This Review Contains Major Spoilers for The End of Evangelion
It should not come as a surprise that I love Hideaki Anno's Neon Genesis Evangelion. While I haven't written a review of the original series, mentions of it have periodically snuck their way into other reviews of mine; it's just that influential in terms of how I think about anime and, indeed, perhaps stories in general. As I stated in my review of Evangelion 1.0, even though I watched Neon Genesis Evangelion some time after I got into anime, it feels like a cornerstone of my anime-watching experience. Three years later, it continues to stick with me; moreso than the likes of some of my other favorites. So much so that I await the final entry of its reimagining with cautious eagerness. So much so that I still continue to read about the show and its secrets. So much so that now, three years later, I am revisiting the conclusion. I do this in order to write a formal review of it, to finally put my thoughts into comprehensive words, to lay this thing down to rest and explain, once for all, not only what I think of End of Evangelion but why I think it. The point of this intro is to make it abundantly clear that, no matter my thoughts of End of Evangelion, I approach this movie from a place of love and respect. This isn't meant to bash Hideaki Anno. I'm grateful for his work on Neon Genesis Evangelion and His and Her Circumstances. Come what may, at the end of this review, I'll still love Evangelion.
If you're coming from my reviews of the Evangelion Rebuild series, you might have already grasped that I was never the biggest fan of End of Evangelion. There, I call it "exhaustingly bleak," I say that I "didn't care for [it]," and I state that my feelings towards it are "mixed." A lot of my dislike toward 3.0 is feeling that it's similar to End of Evangelion in certain regards. If you've seen my forum and/or activity posts, my feelings are made even more plain, revealing that, among other things, I find it overrated. This review came about because, the more I thought about End of Evangelion, the more I realized I didn't particularly enjoy it. Looking back, I attribute my original score to not divorcing it from the original series enough. As I sat on my living room couch all those years ago, I distinctly remember not being satisfied with the ending. I'm sure I thought, "I didn't like it that much, but it's still Evangelion." But, for better or for worse, End of Evangelion is its own beast and I have the ability to critique and contextualize it as such. From the my initial viewing of the movie through this very year, End of Evangelion enjoyed a 8/10 (in fact, if memory serves correctly, to make use of the liberating decimal system that Anilist uses, I'm pretty sure I bumped it up to an 8.5 once I migrated here). Even with my admittedly wonky rating scale, an 8/10 is nothing to sneeze at: quite enjoyable, albeit certainly not perfect. The score has since dipped to 7.6 and I expect it to dip lower. If you think reviews are to be approached with an open-mind, then turn back or abandon hope all ye who enter. I'm your worst nightmare, because I very much rewatched End of Evangelion expecting not to enjoy it. My eyes were peeled to find things to dislike. I understand if you find this approach wrong. But as I said, I knew going in that I didn't care for End of Evangelion, therefore, I was going to focus on why.
Neon Genesis Evangelion, originally airing from October 1995 to March 1996, had several budgeting and scheduling issues. This would come to a head during its final two broadcast episodes, which exist in their current form due to a combination of Evangelion exhausting its budget and Anno apparently not deciding on an ending until it was too late. The result is a very, very esoteric conclusion that has long served as the trope codifier for Gainax Endings. Using stock footage, line art, and reused clips, the television ending is a very deep-dive into Shinji's psychology, ultimately culminating in him finally accepting himself. Untempered by action (or indeed, often basic things like a setting), these episodes can feel overwhelming and wind up being exhausting. Beyond this, the lack of action felt unsatisfying to some, though I honestly didn’t mind it too much. Needless to say, many weren't satisfied with the television ending. Anno would rectify this one year later with the release of the aptly named End of Evangelion, a theatrical movie that serves as an alternative ending for the series. According to Anno, this is the ending he envisioned, unburdened by neither censorship nor budget. This endeavor to realize his vision paid off spectacularly, as nowadays, the television ending is almost completely glossed-over in favor of the movie ending. People have gone so far as to call it the best movie ever made. I'll go into more detail later, but I actually quite liked the television ending, so perhaps that will tell you something about how I approached the so-called true ending.
As End of Evangelion serves as the conclusion of a twenty-four episode, exposition-heavy television series, it should be abundantly clear that one should not watch End of Evangelion without watching Neon Genesis Evangelion prior. As such, I won't give the spiel on Neon Genesis of Evangelion as a whole, just the events that are important to End of Evangelion. The final angel having been eradicated, the stage has been set for Third Impact and the Human Instrumentality Project. However, Gendo and SEELE have clashing intentions for the venture, thus their partnership is terminated and SEELE calls in the JSSDF to raid NERV headquarters to foil Gendo's plans. The JSSDF storms the GeoFront and begins slaughtering the NERV personnel. As they do so, SEELE launches their Mass Production Evangelion series to deal with NERV's Evangelions and kickstart the Third Impact by force. This comes at the worst possible time for NERV, for Asuka's is still recovering from her mental breakdown at the hands of Arael and Shinji is despondent due to feeling responsible for the deaths of Touji, Rei, and Kaworu. Will the Eva pilots gear up in time to stop the cataclysmic Third Impact?
No.
The answer is no.
One of the first things that you must know about The End of Evangelion is that it's an extremely bleak movie, more so than the television show. Bleakness, at least at the beginning, makes sense, as the final episodes of the canonical show are a conga-line of misfortune for the characters. But instead of characters finding their spirits lifted in the face of adversity, they just keep tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down. Every victory attributed to the heroes is either short-lived or via technicality. As I typically start with praise, me stating this isn't criticism in-and-of-itself, it's just something to be aware of. Darkness and despair are so ingrained in End of Evangelion that they might as well be a part of the premise.
End of Evangelion is split into two parts, flavored as episodes 25' and 26' (as opposed to the television episodes 25 and 26(note the lack of the apostrophe denoting “prime”(it makes sense, I swear))). Episode 25' is probably my favorite between the two. While I enjoy the television ending, I can appreciate the differences that episode 25' brought to the table. Watching the episode, you really get the sense that this is everything that the television ending is not, doing a great job of addressing its deficiencies. Episode 25' is very kinetic while the television episode 25 is static; part of this is the simple fact that there's a setting, but it's also due to the action. This episode is the one in which SEELE and JSSDF mount their attack and it is absolutely brutal. I couldn't peel my eyes from the carnage, the starkness of it all. There's a reason this episode is titled "Air" and "Love is Destructive'' and this is it; the characters (and indeed, the director) aren't constrained by production; running, fighting, and dodging as they wage the biggest battle of their lives. There are a lot of components to this episode; Misato scouring for information, JSSDF formally launching their attack, Ritsuko confronting Gendo, and Asuka's ill-fated battle with the MP Evas are only some of the things this episode contains. The episode beautifully weaves it all together. In the television ending, for the most part, nothing happens besides talking. Here, everything happens. "Love is Destructive'' because this episode is a force to behold, violent compared to episode 25's languidity. Characterization is also better conveyed here. The television ending was a lot of telling, not showing. Here, we distinctly get to see how the characters think and act; seeing Shinji shut down and believe he's "no good" instead of him telling us this, seeing Misato's difficulty in forging relationships. It seems like a weird thing to praise, but in light of the television ending, it's nice that we actually get to see things happen.
Episode 26', "Yours Sincerely''/"I Need You" is tasked with dealing with the depiction of Instrumentality and its aftermath. I really liked the simple fact that Instrumentality took place in some capacity. Ever since I was a child, I enjoyed seeing antagonists’ schemes come to fruition, at least partially, only to be foiled later. I always thought it important to have a way to show exactly what was at stake. End of Evangelion delivers in this regard, beautifully, yet horrifyingly depicting the Third Impact and Instrumentality in all of its glory, creating a distinctive sinking feeling within me. After this, we're in Instrumentality proper, and in ways, it's quite similar to the original episodes 25 and 26 such as the focus on psyche and society. Then there's the ending, but I'll go into detail regarding that later.
Overall, I was surprised at how well-made I found this movie upon a rewatch. As far as glaring issues go, it was somewhat hard to find fault in End of Evangelion. I peeled my eyes to see the bad, inadvertently finding a lot of the good.
As stated before, we really get to see the characterization that made Neon Genesis Evangelion. Shinji is at his emotional lowpoint and he knows it. To him, he's "no good," the "lowest of the low'' who is neither capable nor deserving to bear the burden of piloting the Evangelion. It's really heartbreaking to see him this way, but given how broken he was at the start of the series combined with everything that happened during the show prior, it's the logical conclusion. So empty is Shinji that he's impervious to stimuli: he doesn't care when he's seconds away from being executed by JSSDF personnel and he only notices Misato's bloody, passionate kiss when it's too late. Misato herself is also characterized a lot here as we see the lengths she goes to to show her care towards both the world and Shinji; going so far as to attempt to motivate him the only way she knows how; through promises of sex. I also enjoyed Asuka's characterization in episode 26'. I enjoyed seeing her get out of her slump and I was genuinely touched to witness her realizing that her mother was always with her. This translated beautifully to her awesome fight against the Mass Production Evangelions; mother and daughter were in sync as they supported one another. In my Evangelion 2.0 review, I stated that, "[Asuka] being torn apart by the Mass Production Evangelions didn't elicit a reaction besides horror at the gore." As it turns out, I lied. Upon rewatching it, I absolutely mourned Asuka's death. It was sad to see that, like in 2.0, it was as if she was punished for her development. It was heartbreaking to see Asuka cling defiantly to life, only for it to be snatched from her. Even Gendo, a seemingly enigmatic and one-track character is given depth that recontextualizes all of his actions. He is as broken as Shinji, believing that he deserves love from no one save for his lost lenore, Yui.
End of Evangelion is an absolutely beautiful movie. If it wasn't, Asuka and Shinji looking on towards a sea of ~~LCL~~ Tang wouldn't be my laptop's lock screen background for about four years now. I'm not sure the animation or art direction itself is much to write home about. It's good, yes, but it’s ultimately just a polished Neon Genesis Evangelion. No, End of Evangelion shines in what I'll refer to as composition — not the elements of a shot but how those elements are arranged in said shot. End of Evangelion has many, many, many striking images that imprint themselves in your brain — The Mass Produced Evangelion Units flying, a demonic-looking Lillith observing a crucified Unit 01 between her palms, a winged Lillith arching her back as she plucks the Black Moon from the Earth, the list goes on and on.
The music is no slouch either, featuring lovely orchestration. But of course, you're here for the legend itself, you're here for Komm, süsser Tod. This upbeat song is hauntingly beautiful, encapsulating Shinji's broken psyche as the world around him dissolves. It being a certified bop is at odds with its subject matter; creating an unsettling musical dissonance. This is understood by simply looking at its title: translated, it means "Come, Sweet Death." Make no mistake, without the context of Instrumentality, this is very much a song about someone who's going to kill themself; an upbeat suicide note. It's because of Kom Susser Tod that the depiction of the Third Impact is such a signature scene. The depressing lyrics and rapture-esque imagery combined with the jolly music makes the scene even more horrifying. It's a testament to how good the music of End of Evangelion is when its unused track, "Everything You've Ever Dreamed" is still amazing and salient.
Then there's the actual depiction of Instrumentality, a psychological assessment of humanity and reality that's easily the most dense part of the film. And...honestly, I didn't find it that confusing. I didn't really find any part of the movie too hard to parse. I admit that this is because this is my second watch of the movie. Since watching it the first time, I've immersed myself in EvaGeeks. This movie really does benefit from a rewatch and utilization of shared knowledge.
The movie wasn't perfect by any regards; I was iffy on the ending, it being a bit too bleak for me. Granted, it was ambiguous enough that I could interpret it as happy if I so chose. I don't think the Instrumentality scene was handled all too well. The philosophy isn't explained that well, and I wasn't sure what was the point of the live-action segments. It seemed like a lot in the Instrumentality was added just because it would make it seem deeper. Still, it's quite beautiful, like other aspects of the movie. "Reality is at the end of the dream," "Truth lies in hearts," and "As long as the sun, the moon, and earth exist, everything will be alright" are all very striking quotes.
With all this in mind, it's understandable why so many love this movie, why so many claim it to be greatest movie of all time. A lot of care went into this movie and it shows in nearly every aspect of it. While there are some wonky parts of the dub,
the principal cast shines. Tiffany Grant as Asuka repeatedly whispering "I don't want to die" and later "I'll kill you," send chills down my spine. End of Evangelion is a bombastic conclusion to an amazing series. While I still prefer the television ending, on a technical level, it was more than solid. It seemingly works on a story-level, too, so I should like the movie.
Right?
Immediately after watching the movie, I was ultimately left feeling somewhat underwhelmed, in regards to my stance. I wasn't the biggest fan of the film, but it seemed well-made enough, with no glaring issues in sight. On one hand, I didn't love it nearly as much as the series, but on the other hand, I didn't hate it either. I was ready to let my score remain as a 7.5.
And I'm sure I would have if I didn't think too deeply about what I just watched, but the more I mused about it, the more I realized that subtle choices that inform the tone make me fundamentally dislike End of Evangelion, overall.
And as the days passed, I discovered that I had a nasty case of an earworm courtesy of Komm, süsser Tod. It was (well, is) an unpleasant experience. The song is very catchy and upbeat, yet the lyrics are very dismal. The more I listened to it and danced to it, the more paradoxically drained I felt. My relationship to Komm, süsser Tod perfectly mirrors my relationship with End of Evangelion, the more I engage with the exciting, the more dejected I became with the depressing interior.
Now, I just feel really empty.
At the end of the day, I think my biggest problem with End of Evangelion is that I find it to be far too gloomy for its own good.
And before I go into more detail, I'd like to reiterate a point from my 3.0 review: I have absolutely no problem with bleak shows. As I said, the problem is specifically when the bleakness is excessive. When everything is dark, nothing is. The darkness loses its impact and just becomes exhausting to get through.If there’s no light to contrast the bleakness, it becomes hard to get invested. Darkness, when used as the narrative itself instead of a narrative tool, just becomes unpleasant. When a work's too dark, you'd be hard pressed to come back to it. Sure enough, for years, I had no inclination to rewatch End of Evangelion and once I finally did, the dread was quick to set in. Most damningly, however, I feel that the tone of End of Evangelion doesn't work for the story of Neon Genesis Evangelion as a whole.
Neon Genesis Evangelion isn't ever happy-go-lucky by any regard, but the first half of the show is comparatively light in tone. Things intensify as the Angels grow more and more threatening and Shinji finds his fragile psyche pressed until it reaches a shattering point. He is broken, yet slowly but surely, he begins picking up the pieces and finds himself moving towards a brighter future. While the television ending of Neon Genesis Evangelion might not be satisfying on an audio-visual level (though, "Good, Or Don't Be" is a fittingly touching song), it's satisfying on a narrative level, which is a hell of a lot more than I can say about End of Evangelion.
End of Evangelion fosters its bleak tone in part via its characters. In End of Evangelion many characters seem to have their worst foot forward. I stand by my praise of the characterization; the characters certainly act in ways that are believable to what we've seen before and I can appreciate the depth End of Evangelion gave to these already round characters. But the execution being competent doesn't necessarily mean it's pleasant. One of the first things we see Shinji do is masturbate over the comatose body of Asuka and later on, he finally snaps at Asuka's acerbic personality and strangles her (twice!!). Misato gives a long, passionate kiss to Shinji; either as a desperate attempt to motivate him, being genuinely attracted to him, or simply trying to communicate with him. Either way, a twenty-nine year-old kissed a fourteen year-old. Asuka's...well, Asuka is Asuka. After her development, she's quite quick to berate Shinji. When characters are dreadful, you're generally less inclined to care when things happen to said characters. While there are legitimate boons to having flawed characters, here, they've just another factor in making this movie hard to watch.
And of course, this movie is bleak due to the events that occur in it. NERV is all but dissolved as the JSSDF burst in and massacre every person they can get their hands on. Ritsuko meets her demise after she's betrayed not only by Gendo, but by her dead mother. Misato sacrifices her life to ensure Shinji's survival, thus making the youth shoulder that guilt. Minutes after regaining her will to fight, Asuka is brutally murdered at the hands of the Mass Production Evas. Shinji then sees Asuka's dead Evangelion. Gendo, now humanized, is betrayed by Rei and denied his entire life goal while SEELE sees their wicked plans come to fruition after taking countless lives. Then there's Instrumentality itself. We see the few surviving named characters turn into LCL against their will as their souls are collected into the hivemind, all while Komm, süsser Tod plays, describing Shinji's heart wrenching desire to throw his life away. While Instrumentality is said to be the gateway to eternal, if not false, bliss, this is a case of telling, not showing. We're never shown depictions of someone being happy in Instrumentality, thus conveying that, as the audience, we're not supposed to identify it as a good thing. Shinji's experience, the only one we're privy to, is ultimately unsatisfactory (unless, tragically, the point is to show that, deep down, Shinji likes being unhappy).
I've been told that the ending of End of Evangelion makes the movie happy. Having watched it twice now, I can tell you that it truly doesn't. If anything, the ending reaffirms the bleak tone. While Shinji ultimately rejects instrumentality, it's not framed as a triumphant moment, OST be damned. Unlike the television ending, there's no shift in Shinji's personality and he never accepts himself. Besides just making his arc unsatisfying to watch, it's sad to think that at the end of the movie, he was as broken as he was before. As I said, Shinji doesn't seem to have a good experience in Instrumentality, so him rejecting it is less because he knows he'll be happier in the real world, and more because he knows he won't be happy in the Tang. He simply leaves it for the vain hope that he might find happiness. Based on the ending, he probably doesn't.
Shinji is on a beach. He has made graves for all of his friends; he's seemingly the only person who decided to return to the world. But then he finds Asuka on the beach. Remembering all that she did, he flies into a rage again, choking her in an attempt to stamp out the bad memories he had, to finally be alone, but in peace. But then she does something unexpected, reaching out and caressing him. Shinji's so taken aback by Asuka's kind action that he releases her and weeps.
And do you want to know what Asuka says?
What she says in response to Shinji's crying?
Would you like to know how Asuka follows up on her unprecedented moment of tenderness towards Shinji?
You want to know the final words to Neon Genesis Evangelion?
So, excusez mon français but how the fuck am I supposed to find that happy? Any possibility of Shinji finding happiness is mercilessly stamped out by Asuka being too much of an unrepentant bitch to change. She'll never acknowledge her feelings, and following her lead, Shinji won't have a reason to, either. Shinji will always be disgusting in Asuka's eyes. There will always be pain in the real world. It’s the only one we have and you’re a coward if you try to escape, according to Anno, something he’d double back on years later in 3.0 to more disastrous results.
Given that the belief that Anno made End of Evangelion to "punish" fans is false, it would be incorrect of me to say that this movie is bitter, but it certainly feels this way. The characters you loved are fucked up to the point where you take pause in liking them (I'm a bit ashamed to have Shinji among my favorite characters due to his little jerkoff stint), everyone you loved from the show will suffer grievous harm, and none of them will have a happy ending. It's such a downer ending that it makes everything that preceded it feel pointless. All the battles that the characters waged have a gross aftertaste once you realize they amount to Asuka spitting in Shinji's face. I'm forever grateful that End of Evangelion is technically separated from the television show because this absolutely would bog down my score, otherwise.
I'll concede that maybe I'm conflating what's good for me with what's good for the show. It's a bit of TMI, but I'm a generally unhappy person. That combined with me often being stubborn as a mule means that I'm really set in what I perceive myself to need in terms of getting better as a person. I find the television ending therapeutic, while End of Evangelion just causes me pain. It is possible I don't like End of Evangelion simply due to who I am as a person.
I'll concede that maybe the timing's just off. I recently had two pretty intense conversations about happiness and whether or not it's obtainable. We're currently gripped in a global pandemic the likes the world has never seen. In America, minorities like me are still being brutalized by those who are supposed to protect us. In short, the gloom-and-doom of End of Evangelion is not the type of shit I need to watch right now. It is possible I don't like End of Evangelion simply due to the headspace that I found myself occupying while watching it.
I'll concede that maybe this is all my interpretation. That's the beauty of End of Evangelion, because, as much as people might moan and groan about the television ending, they're both quite open-ended. Budget or no, this is still Evangelion, and what you get out of it is ultimately what you're willing to put in. It is possible I don't like End of Evangelion simply due to my own specific interpretation of the movie.
What I won't concede, however, is that this movie is happy. Hopeful? Sure. After all, the ending is open-ended enough that you can make a decent argument for anything occurring after it. Personally, the only thing I see happening is Shinji drowning himself in LCL, but that's my own pessimistic interpretation. However, due to all the dismal events that make End of Evangelion what it is, I cannot, in good faith, state that it's happy. It's a very grim movie, no "ifs," "ands," or "buts" about it. As I've outlined though, there could be more personal reasons why I find this grimness undesirable.
I don't think End of Evangelion is a bad movie. While its lack of general accessibility might bar it from being the "greatest movie of all time" in my mind, the spectacle it displays and the care that went into every aspect of it cannot be denied. End of Evangelion shakes me to my core and makes me feel something, regardless of what that "something" is. If that's not the mark of effective art, I'm not sure what is. But, as I'll argue until the day I die, entertainment is a vital component of art and without it, a work of art fails to be engaging, ceases to be "art" as we know it. For me, End of Evangelion is too unpleasant to warrant a truthful high rating from me.
In terms of reception, I feel that End of Evangelion often isn't discussed with enough nuance. It's easy to watch End of Evangelion, be bewildered or put-off with it, then simply push those feelings aside. Like me, you can cast it aside, your engagement not being much more than "it was good." It's easy to write off the television ending in comparison, believing it to be worse because it's happy, for End of Evangelion to be better because it's bleaker. This ignores the fact that the bleakness doesn't really work for the show that preceded it. It's easy to write off the television ending because there's less movement, less things going on than in End of Evangelion. I think both have aspects that work, and my hope is that 3.0+1.0, against all odds, can combine the TV ending's positivity with End of Evangelion's beauty and movement.
And so, after some five-thousand odd words, I give my score. My score is for the sake of nuance. It's for the sake of another opinion. It's for the sake of acknowledging that this is a very well-made movie, but being true to myself and not being afraid of the backlash when I say I don't enjoy it as the ending for Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's for the sake of those who feel similar to the way I do, but feel their voices aren't heard over the screams of glowing praise. It's for those who’ve had criticisms of this film, but were written off as being too dumb to understand it, written off as just not "getting it."
Maybe I don't get it.
Even so, I am (not) alone.
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