God Is In His Heaven, All Is Right With the World

     I recently re-watched one of my favorite movies and by far my favorite animated movie of all time, Hideaki Anno's The End of Evangelion. The movie is set during the final episodes of Anno's world famous anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. Evangelion is a mecha anime (think big robots fighting big monsters) however there is so much more to it than just that. The series explores existentialism, nihilism, the meaning of life, and depression, all of which are capitalized on in the grand finale The End of Evangelion. (Spoilers are ahead :D)

    In the world of Evangelion, the world met a catastrophic event know as the Second Impact, an apocalyptic explosion in Antarctica that killed more than half the population of the Earth. The Second Impact was caused by a giant monster given the name Adam, these monsters would later be called Angels, Adam being the first Angel. Fifteen years after the Second Impact is when our story takes place. Fourteen year old Shinji Ikari, is forced to pilot a humanoid mecha known as an Evangelion by his father Gendo Ikari, the director of the UN's experimental military unit NERV. Throughout the series Shinji deals with depression as his father had abandoned him years ago, nihilism, and trouble finding meaning in his life. 

    At the beginning of The End of Evangelion the world is on the brink of another apocalyptic event as the feared Third Impact is coming more and more foreseeable. NERV's mission is to protect humanity, however the people pulling the strings behind NERV known as Seele have different plans for humanity. Shinji who has been struggling to engage with his peers and others around him as he is socially reclusive fails to prevent the Third Impact and is forced to watch as everything he ever loved around him is destroyed. Shinji could have prevented the Third Impact had he reached out for the help that he needed with his social problems. The meaning we find in this movie is that there does not have to be a meaning to life in order to live a satisfying life. Shinji spent a majority of his time running away from his father whom he feared and looking for the meaning in his life as he felt nobody around him wanted him. Yet countless times people had reached out to help Shinji. Running away from our problems always seems like the best way out of our problems, yet when we learn to run from our problems always, we never learn how to face our problems and solve them. As someone who has suffered from depression in the past, I learned that running from my problems was not the correct answer, it only leads to worse problems down the line or you eternally facing the same fear until you face it head on.  Shinji who is now all alone in this dark world has now achieved everything he wished for, to finally be alone. However, Shinji realizes that he does not truly enjoy the pain of being alone and wishes to not be alone again, reversing the effects of the Third Impact and allowing humanity to return to their bodies if they so please.

    Evangelion was used as a vessel by writer Hideaki Anno, to deal with his own fight against severe depression. This series is considered Anno's magnum opus as it is filled with both Freudian and Nietzsche thought and plenty of religious symbolism. Anno combines these thoughts together and depicts a rebirth of humanity. This film is genuinely one of the most depressing films I have ever seen, however it is also one of the most eye opening and uplifting films I have ever seen. I view this film and series as a whole as a cinematic masterpiece and encourage everyone to watch it. Unfortunately many avoid films like these as I feel many people avoid animated films and anime in general as they view it as childish, however shows like this and movies like The End of Evangelion can truly impact a person's life as it has mine.

    To end this blog I'd like to plug in one of my favorite monologues from the movie.

  "The Fruit of Life is held by the Angels. The Fruit of Wisdom is held by Man. EVA Unit 01 now possesses them both, and therefore becomes God. Now the source of all souls - The Tree of Life - has been formed again. Will it be an Ark to save Mankind from the vacuum of Third Impact? Or is it a demon that will destroy us all? The fate of Mankind now lies in Shinji's hands."