Support NeoGAF

[Lights and Waves]

First of all, thank you to everyone who made my thread "Thoughts on Madoka" such a hit! I've just recently gained permission to create threads and it's nice to see them succeeding with out much backfire. In a similar fashion to that thread, I'd like to open up an even bigger can of worms.

What are your thoughts on the controversial film, "End of Evangelion?"

I thought it was...interesting. Being completely honest, I was really disappointed with how the characters and world that I came to really love were just blown to smithereens. I much prefer the ending of the TV series. I thought the show worked better before when it was "The Fame Monster," rather than "ARTPOP."

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

My thoughts right after it ended?

"Jesus Christ, WTF?!"

 

[FelixOrion]

It all returns to nothing,
it all comes
tumbling down, tumbling down,
tumbling down
It all returns to nothing,
I just keep
letting me down, letting me down,
letting me down

 

[bigkrev]

About as confused as when I saw the TV commercial they ran for it in Japan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HALL5-PZu4

 

[Superflat]

I loved it, but I was also in middle school when I watched the whole thing, series, films and all, and I was super into how bizarre everything was. As I got older I learned and understood/interpreted more of it every time I watched it. It still happens now. Evangelion is the gift that keeps on giving.

End of Eva works well on many levels. Fan service, as it has some of the best action scenes in the franchise; fourth wall mind fuckery, as Anno does everything just short of inserting a clip of himself flipping everyone off. More insight and pathos into the characters, giving some more closure; and a grand sendoff, since it actually depicts the nightmarish apocalypse.

It's Anno completely unleashed and you can see that throughout the film. Breathing his insecurities, contempt, hatred, and self-loathing into the characters. It's fascinating.

 

[Minion101]

I dug it. The US commentary helped me understand it a little. The movie was a bit of a FU to the people who sent death threats.

 

[psylah]

Great music.

The rest of it was nothing but trash.

 

[Peltz]

Evangelion is the gift that keeps on giving.

I agree with this.

I have run through the 26 episodes + EOE at least once every year since I discovered it when I was 19 years old.... That was nearly 10 years ago.

To this day, it's the only anime I've ever watched as an adult or cared about at all and I manage to understand another couple of layers of complexity with every single viewing.

There's really nothing else like it.... I'm not even sure whether I like the series, but it almost goes beyond liking it for me. They comprise the most complex films that I've ever seen.

For example, I still haven't figured out why

Spoiler

Rei's arm falls off right before third impact

among countless other mysteries.

 

[Quick]

I love it, but it isn't a movie I'd easily pick up and watch. I've only maybe seen it three times, but I remember it so well.

I actually liked the last two episodes of NGE, as boring in parts as it got, and I think EoE is a perfect companion piece to those two episodes.

What I thought was odd was the contrasting endings - NGE ended on something of a positive note, Shinji accepting himself and his individuality, while EoE ended in such gloom. I guess the ideas are still consistent since Shinji didn't join the sea of LCL and decided that he wants to be an individual.

 

[DarkKyo]

Asuka vs the mass produced Evas is one of my favorite anime fights. It's pretty visceral.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

I was expecting "I don't watch anime much because [insert reasons here] BUT..."

It's a fun watch though. Always come back to it every few years mostly for Asuka's scenes.

 

[kewlmyc]

A clusterfuck that I show my friends for shits and giggles. They lose it at the

Spoiler

vagina eyeball forehead

part. Still can't believe they got away with that.

Part 1 is pretty good. Part 2 is.... ugh.... I still don't fully get it.

 

[Fox318]

An amazing movie.

 

[Sibersk Esto]

A triumph

 

[Ishida]

"Huh.... What the fuck...."

Loved it.

 

[Mr. Poolman]

Evangelion was a mistake, is nothing but trash.

 

[Ferr986]

I'm sure I'll be alone on this but I felt it was too bizarre just for the "shock" factor. Allf othe "wtf" things felt too forced for me. But maybe it's just me not understanding a shit lol

 

[genjiZERO]

It's super creepy in a bad way. I think it's literally about having an Oedipal complex.

 

[Regulus Tera]

Better than Rebuild.

 

[munchie64]

Actually one of my favourite animated movies. A very visceral experience to say the least. My favourite kind of mind fuck.

 

[Regulus Tera]

It's super creepy in a bad way. I think it's literally about having an Oedipal complex.

The message of the film is the complete opposite.

 

[Lights and Waves]

I'm sure I'll be alone on this but I felt it was too bizarre just for the "shock" factor. Allf othe "wtf" things felt too forced for me. But maybe it's just me not understanding a shit lol

You're not alone in that thought. I too felt the majority of it was just attention seeking and purposely trying to disturb the audience without much reason.

 

[Zyrox]

Funny that this pops up because I just watched EoE yesterday for the very first time.
And this:

My thoughts right after it ended?

"Jesus Christ, WTF?!"

pretty much sums up my thoughts on it. Gave me more questions then answers. Maybe I'm just too dumb to understand what was going on though...

 

[Klossen]

Incredible experience. Worth watching over and over again for added impact. This is the 2001:A Space Odyssey of anime.

 

[genjiZERO]

The message of the film is the complete opposite.

Then why does he

Spoiler

have sex with the clone of his mother?!

Why would you do that in a film!?

 

[Superflat]

Funny that this pops up because I just watched EoE yesterday for the very first time.
And this:



pretty much sums up my thoughts on it. Gave me more questions then answers. Maybe I'm just too dumb to understand what was going on though...

It's rarely ever the issue of people being too dumb to understand; it's obtuse and nonlinear in its presentation. The way it's constructed I'd say it was meant to be overwhelming. In the second half it's hard to tell what even really happened vs imagined events in his head. I would say it's a film that needs multiple viewings, but only for those who are interested in doing so. I personally found it rewarding.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

One of the greatest animation productions of all time. A triumph.

 

[Krev]

The raw force of this film is very difficult to put into words. There have been crazy apocalyptic visions in film before, and there have been shocker kill-em-all endings to long running TV shows, but I don't think anything comes close to the feeling of Anno totally destroying everything about the world and characters we've come to care about, in a graphic and gruesome manner.

Initially the shock factor overwhelms everything else, but over time I came to see it as a satisfying and strangely moving resolution to the series.
The finale could do with an extra 10 minutes or so to flesh out Shinji's final decision.

Anno's directorial powers are at his peak here. He nails both the grandeur of the massive destruction and the unease of the psychological introspection. There are endless beautiful, horrifying, rich images. I think this is one of the great visual masterpieces of cinema.

 

[Delta Assault]

Then why does he

Spoiler

have sex with the clone of his mother?!

Why would you do that in a film!?

Wait, where does this happen?

I just remember him

Spoiler

jacking it to Asuka at the beginning

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Wait, where does this happen?

I just remember him

Spoiler

jacking it to Asuka at the beginning

It doesn't happen

 

[Ishida]

Wait, where does this happen?

I just remember him

Spoiler

jacking it to Asuka at the beginning

In the final scenes before he emerges from the LCL ocean, there's a scene with both Shinji and Rei naked, and Rei is sitting on top of Shinji's junk.

 

[Fury451]

I think it demonstrated the culmination of Anno's real life depression and inner turmoil. The whole series was a protracted way of him working out his issues, but the End of Evangelion was all pretense being dropped.

 

[_Ryo_]

It's fucking awesome. That is what I think.

 

[Krev]

I think it demonstrated the culmination of Anno's real life depression and inner turmoil. The whole series was a protracted way of him working out his issues, but the End of Evangelion was all pretense being dropped.

The same can be said of the final TV episodes.

 

[Garlador]

"Huh? A REAL ending to Evangelion? Awesome! I was hoping they'd actually really end it and explain everything that was going on."

*90 minutes later*

 

[Ban Puncher]

"Well, that was better than episodes 25 and 26."

 

[Pappasman]

I adore this movie.

The raw force of this film is very difficult to put into words. There have been crazy apocalyptic visions in film before, and there have been shocker kill-em-all endings to long running TV shows, but I don't think anything comes close to the feeling of Anno totally destroying everything about the world and characters we've come to care about, in a graphic and gruesome manner.

Initially the shock factor overwhelms everything else, but over time I came to see it as a satisfying and strangely moving resolution to the series.
The finale could do with an extra 10 minutes or so to flesh out Shinji's final decision.

Anno's directorial powers are at his peak here. He nails both the grandeur of the massive destruction and the unease of the psychological introspection. There are endless beautiful, horrifying, rich images. I think this is one of the great visual masterpieces of cinema.

Well said.

 

[FuuRe]

Watched it for the robots, stayed for the clusterfuck

That said, i loved EoE, every piece of it.

 

[andymcc]

It's incredible.

I consider it to be the final product of "classic" Gainax.

 

[javac]

An incredible, outstanding audio/visual experience, with some of the best action scenes (Mitsuo Iso) in an anime, beautiful cinematography with incredible set-pieces and a striking use of color, all wrapped up with an incredible soundtrack. So yeah, I think very highly of it to say the least. Nothing else comes close. I kind of get annoyed when people talk about how the only reaction that they can muster up after watching it is "wtf" but it is what it is. The story is actually really straightforward. The whole thing just feels like a cohesive experience, from the marketing to the film itself, no doubt a masterpiece that has unfortunately become the brunt of a joke, nothing but a meme for people to talk about how "2deep4u" it is, sad. I actually own the Laser Disc set because it's just so fucking beautiful. Some pics I took of the set Link

 

[striferser]

The raw force of this film is very difficult to put into words. There have been crazy apocalyptic visions in film before, and there have been shocker kill-em-all endings to long running TV shows, but I don't think anything comes close to the feeling of Anno totally destroying everything about the world and characters we've come to care about, in a graphic and gruesome manner.

Initially the shock factor overwhelms everything else, but over time I came to see it as a satisfying and strangely moving resolution to the series.
The finale could do with an extra 10 minutes or so to flesh out Shinji's final decision.

Anno's directorial powers are at his peak here. He nails both the grandeur of the massive destruction and the unease of the psychological introspection. There are endless beautiful, horrifying, rich images. I think this is one of the great visual masterpieces of cinema.

Agree

I enjoy the end of evangelion a lot, and i think that is the one movie that make me want to watch more anime. It's marvelous, and despite the WTF ending, i really glad it exist.

 

[Krev]

An incredible, outstanding audio/visual experience, with some of the best action scenes (Mitsuo Iso) in an anime, beautiful cinematography with incredible set-pieces and a striking use of color, all wrapped up with an incredible soundtrack. So yeah, I think very highly of it to say the least. Nothing else comes close. I kind of get annoyed when people talk about how the only reaction that they can muster up after watching it is "wtf" but it is what it is. The story is actually really straightforward. The whole thing just feels like a cohesive experience, from the marketing to the film itself, no doubt a masterpiece that has unfortunately become the brunt of a joke, nothing but a meme for people to talk about how "2deep4u" it is, sad. I actually own the Laser Disc set because it's just so fucking beautiful. Some pics I took of the set Link

Oh man, that LaserDisc set. Always wanted it. Jealous.

 

[KenzinFive]

After watching the series and EoE in high school, I can't bring myself to watch it again. As flawed as the franchise is, the harsh emotions it generated in me are something that I would rather not revisit. Seeing characters I cared about get the complete opposite of a happy ending was pretty rough.

Spoiler

Misato and Asuka dying are probably tops. Asuka has a moment of glory, overcomes her problems...and then fails and gets ripped apart by monsters.

Yes, it's supposed to feel disturbing, rough, and make me feel bad, but that doesn't mean I want to experience it again.

Reading about how

Spoiler

everyone treats Shinji even more like shit in the 3rd movie

has put me off of watching the new set of movies too.

 

[Liquidsnake]

I saw it as art.

 

[andymcc]

An incredible, outstanding audio/visual experience, with some of the best action scenes (Mitsuo Iso) in an anime, beautiful cinematography with incredible set-pieces and a striking use of color, all wrapped up with an incredible soundtrack. So yeah, I think very highly of it to say the least. Nothing else comes close. I kind of get annoyed when people talk about how the only reaction that they can muster up after watching it is "wtf" but it is what it is. The story is actually really straightforward. The whole thing just feels like a cohesive experience, from the marketing to the film itself, no doubt a masterpiece that has unfortunately become the brunt of a joke, nothing but a meme for people to talk about how "2deep4u" it is, sad. I actually own the Laser Disc set because it's just so fucking beautiful. Some pics I took of the set Link

hey, I just talked about this set in the Laserdisc thread! I own it too!

I bought it when it came out, thing was fucking expensive.

 

[Violence Jack]

Horrifying, in a good way. Pretty sure it made me question my sanity when I first saw it.

 

[The Purple Pill]

The raw force of this film is very difficult to put into words. There have been crazy apocalyptic visions in film before, and there have been shocker kill-em-all endings to long running TV shows, but I don't think anything comes close to the feeling of Anno totally destroying everything about the world and characters we've come to care about, in a graphic and gruesome manner.

Initially the shock factor overwhelms everything else, but over time I came to see it as a satisfying and strangely moving resolution to the series.
The finale could do with an extra 10 minutes or so to flesh out Shinji's final decision.

Anno's directorial powers are at his peak here. He nails both the grandeur of the massive destruction and the unease of the psychological introspection. There are endless beautiful, horrifying, rich images. I think this is one of the great visual masterpieces of cinema.

Well said, well said.

Hard to describe how awesome EoE is, it has it all, and what an end.

 

[Sifl]

So much tang.

 

[random25]

Then why does he

Spoiler

have sex with the clone of his mother?!

Why would you do that in a film!?

Rei is not Yui's clone. They look similar, but other than that, they're totally different.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

It's fucking amazing.
My favorite anime movie and one of the few anime I'd give a 10/10

Hell it's a good animated movie and a good movie on its own