Neon Genesis Evangelion - Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0

This concludes my episode guide to the Japanese anime television show Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995 - 96) and the spin-off films after ten years.

Does this little town nestled into the mountains have a name? Does it need one? The place where a gently perplexed Rei, embittered Asuka, and near-catatonic Shinji find themselves near the start of Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 provides a bracing break in the action and opportunity for reflection to these traumatized characters. A community founded after the devastation of the Near-Third Impact, this cross between a desperate refugee camp and a determined early settlement has simply been dubbed Village-3. While down-to-earth in its pragmatic daily activity, it carries a vaguely enchanted air, a fable-like flavor reinforced by the pink walls of chemical fairy dust protecting the villagers from roving monsters and the presence of a princess released from her dungeon - only to discover that the evil king has conditioned and limited her existence with a kind of techno-spell. Not to mention the uncanny "curse of the Evas" which traps our protagonists in perpetual adolescence while their former classmates grow up, raise families, and find their places in the world. This village is the sort of spot you drift upon by accident, settle into on a temporary basis with the intention of mere rest, and then never leave. You tell yourself the stay is only temporary, but the years go by, your roots sink into the ground, and suddenly you look up to realize how much time has passed, and that a lifetime of the same stretches before you. Regret may mix with a surprised sense of relief - after all, there are worse fates than this.

TWIN PEAKS CONVERSATIONS #17 w/ Twin Peaks: Evangelion hosts Craig & Vinny (YouTube & extended PATREON) premieres on Wednesday

The idea of a Twin Peaks fan watching Neon Genesis Evangelion for the first time while an Evangelion fan watches Peaks for the first time is already intriguing enough - but Craig and Vinny of the Twin Peaks: Evangelion podcast have taken the concept much further. Craig, an anime skeptic, begins his journey not with the original Evangelion series but with the Rebuild films, while Vinny, a David Lynch novice, jumps right into The Return without ever having viewed seasons one and two of Peaks. Their takeaways are absolutely fascinating, including perspectives on characters they meet long after most viewers were introduced, speculation about parts of the show they missed, and - when they eventually get back to the earlier material - surprised reactions to what built the material before they came in. Both hosts are joining me on my own podcast this month, now that their own project is concluded (along with viewings of some additional anime/Lynch pairings and other fun exercises like casting Twin Peaks characters/actors in Evangelion). We discuss how they initially approached each series, how their expectations were met or defied, and whether or not this has reshaped their perception of broader genres or mediums. We avoid Evangelion spoilers for much of the first half, until I give fair warning. (UPDATE: This cross-post was intended for 8am Sunday morning but went up at 4pm due to a publication mishap; apologies for the confusion.)

You can bookmark and refresh this page within the next few days (or keep an eye on my YouTube channel) for the upcoming premiere...

PART 1 on YouTube

(premieres at 8 pm Wednesday, December 21)

For my $5/month patron tier, we dig deeper into connections between the two shows, discuss why the hosts placed the respective feature films in different parts of their parallel watch-throughs, and explore the impact of the show's finales (meaning both the last parts they watched as newies, and the more conventional endpoints they reached as veterans with recently released material).

Listen to...

PART 2 on Patreon

(also premieres at 8 pm Wednesday, December 21)

Listen to Twin Peaks: Evangelion

(& follow them on Twitter: @TPEvangelion & Instagram: @tpcolonepodcast)

My video essay Neon Genesis Evangelion & Twin Peaks (Side by Side)

All of my own work on Neon Genesis Evangelion & Twin Peaks

including a brand new review of Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 as of Wednesday, December 21

Neon Genesis Evangelion - Evangelion 3.33

This series is an episode guide to the Japanese anime television show Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995 - 96) and the spin-off films. Unlike the previous essays, the Rebuild films will not be accompanied by chats with other bloggers.

And so my Neon Genesis Evangelion coverage finally comes to a close...for now. This is the only remaining Evangelion film or episode, at least until the release of Evangelion 4.0 (or 1.0 + 3.0, which is possibly going to be the title, whatever that means). This is also the first piece of Evangelion I have watched fresh for this series. In fact, by the time I tuned up 3.33 for this review I'd seen the the entire series run at least three or four times (some episodes five or six times), watched The End of Evangelion at least four times (three of them in the last few weeks), and watched the two earlier Rebuild films at least twice. Though I did not know much lore or history when I began this endeavor, this year I explored the world of Evangelion more deeply, learning about various theories, interpretations, and opinions. How exciting, then, to plunge into new (to me) Evangelion for the first time in four years! That's ultimately the pleasure and promise that the Rebuilds hold: the opportunity to experience this familiar world through new eyes. On that front, Evangelion 3.33 delivered more than any of the other Rebuilds, and I think it would be fair to call it my favorite of the three films.

Neon Genesis Evangelion - Evangelion 2.22

This series is an episode guide to the Japanese anime television show Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995 - 96) and the spin-off films. Unlike the previous essays, the Rebuild films will not be accompanied by chats with other bloggers.

If Evangelion 1.11 is the pop song cover that tries to hit all the same notes (while upping the production value), then Evangelion 2.22 is the jazz version, following the same rough structure but unafraid to cut loose and go off on wild riffs and tangents. Approached in the right spirit, this can be a whole lot of fun. Anno mostly seems to be using events and images from the series as touchstones to shoot off in new directions. The first time I watched 2.22 I was mostly frustrated and disappointed by these departures. True, the film corresponds to the more light-hearted monster-of-the-week episodes of the series (roughly episodes 7 - 13) but it also overlaps with the darker, deeper episodes 14 - 19. The more playful tone of 2.22's first half didn't seem suitable as buildup for the drama; I had been expecting a big-screen version of the Evangelion series (not necessarily in plot, but in "feel"). Knowing what to expect this time, I still wasn't entirely sure what the point of the film was, but I enjoyed it much more.

Neon Genesis Evangelion - Evangelion 1.11

This series is an episode guide to the Japanese anime television show Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995 - 96) and the spin-off films. Unlike the previous essays, the Rebuild films will not be accompanied by chats with other bloggers.

We're back at the beginning. Sort of. Almost everything about the early part of Evangelion 1.11, the "rebuild" feature film released in 2008, is identical to the first episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The same Angel attack, the same appearance of Rei in the abandoned city streets, the same Misato-Shinji rendezvous. But there are subtle differences. The first deviation is that the sea from which the Angel emerges is red, like the LCL concluding The End of Evangelion (one of the first clues for a favorite fan theory, that the Rebuilds actually take place after the original series, in a kind of reincarnated alternate universe). There are other subtle detours from the first two episodes: Sachiel the Angel (who is referred to as the "fourth" rather than the "third" Angel) reformulates in a different, more textured fashion; the Eva does not deflect debris from Shinji by releasing its hand; the berserker attack occurs in real-time rather than flashback. As the film continues, it will stray further from the original script but overall this is very much like a recap, gorgeously animated but suffering from some of the limitations inherent in the digest approach.