Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End Of Evangelion

The End… is incredibly ambitious, the scope of its vision rivaled only by the likes of Akira.  At the end of the series, NERV has defeated the last angel, but its personnel are in ruins.  Shinji is comatose with grief, Asuka is no longer able to pilot her EVA, and everyone else isn’t doing too much better.  That’s when all hell breaks loose, as SEELE attempts to wrest control from Gendo Ikari, Shinji’s estranged father and NERV’s commander.  Their desire is to bring about the Human Instrumentality Project and bring humanity into its next stage of evolution.  Gendo, it seems, has other plans.

The first half of the movie (or the 25th episode, if you will) details SEELE’s brutal attack.  At times, it’s gutwrenching to watch, as the invading forces systematically wipe out NERV personnel.  But we also get to see Asuka’s redemption, one of the high points of the movie (and the series).  At the start of the movie, she’s completely useless.  But when she realizes the true nature of her EVA, her confidence soars and we’re treated to one of the greatest mech battles ever, hands down.

Asuka’s Unit 02 soars through air, hurls battleships at her foes, and moves like a kung fu fighter as she first takes on the invading forces, and then SEELE’s own EVAs, who have arrived to finally end NERV.  Despite Asuka’s valiant efforts, however, she is unable to hold against SEELE’s mysterious weapons, and they descend on her crippled Unit like vultures.  That’s when Shinji arrives on the scene, and with him comes the Apocalypse.

If the first half of The End… depicts the physical action, the second half dives headfirst into the spiritual and psychological.  The Human Instrumentality Project moves ahead, with Shinji and Unit 01 as its medium.  It might help to brush up on your kabbalah beforehand, otherwise watching Unit 01 and SEELE’s EVAs form a giant Tree of Sephiroth in the sky might be a bit surreal, as will Rei’s transformation into a giant Lilith as she collect humanity’s souls.  Shinji’s tenuous grasp on reality is practically nil by this point, as all of humanity is drawn into the Project.

It was at this point while I was watching The End… that some friends came in and joined me.  I can only assume what they must’ve thought, because by this point, the already surreal imagery begins moving towards its climax.  Shinji finds himself the conduit of mankind’s extinction and rebirth, and a process similar to the series’ original ending occurs.  Shinji waxes metaphysical, trying to figure out what exactly is going on and wondering if the peace he’s finally experiencing is really all that desirable.  It’s pretty heady stuff, so don’t be afraid to rewind and rewatch certain parts to get a real grasp on what’s going on.

I can assure you that what I’ve detailed so far barely scratches the surface.  The End… is really something you must watch and try to figure out for yourself.  Anno reveals some of the series’ secrets, but he still leaves much unexplained.  And it’s a safe bet that he threw in plenty of extra stuff to keep people guessing (again, another “Up Yours” to unsatisfied fans).  Admittedly, I’m still left scratching my head on a few things, and I spent hours scouring the Web to find answers.  I can’t help but get caught up Evangelion‘s world.  There’s a wealth of content left untapped, but since neither Anno nor GAINAX seem likely to revisit Evangelion, plenty will be left up to speculation.

I have to say that I love that approach.  It leaves the sense of mystery, the epic scope, and the emotional impact intact.  That sense of intrigue ensures that I will always find it interesting.  What’s more, it forces me to really mull over everything I’ve just seen.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that the focus isn’t on explaining A.T. Fields, dummy plugs, LCL, synch ratios, and the other terms thrown about.  More than anything else, Evangelion‘s focus is on the hopes and dreams of its characters, as well as their fears and weaknesses, and their attempts to overcome them.  Yes, Evangelion is a confusing mess of ideas and concepts, some of which are left very underdeveloped.  But that sense of confusion allows us to sympathize, to see something in all-too flawed characters forced to deal with forces and concepts that they don’t understand either.

The End Of Evangelion may not be the perfect ending everyone was hoping for.  But it deals with the key aspects of the series, and it feels very appropriate.  But it refuses to wrap everything up in a complete package.  Better yet, it delivers all of this with incredible animation and some of the most stirring images I’ve ever seen in anime (again, only something like Akira really compares).  There’s a reason why Neon Genesis Evangelion has been considered by many to be one of, if not the greatest anime series of all time.  After watching the utterly fascinating finale (and before it, the entire series), I must wholeheartedly agree.