Did Anno Seek to Undermine Rei with Rebuild?

Discussion of the new series of Evangelion movies ( "Evangelion Shin Gekijōban", meaning "Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition"). The final instalment made its debut in Japan on March 8, 2021.

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Re: Did Anno Seek to Undermine Rei with Rebuild?

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Postby Reichu » Tue Aug 28, 2018 6:00 pm

View Original Postpwhodges wrote:I'm not sure that was clear from the beginning

Seems like the logical takeaway from this. Announcement from when "Rebuild of Evangelion" was still the tentative title:

post/47955/More-Eva-Recent-news-Rebuild-Newtype-article/#47955

REBUILD OF EVANGELION (仮)

前編/中編/後編+完結編
2006年9月に発表されたテレビシリーズ及びこれまでの劇場版を元にした新作。前編を2007年7月、中編を2008年1月、後編+完結編を同年8月に公開予定。物議を醸し出した、テレビシリーズの最終回や劇場版などのシナリオは後編+完結編で完全新作になる。最新の3D技術なども駆使して製作されることになった。

Notice how the films break down here.

前編 (Part 1) - release Jul 2007
中編 (Part 2) - release Jan 2008
後編+完結編 (Part 3 + Part Final) - release August 2008

The "plus" notation indicates that the last two parts were to be packaged together; if they were two separate full-length films that just so happened to be released in the same month, they'd have separate listings. What's more likely -- that two full-length films are both being released in the same month AND back-to-back in a single showing, or that they were going to repeat the episodic nature of EoE and have one movie split in two parts? Just because you can't rule something out doesn't mean it needs to be entertained as a reasonable possibility.
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Re: Did Anno Seek to Undermine Rei with Rebuild?

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Postby Kendrix » Thu Aug 30, 2018 9:04 am

How about the radical idea that Anno has an actual story to tell?
To me it seems pretty apparent that he just wanted to squeeze the full potential out of the Sci-fi horror. ReiQ is nothing but a logical extreme of the "replaceable artificial soldier" thing that was never pursued that far in the original, the final consequence that they just thaw one up over and over again, make her vegetate in that roofless chamber with no outside stimulation, and copy her over and over...
In the case of Rei III there was a certain 'spark`' carried over from just one copying process and all the 'original series' Reis were somehow special, Rei I was the first, Rei II was the one we spent most time with and who got to have the most bonds and development, while Rei III got to stick it to Gendo. In the Q scenario, there were many interim clones we have only vague hints of, like that one discarded uniform.

As far as I'm concerned, it's got nothing to do with sticking it to anyone and everything with scifi, philosophy and storytelling and this whole reductionist "sticking it to people" narrative has been blown way out of proportion, when the beauty of the show (in general, not just the Rei-relatedparts) is precisely in the ambiguity and symbolic-metaphorical elements and the little glimmers of human warmth in a bleak world
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Re: Did Anno Seek to Undermine Rei with Rebuild?

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Postby Shinji Ikari Expy » Wed Sep 05, 2018 9:23 pm

Ironically, Rei Q highlights the individuality of the Rei that Shinji and the audience knew in the first two movies. Rei II cannot, as she says, be replaced — she's an individual with a distinct personality shaped by her experiences in Tokyo-3. The fact that her replacement in Q is so different is disappointing to both us and Shinji, but it shows that our Rei was irreplaceable despite being one of a series of clones.


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