“There’s No Hidden Meaning:” Evangelion Has Been Called Many Things Over the Years, But Its Creator Just Calls It Pretentious – ryan

There’s Never been anime quite like Neon genesis evangelion. When it first aired on Japanese TV in 1995, it look like a typical mecha series – giant robots, alien threats, and teenage pilots. But as The Story Unfolded, The Mystery Quickly Took Center Stage. With its dense religious Imagery and Cryptic Symbolism, Evangelion Has Kept Fans Theorizing and Debating for Nearly Thirty Years. Was it all a profound meditation on identity and existence, or just a coming-any story dressed up to look deeper than it really was?

Evangelion Creator Hideaki Anno Has Long Been Famously Tight-Lipped About His Most Iconic Work, Often Showing a Love-Hate Relationship with the Sprawling Phenomenon It Became. But in a 2021 Interview with Japan’s NHK –recently Brought Back into the Spotlight—Anno SEEMED TO FINALLY COME CLEAN ABOUT THE REAL MEANING, OR RATHER THE LOCK OF IT, BEFIN Evangelion. As he bluntly put it: “Evangelion is offten described as Philosophical, but in reality, it’s not. IT”m pretentious. ”

From otaku to aututeur

A personal project, a cultural earthquake

HIDEAKI ANNO WAS BORN IN 1960, RIGHT AS JAPAN’S POSTWAR BOOM WAS TAKING OFF. He GREW up Watching Sci-Fi Anime Like Space Battleship Yamato and Mobile suit GundamFull of Heroes and Hopeful Futures. But by the time he was an adult, Japan’s Outlook HAD shifted. After the economic bubble burst, Anno said it felt like “Dreams and hopes had suddenly vanished,” Leaving People unure of what to believe in. He Started HIS Animation Career in the Early ’80s and Became Part of a New Wave of otaku creaters –fans-Turned-artists who dove deep into anime and pop culture. At Gainax, he worked on Projects like Otaku no videowhich poked the fun at otaku Culture while celebrating it. Still, Anno Saw How Fandom Could Become a Form of Escape, especily in a time when more People were struggling to face reality.

AFTER Directing Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Anno Turned Inward-Evangelion was Born from personal and national uncetainty. IT WASN’T DESIGNED AS A GRAND STEETEENT, Buts Raw Portrayal of Depression, Aliating, and Identity Happened to Mirror the Emotional State of 1990s Japan. Anno Himself Said he was Simply Putting what he felt on screen, swimming aimit for depth. Yet audiences found something Powerful in that chaos. Evangelion Became a Cultural Landmark, more for How it resonated than for any single intended Message.

Holy Symbols, Hollow Meaning?

Japanese audiences saw it differently

Right from the Start, Neon genesis evangelion was Packed with Religious Imagery that hinted at Deeper Meaning. The opening sequence flashes a Quick Image of the Tree of Life from Kabbalah. The Story Features the Lance of Longinus, Tied to Christian Legend, Along With Enemies Known as “Angels.” And episode titles like “A Human Work” and “Rei, Beyond the Heart” echoed Bibrasing. Surely, Hideaki Anno Wauldn’t Just Casually Toss Around Holy Symbols and References Without DEEPER MEANING BEKIND THEN?

I Remember Watching Evangelion Episode by episode as it was releassed on vhs in the US during the late 1990s. IT WAS A WILD RIDE – STARTING FROM A PLACE OF RELATIVE Normalcy, Only to Spiral Into Something Far Stranger, culminating in that Famously Baffling Ending. My Friends and I, Veterans of Mind-Bending Journeys Like The prisoner and Twin peaksspent hours trying to piece it all together. What was anno really try to say with this animated series? We didn’t have the Answers – But the Questions Kep US Talking for Years.

Meanwhile, Back in Japan, Critics and Scholars Began Chiming in On Evangelion‘s use of religious symbolism. Animage Magazine once pointed out that all the crosses, angels, and dead sea scrolls were likeding more for their stricting visuals than any deeper meaning. In a 1997 Newtype Interview, Anno Himself Said, “We used Christian Symbols Because They LOOKED COOL. There’s No Deep Meaning.” For Many Japanese Fans, The Religious Elements Weren’t Taken Too Serious – The Were Just Part of the Show’s Distinctive Style, not clues to some hidden philosophical messages waiting to be unlocked.

The Questions Haven’t Gone Away

Anno Says The Quiet Part Loud

And yet, The Mystique Around Evangelion hasn’t faded –it’s only grown. Nor the story expanded into the Rebuild of evangelion Film Series, New Generations of Fans Were Introduced to Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and the Tangled World They Inhabit. These Films Brought Fresh Layers to the Narrative, But Also Reignited Old Questions. At this point, it’s almost a rite of passage for anime fans to stop and ashselves, “What does Evangelion Mean? ”

Spreads Its Those Questions that inspired hide anno to try and set things straiight. In His 2021 Interview on the NHK TV Series Top RunnerAnno Said, “Evangelion is offten described as Philosophical, but in reality, it’s not. Its Pretentious. ” He Called it “Pseudo-Intellectual,” Explaining, “It just looks impressive at a glance – the no deeper meaning. ” Anno Added, “I Just Wanted to Depict A Boy Who Runs Away,” and admitted, “I put in all the things of likes – Robots, Girls, and Introspection.” Reflecting on His Approach, He Said, “Making Films is A Service Industry… EVE‘s pseudo-intellctual story was part of that service, but in this case, it may have been excesses. ”

Beyond evangelion

Anno Said it’s pretentious – But We’re Still Talking

HIDEAKI ANNO HAS SINCE MOVED ON TO OTHER PROJECTS, INCLUDING Directing Hit Like Films Shin Godzilla and Co-Scripting The New Mobile Suite Gundam Gquuuuuux Series. And while the story of Evangelion SEEMS TO HAVE ENDED WITH 2021’S Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice uppon a timeThe franchise is Still Very Much Alive. SURE, IT’S HARD TO FIND DEEPER MANANING IN A RECENT STRING OF Evangelion x McDonald’s Commercials – But Someone Out there is probably trying.

Anno May SEEM DISSSIVE of His Own Creation and the Reaction Its Sparked from Fans Still Searching for Answers anime Alone Can’t Provide. But Sometimes, A Great Work of Art Provoks Responses Its Creator Never Intended. Regardless of What Anno Thinks Evangelion means -or doesn’t – might be besides the point.

The Real Question Is: What does evangelion mean to you?