Postmodernist elements in Neon Genesis Evangelion

In class we saw an overview of postmodernism and some of its characteristics, evidenced in the two graphic novels we were required to read. So as not to repeat the same information from other posts, I thought it would be interesting to take the elements usually associated with postmodernism and use them to analyze a very popular anime/manga, Neon Genesis Evangelion.

As seen in class, postmodernism is very skeptical of models, categories, and any claim valid for a group instead of each person’s relative truth.  Reality is questioned, reality is nothing.  The reality we know is only our own interpretation of the world. In modernity there is a search for meaning even where there is none. There is a search for truth. However, in postmodernism there seems to be a lack of optimism of there being a truth that answers all questions. This was brought on by the devastation of two world wars. Post modernity is full of questions, which is why postmodern works tend not to conclude with a neatly tied-up ending.

Postmodern elements can be found in Neon Genesis Evangelion.  According to Anno Hideki, the creator, evangelion takes place along the following schemata:

The year: 2015

A world where, fifteen years before, over half the human population perished.

A world that has been miraculously revived: its economy, the production, circulation, consumption of material goods, so that even the shelves of convenience stores are filled.

A world where the people have gotten [sic] used to the resurrection - yet still feel the end of the world is destined to come.

A world where the number of children, the future leaders of the world, is few.

A world where Japan saw the original Tokyo destroyed, discarded and forgotten, and built a new capital in Nagano Prefecture. They constructed a new capital, Tokyo-2, then left it to be a decoy - then constructed another new capital, Tokyo-3, and tried to make it safe from attack.

A world where some completely unknown enemy called the 'Angels' comes to ravage the cities.

This is roughly the worldview for Neon Genesis Evangelion.

This is a worldview drenched in a vision of pessimism.

A worldview where the story starts only after any traces of optimism have been removed.

And in that world, a 14-year-old boy shrinks from human contact.

And he tries to live in a closed world where his behavior dooms him, and he has abandoned the attempt to understand himself.

A cowardly young man who feels that his father has abandoned him, and so he has convinced himself that he is a completely unnecessary person, so much so that he cannot even commit suicide. (Anno Hideaki, reprinted in Evangelion Manga accessed 27 January, 2002, originally from (July 17 1995) Viz Comics.)

The series itself is an example of pastiche since it combines multiple genres. Ask anyone who has watched the show and they would say that it is not just your run of the mill mecha (robot) type show. Although the anime starts out with futurist fantasy and mecha elements, the central narrative and characters are later devolved and deconstructed.  There are a number of allusions to biological , military, religious, and psychological concepts. There are also references to older anime series. Intertextuality can also be highly evidenced in this series. However, I will not delve into the topic as it would take up too much space. 

More than the battle with the angels, Neon Genesis Evangelion is about the battle in ones own thoughts. In the last episodes of Evangelion reality and individuality are questioned.  For example:

“Is this the world where everything is set?” Shinji (main character)  asks his projection of Misato (another character).

“No,” she replies, “This is the world where you are the setting.”

Another example is the following conversation that the main character has with himself:

"Where am I?

What the hell am I?

[speaking to himself] So, you need the barrier of the mind.

What? It's me. The shape that I show to others. The symbol representing me. This, and this, and this, all these are representations of me. Nothing but the things that make others recognise me.

What am I? Is this me? The true me? The false me?"

Finally, Neon Genesis Evangelion ended without answering all the questions that had surfaced throughout the series. There is no neatly tied up ending. Many who viewed the series even reacted negatively towards the ending as it was too confusing and resolved nothing. We are too used to having everything answered for us. If watched carefully, the series actually did have some answers for us, but not the answers of the entire story as a whole. As stated above, there are a number of elements that can be analyzed from Evangelion. This was just a brief overview. I highly recommend watching the series and gathering your own interpretation of the story and how postmodern elements are interwoven into the anime.