Rebuilding Reality

Just what the heck is going on in Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo?

Author: Aaron Clark
Source: Otaku USA Magazine
Dated: October 7, 2013

Many years ago, Evangelion's principal creator, writer, and director, Hideaki Anno, described Evangelion as a puzzle, as an opportunity for viewers to think independently, and to arrive at personal conclusions. This aspect of the series may well be one of the major reasons Evangelion has seen such success in and out of Japan since it aired from 1995-1996. People are still watching, theorizing, discussing, debating… even arguing passionately about many details and themes in Evangelion. There may be no greater example of what Anno said of Neon Genesis Evangelion than Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo. It is a fascinating film in that it is brimming with detail, and yet much of it is left without a frame of reference. Many fans have combed over this film in detail, finding a wide array of hidden details. This film does not hold hands, it commands an open eye, and an open mind. More importantly, it is a film that requires subsequent viewings to glean a keener understanding of what is at play in this post-post-apocalyptic world.

In the Beginning...

On November 17th, 2012, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo was released to theaters in Japan. As was the case with the prior two films in the series, it performed well at the box office and on home video. One day prior to its theatrical release, the film's opening scene depicts an operation in space where Asuka (in Unit-02), and Mari (in Unit-08), are sortied to intercept and retrieve a "tesseract", a sort of intersection of two three-dimensional crosses, which as we come to learn has Shinji (in Unit-01) contained within. During the operation, they are engaged by a number of targets referred to as the "Nemesis Series" that appear to share similarities with both the Evas and the Angels. Mari provides support fire, but her Eva eventually falls into re-entry, leaving Asuka alone with limited defenses. After her Eva is dealt significant damage, she calls out for Shinji. A powerful beam of light bursts forth from the tesseract, destroying the last of the Nemesis Series. We catch a glimpse of Unit-01 within the tesseract, before they both fall towards Earth.

Prior to the release of Evangelion: 3.0 to theaters, the promotional videos were somewhat less revealing than the ones released for the prior two films. In fact, the videos that were released relied primarily on footage from the opening scene, as well as some character shots and a few environmental detail shots, such as the Nerv logo painted on a wall that has seen severe damage. However, nothing released to the public would give audiences an accurate idea of what they should expect from the film, and for good reason. Much like watching the final two episodes of the original television series, which are disjointed from the narrative of the 24 episodes leading up to them, watching Evangelion: 3.0, particularly a blind viewing, is a disjointed, confusing, and at times frustrating experience.

Bait and Switch

Discerning viewers will recall that the post-credits preview included with Evangelion 1.0 varied slightly with the final release of Evangelion 2.0. Notably, the preview included a scene from episode 16, where Misato slaps Ritsuko for disregarding Shinji's well-being while he is trapped within the twelfth Angel, Leliel. A cut of animation also indicated that Asuka would fight the fourteenth Angel, Zereul, however in the final film, it was instead Mari in Eva Unit-02. Aside from these two key differences, and the obviously redone animation, the preview for 2.0 was fairly accurate in conveying the content of the following film. To the surprise of many, this is not the case with the preview for 3.0 that was included with 2.0. Despite what you may think, it's not a simple case of the preview being disregarded, which would be the case if the film was rewritten, although that might actually be the case. As you are taken from the opening scene into the first major act of the film, you come to learn something very significant, something that changed the story fans were familiar with, and took it, for better or worse, in an entirely new direction. There is a fourteen year timeskip, and everything outlined in the preview for Evangelion: 3.0 apparently occurred between films. And while 3.0 does include hints and details about how the world has changed and diverged from the original television series we are all familiar with, there is no overt backstory to explain it. It is as if they skipped an entire movie, and like Shinji, we find ourselves lost in a world that, in some ways, shares more in common with the conclusion of The End of Evangelion than Evangelion 2.0.

It's All in the Mind

Without revealing too much, it needs to be said that unlike other installments in the series, in Evangelion: 3.0, the story follows Shinji extremely closely, and very rarely deviates from his perspective or experience. As you watch 3.0, the information that is supplied to you as a viewer is limited to the information supplied to Shinji as a character, you are quite deliberately forced to feel the confusion, frustration, and anger that Shinji feels throughout his experience in 3.0. And it has been so successful at this that it has earned the ire of a number of fans. As previously mentioned, watching Evangelion: 3.0 is like watching episodes 25 and 26 of Neon Genesis Evangelion all over again. Make no mistake, Evangelion: 3.0 is not for the uninitiated viewer.

A lesser known fact to fans is that Hideaki Anno had been preoccupied with the idea of a sequel to Evangelion in the years after production had wrapped on Neon Genesis Evangelion and its theatrical complement The End of Evangelion. Anno would go on to direct His and Her Circumstances for Gainax, but soon distance himself from the anime industry and instead make a trio of live action films before returning once more to anime in 2006. A new company (khara) was formed, and the copyright information for Evangelion on Gainax's website was updated to include khara in the credit. To the excitement of fans, those two details could only mean one thing.

Watching these new "Rebuild" films evolve and grow has been interesting to say the least. The original production plan called for all four films to be released before the end of 2008. History has a funny way of repeating itself, and it would appear that these new films have grown and changed during the project's lifespan, much like the production of the original series, which also saw delays and a deviation from its initial plot outline midway through the series. Working under Anno on Neon Genesis Evangelion was described as a frustrating experience, that he was constantly changing and rewriting the episodes under production. It was enough to drive at least one animator to stop talking to Anno, and it was not until after The End of Evangelion was completed that he understood and respected what Anno was trying to create.

A decade of reflection on Evangelion, years of delays on the "Rebuild" of Evangelion, and the resulting success. Fans eagerly await the final chapter in this unprecedented "Rebuild" to shed some light on Anno's puzzle.

Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo is available from FUNimation Entertainment