Saturday, July 22, 2006

Japanese Dramatic Æsthetic in Anime

A classfellow offers this summary analysis of the import Anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion
The story becomes very involved with the characters and what is happening to them both mentally and emotionally as well as the effects their choices have on other characters and the world. Near the end of the show it starts to focus more on Shinji, a 14 year old boy who is very afraid of his father and of himself. It shows his development as the plot rolls on. The plot itself is involved withShinji's father who leads the government organization Nerv, which was created to defend Earth from an alien threat called angels. He has his own secret agenda though which comes into conflict with the government committee called Seele. The story does not have a very satisfactory ending, much like Madame de Sade, as it leaves something unfinished at the end. I guess that is the'ketsu' of the anime. The aesthetic elements of Japanese culture we have gone over in class can be seen in the series the more I think about it as there is a sudden break in the last 2 episodes and then sudden action. It also could be attributed to the fact that the creator suffered a mental breakdown during the series due to the stress of the plot elements becomingmore deeply involved and complex.
I love the, uhm, ambiguity in the concluding reflection....

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like this anime and the analysis this person made.This anime is totally different from other anime series. In addition to mental breakdown of creator there was a problem with whole studio. So I think last 2 episodes' break is due to those problems. There is also a movie which is an alternate ending-it excludes last 2 episodes of the series and makes new conclusion.

Anonymous said...

Oooh Evangelion, an exercise in insanity. It's initial appearance was that of a fun anime with giant robots, and ended up being a pseudo-Judeao-Christian-Mindwarp. I did enjoy it, but for a good 2 months after watching the series' ending my mindset was twisted up, and then when I watched the 'movie' ending a year later, the same process occured. Though it's interesting to think of it in terms of japanese aesthetic principles *considers*

-Zachary Pope

Anonymous said...

I really cannot wait until the live action version of this anime comes to theatres. Weta workshop, the same people behind the special effects on "Lord of the Rings," are in pre-production. They currently only have sketches and designs for the eva, but hopefully it will turn out decent, unlike most of the films coming out of hollywood.