Aug 11, 2020

Anime that Changed Me: Sawako Kabuki on Neon Genesis Evangelion

We are pleased to welcome director Sawako Kabuki from Tokyo for the second edition of "The Animation That Changed Me. Kabuki's award-winning short films depict vomiting, masturbation, and other bodily functions with unbridled, kinetic energy. Her work has been recognized at Annecy, SXSW, and Zagreb, and she has directed an ident for Adult Swim. She chose Hideaki Anno's groundbreaking anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, about a teenager piloting a giant cyborg in a future conflict. Kabuki:

I think I was 12 or 14 years old when I first saw "Neon Genesis Evangelion. So I was sympathetic to the anxious feelings unique to adolescence. My older brother had recorded the entire series on VHS tape, so I borrowed it and watched it at home. I had heard of the series, but knew nothing about it except that it was a mecha anime.

After watching the tape, I felt the same way I did after going to Disneyland when I was little. I felt excited, sad, and mixed feelings. [But it became the anime series that I was most hooked on as a teenager. It focuses not only on the battle scenes, but also on the real life of the characters during their adolescent years - emotions that we have all experienced. That is one of the reasons why I like this work so much.

The quality of the drawings differs from episode to episode, which is super anomalous, but I think that's part of the charm of this series. I was not influenced by the technique or the style of the artwork, but I was influenced by the way it depicts a slice of everyday life and captures the sadness of the gloomy emotions characteristic of adolescence. Perhaps this is why a kind of sadness, sentimentality, and "everyday life" are consistent themes in my work.

I liked to memorize lines from this series. As part of this, I imitated an out-of-control Eva in a middle school hallway, and some of the boys complained that it was too loud and annoying. I just wanted to be part of the story, but at the time I really wanted to ride Eva. I have a kind of longing for things that have gotten out of control. It's animalistic and erotic.

Most of my close friends loved the series and we would act out great scenes together. A few friends did (R-rated) fanfiction comics and illustrations, but I wasn't as interested.

I never argued with anyone who worked on this series, but I don't want to experience that because it would be very awkward. I feel like I would have a stroke if I actually came face to face with someone I've admired for years (or who created a work I admire).

I haven't rewatched the TV series that much as an adult, but I always check out the new movies (of the franchise). I'm now about the same age as Misato Katsuragi, Nerf's head of operations, but I still watch it from the perspective of the Eva pilot's character. So I guess I'm still an adolescent and a rebel.

"Neon Genesis Evangelion" is available on Netflix.