"Splitting of the Breast"
Neon Genesis Evangelion episode
The scene in which Shinji Ikari argues with another himself has been compared to Ultraman, Gundam and Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory.
Episode no.Episode 16
Directed byKazuya Tsurumaki
Written byHideaki Anno, Hiroshi Yamaguchi
Original air dateJanuary 17, 1996 (1996-01-17)
Running time22 minutes
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Those women longed for the touch of others' lips, and thus invited their kisses" 		Next →
"Fourth Child"
List of episodes

"Splitting of the Breast"[a] is the sixteenth episode of the Japanese anime television series Neon Genesis Evangelion, which was created by Gainax. The episode, written by Hideaki Anno and Hiroshi Yamaguchi, and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, was first broadcast on TV Tokyo on January 17, 1996. The series' protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy who is recruited by his father Gendo to the special military organization Nerv to pilot a gigantic, bio-mechanical mecha named Evangelion into combat with beings called Angels. In the course of the episode, Shinji is absorbed into an Angel called Leliel in a space of imaginary numbers called Dirac sea. Here Shinji has a vision in which he sees another self as a child and discusses his lifestyle.

To write "Splitting of the Breast" the staff merged the ideas originally planned for a trilogy of episodes with the same theme. The episode also contains several references to other Japanese shows, such as Ultraman and Gundam, and to psychoanalysis. The title itself refers to Melanie Klein's concept of the same name, while the Japanese name of the episode is a reference to Søren Kierkegaard's The Sickness Unto Death.

"Splitting of the Breast" was first broadcast on January 17, 1996, and drew a 9.4% audience share on Japanese television. Animage readers voted the episode among the best anime installments of the moment in 1996; Gainax also released merchandise based on it. Critics positively received "Splitting of the Breast" for its symbolism, Leliel's attack, animation and moments of introspection.

Plot

Pilots Shinji Ikari and Asuka Soryu Langley continue their domestic life at the home of their superior at the paramilitary agency Nerv, Misato Katsuragi. Asuka accuses Shinji of being too self-nihilistic. Meanwhile, Shinji beats Asuka in a test with the Evangelion mecha units and is praised by Misato. The twelfth in a series of enemies called Angels, Leliel, appears in the skies of Tokyo-3 city as a floating sphere. Asuka, wounded in pride by Shinji's achievement, provokes him; Shinji, confident, decides to attack the enemy alone, but is absorbed by its shadow together with his Evangelion Unit-01. The other Evangelion units retreat.

Ritsuko Akagi, head of the scientific department of Nerv, determines that Leliel exists on a higher dimension of existence which can only be explained by abstract mathematical concepts. The shadow on the ground is the actual body of the Angel, and the sphere in the sky is its true shadow. Nerv therefore prepares a recovery strategy for Eva-01. Meanwhile, Shinji, suspended between life and death in a space called the Dirac sea, has a vision in which he argues with a younger version of himself on a train. During a stream of consciousness he feels the presence of his mother, who died years earlier in a mysterious accident. Before the recovery operation begins, Eva-01 violently emerges from Leliel, moving by its own power, much to the horror of the onlookers. Shinji is recovered alive and physically well in the aftermath, but he is left somewhat unsettled by his experiences.

Production

Genesis and staff

Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno

In 1993, Gainax published a presentation document for Neon Genesis Evangelion entitled New Century Evangelion (tentative name) Proposal (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン (仮) 企画書, Shinseiki Evangelion (kari) kikakusho), containing the initial synopsis for the planned episodes.[1] For the first twelve episodes aired, the company roughly followed the schedule envisioned by the Proposal, with only a few minor script differences.[2][3] From the thirteenth episode onward, however, the production deviated from the original plan of the writers and from what was initially envisioned in the submission document.[4] According to Michael House, translator at the time for Gainax, Neon Genesis Evangelion's main director Hideaki Anno initially intended to give the story a happy ending in the making, but during production he realized that he had created characters that were too problematic, so he changed his plans.[4] According to Hiroki Azuma, a culture critic who personally interviewed the director, during the airing of the series Anno began to criticize obsessive anime fans, know as otaku in Japanese, whom he considered too closed-minded and introverted,[5] so he changed his original plans by creating a more dramatic and introspective story toward the middle of the series.[6][7]

In the first draft, the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth episodes of the series would have constituted a trilogy with a common theme. The title "The Sickness Unto Death, and" (死に至る病、そして, Shi ni itaru yamai, soshite) was initially planned for the fourteenth; during the installment, Shinji would have understood what desperation and fear are.[8] In the following episode, Shinji would make the decision to pilot Eva-01 again after a "recovery". In the sixteenth, initially called "In the heart of the enemy" (敵の心の中で, Teki no kokoro no naka de), Shinji would have been absorbed into an enemy and there would have been a first attempt at communication between humans and Angels.[8] The staff however abandoned the original project, and some of the ideas for the trilogy were later transferred and condensed into "Splitting of the Breast", or transferred into the nineteenth installment, "Introjection".[9]

Hideaki Anno and Hiroshi Yamaguchi wrote the screenplay,[10] while Kazuya Tsurumaki produced the storyboards.[11][12] Tsurumaki served as director[13] and assistant character designer,[14][15] with Masahiko Ohtsuka and Ken Ando as assistant directors.[16] Shinya Hasegawa worked as chief animator.[17] Production also involved other studios besides Gainax, such as Cosmos, Tokyo Photo Studio and FAI International.[14]

Development

"Splitting of the Breast" represents a turning point in the narrative of Neon Genesis Evangelion.[18][19] According to academic Emily Wati Muir, the series, initially presented as a children's anime, takes a "pivotal turn" after the episode, presenting explicit themes like sex and violence.[20] Hiroki Azuma similarly noted that the series in its first half unfolds like a normal mecha anime, in which the characters are depicted in an essentially positive light and the story seems to be moving towards a happy ending.[6][7] The first part of the episode follows this traditional narrative line; from the second half there is an abrupt change of direction.[5][21] According to academic Christopher Thuony, starting from "Splitting of the Breast" the grand narrative structure of the series is destroyed in favor of as proliferation of character-based small narratives; this process is "deployed through a liberation of a logic of quotation that gradually undermines the overarching narrative of salvation by producing a multitude of enigmas and an excess of information".[22]

Director Anno's increased interest in psychology also influenced the change of direction. During the writing of the fourteenth episode, "Weaving a Story", Anno decided to include an internal monologue of Rei Ayanami for the first time depicting her as a schizophrenic character,[23] but not feeling similar to the character[24] he was stuck. Despite his attempts he could not write the monologue.[25] To help him, a friend of his lent him a volume from a series of magazine-like books called Bessatsu Takarajima (別冊宝島) on mental illness,[26] inside which was a poem written by a mentally ill person.[25] Despite having attended a psychology course at university, Anno never read psychoanalysis books before; with Evangelion, however, he tried to talk about himself and find the right words to express his emotions, so Bessatsu Takarajima's book gave him a shock.[27][28] From that moment on he shifted the concept of the series towards introspection, trying to understand how the human mind works.[29][30]

Evangelion Chronicle magazine compared Shinji's vision of his mother Yui to Mobile Suit Gundam

Production for "Splitting of the Breast" started before the work on the fourteenth episode.[30] The Leliel episode was originally intended to include a simple, traditional battle following the track established by the previous episodes "Magmadiver", "The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still" and "She said, "Don't make others suffer for your personal hatred.""; the production staff, however, decided to include an installment with an Angel that is more interested in humans than in their annihilation to avoid revealing the mysteries about the Angels' true nature.[5] In the initial scenario, Leliel would select Japanese from the verses of some animals and several human languages so it could communicate with Shinji.[25] Tsurumaki forbade the use of human language for the Angel,[31] finding the idea "too anti-climactic" and "pulp fiction", and devised the final scenario, in which "Shinji converses with himself".[32] Tsurumaki also suggested the idea of the dialogue between the two Shinji within Leliel's shadow, inspired by a dream he had himself.[21]

In the battle scene against Leliel the staff designed a gun similar to an Israeli Desert Eagle 50AE for the Eva-01.[33][34] In the same sequence the characters also speak through holographic screens, a technique already used in Gunbuster, a previous Gainax work.[35] For Leliel's design the staff took inspiration from the artistic currents of surrealism[36] and optical art.[37][38] Japanese architect Yasutaka Yoshimura also compared Leliel's design with Bridget Riley's work Fragment 5.[39]

The scene in which Shinji is trapped inside Leliel uses experimental animation techniques. The crew depicted Shinji's face distorted with a fisheye effect with a sunset in the background in the scene, a technique that Newtype magazine compared to Ultraman.[40] Evangelion Chronicle magazine similarly compared the sequence of Shinji floating into space seeing his mother to Mobile Suit Gundam, in which the protagonist Amuro Ray and Lalah Sune are seen communicating while floating in a sea of light.[41][42] The voice of Shinji and the other Shinji, Leliel itself, is expressed through white lines that move on a black background, with only the voice of the voice actress in the background.[43] Anno wanted to create images with just voices with a minimum amount of visual information.[44] According to him, since animation is made of graphic symbols and is a fiction, "a lie from the beginning", using rough drawings without using celluloid would have allowed him to destroy the stereotypes of people who think that only traditional celluloid animation can be considered a finished product.[45] Tsurumaki originally took inspiration from a scene at the end of the Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise film (1987); he initially wanted to make a scene in which in the midst of a dizzying vortex of images all the people from Shinji's past memories spoke, but it was impossible to make it happen and Anno didn't like it. Anno, on the other hand, found the idea of using lines brilliant, since "no one had done something similar before".[46]

Voice acting and soundtrack

Megumi Ogata, Shinji's voice actress, stated that she felt pain recording "Splitting of the Breast". Yuko Miyamura, voice of Asuka, played unidentified background characters. The soundtrack, composed by Shiro Sagisu, has also been analyzed by anime critics.

Miki Nagasawa, Kotono Mitsuishi, Yuko Miyamura, Koichi Nagano, Tetsuya Iwanaga, Takehito Koyasu, Megumi Hayashibara and Fumihiko Tachiki, members of the series' primary voice staff, voiced several unidentified background characters over the course of "Splitting of the Breast".[14][47] Megumi Ogata, Shinji's voice actress, also stated that she felt pain and torn recording the episode, saying that "Anno is a sadist".[48]

Shiro Sagisu composed the original soundtrack for "Splitting of the Breast" and the other episodes of the series. The soundtracks "Misato", "Angel Attack", "Spending time in preparation", "Marking Time, Waiting for Death", "Borderline Case" and "Mother is the first other" are used throughout the installment.[49] The last two soundtracks feature a chorus of voices created with the synthesizer in Bulgarians style.[50] According to the official booklet of the Refrain of Evangelion album, "this song has a sense of uplifting warm feelings that represent a mother and a comfortable existence, but simultaneously it also brings out the realization of the independent entity of self";[51] "Marking Time, Waiting for Death", on the other side, it is made up of two halves with different tones, the first featuring a "quiet tension" of a piano, and the second having a sound like music from a fierce battle scene.[51] "Spending time in preparation" is an alternate version of the song "Decisive Battle" instead, previously used in the sixth episode, "Rei II".[50] Anime critics compared "Decisive Battle" to the music from James Bond films,[52] specifically to the main theme of From Russia with Love (1963).[53][50]

Writer Masaki Miyakawa compared "Angel Attack" and "Decisive Battle" to the compositions of Japanese special effects tokusatsu films, such as Godzilla; "Angel Attack", in particular, has been compared to the soundtrack of Ryūichi Sakamoto's The Last Emperor (1987) and the song "Kyūchi ni tatsu Gandamu" (窮地に立つガンダム, lit. 'Gundam in trouble') from Mobile Suit Gundam.[54] According to Matthew Magnus Lundeen of Game Rant, the song "Angel Attack", which he likened to the theme of Jaws, was based on the compositions of old tokusatsu series, such as Ultraman or Kamen Rider.[55] The track "Borderline Case", used during the introspective scenes featuring Shinji, has been noted for its metaphysical tone, and ambient or minimalist influence.[56] According to the official booklet of the album Refrain of Evangelion, Misato's theme also has an unusual tune compared to the other soundtracks in the series; however, since Sagisu also participated in the composition of the music for the variety show Waratte iitomo!, "this type of music is also his cup of tea".[51] Academic Heike Hoffer noted how the music from Evangelion reflects the psychology of the characters in the series; Misato's theme, in particular, has a "jazzy, laid-back sound".[57]

Staff used a cover of Bart Howard's song "Fly Me to the Moon" as the ending theme of the installment. For the original broadcast, the crew used a version named "Off Vocal TV Size Version",[58] which was later included in the Neon Genesis Evangelion III album.[59][60] For the 2003 Renewal edition of the series, staff replaced the "Off Vocal Version" with a new version named "Main Version II/Renewal #16", with a three voice chorus[61] of Rei, Asuka and Misato.[62] The Renewal version used for "Splitting of the Breast" is an edited version of a track from the limited edition of the Neon Genesis Evangelion Addition album,[51] sung by Miyamura, Megumi Hayashibara and Mitsuishi,[63][64] and it has been later included in the Refrain of Evangelion album.[65][66]

Cultural references and themes

The Japanese title of the episode is a reference to Søren Kierkegaard's The Sickness unto Death. "Splitting of the Breast" also references Dirac sea, first proposed by Paul Dirac. Critics compared Evangelion Dirac's sea to Ryu Mitsuse's novel Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights

Throughout "Splitting of the Breast" several pseudoscientific terms are mentioned in Shinji's stream of consciousness. Among these are the genome theory and that of crystallized genes;[67] according to the theory, invented by the staff of the series, clay or crystal constitute the principle of primitive vital activities. Biohazard, an actual scientific term, is also mentioned.[18][19]

The parallel dimension of imaginary numbers contained within Leliel, called the Dirac sea,[68][69] constitutes a reference to the homonymous concept formulated by the physicist Paul Dirac;[70][71] according to Dirac, the physical void is not truly empty, but is a sea of particles of negative energy.[18] The research carried out by Dirac led to the formulation of the concept of antimatter,[72] which compared to matter is composed of particles with opposite charges; the collision of such particles and antiparticles leads to annihilation and theoretically the vacuum. Shinji is made up of matter, while Leliel is made up of antimatter, therefore by interacting they create vacuum, an enormous empty space made up of antimatter.[73] The expression within the episode takes on a different nuance and is to be understood as a world of energy belonging to another dimension.[18]

Critics noted how the Dirac sea depicted in the anime possibly took inspiration from the novel Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights (億の昼と千億の夜, Oku no hiru to sen oku no yoru) by Japanese writer Ryu Mitsuse rather than the real Dirac sea.[74][75] According to an official encyclopedia named Evangelion Chronicle, a space of imaginary numbers is a space where "protons and antiprotons appear, collide and disappear into the void".[76] Furthermore, according to Ritsuko, the Dirac sea could be connected to another universe.[77] In one scene one can see a blackboard on which Ritsuko has written that there are strings inside Leliel;[78] the writing is a reference to string theory,[21] according to which the spacetime is made up of ten dimensions.[18][19]

Writer Dennis Redmond interpreted Ritsuko's plan, consisting of detonating all existing N² bombs to defeat Leliel and recover Eva-01, as the series' last explicit reference to the Cold War[79] and Leliel's ability to absorb Tokyo-3 skypapers as a gloss of the real-life deflation of Japan's overpriced real estate market after the post-1990 collapse of the bubble economy.[80] He described the sudden release of the Eva-01 instead as "the shocking birth of a whole new geopolitcal subject"; according to him, Eva-01's rebirth signals the arrival of a genuinely East Asian subjectivity, "red in export-platform tooth and silicon claw, its eyes glowing with the demonic industrial energies of the Pacific Rim".[81]

The episode Japanese title is a reference to The Sickness Unto Death,[82][83] the most important work put out by the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, considered father of the existentialism.[18] The "sickness unto death" refers to "despair",[84] and in the introduction of this work, Kierkegaard says that for a Christian, "Even death itself is not 'the sickness unto death'. Not to mention any of the suffering on Earth known as destitution, illness, misery, privations, misfortune, pain, anguish, grief, or regret".[71][19] Kierkegaard's despair arises from man's relationship with himself. According to Yūichirō Oguro, the editor of supplemental materials included in the Japanese edition of the series, the title could refer to the fact that Shinji faces and questions himself during the episode.[21]

Japanese writer Manabu Tsuribe wrote that "Evangelion grasps the ethical significance of Kierkegaard's thinking correctly".[85] According to Kierkegaard, "sickness unto death" can have three forms: desperately not being aware of having a self; desperately not wanting to be yourself; desperately wanting to be yourself. Reviewer Giulio Gentile compared Shinji to the first form, Rei to the second, Asuka to the third.[86] Anime Everyeye's Cristiano Caliciotti similarly portrayed Shinji as a boy who doesn't want to be himself, and Asuka as a girl who desperately wants to be herself.[87] In an interview director Anno claimed that he had never read the book, but had only cited it out of pedantry, so as to seem intelligent;[88] he only read the first few pages and quickly lost interest in it, so he made assumptions about the rest based on what little he had read.[89] In another interview held before the series aired, Anno expressed his doubts about the future of animation of the time. According to him, Japanese animation was in a phase of desperation and people were trying to hide it by talking about hope, but, "Hope is essentially just a product of despair, so to talk about hope is to be desperate. And despair has another name, 'the sickness unto death'".[90] The director described Evangelion itself as "a product of dispair".[90]

Psychology

Anime critics have linked concepts mentioned in "Splitting of the Breast" to Ryu Murakami's novel Ai to gensō no fascism and Albert Einstein's theory of relativity

According to Thrillist's Emma Stefansky, from the sixteenth episode Neon Genesis Evangelion starts to become less of a robots-versus-monsters series and more of "an enigmatic character study".[91] "Splitting of the Breast" is the first episode of Evangelion to explicitly address the theme of the exploration of the human heart,[92] a theme present throughout the whole series and which becomes predominant in the second half.[93][94] The installment is part of a series of character-focused episodes;[95] "Splitting of the Breast" focuses in particular on Shinji's story.[96]

In the opening scene, Asuka accuses Shinji of being "self-deprecating"[72] and apologizing for everything as if out of a classical conditioning,[97] so as not to be criticized or scolded. Self-affliction is one of the themes of the episode;[98] it is a mental mechanism whereby the subject blames himself for the negative things that happen to him.[18][99] According to an official card game about the series, Shinji wants to be praised and treated kindly by others; since he is afraid of being hated, he withdraws into his shell and apologizes, since "it is less painful to accuse yourself than to let others accuse you".[100]

In the following scenes, Shinji receives compliments from Misato,[101] and feels a wave of joy and pride after the praise.[102] Asuka, characterized by a proud psychology and used to being admired, is furious at Shinji's result, which for her represents a defeat.[103] She has complex feelings for Shinji, and punches the locker in frustration.[104] During the battle against Leliel, Asuka provokes Shinji; Shinji, unusually courageous, decides to face the enemy alone, saying that fighting is "a man's job",[105] but he's defeated and absorbed into Leliel. Shinji responds to Asuka's provocation saying otehon misete yaru yo (お手本見せてやるよ, "I'll show you how it's done"), but with the masculine and haughty directional suffix te yaru. In Japanese language, te yaru indicates one will do something for someone of lower status; it requires therefore a great deal of self-confidence to use it, and is usually used only by men who have confidence in their superior social positionality.[106] After Shinji's defeat, Asuka complains about him publicly, immediately arousing the reaction of Rei Ayanami, usually cold and expressionless.[107] In the last scene, however, Asuka goes to visit Shinji in the hospital secretly together with Rei;[108] seeing Asuka's behaviour, Shinji smiles.[109]

According to Japanese Cristopher Smith, until his clash with Leliel, Shinji managed to become a man and fit into the "hegemonic hetero-masculinity" like a typical robot anime protagonist. In one scene of the episode, for example, he contemplates his hand, clasping his fingers and saying the "masculine-language phrase" yosh, "all right".[106] Writer Yokohama Yūji[110] and Yūichirō Oguro[111] noted that hands are an important motif in Evangelion, often indicating an inflection point; Oguro wrote, "Hands are the tools humans use to communicate with others and the outside world, whether they are loving each other or hurting each other".[112] Smith noted that Shinji is trapped inside an "empty, womblike" void and curls up in "a foetal position" in a uterine bath of oxygenating liquid inside the Eva. After that, he ends up passively dependent on women to save him: Misato, Ritsuko and Yui.[106] According to Oguro, the fact that the male protagonist displays masculinity before the battle and is then sucked into the mother's womb instead symbolizes how the series is skeptical about the value of masculinity.[113] Mainichi Shimbun newspaper noted that how a close contact between an Evangelion and an Angel "would have resulted in combat" in a normal anime.[114] According to Newtype magazine, the series follows the path inaugurated by Mobile Suit Gundam's Amuro Ray, due to which the male protagonists of mecha anime have become gradually less heroic over time.[115]

Newtype official filmbooks on the series linked Shinji's monologue to Sigmund Freud's ego and super ego theory, while the English title "Splitting of the Breast" is a reference to Melanie Klein's concept of the same name

Inside Leliel, Shinji sees his estranged father Gendo who praises him; Gendo's praise is seen by Shinji as a source of spiritual strength, suggesting that he fears his father but still wants his approval.[116] Furthermore, in his inner world Shinji has a vision in which he sees another, younger self. He discusses himself with his other self sitting in the cabin of a train at sunset. The other Shinji tells the real Shinji that other versions of himself exist in other people minds, but "they are all Ikari Shinji".[117] According to researcher Satohi Tsukamoto, "Shinji contemplates that he has two selves within himself: a core self and a self that acknowledges the core self".[118] Mechademia magazine described the monologue as a dialogue "reminiscent of a psychoanalytic therapy session";[119] writer Dani Cavallaro also said that the climax offers an "unsentimental portrayal of Shinji's disturbed psyche".[120]

According to Evangelion Chronicle magazine, the train of the scene alludes to life.[121] Moreover, according to the official filmbooks on the series, the two Shinji represent the psychoanalytic concepts of ego and super ego presented by Sigmund Freud in The Ego and the Id.[122][123] The Anime Café likened Shinji's dialogue with himself, in which he claims that there are many "Shinji Ikari" present in the minds of other people, to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, which discusses the role of the "local observer" in high-speed physics.[124] According to Japanese writer Minami Ooka, the idea that images of oneself exist in the consciousness of other people comes from Ryu Murakami's novel Ai to gensō no fascism (愛と幻想のファシズム, "The Fascism of Love and Fantasy"); in a scene of the novel, Fruit, girlfriend of the protagonist Zero, tells him that there are several Zeros, not just one.[125]

Another symbolism present is that of motherhood and the maternal womb.[21] During "Splitting of the Breast", Yui's image appears to her son Shinji,[126] suggesting a link between Eva-01 and her. Furthermore, in the final scene, Eva-01 tears the Angel's shadow to pieces, screaming, covered in blood, an image that recalls images of childbirth and the crying of a child.[127] Absorbed inside Leliel, Shinji notices that the cabin of Eva-01 smells of blood.[128] Oguro wrote that the images and sounds of the episode connect the image of the Eva-01 cockpit to a womb; female genitalia are also visible on the geometric patterns of Leliel's spherical body.[21] A shot of a seashore is also vibisible during Shinji's monologue; according to Dani Cavallaro, the image plays "a pivotal symbolic role" in the installment.[129] Italian writer Bartoli similarly noted how the first image of the episode is that of water, or rather of "female waters".[72] The English title itself, "Splitting of the Breast", refers to a concept from psychology and psychoanalysis most famously noted by Melanie Klein, according to which in the first years of life the child divides the perception of the mother's breast in two, separating it into a "good breast" and a "bad breasts" during the first stage of psychosexual development, the oral stage.[82] According to Oguro, Eva-01 can be interpreted as a "bad breast", while Yui saves Shinji at the end as a "good breast".[21] Anno later revived the Freudian splitting theory for the final episode, in which Shinji sees both the good and bad sides of other people.[130] The title can also be understood as a reference to the "torn chest" and the psychic conflict that takes place in Shinji's heart.[131] According to academic Fabio Bartoli, Shinji is always in a state of dissociation and "splitting", given that he wants to accept only pleasant things while fleeing from unpleasant ones.[72]

Critique to otaku

For Yūichirō Oguro, Shinji is not a boy who particularly likes anime or videogames, but his desire to turn away from unpleasant things and only do fun things can be seen as "otaku-like"; according to him, the sentence that Leliel says to Shinji, a boy who run aways from problems, "You can not collect pleasant things like a rosary", "is a line that is sure to be painful for fans of Evangelion to hear".[21] Oguro also stated that "these questions about people who indulge in their own pleasures led director Anno to criticize otaku after the first airing of the show".[21] In 1996, Anno himself said he was disappointed with the reception of the original series, which had become a place of refuge in which to escape from "unpleasant things".[88] According to Kazuya Tsurumaki, the phrase reflects Anno's direct style; since most people don't really pay attention to the dialogue in an anime, Anno began to incorporate more blunt expressions; so, "expressions which were more introspective or emotionally expressive became more frequent".[5] He also said that he worked on the series with the idea that Shinji's feelings are a reflection of those of Anno, also an otaku. Tsurumaki thus described Evangelion as a "story about communication" aimed at otaku, saying that: "[Evangelion] is a message aimed at anime fans including [Anno] himself, and of course, me too. In other words, it's useless for non-anime fans to watch it. If a person who can already live and communicate normally watches it, they won't learn anything".[5]

Reception

"Splitting of the Breast" was first broadcast on January 17, 1996, and drew a 9.4% audience share on Japanese television.[132][133] In 1996 it ranked sixteenth in Animage's Anime Grand Prix poll of "Best Anime Episodes" with 111 votes.[134] In July 2020, Comic Book Resources reported an 8.8/10 rating on IMDb for the installment, ranking it third among the highest-rated Evangelion episodes.[135] Merchandise on the episode has also been released,[136][137] including a line of official T-shirts.[138][139]

According to GameFan magazine, "Splitting of the Breast" is widely considered to be one of the best "if not the best" episode of the anime.[140] The Anime Café's Akio Nagatomi positively received the episode, praising the "fitting" symbolism behind Shinji's emergence from Leliel, Shinji's voyace of self-discovery as "brilliant" and the symbolic use of the sound of a road passing underneath with various obstacles during the scene as "striking".[141] Nagatomi also noted that Shinji is drawn a little different toward the end of his mental journey, a particular which he described as "the most deft touch" of the installment.[141] Film School Rejects's Max Covill praised the violence and "terrific animation" presented in the installment, describing it as an "excellent episode";[142] he also praised the image of Yui's soul inside Eva-01 for its "ethereal quality".[143] SyFy Wire's Daniel Dockery similarly described Unit 01 exit from Leliel as an "iconic" moment.[144] Comic Book Resources's Akjay Aravind listed Leliel's battle among the best Neon Genesis Evangelion fights.[145] Fellow Comic Book Resources editor Eduardo Luquin, on the other side, criticized Shinji's initial overconfidence.[146] For Digitally Obsessed's Joel Cunningham, the race to save Shinji is "very interesting", and that element of the episode is "nicely offset with Shinji's introspective moments".[147]

Anime News Network's Martin Theron praised "Splitting of the Breast" along with the other episodes of the arc and Spike Spencer's "top-rate work" as Shinji in the English dub;[95] his colleague James Beckett similarly lauded it, saying, "I was shown how a series could confront and dismantle its audience's expectations in a way that was exhilarating to watch".[148] Fangoria wrote, "There's something especially horrifying about an Angel that weaponizes quantum physics".[149] Comic Book Resources' similarly listed Shinji's absortion inside Leliel as the "10 times Neon Genesis Evangelion was too disturbing for its own good".[150] Looper praised Leliel's design as one of the "coolest" in the series and "awesome".[151]

According to Comic Book Resources, Chainsaw Man opening official video contains a reference to the scene in which Unit 01 escapes from Leliel.[152] A parody of Leliel zebra-like pattern appears in FLCL, an OAV series produced by Gainax studio.[153]

References

  1. ^ Japanese: 死に至る病、そして, Hepburn: Shi ni itaru yamai, soshite, lit. 'The sickness unto death, and then...'

Citations

  1. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 19. Sony Magazines. p. 23.
  2. ^ Gainax (1998). Neon Genesis Evangelion Newtype 100% Collection (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. p. 88. ISBN 4-04-852700-2.
  3. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion Theatralical VHS Box Booklet (in Japanese). King Amusement Creative. 1997.
  4. ^ a b House, Michael (November 28, 2011). "Interviewing translator Michael House". Archived from the original on August 24, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Kazuya Tsurumaki Interview". The End of Evangelion Theatrical Pamphlet (in Japanese). Gainax. 1997.
  6. ^ a b Azuma, Hiroki. "Animé or Something Like it: Neon Genesis Evangelion". NTT InterCommunication Center. Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Krystian Woznicki (September 1991). "Towards a cartography of Japanese anime – Anno Hideaki's Evangelion Interview with Azuma Hiroki". Blimp Filmmagazine. Tokuma Shoten.
  8. ^ a b Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 19. Sony Magazines. p. 25.
  9. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 19. Sony Magazines. pp. 23–24.
  10. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 27. Sony Magazines. p. 25.
  11. ^ Porori 2010, p. 44.
  12. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 46. Sony Magazines. p. 11.
  13. ^ Gainax (1998). Neon Genesis Evangelion Newtype 100% Collection (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. p. 178. ISBN 4-04-852700-2.
  14. ^ a b c "Staff". Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia. 2021.
  15. ^ Gainax, ed. (2003). Data of Evangelion (in Japanese). Gainax. p. 23.
  16. ^ Cavallaro 2007, p. 188.
  17. ^ 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 原画集 Groundwork of Evangelion (PDF) (in Japanese). Vol. 2. Ground Works. 2020. p. 251. ISBN 978-4903713014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2023.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g Neon Genesis Evangelion Laserdisc Encyclopedia (in Japanese). Vol. 8. 1996.
  19. ^ a b c d "Episode 16: Splitting of the Breast". Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia. 2021.
  20. ^ Muir, Emily Wati (2023). "To Face the World Alone or Together: Jus Ad Bellum and the Lives of Child Soldiers in Neon Genesis Evangelion". Law, Technology and Humans. QUT. 5 (1): 44.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oguro, Yūichirō. "第49回 エヴァ雑記「第拾六話 死に至る病、そして」". Style.fm (in Japanese). Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  22. ^ Thouny, Christophe (2009). "Waiting for the Messiah: The Becoming-Myth of "Evangelion" and "Densha otoko"". Mechademia. 4: 119. doi:10.1353/mec.0.0066. S2CID 52219780.
  23. ^ Takekuma 1997, pp. 93–97.
  24. ^ Takekuma 1997, pp. 97–100.
  25. ^ a b c "庵野 秀明 - Part II". Zankoku na tenshi no you ni. Magazine Magazine. 1997. ISBN 4-906011-25-X.
  26. ^ Aaron Stewart-Ahn (19 June 2019). "Neverending Evangelion". Polygon. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  27. ^ Miyako Graham, ed. (1996). "Anecdotes from Mr. Hideaki Anno". Protoculture Addicts. No. 43. p. 41.
  28. ^ Kaiser, Vrai (16 July 2019). "Neon Genesis Evangelion Explained: Ending Differences and Reasons". IGN. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  29. ^ Eng, Lawrence. "In the Eyes of Hideaki Anno, Writer and Director of Evangelion". CJas.org. Archived from the original on July 9, 2009. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  30. ^ a b ＥＶＡ ＳＰＥＣＩＡＬ ＴＡＬＫ ｗｉｔh 庵野秀明＋上野俊哉. Newtype (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. November 1996.
  31. ^ "大阪芸術大学「庵野秀明監督×小池一夫先生」特別講義まとめ" (in Japanese). 22 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  32. ^ Gainax, ed. (1997). "Kazuya Tsurumaki Interview". The End of Evangelion Program Book (in Japanese).
  33. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 22. Sony Magazines. p. 23.
  34. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book (in Japanese). Vol. 5. Kadokawa Shoten. p. 54.
  35. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book (in Japanese). Vol. 5. Kadokawa Shoten. p. 55.
  36. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book (in Japanese). Vol. 5. Kadokawa Shoten. p. 53.
  37. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 23. Sony Magazines. pp. 3–4.
  38. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 46. Sony Magazines. p. 16.
  39. ^ Morikawa 1997, pp. 32–33.
  40. ^ Newtype Complete Shinseiki Evangerion Newtype Complete 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン [Newtype Complete Neon Genesis Evangelion] (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. 2005. p. 79.
  41. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 46. Sony Magazines. p. 22.
  42. ^ "The Evolution of Evangelion: Rebuild vs. TV". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  43. ^ Suvilay, Bounthavy (2017). "Neon Genesis Evangelion ou la déconstruction du robot anime". ReS Futurae (in French). Università Gustave Eiffel (9). doi:10.4000/resf.954. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  44. ^ "庵野秀明氏、エヴァに登場する声と線だけのアニメについて「最低限の情報量で作りたかった」 #ニコニコ超会議2015" (in Japanese). Logmi Biz. April 2015. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022.
  45. ^ EVA, 再擧 庵野秀明 Special Interview. Newtype (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. June 1996. pp. 10–15.
  46. ^ Takekuma 1997, pp. 172–175.
  47. ^ Eva Tomo no Kai (in Japanese). Vol. 8. Gainax. 1996.
  48. ^ Animedia (in Japanese). Gakken. April 1996. p. 17.
  49. ^ Eva Tomo no Kai (in Japanese). Vol. 13. Gainax. 1998.
  50. ^ a b c Symphony of Evangelion booklet (in Japanese). King Records. 1997.
  51. ^ a b c d Refrain of Evangelion booklet (in Japanese). King Records. 2003.
  52. ^ Morikawa 1997, p. 59.
  53. ^ "Anime Expo 2022: Music of Evangelion". Nuke the fridge. 12 July 2022. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  54. ^ Morikawa 1997, p. 57.
  55. ^ Matthew Magnus Lundeen (24 September 2022). "The Man Who Gave Evangelion Its Impact". Gamerant.com. Game Rant. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  56. ^ Morikawa 1997, pp. 63–64.
  57. ^ Hoffer 2021, p. 85.
  58. ^ Eva Tomo no Kai (in Japanese). Vol. 6. Gainax. 1996.
  59. ^ "Neon Genesis Evangelion III 【2013 HR Remaster Ver.】" (in Japanese). E-onkyo Music. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  60. ^ "Neon Genesis Evangelion III" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  61. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 26. Sony Magazines. p. 26.
  62. ^ "Refrain of Evangelion" (in Japanese). Mora. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  63. ^ "Neon Genesis Evangelion Addition" (in Japanese). Mora. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  64. ^ "Neon Genesis Evangelion Addition" (in Japanese). Apple Music. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  65. ^ "Refrain of Evangelion" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  66. ^ "Refrain of Evangelion" (in Japanese). Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  67. ^ Porori 2010, p. 47.
  68. ^ "用語集". Death & Rebirth Program Book (Special Edition) (in Japanese). Gainax. 1997.
  69. ^ Fujie & Foster 2004, p. 34.
  70. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 18. Sony Magazines. p. 24.
  71. ^ a b Platinum Booklet. Vol. 4. ADV.
  72. ^ a b c d Bartoli, Fabio (2008). "Neon Genesis Evangelion e la Kabbalah: dal Tempo di dolore al Tempo Benedetto" (PDF). Antrocom (in Italian). 4 (1): 34. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  73. ^ Poggio 2008, p. 55.
  74. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book (in Japanese). Vol. 5. Kadokawa Shoten. pp. 62–63.
  75. ^ Animage (in Japanese). September 1997. p. 20.
  76. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 6. Sony Magazines. p. 24.
  77. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 29. Sony Magazines. p. 20.
  78. ^ Porori 2010, p. 46.
  79. ^ Redmond 2004, p. 155.
  80. ^ Redmond 2004, p. 156.
  81. ^ Redmond 2004, pp. 155–156.
  82. ^ a b Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 10. Sony Magazines. p. 21.
  83. ^ "【新世紀エヴァンゲリオン】これぞエヴァの代名詞！心に残るタイトル一覧". Anime Miru. 23 May 2020. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023.
  84. ^ Poggio 2008, p. 51.
  85. ^ Tsuribe, Manabu. "Prison of Self-consciousness: an Essay on Evangelion". www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp. Archived from the original on 2017-07-21. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
  86. ^ Gentile, Giulio (21 June 2019). "Neon Genesis Evangelion – Simboli, significati, teologia e psicoanalisi" (in Italian). Arte Settima.
  87. ^ "Recensione Neon Genesis Evangelion: You Can (Not) Advance". Anime EveryEye. 27 August 2009. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023.
  88. ^ a b あんた、バカぁと、言われてみたい。（庵野秀明、宮村優子）. Animage (in Japanese). Tokuma Shoten. July 1996.
  89. ^ "Anno Hideaki". Jinken-official.jimdo.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  90. ^ a b Newtype (PDF) (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. January 1995. p. 138.
  91. ^ Stefansky, Emma (23 June 2019). "The Very, Very, Very Confusing End of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion,' Explained". Thrillist. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  92. ^ "History 1993-1999". Neon Genesis Evangelion Blue Ray Ultimate Edition Encyclopedia. 2021.
  93. ^ "The Two Endings". Platinum Booklet. Vol. 7. ADV.
  94. ^ "説明". Death & Rebirth Program Book (Special Edition) (in Japanese). Gainax. 1997.
  95. ^ a b Martin, Theron. "Review – Neon Genesis Evangelion DVD 4: Platinum Edition". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  96. ^ "庵野 秀明 Interview". ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:序 全記録全集ビジュアルストーリー版・設定 資料版 (in Japanese). Khara. 2008.
  97. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 46. Sony Magazines. p. 12.
  98. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 46. Sony Magazines. p. 13.
  99. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book (in Japanese). Vol. 5. Kadokawa Shoten. p. 50.
  100. ^ Evangelion Carddass Masters G, card D-67, 気持ち悪い, Bandai.
  101. ^ Gainax (1998). Neon Genesis Evangelion Newtype 100% Collection (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. p. 81. ISBN 4-04-852700-2.
  102. ^ Newtype Complete Shinseiki Evangerion Newtype Complete 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン [Newtype Complete Neon Genesis Evangelion] (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. 2005. p. 50.
  103. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book (in Japanese). Vol. 5. Kadokawa Shoten. p. 52.
  104. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 46. Sony Magazines. p. 15.
  105. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 46. Sony Magazines. p. 14.
  106. ^ a b c Smith, Cristopher (2023). ""Otoko no ko deshou?" Evangelion and Queer Masculinity". Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies. University of Florida. 23 (1). Archived from the original on 17 April 2023.
  107. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book (in Japanese). Vol. 5. Kadokawa Shoten. pp. 59–60.
  108. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 46. Sony Magazines. p. 21.
  109. ^ Animedia (in Japanese). IID. May 1996. p. 20.
  110. ^ Yokohama, Yūji (2002). "複数の物語と世界--『新世紀エヴァンゲリオン』と『五分後の世界』". 研究論集 (in Japanese). 北海道大学大学院文学研究科: 22.
  111. ^ Oguro, Yūichirō. "第45回 エヴァ雑記「第拾弐話 奇跡の価値は」" (in Japanese). Anime Style.
  112. ^ Oguro, Yūichirō. "第51回 エヴァ雑記「第拾八話 命の選択を」" (in Japanese). Anime Style.
  113. ^ Oguro, Yūichirō. "第52回 エヴァ雑記「第拾九話 男の戰い」" (in Japanese). Anime Style.
  114. ^ Watanabe, Kei; Nakagawa, Daichi; Uno, Tsunehiro (May 18, 2006). "Evangelion Special: From phenomenon to legacy". Mainichi Times. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  115. ^ Newtype Complete Shinseiki Evangerion Newtype Complete 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン [Newtype Complete Neon Genesis Evangelion] (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. 2005. pp. 48–49.
  116. ^ Oguro, Yūichirō. "第53回 エヴァ雑記「第弐拾話 心のかたち 人のかたち」" (in Japanese). Anime Style.
  117. ^ Jackson, C. (2012). "Topologies of Identity in Serial Experiments Lain". Mechademia. 7: 198–199. doi:10.1353/mec.2012.0013. S2CID 119423011.
  118. ^ Tsukamoto, Satoshi (2022). "The Enigmatic Power of Neon Genesis Evangelion" (PDF). 文明. Aichi University. 21 (48): 39. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  119. ^ Andreu Ballús; Alba g. Torrents (2014). "Evangelion as Second Impact: Forever Changing That Which Never Was". Mechademia. University of Minnesota Press. 9: 283–293. doi:10.5749/mech.9.2014.0283.
  120. ^ Cavallaro 2009, p. 70.
  121. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 46. Sony Magazines. p. 19.
  122. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book (in Japanese). Vol. 5. Kadokawa Shoten. p. 63.
  123. ^ エヴァンゲリオン快楽原則 (in Japanese). 第三書館. 1997. p. 76. ISBN 480749726X. 16 話「死に至る病、そして」において、ディラックの海に呑みこまれたシンジが見る夢のなかには二人の(つまり分裂した)シンジが現れる。この二人のシンジは、アニメ誌やフィルムブックでは自我と超自我であると説明されているが、...
  124. ^ "Café Trivia". The Anime Café. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022.
  125. ^ Minami Ooka (8 January 1998). "「愛と幻想のファシズム」の考察: 村上龍のＳＦ政治経済小説と「エヴァ」の関係". Ookaminami.kakurezato.com.
  126. ^ Porori 2010, p. 45.
  127. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book (in Japanese). Vol. 5. Kadokawa Shoten. pp. 64–65.
  128. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 46. Sony Magazines. p. 18.
  129. ^ Cavallaro 2009, p. 100.
  130. ^ "庵野 秀明 - Part I". Zankoku na tenshi no you ni. マガジン・マガジン. 1997. ISBN 4-906011-25-X.
  131. ^ Neon Genesis Evangelion Film Book (in Japanese). Vol. 5. Kadokawa Shoten. p. 61.
  132. ^ "Anime Land". Newtype (in Japanese). Kadokawa Shoten. April 1996. p. 74.
  133. ^ "新世紀エヴァンゲリオン テレビ本放送時 視聴率" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 6, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  134. ^ "第19回アニメグランプリ［1997年6月号］". Tokuma Shoten. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010.
  135. ^ Fois, Daniello (21 July 2020). "Top 10 Episodes Of Neon Genesis Evangelion, According To IMDb". Cbr.com. Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  136. ^ Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 10. Sony Magazines. p. 28.
  137. ^ E-Mono (in Japanese). Gainax. 1997. p. 112. ISBN 4-04-852868-8.
  138. ^ Porori 2010, p. 125.
  139. ^ "新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 全話Tシャツ 「第拾六話 死に至る病、そして」" (in Japanese). Evangelion Store. Archived from the original on 26 November 2023.
  140. ^ "Neon Genesis Evangelion Genesis 0:8". GameFan. Metropolis Media. 5 (10): 141. October 1997. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  141. ^ a b "Shinseiki Evangelion Review - Episode 16: Sickness, Unto Death, And... / Splitting of the Breast". The Anime Café. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  142. ^ Covill, Max (17 June 2019). "Every Episode of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' Ranked". Filmschoolrejects.com. Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  143. ^ Covill, Max (19 June 2019). "The Perfect Shots of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'". Filmschoolrejects.com. Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  144. ^ Dockery, Daniel (June 23, 2019). "The 10 most awesome (non-depressing) moments In Neon Genesis Evangelion". Syfy.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  145. ^ Aravind, Ajay (28 December 2020). "Neon Genesis Evangelion: 10 Best Fights In The Anime, Ranked". Cbr.com. Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  146. ^ "Evangelion: 5 Times We Sympathized With Shinji (& 5 When We Didn't)". Comic Book Resources. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  147. ^ Cunningham, Joel (8 March 2002). "Neon Genesis Evangelion Collection 0:5 (1995)". Digitallyobsessed.com. Digitally Obsessed!. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  148. ^ Beckett, James (15 August 2021). "Growing Up With Evangelion". Anime News Network. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  149. ^ "10 Terrifying Moments In NEON GENESIS EVANGELION". Fangoria. 4 October 2023. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023.
  150. ^ "10 Times Neon Genesis Evangelion Was Too Disturbing For Its Own Good". Comic Book Resources. 22 April 2021. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021.
  151. ^ Smith, Thompson (13 August 2021). "The Most Powerful Angels From Neon Genesis Evangelion Ranked". Looper. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  152. ^ Reyna, Leo (7 February 2023). "Evangelion Fan Shows Similarities to Chainsaw Man's Cinematics". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023.
  153. ^ Cavallaro 2009, p. 128.

Bibliography

External links

Neon Genesis Evangelion
Categories