Keanen's Film Blog

The Evangelion franchise elevates itself above shonen anime through its well-written characters, philosophy, theory of mind, and metafiction. (Specifically, the notion that all of physics and human interactions exist in an entangled state dependent on perception, and that human will dictates the nature of the universe and everything that happens. Some call it quackery, some call it the power of love. Why not conflate science with religion? It’s called a world view. Deal with it.)

Nope, it’s a totally rational hard sci-fi franchise! Its departures from “mainstream” science are just satire. Absolutely….

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Is Evangelion 3.0 the new Citizen Kane (1941)? Perhaps. While I won’t go into the details of Kane’s connection with Japanese leather philosophy, it is clear that badass robot pilot Shinji Ikari, who has to be 60+ years old in this installment but looks 14 thanks to magic pink slime, is the embodiment of post-apocalyptic robot power fantasy.

I am a big believer in blind devotion to popular anime brands. This isn’t a bad movie, because it’s a Neon Genesis Evangelion movie. Don’t stop the series now! Give me more!

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Love & Pop is a film about how a few aimless schoolgirls respond to escort clients. Contrary to certain beliefs, it’s not really about anything else.

Anno Hideaki’s first live-action feature, the film echoes the director’s prior experience with animated productions. The style is so striking that it almost prompts criticism for its frenetic editing and postmodernist shot-on-MiniDV camerawork. However, over the course of the film, the frenzy subsides into calm. It has the same emotional arc as most other Anno productions, something that feels authentic.

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It’s impossible to be an edgy hipster filmmaker without making a few enemies, so how Anno Hideaki succeeded at anything is a mystery, but the world is glad he did.

The original Godzilla movie was a parable about the experience and effects of invasion. What this parable represents is so fundamental to Japanese culture that by now, Godzilla is passe, even schlock. You’ve probably seen clips of the ridiculous battles between rubber suit performers in the Godzilla sequels. The franchise is out of control.

Anno-sensei knows this, which is why Neon Genesis Shin Godzilla is not about the drama of a giant lizard, but the process of dealing with the giant lizard. It’s the smartest possible approach to the franchise, and as is usually the case with this caliber of talent, it’s a masterpiece.

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I am in love with Japanese cinema, and that goes doubly for anime. Anno Hideaki’s Neon Genesis Evangelion is some of the most enjoyable anime I have seen, and The End of Evangelion is the best cinematic adaptation of the franchise. Deeply philosophical yet chemically engaging, the film left a profound effect on me when I first saw it and continues to do so to this day.

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