---
title: 'The Original End Of Evangelion is a Masterpiece'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=sqm4pDZxU7Q'
video_id: 'sqm4pDZxU7Q'
date: 2026-06-30
duration_sec: 1131
---

# The Original End Of Evangelion is a Masterpiece

> Source: [The Original End Of Evangelion is a Masterpiece](https://youtube.com/watch?v=sqm4pDZxU7Q)

## Summary

The video analyzes the controversial original ending of Neon Genesis Evangelion (Episodes 25 & 26), arguing that its lack of traditional plot resolution is intentional and masterful. It contrasts Japanese and American cinematic approaches to character, explaining how the ending serves as a deep character study of Shinji Ikari and a vehicle for creator Hideaki Anno's personal expression.

### Key Points

- **Controversy of the Final Episodes** [00:00] — The episode aired and caused massive controversy due to its ambiguity and minimal animation, leading to fan frustration even death threats against creator Hideaki Anno.
- **Plot vs. Character Arc** [01:42] — The video argues the plot is merely a means to explore deeper themes, and that Japanese cinema often prioritizes character interiority over linear plot resolution.
- **Japanese Cinema and Anime Themes** [05:50] — Anime often uses saving the world as an excuse to show characters' flaws and struggles with identity, influenced by Japan's post-WWII cultural trauma.
- **Shinji's Character Journey** [08:45] — Shinji is a character defined by his fear of failure and connection, and the ending shows his psychological struggle within the Human Instrumentality Project.
- **The Freedom Scene and Realization** [11:49] — The freedom scene uses minimalist animation to depict Shinji realizing that his identity requires the perception of others to exist.
- **Parallels with The End of Evangelion** [14:46] — The video concludes by connecting the original ending to the film The End of Evangelion, suggesting both are complementary views of the same psychological crisis.
- **Final Assessment** [18:22] — The video states the ending is a masterpiece of character study that expresses deep emotional and psychological truths about humanity.

## Transcript

it's March 27th 1996 Japan is about to
witness the last episode of the anime
television series neon genesis
evangelion with an ending that would
make many people question its existence
in the first place not only in regards
to episode 26 but also episode 25 that
was released a week prior these episodes
were talked about so much regarding its
approach its ambiguity and especially
its lack of animation during certain
parts to the point where a number of
fans felt frustrated by the fact that
many questions were left unanswered some
apparently even sent death threats to
the creator of the show Hideaki anno and
graffiti gained access to do walls it's
been claimed that the controversy was
massive during its original release but
there have also been reports where the
controversy was nowhere near as big as
it seemed to be that many fans also sent
letters showing their appreciation of
these last two episodes what is known is
that a year later Anna and the studio
Gainax would release a film titled the
End of Evangelion which would retell the
events of episode 25 and 26 in a
different manner the reason why is still
unsure but my guess is Anna was
definitely dissatisfied with something
either with the fans or with himself or
most likely both whatever the truth
actually is there is no denying that the
last two episodes did feel frustrating
to a lots of fans and the end of
Evangelion is deemed by many as the
definitive ending but I'm not here to
talk about the film I'm here to talk
about the original end of Evangelion and
why I think it's a masterpiece
[Music]
I'm not going to talk about every aspect
of the show and all of its underlying
themes broader the aspect that caught my
interest and how I believed to have
culminated perfectly in the ending of
the show what's my personal view
experience and my own analysis of this
show and it's ending our but first we
need to talk about plot as a whole
generally plots normally consists of a
sequence of events that advances a story
forward through cause-and-effect plots
is considered to be crucial for a
telling of a story to work and make the
audience engaged in other words a
narrative is constructed that forces our
characters into a structure of events
and then we accompany them towards a
resolution of some kind so knowing this
what is a violence plots and how does it
eventually lead to its last episode the
plot consists of a teenage boy called
Shinji
who was recruited by his father to work
for your organization nerve and Pilots
giant mecha called
Evangelion more specifically Ava won
this is done to fight against an alien
species called the Angels known to have
caused the global Cataclysm which
happened 15 years prior called the
second impact in other words a third
impact is imminent and Shinji is told
that he is the only one who can save the
world but by the end of the show you
don't really have that resolution in the
simplest terms you have Shinji
questioning himself constantly and all
of the other characters continuously
speak to Shinji for him to figure things
out which means that the last two
episodes don't really have any sort of
plot resolution buts as I mentioned
before I believe this to be a
masterpiece why well let's talk about
character arc witnessing a character
through means of a story in its plot
normally equals to his or her growth the
plot constructs the sequence of events
so that the character can go from point
A to point B parts and character arcs
normally work together as one and many
people especially in regards to American
cinema tells us this should always be
the case but the reality is that all
this comes down to
perception of the audience and what each
want from a movie and what I connect
with the most when watching any sort of
medium is character especially how that
characters portrayed through the use of
imagery and enhanced by the use of sound
and music how all of these come into one
to express something that holds dear to
the person who created it where we truly
understand his or her psyche through the
portrayal of its main character and this
is shown in the last two episodes of
Evangelion a form of expression that I
believed to be rooted in Japanese
filmmaking and its culture which differs
from the approach that usually happens
in American cinema American cinema has
the intent of having this story be the
foundation of everything in other words
you need to have a solid script solid
plots solid character arc in order to
have what is considered to be a solid
film American films when they do this
well it is utterly incredible movies
like Once Upon a Time in the West and
The Hustler are great examples of this
because American cinema normally has
characters with well-established
identities they either know who they are
or what they want to be and many times
falls in the category of who is the good
guy and who is the bad guy this isn't
always the case because you have films
like taxi driver and Apocalypse Now who
raise that question especially
considering the time it was made but
normally American cinema makes it quite
distinct who is on each site Japanese
cinema doesn't quite portray this the
search for one's identity is approached
from a very different angle initially
both sides of the spectrum seem to be
quite clear but as the story goes along
characters start to show more of who
they are underneath how their perceived
identities can be misleading like it
happens with the Seven Samurai what is
good and bad black and white starts to
become grey this can be found in so many
Japanese movies with the most well-known
being Akira Kurosawa's films so if this
is prevalent in Japanese cinema this is
also going to translate in similar forms
of medium which can easily be found in
the world of anime anime is all about
taking these ideas and developing them
as much as
Cybil now almost every character whether
good or bad eventually develops them in
a way that makes them human and almost
all anime is like this even shown an
anime you still have both protagonists
and antagonists were really struggle to
find their identity not saving the world
is it the main goal but an excuse to
show the flaws in human nature of these
characters and a tormenting past they go
through that's we can be like them
Holly's works of Arts have an impact
that lasts longer than just the duration
of a movie or an episode how the
struggle with finding their identity
also comes with the struggle of their
own failure this I believe to be in part
caused by the aftermath of the Second
World War
how so many people suffered and lost
their lives how the ideals and strength
their country used to uphold so proudly
were ultimately shaken to its core how
that must have impacted them so much for
so many years prevalent even to this day
and this can be found in so many anime
which many times deals with an enormous
explosion caused by mankind or nature
itself and now it's affects everyone in
such a negative way and how that can be
a representation of the characters
failure making them question their
beliefs and who they are in the first
place which leads us back to Neon
Genesis Evangelion having the story take
place 15 years following the aftermath
of the second impact which almost
destroyed the human race currently
trying to prevent a third one due to the
enormous consequences of the previous
impact and our main character Shinji is
forced by everyone to be the savior but
he is a character who struggles
immensely with the notion of failure a
character who doesn't have a clear
distinction of what is right and wrong a
character who was suffering a great deal
and has no grasp of who he is and that
is what Neon Genesis Evangelion for me
is all about it's about how the creator
of the show he there Keanu is able to
convey all of this into one story but
most of all into
character it's not just about Shinji
it's about a know expressing himself
through Shinji it's known that anno
suffered through immense depression
throughout the making of this series to
say he wasn't in a good place is an
understatement and even though it's been
said that he didn't have a clear path of
where the story was headed especially in
regards to the limitations and troubled
scheduling towards the end of the show
what is clear he never lost sight of
what was important to him to tell in
this story and that was Shinji and his
progression as a character which seems
to be a no trying to find some sorts of
catharsis through Shinji and his
development in very simple terms Shinji
is someone who doesn't want to deal with
the society he lives in early on in this
story he tries running away from it but
that's also makes him feel like he let
down the people who expect more of him
and Shinji is constantly going through
this loop of uncertainty he tries to do
things to make other people like him
more but he also doesn't want to have
the responsibility of doing those things
he feels like he never has a choice and
he's always forced to do what other
people expect him to do but then when he
doesn't do any of it
he feels alone and feels like he failed
he has difficulty in dealing with the
lack of connection he has with his
father gender and how his hardship has
affected him he has difficulty in
finding someone who has cared for him
the same way his mother had when he was
a young boy and finds that comfort in
other female characters especially right
but also how his personality contrasts
heavily with ahsoka but in reality she
is just as fragile as he is and this at
times they share a mutual connection
which can be attributed to love how
Masato even though she is the person who
is taking care of him is only really
able to communicate honestly through a
sexual connection and how Kaoru is the
only man that Shinji had a strong trust
an emotional connection with regardless
of our brief or manipulative it was all
of these characters are here to show
shinji's enormous insecurities as a man
the lack of a mother figure the lack of
a romantic
action the lack of a sexual connection
the lack of an emotional connection
these aren't always mutually exclusive
to these characters but all of this is
to develop shinji's character even more
because shinji wants any sort of
connection but is also extremely afraid
of it and sees it as a negative thing
and why most of them especially the
female characters always show up during
his mental breakdown scenes shown in
episode 16 and then in episode 20
reaching the existential nature in its
conclusion in episode 25 and 26 Shinji's
ultimate goal as a character is reached
in these final episodes where we leave
the physical world and dive into the
human instrumentality project where
everything and everyone become one
deconstructing right eye enemy Asuka
Langley
Misato Katsuragi were especially shinji
ikari with him figuring out each
instance of his life the world he lives
in who he perceives himself to be what
everyone perceives himself to be who he
really is
because for me Evangelion was never
about say boy getting inside the robots
and defeating angels
it wasn't about saving the world it was
about Shinji overcoming his notion of
failure and finding his own identity and
the culmination of this comes with the
freedom scene this is for me one of
those moments that will forever stick
with me because it suddenly uses the
arts of animation as an actual form of
expression leading shinji into a world
of nothingness a world of freedom the
freedom of not having to worry about
anything or anyone of no society of not
having to do anything at all of being
utterly alone which in turn creates a
feeling of insignificance to shinji and
thus he creates an area an existing
dimension where he's able to stand on
this makes him feel grounded to a sense
of reality but removes an aspect of
freedom he wants hats and through this
existential moments of his with Masato
Rea Asuka Kaoru his father and even his
mother explained the
exception of reality he comes to the
following conclusion that for him to
have a perception of himself he needs a
world and people around him to perceive
him as a form of existence and through
that perception and his own the
similarities and differences he finds in
the many forms of himself that exist
through him and everyone else he becomes
who he is
Shinji this is all shown with very
little use of animation with a wide
screen almost like a literal clean slate
and a very simple drawing of Shinji and
creating that first sense of reality the
grounds is simply the drawing of a line
to which he slowly starts to take the
form of other shapes to explain more the
perception that he has of himself once
he realizes his conclusion the simple
drawing of him becomes more defined and
we see a close-up of his face speaking
about this realization the realization
of who he is this is just filmmaking at
its finest regardless if Ana didn't have
a clear path of where the story was
headed regardless that plot elements of
the show had been removed due to its
similarities in regards to horrible
events that transpired in Japan a year
prior Ana and the animators were so able
to create something really special how
it engrossed me in making me ultimately
relate with Shinji and how it made me
understand better what's a person like
ana might have gone through in his life
how it made me question myself and my
existence through this conversation
between these characters I never saw
Shinji as a wimp or a crybaby
I saw a boy who had difficulty in
realizing his own existence how hard it
was for him to deal with it throughout
his life how he faced failure and
overcame it in the end by realizing that
he has the power to look at things it's
people at the world but especially
himself in a different slights as
explained to him even something positive
can be experienced on rainy days and how
everyone in one of the most ridiculous
but also satisfying conclusions
congratulate him in the last scene
ending this show on a smile at the end
of the day when we talk about plots in
my eyes it should never be seen as the
end goal of making a film or a show but
rather as a means almost as an excuse to
dive deeper into themes that open our
eyes to subject matters that are
important for us to think about that
cinema isn't just about telling a story
it's about expressing emotions it's
about expressing one's fears their flaws
and their minds and realize better
what's our emotions are what our fears
are our flaws and especially how this
shapes our deepest thoughts and
insecurities cinema has the benefit of
having endless possibilities to showcase
anything through its visuals through its
sound its music and acting and how this
can come all together with the use of
editing which Neon Genesis Evangelion
excels at constantly showing at times
really long shots that culminate on
extremely difficult choices that our
characters have to make but also
contrasting beautifully with certain
fast paced cuts to make us understand
better the psyche of these characters
the show uses so many tools in so many
different ways to express something that
can be really powerful which
encapsulates perfectly the last two
episodes of this show and in a twisted
turn of events realizing who shinji is
helps us identify ourselves even more
the humanity shown in shinji is
terrifying and depressing it maybe gives
us insight to what people can go through
mentally including even ourselves all
expressed in a way I had never seen
before this is why I believe the
original ending to be a masterpiece I
can't deny that watching this show 20
years later didn't benefit me it did
because I had the opportunity to watch
the director's cut versions of episode
21 to 24 which not only deepen the
events in episodes 25 and 26 but also
tie in perfectly with the film the end
of evangelion how to film parallels
perfectly with the existential nature
found in episodes
five and 26 and how we see the events of
the third impact and fold throughout and
how our characters Asuka Rey and shinji
are involved in this how the plot and
character arcs do eventually intertwine
and come to an end
presenting us with the ambiguous scene
between Shinji and Asaka where we see
Shinji reacting aggressively towards a
Sakai which results in her caressing his
face how Shinji then breaks down
emotionally until the moment ends with a
saccas line how disgusting how there are
million ways to try and explain what
happens in this moment especially if we
consider the scenes between them
throughout the film but I do believe it
to be more positive especially when we
realize the original ending of episode
26 because in the midst of such a
terrifying moment there was a sign of
hopefulness how ahsoka acknowledges
changes existence and what he needed at
that time which episode 26 teaches us
that even on rainy days we can
experience something good from it how
both the original episodes and the film
are complementary to each other and are
needed to fully comprehend everything
that happens even if it takes multiple
viewings to form our own opinions and
analysis and what they mean to each of
us both psychologically and emotionally
I didn't have to wait a year to witness
all of this or even weeks I watched all
of it in one week and I was in all of
its brilliance but nothing can ever take
away the moments I witnessed the freedom
seen in episode 26 that's for me is a
true nature of everything that makes
Neon Genesis Evangelion one of the best
shows I've ever seen but most of all one
of the best character studies of all
time
you