Editing Neon Genesis Evangelion (section)

==Themes==
{{Main|Themes of Neon Genesis Evangelion{{!}}Themes of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''}}
[[File:Eva cross explosion.png|thumb|The [[Christian cross|cross]]-shaped explosion caused by the destruction of the [[Angels (Neon Genesis Evangelion)#Sachiel|third Angel]] in "[[The Beast (Neon Genesis Evangelion)|The Beast]]" exemplifies the use of Christian imagery in ''Evangelion''.]]
References to [[mysticism|mystical]] traditions in Judaism and Christianity, including Midrashic literature and [[Kabbalah]], are threaded liberally through the series.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Broderick|first=Mick|year=2002|title=Anime's Apocalypse: Neon Genesis Evangelion as Millennarian Mecha|journal=Gender, History, and Culture in the Asian Context|volume=7}}</ref> Complicating viewers' attempts to form an unambiguous interpretation,{{sfn|Ortega|2007|pp=217–218}} the series reworks Midrash stories, [[Zohar]] images and other Kabbalistic ideas developed from the [[Book of Genesis]]{{sfn|Ortega|2007|p=220}} to create a new ''Evangelion''-specific mythology.{{sfn|Ortega|2007|pp=217–218}} The plot also combines elements of [[Western esotericism|esotericism]] and [[mysticism]] of the Jewish Kabbalah,{{sfn|Tavassi|2012|p=247}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Grisar|first=PJ|date=August 13, 2021|title=Is Kabbalah the key to understanding 'the greatest anime of all time'?|url=https://forward.com/culture/474063/kabbalah-neon-genesis-evangelion-30-10-rebuild-amazon-anime-eva-streaming/|work=The Forward|location=|access-date=August 13, 2021|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812180935/https://forward.com/culture/474063/kabbalah-neon-genesis-evangelion-30-10-rebuild-amazon-anime-eva-streaming/|url-status=live}}</ref> including the Angels, which have common and individual features with the Angels of the religious tradition,<ref>{{cite web|language=ja|access-date=March 28, 2021|url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama47.shtml|title=第47回 エヴァ雑記「第拾四話 ゼーレ、魂の座」|website=Style.fm|publisher=Anime Style|first=Yūichirō|last=Oguro|archive-date=September 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901083048/http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama47.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> such as [[Sachiel]], [[Sandalphon]] and [[Ramiel]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion – An Angelic Vision|url=http://thingsanime.thingsasian.com/2007/02/27/neon-genesis-evangelion-an-angelic-vision/|publisher=ThingsAsian|access-date=September 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903102015/http://thingsanime.thingsasian.com/2007/02/27/neon-genesis-evangelion-an-angelic-vision/|archive-date=September 3, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Terminology|magazine=Death & Rebirth Program Book (Special Edition)|year=1997|publisher=[[Gainax|GAINAX]]|language=ja|url=http://www.evaotaku.com/html/dr2-terminology.html|access-date=April 25, 2020|archive-date=May 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510002534/http://www.evaotaku.com/html/dr2-terminology.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Assistant director [[Kazuya Tsurumaki]] stated the religious visual references were intended to make the series more "interesting" and "exotic" for a Japanese audience,<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview mit Tsurumaki Kazuya (Studio GAINAX)|url=https://www.tomodachi.de/html/archiv/funime/f27_kurz_1.html|publisher=Anime No Tomodachi|language=de|access-date=September 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121129001050/http://www.tomodachi.de/html/archiv/funime/f27_kurz_1.html|archive-date=November 29, 2012|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> denying the existence of a religious meaning for the use of Christian visual symbols in the show.<ref>{{cite web|author=Owen Thomas|url=http://www.akadot.com/article/article-tsurumaki2.html|title=Amusing Himself to Death: Kazuya Tsurumaki speaks about the logic and illogic that went into creating FLCL|access-date=April 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020110094207/http://www.akadot.com/article/article-tsurumaki2.html|archive-date=January 10, 2002|website=Akadot.com}}</ref> According to Anno, "as the symbols are mixed together, for the first time something like an interrelationship or a meaning emerges".<ref name="HideakiA">{{cite web|title=Anno Hideaki|url=http://jinken-official.jimdo.com/%E8%AC%9B%E6%BC%94%E9%8C%B2-%E4%BC%9A%E8%A6%8B%E9%8C%B2/%E5%BA%B5%E9%87%8E%E7%A7%80%E6%98%8E/|publisher=Jinken-official.jimdo.com|access-date=September 3, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140723061544/http://jinken-official.jimdo.com/%E8%AC%9B%E6%BC%94%E9%8C%B2-%E4%BC%9A%E8%A6%8B%E9%8C%B2/%E5%BA%B5%E9%87%8E%E7%A7%80%E6%98%8E/|archive-date=July 23, 2014}}</ref>

According to Patrick Drazen, numerous allusions to the ''[[Kojiki]]'' and the ''[[Nihongi]]'' have a prominent role in ''Evangelion'', along with the Shinto vision of the primordial cosmos and the mythical lances of the Shinto deities [[Izanagi]] and [[Izanami]]. Elements of the Judeo-Christian tradition also feature prominently throughout the series, including references to [[Adam]], [[Lilith]], [[Eve]], the [[Lance of Longinus]],{{sfn|Camp|Davis|2007|p=249}} the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]],{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|p=63}} the Kabbalistic concept of [[Adam Kadmon]], and the [[Tree of life (Kabbalah)|Tree of Life]]. The merging of all human souls into one through the Human Instrumentality Project at the end of the series has been compared to the Kabbalistic concept of [[tikkun olam]].{{sfn|Haslem|Ndalianis|Mackie|2007|pp=123–124}} The Evangelions have been likened to the [[golem]] of [[Jewish folklore]],<ref name="horn">{{cite web|url=http://www.stanford.edu/~fenn/eva/eva1.html|title=Speaking Once as They Return: Gainax's ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''|last=Horn|first=Carl G|access-date=September 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329122552/http://www.stanford.edu/~fenn/eva/eva1.html|archive-date=March 29, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and their visual design resembles the traditional depictions of ''[[oni]]'', Japanese demons or ogres.<ref name="Wong 1996">{{Cite magazine|last=Wong|first=Amos|date=January 1996|title=Interview with Hideaki Anno, director of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'|magazine=Aerial Magazine|url=https://www.aoianime.hu/evangelion/index.php?page=interanno|access-date=May 4, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613125248/http://www.aoianime.hu/evangelion/index.php?page=interanno|archive-date=June 13, 2007}}</ref>

''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' has been interpreted as a deeply personal expression of Hideaki Anno's own emotional struggles with depression.<ref name="horn" /> During the production of the series, he became interested in mental illness and psychology.<ref name=Eng /> According to him, Rei is a [[schizophrenia|schizophrenic]] character<ref>{{cite book|chapter=庵野 秀明 – Part II|date=1997|title=新世紀エヴァンゲリオン残酷な天使のように|publisher=マガジン・マガジン|isbn=978-4-906011-25-4}}</ref> and a representation of Shinji's [[unconscious mind|unconscious]],<ref name="HideakiA" /> while Shinji has an [[Oedipus complex]]<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|page=86}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Episode Commentaries|magazine=Platinum Edition Booklets|date=2005|volume=7|publisher=A.D. Vision}}</ref><ref name=legacy>{{cite web|first=Justin|last=Wu|url=http://the-artifice.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-rei-ayanami-legacy/|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Legacy of Rei Ayanami|date=July 11, 2013|publisher=[[The Artifice (magazine)|The Artifice]]|access-date=April 17, 2020|archive-date=March 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318111941/http://the-artifice.com/neon-genesis-evangelion-rei-ayanami-legacy/|url-status=live}}</ref> and is characterized by a [[libido]]-[[destrudo]] conflict.{{sfn|Haslem|Ndalianis|Mackie|2007|p=116}} Similarly, Ritsuko has an [[Electra complex]], in which she loves Gendo, a sort of substitute for her father figure.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Alessandra|last=Poggio|language=it|year=2008|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Encyclopedia|publisher=[[Dynit]]|page=47}}</ref> Anno himself stated that he identifies with Shinji in both a conscious and unconscious manner,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Virtual Panel! Meet Hideaki Anno|magazine=Animerica|volume=4|issue=9|publisher=Viz Media|year=1996|page=27}}</ref> while Rei is Anno's "deepest part" and Kaworu his [[shadow (psychology)|Jungian shadow]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=November 1996|script-title=ja:庵野秀明×上野峻哉の対談|magazine=Newtype Magazine|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|language=ja}}</ref> Shinji's entering into Unit-01 has been interpreted as a Freudian "return to the womb", and his struggle to be free of the Eva as his "rite of passage" into manhood.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2002-06-11|title=Understanding Evangelion|first=Mike|last=Crandol|date=June 11, 2002|work=[[Anime News Network]]|access-date=September 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213005148/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2002-06-11|archive-date=December 13, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The series also contains references to philosophical and psychoanalytic concepts, such as the [[oral stage]], [[introjection]], oral personality, [[ambivalence]],<ref name=":0">''Platinum Edition Booklets'', ADV, 2004–2005.</ref> and the [[death drive]],{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|p=175}} including elements of the works of Sigmund Freud,{{sfn|Fujie|Foster|2004|pp=147, 150}}<ref name=":1">{{cite book|chapter=庵野 秀明 – Part I|title=Zankoku na tenshi no you ni|year=1997|publisher=マガジン・マガジン|isbn=978-4-906011-25-4}}</ref> [[Arthur Schopenhauer]],<ref>{{cite book|chapter=|title=Neon Genesis Evangelion Enciclopedia|pages=10–11|publisher=Dynit|language=it|year=2008}}</ref><ref name=Oguro>{{cite web|url=http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/animesama37.shtml|title=第37回 エヴァ雑記「第四話 雨、逃げ出した後」|language=ja|access-date=July 23, 2020|first=Yūichirō|last=Oguro|archive-date=October 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010182014/http://style.fm/as/05_column/animesama37.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Søren Kierkegaard]].<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/tsuribe/anime/critique/evae.html|title=Prison of Self-Consciousness: an Essay on Evangelion|last=Tsuribe|first=Manabu|publisher=www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp|date=February 1999|access-date=August 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721105429/http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/tsuribe/anime/critique/evae.html|archive-date=July 21, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>