Provided I don't get insanely busy with college...
This month's image (it's a two page article only, not one of those several paged ones): ZOMG Shinji-tachi in Seifuku! (Children 1-5 plus Kensuke walking to school together
)Newtype March 2007 wrote:
In their own words... New Inspiration and challenges for the staff of the all-new Eva films.
Rebuilding It Right
Asuka Langley Sohryu: Having earned a college degree before her 15th Birthday, (WTF, now she's 15 instead of 14 or 13?!)
the brilliant Asuka certainly has the smarts to pilot the Evangelion Unit 02, but will she make an appearance in the first of the four new Eva films? Rumor is that the climax of the first film is Operation Yashima, but in the original series that story arc ran only through Episode 6, whereas Asuka didn't show up until Episode 8.
Kaworu Nagisa: As both the Fifth Child and the 17th Angel (Tabris), Kaworu was a self-contradictory persona from the outset, although we have it on good authority that the new film version of Kaworu will be considerably different from the original incarnation in the TV series. Perhaps understanding the changes in his character will be the key to deciphering the new movies.
As long as we don't get any of that Evil Manga Kaworu bullshit, I'll be happy!
Shinji Ikari: Shinji, pilot of the Evangelion Unit 01, is also the son of the cold-as-ice NERV commander Gendo Ikari. A life of constant frustration with his unresponsive father has left Shinji fearful of forming emotional attachments with others, but his new responsibilities and friends at school have begun to slowly bring him out of his shell. Heck, he even looks halfway happy on occasion.
Kensuke Aida: Shinji's pal Kensuke is a happy-go-lucky kid on the surface, but from time to time we see how nagging feelings of self-doubt hamper is emotional growth. He understands Shinji's inner struggle on a deeply empathic level. Some of the best moments in the original TV Series involved Kensuke goofing around at school, we hope the movies give him plenty of chances to shine.
Toji Suzuhara: Toji was pretty unfriendly to Shinji (for personal reasons) when the latter first transferred into his school in the original series, but over time the two became close friends. Depending on whether you go by the TV series or the manga version, Toji either became an amputee or died soon after learning he was the Fourth Child. What fate will he meet in the new films?
Getting his leg chopped off AND dying? I dunno, lol.
Rei Ayanami: From scenes of Rei's initial, bandaged, appearance before Shinji to her honest smile of relief and satisfaction at the close of Operation Yashima, the first installment of the new Eva films is guaranteed to provide plenty of Rei action for fans of the Evangelion Unit 00's enigmatic pilot.
And of course, next time, they'll be plenty of
The NeoGenesis of Evangelion:
With its tatami flooring, lacquered table and brand-new widescreen TV, this upscale Japanese-style sitting room inside Khara Studios looks more like something you'd find in a posh country inn than on an animation worksite, but this is where the grand ideas for the new Evangelion film productions take shape. Even the grueling 12-plus hour meetings are made a little better by the comfy cushions on the floor, which double as pillows for the truly exhausted. The chichi modern thinking space seems to be Khara's answer to the question of how to extract maximum productivity from brainstorming--put 'em in a room so awesome they'll never want to leave it!
Recapturing the look and feel:
Kazuya Tsurumaki, one of the directors for the new Evangelion films, has strong words for naysayers who dismiss the project as a mere remake. "Nothing could be further from the truth!", he says. "This isn't about putting the same old story with slightly better animation techniques or touched-up footage. When we use the word "rebuild", we mean an honest-to-goodness rebuild, from the ground up. It's a fact that there were things we wanted to do in the original TV series that just weren't feasible at the time, and one of our goals in doing this is to find a way to put some of the ideas back in. Operation Yashima is a perfect example. It's something we really wanted to do right this time, and getting the chance to do that was one of my main reasons for accepting the role of director. But rehashing past efforts isn't the whole story--not by a long shot. There are plenty of sides to this story which I want to bring out that are very different from what you saw in the TV version."
Tsurumaki goes on to explain that in the calculus of Eva-world, merely increasing the pixel count doesn't automatically translate into better production: "The Evangelion story is both simplistic and deep. The ideas are densely packed, like in a haiku. But that doesn't mean it needs to follow the Hollywood pattern of overproduction ad infinitum. We've all gotten used to that style of moviemaking, but if we're going to do Eva the way it should be done, then we need to return to the look and feel of the age. And I think we can do even more amazing things with that look and feel by incorporating modern-day animation technology."
While Tsurumaki freely admits that the first of the four film installments--slated to hit theaters in Japan sometime mid-2007--will run like a digest of the TV series, employing key scenes to bring viewers up to speed on the basic story and setting, no one is very willing to speculate on the content of the second, third, or final films.
"Frankly, it just got too chaotic," Tsurumaki comments on the brainstorming sessions that were initially meant to provide an overall plot outline and final resolution to the story. "We're all working from the assumption that we weren't able to reach our destination with the original TV series, but the exact nature of that "destination" is still unclear to everyone on the staff. Since we're going to all the trouble of making these new productions, we'd at least like to take the story as far as we took it back then, but it's been an uphill struggle so far. I get the feeling this project is going to be a very unstable project--in a lot of ways."
Unstable, maybe. But brilliant, almost certainly. We're come to expect nothing less from Evangelion.
fufufu. Their "real original" is there, somewhere. I'm assuming it's still going to end 3I style, a blend of EoTV and EoE would be nice, I think. But I expect it's going to like EoE, but not as much of a mind-fuck (if that's even possible, since it IS Eva and all!).
And as an omake (extra) of sorts, here's words said by Sadamoto and Anno-sensei for this month's Gunbuster 2, and Gunbuster articles, respectively.
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto Answers all! wrote: Q: How long have you been with GAINAX? A: Over 20 years now! Q: What was the biggest thing that happened to you while there? A: Getting my manga published! It's still going strong... Q: What's your favorite Anime quote? A: In Honneamise, where Lieutenant Colonel Marty says he believes he's capable of existing only because the people around him need him to. Q: What's the longest you ever stayed at the office without going home? A: Three days! Q: Fill in the blank: "GAINAX, ____ Forever!" A: GAINAX, an otaku's friend forever! (OK, I know it's corny...)
Is he referring to the Eva manga?? Either way, we aren't gonna get the conclusion of that before Rebuild, are we?
Hideaki Anno Answers all! wrote: Q: How long have you been with GAINAX? A: I'm into my third decade now. Q: What was the biggest thing that happened to you while there? A: The company managing to stay together after the production of Honneamise. Also, resisting the urge to resign from my job even after the Aoki Uru project [a sequel to Honneamise, conceived in 1993] was put on indefinite hold. Q: What's your favorite Anime quote? A: Umm... Q: What's the longest you ever stayed at the office without going home? A: I dunno...A few years? Q: Fill in the blank: "GAINAX, ____ Forever!" A: GAINAX, there's no such thing as forever!
Hmmm...Does that mean it's trrue that Anno and GAINAX are getting a divorce? But why?! Think of the children! Won't somebody, please, think of the children!
(Their creations together and/or the fans.)Anyway, this issue made my day not only because of the Eva article, but the full page ad for GoS2 ("Angelic Days") Volume 4, featuring that cover of Those Two (You know who, deshou?) hugging. Kusukusu.
(Don't mind all the
faces and my nihongo-style giggling, I'm just happy because I'm finally done with a Math Test I've been stressing over!)
Oi. 
