do you think anno would have made EoE if the backlash hadn't been as bad?

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

I'm trying to find the interview in which this error was detailed, but failing. (I swear I remember reading it on this forum somewhere.) It had something to do with the collecting and photographing of cels I believe. Don't quote me on that one.

I remember reading something on here too about NGE being in hot water for Episode 20 specifically. That off screen intimate scene got someone at TV Tokyo fired I think. Strangely, I can't remember where I'm getting any of this information from. It's rather embarrassing.

[Dima]

Strangely, I can't remember where I'm getting any of this information from. It's rather embarrassing.

Don't sweat it. It happens all the time. It's actually one of the unwritten laws of our universe.....

Eventually you will find it or someone else will post it for ya.

[Kouzou]

If there hadn't been the volume of demand for it that there was I imagine Anno would've been fine with just walking away from the series (and anime in general) in frustration after EoTV. He ended up doing that anyway midway through Kare Kano.

I agree. Granted, there is a chance he might have anyway for the demand anyway, since they wanted Asuka fighting and more story. Gainax has been flip flopping on whether the budget was a problem or not for the final 2 episodes. lol

[FrDougal9000]

Actually, here's a question that's been bugging me as of late. Do we have proof that there actually was backlash in Japan at the time?

It's just that in the four years I've been a fan of the series (and I'm one of those OCD ones that has to know absolutely everything about it), I don't recall ever finding anything about this. People bring up the 'death threats' in EoE, but most of those were letters of endearment and one out-of-context 'KILL YOU ANNO' (which could have been about his choice in beard styling for all we know). I know the TV ending's infamous for what it did, but I've only ever heard reactions from other fans or people who watched the show; never backlash from Japanese viewers.

Maybe my memory's faulty, but I can't help think that this backlash might be one of those things we assume to be true when it actually isn't. (Kind of like how people constantly misquote media to the point of quoting phrases that were never said, like 'Beam me up, Scotty!' in Star Trek or forgetting a couple of words from Dracula's 'What is a man?' speech in Symphony of the Night)

Can anyone find some proof that there actually was backlash from Japan, and not just something we heard on a fansite about 10-15 years ago and misinterpreted? Would be much appreciated.

[Dima]

It's not only the letters. There is also the graffiti outside Gainax.

http://wiki.evageeks.org/End_of_Evangelion_Death_Threats

I believe that there will be more proof but you can find it only in Japanese forums, where there will be people that either remember what really was happening back then or have some newspaper articles that reported the incidents.

[mammaluser]

Im guessing that EoE was going to be made anyway and the backlash was just another reason to do it a company like gainax after making a big series like NGE wasn't just going to let eva go like that (and the clearly budget cuts that led to EoTV) and as well as anno's commitment to the series/fans.

Actually, here's a question that's been bugging me as of late. Do we have proof that there actually was backlash in Japan at the time?

Well besides the death threat letters that they send to anno (and which some are shown during a sequence in EoE) there was some other threats or vandalism in the gainax HQ, but basically that's the only info i got.
http://wiki.evageeks.org/File:Eoe_death_threats3.jpg

[Ispellnogood]

I think EoTV left a lot of people confused and frustrated which pretty much made sure something was going to be made. But if there was not any backlash and some kind of EoE was going to be made, I doubt it would have been the same spitful, up-yours EoE we know.

I see the EoE alt ending as Anno listening to all the backlash and all the "This is how it should have ended asshole"
things like:
Rei should choose Shinji.
The bastard Gendo should die for destroying the world.
Shinji should save the world
Asuka and Shinji should end up together.

And then granting those wishes in a monkey paw kind of way.

[Akrastien]

I think that yes and no.Of course Anno would make a film because Eva generated money pretty fast but,It will not be the same film.I think it would be filler.

[Director Black]

Let's not forget the previews for the next episode after the 24th...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb17Qt1MdIM

[Reichu]

Let's not forget the previews for the next episode after the 24th...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb17Qt1MdIM

That preview is for the video version of episode 24, which was released after EoE came out. The televised version of episode 24 has a preview for TV episode 25.

I think the "backlash" exists mostly in the form of a narrative cobbled together by foreign otaku from rumors and speculation in a pre-Google era and then forcibly kept alive through the power of meme, so, yes, I think Anno would have made EoE anyway. :p

[CommanderFish]

That preview is for the video version of episode 24, which was released after EoE came out. The televised version of episode 24 has a preview for TV episode 25.

What the heck, really? I had always thought that what they showed in that preview was early drafts of what the original episode 25 would look like, but I guess that's not true. That changes a few things. Maybe Anno actually didn't have something different planned for EoTV originally. Hrrm.

[Reichu]

What's in the preview isn't an "early draft" at all. It shows parts of Air's animatic, that is, a mock-up put together with key frame animation and layout drawings. (This indicates a stage of production following the creation of both screenplay and storyboards.) In all likelihood, the original version of episode 25 never got as far as a finalized screenplay.

[CommanderFish]

What's in the preview isn't an "early draft" at all. It shows parts of Air's animatic, that is, a mock-up put together with key frame animation and layout drawings.

Oh, I see. I guess I should go watch Shirobako and learn about some of this stuff.

In all likelihood, the original version of episode 25 never got as far as a finalized screenplay.

Jeez. I wonder how Eva's ending would have looked like without all the budget issues. Honestly...I'm thinking it might not of been as good, just because we wouldn't get all that meta-narrative that was present in EoE. Who knows, though.

[Dougurasu]

I've heard multiple things and I'm not sure if it's all true, or partially true.

- There was an episode that they were working on that was VERY close to a terrorist attack (using gas) on a subway station. In fact so close that the producers said they couldn't air it as that would be very insensetive to the people that died from that attack. So they had spent a lot of money on that already and trying to recoup from that loss.

- The original episode 25 they had planned turned out to be too bloody and gory and not appropriate for the timeslot they were in, so very late into production they were told to scrap that episode without having an increase in budget, leading to them scrambling to make episode 25 like episode 26.

- Episode 26 was always meant to be the thing that it eventually turned out to be (or possibly that was decided when the gas attack episode was scrapped). Having episode 25 be ALSO the same way was NOT the intention and was done by budget necessity. This could've come from Anno and he could've been lying to be fair.

These three things don't exactly match, but it does explain why the first half of Eva looks very very good and doesn't suffer from budget cuts type shots (Gendo posing was just a cool pose, it was never intended as a budget cut as far as I know). So, I would love someone to tell us what EXACTLY happened, because I do think there's a merit to each story, but they're just not all completely correct. Also it would be a great article on the wiki to break down exactly what happened in production to cause budget shortages.

[Reichu]

I think you might need to rewatch the first half of the show, Dougurasu. NGE was always low budget, and it shows with all the recycled, static, panning, etc. shots that are everywhere. The art quality is also wildly inconsistent, resulting in many episodes as early as the prologue arc where the characters are really off-model and the animation in general is ass ugly.

I do agree it would be nice to put together a collection of actual sourced information on the show's production history, considering just how pitiful the endless gaijin circlejerk on the subject is. But playing telephone with 15 year old rumors is a lot easier than researching a topic where so little info is available in English AND still on the Internet. Not that there's any particularly good reason to KEEP playing telephone instead of just shrugging the whole thing off.

For my part, I'm not dying to know the truth. But I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the story is a lot more boring than the fan narratives hope.

[CommanderFish]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXfigGZWY8E

This is an interesting video on the subject. Not sure if I agree with it or not, but he makes a few good points.

[Chainer3000]

^ Digibro also has a great 2 part series on Anno, which is probably the best video about him as a director and person there is on ze English interwebs. I'd definitely check it out.

[CommanderFish]

Yeah, I've watched those videos. Definitely the most concise and comprehensive presentation of Anno's career that I've seen.

[Tumbling Down]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXfigGZWY8E

This is an interesting video on the subject. Not sure if I agree with it or not, but he makes a few good points.

Digibro briefly mentions that an episode and a half had to be thrown out. Does anyone know anything about that? I hadn't heard about this.

[CommanderFish]

Digibro briefly mentions that an episode and a half had to be thrown out. Does anyone know anything about that? I hadn't heard about this.

Allegedly, the original episode 13 (the one with Ireul), which aired on 12/27/95, too closely resembled the Tokyo subway sarin incident, a terrorist attack that occurred on 3/20/95. So the original had to be completely scrapped, re-written and re-animated into what we have today. I may have some information wrong, but that's what I've heard. I have no idea whether or not it's actually true.