Some tales are supposed to be informed time and again. In Feb. 2007, Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno launched a assertion seven months earlier than the discharge of Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, the primary entry in his Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy. “Eva is a narrative that repeats,” Anno mentioned. “It’s a story the place the primary character witnesses many horrors along with his personal eyes, however nonetheless tries to face up once more.” And so, within the four-part cinematic retelling of the unique 26-episode mecha anime, Shinji Ikari has to face up as soon as once more regardless of the contemporary horrors he’s subjected to. For the reason that unique Neon Genesis Evangelion wrapped up its polarizing finale in March 1996, we’ve been handled to 2 distinct franchise endings between the anime sequence and its remake films (three, if we depend Yoshiyuki Sadamoto’s manga). Anno switched up the core thesis of episodes 25 and 26 in The Finish of Evangelion to ship an unforgettably decisive conclusion in the emotionally devastating Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time.
Because it seems, nevertheless, a brand new Evangelion anime is presently within the works from Yoko Taro, the creator of Nier and Nier: Automata. This announcement got here throughout Evangelion’s thirtieth anniversary occasion, throughout which followers had been additionally in a position to see an unique brief movie revolving across the character Asuka Langley Soryu. Studio Khara and CloverWorks are concerned within the manufacturing of the brand new sequence, alongside Rebuild of Evangelion director Kazuya Tsurumaki, who additionally helmed the 12-episode Cellular Go well with Gundam GQuuuuuuX. Taro’s lifelong fascination with Evangelion is not any secret, because the eccentric online game director has described Nier as a “retelling” of Anno’s enduring work. “All the pieces I make is influenced by Evangelion,” Taro informed Sq. Enix final 12 months, additional cementing his love for gut-wrenching storylines that lean in the direction of abject existentialism.
[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise]
Whereas the upcoming Evangelion sequence will inevitably construct upon the franchise’s astonishing 30-year legacy, Taro and Tsurumaki have their work reduce out for them. The quick issues are apparent: Evangelion has at all times been inseparable from Anno’s private legacy, together with his lifelong struggles and artistic obsessions. A extra urgent doubt arises from the ending of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, which successfully shatters the cyclical nature of the saga, with our protagonist, Shinji Ikari, rewriting the world. This “neon genesis,” or new starting, happens after Shinji is spared the burden of sacrifice to recreate the world with out Evas. This permits characters like Mari Makinami and Kaworu Nagisa to stay in a world with out ache, and the franchise’s numerous little one troopers get to develop up and stay joyful lives collectively. That is an extremely cathartic option to shut out a narrative that has been formed by the alienation of its characters; Shinji and his buddies are in a position to transcend destiny to style true freedom.
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time would possibly’ve wrapped issues up with a neat, hope-tinged bow, however it is usually essentially the most nihilistic entry within the Rebuild tetralogy. All the pieces we learn about Evangelion up till that time ramps up in complexity, together with Shinji’s relationship along with his father, Gendo Ikari. The ordeal of dealing with one’s kin and seeing one’s personal isolation mirrored in them is terrifying, and the connecting thread between Shinji and Gendo crystallizes when, after a lifetime of abusing his son emotionally, Gendo sacrifices himself to save lots of Shinji. This emphasizes Shinji’s want to flee the subsequent cycle even earlier than it begins. The one means to make sure that is to create a world with out Evas, a world the place kids like Shinji aren’t compelled to signal their autonomy over or pay for the sins of their fathers.
The wonder and terror that Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time evokes can’t be replicated. In spite of everything, it weaves an arc of liberating self-acceptance in a means that proves that the story doesn’t want to proceed. That mentioned, Anno’s impulse to return to the identical epic again and again most likely means it is doomed to just do that. In 2024, Anno expressed the need handy over a future Evangelion sequel to “somebody aside from [himself]” with the promise of the subsequent director receiving “a excessive diploma of freedom.” From a practical standpoint, the continuation of Evangelion is hardly shocking, because the sequence has already been topic to franchise commodification, the place its iconography has been plastered over various merchandise. The marketability feels inescapable, even when Anno has by no means been one to compromise with creative integrity or imaginative and prescient. We are able to solely hope that Taro and Tsurumaki received’t both.
Taro’s skills as a author (and his reverence for Evangelion) undoubtedly encourage confidence. His penchant for layered storytelling that wields the complete drive of human feelings feels uniquely suited to the franchise, which wants radical reinvention if it desires to proceed. Evangelion has already dabbled in what-if eventualities, displaying the identical characters trudging alongside a predestined path with slight (typically important) variations. Whereas Taro would possibly faucet into this time-tested system to reboot the saga, he’s additionally the right particular person to mess around with summary, non-linear constructions that provide a contemporary perspective on a well-known story. No matter he does with Evangelion, it’s going to inevitably contradict the occasions of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, however this new sequence additionally carries with it the tender hope of one thing particular.
The absence of Anno’s direct involvement within the new sequence appears like a double-edged sword. The distinct psychosexual overtones of Evangelion boil right down to Anno’s interpretation of Jungian and Freudian baggage, which manifests as Shinji’s inside turmoil. He suffers from a relentless worry of abandonment which intersects with an typically messy exploration of adolescent sexuality. Then there’s, in fact, the posthumanist portrayal of the large mechs piloted by these troubled youngsters. However what does Evangelion seem like with out these sorts of hyperfixations? Or relatively, will Evangelion really feel the identical with another person reinventing these dense themes because it embarks on a brand new trauma-laden epic? The solutions are hardly easy.
It’s too early to know what the brand new Evangelion has in retailer for us. However its arrival is marked by a endless cycle of interpretation, which may be significant (and thrilling) for these trying to acquaint themselves with the franchise’s sprawling mythos. For longtime lovers of Anno’s saga, the upcoming anime would possibly simply show to be a pleasing shock that justifies its neon genesis.
