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Content rating: 4
Posted 2003-04-10 by StupendousMan
Endorsed by kurt on 2003-05-12 20:39:00
Yup, they were right.
Every review of the final episodes of Evangelion has
warned, "Get ready to be disappointed." Well, I've just watched
the final three episodes, and, yes, I'm disappointed. I feel so
let down that I can't bring myself to spend much time writing
this report. Sigh. Instead, I'll share just two specific thoughts
which came to me when it was all over.
First, I had a sense of deja vu. About a year ago, I devoured
the Gainax series
Kareshi Kanojo No Jiyo
on fansubs. The tale of a pair of high-school overachievers who learn to slow down and enjoy life (among other things) touched me
in many ways: it was funny, and it was true to my own life in many
ways. I considered getting a copy for my mother, a guidance
counselor in a small Vermont high school. The only thing that
kept me from loving it to death was the way it petered gradually
to a slow death over the final four or five episodes.
The writers introduced a new character very late in the series
and seemed to forget about the ones we'd grown to love.
Even more jarring was the way that the beautiful, crowded,
busy animation of the early series disappeared: the final few
episodes were full of still shots and flashes of text on a plain
black background.
My advice to anyone who is currently watching the series:
stop around episode twenty or so, after the significant event
on the night of rain. You'll know what I mean :-) It's a high point
from which the series only declines, in my opinion.
Almost exactly the same thing happens to Evangelion.
The writers have set up a situation full of tension, and then,
apparently, run out of ideas. The final two episodes are
psychological examinations of several characters, focusing on
the Eva pilots and especially Shinji. We see static images,
repeated over and over again, together with white text on a
plain black background which represents the internal thoughts
of each character. Sound familiar?
The other thought I had was this: consider just one
of the many, many threads in the complex story of Eva:
the mysterious SEELE, a shadowy collection of about a dozen
old(?) men(?) who are behind NERV. We see them grill Ikari Gendo
a number of times, warning him that he'd better watch out.
They seem to have some plan, based on Dead Sea Scrolls, for
dealing with the Angels; in fact, they give the impression that
they foresee events yet to come, that everything is part of
a big master plan. Near the end of the series, they grow particularly
critical of Ikari and NERV. Something big must be
about the happen. When the Fifth Child makes his appearance,
it is said that he has been sent to the NERV center by SEELE;
it appears that he is an agent sent to destroy them. And then ...
the series ends.
Who were SEELE? What were they trying to do with
NERV and the Evas? How did their goals conflict with Ikari's?
Why did they send the Fifth Child? What was the prophesy
in the Dead Sea Scrolls? And -- if I get even a hint of the
meaning of the final episode -- why the HECK would a bunch
of old, rich, powerful guys want that to happen?
Bleah. Maybe I ought to go read the pages and pages and pages
of explanations for the ending of the show. Maybe I ought to
read the reviews of the two Eva movies to find out if watching
them will answer any of my questions. Or maybe I ought to put
the whole thing out of my mind. It's hard, because the series
was so strong for so long. I want to bring my memory
of it to some fixed end, but instead, it's stuck in Never-Never Land.
I think that what I'll do is to fix my thoughts on the short vignette which
appears near the end of the final episode, an alternate history
(or future?) in which Shinji and his best pal Asuka go to school
on an ordinary day and run into the new girl on their way.
It's happy, it's sweet, it cements in my mind the strong bond
of fraternal affection I saw between Shinji and Asuka during
their time together. Why not remember what might have been?
Equipment used when writing this review:
Sony DVD player, JVC 27-inch TV, stereo speakers, and a sense
of the inevitable.
| Other reviews of this disc: |
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Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:8
by CmdrTaco (Rating: 6.80)
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I'm not usually one to complain when a series derails for a few episodes, but anyone familiar with eva knows of the controversy surrounding these final episodes. But this is your chance to see it for yourself. The series starts off as...(continues)
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Content: 7 Video: 7 Sound: 7 Packaging: 6 Menu: 7
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Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:8
by Kayos (Rating: 8.00)
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After reading the Darthbert/Shinji thing I’ve decided to get in on the fun because 1.) I have a different opinion of the end and 2.) I have a history of butting into arguments I was not apart of so there’s no reason to stop now....(continues)
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Content: 9 Video: 8 Sound: 8 Packaging: 7 Menu: 8
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Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:8
by Darthbert (Rating: 7.20)
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Disclaimer: This is my first review. So if there are any formatting problems, think of them as packaging problems. Because if you've bought the Evangelion DVD's you're used to packaging problems. Also there may be Spoilers ahead,...(continues)
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Content: 10 Video: 8 Sound: 8 Packaging: 2 Menu: 8
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Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:8
by hemos (Rating: 7.40)
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Dear Lord. If you've watched the other seven discs of Evangelion, DO NOT WATCH
THIS. I will never get that hour+ of my life back again, and this disc did a good job
of laying waste to the storyline.
OK, maybe the above is a bit...(continues)
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Content: 5 Video: 8 Sound: 8 Packaging: 8 Menu: 8
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Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:8
by rewster (Rating: 7.60)
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The saying goes "all good things must come to an end," and it would seem that this end, for a lot of people, wasn't good enough.
After seeing it for myself, after being barraged with all the spoilers (and that was just from...(continues)
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Content: 9 Video: 8 Sound: 8 Packaging: 7 Menu: 6
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Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:8
by Shinji (Rating: 7.20)
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I am only writing this review in response to Darthbert's review. I would like to just
repond in something like a forum. Hey editors - how bout a respond to this
review button. Endorse this or not I just could not let this review go...(continues)
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Content: 8 Video: 9 Sound: 8 Packaging: 5 Menu: 6
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Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:8
by EyeballKid (Rating: 5.60)
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A while back, some Star Wars fans, the rumour blames director Kevin Smith, took it upon themselves to create an edited version of The Phantom Menace. The edited version, known as The Phantom Edit, removed all of the crap,...(continues)
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Content: 5 Video: 6 Sound: 5 Packaging: 6 Menu: 6
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Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:8
by Yajirobe (Rating: 8.00)
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First things first- there might be some SPOILERS AHEAD, so proceed with caution.
Also, please don't pick up this disc if you haven't seen any of Evangelion yet- it will confuse the living heck out of you. Trust me on that one.
...(continues)
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Content: 8 Video: 8 Sound: 8 Packaging: 9 Menu: 7
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Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:8
by Phunky Monkey (Rating: 8.80)
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This is the end to what I think (and others will verify) is the best anime series out there. Episode 24 (the first one on the disc) caps off all of what one might think to be normal in this series. The introduction of a new character,...(continues)
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Content: 10 Video: 9 Sound: 9 Packaging: 8 Menu: 8
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Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:8
by jim bob borg (Rating: 6.25)
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My girlfriend got this entire series on VCD, so we watched the whole thing together. Yup, the last two episodes were a major let down, almost as if the writer was rushed to end it. This series should have been extended for another 6...(continues)
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Content: 4 Video: 8 Sound: 8 Packaging: 5 Menu: N/A
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