To coincide with the releases of the new films in Japan, Uniqlo is releasing some special themed t-shirts. I haven’t heard if these will be available at their New York City store, so if not, it may be time for a trip to Japan. You can find the product page here.

This past weekend I sat down to watch the latest Evangelion DVD. Gainax has returned their seminal anime series that debuted in the mid-90′s. The “rebuilds” are a revisiting of the original story, told in four new films. The first three will retell the happenings of the series, while the forth will present a new conclusion. I first watched the series in a bit of a bender when several college friends and I watched every episode in succession our sophomore year.

The DVD recently came out in Japan, and I finally felt mentally prepared this weekend to dive into the film. Although I missed not having the movie open with the original theme, Cruel Angel’s Thesis, I was instantly struck with the visual beauty of the presentation. The film has many shots similar (if not identical) to those that can be found in the original series, and so you can’t help but notice how much better everything looks this time around. Throughout my viewing I had a continuous string of “wow” moments as I smiled in appreciation at being able to soak in the visual upgrade.

In terms of story, the first film tackles the first six episodes of the series. While certain sacrifices have to be made in order to compress the story into the film-sized chunk, I actually enjoyed absorbing the story through a film’s narrative. They did an excellent job of not just making the film feel like a stilted stitching of the episodes, but instead they sprinkled various elements across the duration of the movie to help provide a cohesive story arc. Of course, the movie’s ending provides little closure, but I’d put it on emotional par with Empire Strikes Back, if not a little more upbeat.

I’m not going to even begin to delve into the mythology in this post; that is worthy of a book. I will say that if you haven’t experienced “Eva”, you owe it to yourself to do so. If you can happen to track down this DVD, definitely give it a watch.

- mp3 courtesy of “crime of innocence“

Before Gainax blew our minds with Neon Genesis Evangelion and FLCL they created a short film for the Japan Science Fiction Convention. The burgeoning animation team, featuring greats such as Hideaki Anno, debuted their first film at the con (a.k.a. “Daicon”) in 1983 to critical acclaim.

Two years later, they returned to Daicon and debuted the “Daicon IV Opening Animation”, which was not only a satire that featured the prominent use of characters from American and Japanese animation, but also an overwhelming and visually stunning short in its own right.

Unfortunately, it is extremely hard to find a copy of this film beyond the grainy versions available online. The film was set to the song “Twilight” by Electric Light Orchestra, which they did not have the rights to. This licensing issue has squashed the possibility of legitimate distribution. It was pressed in very limited quantities on laserdisc. I was fortunate enough to see an incredibly high quality version when attending “Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture” exhibit at the Japan Society in New York.

So enjoy this film that helped launch Gainax and is a landmark work in animation history.

Sorry Eva fans, there is no secret governmental organization working to protect Tokyo-3. Instead, NERV is Cisco’s “Networked Emergency Response Vehicle.” This specialized vehicle serves as a mobile command center to aide during disaster relief.

Watch the video below and click here for more information.

While on the surface this series may seems like yet another mecha story, it really is the manifestation of Anno’s own bout with depression that delves into heavily philosophical questions around the nature of the ego. It asks what do we do to prove our own existence to ourselves versus how we gain our sense of reality through others. Shinji is challenged to choose between giving up his individuality in order to find solace through becoming one with others, or to live selflessly and accept that life has pain, and in that altruism gain a sense of individuality. The former is route of complacency and emotional stasis, while the latter will bring about inevitable personal pain, but also the potential for great joy. Shinji’s choice will literarily determine the fate of the world.

The key to the film’s ideology lies in the line: “the beginning and the end are one and the same”.

Four years later, the iconography and imagery still struck me. It continually pushes you with poignant commentary, and it reminded me why it was such a formative viewing in my development as an anime fan. The only downside to this film is that you really should watch the preceeding 26 episodes to truly appreciate this masterpiece. A third take on the series will hit DVD in Japan this April.

For the uninitiated, cels are the original drawings made on celluloid (hence the name) that were used in traditional animation in the pre-computer era. Most recently I have purchased two cels to round out my collection. “Porco Rosso” is a phenomenal film by Hayao Miyazaki, who has continued to make classics like “Spirited Away”. The second cel is from an anime that not only changed anime, but showed me the power of anime and pushed me to think about it in a whole new way. From the brilliant mind of Hideaki Anno came “Neon Genesis Evangelion”, a 26-episode series that my roommates and I watched in a single marathon sitting.

Please join me in welcoming these two new members to the fold.

Porco Rosso

Neon Genesis Evangelion