[EVA] Plot Structure

[Zhou Tai An]

Wow, this sure is a looonnngg discussion. My two yen now ^_^

>You misunderstood my point.  I really couldn't have given a stuff whether 
>the series ended with the kind of pyrotechnics everyone expected of it. 
>Leave that to lesser shows like the more recent Gundam efforts.  What I did 

I don't think EVA should have ended with a bang. It wouldn't have been true
to the series. In fact, I wasn't expecting it.

>say is that there are people who disliked the ending of Eva for reasons 
>more based on emotional plot underdevelopment between eps 24 and 25, and 
>the philosophical aspects brought up during eps 25 and 26 that were Anno 
>saying "this is the right way to reach what you are searching for, and the 
>ONLY way."  Its a slap in the face to the culture he helped to develop, and 
>was very much a part of.  Even the applause at the end seems to be saying 
>"well, Shinji's done it, so why haven't YOU?"

Hmmm...some relation to mainstream Japanese culture, perhaps? I should post
my mail on that. ^_^

>## That pretty much sums up the criticisms for the two episodes. The 
>## plot underdevelopment/discontinuity and the way of approach when the
>## HCP did happen (to Shinji, in TV). That could in fact be an anti-
>## climax. "So that's HCP?? And I am supposed to go through _this_?"
>## Although I would suppose everybody's process thru HCP would be
>## different from one another, the fact remains that the process is 
>## preachy and patronizing. And indeed there is contradiction as to
>## what exactly did Anno want to convey: Face the reality (so no
>## more alternative world?) and happily accept it? Perhaps it is a 
>## worthy message to many otaku, but then it is presented in a warped
>## way.

IMHO, Anno wasn't advocating a reality check. More below.
     
>## Well, I think there was some planning for the finale. But I have 
>## a feeling that when things turned bad for Gainax, Anno took more
>## and more control, shifting the direction of the plot development
>## more and more to his liking. Although he had many ideas and messages
>## he wanted to convey, he could not think of a clear way to do it.
>## Hence the confusion, conflicts and gaps that we see in both TV and
>## movie endings. 

Much more like it. It's writer's dilemma...when you are in the grip of
indescribable emotion and HAVE to let it out somehow. Creating something is
can also be an intensely personal experience, and he probably decided to
throw in all the emotions he had into EVA. 

>## Still, the conclusion might be similar for both TV and movies, namely,
>## (Shinji) got to break out of his self-hatred and self-imposed barrier.
>## However, the message is slightly different. While in TV it is all
>## very happy, too happy perhaps, that it tastes a bit like saccharine;
>## in movies it is full of pain, uncertainty, anger, confusion and 
>## even hatred. It is the hatred of Shinji towards other people (because
>## he thinks that they rejected them and have loved him anyway -- wonder
>## how he could have thought that after what Misato did to him) that
>## actually started the Third Impact (the breakdown of human bodies
>## to LCL). This is no comfortable experience to watch, yet it gave me
>## something deep to think about myself and life, and I judge it better
>## than the "guidance" that was offered in TV ep.26. The final outcome
>## in the movie is decided by Shinji, not pre-determined for him, like
>## in the TV. In TV there is really no choice, although there seems to
>## be choices. 

No, there was no guidance in Ep 26. If you think about it, what are the last
2 episodes other than a bunch of people in chairs asking each other whether
they're happy? The "congratualtions" thing was intended to be sudden and
spontaneously, to surprise you and make you think. Really, the TV and movie
ending complement each other strangely, one full of fear and anger, and the
other providing a calmer counterpoint.

The ending of EVA...how strange it was. It's ultimate meaning is, of course,
a matter of personal opinion. (I still think Anno meant it that way.) For
me, it was kinda revelatory (especially because I share Shinji's and Asuka's
psychological complexes to some extent), sad, happy, unfufilling, expected
and...and if there was a word for an emotion that is not known, it would be
here. I'm really at a loss at how to express this, but I the ending just
brought everything (and nothing) together. The memories of EVA, the
character's thoughts and emotions, blended with my own...it was just so
strange. For me at least, EVAs's twin endings are a kind of litany of self,
a song to human nature, an ode to happiness and a dirge of despair, a story
that has not only meaning to it's author's and readers, but uniquely it's own.

Boy, that was personal. ^_^

Anyone have "official" word on this?
Zhou Tai An (kain at pacific.net.sg)
"There is no one simple truth." Rune Walsh

"Who is this? This is I.
Who is I? What is I?		- Rei Ayanami
I am myself. This object is I. 
The figure that forms me."

When someone stands in the light but does not give it out, a shadow is created.