Evangelion 4.0, do you really want an alternate ending?

[Enki v.2]

An evangelion franchise narrative with an ending that makes sense is like a computer made out of gumdrops -- it is only desirable to people who haven't thought it through very far, it's very sticky, and it isn't very good when you finally try to consume it, so nobody is actually willing to make one.

[facespace]

I hope to see a new ending then a repeat of the same ending that we saw in EoE.

Why would we? Anno has already shown us the he is willing to change the foundation of Eva which we have known and loved. He is one of the most creative people out there, retelling the same story to us is something he wouldn't do. 1.0 had minor changes to the story, and 2.0 took us in a different direction. 3 and 4 will be crazy and insane and will be something that we have never seen before. To worry that you are gonna get the same story would be a waste of energy, you shouldn't worry for what you will see, you should get crazy pumped.

[KLVTZ]

I still think we lack enough info on Kaworu to determine what hes trying to say and what his objective is this series.

I read somewhere that the translation for that was fanbase, and may not be what he actually meant. but i dont know. The Release Group i have, says that also.

Hey everyone by the way, what if GAINAX decides to the ending of puppets on Popsicle sticks, they did the last episode of an anime ending that way, just 30 mins of Popsicle Stick puppets to end the series, lol that would be funny if they did that to Eva 4.0.
I can't remember the exact anime they did that in, but my friend told me about it.

[Enki v.2]

The series of which you speak is probably Kareshi Kanojo no Jiyou AKA Kare Kano. The series was already about twice as long as it should have been, and due to disagreements with the mangaka who wrote it there were complications in having a suitable ending at the season-end mark. I doubt he'll pull that one again, though arguably that was similar to EoTV (which aired how many years earlier now?) with the sketch-type art and very little actual animation. I don't think it was the Popsicle stick art that bothered people; I think it's that there wasn't an ending per-se. It was in the middle of a filler arc, and there was no conclusion to speak of.

[jojojoker]

oh yes please. Either an alternative or more closure on EoE. As much as I enjoyed EoE i feel NME has been developed a lot better (duh, it's in 4 films) and so i suspect that there will be or hopefully be an ending which really ties a knot. Also, there are already so many questions right now left unanswered just spurred from the NME. Kaworu is the biggest enigma. "Father" and "happy this time" it's all leaving so many instances for speculation. I just hope that those questions are resolved well and not in some deux ex machina style infodump.

[Enki v.2]

Endings are for lamers. They go against the entire Evangelion ethos. What Evangelion work could be said by your average naruto-guzzling animu fan to have a 'satisfying ending'? The series and EoE have been derided for this historically. The Shinji Ikari Raising Project manga ended with a joke chapter about chocolate. Angelic Days just stopped. Datenroku just stopped. The Evangelion manga hasn't actually finished yet. Even the Stripping Instrumentality Project had no real ending (a facial does not count). If NME had a nice tie-up ending, it would be going against the very thing that makes us love Evangelion. The Evangelion fanbase is unique, partially because it's a great show, but partially because it encourages even better fanwork by consistently and intentionally screwing with fans and disappointing them. This encourages an extremely active fan community; while Evageeks is more concerned with understanding canon, the fanwork sphere is highly concerned with 'fixing' those things in the show that disappointed them (lack of potential for sensible pairings; downer endings; harem format to Shinji's disadvantage; not enough Rei tits). We need to, I think, embrace the things in Evangelion that bring us together and make us flame each other over minor details in unison. The lack of ending in Evangelion works should be honored, not derided, for all the great things it has brought about.

[Gamer137]

Endings are for lamers. They go against the entire Evangelion ethos. What Evangelion work could be said by your average naruto-guzzling animu fan to have a 'satisfying ending'? The series and EoE have been derided for this historically. The Shinji Ikari Raising Project manga ended with a joke chapter about chocolate. Angelic Days just stopped. Datenroku just stopped. The Evangelion manga hasn't actually finished yet. Even the Stripping Instrumentality Project had no real ending (a facial does not count). If NME had a nice tie-up ending, it would be going against the very thing that makes us love Evangelion. The Evangelion fanbase is unique, partially because it's a great show, but partially because it encourages even better fanwork by consistently and intentionally screwing with fans and disappointing them. This encourages an extremely active fan community; while Evageeks is more concerned with understanding canon, the fanwork sphere is highly concerned with 'fixing' those things in the show that disappointed them (lack of potential for sensible pairings; downer endings; harem format to Shinji's disadvantage; not enough Rei tits). We need to, I think, embrace the things in Evangelion that bring us together and make us flame each other over minor details in unison. The lack of ending in Evangelion works should be honored, not derided, for all the great things it has brought about.

I don't think we so much like being disappointed as much as we just want writers to end stories the way they want to and not simply giving in to fan-pressure. The thing about fan-pressure endings is they are not real. They are not the intended ending with the messages the writer wants. They just filled the conclusion void with an illusion.

If Anno feels a standard ending is appropriate, let him do it. It's his story.

[Kendrix]

I trust Anno to give us wahtever ending he sees fit.
He made EoTV with I think really changed my life and EoE which is a brilliant movie that left a lot of lasting immages in my head.

I don't think EoE needs further explaining, it would ruin a lot.

It's no just that repeating the same ending makes no sense... Rebuild CAN'T end like EoE.
Several plot things are different (no Adam, but that weird Key thing etc), so if everyone goes poof, they will do so quite differently.
1.x looked a lot like our good old exposition, but the rising action and what was the big climax of the original show were radically different, at least from the point where Shinji's player skipped to 27, and the plot points of Q only vaguely resemble episodes 20 to 24, with most of the things annouced in the trailer being either new or significantly changed.
Things like "eva 08" or "The meeting of Seele's children" suggest that Q will go completely off the rails.
And this means that final will have to derife from the original even more.

Rebuild!Shinji would not watch Asuka get butchered nor would he go 'you can all just die'. He would have in the beginning and middle of 1.X, but not anymore. It was that moment where he had Unit 02s (in a symbolical sense, Mari's) blood on his hand and saw Rei get eaten. He didn't do it so no one would blame the end of the world on him. He did for his own beliefs and wishes, he has reached a decision. He jumped up from his little chair and thought "Fuck, this horrible world I was trying to block out is my own doing, but that means I can change it!"
Shikinami... she's still in there, so they must have some plot left for her, that doll has 'future plot importance' written all over it, so she will have to face some hardships for sure. But unlike her Original Counterpart, she has Misato as a surrogate mother and Shinji and Rei as friends.
That choking scene (the first one) where Shinji and Soryu sort of discarge their pent up frustrations at each other?
Not with Shikinami.
Things are quite difficult with Rei, because we don't know whether she will be killed and replaced. If she survies, Gendo and Shinji might actually reconcile at the end, because Rebuild!Rei has become a much more active, determined little person who would give her life for both Ikaris to be safe and happy... The problem is that she might just do that, and we hae no Idea what Rebuild!Rei III will be like. But if she, much like the other characters, starts out largely the same as her Anime counterpart *gulp*... I'll start shipping Shinji/Mari if that happens. And there's also both Kaworu and Mari who are huge wild cards... No, that ending will be very, very different.

[InstrumentalityOne]

Gunbuster machines will come from the sky to aid Shinji in combat against Kaworu whilst Chou Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann devours Adam and obtains even more omnipotency than before to revive Shinji´s mother, Yui.
And they all lived happily ever after in a screwball Gainax universe.
Except Kaworu.
He dies.

Fin.

*breather*

OT:

I don´t want RoE to have an alternate ending that "explains everything" because that would destroy the whole franchise completely.

IN MY OPINION

[Gamer137]

Gunbuster machines will come from the sky to aid Shinji in combat against Kaworu whilst Chou Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann devours Adam and obtains even more omnipotency than before to revive Shinji´s mother, Yui.
And they all lived happily ever after in a screwball Gainax universe.
Except Kaworu.
He dies.

Fin.

*breather*

OT:

I don´t want RoE to have an alternate ending that "explains everything" because that would destroy the whole franchise completely.

IN MY OPINION

Happily ever after does not exist in Anno's world. :P

[Number 44]

Happily ever after does not exist in Anno's world. :P

Oh yeah? The guy is famous, well respected, has plenty of freedom to express himself artistically, and is probably pretty well off financially, "his world" looks pretty happy to me.

Of coarse I knew what context you meant your statement in. Not all of his works are downers you know.

For my 2 cents, of coarse I want a different ending! Rebuild is a completely different work. The ending of the original series/movie would not fit rebuild at all, unless they forced it to do so VERY artificially.

Honestly, they would have to retard all the character and plot development up to this point to make anything resembling EoE or EoTV's ending fit.

Seriously, can you imagine Instrumentality commencing, and Mari making philosophical statements about life, and the human condition?

Or worse yet Mari added into the Misato-Asuka-Rei Instrumentality "harem"?

*Shutters*

[InstrumentalityOne]

Seriously, can you imagine Instrumentality commencing, and Mari making philosophical statements about life, and the human condition?

Or worse yet Mari added into the Misato-Asuka-Rei Instrumentality "harem"?

*Shutters*

Instrumentality is just like Utopia, there are flaws and so many cracks in it, it may not even exist or be possible.

Imperfect Instrumentality ending then?

[Kendrix]

Mari: +naked, leaning forward with an un-characteristically sane-looking smile*: "Nerv-Puppy! Do you want to join with me?"

[xark]

I thought the final scene in EoE was perfect. It summed up any questions and residual feelings I had, and it suit the entire series perfectly. I don't want them to expand on it at all.

I guess I'd prefer a mix. Something that's new but still doesn't stray too far from the original idea.

[Radi]

I really hope nothing in EoE is ever alluded to or explained. It is a masterpiece as it is, and the way it was constructed I know without a shadow of a doubt what happened.

And the beauty is that you or anyone else who watched it also has their own definitive ending, but it is probably different from my version. Many have attempted the "make up your own ending" before and failed. EoE gives you all the building blocks and you put it together yourself.

If they ever try and tell me that the ending that I came up with is wrong then I will be really upset with the Rebuild films. Right now I love them, and welcome them, but please don't touch EoE.

(that being said I'm not against the "sequel" theory as long as the new movies take place millions of years after EoE, and not immediately after. I'm personally a fan of repeating world concepts, such as Stone Gods)

I honestly agree a ton with this...
I mean, the entire time, ADV & Evangelion has been testing our own mind in a sense that we can make our own decisions on the movie, no matter how much it drives us crazy...To create our own themes, morals, decisions, and everything, based upon NGE & EoE itself. That's incredible. I actually love thinking for myself about the entire representation of sorts, and I will be disappointed if the last movie comes out and tells us, 'you were wrong the entire time.' I almost want to --- NOT watch the Final Evangelion movie, just because of this..Anno better not screw up. Everything I've come to know, and put together should be my own, just as it is others' own.

[Combs]

Not at all, no. The only problem I'd have with the ending is if there'll be active evas after the end, and they become gigantic mary sues. Though I would like to see the mass production evas spread out a bit more, I think Anno will do a similar final scene, but longer.

[Sun Stealer]

Endings are for lamers. They go against the entire Evangelion ethos. What Evangelion work could be said by your average naruto-guzzling animu fan to have a 'satisfying ending'? The series and EoE have been derided for this historically. The Shinji Ikari Raising Project manga ended with a joke chapter about chocolate. Angelic Days just stopped. Datenroku just stopped. The Evangelion manga hasn't actually finished yet. Even the Stripping Instrumentality Project had no real ending (a facial does not count). If NME had a nice tie-up ending, it would be going against the very thing that makes us love Evangelion. The Evangelion fanbase is unique, partially because it's a great show, but partially because it encourages even better fanwork by consistently and intentionally screwing with fans and disappointing them. This encourages an extremely active fan community; while Evageeks is more concerned with understanding canon, the fanwork sphere is highly concerned with 'fixing' those things in the show that disappointed them (lack of potential for sensible pairings; downer endings; harem format to Shinji's disadvantage; not enough Rei tits). We need to, I think, embrace the things in Evangelion that bring us together and make us flame each other over minor details in unison. The lack of ending in Evangelion works should be honored, not derided, for all the great things it has brought about.

End of Evangelion had a proper conclusion. (Of course, it would make no sense at all if they copypasted it at the end of final.) What else do you need, an Animal House-style epilogue.
"Asuka Langley Soryu felt sick, but got better."
"Shinji Ikari now lives in Hoboken, New Jersey."
"Makoto started a fight club."
"Fuyutsuki was last seen heading towards Tombstone, Arizona, with a fistful of dollars in one hand, and a revolver in the other."
"Rei became God... sort of... maybe..."
"Yui is still endlessly floating through space."

As for the lack of proper endings in anything else Gainax does, I think it has a lot less to do with them being super-savvy postmodernist auteurs, and more to do with the fact that they are otaku man-children who have never finished anything in their lives.

[Hawq]

I'm sure its headed off into a third, out of possible 4 depending on what Sadamoto does with the manga (live action doesn't enter into it at this point as it looks dead in the water though that could add a fifth if it ever gets done, probably a happy ending that people cant argue if its happy or not over), ending which will turn out different from either the TV or EoE ones (braces self for possible cries of they are the same, some believe that I do not) either way unless Anno has his troll hat on we will at least avoid screens of death threats & the like this time round.
Entirely possible that we will get something that will make us go 'WTF? what just happened' of course but hey, its thrived on debate over just wtf did happen in the end of the series & EoE for this many years so why not extend that a bit with the new ones.

[Enki v.2]

I think it has a lot less to do with them being super-savvy postmodernist auteurs, and more to do with the fact that they are otaku man-children who have never finished anything in their lives.

Wait... There's a difference?

[Seph]

As for the lack of proper endings in anything else Gainax does, I think it has a lot less to do with them being super-savvy postmodernist auteurs, and more to do with the fact that they are otaku man-children who have never finished anything in their lives.

I thought Gurren Lagann felt pretty ended :-s