Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

A short transcript of my oral reaction to the opening of the second part of "The End of Evangelion": "Uhm...? Uhm...? Uhm...? Uhm? Uhm!? UHM!? UHM!?!?!?" Er, did... Did Lars von Trier write this? 'cause I feel like Lars von Trier wrote this. Did... Has anyone ever seen Hideaki Anno and von Trier in the same room?

"The End of Evangelion" is a messed-up trainwreck of a masterpiece. It makes "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" and "Sedmikrásky" look like rational slice-of-life dramas. It is utterly insane. But also quite brilliant. This film certainly isn't for everyone, but if you enjoy watching minds unravel in insanity on-screen then boy is this movie for you. I give it 9 [Shinji's Crazed Screaming] out of 10

This film is effectively an alternative to the final two episodes of the TV series 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'; as such if you haven't watched the series it isn't likely to make much sense as no time is wasted in explaining what went before.

As the film opens Asuka is in a coma and Shinji is wracked with more self-loathing than ever. SEELE launches an attack on NERV headquarters and the unconscious Asuka is moved to Eva Unit Two while Misoto searches for Shinji. Shinji's father plans to use Rei Ayanami to initiate the 'Third Impact'.

Having watched the series I thought I knew what to expect but this film takes things to another level. It provides lots of impressive action but this is tempered by the feeling that ultimately our protagonists might not prevail or even survive. The film is made up of two episodes, with the 'end' credits positioned between them. The two halves are quite different; the first is where most of the action takes place. Here things are relatively conventional. In the second things are far more existential, not to mention a little confusing at times. Shinji is more irritating than ever but the other characters are great; Asuka was particularly pleasing as she battled nine other EVAs in Unit Two; Rei is as mysterious as ever and other main characters were well used. The animation is impressive, clearly there was more time and money spent on this than the series. Overall I'd say that this is a must see for all Evangelion fans.

These comments are based on watching the English dub of the film on Netflix.

This is an impressive ending to the excellent Evangelion saga. Everything that you thought should be in the last two episodes but were not there is here from massacre to evisceration. This film, however, is not totally different from the last two episodes. It basically shows what happened in real life before and while Shinji performs his self-assessment in episode 25 and 26. Many of the scenes that are shown vaguely in the two episodes are clarified in this film (for example, the Misato and Ritsuko scenes).

I am at a loss for words to describe this work. It does for anime what Beethoven's 9th or Wagner's Ring cycle did for classical music. End of Evangelion combines intense action with emotional drama superbly. A number of scenes depicting graphic violence and sexual content will probably bother some viewers. These scenes, however, serve to underscore the themes of the movie for the most part.

The animation is excellent and the music is great (and features a number of nice works by Bach) and the symbolism is truly rich and elaborate, involving many elements of Christianity and Judaism as the entire series is sort of a take on the Apocalypse. However, as many have already mentioned, watching the anime series before hand is necessary to even remotely understand what is going on.

An epic series like Neon Genesis Evangelion comes to a close with the final installment, End of Evangelion. A masterpiece like Neon Genesis Evangelion should have an ending to live up to the show's greatness. End of Evangelion delivers and finally puts an end to the well told but complex story of Evangelion. With all the Angels defeated will SEELE be able to pull off its underlying ultimate plan? Will End of Evangelion bring the demise of the lovable characters of Evangelion? End of Evangelion starts off with the invasion of NERV as order by the secretive organization SEELE. SEELE is trying to seize EVA Unit 01 so they can start the Third Impact and realize their plans. The fate of mankind lies in Shinji Ikari who has psychologically given up at the start of the movie because of certain choices he makes. Meanwhile Asuka is being tormented because of her mother's death in the past.

The movie has some of the best animating I have seen in an anime movie. The animation is fluid and smooth. It is very well done by I.G. Productions (who did Ghost in the Shell and FLCL) and GAINAX Studios. Although I am a fan of the original Japanese cast, the English dub of this movie is one of the best dubs I have ever heard in an anime movie. The sound quality is amazing on the DVD, boasting 5.1 Dolby Digital EX Surround Sound in both English and Japanese. The DVD also includes a bonus commentary track with the voice actors and actresses; led by the voice actress who does Rei's voice in the English dub. It offers a lot of insight into the movie.

The story the movie follows is brilliant. Many fans of the series who were disappointed with the final two episodes of Evangelion; most think that End of Evangelion is an alternative ending. End of Evangelion tells the same story that episodes 25 and 26 but in the way the creators of the series originally wanted it. A great team like the one who made Evangelion would not change their artistic vision to meet the demands of lack luster fans. Director Hideaki Anno does an excellent in telling the story of the movie that puts Evangelion to a close.

End of Evangelion only falls short in one aspect. Many fans of the movie find it confusing and do not get the full point of the movie. They are disappointed in End of Evangelion because they lack understanding of the story. But this is not End of Evangelion's fault. The movie does an excellent job of telling the story and any fan who wants insight into this movie should watch it with the commentary and read the synopsis. I rather not hand anyone the answers but let them take it upon themselves to go out to find them. Once fans understand everything that is happening in the movie, they will see why it is such a masterpiece.

The movie End of Evangelion is one of the best movies ever created; it is second to none. The movie is excellent, the story development is incredible and the characters are brilliant. End of Evangelion is a true work of genius and deserves a perfect rating.