The following was posted on Anime News Network in February. Considering that, this isn’t exactly new news. But if you haven’t read it, you really ought to, it spells out Anno’s desires for Rebuild of Evangelion, and seems to echo what he expressed prior to Evangelion’s original airing in Japan. It seems hopeful and promising to me, and it makes me eager to see how Rebuild will fare.
Many different desires are motivating us to create the new “Evangelion” film.
The desire to portray my sincere feelings on film. The desire to share, with an audience, the embodiment of image, the diversity of expressions, and the detailed portrayal of emotions that animation offers. The desire to connect today’s exhausted Japanese animation [industry] to the future. The desire to fight the continuing trend of stagnation in anime. The desire to support the strength of heart that exists in the world.
Finally, the desire to have these wishes be realized.
For these purposes, we used the best methods available to us to make another Evangelion film. Many times we wondered, “It’s a title that’s more than 10 years old. Why now?” “Eva is too old”, we felt. However, over the past 12 years, there has been no anime newer than Eva.
Specifically, among the stagnant mood of the present day, it is the portrayal of will – not technology – that is most important. To support the fans that support animation, we felt that a work that would appeal to middle and high school-aged men, who quickly grow away from Anime, was necessary. When we decided that we wanted to something to support the anime [industry] of today, the determination to return to this title was strong.
As the creator of this project, [I assure you that] a very new-feeling Evangelion world has beeen constructed. For this purpose, we are not returning to our roots at GAINAX. I have set up a production company and studio, and it is in this new setting that we will start again. Without looking back, without admiration for the circumstances, we aim to walk towards the future. Thankfully, we have gathered staff from the old series, new staff, and many other fantastic staff to work on this series. We realize that we are creating something that will be better than the last series.
”Eva” is a story that repeats. It is a story where the main character witnesses many horrors with his own eyes, but still tries to stand up again. It is a story of will; a story of moving forward, if only just a little. It is a story of fear, where someone who must face indefinite solitude fears reaching out to others, but still wants to try. We hope that you look forward to the 4 new retellings of this story.
In closing, it is also our job to provide a service to our customers. Although it seems obvious, we aim to create a form of entertainment that anyone can look forward to; one that people who have never seen Evangelion can easily adjust to, one that can engage audiences as a movie for theatres, and one that produces a new understanding of the world.
Those Eva fans that enjoy indulging in Evangelion manga on occasion will be glad to know that the wait for the English version of volume 10 is over. Published April 10th, volume 10 is the most recent installment in Yoshiyuki Sadamoto’s manga version of Evangelion. So go pick it up, and enjoy, because the wait for volume 11 is about to begin.
I’d also like to take the time to express my delight and gratitude to Carl Horn for the mention in his post script to the volume. Here’s the section in question, you can read the rest when you pick up your copy.
Two more things before we go. While you’re waiting for the new Evangelion anime–not to mention the next volume of the Evangelion manga, which Mr. Sadamoto, on average, finishes at the rate of six chapters per year–I want to strongly recommend you check out the forums at evamonkey.com. With over 800 registered users, it’s the largest English-language discussion board for Neon Genesis Evangelion, and attracts posters from Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America as well as the United States and Canada. Moreover, as moderated by its founder, Aaron Clark (whose Evangelion panels you might have seen at East Coast anime conventions), it’s a thoughtful and informed place to talk about Eva, whether the topic is “who’s hotter, Asuka or Rei?” (the correct answer is “Ritsuko”) or “Gender of Non-Lilim Persons” (an actual topic).
Though not especially recent news, I’d like to mention that ADV Manga published volume 4 of Angelic Days on March 5th. The remaining two volumes are slated to be published on June 20th and September 19th.
A fan who goes by Anatael has put together a new Live Action Evangelion trailer made up of footage from various movies, games, and other sources. This is his second mock up of what a Live Action Evangelion film could look like. His previous trailer was put up online sometime last fall and has been viewed over 350,000 times. Sure, it’s not official, but hey, it’s fun times. And you never know, with people expressing interest in the prospects of a Live Action Evangelion film like this, it might actually get off the ground.
I was reminded of One Hour Photo, and decided to dig it up and watch it again. I’ve posted about it before, but for those who are unfamiliar with the movie, let me break it down for you. Robin Williams plays a lonely, emotionally disturbed photo lab technician at SavMart, a colder fictionalized version of Wal-Mart. He becomes obsessed with a picture perfect (no pun intended) family, who he obsesses over and passively stalks. For those into psychological thrillers, it’s good stuff, but what is of interest to Eva fans is that a Mass Production Eva makes several appearances through the film. Robin Williams is supposedly a fan of Eva, and the appearance of the toy is supposedly his own personal addition to the film. This has been substantiated to a degree by comments by Matt Greenfield at Tekkoshocon, where he stated that Williams is a huge fan of Eva, and that Williams was/is part of their pitch package for Live Action Evangelion.
The toy makes three appearances in the film. The first is where the son Jake is in the store with his father, William Yorkin. Jake incorrectly describes the Mass Produced Eva as being a good guy, bearing a silver sword, being 60 feet tall, and pronouncing the name as E-van-jell-ee-on.
Williams’ character Sy later follows Jake to soccer practice, where he tries to give it to him as a gift. Jake refuses the gift, saying he can’t accept it from him.
Finally, Sy has an abstract nightmare and awakes and looks at the toy sitting on his nightstand.
For what it is, the movie falls on a spectrum of interesting to good. Eva fans may enjoy the movie and get a good chuckle out of the Eva-ness in it. I would recommend giving it a whirl whether you’re interested in seeing the part Eva plays in the film or not.
This transcript was posted in the forums over a week ago, but I’ve kinda… well, you know what final projects and exams can do to a person. It’s not really new info, just a synopsis of what’s been stated thus far, with a few good tidbits straight from Gainax. It does help to dispel some of the previous rumors and speculation, so do be sure to give it a read. And keep an eye out for more info on this series of films as it develops.
Anime’s new baby
In recent years, Hideaki Anno has been focusing more on live-action than anime, so his decision to make another Eva anime surprised many. Otsuki has a theory, though.
“Twelve years is enough time for you to be able to look back on earlier works obvjectively”, he explains. “Shortly before we started this project, Anno had a big Eva marathon where he watched the whole series in one go.
The first thing he said when he finished watching was, ‘This show really is interesting, isn’t it? I never realized how interesting it was’. That comment really shook me.”
The new project was started as an affirmation of the value of Anno’s past work. “He and his team have gained a lot of experience since then,” Otsuki adds. “They’ve matured as animators and as people. I think you’ll be able to see that growth in this production.
Despite all the changes in everyone’s lives, having the old staff together again made for a very nostalgic mood on the production site. “Everyone was completely burned out during the second half of the original TV run and the movies, but now they’re fresh and enthustiastic again. They’ve gotten older, but they’re still full of energy. It’s almost like watching kids prepare for a holiday celibration. The staff will also include a bunch of younger twenty-somethings who decided to join the anime industry after watching Eva and being inspired.
This show has been loved by a lot of people over the years.” Indeed it has. The new movies also reflect the staff’s feelings about the state of the anime industry. It’s even suggested that this project is a rejection of current anime production philosophy.
“It’s true that Eva was a huge hit,” Otsuki says. “But its success spawned a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding in the in the industry, the end result being a bunch of mass-produced junk. That mindset has persisted for ten years, but now we’re in a position to prove it wrong. We’re determined to close the door on the post-Eva era for good.
Not your daddy’s Eva
When the shocking news first broke, it sent anime fans around the world into a frenzy: Neon Genesis Evangelion, widely regarded as one of the best anime series ever made, was being adapted into four brand-new films! Who would’ve ever thought we’d see another Evangelion?
In the dozen or so years since its debut, the series spawned numerous video games and even saw a “renewal” reissue with touched-up art and new voiceovers, but until now there hasn’t been a smallest whisper of a new series. What can we possibly expect?
“The new story takes place in the same period as the 1995 TV series, but the plot is completely different,” producer Toshimichi Otsuki elaborates. “This isn’t a remake or a quick fix. It’s a totally new production.”
Being a new production means GAINAX is taking a different approach than what SUNRISE did with the recent Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam movies, which were essentially a three-part summary of the TV series. In contrast, the new Eva movies call for massive modifications to the setting and the concepts.
“It’ll be something viewers can enjoy if they’ve never seen the TV series,” Otsuki continues. “I want everyone–from hardcore fans of the original work to people who only know it because of the licensed stuff–to look at it as a standalone film series.
The complexity has been somewhat lessened to make it more accesible to newbies, but it’ll still take a bit of thought to understand.” Otsuki adds that they’re removing much of the deliberate obfuscation that made Eva infamous: “Filling works with difficult works and concepts in order to create confusion among viewers was a good technique 12 years ago, but not anymore, and one of our primary goals for this project is to turn everyone’s expectations upside down.”
The core creative team from the TV series has reunited, with original director Hideaki Anno (Gunbuster) overseeing the production. Kazuya Tsurumaki (FLCL) is taking on the mechanical design. Anno himself came up with the storyline for the first installment, while fellow GAINAX co-founder Shinji Higuchi is responsible for storyboarding. A number of new staff members will also be brought on as the production advances.
This past monday, I was once again a guest on Otaku Generation. We talked about the new Eva movies, the live action Eva project, Terminal Dogma, and my Evangelion documentary in works.
I haven’t been particularly interested in obsessively combing through every little detail about the new Eva movies that trickles through the internet. I would much rather wait for the big expose or the promotional trailer to hit and tell me what I can expect. However, I think that is nearly upon me. I was pointed to Ramblings of DarkMirage, to an entry posted today which summarized a few details in regard to the new Eva movies. The details which interested me were that the movies will indeed feature largely the same characters and story, and that this series of movies is essentially Anno’s desire to recreate Evangelion, utilizing new technology, and doing what he could not previously do with the story. In effect, it appears we will be seeing Anno’s ideal version of Evangelion, which is something I think all Evangelion fans can look forward to.
Over the weekend, I was a guest on the relatively new Mistakes of Youth Podcast. The topic of this show was the upcoming Evangelion movies being produced by Gainax, as well as a few other related things. Being as how there is no real information regarding these films at the present time, we largely discussed what we wanted to see, what we expect to see, and what we don’t want to see. Speculation abounds! You’ll give it a listen, won’t you? Sure you will, you can’t get enough of that Evangelion.
By The Eva Monkey
on Wednesday, October 11th, 2006
Out of the blue, AT-Translations has released stage 3 of the Ikari Shinji Ikusei Keikaku manga in English. If you’re unfamiliar with this manga, you should know that it is the third officially sanctioned Evangelion manga series. The series is authored by Osamu Takahashi and is up to two complete volumes, with new stages going towards volume 3 currently being produced. If you’d like to take a look, I have the English scanlations hosted locally which you can find here, as well as some raws if you would like to browse further. If you enjoy what you see, send an email to AT-Translations expressing your interest in them continuing forward with the series. You can also email your favorite manga distributor, expressing your interest in seeing this comic commercially distributed. Likely candidates are Viz and ADV Manga.
The following video is a self portrait I produced for my video production class. The goal of the assignment was to create a self portrait or diary in the form of a visual collage that didn’t utilize any footage of my physical self. I cheated a little bit with the YouTube video from the Otakon 2006 panel, as well as the Otaku Generation website, but several other people in my class included brief glimpses of themselves in their videos, so it was all good. I really enjoyed how the video came out, and it was well received in class and I got an A and a number of compliments from my prof. I hope you enjoy watching
The following was posted on Anime News Network in February. Considering that, this isn’t exactly new news. But if you haven’t read it, you really ought to, it spells out Anno’s desires for Rebuild of Evangelion, and seems to echo what he expressed prior to Evangelion’s original airing in Japan. It seems hopeful and promising to me, and it makes me eager to see how Rebuild will fare.
