Anno's Suicide Attempt(?)

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Postby NAveryW » Mon Jan 03, 2011 1:07 pm

View Original Postgwern wrote:Well. 2010 has certainly been a year for damaging the credence I put in Yamaga.
It's 2011 now...
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Postby Xard » Mon Jan 03, 2011 1:08 pm

Yamaga's liar. Given that Anno got lots of bad press and rumours going around about him being anime's Cobain Yamaga letting a little white lie to better image of his friend to fans is understandable.

Or then he really was clueless, lol

anyway, this is some epic information!

It really explains why Anno did Shiki Jitsu too...

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Postby gwern » Mon Jan 03, 2011 1:15 pm

View Original PostNAveryW wrote:It's 2011 now...


Nowt by the Chinese lunar year it's not!

(Real reply: I was thinking in intervals, not dates. The last bit of damaging evidence was not that many months ago - http://forum.evageeks.org/viewtopic.php?t=10029 - less than 12.)
Last edited by gwern on Mon Jan 03, 2011 1:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby Carl Horn » Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:55 am

View Original Postgwern wrote:As ever we do need to be careful. But this interview changes my appraisal of a number of things. I had lowered my belief in a few sources because they had mentioned or alluded to an attempt or plan on Anno's part, in part because I thought I could trust Yamaga when he said (2 years after Anno publicly talked about a suicide attempt to _June_):



Well. 2010 has certainly been a year for damaging the credence I put in Yamaga. Our most voluble Anglophone primary source (who frequently visits the US where we can ask him questions in person), too.


I'm not sure what Yamaga said of Anno and the story Anno relates are that far apart; after all, Anno does not describe an actual suicide attempt (meaning, actually taking an action that could lead to death, or at least great harm), but only that he considered taking such an action. Anno's own evaluation of the incident seems to have been the discovery that he was not, in fact, a suicidal person, which is what Yamaga is saying.

While there is no reason we shouldn't try and make our own evaluations based on reported comments, interviews, memoirs and the like, we should also consider as a counterweight that Yamaga doesn't rely on these sources to understand Anno, but on the fact he has known Anno for thirty years, both on a personal and a professional basis; were Anno to be "tried in absentia," as Yasuhiro Takeda was at the end of The Notenki Memoirs, Yamaga would be considered an expert witness (as Anno could of Yamaga, or Takami Akai of either of them).

Common sense would allow us to infer that Yamaga knows Anno much better than we can hope to. But because this data (i.e., their everyday history together over three decades) cannot be available to us, there is a temptation to dismiss such an inference, and instead give greater weight to that publicly available data (sparse, by comparison) we do have, using it to conclude that, on the contrary, we know Anno better than Yamaga does, and can determine when Yamaga speaks falsely of Anno, and can divine his motives for doing so--but I am dubious of this conclusion.

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Postby gwern » Tue Jan 04, 2011 8:58 am

Anyone who can go from a 'depressed guy standing on the ledge and thinking about jumping' to 'he's not like that at all' without lying or being uninformed is clearly operating under such a different set of rules that we can't extract anything useful from what he says since we are no longer speaking the same language, if you will.

In which case the practical cashout for us is as bad as if he were simply lying - his words mean little to nothing to us.

If we are interested in the evolution of Eva's plot and especially the ending, what does listening to Yamaga buy us? If we are interested in Anno's mental states and how they may've informed NGE TV and EoE, what does listening to Yamaga buy us?

Apparently only confusion. And as I believe others have pointed out, there seems to be a strange commonality to the areas on which Yamaga is anti-informative...

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Postby Xard » Tue Jan 04, 2011 10:40 am

View Original PostCarl Horn wrote:I'm not sure what Yamaga said of Anno and the story Anno relates are that far apart; after all, Anno does not describe an actual suicide attempt (meaning, actually taking an action that could lead to death, or at least great harm), but only that he considered taking such an action. Anno's own evaluation of the incident seems to have been the discovery that he was not, in fact, a suicidal person, which is what Yamaga is saying.

While there is no reason we shouldn't try and make our own evaluations based on reported comments, interviews, memoirs and the like, we should also consider as a counterweight that Yamaga doesn't rely on these sources to understand Anno, but on the fact he has known Anno for thirty years, both on a personal and a professional basis; were Anno to be "tried in absentia," as Yasuhiro Takeda was at the end of The Notenki Memoirs, Yamaga would be considered an expert witness (as Anno could of Yamaga, or Takami Akai of either of them).

Common sense would allow us to infer that Yamaga knows Anno much better than we can hope to. But because this data (i.e., their everyday history together over three decades) cannot be available to us, there is a temptation to dismiss such an inference, and instead give greater weight to that publicly available data (sparse, by comparison) we do have, using it to conclude that, on the contrary, we know Anno better than Yamaga does, and can determine when Yamaga speaks falsely of Anno, and can divine his motives for doing so--but I am dubious of this conclusion.


Yamaga's whole "eh I don't know what you talkin' bout he's fine as ever in my eyes" act goes against other sources - including Anno himself - on time when Anno worked on Evangelion. I've heard that Anno's "what we're trying to make here" letter came as a shock to the GAINAX staff who had no idea of his four year long depression beforehand. This seems to imply Anno is type who prefers not to showcase their depression outwardly. So Yamaga really might just be "misinformed"

But the guy has a history of dubious claims and assertions, especially about eva which are flatout false and blatant lies. For example the recent "controversy" about his "lol we planned EoTV from the start" act. Yamaga's proven liar and in situation like this one should damn well take his words with grain of salt. I already outlined possible motivations in my previous post.

In any case Yamaga is clearly spewing nonsense in this case - which sadly isn't all that surprising.

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Postby Carl Horn » Tue Jan 04, 2011 1:01 pm

Yamaga has said that he's aware of what Anno has said and has been reported as saying concerning his emotional state; it's not a matter of dismissing the existence of these statements, or being ignorant of them. Having noted that, Yamaga is giving his personal evaluation of Anno, which again, is based on having known and worked with him longer than many Eva fans have been alive--a factor that it would be foolish to dismiss merely because we don't have a transcript of their thirty years together, whereas against that we have interview A and con panel B. I would be wary of assuming that when Yamaga speaks of Anno, he is always "lying"...just as I would be wary of assuming that when Anno speaks of himself, he is always "telling the truth." This idea relates directly to Evangelion itself; consider the final scene of Episode 26.

What would you think if you were in this position--if there was someone you had gone to college with, and then worked with for decades in the same company--had directed for that person, written for them, and produced for them--and then someone else who doesn't know either one of you points to some comments in interviews and says, "The truth must only be here, and can't be also in what you say."

It would not only be presumptuous, but dismissive of human nature. I heard someone say recently that something they heard about Hideaki Anno made him seem more human. When did we ever forget he was human? It is precisely this human side that Yamaga knows far better than us (Are you the sum total of your interviews, essays, and con appearances?). At any rate, if people have serious concerns about any of Yamaga's statements, my suggestion again is to go to FanimeCon, bring the documents under question, and discuss it with him directly; he doesn't mind talking to fans face-to-face.

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Postby AchtungAffen » Wed Jan 05, 2011 12:56 pm

The only hard source I have for the Anno suicidal and living at Gainax is this:

http://web.archive.org/web/20071207235755/www.geocities.com/Tokyo/4081/file425.html#3

A "translation" from AERA magazine (08/31/1998):

Asahi Newspaper publishes a weekly magazine "AERA." AERA 08/31/1998 issue dealt with an interview with Hideaki Anno.
As you know, he is 180 cm tall. He is a kind of giant for normal Japanese.
He always fears something. But he himself is a kind of fear.
He was born in 1960 in Ube city, Yamaguchi Prefecture. In his childhood, Ube city has shipyards. His inside proto-landscape is like such a shipyard, say, NERV base. (Faculty of Medicine, Yamaguchi University is located at Ube city.)
His father Takuya Anno lost his left leg like Touji Suzuhara.
Hideaki Anno fears animal. Therefore he is a vegetarian.
He said, "I cannot break my own heart shell. However I think I can enlarge it because I completed EVA."
He is shy in fact.
He made EVA as his private anime. After EVA, he escaped from work. He tried to kill himself. In order not to kill himself, he had to live at the building of GAiNAX, Musashino-city, Tokyo.
But he lost his everything because he wasted out his all inside to make EVA.

He began to see real performance. He saw high school girls. He made a real performance movie "Love and Pop." Of course its original novel was written by Mr. Ryu Murakami. The famous novelist also has his own homepage. (As you know, Touji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida were named after characters who appeared at Ryu Murakami's novel "Ai To Gensou No Fascism.")

He had to make robot anime to feed money to GAiNAX. He had to make real performance to survive. And Anno began to make anime for little girls.
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Postby gwern » Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:21 pm

View Original PostAchtungAffen wrote:The only hard source I have for the Anno suicidal and living at Gainax is this:

http://web.archive.org/web/20071207235755/www.geocities.com/Tokyo/4081/file425.html#3

A "translation" from AERA magazine (08/31/1998):


I am aware of that. It is one of the sources I spoke of discounting because of the suicide claim; on balance my opinion had turned against it because of the suicide claim and because I had difficulty with other parts of it; eg.

His father Takuya Anno lost his left leg like Touji Suzuhara.


In 'Hideaki Anno Talks to Kids', we see his father quasi-interviewed; his legs look normal nor are there any allusions or mentions of an infirmity. Not definitive evidence against, but weak since the video could easily have confirmed it (father wearing shorts and show a false leg, walkers and canes near by him, etc.). Nor have I run into any other allusions or relevant evidence about his father.

And according to Takeda 2002, who discusses Anno's eating habits (and arguably Anno's depicted eating habits and comments about Rei in 'Hideaki Anno talks to Kids'), the following is just wrong:

Hideaki Anno fears animal. Therefore he is a vegetarian.


---------

So, on to Carl. Pretty much the same arguments, I think, as the last time Yamaga's questionable accuracy came up.

What would you think if you were in this position--if there was someone you had gone to college with, and then worked with for decades in the same company--had directed for that person, written for them, and produced for them--and then someone else who doesn't know either one of you points to some comments in interviews and says, "The truth must only be here, and can't be also in what you say."


Well, OK. So, Anno says he prepared for a suicide, even if he didn't go through with it. Yamaga scoffs entirely at the notion of suicide having anything to do with Anno, years after Anno's own statement.

What's the complex truth that renders this not a contradiction and not lies or ignorance on someone's part?

Also, what would I think of such analyses? I would be angry and ashamed. Funnily enough, I would also be angry and ashamed if I had lied to the world and been found out.

It would not only be presumptuous, but dismissive of human nature. I heard someone say recently that something they heard about Hideaki Anno made him seem more human. When did we ever forget he was human?


We have been forgetting that artists are human ever since the Romantic era and beings like John Keats or Bryron or Shelley. Nor is this forgetting exclusive to the Western sphere - it seems to me quite common in Japan as well. eg. a few days I read the first volume of Nisio's Zaregoto novels, which positively reeked of the genius myth. (Nisio is always very ironic and subverting of tropes, and criticizes the romantic idea of genius - 'a special existence' - but given the complexity of the ultimate solution to the murder mysteries, this subversion rings very hollow.)

At any rate, if people have serious concerns about any of Yamaga's statements, my suggestion again is to go to FanimeCon, bring the documents under question, and discuss it with him directly; he doesn't mind talking to fans face-to-face.


I am bad at diplomatically asking someone why they lied; not one of my people skills. And in any case, I will not be at FanimeCon this year, much as I would like to be. I would suggest that *you* ask what the complex truth is.
Last edited by gwern on Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby 1731298478 » Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:21 pm

Well, here's my attempt at translating the relevant section. This conversation is a bit beyond my capacity, so expect mistakes. Please keep that in mind. I've included the scanned images as well; any corrections or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks once again to Ilari for the scans and to LiLi for hosting them.

One note: I have the impression that the Japanese psychological terms don't correspond very closely to the English terms sometimes used to render them. However, I don't have the background to know more about this.

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/593/41230819.jpg
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/782/44224485.jpg
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4945/83711814.jpg

---

--- Nobi-san was reduced to tears by Episode 14. How [did you compose] Rei's monologue?

Anno: I had intended to recap the series in the first half of the episode. When I did the second half, I had long forgotten to explore what sort of person Rei was, so [I believed] it was necessary to develop her.

The script for episode 16 had been written before that. At first I had planned [a scenario where] Shinji and the angel would make "first contact," but I wasn't able to pull it off.

In the original conception, the languages of various countries and the cries of various animals and miscellaneous noises would appear on the screen; [selecting from] among these, the angel would finally hit upon Japanese. When this happens, there is a sharp noise, an image [suddenly] fills [the screen], and [the angel] asks if this is right for [Shinji's] thought-language or thought-patterns; it would have started from there.

--- That's really cool.

Anno: As far as that goes, I thought it was fine, but then when [the angel] speaks Japanese that was the end of it. Kaworu-kun had been prepared as a "human type" [angel] from the start, and I wanted to hold on to the idea of [an angel] conversing in human language until then. When I wondered, well, what will [Shinji] do after he gets taken into the angel, I wondered if this might be [his] chance for self-reflection. Episode 16's "inner space"-like environment was the first [of that sort]. That went relatively smoothly.

When it came to Rei, I was completely blocked. I couldn't write anything at all. I had intended to make Rei a schizophrenic (分裂症的) character, but when I tried to write, I couldn't think of anything - nothing at all. Finally, I thought, when writing madness, one has no choice but to become mad. At that time I consulted a bit with my friends. When I asked if there was something composed by a madman, I was loaned a "Bessatsu Takarajima" [1] volume on mental illness. It was an "easy and reasonable" book [イージーでリーズナブルな本] (laughs), but inside it there was a poem written by a madman. That was extremely good. When I read the poem I had a strong impression, as though this was the first time that I had come close. I had a feeling like a light glinting upon the tip of a sharp knife. It was certainly not the feeling of an ordinary man. That was good. If I think about it now, this sort of 'capacity' was [already] within me (laughs). [??2] It's mad to believe that the writings of a madman are of the highest quality. I read that [poem] and was filled with images; I was able to write [Rei's monologue] in one sitting.

It's alleged that [the monologue] was based upon another text, but in all honesty, that's not so. There was something that inspired it, but it was completely different. It's alleged that it strongly resembles someone's poem, and it that it was probably copied from it, but, "Ah, well, that man is probably crazy too" (laughs). It seems to be a famous poem. Being able to write something to the extent that it's said to be the same, I can't help thinking, "Don't I have talent, too?" (laughs) [3]

After the television broadcast finished, I became worse and worse, and went to see a doctor. I even seriously contemplated death. It's like [I] was empty, with no meaning to [my] existence. Without the slightest exaggeration, I had put everything I had [into Evangelion]. Really. After that finished I realized that there was nothing [left] inside of me. When I asked [the doctor?] about it afterwards, [he said?] "Ah, that is an 'identity crisis' (self-collapse) [自我崩壊]." [4] It was a sensation as though I had taken something like extremely bad LSD. I was told, "It's amazing that you were able to do that without medication." Yeah, now, I feel very fortunate (laughs). [5] In order to determine whether or not I really wanted to die, I went up to the rooftop of this building (the GAINAX building) and stuck my foot out, waiting to lose my balance and fall forward. I did it to personally determine [whether I wanted to live or die], [thinking,] if I really want to die, I should die here, and if I don't want to die, I'll step back. Well, it didn't lead to my death, and so I'm here.

At first I was manic, but I rapidly developed a severe depression. I wouldn't leave my office at work; I would leave only to use the bathroom, and I would almost never eat meals. A dilemma suddenly arose: I didn't want to encounter other people, and yet I did want to encounter other people.

I don't return home [at the end of the day], because the time and effort spent returning is bothersome. I just stay overnight here all the time; I don't return home more than a few times in a year. At work, when I go to the bathroom, I go across the studio, I have to encounter people. I just wanted to think by myself, so I returned home for the first time in many months. My bed is never made, so there's nothing to do but crawl into it. When I took my clothes off and lay down - I can't put it any other way than extraordinarily terrifying, terrifying thoughts [怖い考え] - I had a sensation like my whole body was enveloped in such [thoughts]. When I was enveloped by this, I suddenly leapt to my feet and, in a panicked state, threw on my clothes, grabbed my bag, and went out onto the street, [crying,] "Taxi!" I went back to my workplace, I went back to my office at my workplace and slept. This is the "identity crisis." I don't have the feeling that I want to die, or anything like that. There's nothing I can say [that can explain things]. On the other hand, that was how seriously I took "Evangelion."

--- I wonder why human beings require a meaning to their existence. [The lack of such] produces anxiety.

Anno: I think it's more natural for human beings to be anxious. I think happiness is nothing but an illusion [錯覚].

---

[1] http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%A5%E5%86%8A%E5%AE%9D%E5%B3%B6 A collection of half-book/half-magazines on a variety of subjects published by Takarajima-sha.

[2] 今考えればそういう素養が自分にあったというだけの話なんですけど(笑)。

[3] I haven't been able to find out much about this poem.

[4] I can't tell if this is the doctor speaking about Anno's crisis, or something else (something Anno heard people say about himself or about Evangelion?).

[5] I'm somewhat unclear as to who is speaking, and what refers to what, here. ^__^; Sorry! I hope it's not completely wrong, but... "Medication" here is "kusuri."
Last edited by 1731298478 on Sat Nov 09, 2013 4:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby gwern » Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:48 pm

View Original Post1731298478 wrote:In the original conception, the languages of various countries and the cries of various animals and miscellaneous noises would appear on the screen; [selecting from] among these, the angel would finally hit upon Japanese. When this happens, there is a sharp noise, an image [suddenly] fills [the screen], and [the angel] asks if this is right for [Shinji's] thought-language or thought-patterns; it would have started from there.

--- That's really cool.


I agree. Very First Contact SF-y.

Anno: As far as that goes, I thought it was fine, but then when [the angel] speaks Japanese that was the end [of my conception]. Kaworu-kun had been prepared as a "human type" [angel] from the start, and I wanted to hold on to the idea of [an angel] conversing in human language until then. When I wondered, well, what will [Shinji] do after he gets taken into the angel, I wondered if this might be [his] chance for self-reflection. Episode 16's "inner space"-like environment was the first [of that sort]. That went relatively smoothly.


Hrm. From the start? But he was paired with a cat in the Proposal...

When it came to Rei, I was completely blocked. I couldn't write anything at all. I had intended to make Rei a schizophrenic (分裂症的) character, but when I tried to write, I couldn't think of anything - nothing at all.


Hah! Most fan-diagnoses of Rei definitely weren't schizophrenia! On the other hand, you did say that the terms seemed to be non-standard. Maybe that's what you meant.

Finally, I thought, when writing madness, one has no choice but to become mad. At that time I consulted a bit with my friends. When I asked if there was something composed by a madman, I was loaned a "Bessatsu Takarajima" [1] volume on mental illness. It was an "easy and reasonable" book [イージーでリーズナブルな本] (laughs), but inside it there was a poem written by a madman. That was extremely good. When I read the poem I had a strong impression, as though this was the first time that I had come close. I had a feeling like a light glinting upon the tip of a sharp knife. It was certainly not the feeling of an ordinary man. That was good. If I think about it now, this sort of 'capacity' was [already] within me (laughs). [??2] It's mad to believe that the writings of a madman are of the highest quality. I read that [poem] and was filled with images; I was able to write [Rei's monologue] in one sitting.


Very interesting. It would seem that we finally nailed Anno's 'textbook'. And it wasn't Jung or Freud, but a layman book on mental illness. Xard won't be happy to see this quote.

A dilemma suddenly arose: I didn't want to encounter other people, and yet I did want to encounter other people.


A dilemma, you say, Anno? Would that happen to be a hedgehog's dilemma, by any chance?

I don't return home [at the end of the day], because the time and effort spent returning is bothersome. I just stay overnight here all the time; I don't return home more than a few times in a year. At work, when I go to the bathroom, I go across the studio, I have to encounter people. I just wanted to think by myself, so I returned home for the first time in many months. My bed is never made, so there's nothing to do but crawl into it. When I took my clothes off and lay down - I can't put it any other way than extraordinarily terrifying, terrifying thoughts [怖い考え] - I had a sensation like my whole body was enveloped in such [thoughts]. When I was enveloped by this, I suddenly leapt to my feet and, in a panicked state, threw on my clothes, grabbed my bag, and went out onto the street, [crying,] "Taxi!" I went back to my workplace, I went back to my office at my workplace and slept. This is the "identity crisis." I don't have the feeling that I want to die, or anything like that. There's nothing I can say [that can explain things]. On the other hand, that was how seriously I took "Evangelion."


Much like Takeda's own existence living at Gainax. Things like this really hammer home how terrible anime is as a career!

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Postby Azathoth » Fri Jan 28, 2011 9:12 pm

View Original Postlol Anno wrote:It was a sensation as though I had taken something like extremely bad LSD.


i_know_that_feel_bro.jpg

Does this mean Anno has actually done acid? Some elements of EoE certainly make a little more sense that way. I was under the impression that Japanese drug laws were strict as hell though, even by comparison to American...

Anyway it's a very interesting interview, thanks for translating.
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Postby Sailor Star Dust » Fri Jan 28, 2011 9:28 pm

That interview/discussion brought tears to my eyes. It's times like this I wish I could give Anno a great big hug.
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Postby gwern » Fri Jan 28, 2011 9:43 pm

View Original PostAzathoth wrote:Does this mean Anno has actually done acid? Some elements of EoE certainly make a little more sense that way. I was under the impression that Japanese drug laws were strict as hell though, even by comparison to American...


I think it's highly unlikely. LSD is a very commonly invoked psychedelic because it's the most famous one. For example, have you been reading any of the anime bloggers about Puella Magi Madoka Magica? One of the common descriptions of the other dimension scenes is '[whatever] on LSD'. So unless I have an amazing affinity for reading bloggers who have impressive histories of drug use, the description says little about whether the writer had actually used LSD.

(Now, if someone dropped a line like "The last episode of Madoka reminded me of a trip on compound #178 in PiHKAL", then I would begin to wonder...)

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Postby Azathoth » Fri Jan 28, 2011 9:46 pm

View Original Postgwern wrote:For example, have you been reading any of the anime bloggers about Puella Magi Madoka Magica? One of the common descriptions of the other dimension scenes is '[whatever] on LSD'.


Well yeah. It's just that most anime bloggers haven't created monumental surrealist film projects with psychedelic themes, you know?
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Postby Seele00TextOnly » Fri Jan 28, 2011 9:49 pm

...
Last edited by Seele00TextOnly on Fri Aug 20, 2021 7:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby Sailor Star Dust » Fri Jan 28, 2011 10:01 pm

Oh, yes. Comment I forgot to add, it's nice to see that Anno's comments about Leliel mesh nicely with Kazuya Tsurumaki's: http://wiki.evageeks.org/Episode_16#References
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Postby Seele00TextOnly » Fri Jan 28, 2011 10:15 pm

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Last edited by Seele00TextOnly on Fri Aug 20, 2021 7:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby Xard » Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:51 am

View Original Postgwern wrote:Very interesting. It would seem that we finally nailed Anno's 'textbook'. And it wasn't Jung or Freud, but a layman book on mental illness. Xard won't be happy to see this quote.


Why do you think so? I've used to things never going my way and I'm rather content with we finally having a proper answer here :P

Plus it's really cool to know origins of Rei's poem

View Original Postgwern wrote:Much like Takeda's own existence living at Gainax. Things like this really hammer home how terrible anime is as a career!


in this case you really don't want to read Miyazaki's Starting Point and his story of one woman who worked as colour inspector/supervisor on Heidi and other such series...


Anno: I think it's more natural for human beings to be anxious. I think happiness is nothing but an illusion [錯覚].


Dawwwwww. Anno-san stop being so fucking moe

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Postby gwern » Sat Jan 29, 2011 8:48 am

View Original PostXard wrote: in this case you really don't want to read Miyazaki's Starting Point and his story of one woman who worked as colour inspector/supervisor on Heidi and other such series...


Sounds like a book worth reading.

The other day, Studio Ghibli informed us of Yasuda Michiyo's retirement. For a long time she worked with Miyazaki as a color director. In a lecture which Miyazaki held back in 1982, he told about a woman who worked with him on producing Heidi in 1974. Her superhuman like work helped them so much in maintaining Heidi to be a quality production. While producing Heidi, for over a year she only slept for 2 hours a day. Now of course Miyazaki is known to be a big workaholic, but he was shocked to see her crazy working. Miyazaki does not tell who she was, though probably it was Yasuda (note: Yasuda Michiyo and Koyama Akiko were part of Heidi's final checking staff).


http://www.ghibliworld.com/shuppatsu_ten_nick_mamatas_interview.html

Absurd. Truly, one should only into anime if one couldn't be happy doing anything else, that it would be tantamount to suicide to do something else.


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