Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

This film is a rarity in the world of film making and in TV production. The first important thing to note is that you will never be able to fully appreciate this film until you've seen the TV series - this has been touched on by others, but it truly is important. The film compliments the final two episodes of the series, and was a labor of love for the creator of the series as well as many dedicated production companies who helped it get made (look at the list of credits! I think it's the entire population of Japan!).While the last 2 episodes of the series eschew the Eva action scenes of earlier eps (a necessary evil...the production team completely ran out of money), they unravel the workings of the mind in an absolutely brilliant way. It was basically a self-help guide for viewers, showing them the way towards happiness and fulfillment. Plus, it was nice to see Shinji stand up for himself for once. However, as an end to a series, it fell short. What IS the Human Instrumentality Project? How was the plan initialized? What the hell happened to all of the characters we got to know? They wanted to show us, but they knew they couldn't in such a small time span and with so little money. Luckily, we've got this movie.And what a movie it is. On visuals alone, it stands above practically every animated or live action film I've ever seen. The imagery and the symbolism (especially in the last half of the movie) is amazing and would cause a theologian's brain to explode. The film combines animation and live action, as well as interesting filming techniques like producing animation to look like it was filmed with an 8mm camera. There are important reasons for all of this. It is to create mood, moods that range from fear, hopelessness, loneliness, to utter ecstacy. It's a movie with religious symbols and religious names that, when you watch it, feels like a religious experience. But in a strange way, it has nothing to do with religion at all.The main focus of both the series and the film is on the self; filling in the holes in each one of our souls with parts of each other, and identity and how it requires human interaction (in spite of how painful it may be for some) to be formed. In short, this film comes closer to explaining the meaning of life than anything I think I've ever seen. Wow, what a statement!All of this would mean nothing, however, if we didn't care about the characters, or if the movie was boring. Neither of these are true. All of the characters, whether it be Shinji, Asuka, Misato, whoever, are people you can relate to in a very true way. They are all flawed. No one is a "hero" in this film, no one is completely virtuous. This is another brilliant aspect of this story: these humans attempt to become God while blind to their inherent problems.The action scenes in the first half of the film more than make up for the lack of it in the latter episodes of the series. To see one of the main characters we've cheered on for so long finally kick some ass is a beautiful thing (until we're brought back down to earth in the most painful of ways). It's in part 2 of the movie that the visuals become overwhelming, however. I never thought the end of the world could be so beautiful.The music? Perfect. That's all I'll say, because I've rambled on too much.You know, for a guy who is not much of an anime fan and who is in no strong way a religious person, it's pretty amazing that a movie like this can affect me so much. All I can say is, watch the entire series first. Buy it, borrow it, I don't care. Get through the slow beginning episodes, stare dumbfounded at the confusing ending, and then watch the movie. Then do it all again the second time. You'll either hate it, love it so much your life will change, or you'll get so confused your head will explode. But you won't forget it and you won't have a neutral reaction to it, and that's the sign of a truly wonderful work of art.

The End of Evangelion was originally scripted to be the now infamous existentialistic, soul searching, and ultimately inconclusive episodes twenty-five and twenty-six that made up the ending to the hit anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. However, due to budget constraints, it never saw the light of day, presented only briefly in the debut of Death and Rebirth. Now, director Hideki Anno brings us the final, conclusive chapter in the Evangelion series, a gut wrenching two hour finale that shocks, horrifies, and depresses on a scale that only the sinister themes of Evangelion could possibly present. For any true Evangelion fan, this is a must buy.With the Angels defeated, the unity humanity enjoyed rapidly deteriorates as the world turns against each other. SEELE, a collation of allied nations, betrays their former military ally, NERV, and launches a surprise attack on their base in order to obtain the key to humanity's destruction and eventual rebirth: Evangelion Unit-01. Stuck in the middle of the unprecedented war is Evangelion's protagonist, Shinji Ikari, who, without the guidance from his friends Asuka and Rei, finds himself rapidly losing his grip on reality and returning to a state of helpless self-pity. As the battle rages and SEELE introduces its own line of MP Evas, Shinji finds the fate of humanity thrust into his unwilling hands. Once again at the helm of the creation he has grown to hate, he must decide the outcome of the world.In my previous review of Evangelion I thought the ending was more than satisfactory. While I still stand by that, the Ending of Evangelion blows it out of the water. It has the action that made the series enjoyable to watch, the thought provoking ideology that forces one to ponder, and all drama that made the characters seem so real. In keeping with the trend presented by the series, about halfway through the End of Evangelion, Hideki Anno jumps off the tracks of traditional story telling and returns to the whirlwind of incoherent thoughts and images blurred together in a cyclonical representation of the human psyche. It's insane, but brilliant. Disturbing, but beautiful. Confusing yet intriguing. Half-story, half-art, that's the way Evangelion, has always been, and it's wonderful to see it conclude this way. The soundtrack is integrated brilliantly within the movie. Each track kicks in at exactly the right moment, and the theme song Komm Susser Todd (Come Sweet Death) could not have been played at a more suitable moment. The appropriateness of it is overwhelming, and accentuates the emotions in scene in which it's presented.A warning to younger audiences: the Ending of Evangelion is not for kids. There is not an ounce of humor or cuteness that filled some of the episodes of the series. The violence is quite graphic, but even more terrifying is the disturbing imagery that is used prevalently throughout the film. While far from tasteless, some of it will leave you rather shaken, especially if you're familiar with characters from the series.Like Evangelion, the End of Evangelion does not end with a happy ending. Far from it, and yet it forces the viewer to look at the story from several different angles. If the symbolism can be interpreted differently, then perhaps the ending can also be perceived in a different light. Either way, I left with a raw feeling in my stomach, a sad hopeless feel that made sure I would never be able to see the series the same way ever again.Conclusively, the Ending of Evangelion is recommended to only those who have seen Evangelion solely because only those who have seen and appreciated the series will be able to enjoy the film to its fullest. If you hated the series, then the Ending of Evangelion probably won't change your mind. If you loved the series, then there's no reason why you shouldn't add this to your collection.JA_Japster's Final Score: 10/10