[EVA] If it weren't for Sadamoto -- Redux

[Brian Shea]

'M' Wrote:

> The following is an excerpt from the "Interview with Sadamoto  Yoshiyuki" 
> first published in the Deluxe Edition of the artbook "Der  Mond" in 
> September 1999, and then again in the "Osadabon (Book of  Sadamoto)" 
> included as a supplement to the December 2000 Ace-A manga  magazine.
>
> Gendo and Fuyutsuki were modeled  after Commander Ed Staker and Col. Alec 
> Freeman from the TV series  "UFO".
>
> We had talked a lot in the  beginning about wanting a title like "Space 
> Runaway Ideon (Legendary  Giant God Ideon)", so I think I did push that. 
> And to tell the  truth, the story composition is also similar.  For 
> example, Nerv can  be considered the same as the Solo Ship fighting a 
> lonely battle  against both humankind and the Buff Clan, and then there 
> are the  incomprehensible robots that can only communicate with children 
> and  tend to geo berserk, etc.  It might not be an exaggeration to say 
> that if you add "Ideon" and "Devilman" together and divide by two,  you 
> get "Evangelion". (laugh)

Thanks for the interview! I'm particularly interested in the Ideon quote (it 
being one of my fave animes).  Sadamoto mentions the Gendou & Fuyutsuki 
influence from UFO; I've always wondered as well whether he took any 
influence for them from the Doba (beard, but no mustache) and Gindoro (older 
gentleman with wavy hair) duo from Ideon: Be Invoked...  Certainly nothing 
official on it that I'm aware of but considering the big influence Ideon had 
on Eva I've always wondered whether that was one as well, or if it was just 
a coincidence.

Brian