Rebuild of Evangelion: Anno and Fandom

 Are you all excited for the final installment of the Rebuild of Evangelion movies ? Currently being released in theatres in Japan, Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice upon a time will be the last Evangelion animated project ever. So before this final goodbye to Hideaki Anno’s masterpiece franchise, let’s take a look at his work on the Rebuild movies so far. For those of you who didn’t know, Anno loves to experiment with fans and is quite critical of fandoms in general, while still embracing Otaku culture positively. In fact, we’re going to discuss a bit about how exactly he is critical of fanfictions and fandom in general.

As for movie 1, You are (not) alone, there is not much to say here. The movie is almost an identical remaster of the original anime’s first few episodes. Although it may seem very boring at first, it is an absolute necessity for Anno’s following plans. In fact, Anno’s desire to work and discuss the topic of fanfiction wouldn’t work if the first film was not at least identical to some of the original material. 

Fanfiction usually depicts a different plot after the start of the series, in this case, most fanfics take place somewhere in the storyline once the main characters are introduced. So movie 1 is essentially here an introduction to the franchise, which will allow the viewers to enter the franchise’s storyline from the same angle as if they had watched the original anime. After this established same start, the Rebuild films diverge from the anime. At the end of the first movie, a small preview of the next one was shown, during which you could hear the narrator tell the audience that there would be plenty of fanservice. From there on, it becomes clear Anno is having quite some fun with the fans, trying to both deliver a message and show to them what happens when fanservice takes over the franchise.

Movie 2, You can (not) advance, is arguably the most stacked movie in this Rebuild series. It is the longest one and it also introduces one of the fan favorite characters, especially prominent for fanfics: Asuka. To be able to properly understand many of the choices Anno did during this second installment, we must first go back to what the fans disliked or wished differently in their fanfics, but also in their criticism toward the original series. For example, Shinji, being a young boy scared of piloting the Eva and reluctant in doing so, was often criticized for his cowardly behavior and compared to many of the badass shonen heroes of other anime and manga.

 In the face of this criticism about Shinji, Anno created another character, Mari Makinami, introduced since the beginning who, acting like an excited Otaku in an amusement park, would feel happy and energetic, even excited at the idea of piloting the Eva and fighting Angels for the fate of mankind. And just with the introduction of this character, you could feel a different vibe from the dark and mature theme of the original anime. Fighting Eva has become … easy and fun, which totally does not suit the tone of this universe. The idea that the pilot is risking their life and the fate of the world while fighting this Angel is no longer present. Fans could immediately understand that something was out of place. 

The same thing happens with Asuka when she is introduced, she literally defeats an Angel in a record time while barely beating a sweat during her introduction. While she does also fight an Angel during her introduction in the original anime, it is very far from giving off the feeling that Angels have become a joke and something easy to defeat. The sentiment that every Angel was a danger to mankind is just lost. Going onward to the topic of fanfic. Well, the complicated plot and tension between Asuka and her complexes and Shinji and his complexes were a breeding ground for misunderstandings and negative feelings between both of them. During the original anime, they never really get to understand each other. But fans really did want to see them in a more comedic school romance moment, which led to so many fanfictions about them with a lighter tone and having a better relationship. Anno, being very well aware of this desire from fans, decided to give it to them. This fanservice notably included turning Asuka, a very complex female character with a lot of hidden mysteries, into a simple tsundere archetype, going as far as to make her cook for Shinji.

In contrast, Gendo, Shinji’s father who never had a positive relationship with Shinji until the very end of the original series, even dines with his son and repairs his relationship with him by visiting together the graveyard where Shinji’s mother rests. Everything becomes lighter, the school gang even visits an aquarium together, like in any normal school romance anime. Anno, with his own sense of humor, would even include a yaoi fanfiction reference in the form of Kaji Ryoji telling Shinji that “Gender has nothing to do with love”.

Ultimately, the movie even ends in a way that is very cliche of typical shonen anime, with the main character sacrificing everything to save Rei, the girl he loves most, which is a trope that does not suit the Evangelion universe that well, since it was a story of survival for mankind. In the end, from this movie onward, we could see that the Rebuild series is not going to be nearly as dark as the original anime. In fact, Asuka being just a tsundere, Shinji and his father fixing their relationship so easily, everything became so bluntly superficial. The subject of Angels and Evangelion’s own universe are not taken as seriously anymore. Angels are almost forgotten and out of the picture until some battle scenes. The overwhelming threat that the Angels were during the original series is quite absent. At the end of the movie, during the preview for Movie 3, the same narrator says once more that there will be plenty of fan service.

Movie 3, You can (not) redo, is a big mess and an interesting continuity to movie 2. To properly discuss it, I will write another article dedicated to Movie 3 and its subcontexts. In the hopes that you will start looking at the Rebuild movies with a new perspective from now on. Thank you for reading my first article and rendez-vous next week for my article!