Movies - The End of Evangelion

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	Movies - The End of Evangelion

The End of Evangelion (Japanese: 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン劇場版, Shin seiki Evangelion Gekijō-ban) is an animated movie by Hideaki Anno. The movie presents an alternate ending to the popular animated series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Many Japanese viewers felt unsatisfied by the series' two episode resolution, episodes 25 and 26, which take place completely in the minds of some of the characters. Only a few brief scenes hint at what happens outside of Shinji's mind, and viewers wanted a more satisfying explanation of these events. Additionally, the final two episodes were originally planned to take place in the "real" world; they ended up being done the way they were due to time and budget restraints. When the studio could afford it, the true ending, The End of Evangelion, was created as an alternative to these episodes. The movie is divided into two parts, Episode 25: Air, and Episode 26: まごころを、君に (Magokoro o, kimi ni, "My Purest Heart for You").

The first part, Episode 25: Air, is based on the previous movie, Rebirth
. Rebirth is roughly equivalent to 2/3 of Air. The End of Evangelion later became the second half of Revival of Evangelion
, a concatenation of Death(true)² and The End of Evangelion.

In contrast to the series' happier ending, the movie shows the apocalyptic completion of the Human Instrumentality Project, where individual identity is destroyed to create a single existence for all living things - that is, people's AT-Fields are destroyed and are turned to LCL. In the movie it is believed that Shinji rejects the Human Instrumentality Project (he was never explicitly given a choice, but did say that he preferred individual existence), whereas in the show it was left more ambiguous.

Although the movie appears somewhat more straightforward in plot, many fans are displeased with its violence and shock value relative to the television series and many continued to harbor a dislike of Hideaki Anno's work. It is rumored that Hideaki Anno created the movie as revenge on the ex-fans of the TV show, who sent numerous hate-mail and death threats after their disappointment in the ending of the last two episodes. Some of these letters are briefly flashed in the movie, towards the ending of The End of Evangelion . Also, it may be another reference to the Series, Space Runaway Ideon, which also hade a similarly-apocalyptic Movie ending entitled Be Invoked.

Plot summary

This summary only includes the main events of the movie, and not any of the characters' personal or emotional journeys.

The movie begins with SEELE hacking into NERV's Magi super-computer; Gendo Ikari duped SEELE- he had his own agenda which involved the Human Instrumentality project. Ritsuko Akagi sets up a protection system for the Magi that lasts for 62 hours; as time is short, SEELE is forced to send in the army (the JSSDF or Japanese Strategic Self Defense Force). The JSSDF directly infiltrates NERV, killing all personnel they come across. The NERV staff make a last stand in the Command Center where the Magi is located. Asuka, after realizing her mother's soul has always been with her in Unit 02, awakens from her comatose state and defends NERV HQ. After the JSSDF forces are repelled with the aid of Unit 02, SEELE then sends their mass-production Evangelion units to the Geofront (exposed after the detonation of an N² weapon). Misato drags Shinji to Unit 01 and attempts to convince him to pilot it once more before she dies. Unit 02's internal batteries become depleted after battling for five minutes with the nine mass-produced Evangelions, and consequently, they systematically eviscerate Unit 02. It is then confirmed that Asuka is dead, although many believe that it is nebulous because she appears in the final scene.

Gendo Ikari secretly intends to perform Instrumentality in a different way than that proposed by SEELE, allowing him to reunite with his dead wife, using Rei. However, Rei defies Gendou's control and merges with Lilith on her own, transforming into a moving giant, glowing white figure; this composite Rei/Lilith entity finally placed the process of Instrumentality into Shinji's hands. In order for people to willingly let down their AT-Fields for her, Lilith takes on several forms and approaches each human individually in the form of the person he or she loves the most (as trust is the only force that breaks an AT-Field), or simply forces her way past their AT-Fields if he or she has no loved one (as is the case with Aoba); these actions reduce every human to a pool of LCL.

This is Instrumentality starting, possibly initiated on Shinji Ikari's decision from within Evangelion Unit 01. The Egg of Lilith rises from the Geofront, into Lilith's hands, who has grown to planetary proportions and takes the form of Rei Ayanami. The souls of all human beings, represented as a red, marble-sized dots, make their way back into the egg. At the last moment, however, Shinji rejects Instrumentality and decides to live his life as a separate individual, thereby undoing all Lilith had sought to create. Lilith's physical form dies and decomposes, and the egg explodes. Shinji returns to earth with his physical form, but Unit 01 and the Lance of Longinus, drift off into space, seemingly for the rest of eternity. The mass-production Evangelion units fall to Earth in crucifix-like postures. In the final scene, the only two people on the entire planet are Shinji and Asuka, as the rest of humanity has not yet come to terms with its ability to "return to individuality".

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