Shinseiki Evangelion Movie: Air/Magokoro wo, Kimi ni

I'll start this off by saying that I gave Neon Genesis Evangelion an 8/10. I really like the concept and although I wasn't completely disappointed in the last few episodes like many people were, I was excited to see the movie to see what really happens. But... I didn't really get that. Or at least, I saw stuff happen, but it didn't make sense. Story - 3 The first half and second half of the movie are very different. The first half feels a bit more like a classic NGE episode, but somehow less dramatic, even though this should be the most dramatic point in the series. Also, nothing is really explained. I still don't completely understand why NERV was under attack. But yeah, probably the most disappointed part is that it doesn't feel as dramatic as it should. The second half of the movie is confusing and eventful. A lot happens, and this movie is definitely something to watch if you just want to see chaos, which not gonna lie, sometimes I am in the mood for. But it is too confusing. Whenever I look up a question I have about the end of the anime, there are tons of different answers and interpretations. Am I okay with some things being left up to interpretation? Yes. But not the entire end of the plot. Like I do not understand what happened and what the actual ending is. I already know you are thinking I am just too stupid and only watch anime with the most simple plots ever, but I actually love psychological and mind-bending anime where not everything is just told to you. But there wasn't enough structure in the end of the anime in my opinion. Your questions are not really answered. Art - 7 I gave Neon Genesis Evangelion a 7 for art, and I was watching this movie I was appreciating how the art seemed to be more detailed in parts, and how some mind-bending scenes were very nice to look at. However, I moved the score back down to a 7 because I have to agree that the real-life camera footage feels very out of place. I don't see the value that added to the anime at all. It wasn't even good footage in my opinion. Sound - 9 I LOVED Komm, süsser Tod (English: Come, Sweet Death). This is an 8 minute song which somehow does not feel too long at all because of how beautiful it is. It is really, really catchy, and makes the scene in which it plays in so much better. I love the juxtaposition of the depressing, melancholy lyrics with an upbeat tune. I tend to not like when a song with words is played in it's entirety for a portion of a movie, like in Your Name. However this song was done so well. So why did I not give a 10? Well, I originally felt like I should just for that song alone, but I want to rate the sound holistically. I thought that Neon Genesis Evangelion had a 10/10 soundtrack, which is what lowers my score for End of Evangelion. I felt that the dramatic tracks used in Neon Genesis Evangelion weren't carried over to the movie. Some spots in the movie almost felt awkward because of the lack of music in the background. However, the most dramatic scene of all is done well with Come Sweet Death, so I am thankful for that. Also, I did not care for the music used halfway through for the credits. I wish they had just used Fly Me to the Moon or something. Characters - 3 I really loved the characters in NGE, but it feels like new characters in EOE. I don't feel Misato's fun personality as much any more. I don't think Shinji's dad is expanded upon enough to be interesting. Characters are also just downright confusing in their actions. This movie takes the process of starting out down in the dumps but then finding the motivation to keep going, and speeds up the process by like 10x speed. I swear, characters will feel so completely lost and like this is it for them, and then SUDDENLY they are fighting again, in a blink of an eye. I wish we could see more of the transition period between being at their lowest, to having motivation to keep going again. I think it's a shame that Shinji is also victim of this. I seriously don't get how Shinji changed at the end. He changes... I think... but it's hard to tell what he is thinking, what is reality, and what he even does to cause the events at the end of the movie to occur. I also really didn't like the opening scene with him, it made me kinda hate Shinji. Overall, it just felt like the characters went through the gap in between NGE and EOE. Like, EOE is supposed to happen right after NGE episode 24, but if you watch NGE and then EOE immediately after, you will feel like the characters have oddly changed. Enjoyment - 6 The enjoyment factor is basically what is making me give this anime not a below average score. I gotta say, even though I am upset that a lot of my questions weren't answered and that it was overall disappointing, it was kinda fun to watch. Again, it is just pure chaos. Kind of reminds me of the end of Shiki, which I really enjoyed. Even though a lot wasn't explained, scenes like Come, Sweet Death are just so good to watch, and what you are seeing happen looks so interesting, even though I don't understand what is even going on. Again, as in NGE, I didn't like the unnecessary fanservice. Overall - 5 Not as good as I was expecting at all. This movie basically answers no questions, but hey, it is exciting and chaotic, and maybe as a lover of NGE, that's what you like. If you watched NGE, I would watch the movie, but if you are confused going in, don't expect to have a ton of answers at the end.

Will Hideaki Anno ever figure out how to end an anime? Legend says even today he still probably haven't figured that out. We'll see whenever the final rebooted movie(s) comes out of this franchise. After watching the main anime I had low expectations when I started to watch this entry what to expect next. Did you know that the Japanese have a term for that small period of time when a man has clear thoughts after he ejaculates? It's called 'kenjataimu'. I don't know about you, but Anno Hideaki really should have rubbed one off before even thinking about in creating this alternative ending in the first place. That statement really becomes clear when you see an Asuka Langley Souryuu in a coma and Shinji "I'm so fucked up." Ikari alone together in the very first scene of this entry in a hospital room. If people really weren't satisfied with the previous anime ending, I'm sure there will be people that aren't pleased with this ending and I'm one of them. It even made me rethink my score on the TV series... Iether way, boy I do hate it when I'm right about my assumptions. I really don't want to repeat everything once again like I've written in my previous review about the TV series, so I'll try to keep this review as short as possible since you probably already know this is an alternative ending to the TV anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995). Atleast you're allowed to view it as an alternative ending. The anime in general tried in showcasing the dark side of humanity, which is a good thing. Too bad the execution is pretty bad to say the least. The half end of the anime (the TV series) got butchered by poor budget and really felt rushed where they smartly avoided it by making the final two episode's happening inside the mind of the Shinji Ikari, so they were kind of forced into making this entry to please it's fans when there was once again a budget as an attempt to save the anime series. Yes, this entry Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion is just the streched out alternatieve ending for the final two episodes, nothing more, nothing less. To keep it short: both the movie and anime are honesty executed poorly. This series is the result of someone trying way to hard. Throwing random religious reference here and there without any reason, a couple of inappropriate scenes, ... I'm sorry, I just don't like it. This series could have been a terrible hentai for all I care aswell and nothing really have changed at all plotwise. Atleast for this ending we have gotten a bit more Dementia and Action, so that's atleast something. So which ending did I enjoyed the most? Honesty I find that the TV series ending slighty better but that's just a matter of personal taste. I rate this entry a 3 nuts out of 10. One nut for Shinji for discovering his wiener, one nut for Anno Hideaki in the hope his mental health is better now and one nut just for the memes and the temporary clear thoughts. Remember fella's: when you're dealing with a woman and don't want to end up in misery; rub one out first before making your decision.

I'll just keep this fairly short and straight to the point. The movie acts as a sequel to the TV series and is cool for a while. The characters are really annoying with their self-loathing and hatred for mankind. In the final quarter of the movie, things get batshit crazy and start making no damn sense at all. I like it when anime makes you think. When you consider watching it again to truly understand everything now that you have all the pieces of the puzzle. I didn't enjoy Ergo Proxy that much, but it did a very good job of this. Things were confusing until the end where things finally made sense. Neon Genesis Evangelion is simply arrogant. Everything is so damn vague that you'll never understand what the writers originally intended. It's okay to be subtle, but they go so far beyond that to the point that the ending becomes guesswork. This is a proper sequel for a little while, but don't waste your time on the ending. People have their theories, but I say the ending still sucks because it doesn't make a shred of sense even after I just watched it.

Imagine mixing various ingredients and expecting to come up with masterclass dish. Usually, instead of delicious food, even a very experienced chef might end up with something perhaps looking good, but tasting mediocre at best. Why I write it? I feel that Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion movie can be compared to that kind of soup. Something ambitious enough to mix different themes and tropes, with tools to make such plan happen, but ultimately failing to deliver a good movie. There have been many reviews written about the End of Evangelion over the years. I could do the same, even if I had to pretty much repeat similar arguments, just wording them differently; or analyze this movie in details, bringing up certain moments and analyze them shortly after. I won't do this, though. Instead, I will focus on what I didn't like and what made my score so low. This review is spoiler-free and focuses mostly on technical aspects of the movie. I assume, since it's a sequel, that every reader is familiar with the content from Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series from 1995-1996. What bugged me the most was the composition. This movie felt more like two double-length episodes connected with each other without much consistency. Artism or not, it simply doesn't look good to see a movie divided into two easily distinguishable parts, where one is radically different to another. First 40 minutes are full of well animated action sequences, showing what was happening shortly after the tragic events from ep. 24 of the original TV series. Great direction, fluent animation, good art. Second half presents a more artistic approach, however, it fails to do it well. Many sequences looked as if the most of this movie's budget was spent in the first half, making the second one have moments that could be put on par with ep. 25 and 26 of the original TV series. Way too different, even to the point of being edgy, and simply looking cheap. You could accept it in a TV series, but not in a movie. Movies tend to have bigger budgets and its creators have more time to work on them to polish as many elements and scenes as it is possible. It's a shame. It might sound harsh, but as a regular viewer I shouldn't care about possible production issues or background behind the production process when watching a movie, but rather fully focus on... watching that movie instead. Another thing that I saw as a con was symbolism. I saw references to many things commonly mentioned in various analyses on the Internet, but they didn't serve as symbols. More like fancy references to make the movie seem to look more complex and sometimes dark, but nothing more than that. No matter how one might try to fabricate hidden meaning behind said elements, they just don't feel connected to the point of saying "yup, everything has a meaning". Using artistic methods such as "show, not tell" and imagery was visible and present, sure, but so what? So what if these symbols were all over the place, but only few of them actually had any type of connection to each other and built up a bigger picture? It's a good moment to quote Roger Ebert, brilliant movie critique, who said once: "If you have to ask what it symbolizes, it didn't". Can't agree more, especially when it fully applies to the End of Evangelion. I saw many times NGE fans acting really toxic towards somebody not seeing much or any symbolism at all in the movie, using insults implying poor knowledge of people commenting on the movie or pointing out ignorance, whether the author of critical comment was polite or not. It's funny, given how freedom of artistic expression allows us to interpret works of arts the way we want to. It includes both overthinking by nitpicking certain elements and building up theories around them, and underthinking by simplifying a work of art through focusing on its clarity. Nothing is wrong with that, and none of the ways of interpretation I have mentioned above makes their fans more intelligent or less intelligent. Aside from these two major negative aspects that I found as overshadowing almost everything good I could find in this movie, there were three aspects that felt absolutely awesome and presented high quality for the whole length of the End of Evangelion. They are: music and voice acting, everything harmonized with soundboards made with care. In conclusion, while this movie is definitely worth of checking out, since similar movies are not released so often, I can't guarantee it will be entertaining to watch. I can imagine the End of Evangelion being a hit or miss for most of people. You might love it or hate it. You can also end up like me, I mean unamused and also disappointed. After hearing so many paeans about this movie, I didn't have high expectations aside from seeing a good movie, because I know how devoted fans of basically anything might hype up a show and present it as close to flawless, while the reality may be completely different. Although, if somebody expects to see an avant-garde spectacle of random symbolism mixed with giant mechas fighting with their enemies, with crazy stuff happening on screen that might not make much sense, but seem edgy and dark enough to provoke viewers to analyze it and find their own interpretation (even if through overthinking), then they might enjoy this movie. Sadly, I didn't enjoy enjoy it myself.

The best way to finish a story. It was an extended version of 2 final episodes of the series with a slightly different approach and more intense feelings. The movie gave some of the most iconic scenes in anime history and a woderful song. The scene with ''Komm Süsser Tod'' every time that i rewatch the movie is a unique experience, i feel it to the maximum more and more. One momment that i felt very strong recently when i watch the movie one more time was the fighting scene with Asuka and Eva Series. The feeling it gave me it was that in every movement the units and their weapons weighed tons, every hit, every frame was that well animated/directed that creates the picture of the battle in an amazing realistic way, the unites lost their balance, moving the weapons at 90 degrees was as difficult as it should be. First scene with Asuka and Shinji in the hospital, Misato-Shinji scene with the kiss, last scene with Shinji and Asuka. Τhe entire length of the film was covered with such images, images with strong value in the general aesthetics of the series. A beautifully well made movie following the unique close up of the series. It came to enhancing it with the best possible way. Emotional struggles, dillemas, great character presentation, iconic scenes, the perfect aesthetic combination. I cant image how something new will make me more excited than this movie.

My friend in college compared End of Evangelion to Schindler's List in terms of the emotional response the movie generated. As ridiculous as it seems to compare the monumental Holocaust film to one of them Chinese cartoons about giant robot thingies, I kind of understood what he was saying after I watched EoE. Both movies left me with a lingering sense of dread and sorrow on the days that I watched them. I can accept Schindler's List making me really sad. As depressing as that movie was to watch, I recognize its educational and historical value. It's important to be aware of the great atrocities in human history, so the new generation can hopefully stop future crimes against humanity. As for Third Impact, can that actually happen? Maybe, I'm wrong. Maybe, we'll all explode into orange soda: an apocalypse that would make Kel Mitchell proud. But, as of right now, End of Eva is an endless train of misery that I'm not sure I really need. I think there's some kind of message at the end of the movie, but all I got out of the experience was "look at these anime characters. They're all gonna die horrible deaths!" And, I'm not an Eva-hater. I liked Evangelion. I liked it when it was a colorful giant robot show. I liked it when Anno went off his meds. But, I never thought the show had some deep philosophical or religious subtext. I viewed Eva as an interesting case study of what happens when an author's personal issues sink into his work. By the time I got to End of Eva, it was just sinking in too deep. Not every anime has to be rainbows and sunshine, but great stories can use the sad moments to make the happy moments worthwhile and use the happy moments to make the sad moments hit even harder. EoE is just emotional torture porn.

After finishing the main series of NGE I felt something was missing. The ending left a lot of loose threads to say in the least, and the steep drop in animation quality really left a bizarre final impression. Well, thank based Anno for bestowing this masterful ending upon the highly acclaimed series. To give a general gist of the movie, it's basically what NGE's ending should have looked like in the original run if they didn't run out of money to animate the last quarter of the series. It's much more easier to grasp and follow (relatively speaking of course, it retains its trademark 'mindfuck' quality that NGE is known for), and many of the questions asked in the last two episodes of NGE are answered. Now, the biggest and greatest feature of this film by far (and in that sense, the series as a whole) is it's absolutely IMMENSE scale. People can nitpick all they want about this movie, but they cannot deny the absolute immensity and ambition it holds. You'll understand once you see it, but if there's one word you should be saying after you finish this movie it should be "wow" with your jaw hitting the floor.

A MORE THAN WORTHY followup and closure of the serie´s ( and i cast aside the socalled new remastered, re-done 1.11 and further crap cus thats basically raped ) and DAMN the end of evangelion was and mindtwisting piece of work that left me totally in a vegative state!! after death& rebirth i finally was able too witness it all, The overminded dark back story , the violence, the grotesque kaworu/lilith/rei/eva-01 statue, and most of all: the weirdest rebirth of humanity ever animated on paper!Part 2 was all over the place, great art, music thats too fitting and the nice 3-d elements , part 1 had all the violence ,dark stuff and chara. involvemend thats just intense. Dementia is the word here, and i can't believe ever since 1999 i survived this movie!

"Somewhere right now, 'The End of Evangelion' is f@#%ing with someone's mind." While I loved last two episodes and feel that they give the series and emotional conclusion, we all had to know what happened outside of Shinji's mind during instrumentality. Just like the series, I'm drowning in a sea of symbolism and meaning. This movie is really what you make of it, if you only watch it with an open mind. Such an incredible conclusion to an amazing series.

I don't know man. This shit is like watching LiveLeak dashcam footage. People talk about it like it's some generational work of art and it is just baffling to me. This is a lot closer to an alleyway time machine schematic an old schizophrenic homeless guy drew in his own shit. It's just scene after scene of the most delusional bullshit happening back to back to back, like it's just trying to confuse and shock you. Every scene is just like "what the fuck was that" or "why the hell did they leave that in" or "why is misato a pedophile now" all just to end and resolve nothing. I seriously believe that this is parody, like its trying to fool a bunch of pretentious art students into writing their dissertations on it and making them dig around for meaning where there is none. Which is honestly a premise I can get behind. Still think you should see it for yourself though. Even car crashes can be fun to watch.

WARNING SPOILER!! Story: 10/10 The delivery of the story is easier to understand even though it is still difficult to understand as a whole, but it is better than what was shown in episode 25 and episode 26. The definition of the sea of lcl itself is astonishing, taking reference from gnostic beliefs. I was shocked that the mental problems of each character were explained in depth. Uncertainty is primarily for evangelion, because it's completely beyond what fans might think. From this film understands the true meaning of the first ancestral race to allow only one seed to live on each planet, referring to Eve eating the khuldi fruit. It's a great thing to gather references from different religions and then come up with a story. the depth of the mental problems is told quite well and in detail, so that the audience seems to feel the suffering experienced by the characters. Art:9/10 For art I really like it when all souls are taken up by Lilith, it looks like lives are taken by force. All the effects like the awakening of the Sephirot (Tree of Life), the widening of the Anti-A.T Field, to the appearance of a Black Moon, are all displayed subtly and feast on the eye. The rest of the depiction is still the same as that shown in the TV series, so there isn't much change, although the animation is really good. Sound:9/10 Eva's music always interprets the meaning of a story, and is in harmony with what happens in the story, so that it seems as if the music is the manifestation of the story in the form of sound. Sound effects for every event are always in tune, creating comfort and harmony when listening to them, for example, the sound of birds, the sound of busy vehicles, and various other sounds. For example, the song Komm süsser Tod is perfect for accompanying every death when Lilith takes the life of every human. Character:10/10 Each character that is presented has its own meaning and always draws from certain references with definite intent and purpose. The plot twist that is presented in each character development creates a new atmosphere, for example Rei III who betrayed Gendo and chose to help Shinji because he heard his scream. I can't even forget what Yui Ikari said means a lot, even every character that is not featured in the entire series has its own value, for example Kyoko, Naoko, and Yui. Enjoyment:10/10 I really enjoyed this film, I'm not lying. Maybe this is one of the coolest anime films I've ever watched besides Perfect Blue, maybe because it has some of the same genres as Perfect Blue so I like xD. Kidding, but the point is that the story is very unique and different from the others, that's what makes it cool and I like it. Overall:10/10 It's amazing, I won't say it again because I've said a lot of the above. Thanks for reading my review :)

First of all I have to mention that I have recently rewatched the essential Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series after a few years and certainly I was not disappointed. It was a great pleasure to experience emotions exposed in the show and enjoyable story of course. Many aspects seem different than I have remembered. After dissatisfying and confusing end of the promising series I expected and needed answers to some important questions about further fate of the characters. And that's exactly what The End of Evangelion feature-length movie was supposed to be. Unfortunately, instead of deserved explanations of many significant threads we are given even more questions, misleading scenes, confusing dialogues and terribly written end of the story, which I personally find unbelievably stupid. Moreover, many solutions chosen by the producer or director are in my opinion absolutely misguided, for example featuring some live action footage or focusing on variety of pictures which appear on the screen really fast and are supposed to create a mood of insanity. Furthermore, there is one crucial disadvantage which in my opinion simply cannot be forgiven, namely that the great characters known from TV series have been awfully destroyed and once again scenes like those featuring Shinji and Asuka which were supposed to show extreme desperation and hopelessness are actually grossing the characters out. Only advantages of The End of Evangelion are simple but attractive music, expressive and admirable work of voice actors and actresses and vintage graphics style. Unfortunately, taking all that things into consideration I can undoubtedly say that this movie is absolutely NOT worth watching and if you enjoyed the essential TV series and expected to see satisfying end of the story, you wouldn't be attracted to The End of Evangelion.

When it comes to how I score anime, a solid 10 simply means my enjoyment of the anime was perfect, even if it may or may not be technically perfect. However, if you were to ask me what was a true 10, what I would think of instantly is nothing less then The End of Evangelion, probably my favourite anime film and favourite films overall. The final episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion were controversial to say the least, adopting a much less conventional style of storytelling that proved to pull a negative reaction to fans - and before I viewed End of Evangelion, I agreed with these views. However, The End of Evangelion gives us a 'true' ending to the story presented in the TV series whilst giving context to the events of the final two episodes. The film is divided into two rough sections, referred to as "Love is Destructive" and "I Need You". In regards to the TV Show, small snippets of the final two episodes show events that correlate with the events of End of Evangelion, which gives me the strong reasoning that the End of Evangelion and the negatively received ending of NGE actually happen in tandem during the climatic events of the 2nd half of the film. I much prefer this explanation to the reasoning that the film is made to replace the TV series' ending, as it just adds to the sizable and amazing depth this film provides. Now, I did say that End of Evangelion did provide a concrete ending to Neon Genesis Evangelion, however the film still contains a TON of the strange sequences, bizarre symbolism and just plain insanity that was present in the TV series - but the film takes it to a whole new level... Not that that is a negative in any way. About midway through the film, when the second segment begins, the mecha fights truly cease and the film is plunged into a long, half an hour sequence that is open to a large amount of interpreation, and when viewed in-depth actually reveals a fair amount of the characters. It's madness, it's crazy and it's just downright weird, but the symbolism is there and it's there in spades. It reveals hidden details on the characters and their views and will reveal more on subsequent viewings. I've seen the film more then a few times and I probably would discover a couple of new things if I were to sit down and watch it again. (Not a bad idea, y'know.) On that note, the characters are, just like in the show, the focus and highlight of the film. Each of the characters reach the final stage of their development, particularly for Shinji, Rei and Asuka. But none steal the stage more then Asuka, as her greatest impact on the film, her battle against the new era of Evangelions, which arguably stands as one of the greatest mecha fights in anime history due to the choreography, animation quality and sheer visceral brutality of the battle. But the meat of the characterisation lies with Shinji, and it is so deep and interesting, and it's with him we see the final progression of one of the core ideas of Evangelion, the deconstruction of the mecha genre - and it does so gloriously. Also, I personally feel in comparison to the series, EoE feels far more... raw, for lack of a better term. The film is brutal in many, many ways. The action, the events the characters are subjected to, the whole feeling of the movie is just turned to 11 and it never really stops. It amps the stakes of the first half of the film particularly that pushes the film to the incredible climax. One of my minor criticisms on the TV series was simply that the animation and art was beginning to show it's age so long after it's initial airing. I can say with certainty that this is NOT an issue with End of Evangelion - nearly 20 years after it's release, the animation and art of End of Evangelion is simply astounding in it's quality - the major Evangelion Unit 02 fight stands out as a major highlight of the film and an incredible example of animation in anime in general. The film is beautiful, far and away from the rather frugal budget that the television series had to suffer by due to the various constraints forced upon the film. There are probably hundreds of shots one could pause on and just look at for minutes at a time and see hidden depth within the frames. I'm sorry to reiterate my earlier point, but the film has just aged that damn well, it's honestly kind of staggering. I'd also like to highlight the audio and music used within the film - as per the course, a large amount of orchestral music is used to back up the dramatic events of the film, but they pale into the effect the song "Komm Susser Todd" is played during one of the major climaxes of the film. What's also amazing with the audio is how powerful it's abscense is; the final scene of the film, titled ONE MORE FINAL, features no diolouge or music, simply the ambient noise of the setting. The directing of the scene is absoloutly perfect, the audio playing no small part in this scene which I consider one of my all time favourite moments in anime. I'm the first to say that The End of Evangelion is probably not for everyone - Hell, when I first saw the film, I was both floored and confused and really didn't know what to think of it. But after some time I thought it over and the more I thought, the more I loved it. The End of Evangelon is my prime example of a technically perfect film, and I hope that it remains in the minds of anime fans for a long time, as this is one of the marks that should be the goal for directors of this level.

This is going to be my first movie ever I will make a review in MAL Movie review No.1 Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion is the 2nd movie which ended the events of the anime series but still make many question if the ending is possible or did the events really happen. So many questions so many mysteries but hey this what make Evangelion stand out among the rest of mecha with human psychology involve. Plot 10/10 Why would I give this series a 10? if a lot question about the events have no direct explanation? Well the answer is that Eva series make hidden messages and hint's of what will happen in the future which gives intriguing interest. Another factor why the plot is good is that it's open minded about concepts and ideas that media and masses don't want to see or even want to share which make this anime stand out it is not afraid to express it's ideals to the masses even it will be negative or positive this what make creative writing good for it refreshes us with new ideas that we don't usually encounter or even cross which will make us creative and have a new perspective about life. Something that we can think about deeply which will not make us a total idiot overthinking some dialogues. The show make us think in a whole about it meaning we question everything about it. We don't question the small pictures or the big picture but we question the show entirely which make the plot so fun and so intriguing to understand. Art 10/10 Even I watched this series in the year 2015 where art style are stylish and well colored I should be underestimating it's art but NO! This is 1997 anime movie which have been funded with good production and greatly animated during it's time so I will say that Evangelion art style is very good and well made. The symbolism use by the series to enhance the plot and creative art make the characters appeal their inner emotion to the public which give us better understanding on what's going on the premise of the show. The art made a special purpose in the movie. Artistically creative which make another good score for Evangelion. Sound 10/10 The sound of movie is life reviving for the sound effects and background music make the movie freshly alive and thrilling. The sound made the events of the movie intense and attentive for you won't get out of your seat just to see what will be going next. The sound greatly supported the movies presentation and it's message about the current scene of the movie earning another admirable praise. Characters 10/10 This is the strongest point of the series and the movie. The realistic psychology of human emotion and it's struggle in escapism. The state of pretending to accept reality but instead extreme denial about everything and escaping everything that make conflict in our believes, ideas and personal emotion. Eva portrayed this critically which made Eva not your typical mecha save the world thing but an extremely opposite one. This series just show how young pilots really react in the situation they need to pilot mechas with their selfish need not to be heroic. I will say even the supporting cause have great contribution in building the series all of them are likable for they share different stories and different view point making the show "real". Gainax really did make a good job in managing it's characters and it's purposes in the plot. Enjoymet:10/10 I really enjoyed the series for it made me think out of the box without making me overthink about irrelevant things. I love how creative the studio in the production in the series which never fail me to be surprise the plot is not predictable it uses complicated formulas which why I enjoyed the series very well for it's not boring from the action, interaction of the characters and the conflicts the show is really a good time spender. Overall 10/10 I highly recommend this movie but first watch the original series first for it will be the building block for you guys to better understand and better appreciate the production of the movie. Eva is not recommended for everyone but it you really want to watch a very different anime which far different from those generic and over use material series we see today I highly recommend Evangelion.

End of Evangelion is a hard movie to review. As the end of the TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion, it's a pretty shocking conclusion. The series was definitely violent, but it's not even close to the level of violence in this film. As an entry in the Evangelion franchise, it sets a new standard of sheer insanity and over-the-top violence which 2.22 would attempt to match 12 years later. As a movie independent of the franchise, it's animated extremely well, experimental in a way I've failed to see before or since, and... well, so frigging VIOLENT. But I'm getting ahead of myself. End of Evangelion is the 1997 follow-up to Neon Genesis Evangelion - who'd have guessed - which brought the story to a close after the last 2 episodes of the show ran out of budget and had to get creative with the storytelling. It starts off almost directly after the end of episode 24 and "replaces" those last 2 episodes, if I'm not mistaken, so if you haven't seen the series, the first half of this movie will probably be confusing and unsatisfying. Story: Personally, I think the story is incredible, in-context of the series or not. It's coherent for one half of the movie, but then it goes off the rails and everything goes to hell. And I love that. The underlying theme in both the series and this movie is Shinji growing up and learning to connect with people, and it all comes to a head in this movie. The plot might get very confusing and impossible to explain, but keeping in mind that it's a story about Shinji connecting to people and how he feels about humanity, you might be able to relate to him enough to stay invested in the story. Whether you're looking at the screen and asking yourself "what happened?" or empathizing with Shinji as everything goes to hell, this movie will throw you around like a ragdoll. And personally, I loved every second of it. Art: The animation in this movie is second to none for 1997. I think it holds up exceptionally well, but it's not going to be the same quality as the Rebuild films if you've seen them first. It's a definite upgrade from the series - which wasn't bad, mind you, but End of Evangelion blows it away in pretty much every department. There's a mech battle in this movie that must have cost about as much as 7 fights from the show. The movie also makes use of rotoscoping in a very unique sequence late in the movie, as well as live-action sequences and hand-drawn images that flash onto the screen for about a second each. The animation in general, just the regular stuff that makes up around 85% of the movie, is very well-done, managing to bring to life scenes I never thought would have been possible otherwise. The art, in one word, is incredible. Sound: This movie has some great music. This is legitimately one of my favorite anime soundtracks - the score is loud and bombastic in parts, but also has a lot of sad and even peaceful tracks, and each song really complements the scenes they appear in. And the movie makes great use of dissonance - Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude, one of the most serene and satisfying pieces of music I've ever heard, is used in one of the bloodiest and most violent scenes of the movie, and the song Komm Susser Todd - a soft rock jam with depressing lyrics - plays over a scene which I can't mention due to spoilers, but which I can assure is horrifying on a major scale. But the music that fits with the mood of each scene fits well - The classical song Il Air is used on one of the most breathtaking scenes in anything I've ever seen, and contributes to that atmosphere a lot. This movie knows how to use its music very, very well. The voices, though... Okay, I know this breaks up the review a bit, but this is probably an important detail to mention. I personally subscribe to the dub of this movie for reasons I will get to in a bit, which varies from the original (of course) and is disputed regarding its quality for a few reasons. Please try and bear with me on this. Dub-wise, they're competent at the least, but there are some cringe-worthy moments in this movie due to the voice-acting. Shinji screams a few times in this movie, and while I get that it's meant to be a kid screaming in despair and all that, it just sounds so bad. I like a good scream in a show or movie - something that rushes down your spine and captures your attention. This movie doesn't have that scream, in my opinion. The voices are good - Rei's voice is pleasant as always, Asuka's angry barking is motivating, Gendo has a great moment which is helped along by his vocal performance and Fuyutsuki - while not being the same VA from the dub I watched - was great fun to listen to. There were downsides, though - Until the last quarter, I didn't like listening to Shinji talk. His opening lines are great and help sell the scene, and his dialogue with Misato is understandable, but I just can't enjoy how he sounds until nearly the final quarter of the movie. Otherwise, great performances all around - Shinji's unique voice is a reason I stick with the dub, even with his downsides. Character: Remember when I said this movie was hard to review? This section is a major contribution to that. The characters can be a bit flat unless you know the source material, though Fuyutsuki, the bridge bunnies and Ritsuko are all pretty good consistently throughout the movie. Shinji is relatable in a way, but the fact stands that he does something awful at the start of the movie which drives home that he is not a healthy person. Without the context of the show, Rei is incredibly flat until the big catalyst that kicks the movie into overdrive. Asuka's alright as well - she chews the scenery to the point where the scenery is decimated - but she's very one-note in her major appearance, and her later appearance is basically her usual volatile behavior on steroids. Gendo has a powerful moment, but without the context of the series it might just come across as confusing and meh. Misato, another compelling character who might not have the best performance if you don't know her throughout the series, is a bit better in that she has some insight and some action scenes. But Gendo and Shinji are both horrible people, Asuka has a moment where she just yells abuse, Misato spends a lot of screentime being abrasive towards Shinji and it's all a big misery circlejerk. The characters are still good - but they really aren't great, especially if you don't know them from the show. Enjoyment: I enjoyed this movie very much, to the point where it's currently the only anime on my list with a perfect 10. Like I've mentioned, the art is out of this world and creative as hell, the music is spectacular, I love the story and I empathize with Shinji even with his worst traits. But there's another reason. I found this movie on late-night TV when I was 11 or 12. I was being pretty viciously bullied at the time, and also having a hard time at home due to my sister. You're expected to be happy when you're a kid, and even if you're not, a lot of media aimed at you is pretty positive and about sticking together with friends, overcoming challenges and all that. I didn't have any friends, I couldn't overcome my challenges, and everything was just piling up. I was diagnosed with depression around the same time, because I told my mother how awful I felt and she booked me in to a child psychologist. Nothing could make me feel better, everything was just getting overwhelming. Then I found End of Evangelion on late night TV. Half the movie had already played, so the second half had just begun. And what I saw was legitimately terrifying. I'd never seen something so balls-out insane. There's a scene with Asuka later on which leads into the whole depressing-soft-rock-playing-over-horrific-imagery scene, and it took my breath away. It was like catharsis - it was the first time I'd seen something that wasn't some dumb action shoot 'em up movie or some optimistic cartoon movie about overcoming adversity - it was a downw…

IF YOU FOUND THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF CLOSURE OR CONTENTMENT IN THE FINAL EPISODES OF THE SERIES, DO *NOT* WATCH THIS FILM!!! EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T, YOU MAY STILL HATE THIS FILM!!! This film contains many of the same elements that the final two episodes of the series did (without going into detail, the whole human instrumentality project monologue still happens, although with a very different resolution). I (thought) I understood what this film was supposed to accomplish - an action-based resolution to the events presented in the first 24 episodes of the television series. The film held my interest for about the first 75%-85% of the duration. I thought, like the series, it was well executed, emotionally impactful, and everything one came to expect after viewing such a great series. However, the final segment of the film is what prompted me to disregard any rave reviews I knew I'd inevitably see.* I'LL ATTEMPT TO MAKE A SEMI-SERIOUS POINT HERE!! I became confused as the beginning of the end of the film began. However, by the time it began to wrap up, I still had a positive view of the movie and was starting to understand the events that were taking place. THIS was a welcome relief to me, because as I found after watching the series (and then this movie) it seems the more Evangelion you watch, the less you know. Allow me to take a stab at explaining this further. It becomes more and more apparent as the series (and again, this movie) progresses, that there is so much stuff happening off screen, in the canon history of the Evangelion universe, and in the private lives of the characters that you are a proverbial bug on the wall who aspires to one day understand just a simple majority of what the fuck is going on. It makes the viewer feel small and foolish. In a way, this is a testament to the story's great underlying architecture. On the other hand, it felt unnecessary and frustrating. *Returning to my previous point, I started to feel like I understood where this movie was going with the series. Then, the last scene happened. My brain could be hooked up to a machine and used to its full capacity as a high powered CPU for years on end to attempt to determine the reasoning behind it and I probably wouldn't find an answer. Well, really folks, hyperbole aside, I could probably understand it if I really wanted to, but I don't. I just don't. I don't know how anyone could come away from this film satisfied. And yeah, there's that whole "it was just such a magnificent piece of art that it's worth the pain" thing. I assure you, there is none of that to be found here. In a way, I'm glad I saw it, and maybe someday I'll watch it again and have a more mature and satisfied take-away from the movie. However, I felt much happier pretending that one of the many possible moe realities presented in the end of the series was the "true" ending. I basically already regret writing this review. There's nothing wrong with hating a film that many others love, especially if a significant portion of those people only "like" it to make themselves seem smart. If you liked the end of Evangelion in the least bit, save yourself the confusion, frustration, and burning rage and do not watch this film.

The fact that so many people think this is a masterpiece and rate it 10/10 is, frankly, the only proof you need that some of the ratings on this website are a complete joke. Well, it's been some time since I watched this flaming pile of garbage, but the feeling of absolute disgust towards it is still present. Controversial opinion alert! Despite obviously low production quality of the last 2 episodes of the original show, I found that to be a much better ending to the series than THIS. The original show was bombastic and pretentious as well, but one could definitely enjoy it. Most importantly, it tried to make a point. This horrid mass of animation, on the other hand, throws all of it out of the window. There's a rumor going on that when making this movie, the original creator was depressed and totally despised his audience who demanded "a proper ending" to the original series. So this whole movie is a giant "fuck you" to the fans. The most ridiculous thing is - the fans gobbled it up and called it a masterpiece. It is not. It's pretentious just for pretentiousness' sake. The symbolism pretty much makes no sense what-so-ever and is probably there just to ridicule the symbolism itself and people trying to find a deeper meaning when there isn't one. A lot of the characters were massacred and did not receive not even a hint of the proper conclusion to their stories. I despise this movie just as much as it despises its audience. Although it's well-made and pretty to look at, watching it was one of the worst experiences in my life. After completing the original series, it was like being thrown into some resemblance of phantasmagorical hell, where everything was a cruel parody of the world I knew. An absolutely horrible mess that doesn't deserve even the tenth part of the fame it receives. I don't want to write even a single word more about it.

Awhile ago, I reviewed the masterpiece series called “Neon Genesis Evangelion”. While I did have a little gripe with an aspect of the plot, that minor flaw wasn’t enough to detract from what was an otherwise masterful experience that I hope to keep thinking about decades after I’ve seen it. I’m now back to tackle The End of Evangelion. Hey, it wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t review this now wouldn’t it? I won’t waste time further other than throwing out the obligatory spoiler warning. Without further ado lets review & get this off my chest. Also, as a clarification. This is a direct continuation of my NGE review (no shit) so I apologize if this review comes off as too short or too shallow, as I don’t want to repeat too many of the points that I made in that review here. Story: 10/10 My oh my, if I could describe the story of End of Evangelion in one word, It’s powerful. From scenes like Shinji jacking off over Asuka’s tits. The storming of Nerv headquarters. Komm Susser Tod. The scene before Komm Susser Tod that mirrors episode 15 of the series. The moment that shows Shinji building a sand castle resembling Nerv headquarters, only to then destroy it out of anger. I can go on but the number of powerful moments throughout the movie, oh who am I kidding? Practically every scene is a powerful moment in this movie. Anyway the plot itself. Well, SEELE has had enough of Gendo’s bullshit so they decide to take matters into their own hands, start the third impact, & finish the human instrumentality project. The places this story goes though, are what takes End of Evangelion and turns it into something special. I already mentioned some of the moments, & I’ll be sure to mention more awesome moments as this review goes along. That’s all I’m going to say, because even though there will be some spoilers, in this review as mentioned earlier, I’d like to contain myself on some level so that you still have a reason to watch this. In my review of NGE, I mentioned how the awesome storyboarding, structure, & flow is a large part of what made that series for me. It’s no different here. Actually, it is different. Because it’s even better in this movie than it was in the original series. The level of seamless flow from scene to scene housed within this movie is simply ridiculous. The structure of the movie is tighter than a quad-drouple knot, & the storyboarding, the storyboarding’s flow & seamless transitions, my god. So yeah, a large part of what made the series so good in the first place is not only housed in this film as well, but its better than it ever was in the TV series. Which I thought was already masterful to begin with, but this takes it a step further beyond. The directing is also improved over the series as well, the staging of fights. Structure of scenes. Structure of dialogue. Shots. Compositional work. It’s all insane how good it is. Characters: 10/10 Because the characters in EoE are the same as they are in NGE, & I already thoroughly discussed the characters in that review as much as I could, I really don’t have a whole lot to say or add about who they are as people, why they're such great characters, etc. So instead, I’ll list off my favorite moments of certain characters for this review. Just as a demonstration that they’re still as well written & impactful as they were in the original series Shinji- My favorite moment from Shinji in this movie is more a sequence of events than a singular moment. But it’s when he’s in the world where human-instrumentality happens & he’s talking to Rei. The realization that Shinji comes to, that human instrumentality isn’t what he wants, & that in spite of everything, the pain he feels, how he can hurt others, & that, in spite of how painful some of those memories were, they were his memories, & a sign that he was both alive, & a person. What follows is him breaking out of giant, naked, white Rei with Eva unit 01 letting out a screech. It’s a powerful series of events & the fact that the sound design in this series of events is largely made up of ambiguity, the background is water against a red sky, oh god I love this scene. It might be my favorite moment in Evangelion, but I really can’t decide. Asuka. Easily when she has to go up against the 9 Eva units & only has 3 minutes & 34 seconds to defeat all 9 of them. What follows in this scene is a beautiful showcase of animation, some of the finest attention to detail, beautiful fight choreography, an excellent display of Hideaki Anno’s directing capabilities, and more of Evangelion’s marvelous structure. This sequence of events houses a lot of End of Evangelion’s strongest aspects & part of why I think End of Evangelion is one of the overall best looking anime films of all time Rei. My favorite Rei moment is when she rejects Gendo once she hears Shinji’s freakout after witnessing Asuka’s death. I love this scene because after everything that happened in the original series, it feels great to see Rei say “fuck you” without even saying it. It’s also a nice payback on Gendo after all the shit he put not only Shinji through, but everybody else at Nerv through just to achieve his selfish desires. You’re an interesting character Gendo, but you’re an asshole all the same & god does it feel satisfying to hear Rei pull a “fuck you”, merge with Adam to become giant white Rei, & go help Shinji realize what it is that he really wants. Misato. My favorite Misato moment is before her death. When she has that talk with Shinji about “I’ve made mistakes too, some I’ve regretted”. The gut punching this scene hits me with is both tense & powerful, top that off with Misato kissing Shinji, ending with the statement ‘That’s an adult kiss”. Ohhh god I’m crying at this scene. End of Evangelion is full of great character moments, too many for me to list off in fact. This of course falls in line with the original series having fantastic character moments. But the sheer impact that these scenes leave, the great animation showcase in the case of Asuka versus the 9 angels, really, this whole movie is a giant moment. I think that describes the film perfectly “one giant moment”. Sound: 10/10 The sound is just as good as it was in the original series, what do you expect? All the voice actors reprise their role & do just as, if not better than they did in the original TV series. The sound design is just as amazing as it was in the original TV series. Sagisu returns to compose the OST for this movie and it’s just as great & well integrated as it was in the original TV series. Of course it’d be wrong not to mention “Komm Susser tod”. A 7:43 song with some of the most powerful imagery not just Evangelion, but film has ever seen. “Interference of Others” & “End of Midsummer” that play when SEELE invades Nerv is some really good shit. “Substitute invasion” that plays in several scenes, but particularly the Shinji, Misato dialogue scene that I mentioned in the characters portion of the review, “Thanatos” that plays over the troll credits at the middle of the film just fits for some reason. Ok, this is Shiro Sagisu’s best composition in my opinion. For as much as I praised his work in the original series, for as much as I adore Kare Kano’s compositions, I genuinely think this is Shiro Sagisu’s peak. All of his pieces are phenomenal, & their use in the film is no less. Art: 10/10 This is most likely going to be the shortest segment of the review because really? What is there to say, it’s an artistic masterpiece. The color design, the character designs, the flow of the animation, the weight of the animation, the sound design that helps to sell the animation, the fluidity of it all? Seriously, it’s one of the best looking anime movies for a reason. The art direction, the art design, the sublime animation, what more do you want me to say without repeating myself? Of course because it’s a movie, the animation quality is obviously superior to the TV series. I shouldn’t have to say that but thanks…

SPOILERS!: The End of Evangelion “I tried to include everything of myself in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Myself, a broken man who could do nothing for four years...It is a production where my only thought was to burn my feelings into film.” - Hideaki Anno About a year after the controversial finale of the iconic anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, creator Hideaki Anno theatrically released an alternate ending of sorts, creating what is arguably a cinematic masterpiece. The End of Evangelion is split into two distinct halves, the first being mostly straightforward, the second delving into extremely experimental and ambitious territory. The final forty minutes of the film form a surreal trip that is densely populated with abstract imagery, philosophical musing, and unexpected metafiction. Through seemingly boundless experimentation, Anno is able to expand upon many of the show’s darkest themes and makes what I believe to be one of the most insightful and accurate psychological dramas in film history. End of Evangelion is an incredible and important film for both its subversive and avant-garde content and its uniquely presented exploration of such themes as loneliness, sexuality, and depression. Before diving too deep into The End of Evangelion’s content, it is important that I introduce the general storyline of the series and the film. Neon Genesis Evangelion takes place in a futuristic and chaotic version of the year 2015 in which Earth is under threat of monsters known as Angels. An organization named NERV is attempting to combat the Angels using giant mechas known as Evangelions, which are piloted by specially selected adolescents who each are psychologically explored and deconstructed as the series goes on. The main protagonist is the fragile and emotional Shinji Ikari whose father Gendo Ikari is the commander of NERV and abandoned Shinji as a child. Much of Shinji’s personal anguish arises from his dysfunctional relationship with his father, which only scratches the surface of the many layers of conflict and darkness throughout the series. Many of Evangelion’s themes are interwoven and connected closely. Loneliness, sexuality, and depression are each shown to go hand in hand on occasion (after all, they are essential factors of the human condition). For example, the character of Misato Katsuragi, the 29 year old woman who works as the operations director at NERV and is Shinji’s (temporary) guardian-of-sorts, is shown to try to cope with her loneliness using sexuality. Sexuality’s relation to loneliness is actually an aspect that The End of Evangelion seems to explore in a very original and notable way. In the last twenty or so minutes of the film, there is a sequence in which Shinji Ikari is brought to a reality in which all human beings are unified physically and mentally, thus making the entire population one single consciousness, therefore quenching Shinji of his profound loneliness. “Is this death?” asks Shinji. “Not quite. This is a world in which we are all one.” The imagery of the character of Rei (she will be discussed in some detail later) lying on top of Shinji as both of their naked bodies intermingle in a seemingly liquidated form is rather sexual. This entire idea of being able to reach inside another person’s physical self can be interpreted as a metaphor for the act of sexual penetration. Through this lens, it can be observed that Anno is, in a way, saying that sexual contact is the only true way in which humans can, in the most literal sense, be rid of their inevitably lonely states. This theory brings us back to how Misato Katsuragi uses sexuality to cope with her unbearable feelings of loneliness. However, Misato’s loneliness is never truly quenched. All freedom from the restrictions of one’s own consciousness is temporary...if such freedom is even possible anyway. The End of Evangelion keeps itself open to many questions such as these while showing its characters attempting to answer them, attempting to escape the existential and depressive aspects of existence. The sexual content of the film fuels philosophical thought rather than having the slightest crudity or even real eroticism to it. An hour into the film, the most directly sexual sequence is depicted with all the psychological weight one would expect from Evangelion at this point. While its focus is largely on Misato, she remains offscreen for most of the sequence. However, her voice is powerful enough to make her its central figure. “I guess I just do things like that...to prove I exist.” she says. “It makes me feel wanted,” she says, “and so it makes me feel happy.” Plainly and brutally honest statements such as these make up much of the dialogue in the most purely psychological moments in Evangelion. The characters are desperately trying to make sense of the world around them. Even more importantly, the characters are desperately trying to make sense of themselves. Misato’s method of coping with the confusing and depressive elements of her life requires physicality. “Yes,” she says to Shinji as he presumably watches her performing an unspecified sex act, “this is also me. The me that exists when two hearts are joined as one.” Sex makes her feel as if she is “needed” by another and thus it makes her feel better about herself and her life, if only for a short period of time. After all, what could possibly be more intimate than intimacy? When all humans merge as one, and all beings become a single united consciousness, it is the result of what is known as The Third Impact. To explain everything about The Third Impact sequence plot-wise would take up a lot of time, so I’d prefer to examine its emotional implications. The Third Impact sequence is definitely the film’s highlight, it is an abstract explosion of color, horror, and drama, showing the end of the world as we know it, the beginning of a new era in the history of humanity. “This is the world you wanted,” says Rei. It is a scene of conflicting emotions, a terrifying and tragic culmination of the film’s darkest, heaviest thematic material. This is a world Shinji has wished for in a fit of selfishness. The scene opens with Shinji choking fellow Evangelion pilot Asuka after arguing with her (all of this is taking place entirely in his mind, as Asuka was horrifically killed a few scenes earlier), queuing the soundtrack’s most memorable piece to play. The piece is a song entitled “Komm Süsser Tod”, a song that lyrically communicates extreme misery, adding to the discomforting and disturbing power of the sequence: “So with sadness in my heart/I feel the best thing I could do/Is end it all/And leave forever/What’s done is done, it feels so bad/What once was happy now is sad/I’ll never love again/My world is ending.” All sorts of images soon clutter the screen, including some oddly dark children’s drawings followed by the sudden flash of each of the title screens of the original show’s episodes, eventually cutting to a collage of obscured, blurry, overlayed visuals taken from the Evangelion saga. Behind these visuals, Shinji’s voice can be heard musing on the existential pain and torment of life as Rei responds with such cryptic questions as “Then what is your hand for?” This brief moment ends in the image of Shinji as a toddler, crying desperately after presumably being abandoned by his father, as Shinji’s teenage self can be heard saying “Is it okay for me to be here?” This single minute of the film is an explosive expression of inner turmoil and struggling. Before the world as man has known it is reborn into a unification of all humans into a single being, Shinji’s anxieties violently conflict, everything seems to be falling apart, and yet this is what Shinji wants, or thinks he wants. In an article entitled “The Very World You Wished For: On Cinema As Authorial Therapy”, the article’s author Christopher Runyon writes, “Shinji would rather force everyone on earth to become one with his own form than go back to the…

I distinctly remember gearing up to watch The End of Evangelion at the age of 15. I was expecting a dark and introspective albeit straightforward conclusion in the same vein as the show’s latter half, which would act as a replacement for the last two episodes, which I felt were too confusing and esoteric at the time. What I got, however, was something entirely different. It was the most surreal and cerebral cinematic experience I had been privy to and it had me feeling incredibly conflicted as to whether or not it was a good film. A few re-watches later, however, made me understand it a great deal better and made me love it more with each individual viewing and, while it was just as dark as I had initially anticipated, it has a beautifully optimistic message at its core. Like the series that spawned it, the film starts out deceptively straightforward as it continues where Episode 24 left off as Shinji is stricken with guilt and grief over his actions in that episode and SEELE is preparing for the Human Instrumentality Project. It opens with what is arguably one of anime’s most shocking scenes before a couple of tense and even harrowing action sequences ensue. When the film reaches about the 45-minute mark, however, the viewer’s expectations are thrown out of the window as we are given what can only be described as an even more surreal and bizarre take on the events of the final two episodes with strange, apocalyptic Freudian imagery that gives even Eraserhead and Tetsuo: The Iron Man a run for their money. This may sound daunting but it is given adequate context by the film, which likewise manages to contextualize the last two episodes and, for that reason, the film and the aforementioned final episodes work hand in hand quite nicely. As outlandish and bizarre as this film is, it never feels pretentious as its surreal occurrences are firmly rooted in the lore of the show through its masterful use of foreshadowing and the film is packed with details which make it ripe for rewatching. As was the case with the show, the character cast remains as remarkable as ever as their arcs are given closure in ways which make sense given the events which transpire in both the show and the film. I know that Gendo’s is something of a point of contention among some viewers as some found it contrived but I thought it was poignant and made perfect sense given his motivations throughout the show. However, the protagonist Shinji goes through the most riveting arc which perfectly carries on from where episode 24 left off and ends beautifully as he and the audience are given a profound, even life-changing message about communication and life as a whole. It’s done in a visually stellar sequence which leaves me moved every single time I watch it. Speaking of the visuals, the film is rivaled only by Akira as being the most stunning anime to have ever been released. Gone is the inconsistent animation of the show, and instead we get detailed, smoothly flowing movement. We get the best of both worlds too as Anno’s unparalleled eye for composition which made up for the show’s often limited animation is present here and better than ever. It’s to the point where almost every individual frame could be an artwork in and of itself. The soundtrack is similarly impressive as we get some of the most emotive and powerful tracks I’ve ever heard. They aid in imbuing the apocalyptic imagery throughout the film with a sense of gravitas that makes it stick in the mind of the viewer long after the film has ended. I understand that perfection is absolutely subjective as everyone's taste is wildly different as their criteria for what makes a good film is governed largely by their own principles and experience but I personally believe that The End of Evangelion is perfect as it does everything it sets out to do and does so brilliantly. It’s shocking, haunting, strange, mesmerizing and I honestly don’t think there’s anything quite like it. For that reason, as well as its important message, it is my absolute favourite film.