THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS FOR THE EVANGELION X ATTACK™ LAUNDRY DETERGENT ~~ADVERTISMENT~~ ONA. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.
With 33 seconds of raw emotion, flowing animation, the sorts of character development I haven't seen since the likes of RE:Zero, and the polite nod to original fans, this blows End of Evangelion out of the LCL, and even perhaps challenges the original series in it's bold, brash undertones of accepting yourself and your laundry for what it is: not perfect, but able to be made so by Attack™ laundry detergent.
The episode starts out with a short message: a title screen, perhaps? No, a reminder. The impeccably aligned Attack™ laundry detergent logo brand, the classic EVANGELION text, and between them? A simple, thin X separating the boundary between reality and fantasticality. The X is thin - perhaps representing the thin division we give our own selves in emotions and perception when taking in nonfiction media such as the Evangelion series. It represents a form of escapism we use to encapsulate ourselves in a world beyond our own, pulling from thematics of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion, which showed how self-hatred is a part of self-acceptance, and utilizing escapist tendencies - almost poking at the watchers of the show itself for immersing themselves in it's own world - won't let you evolve as a person.
Moving on from this sequence, we move to Rei, quietly viewing a perfect sky. Almost empty, save for white clouds painting the watery sky, a uniform colour palette among character and setting showing her peace at which she stands with the ground she stands upon. They are one and the same. They are united. And suddenly - a split across the sky, a clothing line, filled with similar clothes - Shinji's, maybe? Possibly. This is left up to interpretation, as revealing all would take away a layer of glossy mystique, one which enchants the plot with slight mystery.
Proceeding from this, I cannot place into words the beauty of Rei's positioning. Emotion shines through her - a rare sight - and gives us a sign of hope in her character, a possibility for independence, with the help of Attack™ laundry detergent. And finally, as if to remind us of who she will become, she turns - and seamlessly dissolves into the cover art for a bottle of Attack™ laundry detergent. I can't express the beauty of this scene, it's probably my favourite. The manga simply doesn't do it justice, and readers of the light novel know well enough how difficult portraying an act of smooth transitioning among time is with the mere weaving of words. Although it may be a controversial opinion, especially among readers of the original manga adaptation, I believe this interpretation of the Evangelion x Attack™ laundry detergent arc to be by far the foremost adaptation.
I highly recommend any and all Evangelion fans to check out this ambitious project, sure to be a wonderful taste for the upcoming 4.0. I hope to see Attack™ laundry detergent in the future, otherwise I'm not sure if it'll feel the same, It'd be like JoJo without stands. Or Interspecies Reviewers without it's signature, superior civility. I'm just hoping they'll be able to top this, but at this rate, I'm seriously unsure.
Just don't be disappointed when you try out the rebuilds after seeing clips on youtube and finding out that Attack™ laundry detergent's presence is missing.
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