if only life were as simple as Evangelion...

....That was the script of a bumper sticker I almost purchased the other day. It seems fitting as an intro to my absolute favorite anime series of all time, Neon Genesis Evangelion.

This show always brings to mind a quote I heard a long time ago, that true genius is not especially found in creating something new, but in combining already existing things in a way no one expected. This holds especially true for Eva, the plot elements it contains; giant robots, a reluctant hero, ruthless government agencies, cabalistic religious societies, beautiful heroines, dramatic fight scenes, junior-high romance, star-crossed lovers, abusive parents, and the ever-popular end of days scenario; have all been seen in one form or another either on the big or small screen. What makes Eva so special is that it has all of them and more, all wrapped up with enough psychologically damaged characters to make Freud run for the hills.

In a radio interview a few years ago, Mel Gibson was asked about the characters he liked to bring to the big screen, as they all seemed to have recurring tragedies tied to them. He replied that he found inspiration in characters that had truly gone through hell, that had suffered and somehow held to their convictions and goals. Well Eva has suffering in spades, no character survives unscathed by the end of the series, and their trials truly do endear them to the viewer.

Perhaps the greatest testament to the show is how it changed the industry, spawning dozens of clone series, and changing the storytelling methods of most shows since its debut back in '94.
For example it had been a convention that most shows of 26 episodes in length would use their 13th episode to recap the show thus far,and then continue business as usual toward a grand finale showdown episode. Eva used the 13th episode as a recap, but from that episode forward it slowly removes the support mechanisms of its characters; until the finale leaves us not with an epic showdown of good versus evil, but a trip into the very psyche of the shows protagonist, Shinji Ikari. This reflective and anti-climactic plot device is now commonplace, even in America, The Soprano's used a similar plot device for their final episode, garnering a similar fan reaction.

Hideki Anno, the show's creator, used the incredible backlash from his former fans to create a set of "true" conclusion movies, and in so doing created the film equivalent of a deal with the devil. Every fanboy wish is granted in the ensuing 2 hours of cinema, but in the worst possible way. Anno even manages in a few live action montages to display some of the death threats fans sent him over the TV series ending.

In the ensuing years, Gianax, the company that produced Eva, has churned out tons of merchandise based on the show. Rei Ayanami and Auska Langley Soryu, Eva's main female leads have been immortalized in plastic in almost every conceivable outfit imaginable, and fan-made doujins(comics) have continued the story for years. Evangelion merchandise was even prominently displayed in the Robin Williams movie One Hour Photo. (Robin is a big fan of the series and actually requested the toys be in the film) There was even talk for a while of a live-action American -produced movie, with studio Weta, the company behind the Lord of the Rings movies doing the effects work. Unfortunately the project never made it past the pre-production stage, although you can see their concept art on the company website.

Which brings us to today, where the franchise is being rebuilt as a set of four feature-length animated movies making use of today's best mix of hand-drawn and CGI techniques. The first film, Rebuild of Evangelion You are (not) Alone, premiered in theaters last September, out-grossing the previous movie's box office takes. The DVD release a few weeks ago sold out at nearly every brick-and-mortar as well as online retailer in Japan, and thus far has become the top selling DVD of 2008.

No foray into the world of anime would be complete without taking the time to view this true crown jewel of the industry. I cannot recommend Evangelion highly enough.