Taking place right after episode 24 of the TV series the final angel has been defeated and all of the EVA pilots are now crippled in they own ways from Shinji being mentally broken, Asuka being comatose after getting mind-raped by one of the Angels to Rei going missing. Meanwhile, Seele puts the Human Instrumentality Project plan into monition as now Nerv must now defend themselves from Seele and prevent the third impact from happening.
Act I: The creation and the main purpose of the film.
Before we talk about what I thought about the story and characters of End of Evangelion let’s go over the background of The End Of Evangelion as well the creator himself Hideaki Anno. Hideaki Anno created anime such as Gunbuster, Nadia The Secret Of Blue Water, Neon Genesis Evangelion, His and Her Circumstances, and Gunbuster.
Honestly, I really liked and enjoyed his works especially Neon Genesis Evangelion where I consider to be his best work. Now at the time when Neon Genesis Evangelion was airing like with Tomino for Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, he was suffering through depression and just like with Tomino Mobile Suit Victory Gundam the depression really hit by the second half of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Because of that the second half Neon Genesis Evangelion became a psychological drama instead of being of a monster of the week type of show. Then comes the final 2 episodes of the show and like with many people on the net we thought the ending of the TV series was total shit. It had gotten to the point where people inducing fans of the show were sending letters to Anno which some of them were actual death threats. Ultimately Anno decided to re-create the final 2 episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion in the form of the movie called Neon Genesis Evangelion The End Of Evangelion where it not only was meant to close off many of the plot threads in the series but it also meant to give the series a proper ending that it deserves.
Act II: The grotesque but beautifully written first half.
Neon Genesis Evangelion The End Of Evangelion is by far one of the darkest pieces of media I have ever seen.
Right out the bat, the movie wastes no time showcasing it’s darker tone where the first couple of scenes we are presented with disgusting acts done by Shinji where not only he tried to commit suicide by drowning he jerks off to a comatose Asuka after failing to wake her up. I really liked the first scenes a lot because not only they are extremely well directed but does a masterful job of portraying the themes and topics of suicide, depression and downfall spiral. Not to mention as soon as Shinji finished jerking off of comatose Asuka he is filled with disgust he quickly says the following lines “I’m so fucked up”. The jerking off scene may not be for everyone due it’s disgusting nature but what it was it’s a well executed as it perfectly foreshadows the tone of the movie.
Now with that beautifully grotesque hospital scene done with let’s talk about the first half of End Of Evangelion.
The first half of The End Of Evangelion minus the hospital scene goes back to the first half of the TV roots where it’s all action pack that its filled with explosions and fights. However, unlike the first half of the TV series, the first half of the movie has a much darker thanks to it kill them all nature whereby the end of the first half almost every character in Nerv is dead including one of the mains characters which I will talk about soon.
Asuka battle with the Mass Unit Evas is by far my favorite scene of the movie. Not only it’s beautifully written and directed to the absolute core but it perfectly concludes her character arc even if her conclusion wasn’t exactly a happy one.
The final thing I want to talk about in this part of the movie was Misato death. Personally, Misato was my favorite character in the series because the not only beautifully written character that we can all relate to thanks to her backstory but she’s was a fun and likable character. We don’t see Misato much in the movie mainly because he only appears in a couple of scenes but when she show’s up in the movie she is still awesome as ever as she concludes her character with an emotional bang that honestly made me cry.
Act III: The fantastic psychological second half and the origin of Rei.
Before I talk about the psychological elements in the movie I want to talk about is Rei’s origin as well her role in the movie. In my review of Neon Genesis Evangelion I quickly talked about Rei but now I think it’s best to talk about her origin and purpose in the series and the movie. Rei was created by Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki attempt to retrieve Shinji’s mother Yui Ikari. The attempt failed on some level where Rei may incorporate DNA from the Second Angel, Lilith because she is the vessel for Lilith’s soul. Now there are three Rei’s in the series.
Rei I was created around sometime in 2004-2008 where she is shown as a small child wearing a red dress in episode 21. After that Rei 1 gets murdered by Naoko Akagi, for revealing that Gendo Ikari referred to her as an ‘old hag’ behind her back.
Rei II is the second incarnation of Rei aka the Rei that we have been following in the series. Rei II is shown to be a teenager who is age 14 the same as Shinji. Rei II has a stronger relationship with Gendo meaning she does whatever he says without question. Not only that but he she as a building relationship with Shinji. She sacrifices herself by setting her AT Field to maximum to draw Armisael to herself and try to contain it temporarily and then activated Eva-00’s self-destruct to kill both of them.
Right after Rei II death, Rei III was created however she has no memories of saving Shinji as she states that “I think am the third”
How does this relate to Rei’s role in the second half of the movie to put this straightforward Rei is the most important character in the movie even more than Asuka, Misato and at times Shinji. She is a character that is impossible to relate too but I think that the whole point of Rei as a character. She’s not human at all but rather an angel in human form. Her whole existence in the series is meant to serve where the reason why Rei was created is so that Gendo can have a controllable link with Lilith for the Human Instrumentality Project where in the movie he tries to use Rei to allow to see Yui again. However, Rei rejects Gendo by taking his arm so she can regenerate her lost arm as well using merging with Lilith to start the third impact. Just from these are moments alone Rei has become my second favorite in the movie because not only she was a fascinating character that I loved but it all comes together in the end especially in the third impact part of the movie where she concludes her character arc. Not to mention seeing all three Rei together was amazing and it made me tear up.
Now with Rei done let’s talk about the psychological elements of the movie.
While the first half of the movie is action-packed with a darker tone the second half of the movie mainly focus on The Third Impact as well as all the psychological elements that the series is known for. The psychological elements are nothing but amazing. Not only it well directed that is filled with great symbolism that highlight the series core themes but all of the psychological elements and themes come to a beautiful conclusion for Shinji character as a whole.
I won’t be talking about the Third Impact as well the last scene because that should be experienced for yourselves but all I can about it that it’s downright amazing and beautiful.
Overall the story and characters of The End Of Evangelion is perfection to the eye. It may be confusing but if you go back and re-watch the series and the movie a couple of times everything from story, characters, themes, and symbolism will come together.
Act IV Final: The wonderful visual and music upgrade.
Visually this movie is fantastic. It took everything that we liked the series visual wise and expanded it to new heights. Production I.G and Gainax really did a wonderful job with its visuals as not only it is very well animated but the visuals direction and editing was just masterful. This is by far one of the best-animated anime movies I have ever seen period.
The same thing can be said for the soundtrack is which is a big upgrade from the series as every single track in the moves manages to fit the tone of the movie perfectly.
Now for sub vs dub Not gonna lie the dub for The End Of Evangelion has improved quite a bit when compared to the TV series but at the same time the dub still had a lot of problems. At the end of the day if you want to best experience of this series I strongly recommend the sub because not only it’s well acted but it does a much better justice on key scenes of the movie. Am not trying to say that the dub was awful or anything as it was improved quite a bit from the series but at the end of the day the dub of Evangelion is very inferior to its sub counterpart.
Epilogue.
Neon Genesis Evangelion The End Of Evangelion is a fantastic film. It took everything that was great from the series and expanded it to new heights. It concludes all the story and theme elements in the show. it concludes all the beautifully written character arcs that the series has built up from the very beginning. It masterfully concludes Neon Genesis Evangelion as a whole. There is nothing like The End Of Evangelion and all the anime that tried to copy it afterward (cough Darling in the Franxx and Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion) fail thanks to horrendous overall execution.
If you haven’t seen the series yet then I strongly recommend you checking out the series first before watching this film.
The End Of Evangelion is a masterful film that I will forever love.
Final Score 10/10
