Editing Neon Genesis Evangelion (section)

==Production==
Director Hideaki Anno fell into a depression following the completion of work on ''[[Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water]]''{{sfn|Lamarre|2009|p=180}} and the 1992 failure of the ''[[Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise]]'' sequel project, ''[[Uru in Blue]]''.{{sfn|Takeda|2002|pp=155–158}} According to [[Yasuhiro Takeda]], after the failure of ''Uru in Blue'', Anno agreed to a collaboration between [[King Records (Japan)|King Records]] and Gainax as he drank with King representative Toshimichi Ōtsuki;{{sfn|Takeda|2002|p=164}} King Records guaranteed Anno a time slot for "something, anything".<ref>{{cite web|title=Personal Biography|url=http://khara.co.jp/hideakianno/personal-biography.html|access-date=September 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517025456/http://www.khara.co.jp/hideakianno/personal-biography.html|archive-date=May 17, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Anno began the development of the new series in 1993 around the notion of not running away, the underlying theme of ''Uru in Blue'', focusing on a protagonist accustomed to avoiding personal responsibility who finds himself trying to save the heroine of the story.{{sfn|Takeda|2002|pp=15, 165–166}} Early into the production, he stated his intent was to have ''Evangelion'' increase the number of anime fans, named [[otaku]] in Japanese, and attract interest in the anime medium,<ref name="Woznicki">{{cite magazine|first=Krystian|last=Woznicki|title=Towards a cartography of Japanese anime – Anno Hideaki's Evangelion Interview with Azuma Hiroki|magazine=Blimp Filmmagazine|publisher=[[Tokuma Shoten]]|date=September 1991}}</ref> bringing a breath of fresh air to the mecha genre. In the early design phase of the ''Evangelion'' project, several formats were considered, including a film, a television series, and an [[original video animation]] (OVA) series. The producers finally opted for the television series, as it was the most widely accessible medium in Japan at that time.<ref name=Mond /> Anno also originally proposed the title ''Alcion'' for the new series, but this was rejected due to its lack of hard consonant sounds.<ref name=Mond /> He conceived the series as a metaphor of his four-year depression, as he tried to put his whole self into the work and imprint his own feelings on the film.<ref name="What-were-we-making" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Carl Gustav Horn|chapter=The mast or the face – Neon Genesis Evangelion|title=Animerica|volume=5|issue=2|editor=Viz Media|page=70|year=1997}}</ref>

Critics noted how ''Evangelion'' borrowed certain scenarios and the use of introspection as a narrative device from a previous Anno project entitled ''[[Gunbuster]]''.{{sfn|Fontana|Tarò|2007|p=66}} He also incorporated the narrative structure of ''Nadia'' and multiple frames of reference, leaving the story open to interpretation.{{sfn|Lamarre|2009|p=165}} The production was complex and saw several changes to the scenario initially imagined by Gainax. A female protagonist was initially proposed for the series, but the idea was scrapped.<ref name=Mond /> In the first scenario, the [[Angel Attack|first episode]] presented the battle between an Angel and Rei, while the character of Shinji was only introduced after the Angel had been temporarily defeated.<ref name="Collection">{{Cite book|author=Gainax|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Newtype 100% Collection|date=February 1998|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|language=ja|isbn=978-4-04-852700-2|pages=87–88}}</ref> Further changes to the plot were made following the [[Aum Shinrikyo]] sect's [[sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway]] in March. Cultural critic [[Hiroki Azuma (critic)|Hiroki Azuma]] has said that the original ''Evangelion'' story was "too close to reality" from Anno's point of view. Anno thought that the original scenario was not suitable for broadcasting, and he feared censorship. However, he also criticized Aum Shinrikyo, because "they lost any contact with reality". For this reason, Azuma stated that ''Evangelion'' "is an intrinsic critique of Aum".<ref name=Woznicki />
[[File:Studio GAINAX.jpg|thumb|Gainax studio in [[Koganei]], Tokyo]]
The final version of the story reflects inspiration drawn from numerous other anime and fictional works.{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|p=9}} Chief among these are ''[[Space Battleship Yamato]]'',{{sfn|Napier|2002|p=424}} ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'',<ref>{{cite book|first=Takashi|last=Murakami|title=Little Boy: The Arts Of Japan's Exploding Subculture|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|year=2005|pages=[https://archive.org/details/littleboyartsofj0000unse/page/70 70, 77]|isbn=978-0-300-10285-7|url=https://archive.org/details/littleboyartsofj0000unse/page/70}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Timothy N.|last=Hornyak|title=英文版ロボット: Loving the Machine|publisher=Kodansha International|year=2006|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lovingmachineart0000horn/page/69 69–72]|isbn=978-4-7700-3012-2|url=https://archive.org/details/lovingmachineart0000horn/page/69}}</ref> ''[[Devilman]]''{{sfn|Saito|Azuma|2009|p=94}}{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|p=76}} and ''[[Space Runaway Ideon]]''.<ref>{{cite book|first=Trish|last=Ledoux|title=Anime Interviews: The First Five Years of Animerica, Anime & Manga Monthly (1992–97)|publisher=Viz Media|year=1997|page=9|isbn=978-1-56931-220-9}}</ref>{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|p=75}} The series also incorporates tributes to ''[[Childhood's End]]'',{{sfn|Miller|2012|p=189}} the novels of [[Ryū Murakami]],{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|p=9}}{{sfn|Lamarre|2009|pp=153-154}} ''[[The Andromeda Strain]]'', ''[[The Divine Invasion]]'', the poem ''[[Pippa Passes]]'',{{sfn|Miller|2012|p=84}} ''[[The Hitcher (1986 film)|The Hitcher]]'', and several television series including ''[[The Prisoner]]'', ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]'', ''[[Ultraman (1966 TV series)|Ultraman]]'',{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|p=9}}<ref>{{cite book|first=Jonathan|last=Clements|author-link=Jonathan Clements|title=Schoolgirl Milky Crisis: Adventures in the Anime and Manga Trade|publisher=A-Net Digital LLC|year=2010|page=124|isbn=978-0-9845937-4-3}}</ref> and ''[[Ultraseven]]''.<ref name="horn" />

The development of the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' series ran close to deadlines throughout its production run. The initial cuts of the first two episodes were screened at the second Gainax festival in July 1995, only three months before they were aired on television.{{sfn|Takeda|2002|pp=161–162}} By the thirteenth episode, "[[Lilliputian Hitcher]]", the series began to deviate significantly from the original story, and the initial project was abandoned. The number of Angels was reduced to seventeen instead of the original twenty-eight.  The writers also changed the story's ending, originally describing the failure of the Human Instrumentality Project after an Angel attack from the Moon.<ref name=Collection /><ref>{{cite book|first=Oizumi|last=Sanenari|date= 1997|title= Anno Hideaki Schizo Evangerion|publisher= Ōta Shuppan|isbn= 978-4-87233-315-2|language=ja|pages=168–169}}</ref> Not only did the series suffer from scheduling issues, but according to Anno, despite Gainax being the lead studio for the series, the company itself had inadequate materials and staff for the full production of the series. Only three staff members from Gainax were working on the series at any given time, and most of the series' production was outsourced to [[Tatsunoko Production]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2019-12-30/hideaki-anno-details-his-falling-out-with-gainax/.154892|title=Hideaki Anno Details His Falling Out With Gainax|date=December 30, 2019|first=Kim|last=Morrissy|website=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=December 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230223153/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2019-12-30/hideaki-anno-details-his-falling-out-with-gainax/.154892|archive-date= December 30, 2019|url-status= live}}</ref>

Starting with the sixteenth episode, "[[Splitting of the Breast]]", the show changed drastically, discarding the grand narrative concerning salvation for a narrative focusing more closely on the individual characters.<ref name="Thouny">{{Cite journal|last=Thouny|first=Christophe|title=Waiting for the Messiah: The Becoming-Myth of "Evangelion" and "Densha otoko"|year=2009|journal=Mechademia|volume=4|page=111|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wef0-7tdw2sC&q=the+series+soon+becomes+a+social+phenomenon+capturing+the+attention+of+cultural+theorists|isbn=978-0-8166-6749-9|access-date=September 10, 2013|doi=10.1353/mec.0.0066|s2cid=52219780|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161121005145/https://books.google.com/books?id=Wef0-7tdw2sC&printsec=frontcover&dq=mechademia+4#v=onepage&q=the%20series%20soon%20becomes%20a%20social%20phenomenon%20capturing%20the%20attention%20of%20cultural%20theorists&f=false|archive-date=November 21, 2016|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Azuma">{{cite web|last=Azuma|first=Hiroki|title=Animé or Something Like it: Neon Genesis Evangelion|url=https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_E.html|publisher=NTT InterCommunication Center|access-date=August 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808182031/http://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_E.html|archive-date=August 8, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> This change coincided with Anno's development of an interest in psychology after a friend lent him a book on mental illness.<ref name="Eng">{{cite web|first=Lawrence|last=Eng|url=http://www.cjas.org/~echen/articles/spring97/05_03b.html|title=In the Eyes of Hideaki Anno, Writer and Director of Evangelion|publisher=CJas.org|access-date=September 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709031758/http://www.cjas.org/~echen/articles/spring97/05_03b.html|archive-date=July 9, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> This focus culminated in the two final episodes filmed from a completely introspective perspective.{{sfn|Napier|2002|p=425}} Necessity forced Anno to abandon the script of the twenty-fifth episode to work with a new one.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Shinichiro|last=Inoue|title=Interview with Hideaki Anno|magazine=Newtype|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|date=June 1996|language=ja|pages=162–177}}</ref> These episodes feature heavy use of abstract animation,{{sfn|Camp|Davis|2007|p=19}} flashbacks,{{sfn|Haslem|Ndalianis|Mackie|2007|p=114}} simple line drawings, photographs, and fixed image scenes with voice-over dialogue.{{sfn|Napier|2002|p=428}} Some critics speculated that these unconventional animation choices resulted from budget cuts,<ref name="TheTimes">{{cite news|url=http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article183723.ece|title=DStv Pick of the week – Neon Genesis Evangelion : Monday, 15:45, Animax|first=Matthew|last=Vice|newspaper=The Times|access-date=September 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505191413/http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article183723.ece|archive-date=May 5, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> but [[Toshio Okada]] stated that it was not only a problem of schedule or budget, since Anno "couldn't decide the ending until the time came. That's his style".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.j-pop.com/anime/archive/feature/04_gal_999/otaking10.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000126012803/http://www.j-pop.com/anime/archive/feature/04_gal_999/otaking10.html|archive-date=January 26, 2000|title=Return of the Otaking|publisher=J-pop.com|access-date=September 7, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> These two episodes sparked controversy and condemnation among fans and critics of the series.{{sfn|Saito|Azuma|2009|p=25}} In 1997, Hideaki Anno and Gainax thus released two animated feature films, providing another ending for the show, named ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth|Death & Rebirth]]'' and ''[[The End of Evangelion]]''.{{sfn|Tavassi|2012|pp=341–342}}