[EVA] EoTV vs EoE

[Rachel K. Clark]

E wrote:

> It came from the Film Books (or whatever they're
> called.)  But to me that's still equivocal.  Even
> assuming those books could be considered canon,

I generally take the external sources seriously unless "higher sources" (the 
actual series, etc.) provide adequate reason to say, "...nah." The 
statements made in these supplemental sources are usually phrased to be as 
ambiguous as possible, as well. It doesn't help that "Instrumentality" is 
difficult to precisely define.

> I think it would be interesting to know how much the
> film ending influenced people's interpretation of the
> TV ending.

I arrived to the scene late (2000), so (a bad nth-generation bootleg of) EoE 
promptly followed my viewing of EoTV. In later attempting to make sense of 
the whole grand mess, I'd probably say that, yes, it was difficult to 
separate the two endings from each other completely. However, even putting 
aside the "concurrency" arguments and trying to analyze the TV ending on its 
own, there seem to be more than enough indications that Shinji rejects the 
process.

> Personally, I formed the view that the TV ending
> resulted in Shinji rejecting the process even before
> the movie came out.

Noted. ;)

> Just wait until the EoTV vs EoE vs End of Rebuild
> movies thread in a few years' time  :D

@_@


RJN wrote:

>Anno said he leaves it open. He has never said EoE replaces/makes 25 & 26
> obsolete.

For the former, is there an actual quote somewhere?

> The big difference between TV & EoE is that TV Shinji does not go through
> the hell EoE Shunji does.  After killing Kaworu TV Shinji goes into his
> mental slump, Gendou & Rei do their thing & Complementation is set going,
> So no production Evas, no mental attacks, it all happens more or less to
> Gendou's plan.

EoTV doesn't show much of what's happening "in real life", so it's all 
rather ambiguous exactly WHAT is going on...... Towards the beginning of 
#25, they depict a lot of the psychological confusion and turmoil that might 
be occuring internally during the equivalent of Shinji's "slump" in EoE (and 
they provide the scene of him and Misato talking at the beach as a sort of 
bookmark). Although, yeah, you're correct that a lot of the more "hellish" 
content is absent. "GWAAAHHHH MY EGO CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE EVERYONE MUST 
DIE!!!" Maybe it was too much for NGE's timeslot...


Brendan wrote:

> I don't understand why people are so passionate about the topic
> though. It's almost as if fans so vehemently want both endings to have
> Shinji make the right choice that they sour at the mere mention that
> that is not the case. It's far more interesting, to me, to have the
> endings different.

For me, at least, it's not so much a case of "wanting" Shinji to make the 
right choice in both endings. I just think that this is the conclusion that 
the information in the episode itself is pointing to, and the contrary 
interpretation seems to neglect some very direct cues, or otherwise 
"interpret them away".

> When that first aired
> there was little doubt that Shinji had fallen victim to
> Complementation along with everyone else. It wasn't until the film
> that this whole argument began.

"Little doubt" only for certain individuals. E states his (?) position 
above, directly falsifying your assertion. I've also been exposed to the 
views of many, many fans over the years, including a healthy number of 
old-timers, and, at least if I'm remembering correctly, a message commonly 
taken from EoTV is that Anno wants people to get out of their little 
secluded fantasy worlds (or something to that effect), not stay inside them. 
Many fans have felt incredibly moved by this message, so perhaps the idea 
that EoTV is saying that its protagonist suffers the exact opposite fate 
despite the apparently positive and optimistic veneer of the final scene 
just doesn't fare very well.


-Reichu