My letter to Anno Hideaki-san

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Nuclear Lunchbox
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Postby Nuclear Lunchbox » Fri Jun 21, 2013 7:57 pm

I scrapped the letter a while ago during my absence in May/June. I thought it was stupid and that it required rewriting. :whiteflag:

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Postby AR-99 » Fri Jun 21, 2013 8:10 pm

Hopefully it doesn't languish in the dustbin, but we'll leave it to you.
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Postby bobbyfischer's ghost » Sat Jun 22, 2013 2:39 am

This seems like a very interesting idea, once you rewrite it make sure to post.
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Postby Caliburn » Wed Jun 26, 2013 1:22 am

View Original PostNuclear Lunchbox wrote:I scrapped the letter a while ago during my absence in May/June. I thought it was stupid and that it required rewriting. :whiteflag:


For what it's worth, your letter seemed quite fine to me. I certainly wouldn't call it "stupid" and I think you're being too hard on yourself. It's well written and expresses in general terms how you feel about the show, and I imagine Anno would be happy to read it assuming someone translated it for him. If you had mailed it as it was written in your opening post, I think you could feel proud of it.

I'm not entirely sure which aspect made you eventually grow unsatisfied with the letter, but if I had to guess . . . I wonder if you shied away from describing some of the personal impact the show had on you, substituting instead more general terms. This might be part of the dissatisfaction, because you may sense that the personal impact the show had for you is something the letter still doesn't fully express.

Examples:
View Original PostNuclear Lunchbox wrote:I feel that the work you have created is extraordinary, and that it has impacted a great many people.


OK, it's true that it impacted a great many people, but how did it impact you?

View Original PostNuclear Lunchbox wrote:The series manages to be lighthearted and complex whenever it wants to be, inspiring such a connection with the characters that you empathize with them on a level you never thought you could. Watching the characters as they get knocked down and struggle back up again is inspiring, and watching them fail to recover instills a deep feeling of empathy for them.


You describe this well, but you phrase it in a general way, i.e. the impact the show has on "the viewer" in general rather than on you. But I'm sure Anno would be more interested to hear your particular story. How did you find the show? What did it mean to you? Where were you at in your life at the time and how does the show fit into that? Did the show change you? In what way?

Maybe I'm off base and something else about the letter was bugging you.

A couple other suggestions:

I think you can skip the first paragraph and just write "Dear Mr. Anno." ^_^

As for the questions at the end . . . I don't think it hurts to ask. But especially since someone would have to translate the letter for Mr. Anno, bear in mind he may not understand some of what you're asking since I doubt he's familiar with the kind of theories you see on EvaGeeks. You may need to explain what you mean when you ask whether Rebuild is "a sequel," or whether EoE happens "at the same time as Ep. 25 and 26" because Anno doesn't have the context of years of EvaGeeks discussion to clarify exactly what you're asking. However, since you won't want to write a paragraph for each question, which would make the letter much too long, maybe you should pick the one or two questions you most want to know about and skip the others. I doubt Anno is able to answer when Final will be released anyway, so it's probably no big deal to cut that one, for example.

If you have a friend with strong written Japanese, they might be able to translate your letter before you send it, if you want to improve the chance of it being read. But I think even sending it in English is OK. With luck, Studio Khara will have at least a couple people who read English.

If you're comfortable sharing the revised letter, it sounds like everyone would be happy to see it or help further. Or if it's too personal, just send it. I really do think you should give it another go, though, rather than set it aside. Write a letter that pleases you and then put it in the mail. It seems like something you wanted to do, you clearly impressed the forum, and I'm sure it would be meaningful both to you and to Anno.
Last edited by Caliburn on Wed Jun 26, 2013 1:52 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby Guy Nacks » Wed Jun 26, 2013 1:33 am

And who knows, maybe your letter will be included in another dada-esque sequence a la EOE.

But yeah, I agree with Caliburn. You should make those revisions and send the letter. You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain from it. If you actually get a response back, it'll be awesome. If it's from Anno himself, it might just be the most amazing thing to happen in the history of this forum.

We're all pulling for you, Nuke.
Among the people who use the Internet, many are obtuse. Because they are locked in their rooms, they hang on to that vision which is spreading across the world. But this does not go beyond mere ‘data’. Data without analysis [thinking], which makes you think that you know everything. This complacency is nothing but a trap. Moreover, the sense of values that counters this notion is paralyzed by it.

And so we arrive at demagogy. - Hideaki Anno, 1996

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Postby Caliburn » Wed Jun 26, 2013 1:59 am

View Original PostGuy Nacks wrote:And who knows, maybe your letter will be included in another dada-esque sequence a la EOE.


Ha, an even better motivation! Immortality could be yours! :mwahaha:


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