wild-ass evangelion speculation
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Tagged: evangelion
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After a few days, I finally digested the big Evangelion news. I’ll share some thoughts.
To quote from ANN:
According to the October issue of Newtype (Japan) (On sale September 10), four new Evangelion movies are in the works. The four movies will include a prequel, a mid-series movie, a sequel and a “final” movie. The prequel movie is due out early summer 2007.
To quote from ANS:
A few new details regarding the new Eva project, Evangelion Shin Gekijou Ban from the October, 2006 Japanese edition of Newtype Magazine:
– The cover illustration featuring characters Ayanami Rei Nagisa Kaworu is by Shunji Suzuki. Suzuki had worked on the Shin Seiki Evangelion TV series as chief animator and on the End Of Evangelion movie as an animation director. Although not officially connected by name to the new project as yet, his image appearing on the Newtype cover would suggest involvement.
– Images released so far depict Rei Ayanami in observably more provacative and animated moods than before. How will she change? The silent and submissively naturered character with her trademark blue hair and style made her an all time fan favorite of otaku everywhere, catapulting her to the top of the monthly Animage character poll for many, many issues.
– From Toshimichi Ohtsuki’s interview: Just before this new project started up director Hideaki Anno rewatched the entire original television series back to back. Ohtsuki relays that he heard Anno say for the first time: “Eva is interesting, I did not think it was so interesting (laughing).” The comment almost broght Ohtsuki to tears.
– Ohtsuki goes on to say that it is true Eva has become a smashi hit animation. However, it’s success caused misunderstanding and disarray has arisen in the animation field because of it. An overproduction of inferrior works was caused.
– Ohtsuki says the Newtype cover image featuring Rei and Kaworu symbolizes the new movie project. Japanese fans have questioned whether this is a hint at Rei And Kaworu’s possibly being at the center of the new story or getting expanded focus in the course of the story of the films.
They also mention how most of the original cast is out of the seiyuu business. Megumi Hayashibara’s retirement-unretirement- retirement-unretirement cycle is well known (besides Pokemon, the only recent anime that I can think of that has her in it would be Paprika and Inukami, of all things)… mmm… let’s say that she were unavailable to reprise her role as Ayanami. Then wouldn’t it make sense for Gainax to take that character in bold new directions? “Images released so far depict Rei Ayanami in observably more provacative and animated moods than before. How will she change?” My wild-ass internet-class guess: they’re going to poach Aya Hirano for the new Rei Ayanami. The Rei-Asuka-Shinji dynamic will never be the same again.
I think it was only a matter of time before more Evangelion is cranked out. I always thought that they’d go back and remake the series as some harem comedy a la Mahoromatic or He Is My Master, but it looks like they’re “patching” the original series with four movies. This could mean anything– a “movie” could be like the original Eva movies and be 35 minute affairs and just be a glorified OVA. Or the movie could be more like a typical 100 minute One Piece movie or Wings of Honneamise. Still, with Gainax not really having any success in, uh, this decade, they desperately need a hit– or at least something that’ll sell DVDs. They have the Evangelion franchise… so why not milk it? My wild-ass internet-guess: with Hideaki Anno and the rest of the original staff approaching 60 and nearing retirement, they want one last shot of being relevant. The comment “An overproduction of inferrior works was caused.” seems to show that they still believe that they’re top dogs, even though it’s clear to the everyday otaku who the real top dog is now. Gainax wants to be Elway or Bettis going out on Super Bowl victories… and definitely not like Jerry Rice in a Seattle jersey.
What could the movies possibly be about? With the “prequel,” it makes sense to explore the events around the Second Impact or after the Second Impact. Aside from showing Misato’s trauma, the Second Impact is not something well-explored in the original series. The “middle” movie is a bit trickier… I doubt it’ll be a slice of Shinji’s day. It would be roughly 0.0001% as interesting as a typical Tess day. Are they going to make up a new angel? Like angel 7.5, “Yashiro”? I’m not sure what they could do for this movie, only it’s the one that has the best chance of being the most entertaining since it’s the one that should feel most similiar to the original TV series. The “sequel” is a different beast… where do they sequel from? Episode 23? After the original Death + Rebirth? I think I’ll pass if they decide to make a movie about Shinji being the last male human on the planet… in fact, I think I’ll light myself on fire instead. And the “final” movie? (Love the quotes, BTW… I can imagine Evangelion: Stand Alone Complex if the movies sell well.) My wild-ass internet-class guess? Shinji, Rei, Asuka, Kaoru, and Misato will wake up after the Third Impact and realize that they’re in Hinamizawa circa 1984. Let the bloodbath commence. (In 2016, Gainax will release the “answer” movie to the fourth movie which shows that the Third Impact occured because Shinji jacked off to Rei’s battered body instead of Asuka’s battered body.)
At least the movies won’t be remakes. We’re getting fresh– and possible even more mindfucky– content. I can only imagine Studio Deen looking around wondering if they should remake Maison Ikkoku as a murder mystery. My wild-ass internet-class guess: still, knowing Gainax’s current track record, I don’t have the same confidence in them that I have for Production IG when they embarked on Stand Alone Complex. I get the feeling that Gainax no longer remember why Evangelion was successful eleven years ago.
Production seems to be handled by most of the old crew leading the way but Khara, a new studio, doing the production tasks. They just posted job lists for Khara, uh, two days ago. My wild-ass internet-class guess: this arrangement will work as well as that Nihilistic-Blizzard relationship on Starcraft: Ghost. In other words, giving prime franchises to rookies is generally a bad idea. Unless, of course, that rookie has initials “L,” “B,” and “J.” (Seriously, maybe Gainax should have worked with those RE-TAKE guys… I just heard the RE-TAKE OST, and it’s fantastic. Even though they are a doujinshi group, they definitely show a love of their work… and that’s something Gainax really lacks these days.)
Lastly, since it’s been over a decade since the original Evangelion TV series, would people still care? A lot of newer fans, much to my dismay, haven’t even seen the classic TV series. With the commercials for the new movies starting, uh, now, and that the movies won’t be released until starting next summer, would oversaturation and overhyping work against it? My wild-ass internet-class guess: if there’s a new Haruhi Suzumiya series in summer 2007, it will blow Evangelion out of the water. Nonetheless, there’s one thing for certain and most definitely not a guess: I’m looking forward to what Gainax brings to the table this time around. Besides being one of anime’s defining series, Evangelion was one of the series that got me watching anime in the first place… I’m certainly hoping that Gainax will pull off one more magic carpet ride.
29 Responses to “wild-ass evangelion speculation”
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I guess we’ll just have to wait see what they come up with.
I’ll keep my hopes low, because there are so many ways this can be a spectacular fail.
They were right that there were a lot of inferior copies made though. RahXephon, Geneshaft, Gasaraki, Divergence Eve…of course, NGE wasn’t *that* great to begin with. It went downhill after ‘Both of you! Dance like you want to win!’ into incomprehensibility.
As for watching the entire series back to back…that is something I *highly* disrecommend.
I’m surprised they just don’t go the Mai Hime route and create a bunch of “alternate reality” versions of Eva. Y’know, where Rei and Asuka are professional maids bound by some wacky coincidence to serve Shinji, with hilariously erotic consequences.
>> My wild-ass internet-class guess: if there’s a new Haruhi Suzumiya series in summer 2007, it will blow Evangelion out of the water.
The power of Evatards is strong and infinite.
I can foresee ZOMGTEHREI winning the next Saimoe.
Personally, I’ll stick to Nanoha StrikerS and the next Haruhi season (should it be announced).
To be honest, I tend to be cautious with everything Gainax tried to serve since Eva.
I am so behind Squid Man.
>>“Images released so far depict Rei Ayanami in observably more provacative and animated moods than before. How will she change?â€
Increase in probability that Rei 2.0 will be inferior to Yuki-ko has just increased exponentially unless “observably more” has a double meaning in Japanese.
>>My wild-ass internet-class guess: they’re going to poach Aya Hirano for the new Rei Ayanami.
Your prediction sent a shudder down my spine, if Aya Hirano is conscripted into taking part in this Market Garden Type Operation that means that there will be no one to voice Haruhi-sama within the year. I hope you’re wrong on this one I really do.
>>Still, with Gainax not really having any success in, uh, this decade, they desperately need a hit– or at least something that’ll sell DVDs. They have the Evangelion franchise… so why not milk it? My wild-ass internet-guess: with Hideaki Anno and the rest of the original staff approaching 60 and nearing retirement, they want one last shot of being relevant. The comment “An overproduction of inferrior works was caused.†seems to show that they still believe that they’re top dogs, even though it’s clear to the everyday otaku who the real top dog is now.
Can’t the bastards just retire with their loot from innumerable re-releases of EVA…I guess greed was part of the EVA philosophy afterall. Unless a milder translation was replaced it seems that the loveable bastards of Gainax have nothing but contempt for otakudom. LOL-tan’s fang I think this is going to be a Kursk of anime, Gainax seems to have a OKH level disdain for otakus and are creating a bold plan to return the initiative back to them in what seems to be a do or die attempt. There even going to try out a new production group that I guess is they must think this is going to be a wonder weapon in their bid to reclaim their throne that the ever victorious KyoAni now holds.
>>Lastly, since it’s been over a decade since the original Evangelion TV series, would people still care? A lot of newer fans, much to my dismay, haven’t even seen the classic TV series. With the commercials for the new movies starting, uh, now, and that the movies won’t be released until starting next summer, would oversaturation and overhyping work against it? My wild-ass internet-class guess: if there’s a new Haruhi Suzumiya series in summer 2007, it will blow Evangelion out of the water.
Only the die hards really care, I know that I am going to watch this because I can’t look away from a possible train wreck. With this revelation I am going to walk in with but a sliver of expectation.
I fail to undestand your dismay at the new generation of Otakudom not bearing witness to EVA, sure it is part of the history, but its not something seasoned otaku should force down on a neophyte like crack. Curiosity will bring them in eventually, for better or for worse. “Birth of a Nation” was a milestone in movie making, but I am not jumping to see it. As a member of the born in the Age of Regan I find that few of us watched Space Battleship Yamato, it should therefore be of little suprise that the latest crop has chosen to ignore EVA for whatever reason.
Overhyping did not kill Star Wars despite Binks, but it came damn near close. The only things that would kill the film is that if Gainax had grossly overestimated their fan base or created something so putrid as to make the die-hards hold their noses. I cannot help but wonder where the capital is coming to bank roll this whole deal, I doubt Gainax has enough in its coffers to do a stellar job on its own for four lavishly done movies along with what ever overproduced inferior anime they will be working on given their bugetary policies or lack there of. If they fail miserably as I believe is possible with a more emotional Rei this could be their Pickett’s charge. A monumental failure may even erode all confidence in the the original as well. Should they succeed then they can rest assured that there is another crop of otaku that can get money out of to fund the next HiMM.
SHnY2 in 2007 would be great and would kick EVA in the teeth because Kyon > Shinji + Gendo. Besides it’s contemporary and will probably be the defining moment of this latest crop of faithful.
2007 is looking to be an interesting year.
So GAINAX has finally decided to cater to the groveling fans of Eva and produce some sort of ‘NEW’ animation that involves Eva.
Hrmmm…
I am also looking forward to this, because to be honest, Eva was the second anime I watched in my life. If anyone were to ask, I would tell them Eva is my favorite anime. It truly does hold a special place in my heart and anything Eva is good to me. :3
Of course, I could agree with all the negative skepticism that’s floating around and believe that the movies will turn out to be utter trash and huge disappointments to all die-hard Eva fans…
Or, I could just sit here and wait for it to come out, watch it, and then see how I feel about it.
I’m actually surprised that GAINAX did finally crack and decided to put out a new animation for Eva. I seriously thought they meant what they said when they were leaving Eva alone, just that they would make an infinite amount of figures and boxsets :)
If there were ever an Eva ‘sequel’ I would want them to make a comedy out of the Episode 26 alternate world. But of course, that’s not what Eva is, right? :P
And boy, RETAKE is some good stuff, I haven’t read the 4th volume yet, but I sure am looking forward to it.
To me, more Eva is still… more Eva. :)
>>I’m actually surprised that GAINAX did finally crack and decided to put out a new animation for Eva. I seriously thought they meant what they said when they were leaving Eva alone, just that they would make an infinite amount of figures and boxsets
and games.
Interesting to note the timing on these two :D
Oh yes, I have VERY high expectations for these movies.
…
The future will never be the same, and I expect that either it will garner more fanboys… or cause the existing batch to drop EVA faster than a hot potato, and get a far smaller fanbase back, or not get any at all… at least not compared to the other shows out there. The market’s different from what it was ten years ago – it’s bigger, with a wider variety of viewers with their own various tastes/fetishes… and they seem to have forgotten how their cliches made them a hit the first time around, to judge by the shots of Rei 2.0.
i heard it is a parallel universe thing, so it might as well be a school comedy (i would watch it anyway)
if aya voice rei i’d LMAO though
Crusader Says:
Your prediction sent a shudder down my spine, if Aya Hirano is conscripted into taking part in this Market Garden Type Operation that means that there will be no one to voice Haruhi-sama within the year. I hope you’re wrong on this one I really do.
i wouldn’t be worried about that, how many roles aya took part in during april release? SHnY, RK3K, Himawari, Nana(though her char doesn’t show up til later) ES21, SRN, and she took a major role in all except school rumble
she juggled that pretty well, so i’m sure she can do rei and haruhi at same time lol
>>> They were right that there were a lot of inferior copies made though. RahXephon, Geneshaft, Gasaraki, Divergence Eve…of course, NGE wasn’t *that* great to begin with. It went downhill after ‘Both of you! Dance like you want to win!’ into incomprehensibility.
If RahXephon was a NGE copy, then it was a superior copy IMO.
So this is why novels are still the best medium for stories.
Rah Xephon is like a EVA with a ending that makes slightly more sense, but it doesn’t have the same effect as EVA (cus it’s not original, and the amount that copied over is mind blogging)
Fafnrr… on the other hand, is like EVA boned her son (Rah Xephon) and had a deformed child
I would think how you see NGE vs. RahXephon depends a lot on the order in which you watch them and the expectations you have. Unless you lived under a rock, it’s hardly possible to watch and perceive NGE in the same way, people did in 1995.
I watched RahXephon much later and whilst is very similar to NGE, it’s far from being a blatant copy. I enjoyed it whilst it lasted but I didn’t consider it as impressive or as entertaining as NGE. Actually, I don’t care much about the ending (as in last few minutes) of either. If you’d judge shows by their endings, most would be a horrible failure IMHO. Likewise you shouldn’t worry too much about *your* last minutes. That’s not what decides about good or bad, unless you want it to.
@Ragz
>>i wouldn’t be worried about that, how many roles aya took part in during april release? SHnY, RK3K, Himawari, Nana(though her char doesn’t show up til later) ES21, SRN, and she took a major role in all except school rumble
she juggled that pretty well, so i’m sure she can do rei and haruhi at same time lol
Series produaction and movie production are two different things movies involve more man hours and as a bigger project can invite more conundrums. I wonder if Gianax is producing all four at the same time, if so and SHnY2 does come in 2007 there is going to be a problem barring Ms. Hirano being an actual demi-goddess Rei or Haruhi will have to suffer.
My wild-ass reader-class guess: the prequel, mid-series, and sequel movies, whatever the plots, cast changes, or character changes, will be pantheon-level anime, changing again the way we percieve the genre, and forever affecting everything that follows…or at least the first, oh, 92% of each movie will. The remainder of each movie will regress into a confusing, pretentious mess of pop-psychology, pseudo-scifi, and religious imagery, the likes of which have not been seen since…well, since the last two eps of the original series. The “final” movie will be a remake of the endings of the previous three, tying them together in a more sensible manner and explaining the numerous hanging plot threads and shady imagery, thus requiring one to buy the final movie if they have any hope of understanding the previous three. All four movies will make a ton of money, and Gainax will make even more once they release the Special Edition, Platinum Edition, and finally the long-rumored Weapons-Grade Plutonium Edition (which will also include the original series and Death and Rebirth, but oddly not EoE).
I did watch NGE first, but I never liked it much. It wasn’t even good enough to make me go to the anime club every week. The only thing that impressed me was how absolutely worthless Shinji was.
RahXephon, on the other hand, I watched with the anime club until around ep 10. After that, I downloaded the whole thing and watched it myself. Then I STILL kept going to the anime club showings.
I couldn’t care less about impact on the industry or whatever. All I know is that NGE wasn’t all that good to me, and RahXephon was great.
I want a question arc where Shinji jacks to Misato , kills Kaji , and then is killed by Misato in a field of dried watermelons. The answer arc will be where Misato decides to live away from Shinji in the beginning , and Shinji walks in on her showering.
“Images released so far depict Rei Ayanami in observably more provacative and animated moods than before,” probably doesn’t mean anything. Look anywhere for artwork of Rei, and this is pretty much what they’ve been doing -forever-.
So…………
I don’t expect much, I won’t speculate too much.
BUT all I want to know is,
will this be on Blue-Rei?
XD
Rikaishi Says:
>> and games.
Interesting to note the timing on these two :D
Oh yes, I have VERY high expectations for these movies.
Yes! Can’t forget about the games! Hahaha.
Ragz Says:
>> i heard it is a parallel universe thing, so it might as well be a school comedy (i would watch it anyway)
if aya voice rei i’d LMAO though
Oh, I would love to see that too :3
More Aya Hirano is win in my book :)
>> Rah Xephon is like a EVA with a ending that makes slightly more sense, but it doesn’t have the same effect as EVA (cus it’s not original, and the amount that copied over is mind blogging)
Fafnrr… on the other hand, is like EVA boned her son (Rah Xephon) and had a deformed child
I lol’ed
cclragnarok Says:
>> I couldn’t care less about impact on the industry or whatever. All I know is that NGE wasn’t all that good to me, and RahXephon was great.
Yep, and that’s why the people that will be watching these movies are Eva fans who want to see more Eva. It’s all based on personal preference, really. If you do want to see more Eva, you will go see it. If you don’t, you won’t. Simple as that.
JCTV Says:
>> I want a question arc where Shinji jacks to Misato , kills Kaji , and then is killed by Misato in a field of dried watermelons. The answer arc will be where Misato decides to live away from Shinji in the beginning , and Shinji walks in on her showering.
I highly second this.
Sick Says:
>> Look anywhere for artwork of Rei, and this is pretty much what they’ve been doing -forever-.
Yahaha
That is true. I’m a big fan of Sadamoto’s work and many of his drawings of Rei are love, but it’s too bad they were never really used in the anime.
Waterfall Says:
>> will this be on Blue-Rei?
Pun Intended! :)
evangelion got most of us watching anime….it also got most of us severly pissed at the tv cause of its ending >
>>>My wild-ass internet-class guess: they’re going to poach Aya Hirano for the new Rei Ayanami.
No way. Rei ≠ツンデレ. If you’re going to poach seiyuu from SHnY, play to their already shown strengths.
Aya Hirano (Haruhi) = Asuka = ツンデレ
Minori Chihara (Yuki) = Rei = quiet + kickass
Nobuyuki Kobushi (Computer Club Prez) = Shinji = pussy
Daisuke Ono (Itsuki) = Kaworu = “metrosexual”
Now if only they’d reimagine it so that Gendo sarcastically narrates the story in first person…
I don’t think we would have to worry about the voice cast. Most of them are still active or did not retired from business yet. Yes, I think of Gendo’s VA (who is voicing Shion’s bodyguard), Megumi Hayashibara who did not retired AFAIK or Mitsuishi Kotono (last time I heard of her, she was doing voicing for VG characters?). It may be pretty much the same voice cast, unless they pull a Hokuto no Ken (where Akira Kamiya did not voice the newer Kenshiro…).
Gah! “The theme will be Rei and Kaworu”? Damn you, Japan! I hate you. I hate you much. Stop masturbating to Rei and go with the glorious tsundere of Asuka.
More Evangelion = more Pen Pen.
Pen Pen Gaiden!
zOMG Rei busts out of EVA-01
http://heiseidemocracy.com/200.....m-wanfesu/
http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/ff/i.....index.html