～Monthly Newtype April '95 Interview ～
Anno started production on Eva
When we visited GAINAX in late January.
The new TV anime "Neon Genesis Evangelion" had already reached the final phase for the first and second episodes.
At the beginning of this interview,
Anno Hideaki said, Don't you think robot animation is outdated?
This is a stimulating statement.
Robot anime is certainly not a fresh genre with more than 20 years of history.
But if he thinks so, why does he participate in the planning and directing of a robot anime?
Anno: One of the reasons I thought it would be nice to do a robot anime on TV that a toy company wouldn't sponsor.
He said he wouldn't have done this anime if he had a sponsor who had interfered in the mechanic design, etc.
He also says, Robot anime is stuck in a pattern, so I wanted to break that pattern.
This is a completely different stance from the usual robot animation made through tie-ups with toy companies, which is the norm.
It wasn't an ambitious project that he started out with, but once he started working on it, it turned out to be a very "hard and heavy" robot animation.
By the way, he had the following in mind while working on this film.
Anno: For example, I wonder if people who are over 20 years old and like robot and bishojo(*1) anime are really happy. If they never knew that there is a greater happiness, they might be happy for the rest of their lives. But I've begun to question that kind of happiness.
*1) Bishōjo is a Japanese term for a beautiful young girl, usually below young adult age.
For anime fans who like robots and bishojo, this story may be startled.
The main character Shinji Ikari is never portrayed as an otaku, but he is considered to be passive and not socialised.
Anno: While making this anime, I want to think about what happiness means to such a person.
Of course, that should be told as a drama in the anime. Well, It's exciting, isn't it? He also told me this story:
Anno: I haven't finished it yet, but I think the first two episodes are going to be a true reflection of my recent 'mood'. When I realized that, I thought, 'Oh, that's good.
That must mean that his inner self and the anime he is making is very close to each other. It's also interesting.
Anno: I think it's going to be a more cult anime than Nadia, because I don't think there's ever going to be an anime that has that kind of 'feel' to it.
I wonder what that "mood" is. I'm sure that anime fans will be able to experience something they've never seen before with "Evangelion". I have a feeling that they will.
<Original JP site: http://anime-room.jp/modules/evangelion/eva-doc/siryou2.htm#top>