Creators knew about movie from the start

[kaos]

I've heard a lot about how the creators made "End of Evangelion" in response to fan outcry over the ending of the series. But according to an interview (http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/features/archive/news/2006/05/20060506p2g00m0fe031000c.html) with Toshimichi Otsuki who was a producer, the movie was being made while the series was first airing:

We had been working on the movie version while the TV series while still running for the first time, but I knew by the end of 1996 that we weren't going to make the deadline, so I made the decision to create two movies.
So this seems to imply that the movies weren't a response to fan outcry, but were something that was intended from the beginning (or at least before the end) of the series.

I'm still confused over stuff I've heard in other forums about the Evangelion crew not having the funds to finish the series (so where did they get the cash for the movie?). I'm sure there's other inconsistencies this brings up as well... but anyway... discuss...

[Defiled one]

ITs conspiracy no one really knows what happened.....when the "incident happened" no one remembered it...It was like You remember the day before it, and the day after it, but not the actual day of it....Only the Gainax dudes knows what really happened in the day of it...No am not making mindless blabering...you see the movies were already schedualed like you said.... but after the 18 or 19 episode their money was being cut..since they used on the other episodes, the pressure...and the deadlines forved them to make 25 and 26...but yeah...the movie idea was already pictured 25 and 26 has some proves, of "it"

THe movie was inevitable....the third impact was intended and it happened...in the movie.

[Reichu]

I've heard a lot about how the creators made "End of Evangelion" in response to fan outcry over the ending of the series. ... So this seems to imply that the movies weren't a response to fan outcry, but were something that was intended from the beginning (or at least before the end) of the series.
Wisdom long-propagated by the veterans, but thanks for the citation. That will come in handy. :D

I'm still confused over stuff I've heard in other forums about the Evangelion crew not having the funds to finish the series (so where did they get the cash for the movie?).
The movies would be a separately funded project, you know? After seeing how the show was received, and its supreme commercial exploitability, it doesn't seem too farfetched that the parties with the dough would throw yen at Gainax once more. (And somewhat more avidly this time.)

[kaos]

The movies would be a separately funded project, you know? After seeing how the show was received, and its supreme commercial exploitability, it doesn't seem too farfetched that the parties with the dough would throw yen at Gainax once more. (And somewhat more avidly this time.)
Right... Of course... For some reason the logic in my head was saying that if the show was still airing then that would mean they hadn't finished making it yet... but, duh, obviously that doesn't make sense... danm my head's logic.

[Mr. sickVisionz]

Wasn't Eva based on a manga? I've always been curious as to how the manga ended. But maybe its the case that they made the manga based off the show.

[Z Metalla]

Wasn't Eva based on a manga? I've always been curious as to how the manga ended. But maybe its the case that they made the manga based off the show.

*snrk* *snrk* BWAHAHAHA! :lol: Nope. The anime came first, the manga was made based on it. Ahahaha. Oh man... Manga came first... :lol:

[Magami No ER]

^Was published first, iirc. But it wasn't MADE first. It's not Anno's vision, it's Sadamoto's version.
2^Also, the manga hasn't ended.

[HeWhoPostsStuff]

*snrk* *snrk* BWAHAHAHA! :lol: Nope. The anime came first, the manga was made based on it. Ahahaha. Oh man... Manga came first... :lol:
To be fair, in most cases wherein a title/series has both an anime and a manga the manga tends to come first, and the anime is based on that (to the best of my knowledge anyways). Eva's something of an exception in that regard, so I'm not surprised that someone might assume that was the case without prior knowledge.

[Jabberwok]

Manga came first and such.
Am I mistaken or isn't this how a lot of animes are done, wherein a manga book or two is thrown together and then pitched to an animation studio and then later to sponsors/stations and all that?

Maybe a little off topic, but just curious.

[Defiled one]

^ evangelion is the oposite....first the anime, then the manga....That is one of things of evangelion...the creepy things..

[Gasaraki]

Am I mistaken or isn't this how a lot of animes are done, wherein a manga book or two is thrown together and then pitched to an animation studio and then later to sponsors/stations and all that?

Maybe a little off topic, but just curious.
No, what tends(not always of course) to happen is an already succesful manga series will be made in to an anime, or an original anime that gets a manga to go along with it. In alot of cases it's the former that happens. I don't think a manga is used as a pitch to become an anime they way you're saying it, it's just if the manga is a very successful one it tends to have good chances of being animated.

[Vaikyuko]

EVA (both manga and anime) was based on an original story, which is the official canon. Neither one "came first", because the original story came first and they were based off that when it was pitched at Gainax. Anyways.

On the note of the films being planned before the series ended (or rather, them being the final episodes instead of EoTV), if you watch the last two episodes, at certain points you can see some of the production sketches and such (harpies, for example) that made it in. *cues Reichu with her billions of screencaps*

[Sharp-kun]

So this seems to imply that the movies weren't a response to fan outcry, but were something that was intended from the beginning (or at least before the end) of the series.
This is stated in the program books. The Eva movies (25' at least) were based off the original scripts for the ending. The TV endings weren't so much.

[kaos]

This is stated in the program books. The Eva movies (25' at least) were based off the original scripts for the ending. The TV endings weren't so much.
Well, yeah. Even so, regardless of where the scripts came from, the important thing I was trying to say is that the creation of the movies themselves resulted from the show's popularity early on, not from pressure from the fans to create a more satisfying ending. In other words, the development may have gone something like this:

1.) Gainax pitches/creates first 24 (or so) episodes --> sponsors are cool with it.
2.) Gainax pitches original storyline for 25 and 26 --> sponsors freak out, pull funds
3.) Gainax creates alternate 25/26 with limited funds
4.) Series airs episodes 1 - ~24 --> The viewers rejoices --> Sponsors greenlight movie hoping to cash in on show's popularity --> movie starts production using original scripts for 25/26
5.) Series airs episodes 25/26 --> The viewers freak out --> Gainax says "chill, we got a movie (or two)"
6.) Movie runs --> Viewers and (probably) sponsors freak out --> Gainax chuckles.

[Reichu]

[COLOR=Red]EVA (both manga and anime) was based on an original story, which is the official canon. Neither one "came first", because the original story came first and they were based off that when it was pitched at Gainax.
Are you talking about the Proposal that Anno-tachi pitched around with the hopes of securing sponsors? Its scenario is QUITE different from the anime/manga one. It's safe to say that the manga is Sadamoto's take on the *anime*, not his spin on Ye Olde Proposal, although he makes the occasional nod to the latter. The anime is the "original story".

[Hekym]

Well, yeah. Even so, regardless of where the scripts came from, the important thing I was trying to say is that the creation of the movies themselves resulted from the show's popularity early on, not from pressure from the fans to create a more satisfying ending. In other words, the development may have gone something like this:

1.) Gainax pitches/creates first 24 (or so) episodes --> sponsors are cool with it.
2.) Gainax pitches original storyline for 25 and 26 --> sponsors freak out, pull funds
3.) Gainax creates alternate 25/26 with limited funds
4.) Series airs episodes 1 - ~24 --> The viewers rejoices --> Sponsors greenlight movie hoping to cash in on show's popularity --> movie starts production using original scripts for 25/26
5.) Series airs episodes 25/26 --> The viewers freak out --> Gainax says "chill, we got a movie (or two)"
6.) Movie runs --> Viewers and (probably) sponsors freak out --> Gainax chuckles.

They just ran out of money. Yes, you can tell that they had EoE in mind all along- for example, take the ghost appearance of Rei in the first episode and the possible ghost appearance of Rei in the "last" episode (24). That is a signature of EoE. Anno took the limited opportunity he had in 25/26 to introduce Intrumentality, part of his overall thesis.

In my humble opinion, I think that there was a widespread misunderstanding of EoE- hence the outcry. Some of the characters were badly represented in the dub- Shinji, Ritsuko, Misato, Gendo, Maya, etc- and it threw off the mood of the movie completely. The English version is a lot more chaotic that the original japanese. For example, in the English version, Shinji seems just like a normal kid whose mind gets ripped apart for no good reason. In the Japanese, we can see that Shinji is inherently weak. Character motivations and emotions are also much much harder to trace in English.

[Reichu]

<insert generic Sub vs. Dub battle>

"This is a battle that cannot be won. Why? Both ways suck. Study harder. Learn Japanese."

[Magami No ER]

^When it comes Eavngelion, I must concur.

[Hekym]

<insert generic Sub vs. Dub battle>

"This is a battle that cannot be won. Why? Both ways suck. Study harder. Learn Japanese."


Yup. *inserts generic hackles at dub*.

But seriously, Literal interpretation...[delete]... nevermind. Let's not do this. I think I have decreased resistance to literal translations because I took 5 years of Latin. At least there's less re-creation of the characters.

[Vaikyuko]

Are you talking about the Proposal that Anno-tachi pitched around with the hopes of securing sponsors? Its scenario is QUITE different from the anime/manga one. It's safe to say that the manga is Sadamoto's take on the *anime*, not his spin on Ye Olde Proposal, although he makes the occasional nod to the latter. The anime is the "original story".

I recall a discussion that, AFAIK, Shinseiki started, about the original canon. Not much ever came of it, though.

[Reichu]

I recall a discussion that, AFAIK, Shinseiki started, about the original canon. Not much ever came of it, though.
So... I'm correct, yes? :P

[Reichu]

Actually, looking at the full article (always a good idea...):

Without doubt, the hardest thing was when we couldn't make the opening deadline for the movie back in 1997.

We couldn't release a complete work and were forced to bring out a movie in both the spring and again in the summer.

We had been working on the movie version while the TV series while still running for the first time, but I knew by the end of 1996 that we weren't going to make the deadline, so I made the decision to create two movies.
The part "We had been working on the movie version while the TV series while still running for the first time" is rather confusing, since the context indicates that Ohtsuki's not talking about the original EoTV (--> EoE) being dumped for final EoTV due to time constraints. He's talking about how originally only one NGE movie was supposed to exist, but they couldn't make the deadline, resulting in the initial release of a slight distraction called "Death & Rebirth" to hold fans off until the "Rebirth" part could actually be finished.

[kaos]

Actually, looking at the full article (always a good idea...):


The part "We had been working on the movie version while the TV series while still running for the first time" is rather confusing, since the context indicates that Ohtsuki's not talking about the original EoTV (--> EoE) being dumped for final EoTV due to time constraints. He's talking about how originally only one NGE movie was supposed to exist, but they couldn't make the deadline, resulting in the initial release of a slight distraction called "Death & Rebirth" to hold fans off until the "Rebirth" part could actually be finished.You know, I knew that they were referring to the movie's deadline when I posted it and I never even thought that it would be construed as referring the TV show's deadline. But taking it out of context like I did, I can see how "the deadline" is kind of ambiguous.

Still though, I don't think this changes the fact that they were working on them movie while the TV series was still running. (I'm not sure if you were implying otherwise.)

[Reichu]

I suppose I was making myself confused in various ways. ^_^;

But "while the TV series was still running for the first time" -- how would this eliminate the popular theory that EoE was made in response to fan outcry over EoTV?

[kaos]

But "while the TV series was still running for the first time" -- how would this eliminate the popular theory that EoE was made in response to fan outcry over EoTV?Is this a trick question or am I missing something? I suppose there's a possibility that they started working on the movie during the week between episodes 25 & 26 but otherwise the quote would seem to imply this progression:

1-A.) NGE Episodes 1 through ~24 televised
1-B.) Start working on the movie.

2.) NGE Episodes 25 & 26.

3.) Fan outcry.

Yes? No?

[Reichu]

"Running for the first time" could possibly refer to the duration of NGE's initial stay on whatever channel during whatever time slot, including the re-runs, until it was booted for something else. I REALLY don't think Ohtsuki is referring to the specific time during which the TV episodes were being produced and broadcast; the context, and common sense, are against it.

I.e., they launched into movie production after the TV series was completed, but while the show was still being played on TV, and Ohtsuki's not talking about EoE's origins as the original EoTV at all.

[kaos]

Uh.. okay.