Is it just me, or does there seem to be less use of Jewish and Christian imagery in the Rebuilds than the original/EOE?*

I mean, there's some new use of religious imagery not present in the original, but it seems like it was toned down, especially for the last 2 movies.

*I know it was just used to make Eva seem exotic, I'm just pointing out an artistic difference I noticed.

I can see where you're coming from. The last two movies really feel like a separate segment of the story and I think there was a lot of effort put into making sure the art style reflected that. Perhaps to emphasize the feeling of shock and surprise, or perhaps to give the franchise a new lease of life. Either way, it really does feel more avant-garde and abstract overall, though it's more realistic in the more mundane scenes, almost as if there's a very strong dichotomy being established between the earthy and the playful. In that sense, it really feels like Khara's team has chosen to water down the visual references to Judeo-Christianity to make room for something new. Even so, there are still some very notable and significant references to it, such as the rainbow and the use of crosses.

Yeah like in Neon Genesis there was entire episode dedicated to the Magi. With NERV in a bad state we're not having the names of those supercomputers flashing at us like then.

Correct me if I am wrong (my memory isnt the best), but I remember reading an interview about the use of christian symbolism in NGE and the reply by Anno being that it was just for the cool factor and that if they knew it was going to be popular in the west they wouldnt use it as much. This reduction couldve been applied to NTE due to the production team already knowing about the large scale of western audiences.

It is also important to note the large number of references to Assyrian/sumerian/babylonian mythology, which do share elements with the judeo-christian tradition but are still unique, with things such as the visual identity of the Dead Sea scrolls, the language in which its written (pretty sure its akkadian) and the concept of Seele mirrorring the Annunaki (7 deities who gave civilization to humanity),


Even still there are a lot of judeo-christian symbolism, such as the following, a small subset of just the ones in Shin:
Yui in an angel costume, with cross shaped stigmata on her hand, sacrificing herself (Yui as a whole is a Christ allegory)

Mari being named Mary ISCARIOT

Ground zero of the second impact being named after the hill Jesus was crucified on (CALVARY)

The center object of the Anti-Universe being named Golgotha, another name for the site where Christ was crucified, and in the shape of a cross

LucAAAs wrote:Correct me if I am wrong (my memory isnt the best), but I remember reading an interview about the use of christian symbolism in NGE and the reply by Anno being that it was just for the cool factor and that if they knew it was going to be popular in the west they wouldnt use it as much. This reduction couldve been applied to NTE due to the production team already knowing about the large scale of western audiences.

Yes and no. That particular interview is heavily out of context, and frequently misquoted on top of that; the actual line is a lot closer to it not being meant as a statement about real world religion, i.e. the fact that the enemies are christian-themed does not mean they mean to paint christianity as a hostile force to human civilization.

LucAAAs wrote:Correct me if I am wrong (my memory isnt the best), but I remember reading an interview about the use of christian symbolism in NGE and the reply by Anno being that it was just for the cool factor and that if they knew it was going to be popular in the west they wouldnt use it as much. This reduction couldve been applied to NTE due to the production team already knowing about the large scale of western audiences.

It is also important to note the large number of references to Assyrian/sumerian/babylonian mythology, which do share elements with the judeo-christian tradition but are still unique, with things such as the visual identity of the Dead Sea scrolls, the language in which its written (pretty sure its akkadian) and the concept of Seele mirrorring the Annunaki (7 deities who gave civilization to humanity),

Very nice collection of images. I do think the fact that they made such an effort to use these ancient traditional references at least shows that they understand and read up a lot on the subject.

As much as the quality of the movies plot is controversial (I love it but understand the criticism), the artistry behind it is undeniably miraculous. The movies are so densely packed with stunning visuals, brilliant composition and ground-breaking new techniques, it is honestly still hard to believe all of this is a singular, admittedly confusing product. The amount of references to mythologies(previously outlined), traditional literature ( Urashima Taro cited by Kaji and foreshadowing Q, plus the whole concept of the Jo-Ha-Q naming system of NTE mirroring Jo-Ha-Kyu tradition), science (The whole Eva Imaginary is a literally giant nod to quantum physics discussion of reality )and psychoanalysis (Where do I even start the examples) is mind-boggling, The CRC books for Eva 1.0 and 2.0 are a small glimpse into the vast amount of information poured into these movies, so i am REALLY hyped to see the Q and SHIN CRC, as they are the most complex movies. TLDR I love EVA

P.s.: Can posting these images that may or be not be of copyright infringing sources get me in trouble? I am kinda paranoid so i want to know.

There is sufficient evidence that the religious imagery in Evangelion has more to do with it being an Ultraman reference than an actual Bible reference. Both properties have giant humanoid creatures hanging on crosses, and Anno literally does Ultraman poses a few times when he gets in front of the camera. (Anno played literally Ultraman in some scenes in Shin Ultraman.) While I'm pretty sure Anno looked in a little deeper in the Christian imagery than they did in Ultraman (Anno even includes the "Judeo" part of "Judeo-Christian" iconography, a feat that not even Ben Shapiro can seem to accomplish), it doesn't go anywhere near the depths of it being symbolistic in any way outside of Anno's greater narrative interests in Evangelion, which usually involve daddy issues of some kind and sci-fi cosmic horrors.

As a practicing christian myself I can say I have found some ideas in eva congruent with my theological beliefs, not just in superficial referencing but in deeper concept and philosophy, although I do understand these overlaps are either coincidental or a result of the sheer amount of references to judeo-christianism, bound to eventually resonate with the faith referenced. These references, no matter how profound, were still probably included because of the coolness factor, which I do believe is a totally legit method of deciding themes and references for media.

FreakyFilmFan4ever wrote:There is sufficient evidence that the religious imagery in Evangelion has more to do with it being an Ultraman reference than an actual Bible reference.

I don't know how that's supposed to work when Eva is an apocalyptic narrative and the religious symbols are always supporting what happens in a given scene. I mean Anno likes Ultraman for sure, but I don't think every instance of explosions or whatever is an Ultraman reference lol.

kuribo-04 wrote:

FreakyFilmFan4ever#942449 wrote:There is sufficient evidence that the religious imagery in Evangelion has more to do with it being an Ultraman reference than an actual Bible reference.

I don't know how that's supposed to work when Eva is an apocalyptic narrative and the religious symbols are always supporting what happens in a given scene. I mean Anno likes Ultraman for sure, but I don't think every instance of explosions or whatever is an Ultraman reference lol.

lol, true. But, at the same time, I don't think Anno would have been drawn to that imagery to begin with if Ultraman didn't introduce it to him first. Western Christianity is practiced by all of 2% of Japan's total population. But, at the same time, there was already an undercurrent in most of Japan's depiction of Christian iconography in their media as the "spooky foreign" thing even before Eva started, which was probably why it was used that way in Ultraman to begin with.

Image posted on reddit by u/Yoichiyo


https://www.reddit.com/r/evangelion/comments/pk3nyt/a_compilation_of_the_ultraman_symbols_shown_in/

FreakyFilmFan4ever wrote:lol, true. But, at the same time, I don't think Anno would have been drawn to that imagery to begin with if Ultraman didn't introduce it to him first. Western Christianity is practiced by all of 2% of Japan's total population. But, at the same time, there was already an undercurrent in most of Japan's depiction of Christian iconography in their media as the "spooky foreign" thing even before Eva started, which was probably why it was used that way in Ultraman to begin with.

I agree Anno probably saw it there first, or that his interest started there. But I think even by episode 1 of NGE he was intending for it to have more weight than just a reference.