist, wrote an essay describing technology as an instrumentality that reveals "truth." Philosophically, the Human Instrumentality Project is a representation of the idealism developed by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: a unification of all conflicts and tensions between societies, knowledge, and consciousness through a sort of historical evolution. Earlier philosophers such as Fichte had proposed that the human ego had come about through the instrumentality of freedom; it was Hegel's theory that this consciousness was not separated from the world, but was a part of it and would eventually evolve into an Absolute spirit or mind, a sort of God-like being with absolute freedom. In the movie End of Evangelion, Shinji literally becomes such an absolute being, dissolving all other conscious beings and merging with them. [ cite web | url = http://www.evamonkey.com/writings_tsuribe01.php | title = Prison of Self-Consciousness: an Essay on Evangelion | accessdate = 2006-08-19 | last = Tsuribe | first = Manabu | publisher = [http://www.evamonkey.com Eva Monkey] ] Søren Kierkegaard criticized Hegel's theory, not only because it was arrogant for a mere human to claim such a unity, but because such a system negates the importance of the individual in favor of the whole unity. He writes:

So-called systems have often been characterized and challenged in the assertion that they abrogate the distinction between good and evil, and destroy freedom. Perhaps one would express oneself quite as definitely, if one said that every such system fantastically dissipates the concept existence. … Being an individual man is a thing that has been abolished, and every speculative philosopher confuses himself with humanity at large; whereby he becomes something infinitely great, and at the same time nothing at all.

As illustrated in episodes 25 and 26, part of what shapes us as individuals are limitations: gravity, the horizon, a body, and other people. Misato tells Shinji in the first episode, he has to learn how to deal with his anxiety and how to deal with others. Sartre in his earlier works went so far as to say that "hell is other people". Other people limit our freedoms, or may tell us things we do not like to hear, and they may see aspects of our personality we do not. Shinji later reflects upon the fact that everyone he knows has their own impression of him that may be different from his own. But in his later work, Sartre said he felt that both Hegel and Kierkegaard had a point. Individuality is important, but because part of who we are is shaped by the way others see us, we can have an effect on others too, and must work together with others in our collective struggle for existence.

During the period Kierkegaard wrote "The Sickness Unto Death" he wrote in his journal a poem listing seven discourses. He wrote: "Let not the heart in sorrow sin" so you abandon faith in God, so you abandon faith in men, so you abandon hope of eternity, so you abandon hope for this life, so you abandon love to God, so you abandon love to men, and finally, let not the heart in sorrow sin so you abandon love "to yourself". The last episode of the series is fittingly subtitled "Take Care of Yourself."

Interestingly, some Eastern philosophies, such as Brahmanism and its derivatives, teach that enlightenment involves liberation from individuality through the re-absorption of the soul into a great All-Soul of creation. Seele attempts to engineer such enlightenment for the entire human race, unifying all souls into one and causing all pain and misunderstanding to end. If one wants a separate existence from others, one must be limited and opposed to others, causing pain and suffering (the Hedgehog's Dilemma inevitably arises); Buddhism identifies existence as inevitably bringing pain. The way to avoid pain is to extirpate desire and become formless. In the final episode, Shinji realizes how to attain his individuality, that he can come to have an identity separable from being an Evangelion pilot, a self he can perhaps come to love and not hate. Arthur Shoepenhauer, whose work is referred to in the title of The Hedgehog's Dilemma, was heavily influenced by Buddhist thought, but Friedrich Nietzsche and Sartre both came to a similar conclusion, rejecting many of his tenets.

Influences

Anime

From the period from 1984 to the release of "Evangelion", most highly acclaimed anime had a style somehow distanced from the usual styles of anime. For example, Hayao Miyazaki's "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988), and "Kiki's Delivery Service" (1989) were both low-key works, while "Akira" (1988) was influenced by American comic books. Acclaimed director Mamoru Oshii had said that, in the words of Hiroki Azuma, nobody wanted to watch "simple anime-like works" anymore. "Evangelion", however, shows the reversal of this trend. It fully embraced the style of mecha anime, and in particular shows a large influence from Yoshiyuki Tomino's "Space Runaway Ideon"; particularly, there are scenes in "The End of Evangelion" which are clear homages to the last movie for the Ideon series.

As much as "Evangelion" has been impacted by other works like "Devilman","The overall design of Evangelion calls to mind "Devilman" by Go Nagai. In fact, the whole concept of the Evas, which are made from Adam, and harbor the souls of humans, can be considered borrowed from scenes from "Devilman", where the soul of Akira Fudo is possessed by Amon, the Lord of War. Moreover, the heavily religious undertones, the suggestion of conflict with an indigenous people, and the cosmic view that mankind may not be the ultimate being all owe something to "Devilman"." pg 76 of Fujie 2004] the series itself has become a staple in Japanese fiction. The nature of the show made it a landmark work in the more psychological and sophisticated vein of anime that would be picked up by later works such as "Revolutionary Girl Utena" (1997) that, like "Evangelion", center on an ambiguous world-changing event to come. "Serial Experiments Lain" is a later anime which dealt with many of the same themes as "Evangelion", ["Neon Genesis Evangelion" and "Serial Experiments Lain" have much in common. They can readily be described as postmodern in terms of their concern with a notion of identity as fluctuating, their rapid and sometimes incoherent narrative pace, and their refusal of conventional forms of closure … More importantly, they share a complex and problematic attitude toward the real. The two stories also deal with issues that are perhaps culturally specific to Japan: the increasing distrust and alienation between the generations, the complicated role of childhood, and, most significantly, a privileging of the feminine, often in the form of the young girl or "shōjo"." "This contributes to a pervasive sense of the uncanny that imbues both narratives, linking them with the genres of horror and fantasy." pg 423–424 of Napier 2002] and so is often thought to be influenced by "Neon Genesis Evangelion", but the writer did not see any of "Evangelion" until he had finished the fourth episode of "Lain".cite web|url=http://www.konaka.com/alice6/lain/hkint_e.html |title=HK: Interview with Chiaki Konaka |last=Nakajima |first=Shin-suke |accessdate=2006-09-16 |year=1999] The show "His and Her Circumstances" (1999), which was also directed by Hideaki Anno, shares techniques (the experimental 'ripping-apart' of the animation and use of real photographs) and portrayed psychological conflicts in much the same way (although the various cinematic devices can be traced back to works other than Eva, such as Tezuka's manga ["Neon Genesis's 14 year-old protagonist, Shinji Ikari, lives in Tokyo without contact with his family, and his mood is often illustrated by the use of shooting scenes from above, animation cells washed in drab blue, and passages of extreme action interspersed with reflective passages of stillness or close-ups of Ikari's face.
(But, as Brophy explains, such innovation is by no means a first for Neon Genesis - in the late 1940s the Japanese cartoonist Osama Tezuka borrowed artistic techniques from German Expressionism in his four-volume cartoon version of Dostoyevsky's Crime And Punishment.)" The Age (Melbourne, Australia) January 14, 1999 Thursday Late Edition "Orient expressive". by David M. Walker GREEN GUIDE; Pg. 23] ).

"Evangelion" dramatically changed the design of giant robots in animated works. Previously, mecha or giant robot shows took their "mechanical suit" designs from "Mobile Suit Gundam", "Mazinger", and other similar shows from the 60s, 70s and 80s. "Evangelion" changed this with its fast and sleek Evas, making a noticeable contrast to the comparatively bulky and cumbersome looking Patlabors and Transformers of the past. Indeed, the style set and created by "Evangelion" has become more common since its release, yet series like "The King of Braves GaoGaiGar" have continued to use the classic "mecha" style. "RahXephon", a show with designs inspired by 1970s mecha shows,cite journal | last = Wong | first = Amos | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2003 | month = February | title = Interview with Yutaka Izubuchi | journal = Newtype USA | volume = 2 | issue = 2 | pages = 14–15 | doi = | id = ISSN|1541-4817 ] was compared to "Evangelion" by many English language reviewers.cite journal|url=http://www.animefringe.com/magazine/02.09/feature/4/index.php3 |title=Feature: Animefringe Coverage: RahXephon |accessdate=2006-10-13 |last=Hong |first=En |authorlink= |year=2002 |month=September |journal=Animefringe |id=ISSN|17053692 ] cite web |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/reviews/display.php?id=566 |title=Review: RahXephon DVD 7: Crescendo |accessdate=2006-10-13 |last=Bertschy |first=Zac |authorlink= |date=2004-01-12| work= Anime News Network] [cite web |url=http://animenation.net/news/askjohn.php?id=549 |title=Is RahXephon an Evangelion Rip Off? |accessdate=2006-10-13 |last=Oppliger |first=John |authorlink=John Oppliger |date=2002-08-20 |work=Ask John] "Evangelion" is generally viewed to be a part of the soft science fiction genre, by avoiding the technical hard S.F. approach of "Gundam" and other popular mecha anime in favor of psychological struggle"Although the scenes of combat are gripping and imaginative for the genre, what makes "Evangelion" truly groundbreaking are the psychic struggles in which the characters engage. These struggles are both wide-ranging and emotionally draining. They are also presented with surprising psychoanalytical sophistication as the characters try to come to grips with their own inner turmoil, their problematic relations with each other, and finally, their relation to more remote forms of Otherness – the gigantic machines that are the EVAs and with which they must synchronize, and the enigmatic Angels who present a riddle that is increasingly depicted in terms of what seems to be a Christian or perhaps Gnostic notion of apocalypse." pg 425 of Napier 2002] and metaphysical symbolism. [ [http://www.kheper.net/topics/scifi/grading.html "Grading SF for Realism"] : "Science fantasy: … Examples include Peter Hamilton's Night's Dawn Trilogy and the Shadowrun RPG (both of which incorporate supernatural elements into an otherwise typical medium (space opera) or very hard (cyberpunk) SF setting), and the "Neongenesis [sic] Evangelion" anime series."]

"Evangelion" has been frequently parodied and explicitly referenced in popular media. In the "Digimon Tamers" series, many "Evangelion" elements were used in the back stories for the three main children, their friends, and D-Reaper. The same can be said for both WarGrowlmon and Gallantmon Crimson Mode, as they bear a resemblance to . Gainax's own "His and Her Circumstances" and "FLCL" had "Evangelion" parodies, as did "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi". "Invader Zim's" Christmas episode, "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever", had a cameo parody of "Evangelion" (a reference to when Shinji was assimilated inside Unit 01). In the episode "Hamstergeddon", Ultra-Pipi (the class hamster that Zim accidentally mutates into a giant monster) rushes at Zim's War Cruiser in a manner that is a rip from the blitz that Unit 01 makes at the Third Angel, Sachiel (as admitted by the episode's director in the commentaries). In the online community, "Evangelion" is a common source of parody. Numerous webcomics, such as "Tsunami Channel", have featured "Evangelion" tributes. Some 'creatures' also appear in other works such as the "manga" "Berserk" where a transformed demon soldier, in chapter 233, shares an uncanny resemblance with the unleashed Eva-01.

Anno himself has also poked fun at his work. In the "Evangelion" soundtrack "Addition", a twenty minute audio drama (directed and written by Anno) was included that reunited the entire voice acting cast, titled "After the End." The drama is set after episode 26 and has the characters breaking the fourth wall and discussing a sequel. Anno is believed to be featured as a guest voice in the piece, [cite web |url=http://www.evamonkey.com/addition_audio_drama.php |title=www.evamonkey.com/addition_audio_drama.php |accessdate=2007-03-17] taking on the role of the "Black Space God." On a similar note, Spike Spencer made fun of the series' rather ambiguous ending by acting as Shinji throughout the ending credits in a hidden track in the Platinum re-release of the series, highlights of which include him deducting that previous advice given to him towards him not running away doesn't apply to his current predicament on the account that he's on "a big blue ball" and complaining that the animators "ran out of ink", a reference to the lowered budget to the second half of the series.

"Evangelion" has been referenced in American media as well. In the 2002 movie "One Hour Photo" starring Robin Williams, the character Jake begs his mother to buy him the "Eva" 05 action figure, and Williams' character later offers it to him for free. It is commonplace for movies and shows to rename or repackage existing products with a generic name and graphic logo. In this case however, the toy was from Williams' personal collection (he is said to be a fan of the show), and so the series name "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and the graphics on the blister card are left untouched, and are clearly visible.

Fan interpretations and reworking of "Evangelion" have ranged from various stories [cite web|url=http://kurogane.animeblogger.net/2006/02/07/eva-re-take/ |title=EVA RE-TAKE |publisher=Kurogane's Anime Blog |date=February 7, 2006 |accessdate=2008-09-01] , fanfictions [cite web|url=http://www.evafics.org/index.php |title=Evafics.org |accessdate=2008-09-01] , and even screenplays [cite web|url=http://www.eva-r.com/ |title=Neon Genesis Evangelion - Unofficial Fan Continuation |publisher=Eva-r.com |date= |accessdate=2008-09-01] that expand or reinterpret the ending to comical fan-dubs such as "" and even hoax posters such as that for the fictional sequel "Reprise of Evangelion." [ [http://www.phoenix-mangas.fr/~phoenix/images/evangelion/the%20reprise%20of%20evangelion.jpg] Poster for hoax sequel "Reprise of Evangelion"]

Music

* Broderick, Mick. "Anime's Apocalypse: "Neon Genesis Evangelion" as Millenarian Mecha". " "Intersections" 7, pg 1–11. 2002.
* Endo, Toru. "Konna kitanai kirei na hi ni wa" ("On a day so beautiful and so ugly"). "Poppu karuchaa kuritiiku" ("Pop Culture Critique"), volume 0. 1997.
* Gainax, NEW-TYPE. "E-Mono: Neon Genesis Evangelion: All Goods Catalog". ISBN4-04-852868-8
* Kotani, Mari. "Seibo Evangelion" ("Evangelion as the Immaculate Virgin"). Tokyo: Magajin Hausu. 1997.
* Kotani, Mari. "A New Millenialist Perspective On The Daughters Of Eve". ISBN4-8387-0917-X.cite web|url=http://www.evamonkey.com/writings_horn13.php |title=Eight Books of Evangelion|publisher=Eva Monkey |author=Carl Horn |accessdate=2008-09-01]
* June magazine, ed. "Neon Genesis Evangelion June Tokuhon: Zankoku-Na Tenshi no These" ("The Neon Genesis Evangelion JUNE Reader: A Cruel Angel's Thesis"). ISBN4-906011-25-X.
* Lippit, Seiji M. "Topographies of Japanese Modernism". New York: Columbia UP, 2000
* Morikawa, Kaichiro (ed.). "The Evangelion Style". ISBN4-8074-9718-9
* Redmond, Dennis. "The World is Watching: Video as Multinational Aesthetics 1967–1995", 2001.
* Routt, William. "Stillness and Style in Neon Genesis Evangelion". "Animation Journal" 8.2 (Spring 200): 28–43
* Ruh, Brian. "Terminal Dogma: Essays on Neon Genesis Evangelion". (Upcoming).
* Yamashita, Ikuto and Seiji, Kio. "Sore Wo Nasumono: Neon Genesis Evangelion Concept Design Works" ("That which enables that: Neon Genesis…"). ISBN4-04-852908-0

External links

Official websites

* [http://www.advfilms.com/titles/evangelion/ Official website] at ADV Films
* [http://www.madman.com.au/nge/ Madman Entertainment's "Evangelion" page]
* [http://www.wetaworkshop.co.nz/projects/filmography/film/neon_genesis Weta Workshop concept art] for the planned live action Evangelion film
* [http://www.gainax.co.jp/anime/eva/index.html "Neon Genesis Evangelion"] – Gainax's official "Evangelion" page.
* [http://www.evangelion.co.jp/ 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン] – "Evangelion" Website of King Record.

Articles and information

* [http://evangelion.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page "Neon Genesis Evangelion" Wikia]
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* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060924212826/http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/features/archive/news/2006/05/20060504p2g00m0fe020000c.html "Evangelion Special: From phenomenon to legacy"] -("Mainichi Daily News"; these three links link to Internet Archive copies)
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20070706214435/http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/features/archive/news/2006/05/20060504p2g00m0fe019000c.html "Evangelion Special: Genesis of a major manga"] – ("Mainichi Daily News")
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060831100501/http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/features/archive/news/2006/05/20060506p2g00m0fe031000c.html "Evangelion Special: For producer Otsuki, success not always a bed of roses"] – ("Mainichi Daily News")
* [http://www.terrediconfine.eu/Default.aspx?tabid=594 Neon Genesis Evangelion (Anime Mundi)] , detailed production information
* [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/editorial/1998-09-09 'The Thin Veneer Known as "Evangelion"'] -("Anime News Network")
* [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2002-06-11 "Understanding Evangelion"] -("Anime News Network")