Evangelion to re-made into four films

[E-E]

it has been announced that
Evangelion is to be re-made into four anime movies
the first two re-telling the 26 episodes of the series and
the other two being brand new and hopfully tying up all the loose ends
for people who were unable to grasp both the final episode and the end of evangelion (not me):

full story at ign:
http://uk.filmforce.ign.com/articles/732/732249p1.html

[Lim-Dul]

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/9282.html
more info at the link.

[Kirbie]

What was the purpose of the other 2 films then?
Seems kinda pointless making it into a film - still I'll watch it. I'll also watch the other 2 as well.
Even though I'm not a huge fan.

[Sparky the Wonder Goat]

Of the four upcoming films, two will essentially retell the original story, combining footage from the series with new backgrounds and soundtracks.

Isn't that exactly what they did with 'Evangelion: Death & Rebirth'.

Part of me feels that it will be interesting to see what the new stories they've got to tell are, but I can't help thinking - why mess with perfection?

[Phnx28]

A third and fourth movie will finally let the Eva mythos resolve the whole Instrumentality arc rather than dropping off at the last minute like both of the old endings did. There are downsides to that, of course, but from watching the whole series and what parts of D&R/EoE I've seen, they validate George Lucas' claim about movies never being finished so much as abandoned. GAINAX did well IMO within what constraints were put on them by both fans and sponsors, granted, but even the supposed End of Evangelion leaves many threads hanging from the tatters of those it tried to flamethrower JSSDF-style. The fourth movie should be especially interesting if it deals with any aftermath of Third Impact and how life will go on if indeed it does post-Instrumentality.

[HA1L ILPALLAZZO]

never really understood evangelion and now four more movies are being made oh dear

[Reise]

Yeh I heard all this mess about how good Evangelion was, then I saw it. I never thought I could be that badly confused in my life. Not to mention, whiney teenagers get a bit old after awhile.

[keitaru]

never really understood evangelion and now four more movies are being made oh dear

yeah...so now we can be confused four times over :roll:

[navean]

...I wasn't confused by it at all...  What was so confusing?

[Phnx28]

I wasn't unduly confused either :wink: ; but I can easily see where people might be because of Evangelion's highly stylized (and later emergency-rationed) production values. The Instrumentality scenes during the original Eps 25-26 are the most troublesome, since the impression a fan walks away with from these depends entirely on how they interpret several highly ambiguous statements from characters whose very (in episode) existence, much less credibility, is open to question.
Examples fromm Ep.26: What world is Shinji saying he can exist in, if any? Does the proverbial "rainy day," which the ghost of Ritsuko says Shinji can still have fun on near the end, refer to Third Impact or simply life's inevitable if (hopefully :shock: ) less-extreme gloomy times? Is the parallel world Shinji witnessed a true alternate universe, or just his own wishful delusion? (I'm an Angelic Days manga fan so I tend towards the former...) Whether or not the Instrumentality Project can be seen as successful in the series' ending, in terms of achieving the new existence SEELE/NERV/&c planned for Humanity (itself a thorny topic...), depends on the answers a fan puts to these questions. EoE is more explicit in having the Instrumentality fail; abjectly, albeit with the stated-yet-unresolved possibility of life returning to the devastated Earth at some future point.

[navean]

Another thing I think that tends to confuse people is just the ending period.  The majority of mecha anime, and thereby the attitude with which mecha fans go into watching a mecha anime, are much more straight forward in action.  Barring Gundam, most mecha shows (though I'm not a mecha fan, so correct me if I'm wrong) don't delve too deeply into extreme drama.  And even Gundam's dramas tend towards the melodramas, not a real and explicit look into humanity, the driving force behind it, a person's existential crisis, etc.  When you watch through basically all of Evangelion, while it may imply that the ending will be a look into the mind, it's a subtle implication.  People get confused when suddenly there is no definitive, action-based ending and it all seems to be either a delusion or an alternate reality or... something, and they're not sure what.  It really is the last couple of episodes that throw people since it's not what they're expecting at all.

[Phnx28]

You're quite right. Exaggerating maybe on the degree of melodrama since Gundam does better than most as you point out. But clearly plot is given preference over character in the average mecha show; the exact opposite of Evangelion's style, especially in the later episodes.
When I was browsing Tiffany Grant's site months ago and listening to NPR's review of Eva, their handling of the arc did the best they could without going well into spoiler territory, but their view of the end tended towards the "delusional Shinji" theory that a more "normal" mecha show would've used for its ending context. I'll grant that it might (barely) be workable if one takes the JSSDF's orders during the movies into account and assumes Shinji is just accepting his inevitable execution when all is said and done; but IMO that requires trivializing or disregarding the testimony of several major characters during the ending eps. Not to mention the theory itself sets up the thus-intrigued viewer for an arguably worse disconnect once the more mystical/philosophical/WTF elements really begin showing up after Zeruel's trouncing, since it deliberately makes the series sound more "typical" than it is. (Plus this theory actually achieves the rare feat of making EoE sound optimistic by comparison... :shock:)
On the topic of EoE; is Revival going to be released here in the US like the platinums were? I'm seriously divided over whether to get the long-available D&R/EoE DVD set now and run the risk of duds (I've heard Manga had many defects with these...), or wait until the definitive cut arrives with (hopefully) better quality control.

[navean]

I'll grant that it might (barely) be workable if one takes the JSSDF's orders during the movies into account and assumes Shinji is just accepting his inevitable execution when all is said and done; but IMO that requires trivializing or disregarding the testimony of several major characters during the ending eps.

I completely agree with you.  It's not a good idea to disregard the other characters - you completely lose a very important aspect of the conclusion.

As for Revival, I'm not sure about it, but if I hear something, I'll for sure let you know/

[knumlab]

Cool i hope it going to be good

-Shouta, The Haibane

[MincyMatsu]

What a great song playing... i wonder what it's called...

I'm looking forward to this remake...