You can do nothing but respect a man who's spent around 26 years developing a fantastical, horny, confusing, and visually stunning series with the sole purpose of telling a bunch of nerds to go touch grass.
except he doesn’t tell people to touch grass in thrice upon a time. this film was his passion project to show everyone how amazing annos life is now and how u should be just like him. it sucks that everyone is praising this film only because of its meta-narrative and not looking at the actual storytelling presented in the film - which is fundamentally broken on so many levels from a filmmaking perspective.
@@Nadia1989 dude, end of evangelion did that message 100 times better than this film. upon finishing that film it had such an impactful ending that you actually strive to better yourself - because shinji is written in such an incredible way that everyone can find something of themselves in him. he's a quotidian figure and its disgusting how relatable he is, its honestly so clever. like i can relate to shinji's fear of loneliness and also his unwillingness to connect to others, and since watching EoE I tried to work on that and improve myself. but in thrice upon a time, shinji just becomes a Gary Stu and fixes everyone's problems... how compelling.
Honestly Shinji just flirting with Mari, and acting like a normal human being was such a incredible beat to end the movie on. Like hes finally moved away from any feelings of acting like an anime character, and just being a person. Absolutely loved the ending, definitely worth the wait
Just love the fact, that he explains why azuka hates him. For doing nothing, he realizes that his non-action affect the people around him. Team Mari all the way here.
Both End of Evangellion and Evangellion 3.0 + 1.0 are both good conclusions. End of Evangelion and Anime takes place in the same time but from different point of views.. Shinji at Least made it possible for people to come back to life if They Choose To and Asuka and Shinji have Chance at a proper friendship. There's a possibility that the entirety of humanity can return Regardless if They were Dead or Alive before/during instrumentality.. Shinji gave Humanity a Second Chance By Rejecting instrumentality. 3.0 + 1.0 Shinji Learns a different lesson and Learn How To accept Death of Loved Ones and Respect their decisions.. Better He finally was able to reconcile with his father
How to sum up Evangelion: "Try to love yourself, then go outside and talk to other people, you fucking nerds! It'll be good for you, I promise." Thank you, Geoff. Truly.
except that is the most stupid part of this video & clearly shows Geoff didn't understand shit. the only nerd/otaku in the show was the most sane & happy person & shinji wasn't a nerd or an otaku but a child who had traumatic past & depression.
After reading that Anno admitted that Eva is a series that happens in a loop, the catharsis of Shinji acknowledging his past incarnations choices to destroy and recreate the world he suffered in, and seeing him finally break away from his fickle thinking and go on to become an actual person with autonomy in his decision making made the rebuilds more than worth it.
Funny, havent seen the film but i just read a doujin with that exact conclusion of a shinji breaking out of the loop and it was honestly really good, Re-take its called, i think sydnap recommended it a while ago but never got around to reading it until now.
Ther eis a legends of tomorrow episode thats basically scifi comedy hogground day that about that and her being trapped in a time loop and she has to get closer with her teammates to solve why that happens and get to know them. The ending, is hillarous and emotional. I think any decent hoground day story is about that. And the girl who lept through time. And 12 monkeys the series and movie
Yeah that's how I feel too. Despite thinking the movie itself has loads of issues, namely pacing and some weird usage of CGI, as a metaphore for Anno's own issues with depression and anxiety, it is hard not to feel teary eyed over Shinji finally breaking the cycle.
I kind of expected an ending like this, but it was still extremely cathartic to watch it play out. It feels like we've been in the backseat of Anno's open-air therapy session for decades now.
I like to imagine myself in Anno's place. I wouldn't have been able to work on a something that has been highly associated to my depression for decades. After watching the movie, the first thing came to my mind was, "congratulation Anno, it's finally over".
You mean you didn’t mentally scream at Anno, “Get back in the robot!” The immense amount of stress he must of had on him because us fans and what he created as a critically groundbreaking and somewhat Autobiographical fiction story. That had to be the weight of the world on his shoulders which he seemed to have a love hate relationship for. It was his baby and mind, but it was a publicly critiqued nightmare for him. Japan will not let the existence of Evangelion go, but it is not like Gundam. Gundam is like Star Trek, the fan’s disappointments will not effect the fan culture or the multiple director’s creative interpretations, like James Bond. The overall effect is minimal. But Evangelion is one story, one person’s mind and self interpretations, and one fandom’s expectations. I appreciated everything he has made; for it was, a story that would not exists without him, and it was a story that effected me deeply.
I didn't like 3.0 very much, even though i was super hyped for it at the time, bc i loved 2.0, but after watching the sequel, i felt such a disappointment, still i am glad i watched it nonetheless, in contrast i wish i had never wasted my time with 3.0+1.01. Most of the characters fell flat for me aside of Rei(she saved some of the movie for me, even if sometimes she was a bit too silly) and to a (way)lesser degree, shitty fucking Cyclops Gendou, no, fuck Gendou, you want to go back to your wife even if your child gets killed and you show him no affection or respect at all, while being super caring for a "monster" you created that just looks like your wife, fuck him. Asuka doesn't grow at all, her teenage counterpart in EoE felt more realized to me, Shinji retreads the same old ground from the series and EoE, Misato turns to shit just so we can sympathize to Gendou through her doing the same shitty things, Mari is well... not even a character, why the fuck is she in these movies, she adds nothing to this story or characters, was that all just for that final scene? It doesn't matter that she's based on Anno's wife, if it's not on screen it doesn't matter, if they wanted a character for the epilogue, they could've just used Suzuhara's sister or a completely unknown character. Also imo that character isn't even Shinji, he had both parents his whole life, never had to pilot the Evas, was never mindfucked, making him a completely different character, one that never had to face the difficulties of the real Shinji or had any of the growth or development, this is just a random guy with a gf, it looks like Anno is saying that the only way to change is to die and be born again, aka Neon Genesis Evangelion, that's the only way to be happy, instead of carrying the baggage you created throughout life and growing, no, just get rid of it, it feels like this movie came from a place of hate, Anno's hate for his older self, he wishes he could back in time and change his life. The action scenes are goddam awful, it's mindless fodder and has no weight, the CG is really apparent and bad, even in the scenes where they were supposed to be bad, i feel like they could've sold those scenes a different way. There is more fan-service in this movie than all three previous movies combined, Mari's boobs constantly juggling, Asuka naked the entire film, the scientists in plug suits, Rei using a plug suit the entire time, while the camera is always focusing on their parts, almost in every scene i mentioned. Random power ups with no explanation, i'm different from Geoff and Gigguk, like to understand what's going on and this movie was a fucking clusterfuck, i know the original has a lot of grand scheme threads that are really hard to understand and others that are impossible to grasp unless you do a deep dive on several different subjects, but at the end of the day, it was about the characters, and all of the minor occurrences that were happening were able to be understood, out of the rebuild films, i think 3.0 has some of that problem, but not nearly as much as 3.0+1.01, this problem is on the entire fucking film, even the town scenes are riddled with fuckery.
The best moment of 3+1 is when Gendo starts actually explaining himself to Shinji. Where they actually bond. Where they actually learn to *really* care about each other, even if just for a moment.
I agree it was so beautiful. I cried like a bitch it was so good. Gendo realizing that Shinji is actually who he was meant to bond with on Earth not focus on bringing back his dead wife. And that Shinji is basically his only link on this planet to Yui and he more or less shunned him for no reason really.
that's probably the only good thing that this movie can offer, that the series was missing. apart from that... The end of Evangelion was already a good conclusion to the series. darker, more nihilistic, but still leaving some sense of hope. enough hope. that was the true end for me. this new end is more like a bonus track. a corny, bombastic remake
I am not a huge Eva fan. I watched the original series and end and thought they were good. I watched Rebuild as it came out. The fact this movie bothers to have Gendo finally learn, finally grow was what brought this film full circle for me in a way other iterations have failed. It felt like it addressed what the series had been building up to for over two decades.
I was a bit irritated with 3+1. Nothing Gendo said was a revelation to me. It was clear that Gendo was a man haunted by the loss of his wife, on a desperate mission to save humanity and get her back. The Eva project was effectively *everything* in his life. It was the void that sucked in everyone he cared for, and it was the source of hope for a better future as well. The fact that he tried to keep Shinji away shows how he was afraid that the project would take his son away as well. He tried to make clones that could pilot the Evas instead, to spare his son. And they ultimately failed. You might not be able to trust the words that Gendo speaks, but his actions betray the truth of how he really feels.
You see I saw it first as an adult and by halfway through I was trying and failing to find a character that didn't need intense therapy/ didn't make others actively worse by accident (except Gendo he did that on purpose so I still I held and still do hold lots of contempt for him)
I just love the choice to make all endings effectively canon - there's no invalidation of previous endings or plot points, just another telling of the story
If anything, Shinji resolving instrumentality by creating a world without evas means the high school AU manga spin-offs were the true canon all along lol
Reminder to everyone to watch the Anno documentaries which also dropped on prime. They give exactly the insight needed to confirm everything being said here. It took a couple decades, some fan service, and a couple kaiju films, but the man finally grew up.
It also adds that Anno was in a much better state while making 3.0 + 1.0 than in End of Evangelion, which made 3.0 + 1.0 special. So definitely a must watch.
I think the craziest part of his career was directing a live-action film version of Cutie Honey, and the final episode of a 3-episode OVA based on said film adaptation, definitely a stark contrast to not just Evangelion, but also his later Shin Godzilla
@@meowthindegame8127 and the reason for that is his goddess of a wife. She got him through and over the darkest depths of his returning depression using both tough love and the ordinary sort This is reflected in all three pilot girls towards Shinji in 3.0+1.0.
While watching with friends our growing dread during that because we were waiting for the other shoe to drop, but also God I would watch just a series of films of Rei learning to farm, It was a therapeutic for us as it was for her to just watch all these kids actually got some time to breathe and heal.
@@RenaDeles it was like "well, this is all so peaceful and cool just to make us feel horrible when it all goes to shit because this is Evangelion", then the "Tang alarm" sounded and we were all "That checks, time for everything to fall apart horribly" but no. I mean a lot feel apart but in the end it was just... amazing. I had never felt so positively and intensely impacted by a movie the moment the credits rolled.
I feel like if you started EVA when you were a bit younger and had some life experiences along the way, it’ll hit even harder. I was just starting college when I watched EVA, still in a high school mindset, since then I’ve graduated, been thrown into the real world, matured, had hardships, and grown up just like Shinji. I think 3.0+1.0 was truly a masterpiece, something any adult can relate to, makes it that much more poetic when you think about where the characters were when it started, and I think all their arcs were wrapped up beautifully. Well done video.
You know, I honestly think the same of Cowboy Bebop. I think to truly understand it, you need to have been through the ringer and have life experience. I didn't watch it until I was almost 36 (in 2015), but I think if I had watched it when it aired, or shortly thereafter, I would've missed the point entirely; I hadn't *lived* at that point.
Im kinda similar because I started it in middle school the same age as shinji, and I'm now a senior but I obviously haven't changed to the extent others like you have.
Watched EVA for the first time when I was a lonely depressed high school sophomore and was naturally very pissed at the original ending. Now over 10 years later I’ve had a lot of life experiences and trials over that time - expecting to have a similar revelation when I finally finish catching up on the rebuilds.
Completely agree. It's a bit sad that the experience of growing up alongside the series cannot be realistically replicated by others coming in later, but I'm glad to have been able to experience it like that
So fucking true! I was 10 when I first watched NGE (1998). The show aired on TV for a couple of weekends during morning kids broadcasting (10am slot), but it as quickly removed for being too sexual and violent (I think it's understandable). I was definitely not nearly mature enough to grasp it fully, but that image of Rei being moved in a gurney to pilot EVA01 stuck with me for a long time... Maybe a year later, it started playing on Locomotion channel, and they did Evangelion weekends over and over for years. I watched it again and again, but still to this day I find new meaning in each episode. I can't overstate the impact it has had in my life, for the first time exposing me to other people's inner struggles and spirituality. It was immensely satisfying to see all the children finally reach the happiness they always deserved. Smiled all the way through the credits.
I watched the original series when I was about 19, and I rewatched it 19 years later (last year) and realised I wasn’t nearly emotionally mature enough to appreciate it back then. Rewatching it with 19 years of life experience made me relate to it and connect with it on a whole other level. NGE and EoE are two of the best things I’ve ever seen, and while Rebuild didn’t reach those same heights for me, I’m glad I watched it and I like the sense of closure it delivers.
@@FFKonoko I'd do it as an epic NGE, EoE and Rebuild marathon over a couple of days. I reckon it will be an awesome experience, and I'm sure I will enjoy it on a different level again :)
As someone who suffers immensely from the core issues that plague the characters of Eva and what you discussed, your closing lines brought me to tears. Thank you.
@@Sir_Tanooki_Dookie It definitely is good tears. I am currently in a BAD spiral of sad, but just that one line change Geoff did, honestly, is helping me. Just the right words at the right time for me.
@@loremipsum6028 The ending had me confused but I reflected on it and was really happy what Anno did with it all. I never expected that everything was going to made canon which I loved. Sometimes when we expect life to be one way and it doesn’t happen to our expectations we become depressed and can’t see forest for the trees. Like a bad breakup, we all dwell on the loss but then we find someone and unexpected that could redirect someone’s closed off mind. Mari was that. She doesn’t need explanation, she represents a view unseen by Shinji, a.k.a. Anno. His appreciates his wife’s work and express how he love her story telling as it inspired him with ideas he did not conceive of without her mangas. Mari’s representation pulls Shinji out from one reality that had to include every character, to one that accepted the closure of characters like Asuka in order to better himself without the burden of literally the whole worlds expections in his hands. Closure is hard but it is okay for us to let go.
@@loremipsum6028 I hope my message reaches you in the best way that may help you feel not alone in your internal battles. The Eva’s entry plugs are symbolic of self separation and loneliness. But the real challenge is letting people in our even letting ourselves out of our own self isolation. All this is hard but we feel alone when really we are one step away escaping our own prison. AT fields were expressed the same way in the show as well. We never express that we want people in but that is all we desperately want internally.
It feels odd so see everyone’s character development wrapped up so neatly in a single film. To see them all happy. Shinji is finally able to love himself and interact with people normally, Asuka is able to find someone that really cares about her and live life without need for validation, Rei is able to create an identity for herself and live a life that makes her happy, Kaworu is able to finally end the cycle and pursue his own happiness while not getting queer erasure’d, and Mari is, well, Mari. It feels so strange that you can realistically imagine them all going on a road trip, having a movie night etc and doing normal adult friend things. Truly an outstanding goodbye to all of evangelion.
In just under half an hour, he gets to the heart of Evangelion, and what it's always meant. Both for its creator and its audience. Sure, there'll be hour-long essays that say a lot more, but nothing beats the compactness, and thoroughly mature articulation of this video. Thank you Geoff.
Considering all the ranting Chibi Reviews is doing about MHA, and after watching this heartfelt analysis of one of the greatest anime franchises of all time, I have to say you’re becoming one of my favorite anime youtubers!
One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Mari finally called Shinji by his name instead of referring to him as "Puppy Boy", because to me it felt like she was starting to see Shinji in a new light, thus pushing their development and making the end more enjoyable.
End of Eva has Shinji learning the same stuff he did in the TV ending, just in a more obtuse and melancholic package. "Anywhere can be paradise if you have the will to live." -Yui Ikari, Shinji's mom, directly telling the audience the main theme of the film at the end.
I'm actually baffled how so many TH-camrs completely misinterpret End of Evangelion like it's some sort of hate-filled nihilistic narrative. Shinji chose to live in the real world with all the pain and suffering that comes with it, but it's also a world filled with love and empathy. That message really stuck with me and I find it disheartening how a lot of TH-camrs perpetuate a false narrative about how the ending is dark and depressing.
@@ThatEpicFinger But did he though? Especially if you buy that the Rebuild films are a sequel to EoE. So everything that happened in the Rebuild films suggest that he does make the wrong choice. That rather than confront his issues, he instead tries a redo where he's a little braver a little stronger. Well, you know what they say about insanity...
@@ThatEpicFinger Fully agree with this. I was sad to see this interpretation in the video as well. To me, EoE has always just been a seperate, much more action packed and fan-indulging version of the last two episodes. I didn't hate Shinji (or myself, if he were my standin) by the end of it at all.
When a man watches his creation on the danger of Otaku culture and escapism turn into the largest obsession in Otaku culture I can't imagine what he went through. To be lauded by everyone for a masterpiece but at the same time be screaming that everyone not only missed the point he was making but did exactly what he was trying to prevent. I'm not surprised that it took him so many attempts and so much time to try and figure out a way to end what in some ways must have felt like the abomination to his true dream.
And the ones that didnt ended up reading too much Sartre... Well maybe, but i know a few non-otakus that cite it as a reason they took philosophy, being exposed to such disturbing existentialism as a tween or early teen
EVA is a pathos driven experience. It shouldn't be only thought of with logic, its visuals and world deliberately break that, its not something that can be figured out logically as it is written, analyzing every phrase and nitpicking numbers... And honestly, this movie kinda showed that. Its not about the few tidbits of lore dump or even the pseudo jedeo-christian shenaniganry mixed in with jungian philosophy it materializes as physical objects with a purpose... thats all bonkers and attempting to 'make sense' in a strict logical way will just drive you nuts... its gendo all over, its shadow and shallow immaturity wanting to win out. You have to ignore the words, see the stunning visuals and embrace whats being done, the feelings it evokes and trust them where they lead you... its an emotional experience that fools use with tidbits that tantilize and bait our logic, only to suck us in and take us on the ride where, hopefully, we learn something... NGE was depression. EoE was reactionary rage. Rebuild... its like being on your meds and taking a look back, seeing through a new lens and understanding, or at least accepting the possibility, that things can be different... you can be better, if you want... 3.0+1.0 is like the conclusion of all that hard work, with therapy, meds, and support, we all can look at ourselves and be okay with what we see, and hopefully find a reason enough to keep inching forward, doing something better, that not only are we proud of, but want to share and reach out to others... It is a lot of growth and maturity put in a pathological visual media... and its great in my opinion~ Its what all of us broken kids who watch NGE, then EoE and felt the same kinda need now as adults, just looking for that something and how to be better... I really like that 'Be Better' has been a major message in a lot of good shows in recent years, glad to see EVA come back and show us the same... Its possible, we can always be better, be happy and treat each other kindly.
I didn’t cry during the original NGE finale. I didn’t cry during EOE. I didn’t cry during 3.0+1.0 (although I got pretty darn close). I didn’t even cry during Geoff’s brilliant analysis of the series. I cried after reading this comment. I cried HARD (my wife had to come check on me haha). As someone who’s been on this wild ride w/ NGE ever since it first came to the states on VHS, this comment is what truly crystallized what the series truly meant to me. Thank you for your beautiful words.
Disagree on Shinji not learning a thing at the End of EoE. Him renouncing instrumentality was him rejecting the unconditional love he craved in favor of that which was earned, which included denial. He wanted to confirm blind acceptance wasn’t a thing anymore. If ya watch the two choking scenes back-to-back, the interesting thing is Asuka gives him the opposite of what he demands: first rejection, then acceptance. End of Evangelion I never interpreted as a finger given to fans in spite of the death threats on-screen, but rather a perfect encapsulation of the 5 stages of Grief put into film.
Asuka doesn't give Shinji anything at the end of EoE. She doesn't act in any way, shape, or form. She doesn't speak. She is, for all intents and purposes, an object in Shinji's eyes. That ending isn't acceptance, it's Shinji giving up.
@@The5lacker Her final action was touching Shinji's face, which caused him to stop choking her, then she says she's disgusting. It's a pretty important and iconic scene.
@@The5lacker She touches his face, which made him stop choking her and then cried in front of her. Personally I interpreted the ending as Asuka finally showing him warm affection for the first time.
"his wife's spirit- which was trapped in the giant robot-" being a FOOTNOTE in explaining NGE somehow perfectly sums up the experience of watching this 26 yo masterpiece
i just need to share this one moment in the movie where something happened in me for a split second, and will take longer to write down. on their way to the anti-universe, mari tell's shinji that asuka might still be trapped in unit 13. shinji replies that he knows and says "leave it to me". at that moment i began to shudder, thinking thats the most cliche, shounen thing....but before that thought could even be completed, i felt some tears roll down my cheeks, and heard myself saying "My boy's all grown-up. he earned those words"
The hardest hitting part of the video is how Geoff takes to heart everything he just talked about and tells us his achievements instead of the putting himself down like in previous episodes.
You’ll find no disagreement here, I think after all the damn good analysis in there, Geoff’s break with his typical formula for the sign-off really brings it all together quite nicely as well. The point that helps the metaphorical nail sink deeper.
I'm glad he didn't sugar coat it. EoE was basically a gigantic neon sign saying "THIS IS YOU, YOU'RE SHINJI. DEAL WITH IT LOSERS." And yet some much time has gone by that a new generation of awkward nerds have inexplicably grown attached to it without even the vaguest sense of self awareness. Thrice Upon a Time has been called a love letter, but it's more of a peace offering.
@@stuntmonkey00 except that is the most stupid part of this video & clearly shows Geoff didn't understand shit. the only nerd/otaku in the show was the most sane & happy person & shinji wasn't a nerd or an otaku but a child who had traumatic past & depression.
I don't know, he called the original deep again... Not sure that flies here. If I fell in a hole as deep as the original I'd stub my toe. The movies? Certainly, very deep. Actual earned its redemption arc and characters made sense. The original? Just poor writing with more depression than could fit in the budget
Best advice I ever received is just ignore all the science jargon and religion symbolism and focus on what happens to the characters. The insanity of it all really just helps to get you in the mindfucked brainspace the chatacters are in and trauma they're going through
Yeah, trying to understand the religious elements especially in terms of their real world meaning makes the story actively harder to understand. Anno is agnostic, and I think for him the Christian themes were more about the intersection of fiction and reality than anything else.
I think they should be taken into account eventually tho, preferably during the first watch. They encode important concepts related to the human condition, such as Lilin (humans) being the only angel that took the Fruit of Knowledge whereas the other angels taking the Fruit of Life, which is a parallel to the biblical parable that humans have essentially separated ourselves from all other beasts of this world to arrogantly attempt to lord over it as if we were playing god.
@@mothersbasement Anno has said on the topic that the main inspiration at the begining for the christian symbolism is that angles exploding into crosses seemed cool lol
@@mothersbasement Neon Genesis as a series is fundamentally about the loneliness and alienation of the human condition. The whole idea of the hedgehog dilemna is that due to people's fundamental inability to fully understand each other(because we are distinct individuals) we end up hurting ourselves and each other in our interactions. Anno connects this idea with the christian idea of the original sin, although Anno sees it more as an "original unhappiness" whats important is the symbolism is meant to evoke the idea that humans are defective from birth, which is one of the central ideas of the series. Basically there is plenty to be seen there although I agree that like pretty much any story as an audience one should focus on understanding it with your heart and emotions more than with your mind(especially on first watch).
Really liked the outro, much better than the usual "I'm Geoff Thew, Professional Shitbag...". That one always felt a bit too self-deprecating. I hope he keeps using this one.
Just got out of Thrice Upon a Time. I'm still crying. It is such a cathartic ending. Just feels like Anno is at peace with himself and as someone struggling hard with depression for the last few years it resonates with me so hard.
Cried for like 2 hours straight, felt all the emotions and some new ones, cant believe its been with me almost my whole life. At the end i was in a puddle of tears feeling like i was in an entry plug filled with lcl fluid : P
Evangelion came to me in a very strange time. The most miserable time in my life, a time where I lost almost everything to depression. The original ending actually helped to get me out of it, it made me make the first steps again after i collapsed into darkness. I always held it dear because of this, but i never dared to touch it again, since it is connected to so many terrible memories for me. Maybe now that i managed to rebuild my life, it is time for me to revisit it, to watch through Rebuild and to see what it can give me now. Thank you a lot for this video
Jeff I don’t know how comfortable you are with comments like these, but you really look great! Whatever you’re doing is working for you! And yes Evangelion!
This was one of the best videos you have ever done and your sign out was thematically perfect. Thank you. As someone who has been watching Eva since I first saw it on crapping, 3rd Gen, unsubbed tapes in late 1995 and worked in a fansub group to produce a subbed version of the End of Evangelion in 1999, this ending made my old heart happy. Eva, like those of us in the Eva Generation, has grown up and I actually cried at that ending.
When the credits started rolling, i felt peace. An incredible feeling of satisfaction filled my mind, like a letter sent to me years ago from a distant parent finally arrived. Thank you Ano, seriously, thank you.
This was the ending Hideaki Anno *needed* and his characters deserved. It may not be to everyone's liking but that's how life works. I'm grateful to have seen it.
This, more than almost a decade’s worth of curiosity and short-lived attempts to watch the series, has made me really want to finish Eva. Just the one shot of Shinji and Gendo facing each other in the train brought a sense of narrative closure that I didn’t think I needed. Wonderful work, Geoff and I salute you on the sign-off ✌🏼
And also the redo of the recurring motif of the crying young Shinji at the train platform, only this time Gendo turns around and hugs Shinji. That bit had me bawling
While I disagree with some of your assessments regarding 3.0+1.0, I can't deny that this is one of your best works yet. I swear with ever video you get better and better, your content used to be good, now it is great
@@jacksonlee1883 I disagreed with a few points as well. For me, the biggest disagreement came when Geoff claimed instrumentality was a metaphor for the oneness experienced during sex and orgasm. I think that's a gross oversimplification, and far too narrow a conclusion. I think instrumentation is more akin to the philosophical concept of monism, where everything is already part of a greater whole, and it's only an illusion that things are separate. When instrumentation takes place, it removes the illusion of separation in every way, most notably the physical spectrum, which is why everyone merges as LCL in the original series. It's the ultimate expression of oneness and connectedness. And yes, those things can happen during sex and orgasm, but I feel its trying to address more of a metaphysical or philosophical concept than a simple metaphor for sex. Great video overall though
I love how the characters from Evangelion characters never really changed. They just got more HD. Not gonna lie, I got all teary-eyed when Gendo hugged Shinji.
I'm so damn happy with the ending. I couldn't be more satisfied. It's a movie about Healing and reflecting on the past and everyone around you, and taking responsibility for it.
I have to say, after nearly 2 decades of seeing these characters suffer, when One Last Kiss started playing at the end i couldn't stop crying happy tears. It just nailed it for me, while looking fan-fucking-tastic...and gave me a little Mari x Asuka fan service, actually LOADS of just regular fan service that Misato had been promising for years! The ending had me satisfied and then some!
@@questioningespecialy9107 Whoever you wanted it to be. Anno has always insisted that Evangelion never provides clear cut answer. Sure, the ending presented Mari as a representation of that person you meet after you've grown up a lot. But that is more reflection of Anno's own life than the viewers. The story itself never concluded one way or another as one can also assume that they are just two flirty friends who like to tease one another and Shinji's actual life partner is still undecided.
@@questioningespecialy9107 Personally i think it's dow to whoever you WANT them to be. The ending i think is well open that way and honestly...it works with everyone! But my personal ship is pretty obvious lol.
Only started watching Eva in 2019 at the age of 17 with the original series and all of the following releases and absolutely enjoyed it all the way up to now with 3.0 + 1.0 can only imagine how impactful it must have been to those who have been following the show for longer that 20 years
It was hard, as Geoff says, if Japanese ''fans'' sent complains and threats to the studio and the director and staff making bigger their crisis, we overseas were astounded and confused over Evangelions Mistery, we live on a Occidental Christian culture, it was hard to see the symbols used on this way and then again in my case I was more or less Shinji's age when it got out. It was amazing but also really sad and that's why you felt that simpathy, but at the same time, I wanted a better more cohesive conclusion to the series than The End or 25-26. I also noticed the changes of the years took on the series but it was hard to hope there will be a light at the end of the tunnel it was Evangelion, I really apreciate this retake, and kinda feel sad that at the moment it goes throught their harder obstacles, gets the ending, and Mr. Anno says farewell to his work, but it was a hard desesperate work, and he commits to it its a great example, just like seeing the characters on the change of time perspective. It has been a great travel, I really think it's not over yet, just started, but if it's taken for another director or company, I just wish their best and hope they apreciate the jewel and the work and passion inserted on this one just at it deserves, the lore, the fantasy, the psichology, the fanservice, the cultural swift it became. Just an influential masterpiece I hope someday gets more stories.
@@nelsinki5177 On the point of Evangelion possibly not being over I seem to remember an old video I saw. Within it I think there was a Mr. Anno quote that said something like I want Eva to be expanded by others. I think that this is to mean that he wanted the show to be seen as a genre and for new minds and creators to use Eva and its universe to express their personal interpretations of life and their struggles just as Mr. Anno did yet I am uncertain if this is still his intention.
Shinji: "I guess we can't resolve this with violence, Dad" Gendou: "You are right, son. Let's talk." Shinji: "Tell me dad, are you familiar with the ship of thessius?" Gendou: "Wait, what?"
Just finished watching 3+1 this morning and came to YT to find some analysis. New to the channel and just now subscribed… What an amazing essay Jeff, thank you
Doooo it lol but you gotta be some glowing brain 1000 I.Q. genius to 100% get what’s going on throughout the series without the help of a video or two.
@@bobpope3656 Yes, it is. For literally anyone who's ever been depressed, or been through a real life trauma, Evangelion is absolutely deep. Maybe you just didn't get it. What are the chances of something emotionally resonating with literally millions of people, but the one random comment saying "it's not that deep" is the correct analysis? So arrogant.
It makes me glad to see that both Shinji and Anno are at peace. I remember when I finally had to choose between video games and anime and being an adult. It took being a full-time single dad for that to click. However, I do need to get out of the house more (not including work.)
Watched it twice and cried at the end both times finally seeing EVERYONE in the cast have their closure, complete their emotional character arcs and have a sweet, happy ending. “One Last Kiss” playing when it did feels like flying everytime. Thanks for the video, Jeff!
This is definitely the best Eva video essay I've seen as it gets to the heart of the message and shows concisely the mirroring between the show and Anno's life and does it all justice without over complicating everything
The ending outro for this one was just perfect, the perfect reflection of the material and it's affect on you as a watcher. 10/10, absolutely stellar video
As someone who did not enjoy Evangelion, this movie finally felt like Eva saying what it wanted to say all along without stumbling. And I loved it for that, retroactively made me appreciate the rest of the series.
Same for me It isn't that I didn't enjoy evangelion, but there were parts that I seriously did not like. There were many episodes that had nothing to do with the main struggle. The narrative just felt disconnected from itself. However, while Thrice Upon a Time had a little bit of that problem too (the first act ended too abruptly) it still feels coherent in showing what it wants to say. Before this movie I couldn't really decide what ending I liked the most The original one felt like it was what eva wanted to say, but was forced and didn't live up to itself While EoE was masterfully crafted but didn't hit on what eva really wanted to say But 4.0 returned to what eva really wanted to say, but did not discard the previous endings and instead made them part of how the stories path. And I am seriously sad for not having gotten around to watching it a second time due to its lenght. Happily I realized I could watch the 3 acts on their own instead of watching the entire bulk of a movie.
Just finished the movie like an hour ago and out of curiosity hopped online to see what others thought about it... yours was the first link I hit and I have no desire to look elsewhere. Thank you.
but honestly. imagine 3.0+1.01 with the same animation style as EoE and actually giving it enough time to explain Rebuild Mari,Asuka and kaworu. it would be the best movie in existence to me
@@charliekowittmusic Thrice is actually a continuation to EoE, it is technicality the world Shinji creates after he becomes the "God of Instrumentality" in EoE.
That deep dive on gendo was basically everything i wanted. But i‘m still kinda confused on what happened in the time skip from 3.33. Now I‘m dying to see what anno does with kamen rider.
I’ve been a fan since the original extremely long and grueling American release of this show on dvd; but really, there was huge gaps between dvd releases that I preordered as a kid at my local Sun Coast and Sam Goody’s stores. This show wasn’t what I imagined or wanted; yet, it was what I needed. I always thought the show was easy for me to understand and other people were confused and over thought its meaning. I understood the religious symbolism and that the main conflict wasn’t the Angels, that they were merely symbolic distractions to the character’s internal conflicts. With a world as crazy as our own, it is easy to forget to take care of ourselves. Evangelion 3.0 had me so convinced that this was a just another redo of Shinj’s reality because the original show explained to Shinji reality was in his hands and literally showed him possibilities of what could be. I knew at the very beginning of 3.0+1.0 it was a new reality that has been redone so many times that people living it were now aware of Shinji’s power and what would he do next. It was so obvious that the characters expressed their own distain or his existence. I loved it. I accept the series of everything in whole as it is told for its poetry and escapism as a fictional story. I think it is beautiful and gives me something to reflect on, for my own reality.
gotta say, i've watched quite a few 'eva explanation' videos and this was the first and only one that actually helped me wrap my mind around the whole thing, its real-life implications, and its actual sense of closure and why it works good stuff
What I liked the most is the meta-narrative character of the final battle between Shinji and Gendo. The former has finally accepted adulthood, and can finally let go of the “Evangelions” and move on to a world where they don’t exist - a real world, where people don’t need NGE as an escapist fantasy to avoid responsibility and obsess over fiction. Gendo on the other hand still clings to Yui and wishes to rebuild the world itself, to repeat the events of EOE and ultimately restart the same events again. But the best part is the very end. Shinji gets Mari as his girlfriend. A character who literally fell from the sky, had no connection to the rest of the series and seemingly had nothing to do with it. A character who unlike Asuka or Rei wasn’t a debate topic of waifu wars throughout the last 30 years. Someone who wasn’t part of the same escapist fantasy the original show was, because at the end of the day, you have to let all of it go, if you truly want to grow up it seems. I didn’t expect the point of all of Evangelion to culminate in “Stop watching robot anime, go outside, get a girlfriend and touch grass”, but I wouldn’t say I am unhappy with it.
The point being stop watching robot anime has been text to everyone who has paid any sort of attention to Ano since shortly before the original series ended.
@@AntonioCardenasT I mean, I wasn’t closely following Anno’s other work in any possible capacity and I wouldn’t say that the rest of the Rebuilds hint to this conclusion in any way (especially the first two, considering how similar they are to the original series in many ways). While such a conclusion was hinted at even in the original series, I wouldn’t say it was the main vocal point and it wasn’t given a clear narrative ending, before the final rebuild.
And of course Mari being Shinji's endgame is the only possible way it could end...when you realize that she's reportedly inspired by Anno's wife. She was the missing piece, of at least one of them.
I watched eva for the first time when I was 13. I thought I mostly understood it until I rewatched it 7 years later. Another 7 years and a 4 part theatrical retelling later and I finally fully understand it and why it resonated so much with me even when I didn't really understand. This is such a beautiful breakdown and I appreciate the extra details of Anno's struggles. Sometimes it's easy to forget the people behind our favorite entertainment and I love that you don't, even in other cases where it's not as important to the shows theming.
So yesterday I watched the first 12 ep of the og series on AVD DVD's and then all 4 of the rebuild movies back to back with 2 bottles of my fave wine. I haven't picked up Eva in a few years and was nervous. I loved every bit of it and the new movie was a real treat. I have since learned that certain fans were worried about which best girl shinji ends up with, if you are then your missing the fucking point. im a aged, withered and jaded adult now and its the first time a director has given me closure on something important in years. Its not about finding a girlfriend, or escapism or rule of cool. Its about finding happyness in yourself and the fiends you make. I know that sounds cliché, but i cant think of things that fulfilled me more lately than meeting friends at a station unexpectedly.
And the reveal they’ve all been trapped in a cycle for lord knows how long. Always resetting to a world with Evas until Anno, I mean Shinji, finally grew up to the poibt he realizes he doesn’t need them anymore is just one more layer. Like that kind of reveal might be utter unworkable hubris for any other movie or show but felt earned. As the man once said. Congratulations.
I was in high school when I first watched Evangelion. I was a very lonely teenager - depressed, bullied, hated myself etc. I went through a lot of pain. Neon Genesis Evangelion was that escape - a scream into the void that felt like a release but not really a solution to my problems. The End of Evangelion even more so; only this time it was my anger at myself. I definitely connected more to this ending than the TV show’s. Then I stopped watching Evangelion and pretty much anime in general save for a few random shows every other blue moon. It was a period of my life I didn’t want to return to or think about and unfortunately Evangelion and anime were intrinsically linked to this period. Time moved on and I started to like myself. I made close friends. I went out into the world and did things. I tried to improve me emotionally. I met the love of my life and am getting married next month. It wasn’t easy. Like everything in life there’s been hardships and I know there will likely be more. But I’m in a good spot now. After a long time away, I started watching anime and reading manga again. Its been great to be able to experience these mediums I love so much and not feel the pain I went through. I even rewatched Evangelion a couple of times and loved it but now from the position of an emotionally stable adult. I grew to appreciate the TV show’s more hopeful ending and mourned the anger of the End of Evangelion. So at the dawn of my 30s (!), Evangelion 3.0+1.0 arrived to cap off my reconnecting with the series with an ending that truly serves to me as the emotional climax of the series. Shinji doesn’t have his life realisation in his head or unleashes his anger on the world. He talks. He stands up and attempts to make amends for his actions. He takes responsibility and finally faces up to his dad. I was so excited that the film was taking this route. It’s really the only way Anno could have ended this properly. I always think of Shinji as being the anime version of Peter Pan. As a fanbase we don’t let this angsty teenage boy grow up and we move on when we don’t need him anymore leaving him in eternal teen-hood. I think it’s beautiful that Anno created a story that allowed Shinji true (and literal) growth. Great video 👍
I was so happy to watch the final final final ending after watching it in 1996 in high school. I felt that Anno was Shinji, Shinji’s parents were the depression of the past that held him prisoner, Saying goodbye to asuka was a way to say good bye to the cycle of Evangelion, and Mari his image of his wife and moving on with life. Especially Mari taking off the collar, and both holding hands running out of the train station in his hometown. Brilliant masterpiece.
This was a good video. I feel like I understand the final Rebuild movie more now, and like it more, now that I have all the real world context of the creator's life, struggles, and growth. Thank you for that shift in perspective.
I think the end of "end" is alot deeper than "he learned nothing" I think that it was shinji relapsing, but asuka small gesture of kindness showed him that even when you do the right thing, and even if things will be better, you are going to struggle, but that makes it worth it
Neon Genesis Evangelion nearly drove me to suicide. Seeing Shinji suffering is like seeing myself suffer, because at one point in time I was almost exactly like him, especially back in 10th grade when I was bullied to the brink of suicide. I simply cannot tolerate watching Eva. I felt forced to relive my trauma upon viewing it. I’m deathly afraid of it. Twice I had a nightmare where I saw myself as Shinji choking Asuka and starting the Third Impact. I’ve been struggling with this newfound depression ever since. I was obsessed with the series for over a year to try and outwit the isolation of the Coronavirus pandemic. It only increased the burden, and kept the memory of my friend’s recent suicide alive. Watching the End of Evangelion was like peering into a broken mirror, and I was viewing the hell I would’ve put myself through had things turned out differently, had I decided to give up living. It still haunts me to this day. Sometimes I hate myself because I fail to appreciate what so many have claimed to idolize, and I beat myself further for failing to worship what they call praiseworthy, I forced myself to watch a show that reminded me of nothing but pain just so I wouldn’t be alone anymore, I was willing to sacrifice my individuality for some company amidst the isolation of the pandemic. I sought emotional refuge in the Evangelion fandom on social media, hoping they’d understand me and provide me with answers that would grant me peace of mind. Instead, they downplayed my trauma, going so far as to spread a rumor of my past to shame me of my mental illness, spiraling me deeper into depression, which I’ve been struggling with for over a year now. I just want Shinji to be happy, so this past self of mine can be laid to rest once more. I’m afraid to decouple myself from him after losing my friend to suicide, which Eva made me feel responsible for, especially when I saw Shinji kill Kaworu, of which I fail to understand how anyone can call it praiseworthy. Until then, I feel nothing else matters. There’s a reason why I keep coming back to Evangelion; something that reminds me of nothing but pain. I want to prove to myself I’m not crazy for feeling this way, that Evangelion really did force me to relive my trauma, that my depression is not just a figment of my imagination or another anime plot point. I want to feel that my fear and resentment towards Eva is justified. But the fact I’m the only one I know in existence who’s been traumatized by an anime makes me feel like I really am crazy. Whenever I feel this way, there’s something I remind myself with. But finally, with 3.0+1.0 released, I can rest easy knowing that Shinji has finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel. Evangelion is finished, and I want it to remain that way. But if things hadn’t turned out that way, I wouldn’t be here today.
Dude, you need to be more careful about the media you consume for your own safety. If you're easily affected by these topics as it seems you are, you should do serious research before watching/reading things with said topics. You can't rely on a character's happiness to cause your own; that's incredibly unhealthy. And you can't blame a piece of media for being too much for you to handle. I'm glad that the ending resolved things for you, but it's really concerning to have one piece of media influence you to that extent. Seriously, be careful. Please. I'm really sorry this happened to you, and I hope it doesn't happen again. Everyone has their limits on what they can and can't view in media. Try looking up content warnings before you view something that could potentially trigger you; usually people have lists online. And maybe talk to someone about this in real life? I don't know your current situation, but it always helps. Please, stay safe. Best of wishes to you.
@@randompianoplayer5855 I do blame Evangelion for this because it was the start of a psychological domino effect that I had to endure. Sometimes I hate myself because I hate Evangelion for how much trauma it resurfaced; because the fandom hated me for that too.
@@hawkeyenextgen7117 If it really had that much of a negative affect on you than I don't think it's an issue with the show. (Not that it's your fault either.) Seriously, be careful with the media you consume.
Genuinely extremely nice to hear something less self deprecating than the usual "shitbag" sign off. You're good at what you do, and what you do is worth doing, so it's nice to see you recognize your own worth in that small way.
The last choking scene in EoE was a call back to the hedgehog's dilemma which is a running theme throughout the original series. I didn't see it as Shinji not having learned anything.
I see you Mothers Basement, you with that collectors editions of "Irresponsible Captain Tylor. seeing as I have just noticed that, I feel as If I need to thank you, for introducing me all those months ago to that show, when you did your documentary video on it. I have thoroughly enjoyed your video, your channel, that show and my own collectors edition. I just wanted to say thanks for showing me the charm of a thing many would think to be a second rate or even third rate show. you've made it one of my top 5. I'm curious to know which number you got for your Captain Tylor collection set, mine is 431. As always, keep up the good work.
@@mothersbasement How amazing, and if you'll indulge me once more with a question. Are you, or have you, purchased the Gkids Evangelion collectors set?
Go listen to the paris, euro nerv, and theme du concerto 494. they're absolutely my fav ost tracks and if you're like me you love to listen to the bangers of an ost right after finishing the show/movie.
This show was so loved by fans that we fantasized our own perfect endings. Hideaki Anno’s complete telling is smarter and deeper than us as fans expectation’s could ever be. Rather than Evangelion just being a beautiful, stunning and badass anime spectacle, it was so much more as a metaphorical experience of searching for one’s self. Anno left it up for us and our minds to go wild, and it worked. What the meaning of his art is different to all of us and what makes it special. Without directly telling us what Eva’s message is, which the base story I think is clear, but it gives us room to express what it means to us as an audience. To this day we are all still talking about it with what it all means in our opinion, how ground breaking it is, Rei, Asuka or Mari, what we wish would happen, etc. The brilliance is Shinji and everyone around him have been experiencing reality over and over with minor changes with different outcomes and hardships. There never seems to be a right answer, but Anno gave us an ending that said “this is it.” It might not be perfect, but it his ending and he is tired of tweaking the resolve for the perfect ending. It is like the movie The Butterfly Effect, that the small changes make big changes but have new problems that seem never ending. Surviving the 3rd impact showed us the new developed problems by this “What if” continuation that happened in Evangelion 3.0. This is Anno’s ending and I appreciate it.
Thank you for concisely and succinctly capturing what EVA has been trying to convey all these years. I feel like the core message always got lost within the sea of waifu debates and people simply hating Shinji for being a more real representation of deeper issues.
Maybe more shows should have the message of "People suck, and you're fine as you are. Live however you like, we all die anyway." It might not be an uplifting moral, but it's certainly more realistic.
I already loved 3.0+1.0, but your talking about it made me love it even more. Congrats to Anno for becoming an adult and being able to tell this wonderful story
With that ending I also I have a feeling that if Anno had the choice, he would have pulled all Eva merchandise and pachinko machines and the like from shelves and thrown them into a furnace. A final grown up ending indeed, but it also felt like him screaming "I literally want this franchise to cease it's existence."
Small note, but I love your end tag you added on this video. Rather than your older one of signing out from “your mothers basement”, it’s grown into “from the office of the house I’m renting”. Hahah it just supports the message of the video. Just thought I’d mention it!
I watched the original series and movies as a preteen and I say with no exaggeration that it changed the course of my life. Returning to the franchise decades later, a changed person, and seeing those fundamentally damaged people who's ALSO healed, changed, and GROWN, is at once bizarre and extraordinarily cathartic. I felt about the whole end of the rebuild how I imagine Asuka and Shinji felt during their last conversation on the beach. It was strange, it was uncomfortable, but it was wonderful. I loved it deeply, and I may never have another experience quite like it.
You can do nothing but respect a man who's spent around 26 years developing a fantastical, horny, confusing, and visually stunning series with the sole purpose of telling a bunch of nerds to go touch grass.
Anno's been telling nerds to touch grass longer than a long of those nerds (including me) have been alive.
except he doesn’t tell people to touch grass in thrice upon a time. this film was his passion project to show everyone how amazing annos life is now and how u should be just like him. it sucks that everyone is praising this film only because of its meta-narrative and not looking at the actual storytelling presented in the film - which is fundamentally broken on so many levels from a filmmaking perspective.
@@shokwavedodo1176 haha, sure buddy. You do you
@@shokwavedodo1176 dude, just go touch some grass
@@Nadia1989 dude, end of evangelion did that message 100 times better than this film. upon finishing that film it had such an impactful ending that you actually strive to better yourself - because shinji is written in such an incredible way that everyone can find something of themselves in him. he's a quotidian figure and its disgusting how relatable he is, its honestly so clever. like i can relate to shinji's fear of loneliness and also his unwillingness to connect to others, and since watching EoE I tried to work on that and improve myself. but in thrice upon a time, shinji just becomes a Gary Stu and fixes everyone's problems... how compelling.
Honestly Shinji just flirting with Mari, and acting like a normal human being was such a incredible beat to end the movie on. Like hes finally moved away from any feelings of acting like an anime character, and just being a person. Absolutely loved the ending, definitely worth the wait
I cried harder at that than I did when Forrest asked if his son was like him
I just love the fact that after all the Asuka vs Rei debates Anno pairs Shinji with Mari.
Just love the fact, that he explains why azuka hates him. For doing nothing, he realizes that his non-action affect the people around him. Team Mari all the way here.
@Tin Watchman Mari is an anime depiction of Anno's irl wife, Moyoco
Both End of Evangellion and Evangellion 3.0 + 1.0 are both good conclusions.
End of Evangelion and Anime takes place in the same time but from different point of views.. Shinji at Least made it possible for people to come back to life if They Choose To and Asuka and Shinji have Chance at a proper friendship. There's a possibility that the entirety of humanity can return Regardless if They were Dead or Alive before/during instrumentality.. Shinji gave Humanity a Second Chance By Rejecting instrumentality.
3.0 + 1.0 Shinji Learns a different lesson and Learn How To accept Death of Loved Ones and Respect their decisions.. Better He finally was able to reconcile with his father
Boys will literally reinvent anime as an art medium before going to therapy 😔😔
Ahh yes, *Otaku no video*
win-win-win if you ask me
🤣🤣🤣
LOVELY
Better than turning humanity into a primordial soup of collective consciousness 😏
How to sum up Evangelion: "Try to love yourself, then go outside and talk to other people, you fucking nerds! It'll be good for you, I promise."
Thank you, Geoff. Truly.
Except it's not
except that is the most stupid part of this video & clearly shows Geoff didn't understand shit. the only nerd/otaku in the show was the most sane & happy person & shinji wasn't a nerd or an otaku but a child who had traumatic past & depression.
@@roxas4587 dude go touch grass the film had a lot of fan service and a generic ending to make the nerds happy
@@Ben2k109
I agree that they should touch grass. But it ain't a generic ending it's just a happy one, which doesn't make it generic.
@@-jellyzwop-3237 Ok now go touch grass
After reading that Anno admitted that Eva is a series that happens in a loop, the catharsis of Shinji acknowledging his past incarnations choices to destroy and recreate the world he suffered in, and seeing him finally break away from his fickle thinking and go on to become an actual person with autonomy in his decision making made the rebuilds more than worth it.
Funny, havent seen the film but i just read a doujin with that exact conclusion of a shinji breaking out of the loop and it was honestly really good, Re-take its called, i think sydnap recommended it a while ago but never got around to reading it until now.
Its actually feels like Shiki-Jitsu The Ritual (2000) Anno's 2nd live action film i get the idea how the timeloop works from that film
Ther eis a legends of tomorrow episode thats basically scifi comedy hogground day that about that and her being trapped in a time loop and she has to get closer with her teammates to solve why that happens and get to know them. The ending, is hillarous and emotional.
I think any decent hoground day story is about that.
And the girl who lept through time.
And 12 monkeys the series and movie
Yeah that's how I feel too. Despite thinking the movie itself has loads of issues, namely pacing and some weird usage of CGI, as a metaphore for Anno's own issues with depression and anxiety, it is hard not to feel teary eyed over Shinji finally breaking the cycle.
@@marocat4749 Kinda makes it ironic, don't you think?
I kind of expected an ending like this, but it was still extremely cathartic to watch it play out. It feels like we've been in the backseat of Anno's open-air therapy session for decades now.
nobody seems to mention how the infant cry's when ayanami expiree's
I like to imagine myself in Anno's place. I wouldn't have been able to work on a something that has been highly associated to my depression for decades. After watching the movie, the first thing came to my mind was, "congratulation Anno, it's finally over".
You mean you didn’t mentally scream at Anno, “Get back in the robot!” The immense amount of stress he must of had on him because us fans and what he created as a critically groundbreaking and somewhat Autobiographical fiction story. That had to be the weight of the world on his shoulders which he seemed to have a love hate relationship for. It was his baby and mind, but it was a publicly critiqued nightmare for him. Japan will not let the existence of Evangelion go, but it is not like Gundam. Gundam is like Star Trek, the fan’s disappointments will not effect the fan culture or the multiple director’s creative interpretations, like James Bond. The overall effect is minimal. But Evangelion is one story, one person’s mind and self interpretations, and one fandom’s expectations. I appreciated everything he has made; for it was, a story that would not exists without him, and it was a story that effected me deeply.
I didn't like 3.0 very much, even though i was super hyped for it at the time, bc i loved 2.0, but after watching the sequel, i felt such a disappointment, still i am glad i watched it nonetheless, in contrast i wish i had never wasted my time with 3.0+1.01.
Most of the characters fell flat for me aside of Rei(she saved some of the movie for me, even if sometimes she was a bit too silly) and to a (way)lesser degree, shitty fucking Cyclops Gendou, no, fuck Gendou, you want to go back to your wife even if your child gets killed and you show him no affection or respect at all, while being super caring for a "monster" you created that just looks like your wife, fuck him.
Asuka doesn't grow at all, her teenage counterpart in EoE felt more realized to me, Shinji retreads the same old ground from the series and EoE, Misato turns to shit just so we can sympathize to Gendou through her doing the same shitty things, Mari is well... not even a character, why the fuck is she in these movies, she adds nothing to this story or characters, was that all just for that final scene? It doesn't matter that she's based on Anno's wife, if it's not on screen it doesn't matter, if they wanted a character for the epilogue, they could've just used Suzuhara's sister or a completely unknown character.
Also imo that character isn't even Shinji, he had both parents his whole life, never had to pilot the Evas, was never mindfucked, making him a completely different character, one that never had to face the difficulties of the real Shinji or had any of the growth or development, this is just a random guy with a gf, it looks like Anno is saying that the only way to change is to die and be born again, aka Neon Genesis Evangelion, that's the only way to be happy, instead of carrying the baggage you created throughout life and growing, no, just get rid of it, it feels like this movie came from a place of hate, Anno's hate for his older self, he wishes he could back in time and change his life.
The action scenes are goddam awful, it's mindless fodder and has no weight, the CG is really apparent and bad, even in the scenes where they were supposed to be bad, i feel like they could've sold those scenes a different way.
There is more fan-service in this movie than all three previous movies combined, Mari's boobs constantly juggling, Asuka naked the entire film, the scientists in plug suits, Rei using a plug suit the entire time, while the camera is always focusing on their parts, almost in every scene i mentioned.
Random power ups with no explanation, i'm different from Geoff and Gigguk, like to understand what's going on and this movie was a fucking clusterfuck, i know the original has a lot of grand scheme threads that are really hard to understand and others that are impossible to grasp unless you do a deep dive on several different subjects, but at the end of the day, it was about the characters, and all of the minor occurrences that were happening were able to be understood, out of the rebuild films, i think 3.0 has some of that problem, but not nearly as much as 3.0+1.01, this problem is on the entire fucking film, even the town scenes are riddled with fuckery.
This actually, because it seems that was his end goal. Finish Evas once and for all while good for him mainly but also for us.
The best moment of 3+1 is when Gendo starts actually explaining himself to Shinji. Where they actually bond. Where they actually learn to *really* care about each other, even if just for a moment.
I agree it was so beautiful. I cried like a bitch it was so good. Gendo realizing that Shinji is actually who he was meant to bond with on Earth not focus on bringing back his dead wife. And that Shinji is basically his only link on this planet to Yui and he more or less shunned him for no reason really.
that's probably the only good thing that this movie can offer, that the series was missing. apart from that... The end of Evangelion was already a good conclusion to the series. darker, more nihilistic, but still leaving some sense of hope. enough hope. that was the true end for me. this new end is more like a bonus track. a corny, bombastic remake
I am not a huge Eva fan. I watched the original series and end and thought they were good. I watched Rebuild as it came out. The fact this movie bothers to have Gendo finally learn, finally grow was what brought this film full circle for me in a way other iterations have failed. It felt like it addressed what the series had been building up to for over two decades.
I was a bit irritated with 3+1. Nothing Gendo said was a revelation to me. It was clear that Gendo was a man haunted by the loss of his wife, on a desperate mission to save humanity and get her back. The Eva project was effectively *everything* in his life. It was the void that sucked in everyone he cared for, and it was the source of hope for a better future as well.
The fact that he tried to keep Shinji away shows how he was afraid that the project would take his son away as well. He tried to make clones that could pilot the Evas instead, to spare his son. And they ultimately failed.
You might not be able to trust the words that Gendo speaks, but his actions betray the truth of how he really feels.
I cried in theatres.
Basically my experience with Eva:
Kid me: Eva's so lame and Shinji is a wimp
Adult me: Oh god--we're all Shinji Ikari.
You see I saw it first as an adult and by halfway through I was trying and failing to find a character that didn't need intense therapy/ didn't make others actively worse by accident (except Gendo he did that on purpose so I still I held and still do hold lots of contempt for him)
I just love the choice to make all endings effectively canon - there's no invalidation of previous endings or plot points, just another telling of the story
I find it freaked that Nagisa has lived every possible life that ends with his death and Sinji’s suffering until this one.
If anything, Shinji resolving instrumentality by creating a world without evas means the high school AU manga spin-offs were the true canon all along lol
@@Kidynamo123 ....God damn it, there's way more truth than I was expecting there.
@@jacksonlee1883 yea who knew Kaworu is literally just Bill Murray in groundhog day
I absolutely loved this choice. Such a cool idea to build everything into one new cohesive text
Reminder to everyone to watch the Anno documentaries which also dropped on prime. They give exactly the insight needed to confirm everything being said here. It took a couple decades, some fan service, and a couple kaiju films, but the man finally grew up.
Wait what?? Okay time to use amazon prime
It also adds that Anno was in a much better state while making 3.0 + 1.0 than in End of Evangelion, which made 3.0 + 1.0 special. So definitely a must watch.
I think the craziest part of his career was directing a live-action film version of Cutie Honey, and the final episode of a 3-episode OVA based on said film adaptation, definitely a stark contrast to not just Evangelion, but also his later Shin Godzilla
@@meowthindegame8127 and the reason for that is his goddess of a wife. She got him through and over the darkest depths of his returning depression using both tough love and the ordinary sort This is reflected in all three pilot girls towards Shinji in 3.0+1.0.
"Growing up" is overrated, IMO.
We need a spin-off that’s just 2 and a half hours of Rei farming and learning about life.
While watching with friends our growing dread during that because we were waiting for the other shoe to drop, but also God I would watch just a series of films of Rei learning to farm, It was a therapeutic for us as it was for her to just watch all these kids actually got some time to breathe and heal.
I want a SoL of Mari and Shinji being goofy adults in a loving relationship full of wit and them just being the turbodorks we know they are
Need a spinoff film about penpen wondering the post-apocalyptic landscape.🐧
@@Rippedyanu1 That basically describes Moyoco Anno's manga Insufficient Direction. Shinji is obviously Anno, and Mari is his wife.
@@RenaDeles it was like "well, this is all so peaceful and cool just to make us feel horrible when it all goes to shit because this is Evangelion", then the "Tang alarm" sounded and we were all "That checks, time for everything to fall apart horribly" but no. I mean a lot feel apart but in the end it was just... amazing. I had never felt so positively and intensely impacted by a movie the moment the credits rolled.
I feel like if you started EVA when you were a bit younger and had some life experiences along the way, it’ll hit even harder. I was just starting college when I watched EVA, still in a high school mindset, since then I’ve graduated, been thrown into the real world, matured, had hardships, and grown up just like Shinji. I think 3.0+1.0 was truly a masterpiece, something any adult can relate to, makes it that much more poetic when you think about where the characters were when it started, and I think all their arcs were wrapped up beautifully. Well done video.
You know, I honestly think the same of Cowboy Bebop. I think to truly understand it, you need to have been through the ringer and have life experience. I didn't watch it until I was almost 36 (in 2015), but I think if I had watched it when it aired, or shortly thereafter, I would've missed the point entirely; I hadn't *lived* at that point.
Im kinda similar because I started it in middle school the same age as shinji, and I'm now a senior but I obviously haven't changed to the extent others like you have.
Watched EVA for the first time when I was a lonely depressed high school sophomore and was naturally very pissed at the original ending. Now over 10 years later I’ve had a lot of life experiences and trials over that time - expecting to have a similar revelation when I finally finish catching up on the rebuilds.
Completely agree. It's a bit sad that the experience of growing up alongside the series cannot be realistically replicated by others coming in later, but I'm glad to have been able to experience it like that
So fucking true! I was 10 when I first watched NGE (1998). The show aired on TV for a couple of weekends during morning kids broadcasting (10am slot), but it as quickly removed for being too sexual and violent (I think it's understandable). I was definitely not nearly mature enough to grasp it fully, but that image of Rei being moved in a gurney to pilot EVA01 stuck with me for a long time... Maybe a year later, it started playing on Locomotion channel, and they did Evangelion weekends over and over for years. I watched it again and again, but still to this day I find new meaning in each episode. I can't overstate the impact it has had in my life, for the first time exposing me to other people's inner struggles and spirituality. It was immensely satisfying to see all the children finally reach the happiness they always deserved. Smiled all the way through the credits.
I watched the original series when I was about 19, and I rewatched it 19 years later (last year) and realised I wasn’t nearly emotionally mature enough to appreciate it back then. Rewatching it with 19 years of life experience made me relate to it and connect with it on a whole other level. NGE and EoE are two of the best things I’ve ever seen, and while Rebuild didn’t reach those same heights for me, I’m glad I watched it and I like the sense of closure it delivers.
I wonder what you'll think if you watch it all again in about 18 years.
@@FFKonoko I'd do it as an epic NGE, EoE and Rebuild marathon over a couple of days. I reckon it will be an awesome experience, and I'm sure I will enjoy it on a different level again :)
As someone who suffers immensely from the core issues that plague the characters of Eva and what you discussed, your closing lines brought me to tears.
Thank you.
I hope they are tears that are of calming relief. Life sucks but it could be so much worse.
I had to write two comments to kind of expel air of relief because the creator of Evangelion gave me something to feel not alone in life’s anxieties.
@@Sir_Tanooki_Dookie It definitely is good tears. I am currently in a BAD spiral of sad, but just that one line change Geoff did, honestly, is helping me. Just the right words at the right time for me.
@@loremipsum6028 The ending had me confused but I reflected on it and was really happy what Anno did with it all. I never expected that everything was going to made canon which I loved. Sometimes when we expect life to be one way and it doesn’t happen to our expectations we become depressed and can’t see forest for the trees. Like a bad breakup, we all dwell on the loss but then we find someone and unexpected that could redirect someone’s closed off mind. Mari was that. She doesn’t need explanation, she represents a view unseen by Shinji, a.k.a. Anno. His appreciates his wife’s work and express how he love her story telling as it inspired him with ideas he did not conceive of without her mangas. Mari’s representation pulls Shinji out from one reality that had to include every character, to one that accepted the closure of characters like Asuka in order to better himself without the burden of literally the whole worlds expections in his hands. Closure is hard but it is okay for us to let go.
@@loremipsum6028 I hope my message reaches you in the best way that may help you feel not alone in your internal battles. The Eva’s entry plugs are symbolic of self separation and loneliness. But the real challenge is letting people in our even letting ourselves out of our own self isolation. All this is hard but we feel alone when really we are one step away escaping our own prison. AT fields were expressed the same way in the show as well. We never express that we want people in but that is all we desperately want internally.
It feels odd so see everyone’s character development wrapped up so neatly in a single film. To see them all happy. Shinji is finally able to love himself and interact with people normally, Asuka is able to find someone that really cares about her and live life without need for validation, Rei is able to create an identity for herself and live a life that makes her happy, Kaworu is able to finally end the cycle and pursue his own happiness while not getting queer erasure’d, and Mari is, well, Mari. It feels so strange that you can realistically imagine them all going on a road trip, having a movie night etc and doing normal adult friend things. Truly an outstanding goodbye to all of evangelion.
I need a road trip OVA immediately
Gotta love Eva where the ultimate goal is just "being ever so slightly mentally healthy for at least a short time"
In just under half an hour, he gets to the heart of Evangelion, and what it's always meant. Both for its creator and its audience. Sure, there'll be hour-long essays that say a lot more, but nothing beats the compactness, and thoroughly mature articulation of this video. Thank you Geoff.
Considering all the ranting Chibi Reviews is doing about MHA, and after watching this heartfelt analysis of one of the greatest anime franchises of all time, I have to say you’re becoming one of my favorite anime youtubers!
One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Mari finally called Shinji by his name instead of referring to him as "Puppy Boy", because to me it felt like she was starting to see Shinji in a new light, thus pushing their development and making the end more enjoyable.
“Signing out, from the office, in the house I’m renting”
What a perfect way to end the video
Yah it makes it clear he has also grown up. ☺️
End of Eva has Shinji learning the same stuff he did in the TV ending, just in a more obtuse and melancholic package.
"Anywhere can be paradise if you have the will to live." -Yui Ikari, Shinji's mom, directly telling the audience the main theme of the film at the end.
I'm actually baffled how so many TH-camrs completely misinterpret End of Evangelion like it's some sort of hate-filled nihilistic narrative. Shinji chose to live in the real world with all the pain and suffering that comes with it, but it's also a world filled with love and empathy. That message really stuck with me and I find it disheartening how a lot of TH-camrs perpetuate a false narrative about how the ending is dark and depressing.
@@ThatEpicFinger exactly.
@@ThatEpicFinger But did he though? Especially if you buy that the Rebuild films are a sequel to EoE. So everything that happened in the Rebuild films suggest that he does make the wrong choice. That rather than confront his issues, he instead tries a redo where he's a little braver a little stronger.
Well, you know what they say about insanity...
@@ThatEpicFinger Fully agree with this. I was sad to see this interpretation in the video as well. To me, EoE has always just been a seperate, much more action packed and fan-indulging version of the last two episodes. I didn't hate Shinji (or myself, if he were my standin) by the end of it at all.
@@ThatEpicFinger I agree. it's extremely frustrating and disheartening.
When a man watches his creation on the danger of Otaku culture and escapism turn into the largest obsession in Otaku culture I can't imagine what he went through.
To be lauded by everyone for a masterpiece but at the same time be screaming that everyone not only missed the point he was making but did exactly what he was trying to prevent.
I'm not surprised that it took him so many attempts and so much time to try and figure out a way to end what in some ways must have felt like the abomination to his true dream.
And the ones that didnt ended up reading too much Sartre... Well maybe, but i know a few non-otakus that cite it as a reason they took philosophy, being exposed to such disturbing existentialism as a tween or early teen
EVA is a pathos driven experience.
It shouldn't be only thought of with logic, its visuals and world deliberately break that, its not something that can be figured out logically as it is written, analyzing every phrase and nitpicking numbers...
And honestly, this movie kinda showed that. Its not about the few tidbits of lore dump or even the pseudo jedeo-christian shenaniganry mixed in with jungian philosophy it materializes as physical objects with a purpose... thats all bonkers and attempting to 'make sense' in a strict logical way will just drive you nuts... its gendo all over, its shadow and shallow immaturity wanting to win out.
You have to ignore the words, see the stunning visuals and embrace whats being done, the feelings it evokes and trust them where they lead you... its an emotional experience that fools use with tidbits that tantilize and bait our logic, only to suck us in and take us on the ride where, hopefully, we learn something...
NGE was depression.
EoE was reactionary rage.
Rebuild... its like being on your meds and taking a look back, seeing through a new lens and understanding, or at least accepting the possibility, that things can be different... you can be better, if you want...
3.0+1.0 is like the conclusion of all that hard work, with therapy, meds, and support, we all can look at ourselves and be okay with what we see, and hopefully find a reason enough to keep inching forward, doing something better, that not only are we proud of, but want to share and reach out to others...
It is a lot of growth and maturity put in a pathological visual media... and its great in my opinion~
Its what all of us broken kids who watch NGE, then EoE and felt the same kinda need now as adults, just looking for that something and how to be better...
I really like that 'Be Better' has been a major message in a lot of good shows in recent years, glad to see EVA come back and show us the same...
Its possible, we can always be better, be happy and treat each other kindly.
This comment was so good I shared it on Twitter!
@@mothersbasement oh my, make me blush =3= thank you, just enjoyed the movie and your critique :3
This comment is pure gold, thank you. I will keep trying to move foward despite the suffering, have a great life man.
@@joaovictoroliveiracardoso9946 same :3
I didn’t cry during the original NGE finale. I didn’t cry during EOE. I didn’t cry during 3.0+1.0 (although I got pretty darn close). I didn’t even cry during Geoff’s brilliant analysis of the series. I cried after reading this comment. I cried HARD (my wife had to come check on me haha). As someone who’s been on this wild ride w/ NGE ever since it first came to the states on VHS, this comment is what truly crystallized what the series truly meant to me. Thank you for your beautiful words.
Disagree on Shinji not learning a thing at the End of EoE. Him renouncing instrumentality was him rejecting the unconditional love he craved in favor of that which was earned, which included denial. He wanted to confirm blind acceptance wasn’t a thing anymore. If ya watch the two choking scenes back-to-back, the interesting thing is Asuka gives him the opposite of what he demands: first rejection, then acceptance.
End of Evangelion I never interpreted as a finger given to fans in spite of the death threats on-screen, but rather a perfect encapsulation of the 5 stages of Grief put into film.
Asuka doesn't give Shinji anything at the end of EoE. She doesn't act in any way, shape, or form. She doesn't speak. She is, for all intents and purposes, an object in Shinji's eyes. That ending isn't acceptance, it's Shinji giving up.
@@The5lacker not surprised ya got this from Dan Olson who reduced the entirety of Eva to the otaku experience
@@The5lacker She communicated by looking at him and putting her hand on his cheek.
Personally, I'm not sure what it meant, but it's there.
@@The5lacker Her final action was touching Shinji's face, which caused him to stop choking her, then she says she's disgusting. It's a pretty important and iconic scene.
@@The5lacker She touches his face, which made him stop choking her and then cried in front of her. Personally I interpreted the ending as Asuka finally showing him warm affection for the first time.
"his wife's spirit- which was trapped in the giant robot-" being a FOOTNOTE in explaining NGE somehow perfectly sums up the experience of watching this 26 yo masterpiece
i just need to share this one moment in the movie where something happened in me for a split second, and will take longer to write down. on their way to the anti-universe, mari tell's shinji that asuka might still be trapped in unit 13. shinji replies that he knows and says "leave it to me". at that moment i began to shudder, thinking thats the most cliche, shounen thing....but before that thought could even be completed, i felt some tears roll down my cheeks, and heard myself saying "My boy's all grown-up. he earned those words"
The hardest hitting part of the video is how Geoff takes to heart everything he just talked about and tells us his achievements instead of the putting himself down like in previous episodes.
This maybe one of the best scripts and analyses he’s ever written.
You’ll find no disagreement here, I think after all the damn good analysis in there, Geoff’s break with his typical formula for the sign-off really brings it all together quite nicely as well. The point that helps the metaphorical nail sink deeper.
@@delphynenull2136 precisely. Nicely done Geoff.
I'm glad he didn't sugar coat it. EoE was basically a gigantic neon sign saying "THIS IS YOU, YOU'RE SHINJI. DEAL WITH IT LOSERS." And yet some much time has gone by that a new generation of awkward nerds have inexplicably grown attached to it without even the vaguest sense of self awareness. Thrice Upon a Time has been called a love letter, but it's more of a peace offering.
@@stuntmonkey00 except that is the most stupid part of this video & clearly shows Geoff didn't understand shit. the only nerd/otaku in the show was the most sane & happy person & shinji wasn't a nerd or an otaku but a child who had traumatic past & depression.
I don't know, he called the original deep again... Not sure that flies here. If I fell in a hole as deep as the original I'd stub my toe. The movies? Certainly, very deep. Actual earned its redemption arc and characters made sense. The original? Just poor writing with more depression than could fit in the budget
Best advice I ever received is just ignore all the science jargon and religion symbolism and focus on what happens to the characters. The insanity of it all really just helps to get you in the mindfucked brainspace the chatacters are in and trauma they're going through
Yeah, trying to understand the religious elements especially in terms of their real world meaning makes the story actively harder to understand. Anno is agnostic, and I think for him the Christian themes were more about the intersection of fiction and reality than anything else.
I think they should be taken into account eventually tho, preferably during the first watch. They encode important concepts related to the human condition, such as Lilin (humans) being the only angel that took the Fruit of Knowledge whereas the other angels taking the Fruit of Life, which is a parallel to the biblical parable that humans have essentially separated ourselves from all other beasts of this world to arrogantly attempt to lord over it as if we were playing god.
@@mothersbasement Anno has said on the topic that the main inspiration at the begining for the christian symbolism is that angles exploding into crosses seemed cool lol
@@mothersbasement Neon Genesis as a series is fundamentally about the loneliness and alienation of the human condition. The whole idea of the hedgehog dilemna is that due to people's fundamental inability to fully understand each other(because we are distinct individuals) we end up hurting ourselves and each other in our interactions. Anno connects this idea with the christian idea of the original sin, although Anno sees it more as an "original unhappiness" whats important is the symbolism is meant to evoke the idea that humans are defective from birth, which is one of the central ideas of the series. Basically there is plenty to be seen there although I agree that like pretty much any story as an audience one should focus on understanding it with your heart and emotions more than with your mind(especially on first watch).
@@joby645 heh well i expect he may be doing some cryptic and self-dismissing flippant interview answers: i.e. maybe thats not the whole truth
Really liked the outro, much better than the usual "I'm Geoff Thew, Professional Shitbag...". That one always felt a bit too self-deprecating. I hope he keeps using this one.
Hell yeah
I was wondering if anyone was going to mention that. I like it as well and find it very appropriate for this video
Agreed
Would've been funny if he used that outro as a parallel to Shinji's self-hatred and self-deprecation.
Check the subtitles when he signs off
It took almost 30 years, but Shinji finally got in the robot.
More like Shinji no longer needs to get into the robot
The robot called life
Shinji (voluntary) finally got in the robot
Just got out of Thrice Upon a Time. I'm still crying. It is such a cathartic ending. Just feels like Anno is at peace with himself and as someone struggling hard with depression for the last few years it resonates with me so hard.
Cried for like 2 hours straight, felt all the emotions and some new ones, cant believe its been with me almost my whole life. At the end i was in a puddle of tears feeling like i was in an entry plug filled with lcl fluid : P
Solid af
Oh please do some Eva videos
Evangelion came to me in a very strange time. The most miserable time in my life, a time where I lost almost everything to depression. The original ending actually helped to get me out of it, it made me make the first steps again after i collapsed into darkness. I always held it dear because of this, but i never dared to touch it again, since it is connected to so many terrible memories for me. Maybe now that i managed to rebuild my life, it is time for me to revisit it, to watch through Rebuild and to see what it can give me now.
Thank you a lot for this video
Jeff I don’t know how comfortable you are with comments like these, but you really look great! Whatever you’re doing is working for you!
And yes Evangelion!
Shucks, thank you!
This was one of the best videos you have ever done and your sign out was thematically perfect. Thank you. As someone who has been watching Eva since I first saw it on crapping, 3rd Gen, unsubbed tapes in late 1995 and worked in a fansub group to produce a subbed version of the End of Evangelion in 1999, this ending made my old heart happy. Eva, like those of us in the Eva Generation, has grown up and I actually cried at that ending.
I love all 3 endings. Each has their own unique tone and each has alot to unpack and leaves an impression. I loved Thrice.
When the credits started rolling, i felt peace. An incredible feeling of satisfaction filled my mind, like a letter sent to me years ago from a distant parent finally arrived. Thank you Ano, seriously, thank you.
This was the ending Hideaki Anno *needed* and his characters deserved. It may not be to everyone's liking but that's how life works. I'm grateful to have seen it.
I feel the same way. I may not like it, but I understand, and I accept his artistic statement.
I actually really like the ending,it wrap up everyone storyline and give us a more matured version of shinji which is what I always wanted to see
This, more than almost a decade’s worth of curiosity and short-lived attempts to watch the series, has made me really want to finish Eva. Just the one shot of Shinji and Gendo facing each other in the train brought a sense of narrative closure that I didn’t think I needed. Wonderful work, Geoff and I salute you on the sign-off ✌🏼
And also the redo of the recurring motif of the crying young Shinji at the train platform, only this time Gendo turns around and hugs Shinji. That bit had me bawling
While I disagree with some of your assessments regarding 3.0+1.0, I can't deny that this is one of your best works yet. I swear with ever video you get better and better, your content used to be good, now it is great
Out of curiosity, how does your interpretation of 3.0+1.0 differ from Geoff?
@@jacksonlee1883 I disagreed with a few points as well. For me, the biggest disagreement came when Geoff claimed instrumentality was a metaphor for the oneness experienced during sex and orgasm. I think that's a gross oversimplification, and far too narrow a conclusion. I think instrumentation is more akin to the philosophical concept of monism, where everything is already part of a greater whole, and it's only an illusion that things are separate. When instrumentation takes place, it removes the illusion of separation in every way, most notably the physical spectrum, which is why everyone merges as LCL in the original series. It's the ultimate expression of oneness and connectedness. And yes, those things can happen during sex and orgasm, but I feel its trying to address more of a metaphysical or philosophical concept than a simple metaphor for sex. Great video overall though
I love how the characters from Evangelion characters never really changed. They just got more HD.
Not gonna lie, I got all teary-eyed when Gendo hugged Shinji.
I'm so damn happy with the ending. I couldn't be more satisfied. It's a movie about Healing and reflecting on the past and everyone around you, and taking responsibility for it.
THISTHISTHISTHISTHISTHISTHIS!
I have to say, after nearly 2 decades of seeing these characters suffer, when One Last Kiss started playing at the end i couldn't stop crying happy tears. It just nailed it for me, while looking fan-fucking-tastic...and gave me a little Mari x Asuka fan service, actually LOADS of just regular fan service that Misato had been promising for years! The ending had me satisfied and then some!
Even after watching it, every time I listen to One Last Kiss, I tear up a bit. I've been permanently affected.
The first time I heard Last Kiss was Amalee’s cover. I like the cover but the OG is more beautiful.
He's a question for y'all: Who's singing to who?
edit: *Here
@@questioningespecialy9107 Whoever you wanted it to be. Anno has always insisted that Evangelion never provides clear cut answer. Sure, the ending presented Mari as a representation of that person you meet after you've grown up a lot. But that is more reflection of Anno's own life than the viewers. The story itself never concluded one way or another as one can also assume that they are just two flirty friends who like to tease one another and Shinji's actual life partner is still undecided.
@@questioningespecialy9107 Personally i think it's dow to whoever you WANT them to be. The ending i think is well open that way and honestly...it works with everyone! But my personal ship is pretty obvious lol.
Only started watching Eva in 2019 at the age of 17 with the original series and all of the following releases and absolutely enjoyed it all the way up to now with 3.0 + 1.0 can only imagine how impactful it must have been to those who have been following the show for longer that 20 years
Same my man !!
@@Newtie_100 Glad to see and I think this just shows that no matter that it's ended it'll always be influencing people
@@finkitsallover exactly ^w^
It was hard, as Geoff says, if Japanese ''fans'' sent complains and threats to the studio and the director and staff making bigger their crisis, we overseas were astounded and confused over Evangelions Mistery, we live on a Occidental Christian culture, it was hard to see the symbols used on this way and then again in my case I was more or less Shinji's age when it got out.
It was amazing but also really sad and that's why you felt that simpathy, but at the same time, I wanted a better more cohesive conclusion to the series than The End or 25-26.
I also noticed the changes of the years took on the series but it was hard to hope there will be a light at the end of the tunnel it was Evangelion, I really apreciate this retake, and kinda feel sad that at the moment it goes throught their harder obstacles, gets the ending, and Mr. Anno says farewell to his work, but it was a hard desesperate work, and he commits to it its a great example, just like seeing the characters on the change of time perspective.
It has been a great travel, I really think it's not over yet, just started, but if it's taken for another director or company, I just wish their best and hope they apreciate the jewel and the work and passion inserted on this one just at it deserves, the lore, the fantasy, the psichology, the fanservice, the cultural swift it became. Just an influential masterpiece I hope someday gets more stories.
@@nelsinki5177 On the point of Evangelion possibly not being over I seem to remember an old video I saw. Within it I think there was a Mr. Anno quote that said something like I want Eva to be expanded by others.
I think that this is to mean that he wanted the show to be seen as a genre and for new minds and creators to use Eva and its universe to express their personal interpretations of life and their struggles just as Mr. Anno did yet I am uncertain if this is still his intention.
Even though evangelion has ended I feel like it’s popularity will still continue to be known as one of the greatest Mecha animes ever.
1000%, can't wait to see what more wacky cooky merch ideas they come up with.
@@theafterlife474
Probably a huge amount of Tokusatsu collaboration, specifically with Ultraman.
come back when you can beat og gundam
Shinji: "I guess we can't resolve this with violence, Dad"
Gendou: "You are right, son. Let's talk."
Shinji: "Tell me dad, are you familiar with the ship of thessius?"
Gendou: "Wait, what?"
Just finished watching 3+1 this morning and came to YT to find some analysis. New to the channel and just now subscribed… What an amazing essay Jeff, thank you
The end of evangelion movie will always be my favourite ending. It really made me love the Eva series and 90s anime in general
Maybe the moment has finally come for me to actually watch Evangelion.
Doooo it lol but you gotta be some glowing brain 1000 I.Q. genius to 100% get what’s going on throughout the series without the help of a video or two.
it's life changing. and I'm not exaggerating. like. it IS life changing
It’s just an anime that’s actually not that deep at all.
Watch the original but yes it’s amazing
@@bobpope3656 Yes, it is. For literally anyone who's ever been depressed, or been through a real life trauma, Evangelion is absolutely deep. Maybe you just didn't get it. What are the chances of something emotionally resonating with literally millions of people, but the one random comment saying "it's not that deep" is the correct analysis? So arrogant.
It makes me glad to see that both Shinji and Anno are at peace. I remember when I finally had to choose between video games and anime and being an adult. It took being a full-time single dad for that to click. However, I do need to get out of the house more (not including work.)
Perfect ending. Shinji is a happy boy
This is the last time we'll ever get to say, "Shinji, get in the damn robot!"
In the end it was Shinji himself who said "Let me in the robot!"
@@HeroTen10
And he almost gets shot because of it. Good thing best mom Misato was there to take a literal bullet for him.
Literally, No one the damn movie wanted him to "Get in the damn robot"
But he actually wanted to get into the damn robot, everyone else didn't want him to.
Watched it twice and cried at the end both times finally seeing EVERYONE in the cast have their closure, complete their emotional character arcs and have a sweet, happy ending. “One Last Kiss” playing when it did feels like flying everytime. Thanks for the video, Jeff!
This is definitely the best Eva video essay I've seen as it gets to the heart of the message and shows concisely the mirroring between the show and Anno's life and does it all justice without over complicating everything
The ending outro for this one was just perfect, the perfect reflection of the material and it's affect on you as a watcher. 10/10, absolutely stellar video
As someone who did not enjoy Evangelion, this movie finally felt like Eva saying what it wanted to say all along without stumbling. And I loved it for that, retroactively made me appreciate the rest of the series.
Same for me
It isn't that I didn't enjoy evangelion, but there were parts that I seriously did not like. There were many episodes that had nothing to do with the main struggle.
The narrative just felt disconnected from itself.
However, while Thrice Upon a Time had a little bit of that problem too (the first act ended too abruptly) it still feels coherent in showing what it wants to say.
Before this movie I couldn't really decide what ending I liked the most
The original one felt like it was what eva wanted to say, but was forced and didn't live up to itself
While EoE was masterfully crafted but didn't hit on what eva really wanted to say
But 4.0 returned to what eva really wanted to say, but did not discard the previous endings and instead made them part of how the stories path.
And I am seriously sad for not having gotten around to watching it a second time due to its lenght.
Happily I realized I could watch the 3 acts on their own instead of watching the entire bulk of a movie.
Just finished the movie like an hour ago and out of curiosity hopped online to see what others thought about it... yours was the first link I hit and I have no desire to look elsewhere. Thank you.
EoE is peak Evangelion. This was a good one though
NGE + EoE is the legit, canonical story imo.
Rebuilds are just supplementary entertainment.
@@charliekowittmusic Facts
but honestly. imagine 3.0+1.01 with the same animation style as EoE and actually giving it enough time to explain Rebuild Mari,Asuka and kaworu. it would be the best movie in existence to me
@@skyco5395
No. It was a recon. I can't believe in some people
@@charliekowittmusic Thrice is actually a continuation to EoE, it is technicality the world Shinji creates after he becomes the "God of Instrumentality" in EoE.
I'm just glad it finally ended... It's nice to see Shinji got his happy ending after all the crap he went through...
It's nice to see him earn that happy ending.
That deep dive on gendo was basically everything i wanted. But i‘m still kinda confused on what happened in the time skip from 3.33.
Now I‘m dying to see what anno does with kamen rider.
Don't forget Ultraman! After watching Anno's thoughts on the Giant of Light, I can't wait to see it
I’ve been a fan since the original extremely long and grueling American release of this show on dvd; but really, there was huge gaps between dvd releases that I preordered as a kid at my local Sun Coast and Sam Goody’s stores. This show wasn’t what I imagined or wanted; yet, it was what I needed. I always thought the show was easy for me to understand and other people were confused and over thought its meaning. I understood the religious symbolism and that the main conflict wasn’t the Angels, that they were merely symbolic distractions to the character’s internal conflicts. With a world as crazy as our own, it is easy to forget to take care of ourselves. Evangelion 3.0 had me so convinced that this was a just another redo of Shinj’s reality because the original show explained to Shinji reality was in his hands and literally showed him possibilities of what could be. I knew at the very beginning of 3.0+1.0 it was a new reality that has been redone so many times that people living it were now aware of Shinji’s power and what would he do next. It was so obvious that the characters expressed their own distain or his existence. I loved it. I accept the series of everything in whole as it is told for its poetry and escapism as a fictional story. I think it is beautiful and gives me something to reflect on, for my own reality.
gotta say, i've watched quite a few 'eva explanation' videos and this was the first and only one that actually helped me wrap my mind around the whole thing, its real-life implications, and its actual sense of closure and why it works
good stuff
What I liked the most is the meta-narrative character of the final battle between Shinji and Gendo. The former has finally accepted adulthood, and can finally let go of the “Evangelions” and move on to a world where they don’t exist - a real world, where people don’t need NGE as an escapist fantasy to avoid responsibility and obsess over fiction.
Gendo on the other hand still clings to Yui and wishes to rebuild the world itself, to repeat the events of EOE and ultimately restart the same events again.
But the best part is the very end. Shinji gets Mari as his girlfriend. A character who literally fell from the sky, had no connection to the rest of the series and seemingly had nothing to do with it. A character who unlike Asuka or Rei wasn’t a debate topic of waifu wars throughout the last 30 years.
Someone who wasn’t part of the same escapist fantasy the original show was, because at the end of the day, you have to let all of it go, if you truly want to grow up it seems.
I didn’t expect the point of all of Evangelion to culminate in “Stop watching robot anime, go outside, get a girlfriend and touch grass”, but I wouldn’t say I am unhappy with it.
The point being stop watching robot anime has been text to everyone who has paid any sort of attention to Ano since shortly before the original series ended.
@@AntonioCardenasT I mean, I wasn’t closely following Anno’s other work in any possible capacity and I wouldn’t say that the rest of the Rebuilds hint to this conclusion in any way (especially the first two, considering how similar they are to the original series in many ways). While such a conclusion was hinted at even in the original series, I wouldn’t say it was the main vocal point and it wasn’t given a clear narrative ending, before the final rebuild.
And of course Mari being Shinji's endgame is the only possible way it could end...when you realize that she's reportedly inspired by Anno's wife. She was the missing piece, of at least one of them.
At this glorious beach, we shall finally understand each other.
Thanks so much for your words Geoff. I haven't seen the movie yet, but just the video essay struck a pretty deep resonant chord with me.
I watched eva for the first time when I was 13. I thought I mostly understood it until I rewatched it 7 years later. Another 7 years and a 4 part theatrical retelling later and I finally fully understand it and why it resonated so much with me even when I didn't really understand. This is such a beautiful breakdown and I appreciate the extra details of Anno's struggles. Sometimes it's easy to forget the people behind our favorite entertainment and I love that you don't, even in other cases where it's not as important to the shows theming.
So yesterday I watched the first 12 ep of the og series on AVD DVD's and then all 4 of the rebuild movies back to back with 2 bottles of my fave wine. I haven't picked up Eva in a few years and was nervous. I loved every bit of it and the new movie was a real treat. I have since learned that certain fans were worried about which best girl shinji ends up with, if you are then your missing the fucking point. im a aged, withered and jaded adult now and its the first time a director has given me closure on something important in years. Its not about finding a girlfriend, or escapism or rule of cool. Its about finding happyness in yourself and the fiends you make. I know that sounds cliché, but i cant think of things that fulfilled me more lately than meeting friends at a station unexpectedly.
And the reveal they’ve all been trapped in a cycle for lord knows how long. Always resetting to a world with Evas until Anno, I mean Shinji, finally grew up to the poibt he realizes he doesn’t need them anymore is just one more layer. Like that kind of reveal might be utter unworkable hubris for any other movie or show but felt earned. As the man once said. Congratulations.
Even Geoff's ending of the video shows his maturity and growth over time paralleling the show itself.
I was in high school when I first watched Evangelion. I was a very lonely teenager - depressed, bullied, hated myself etc. I went through a lot of pain. Neon Genesis Evangelion was that escape - a scream into the void that felt like a release but not really a solution to my problems. The End of Evangelion even more so; only this time it was my anger at myself. I definitely connected more to this ending than the TV show’s.
Then I stopped watching Evangelion and pretty much anime in general save for a few random shows every other blue moon. It was a period of my life I didn’t want to return to or think about and unfortunately Evangelion and anime were intrinsically linked to this period. Time moved on and I started to like myself. I made close friends. I went out into the world and did things. I tried to improve me emotionally. I met the love of my life and am getting married next month. It wasn’t easy. Like everything in life there’s been hardships and I know there will likely be more. But I’m in a good spot now.
After a long time away, I started watching anime and reading manga again. Its been great to be able to experience these mediums I love so much and not feel the pain I went through. I even rewatched Evangelion a couple of times and loved it but now from the position of an emotionally stable adult. I grew to appreciate the TV show’s more hopeful ending and mourned the anger of the End of Evangelion.
So at the dawn of my 30s (!), Evangelion 3.0+1.0 arrived to cap off my reconnecting with the series with an ending that truly serves to me as the emotional climax of the series. Shinji doesn’t have his life realisation in his head or unleashes his anger on the world. He talks. He stands up and attempts to make amends for his actions. He takes responsibility and finally faces up to his dad. I was so excited that the film was taking this route. It’s really the only way Anno could have ended this properly.
I always think of Shinji as being the anime version of Peter Pan. As a fanbase we don’t let this angsty teenage boy grow up and we move on when we don’t need him anymore leaving him in eternal teen-hood. I think it’s beautiful that Anno created a story that allowed Shinji true (and literal) growth.
Great video 👍
That sign off was a brilliant conclusion to this essay about growing up and learning to love yourself. Well done.
I was so happy to watch the final final final ending after watching it in 1996 in high school. I felt that Anno was Shinji, Shinji’s parents were the depression of the past that held him prisoner, Saying goodbye to asuka was a way to say good bye to the cycle of Evangelion, and Mari his image of his wife and moving on with life. Especially Mari taking off the collar, and both holding hands running out of the train station in his hometown. Brilliant masterpiece.
This was a good video. I feel like I understand the final Rebuild movie more now, and like it more, now that I have all the real world context of the creator's life, struggles, and growth. Thank you for that shift in perspective.
I was literally just about to sit down and watch Thrice Upon a Time when I took a peek at youtube and saw this. What Synchronicity!
I think the end of "end" is alot deeper than "he learned nothing" I think that it was shinji relapsing, but asuka small gesture of kindness showed him that even when you do the right thing, and even if things will be better, you are going to struggle, but that makes it worth it
Neon Genesis Evangelion nearly drove me to suicide.
Seeing Shinji suffering is like seeing myself suffer, because at one point in time I was almost exactly like him, especially back in 10th grade when I was bullied to the brink of suicide. I simply cannot tolerate watching Eva. I felt forced to relive my trauma upon viewing it. I’m deathly afraid of it. Twice I had a nightmare where I saw myself as Shinji choking Asuka and starting the Third Impact. I’ve been struggling with this newfound depression ever since.
I was obsessed with the series for over a year to try and outwit the isolation of the Coronavirus pandemic. It only increased the burden, and kept the memory of my friend’s recent suicide alive.
Watching the End of Evangelion was like peering into a broken mirror, and I was viewing the hell I would’ve put myself through had things turned out differently, had I decided to give up living. It still haunts me to this day.
Sometimes I hate myself because I fail to appreciate what so many have claimed to idolize, and I beat myself further for failing to worship what they call praiseworthy, I forced myself to watch a show that reminded me of nothing but pain just so I wouldn’t be alone anymore, I was willing to sacrifice my individuality for some company amidst the isolation of the pandemic.
I sought emotional refuge in the Evangelion fandom on social media, hoping they’d understand me and provide me with answers that would grant me peace of mind. Instead, they downplayed my trauma, going so far as to spread a rumor of my past to shame me of my mental illness, spiraling me deeper into depression, which I’ve been struggling with for over a year now.
I just want Shinji to be happy, so this past self of mine can be laid to rest once more. I’m afraid to decouple myself from him after losing my friend to suicide, which Eva made me feel responsible for, especially when I saw Shinji kill Kaworu, of which I fail to understand how anyone can call it praiseworthy. Until then, I feel nothing else matters.
There’s a reason why I keep coming back to Evangelion; something that reminds me of nothing but pain.
I want to prove to myself I’m not crazy for feeling this way, that Evangelion really did force me to relive my trauma, that my depression is not just a figment of my imagination or another anime plot point. I want to feel that my fear and resentment towards Eva is justified.
But the fact I’m the only one I know in existence who’s been traumatized by an anime makes me feel like I really am crazy.
Whenever I feel this way, there’s something I remind myself with.
But finally, with 3.0+1.0 released, I can rest easy knowing that Shinji has finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel. Evangelion is finished, and I want it to remain that way.
But if things hadn’t turned out that way, I wouldn’t be here today.
Dude, you need to be more careful about the media you consume for your own safety. If you're easily affected by these topics as it seems you are, you should do serious research before watching/reading things with said topics. You can't rely on a character's happiness to cause your own; that's incredibly unhealthy. And you can't blame a piece of media for being too much for you to handle. I'm glad that the ending resolved things for you, but it's really concerning to have one piece of media influence you to that extent.
Seriously, be careful. Please. I'm really sorry this happened to you, and I hope it doesn't happen again. Everyone has their limits on what they can and can't view in media. Try looking up content warnings before you view something that could potentially trigger you; usually people have lists online. And maybe talk to someone about this in real life? I don't know your current situation, but it always helps.
Please, stay safe. Best of wishes to you.
@@randompianoplayer5855 I do blame Evangelion for this because it was the start of a psychological domino effect that I had to endure.
Sometimes I hate myself because I hate Evangelion for how much trauma it resurfaced; because the fandom hated me for that too.
@@hawkeyenextgen7117 If it really had that much of a negative affect on you than I don't think it's an issue with the show. (Not that it's your fault either.) Seriously, be careful with the media you consume.
@@randompianoplayer5855 You’re right. It’s not an issue with the show, but the fandom. They cyberbullied me for it my trauma, for relating to Shinji
@@randompianoplayer5855hello,
Genuinely extremely nice to hear something less self deprecating than the usual "shitbag" sign off. You're good at what you do, and what you do is worth doing, so it's nice to see you recognize your own worth in that small way.
I literally was a child when I watched this and now as an adult I got closure to something I rewatched many times to try and understand.
I love the Mari Shinji ending, sad that Asuka didn't have anyone on the train platform though...
The last choking scene in EoE was a call back to the hedgehog's dilemma which is a running theme throughout the original series. I didn't see it as Shinji not having learned anything.
He did learned from it
I see you Mothers Basement, you with that collectors editions of "Irresponsible Captain Tylor. seeing as I have just noticed that, I feel as If I need to thank you, for introducing me all those months ago to that show, when you did your documentary video on it. I have thoroughly enjoyed your video, your channel, that show and my own collectors edition. I just wanted to say thanks for showing me the charm of a thing many would think to be a second rate or even third rate show. you've made it one of my top 5. I'm curious to know which number you got for your Captain Tylor collection set, mine is 431. As always, keep up the good work.
My book is number 782
@@mothersbasement How amazing, and if you'll indulge me once more with a question. Are you, or have you, purchased the Gkids Evangelion collectors set?
@@lucasspurgeon1240 yeah soon as it went up I nabbed a pre-order
@@mothersbasement Nice! so did I, well, I'll talk to you in December and ask you which one of out 5000 you got, till next time.
14:50 “Getting two favorite characters killed trying to drag him into the god dame robot.” Is exactly how I explained the movie to my friends.
And once he got in, he got everyone killed.
The ending got to me pretty hard. Watching thrice upon a time on an 3 hour trainride was a calculated decision but boy am I bad at math.
Probably a better move than when I saw Shin Godzilla on a 13 hour plane ride instead of literally any other way.
Go listen to the paris, euro nerv, and theme du concerto 494. they're absolutely my fav ost tracks and if you're like me you love to listen to the bangers of an ost right after finishing the show/movie.
This is the Dream, Beyond Belief, Paranoia and What If? are ABSOLUTE BANGERS too
This show was so loved by fans that we fantasized our own perfect endings. Hideaki Anno’s complete telling is smarter and deeper than us as fans expectation’s could ever be. Rather than Evangelion just being a beautiful, stunning and badass anime spectacle, it was so much more as a metaphorical experience of searching for one’s self. Anno left it up for us and our minds to go wild, and it worked. What the meaning of his art is different to all of us and what makes it special. Without directly telling us what Eva’s message is, which the base story I think is clear, but it gives us room to express what it means to us as an audience. To this day we are all still talking about it with what it all means in our opinion, how ground breaking it is, Rei, Asuka or Mari, what we wish would happen, etc. The brilliance is Shinji and everyone around him have been experiencing reality over and over with minor changes with different outcomes and hardships. There never seems to be a right answer, but Anno gave us an ending that said “this is it.” It might not be perfect, but it his ending and he is tired of tweaking the resolve for the perfect ending. It is like the movie The Butterfly Effect, that the small changes make big changes but have new problems that seem never ending. Surviving the 3rd impact showed us the new developed problems by this “What if” continuation that happened in Evangelion 3.0. This is Anno’s ending and I appreciate it.
holy shit man, had to subscribe. You translated into words all emotions I had while watching this movie. Thank you.
Thank you for concisely and succinctly capturing what EVA has been trying to convey all these years. I feel like the core message always got lost within the sea of waifu debates and people simply hating Shinji for being a more real representation of deeper issues.
Bro who did the subtitles the last 20 seconds of you signing off was golden i didnt expect that
One doesn’t experience self-transcendence, the illusion of self only dissipates🎈
Maybe more shows should have the message of "People suck, and you're fine as you are. Live however you like, we all die anyway." It might not be an uplifting moral, but it's certainly more realistic.
That was the perfect sign off. Showing how much you've grown as well as Anos. I got goosebumps.
I already loved 3.0+1.0, but your talking about it made me love it even more. Congrats to Anno for becoming an adult and being able to tell this wonderful story
With that ending I also I have a feeling that if Anno had the choice, he would have pulled all Eva merchandise and pachinko machines and the like from shelves and thrown them into a furnace. A final grown up ending indeed, but it also felt like him screaming "I literally want this franchise to cease it's existence."
You can't see me, but I am standing and applauding this video. Marvelous work!
It's literally the best MECHA Anime EVER! I LOVED IT SOOOOOO DAMN MUCH
Small note, but I love your end tag you added on this video. Rather than your older one of signing out from “your mothers basement”, it’s grown into “from the office of the house I’m renting”. Hahah it just supports the message of the video. Just thought I’d mention it!
What the movie did with Gendo was amazing. Him realizing that Yui was in Shinji all along was so beautiful and meaningful
Dude, as a father, that scene with Gendo and Shinji brought me to tears. Good stuff.
Jeff: ... explore Anno's...
Me, an spanish speaker: lmao
I'm too basic...
I watched the original series and movies as a preteen and I say with no exaggeration that it changed the course of my life. Returning to the franchise decades later, a changed person, and seeing those fundamentally damaged people who's ALSO healed, changed, and GROWN, is at once bizarre and extraordinarily cathartic. I felt about the whole end of the rebuild how I imagine Asuka and Shinji felt during their last conversation on the beach. It was strange, it was uncomfortable, but it was wonderful. I loved it deeply, and I may never have another experience quite like it.