Which ending is the TRUE ending of the original EVA?

[ApolloIVtv]

About the last 2 eps. of Eva and End of Eva, I keep hearing from different sides of Eva fans of which ending is the true ending in the eyes of Anno.

I hear some people say the original last 2 episodes were the true ending to Eva in Anno's opinion, and that the End of Eva was just answer to fans who wanted an alternate ending of the series.

On the other hand, I hear people say that End of Eva is the true ending, because it was what was originally planned for the last 2 episodes, but was redone due to budget restrictions and censorship, which lead to the last 2 episodes we see today.

I'm just want some clarification of what Anno thinks is the true ending. If Anno thinks the last 2 episodes is what considers to be the real ending, then I don't know. Even though Anno is one of my personal heroes (with his flaws), and that he probably knows more about his own stuff than I do, I'll put my hands on the End of Eva.

The original last 2 episodes were great, and really do actually fit well with the series, even with it's sudden appearance and no warning. And what makes it such a great ending is that it's all just psychoanalysis, and that it's all focused on just the characters. But the actual context, or at least what I think it is, is what's going on is that Shinji is experiencing Instrumentality, and, in the end, accepts it, and is congratulated for it.

In End of Eva, Shinji first accepts Instrumentality, but he later finds out that it feels wrong, and comes to the conclusion that it is the exact same thing as running away, and even with the pain of reality, false happiness is not as good as real happiness. So he rejects Instrumentality before it was fully completed.

I prefer the End of Eva ending, well, for obvious reasons. It's a real, genuine moral told in a very adult way. The last 2 episodes, I think, have a lot philosophies that I don't think is very good for people should follow. In the last scene of the episode, they go on to talk about how you can make your own reality, and that reality can be manipulated and changed to what you want if you try hard enough. I don't think that's very true, in fact, downright stupid and immature. It's something that really knacks me about the last episode and what really tips it back as disappointing.

Although, the major contrast with End of Eva from the original 2 episodes was that it focused just on what's on Shinji's mind, and no one else's, which is a big negative for me. We still get to see Shinji's (much better) coming of age, but we never really get as much closure for everyone else as much as Shinji does.

But everyone still has closure, and the final message has much more meaning to it. Also, I prefer it having a more complete feeling, instead of just jumping to conclusions like the last 2 episodes did (though I know it makes it less special and edgy like those last 2 episodes). Not to mention the movie has gorgeous visuals. Even the disturbing, grotesque, body mangled stuff has this sense of a horrific beauty to it. Also the "end of the world" was probably one of the visually stunning scenes I've seen in any movie, period. But that's going off topic. The visuals don't really change what makes the context of the story mean, in this case.

But still, in the end, I prefer End of Eva as the true Evangelion ending, despite whether Anno agrees or not. Both endings have their merits, which stand them out against any average anime ending, or any ending to a story I've seen, but End of Eva, I think, holds up a lot more.

Even so, Anno thinks that Eva fans should interpret the show to what they think it's about anyway, so I don't think he would mind for whatever I believe, for whatever ending he chooses.

[NemZ]

Oh boy... Not even 10 posts under your belt and you're threatening to unleash a shitstorm of both Concurrence Theory and Death of the Author. Pretty close to a perfect score for forum drama bombs, you poor bastard.

The quick and dirty lay of the land is like this:

Nobody has any idea for sure what Anno thinks because he's mysterious and seems to want people to come up with their own answers. A fairly large group on the forum doesn't even really care what he thinks about it in favor of whatever their own reading of the show says to them. Yet more people think that second group are opening the door to anything meaning anything, and thus everything is pointless. There are even a few who read the whole thing as some sort of occultist subtext hidden message.

There are several different ideas about the ending(s) with a variety of overlapping definitions, but ultimately it revolves around whether you think only one ending happened (the other now overwritten in canon), if both happened in different timelines (with multiple points of possible departure), or if you think both happened at the same time, either literally or symbolically.

Arguing about the above two points inevitably leads to other long-standing arguments as well, such as whether instrumentality is a good or bad thing, if Shinji is a worth hating, if EoE ends with the whole world pretty much doomed, who actually won in either scenario, just what the hell it is Yui and Seele thought they were going to accomplish anyway, and tiers of cannonicity regarding other vaguelly-official sources that may or may not sort things out a little.

[Chuckman]

There are even a few who read the whole thing as some sort of occultist subtext hidden message.

I wasn't aware that anyone else maintained this position.

[NemZ]

I wasn't aware that anyone else maintained this position.

~ There was another prophesied one before you, long since banished into the outer dark. ~

And maybe Defectron. I'm honestly not sure what his deal is.

[ZapX]

The true ending is the one in your heart. I'm Leonard Nimoy. Good Night.

[ApolloIVtv]

So I guess, the real question is which ending is the best? Or the most preferred?

[NemZ]

So I guess, the real question is which ending is the best? Or the most preferred?

Best as determined how, by what criteria, and by whom?

Good luck with that. Bring a helmet.



Most preferred, as a popularity contest sort of way, seems to be clearly EoE. Quite a few viewers have probably never even seen the original ending or the broadcast versions of ep 21-24.

I'm one of the weirdos who likes the original series version best.

[Mr. Tines]

So I guess, the real question is which ending is the best? Or the most preferred?

Well, looking at it in similar terms to the NGE2 game, EoTV is Gendo GOOD END, and EoE is Shinji BAD END; however the sheer brutality and hence controversial nature of EoE is one of the main things that kept interest in the title up.

[The Eva Monkey]

So I guess, the real question is which ending is the best? Or the most preferred?

This one.

[Dataprime]

The true ending is the one in your heart. I'm Leonard Nimoy. Good Night.

^ Listen to this man!

[Mr. Tines]

This one.

+1

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

When both endings tell the Shinji, and by extension viewer, that the truth is whatever you make of it, then who's to say that both endings aren't the "true" ending of Evangelion? Sure, they can still be different or feel different or whatever kind of debate about the endings that you want to have in other pre-existing threads, but when you see both endings that blatantly say that truth is subjective, and that what you've watched in both endings are the truth, then maybe both endings are true. They just might not be true in any way that might be explained by an alternate universe or a riff between time and space or anything like that. (Art can be weird like that.)

[Sailor Star Dust]

ApolloIVtv: The Renewal/Platinum booklets explain that EoE is a remake of Episodes 25 and 26, for whatever it's worth. Some good food for thought there, using an example that a video game can have multiple endings. Episode commentary here.

Personally (and concurrency aside), I agree with Freaky that both the TV ending and EoE are the "true" endings in their own right.

Also, +1 to both EvaMonkey and Zap.

[MarioAyanami128]

Honestly, I always interpreted both endings to be the TRUE endings of EVA, both occuring at the "same time". I put quotes there because the TV series ending illustrates a 80-minute film in 55 mins or so. The things is, I think that EoE is more complete bc of the last 40 seconds of the film. The TV series ends just before the Shinji and Asuka beach scene. Those extra seconds were the final enigma of the series that is still unsolved. I may publish my views on the series later on. ;)

[Nuclear Lunchbox]

So I guess, the real question is which ending is the best? Or the most preferred?

It's like comparing apples and oranges, mate. Really, it's up to you to decide which one you prefer.

[SimplyMason0]

I like the TV's ending since it has a much more better and positive message while EoE's message is more based on really crappy circumstances that virtually unable to relate too.

Yeah sure, life sucks but no one said anything about third impact being into the mix in real life.

[Chuckman]

The contradiction of the endings is a commentary on the fanbase and its insistence on quantifying the unreal, much in the way the official size of the evas themselves is a variable figure.

[Annihilationscape]

This may or may not have been posted somewhere else, but these seem relevant:

http://blip.tv/foldablehuman/s3e2-end-of-evangelion-and-the-audience-author-membrane-6540094

Also:

http://blip.tv/foldablehuman/s3e2-1-end-of-eva-follow-up-6558464

I really enjoyed both of these.

[Mr. Tines]

On this topic, there was a recent interview with Anno which shed some more light on this, quoted in "Everything Else" -- roughly, episode 26 was extended to replace the invasion of NERV that should have been in episode 25.

[s:cugs2xf6]I'll add a link when I'm not using a tablet.[/s:cugs2xf6]

Here -- http://forum.evageeks.org/thread/15478/Hideaki-Anno-x-Kazuo-Koike-October-22-2013/

[ApolloIVtv]

I've read the interview, and yes, it confirms that episode 26 was the original intended ending, not 26'. Although 25', and the sequences of Instrumentality enacting in 26' were originally intended to be the original broadcasted 25. Everything else in 26' was the alternate retelling/ending.