recurring visual imagery: mother + draping
neon genesis evangelion, dir. hideaki anno (1995)

the second half of end of evangelion is titled “magokoro, wo kimi ni” which is the japanese title of the movie charly (1968), which of course, is the film adaption of the 60s sci-fi book flowers for algernon. (par the course for anno; episode 26′s title “the beast that shouted ai at the heart of the world” is taken from the 60s sci-fi harlan ellison novel of the same name, and the final episode of nadia is named after the 70s sci-fi novel inherit the stars by james p. hogan.)

magokoro, wo kimi ni translates into “my purest heart for you”. for those who’ve read the book, flowers for algernon ends with charlie’s dying wish to alice kinnian - that she water his flowers and place them on algernon’s grave. we can probably trace the inspiration from kaji’s dying wish of misato - that she water his flowers - to flowers for algernon as well. (it’s worth noting the book saw immense popularity with japanese audiences, so much that it was adapted into two stage plays in 1987 and 1990, and a j-drama in 2015.) 

in my conversations with people regarding evangelion’s anti-semitism, initially they’ll have no idea what i’m talking about only to be horrified and bewildered by how far its reach extends in this show. it’s good practice to be aware/cognizant of certain recycled narratives that nearly always indicate nazi-ism.

it’s impossible to extricate evangelion from the anti-semitism it trafficks in  - we have keel lorenz, whose name is an unclever amalgamation of a categorically jewish first name and the surname of the infamous nazi doctor anno named him after, who heads a shadowy, undercover cabal whose influence precedes governments, military, and even alien beings (sound familiar?) much of NGE borrows from the protocols of the elders of zion: seele exploits and is guided by the dead sea scrolls, an ancient jewish text, while simultaneously carrying out apocalyptic charges against unsuspecting innocents. the imagery linked to them by association - the hebrew tree of life, or the judeo-masonic eyes, are borrowed from kabbalahistic myth and tradition. 

the stereotypic hooked noses. i wonder where they found this trope.

there is the strange, curious trend on part of anti-semites to insist many nazis were secretly jewish themselves, or otherwise approximate-to-jewry in some form or fashion (think of the obsession with tracing hitler to remote jewish ancestry). one only has to search “keel the wandering jew” to get a glimpse. there is of course, no shortage in characters who are 1) nazi jews or 2) jews influenced by nazis in anti-semitic media. anno clearly drew MUCH inspiration from this canon of thought, and made no effort to hide its influence on him.

In case you haven’t heard, Khara (the animation studio working on Eva Final/3.0+1.0) is liveblogging their progress as the film nears completion. Based on their tweets, they’re currently in the editing stage of the film (yes, that’s the back of Anno’s head there), and clearly have no qualms about interacting with fans. If you want to keep abreast of Final’s latest developments, I’d keep an eye on this account for when they inevitably set the hype train in motion. 

recurring visual imagery: door sign + home alone
neon genesis evangelion, dir. hideaki anno (1995)

this christmas, have a badly rendered video of misato katsuragi belting the chorus to “jingle bells” in her awful, yet strangely endearing singing voice

Hideaki Anno Greatest Hits:

• anno listing “tom and jerry” as one of his top ten anime, unironically
• when he admitted to forgetting rei existed not even halfway through the making of evangelion
• “i feel like star trek is american imperialism itself”
  
• when anno’s highly anticipated australia visit had to be cancelled because he fell down a tokyo escalator during rush hour and cracked his forehead
• “we have to put a little repulsive things in our works, especially for the children. it’s like poison: we need to give it to kids little by little to establish an immunity, so they’ll grow up with the ability and mental strength to resist”
  
• when he called an american fan a “fool” for spending textbook money on anime
• “i don’t listen to the beatles”
  
• when he accused disney of casual fascism for “portraying nazis as fashionable”
• “disney is simply not capable of handling the wide range of stories we see in japanese anime”
• when he compared animation to “masturbation shows”
  
• when he justified his veganism not for political or religious reasons, but because he has “no interest in ordinary life, including eating”
• “when i first met anno in college, the first thing he told me was how he knew every line in space battleship yamato, except for the first episode, and the reason he didn’t know every line in the first episode was because he didn’t record it, and the reason he didn’t record it was because he didn’t know if the series would turn out any good”
• "i dislike western civilization. i don’t place much trust in western civilization”
• "i have an attachment towards deformity. i can’t love something if it’s not broken somewhere”
  
• “maybe i have multiple personality disorder. i don’t even understand myself”