The NERV logo, what does it all mean?

[Reichu]

Good guess! But Jewish lore is cale Kabbalah. What would you guys do without me?

Actually, Kabbalah simply refers to Jewish mysticism and all of the related jive. I sort of know what it refers to, but without any books to reference at the moment I can't really explain it. The Haggadah, however, is something completely different. See more here.

[MongolSquad]

Wow I feel stupid. :oops: Sorry Reichu......please forgive, I didn't mean to out do you or anything, just trying to help. Sorry again.......... :oops:

[The Eva Monkey]

I think the spelling problem lies with whoever drafted up that version of Nerv's logo.

The question remains, what is it supposed to say?

[Reichu]

The question remains, what is it supposed to say?

If I had to guess, "Neo Earth of Return Veneration". Ah, Engrish at its finest!

[ido]

Let's assume that the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was a fig. (This is working off of the poster above saying the leaf is a fig leaf.) So, the logo could also be representative of man using the knowledge he never should have had to rebel against God and His messangers. That is, the rebelion against God is man being so bold as to dictate the next step in man's evolution.

just wanted to note, that according to Jewish tradition, the fig fruit is one of the 3 possibilites for the fruit that adam and eve ate (according to the rabbis) - the others are grapes and wheat.

Ido,

[Olin of Xephon]

Wheat? Wheat is a fruit?

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2005 1:46 pm Post subject:
Wheat? Question Wheat is a fruit? Question Question Question

According to the definition, yes it is.

just wanted to note, that according to Jewish tradition, the fig fruit is one of the 3 possibilites for the fruit that adam and eve ate (according to the rabbis) - the others are grapes and wheat.

But what about the fig leaf itself? Does that have any significance? The only thing I can think of is its cliched use as a censorship device in just about every Adam and Eve depiction there is.

[Mr. Tines]

But what about the fig leaf itself? Does that have any significance? The only thing I can think of is its cliched use as a censorship device in just about every Adam and Eve depiction there is.

Genesis 3:7 may have something to do with the clichéd use.

And this is another thing where people could rag RahX, with its cod-Latin acronym for TERRA, as being another thing it "copied". I presume that there are other anime with similar things in, though.

[pHasE _4!]

I'm just wondering, did everyone on this topic who is quoting and referencing religious knowledge so brilliantly ever show interest in these things before Eva. We have poetic references...Kabbalah is Jewish disputes...the works.

If the answer is no, then Eva really is powerful.

[JohnnyFive]

I think it's a little of both for me. I was already minoring in Religion at the time, but I think Eva drove me to look more closely at some more obscure religious concepts, such as the Kabbalah and Gnosticism, just to have a clearer understanding of the concepts they were trying to use (though not always accurately :)).

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

I try and avoid basing any theories on the religious symbols used. I think their meaning is fairly miniscule in the series as a whole. They're just there to "look cool".

That said it is sometimes interesting to try to find out why a paticular symbol was chosen.

[nomadimp]

As for the Browning quote, I think that a lot of the religious symbols and ideas in NGE are actually Shinto symbols and ideas with Christian/Jewish skins.

Until after WWII, the Emperor was believed to be a living Kami, or God on Earth. The Emperor was believed to be descended from Ameterasu or "Great Goddess Who Shines in the Heavens." I agree with others here that there is a sense that God is ONLY in heaven - when used by NERV. This makes even less sense from a Shinto perspective, where the gods are very present in the world.

It is also worth noting that Ameterasu was born out of Izanagi's left eye as he performed the very first purification ritual ever. The birth of the heavenly god and the first act of impurity (Izanagi's decent into the underworld in search of his wife) are intimiately linked in Shinto. This story is a parallel to the fig leaf in genesis because both are reactions to the very first instance of impurity. Hence a possible reason to link the fig leaf with the idea of the Sun Goddess.

The motto, when taken to refer to the Sun Goddess, and not the Christian God, also immediately brings to mind the story of when Ameterasu shut herself away in a cave and plunged the world into darkness. Eventually the other gods were able to trick her into coming out and returning to her place in the sky so that all would be right with the world.


Maybe a bit of a stretch, but just some thoughts.

[SEELE 08]

I try and avoid basing any theories on the religious symbols used. I think their meaning is fairly miniscule in the series as a whole. They're just there to "look cool".

That said it is sometimes interesting to try to find out why a paticular symbol was chosen.

Don't you ever, ever tell that to Reichu, she'd eat you alive.

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

Don't you ever, ever tell that to Reichu, she'd eat you alive.

I'm reasonably certain that this was Reichu's stance as well. That is, before.... The Return from Hiatus.

[SEELE 08]

Well now she's overanalyzing everything to death and beyond. She's absolutely 100% convinced everything in NGE has a meaning and damn certain she's going to find it. I like to theorize for fun, stupid theories that probably aren't true but are just for fun. But I think Reichu is on a quest for completion and symmetry and she's going to find it whether or not its really there. My only real problems with this is that she thinks the stuff she makes up is gospel and ignores all other opinion, forgets that mystery is sometimes fun and their for aesthetic reasons, and she's totally thrown the author's intent to the wind. The show wasn't about giant mecha and mankind's ultimate destiny it was about psychology and above all its goal was to entertain and occasionally make you pause and think.

[Mr. Tines]

Well now she's overanalyzing everything to death and beyond.

No, no, you have it wrong.

Overanalysis is trying to explain why who saw what when the Rei-tachi came calling, or asserting that a bunch of hardcore SF fans might have known about the effects of an asteroid impact.

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

Overanalysis is trying to explain why who saw what when the Rei-tachi came calling, or asserting that a bunch of hardcore SF fans might have known about the effects of an asteroid impact.

I stand by it. But after reading Reichu's exposes on the K^2KK theory, I find myself suddenly on the other side of the coin. Should plausability be extended into analysis? I wonder now what can really be gained from such speculation?

As such, I find SEELE 08's skeptisim rather comforting. It helps reinforce the scientific method.

[SEELE 08]

Overanalysis is trying to explain why who saw what when the Rei-tachi came calling, or asserting that a bunch of hardcore SF fans might have known about the effects of an asteroid impact.

I stand by it. But after reading Reichu's exposes on the K^2KK theory, I find myself suddenly on the other side of the coin. Should plausability be extended into analysis? I wonder now what can really be gained from such speculation?

As such, I find SEELE 08's skeptisim rather comforting. It helps reinforce the scientific method.

There was a time about a year ago when I was in training to become a biologist....turns out I suck in the labratory. Still got the scientific mindset though.

[Mr. Tines]

I stand by it.

Don't forget, I was jesting at my own expense too!

As it happens, having since seen "Wings of Honneamise" and started on "Gunbuster" (especially the attached background info clips), I am definitely more skeptical about the "Anno could never have intended that" responses I received for my pains.

[phanthompain]

Well, found this somewhere at http://www.tvwiki.tv/wiki/Neon_Genesis_Evangelion_glossary#NERV

"The NERV Logo is half a fig leaf covering its name, with the motto "God's In His Heaven... All's Right With The World" forming the quarter circle on the bottom. The motto comes from Robert Browning's poem "Pippa Passes".

The fig leaf has covered mans' nakedness in art and scuplture for hundreds of years, symbolically representing the guilt of his original sin. In one interpretation of the logo, man is now making war on the angels and challenging God himself; mankind no longer feels shame for his sins - so when the fig leaf is pulled back, NERV is revealed.

The logo can also be viewed as a brief summary of NERV's mission - attempting a return to man's original "naked" state by actively fighting back into the Garden of Eden.

It may also represent NERV as Humanity's "shield" against disaster."


Sounds reasonable enough...