[LAEM] The Question of Realism in Live-Action Evangelion

[Gaunt]

Hi, I'm new here!

I've been an EVA fan for about a year and have always enjoyed the intricate qualities of the show. Nonetheless, I stuck to other forums (comic books and animation).

What prompted me to join the forum was the talk of the Live-Action Evangelion film. Talk in other forums were typically pessimistic, yet I always felt that a Live-Action film could offer much to the series. As such, I decide to write an essay regarding the question of realism in the film.

Anyway, these are my opinions on a subject that I feel warrants debate. Feedback would be appreciated.

The Question of Realism in Live-Action Evangelion

Introduction
Whenever something of one medium is transferred into that of another medium, the question of revision arises. A natural and reasonable assumption, given the likely differences between formats. Just as books have the luxury of time and spacing, a movie has to format relevant parts into a coherent quality within a 2-3 hour time frame.

And just as questions of formatting and plot arise, so do the manner of presentation of material. Does the film stay grounded in reality, or does it wander into the realm of the fantastic? These questions have important ramifications, as they can very well affect the nature of the film’s central message.

Now, despite having an influence on the central message, the presentation of material runs secondary to the central message. Again, this essay deals with a translation between one medium to the next. If the movie does not stick with the qualities of what it was based on, it runs the risk of being an entirely different animal altogether, thus defeating the purpose of a translation.

Such questions are especially relevant when discussing the Live-Action Evangelion project. As we all know, Neon Genesis Evangelion is noted for its psychological depth and intriguing characterization, as well as a compelling existential philosophy. In order for the Live-Action Evangelion movie to be a success, the movie must keep these traits while sticking to its own format.

As stated in the title, this essay deals with realism and whether or not it has a place in the live-action Evangelion films. Moreover, it will also discuss alterations to plot/timeline and likely scenarios in regards to the events.

Part I: How important is realism in the film?
In the back of Volume 8 of Sadamoto’s Neon Genesis Evangelion manga, we are treated to a catalogue of various books, all dealing with Neon Genesis Evangelion, be it merchandise or analysis. One book in particular stands out, that being 2015: The Last Year of Ryohji Kaji.

The book itself is a representation of “evidence” gathered by Kaji prior to his death. Among commentary and information, there exist several CGI pictures that display the aftermath of EVA battles.

One line in particular in regards to the pictures stands out as it deals with one of the issues the Live-Action EVA film faces. It reads: “Kamei is faithful to the anime’s designs-The Evas look like Evas, the Angels like Angels; but he suggests correctly what an Evangelion live-action movie will need is not just realism, but surrealism.”

Now, the nature of surrealism is ironically ambiguous, as there are multiple definitions for the term. In the artistic sense, it involves the use of the unconscious mind as a means of attaining something greater than normal reality. The most common usage, however, involves bizarre, dream-like qualities, usually the juxtaposition of two unlike things.

Whenever I bring up the topic of realism vs. surrealism in a discussion, I’m usually inclined to bring up a comparison between the Burton Batman films and the recent Batman Begins.

Stylistically speaking, the Burton films abandon realism and probability in favor of character psychology and thematic qualities. Especially in Batman Returns, events and people often stand in as symbols in a greater theme. Moreover, characters (such as Batman) are not static representations of good and evil, but rather morally ambiguous figures. By tradeoff, the Burton Batman films abandon traditional story style and thus the two films can seem…disjointed at times. Moreover, the characters seem something of a departure from the typical villain faire, often to the horror of long-time fans (case in point: The “black-bile spewing” Penguin of Batman Returns, who continues to divide Batman movie forums to this day.

By contrast, Batman Begins uses realism and comic book history. The story flows quite easily and some elements even have a degree of plausibility. Unlike the Burton films, you don’t have to analyze the film in order to enjoy it. Nonetheless, by doing this, Batman Begins sacrifices character psychology (Batman, in this film, is the standard “pissed-off vigilante”) in favor of the usual “good vs. evil” conflict. Moreover, the film structure is quite bland. In fact, one could easily argue that the movie ripped-off of Spider-Man in many ways. Even worse, the movie has a heavy-handed quality, using verbal explanations almost exclusively for everything from equipment to characterizations to plot development.

So what does this have to do with Live-Action EVA? Put simply, these two groups of films are excellent for comparison purposes as:
A. They are both adaptations (comics to movies).
B. They deal with the same subject manner, a character noted for psychological depth.
C. They both veer off into different directions stylistically. One favors symbolism and psychology, the other favors realism and simplicity.

The key here is to determine where Neon Genesis Evangelion lies in regards to realism and surrealism, a balance point if you will.

There is no question that Neon Genesis Evangelion plays more with surrealism than realism. The plot itself is a giant conspiracy involving existential philosophy with biblical qualities. Symbolism is multi-tiered, all unique and different, yet interconnected. The series itself can be read on many levels, as proven by the wealth of interpretation regarding the show on the web. But nonetheless, the series has more realistic qualities to be explored.

Rather than using something far off in the future or events far off in the past, the makers of the series adopted a more contemporary setting for most of the events. In this way, they fell into something of a trap. By mentioning real-world events and dates, the makers have tied themselves to the realm of the realistic.

(To use another Batman analogy) When Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski created Batman: The Animated Series, the two opted for the timeless quality that Burton used for his films. By juxtaposing gangsters with supercomputers, and antique cars with advanced Bat-Wings, Batman: The Animated Series effectively created a world with a different timeline, one in which the creators could decide the events in the past and future. This gave considerable freedom as there was virtually nothing to limit them.

But the makers of Neon Genesis Evangelion did not follow their example, instead using possible doomsday scenarios interlocked with geopolitics. Not only did the creators tie themselves up with socio-political conundrums, they also tied themselves up with natural forces, geology, and geography.

Now, one can argue that realism is irrelevant in the series. After all, the show is about human interaction, not to mention bio-mechanical beings that fight off powerful, seemingly-otherworldly beings. In this regard, the series doesn’t need to show any respect to realism, so long as everything is coherent and working.

My argument, however, is that the events that transpired after Second Impact are integral to fleshing out the world that the characters live in. Humanity has banded together against a mutual threat, yet animosity exists between the members. Seele has effective control over the world and the distribution of aid and wealth is still a problem after 15 years. More questions are raised: Why is Japan the center of everything? Why does everything important occur there? How is Japan so integral to plot and the characters? The use of national qualities factors in incredibly to geopolitics (which will be discussed in Part Two).

Setting has more importance to characters than most think. A series is at its best when all aspects are interlocked and inseparable. The fact is this: change a handful of names, lines, and mannerisms in Neon Genesis Evangelion around the story will not drastically change. You can easily set it in areas such as India or Britain and the main thematic qualities and the characters will remain the same. If a series is to be its best, discrepancies must be kept to a minimum. Like it or not, realism is an important factor to consider in regards to improving an already excellent series.

As stated above, the events of Second Impact can produce some huge changes to geopolitics and the world. The next section will deal primarily with this.

Part II: The Likely Occurrences of Second Impact
The set-up for the show involves a cataclysmic event at the end of the 20th Century: Second Impact. The Antarctic melts instantaneously due to a large explosion, creating giant tsunamis, flooding, and global strife. Within 15 years, man rebuilds its world to an extent, ready for the threats that awaits it.

The most important thing to consider here is the amount of water released by the melting. According to most information regarding global warming, if all of the ice in the Antarctic would melt, the sea levels would rise about 200-250 feet. We also cannot forget that such a release would cause massive tsunamis due to the very high speed Second Impact would occur at.

Now, keep in mind that despite most of these claims having a good degree of logic (I think at least), we cannot forget that it is nonetheless doomsday speculation. I could easily be proven wrong if, God forbid, this actually occurred. Nonetheless, some conclusions can easily be accepted as “more plausible than others” given that we know there would a rise in sea level around 200-250 feet.

My matter of prediction is based on simple principles. Given the sudden nature of Second Impact, we can infer a good deal of chaos and cessation of trade. Oversea travel would likely be stalled and refugees would flood nearby areas. A nation and its surviving people is more likely to survive Second Impact if:
1. The nation has enough infrastructure within the nation’s interior and is not dependant on the sea. Maritime trade is typically the best way of making money, but in this case it’s the kiss of death.
2. The nation can produce enough food and raw materials to sustain it and its population.
3. The vast majority of the population does not live by the ocean.
4. The nation has a good economy, good standard of living, and good technology prior to Second Impact.
Moreover, the nature of climate change can be discounted to some degree as it takes decades and centuries for climate change to occur. I think that knocking the Earth off of its axis should be eliminated as fast axial change would result in complete annihilation. Temperatures, however, would get hotter and more humid, though.

Under these guidelines, we can quickly determine that Japan is, for all intents and purposes, dead. About 73% of Japan is mountainous and unsuitable for human habitation. The vast majority of Japanese live in the lowland areas which, coincidently, is by the coast. Check out a topographical map of Japan and see how many cities lie below the 250 mark. Japan is also a very resource poor area. As such, the primary source of income and material for the Japanese economy since the end of WWII has been trade. This is literally doomsday for Japan: Second Impacts floods its inhabitable areas, kills the vast majority of its population, and no doubt hampers trade to the point that it cannot sustain itself for the time needed before order is restored following the catastrophe. Realistically speaking, there is no way that Japan can rise to the power it reaches in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Indeed, it may join the Third World.

So, who else would be “dead” and who would “survive?”

The Oceania region would be literally dead. The islands would be completely flooded over. In the case of Australia, it is effectively dead as no one lives in the interior of Australia (the hostile Outback). Everyone (and the critical infrastructure) lives on the coastline.

The Korean Peninsula would essentially suffer the same fate as Japan, though perhaps to a lesser degree.

Britain would probably be devastated beyond repair. Southern Britain, the hub of the nation would be flooded over. This is especially devastating as London is the literal center of Britain’s existence. Northern Britain, which include the Highlands, would survive, but not many people live there. Ireland would fare no better.

The Nordic regions (Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland) would be dead, as everybody lives on the coast.

Brazil would be effectively dead. Most of the population and its significant infrastructure is on or near the southern coastline. Despite government involvement which has attempted to modernize the interior of Brazil, much needs to be done. Another dead South American nation would be Argentina (again, the population is centered in Buenos Aires).

Central America would not be as affected as North America. The majority of the population lives in the mountainous areas high above sea level. Their economic situation would definitely suffer, but, given the situation in the North, we are not likely to see a surge of people crossing the border into the U.S. (at least the immediate aftermath of Second Impact).

Italy, Sicily, and Greece would be gone. Portugal, too.

Most of India’s population would be gone as well as its important infrastructure.

France would probably fare better. Unlike Britain, its center (Paris) is farther inland. This, of course, depends on how much the Seine River floods.

Spain would survive, albeit heavily-damaged. Important cities such as Barcelona would be gone.

Chile, Venezuela, and Columbia sits at higher elevations, but the loss of trade would cripple them.

Africa would remain relatively unchanged by the disaster, which isn’t saying much. Chaos would remain in the area. South Africa might fare better, but Egypt would be devastated (no way to sustain itself as the Nile River valley would likely be hit hard by the rushing salt water, destroying agriculture for years to come).

The Middle East would be somewhat better off. The biggest losses would be the area west of the Jordan River (Israel, Lebanon, and Syria) and the Arabian Peninsula. Turkey would fare better, as much of its infrastructure is situated in the interior (though it looses Istanbul). Iran would survive the floods as it is a mountainous region. The situation post-Second Impact, is hard to say. Civil war is a likely occurrence, given the loss of food and money.

China would survive but would be re-impoverished. Second Impact would wipe out their major trading areas, such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing. They’ve only began to start building inland and Second Impact occurs in the year 2000.

Canada would be hurt badly, but most of its infrastructure in farther inland (along the southern border).

Now, the most probable nations to survive Second Impact and rise as a preeminent world power.

USA: The fact of the matter is that not only do we have infrastructure farther inland, we also have a heartland that we can fall back on which produces a large amount of food. We have the technology and power pre-Second Impact and we have a strong economy. There would be heavy disruption, but we are more likely to recover. Another facet to consider is the rule of law, a concept ingrained within our culture. Do note that this is the most likely (and possibly the best) place to situate the events of Evangelion.

Russia: At first glance, Russia seems to be an oddball choice. The vast majority of the nation has no infrastructure to speak of. Russia does, however, have vast tracts of natural resources and does have infrastructure in its European part. Moreover, there would be potential ‘benefits’ to Russia as, with the increase of humidity and temperature, much of the untouchable Russian interior becomes habitable (and even comfortable).

Germany: Many of Germany’s important cities are farther inland and, unlike the French, has a more stable economy. Like France, however, their situation is dependant on how much their river (the Rhine) floods.

Again, the predictions regarding “most-powerful nation post-Second Impact and likely occurrence to the survivors” are still speculations. I will say, however, that my list of dead nations, including Japan, is probably accurate.

With that said and done, what about the U.N.? In the anime, peace and order was restored after the surviving nations joined the U.N. and cooperation was assured. The question regarding the U.N.’s power depends entirely on how ambitious the organization is and how frayed nerves are. Quite simply, deadlock could easily turn deadly when there is a rush to get things done. As for U.N. location, it would probably move to Geneva, Switzerland (NYC is flooded over). The U.N. office in Geneva was the previous location of the League of Nations and Switzerland is still recognized as a great diplomatic center (it still hosts key councils of the UN and the IRC).

Conclusion
This essay is intended to spark discussion on the possibilities of a Neon Genesis Evangelion movie. Do note that these are, again, possibilities, nothing set in stone. As many have pointed out, the current state of live-action EVA is in doubt and no one knows what’s going on given that it’s currently in development hell. Nonetheless, I feel that a good amount of debate can be generated by the film itself. Sure, my ideas are unlikely to make it to the big screen, but I would still like to get feedback.

[Hexon.Arq]

I'm too tired. Where were you three years ago?

[System Shocker]

Ever heard of trivialbeing?

[Hexon.Arq]

I've been an EVA fan for about a year...

Oh yeah.

Well, happy reading o'er there.

[Gaunt]

Ever heard of trivialbeing?

Just visited the site. Has a lot of info on the project. Nonetheless, I didn't see anything regarding the merits of realism and the possibilities in alteration.

Seriously, I put a lot of work in this. There are a lot of possibilities regarding how the movie can be presented. I do think I bring up valid points...

[Hexon.Arq]

Check out the forum. Just about everything that can be said about the movie has been said. In the instance that you are presenting something new, I'm afraid we might be beyond the point where anyone really cares anymore; the year following the announcements was an exhausting one for the subject.

http://forums.trivialbeing.net/index.php?showforum=9

[System Shocker]

Well, this thread has gotten 60 views

[Hexon.Arq]

But who has the energy to say anything?

[chiefen]

But who has the energy to say anything?

More importantly; who has the energy to read this? The old 4chan saying "too long, didn't read" comes to my mind.
I did read all of it, but I'm not interested enough to debate. :P

[Mr. Tines]

The OP was a good argument as to why trying to translate this into the 90-200 minute movie will be difficult at best; I don't see what can be added, and I agree with the general thrust if the argument.

[Gaunt]

The OP was a good argument as to why trying to translate this into the 90-200 minute movie will be difficult at best; I don't see what can be added, and I agree with the general thrust if the argument.

When I say "add," I mainly speak in the sense of the details that weren't exactly fleshed out in the story. Details that, while not pertaining to the characters, are nonetheless essential factors in the story.

Case in point, the nature of Seele. We are not given much information regarding the rise and status of Seele in the series. In the manga (which isn't considered "canon"), it suggests that Seele has existed for hundreds of years but even that is a rumor.

The events of Second Impact can be used to decipher aspects of Seele, that is, if some revision and some realism is injected. In my essay, I made a suggestion of how the U.N. could become stronger, that is, by playing on the frustrations and fears of people at the time. Several possibilities on how Seele could've gained power:

1. Seele was a secret Cabal that controlled the world since the start of history. Every aspect of life is manipulated by Seele through acts of conflict (much like how the Party kept control of the world in 1984).
2. Seele discovered the Angel and unleashed Second Impact. In the chaos that followed, they manipulated members of the U.N. and gained power at that moment.
3. The triple-play scenario: Seele didn't have enough power until between 1947-1956, when the Dead Sea Scrolls was discovered. They waited until the moment was right and unleashed Second Impact. Not only do they gain Adam in an embryonic state, but the chaos allows them to take control of the U.N. (and eventually the world) as well as gain the resources they need by using national tensions.

This is just one concept that can be used in a Live-Action movie but, again, this depends on how the they plan to translate the anime.