Production and publication
The OVA, consisting of two 50-minute episodes, was created in 1991 at Studio Gainax under the direction of Takeshi Mori based on a script by Hiroyuki Yamaga based on the idea of Toshio Okada . Shinji Higuchi directed the interviews . The character design was done by Ken’ichi Sonoda and the artistic director was Hitoshi Nagao . The responsible producers were Kazuhiko Inomata and Yoshimi Kanda .
The anime was released in two parts on September 27, 1991 and December 20, 1991 by Toshiba Eiba Soft in Japan. A German subtitled version was released on DVD by ACOG in 2003. AnimEigo released an English version: 1993 on VHS, 2002 on DVD and 2016 on Blu-Ray. The last publication was funded by a campaign on the Kickstarter.com platform . Dybex published a French and Dutch version and Dynit published the anime in Italy.
synchronization
| role | Japanese speaker ( seiyū ) |
|---|---|
| Kubo | Kōji Tsujitani |
| Tanaka | Toshiharu Sakurai |
| Misty May | Kikuko Inoue |
| Misuzu Fukuhara | Yūko Kobayashi |
| Yuri Sato | Yuri Amano |
music
The music of the anime was composed by Kōhei Tanaka . The opening credits are underlaid with the song Tatakae! Otaking ( 戦 え! お た キ ン グ , Tatakae! Otakingu ), sung by Kōji Tsujitani , and Otaku no Mayoimichi ( お た く の 迷 い 道 ) sung by Toshiharu Sakurai and Kikuko Inoue for the credits .
Depictions
Anno has appeared in manga twice, both created by personal acquaintances. His wife, Moyoko Anno, wrote Insufficient Direction, a chronicle of their courtship and marriage and depicting Anno’s «true face» as «the founder of the otaku cult». In 2007, a college-age version of him appeared alongside other Gainax founders Hiroyuki Yamaga, Takami Akai, and Toshio Okada in the Kazuhiko Shimamoto manga Aoi Honō. Anno attended Osaka University of Arts with Shimamoto. Aoi Honō was adapted into a live-action television drama in 2014, where Anno was played by actor Ken Yasuda. The 2014 animated series Shirobako has a walk-on appearance by a character named «Mitsuaki Kanno», a caricature of Anno.
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Original Series
The original Neon Genesis Evangelion series — which consists of 26 episodes that aired on Japanese TV in 1995 – 1996 — is set in the year 2015, fifteen years after a cataclysmic event called the “Second Impact” nearly destroyed Earth, killing billions and permanently altering the climate. After years of war, suffering, and rebuilding, humanity is faced with a new threat: strange, alien creatures called “Angels” that can only be stopped by a handful of giant robots, the titular “Evangelion.”
Overseeing the Evangelion is an organization called Nerv, which is commanded by the enigmatic Gendo Ikari. When Evangelion begins, Gendo’s estranged fourteen-year-old son Shinji has just arrived at Nerv HQ in the fortress city of Tokyo-3. Shinji thinks Gendo has brought him there for a reunion but he discovers the brutal truth when an Angel attacks: Evangelion can only be piloted by teenagers born after the Second Impact and Gendo intends to make Shinji the next Evangelion pilot.
For its first third or so, Evangelion follows a “monster of the week” format. A new Angel arrives on Earth to threaten humanity, Shinji and the rest of Nerv race to find a winning strategy, and the Angel is finally destroyed in a big climax, saving humanity once again. But Evangelion eventually abandons that format, particularly in how it starts to explore its characters psychologically.
Shinji shows signs of being a talented pilot, and he takes to it as a way to earn his father’s approval, but the constant violence and death become increasingly traumatic. That, combined with his anxiety and fear of failure and separation (due to Gendo’s distance), makes Shinji far less charismatic than the typical anime hero. In fact, all of Evangelion’s main characters are deeply flawed and broken. As Evangelion continues, it’s hard to see them as heroes even as they fight to prevent the “Third Impact,” which will destroy the planet. For example:
- Asuka Langley Soryu may be a better pilot than Shinji, but she’s reeling from her mother’s insanity and suicide. Subsequently, she hides her pain behind pride and arrogance (which is mainly directed at Shinji).
- The other pilot, Rei Ayanami, lives in squalor and is so emotionally null that she’s essentially a cypher.
- Shinji’s guardian, Misato Katsuragi, is a respected Nerv officer who struggles with survivor’s guilt (her father sacrificed himself to save her during Second Impact), relationship woes, and alcoholism.
- Gendo seems indifferent to everything, even his own son. Shinji et al. seem like little more than pawns in his own mysterious plans but there are signs that he still mourns his wife Yui, who died in an Evangelion-related accident after Shinji’s birth.
These personal crises make for grim viewing. As Susan Napier wrote in Anime: From Akira to Princess Mononoke (2001):
Evangelion is certainly action-packed, but to its credit, doesn’t glorify the violence; nor does it shy away from the personal and psychological effects of unending (and apparently, hopeless) warfare. Shinji takes the brunt of this damage, and grows, by turns, increasingly pitiful and pitiable. As if to parallel this, Evangelion itself grows more bizarre, culminating in a pair of final episodes that occur inside Shinji’s fractured mind.
It’s ultimately revealed that a mysterious group called Seele — the true force behind Nerv, the Evangelion, and many of the series’ events — has unleashed the “Human Instrumentality Project,” a secret plan to combine everyone’s souls into one entity, thus elevating humanity to a higher plane of existence free from pain and suffering. As Shinji becomes aware of this, he struggles with his anger, sense of failure, and self-loathing, comes to a place of acceptance, and is finally able to be at peace with both himself and others.This is where the original series ended. (Believe it or not, but the above a simplification of the series’ events.) But plenty more was to come; Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno wasn’t finished with his audience yet.
What is Neon Genesis Evangelion?
Neon Genesis Evangelion is set in the near-future rebuilt city of Tokyo-3, on an Earth suffering from an apocalyptic planetary disaster caused by giant, godlike creatures known as “Angels.” The show follows protagonist and Japanese teenager Shinji Ikari, who is coerced by his estranged father to put his life on the line as the pilot of a giant robot made to fend off the Angels.
NERV, the U.N.-funded paramilitary organization run by Shinji’s father Gendoh Ikari, defends the world from Angel attacks. But they’re also secretly fulfilling another aspiration unknown to the increasingly traumatized Shinji, his fellow teenage robot pilots, and his adult colleagues: the forced “ascension” of humanity and the elimination of individuality itself. In short, NERV wants to bring on the (second) apocalypse.
The series, with its subtle and not-so-subtle Judeo-Christian inspiration (it contains references to Biblical symbols like Adam, Nebuchadnezzar, and the fruit of knowledge), depicts the turmoil facing Shinji in a way viewers found enthralling, while highlighting the traumatic experience of life with an emotionally abusive parent. The show’s science fiction background and action-packed battles keep each episode engaging, even during the slower-paced moments when it plumbs the depth of each character’s mental state. Each Angel encounter, each request from Shinji’s father, each test of his own limits increasingly brings Shinji to his breaking point. All the while, secret organizations continue to manipulate Shinji and his fellow pilots to fulfill their nightmarish goal of “human ascension.”
The series debuted in 1995, during a period where the future of the Japanese animation industry looked uncertain. Evangelion became an international sensation and astounded audiences with its introspective nature, sometimes shocking imagery and a futuristic vision of deity-killing robots.
It was followed by films which reimagine the original series’ ending and expand upon its content, including 1997’s Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth, 1997’s The End of Evangelion and the Rebuild of Evangelion film series.
Additionally, Evangelion’s backstory has been added to in other forms of media, including a commercially successful manga series, video games and a series of award-winning musical scores.
What is Rebuild of Evangelion?
The four-film tetralogy, known as Rebuild of Evangelion, is a retelling of the series, one that delves deeper into the world after the original series’ finale. It functions as a film adaptation that intends to bridge the gap between old and new fans. The films were also Anno’s way to create the series as intended, without financial restraint and with proper production quality; the original series ran into noticeable budget issues toward the end of production, leading him to alter the story.
The Rebuild of Evangelion films began with 2007’s Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, which was closely followed by 2009’s Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance and 2012’s Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.
Thrice Upon a Time, which Anno says is the final film he will be involved in writing, comes almost a full decade since the last entry in the Rebuild of Evangelion series.
Acting credits
- Return of Ultraman: MAT Arrow 1 Takeoff Order (1983) as Ultraman
- Yamata no Orochi no Gyakushū (1985) as TV reporter
- Otaku no Video (1991) (A Portrait of an Otaku interview, uncredited)
- Abunai deka forever the movie (1998)
- FLCL (2000–2001) (Voice of Miyu-Miyu, uncredited)
- Frog River (2002) as Bar owner
- Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (2002) (Cameo role in Episode 12, uncredited)
- Cutie Honey (2004) as Office worker
- The Taste of Tea (2004) (Cameo, anime director)
- Koi no Mon (Otakus in Love) (2004) (Cameo)
- Funky Forest (2004) (Actor)
- Nihon Chinbotsu (2006) (Yamashiro’s Son in law)
- The Catch Man (2006), (Actor)
- Welcome to the Quiet Room (Quiet room ni yôkoso) (2007) (Doctor)
- Death Kappa (2010) (Actor)
- The Wind Rises (2013) (Voice, Jiro Horikoshi, main character)
- The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (Documentary film) (2013) (Self)
- Shin Godzilla (2016) as Passerby (uncredited)
- Last Letter (2020)
- Shin Ultraman (2022) as Ultraman (motion capture; with Bin Furuya)
Изображения
Анно появилась в манга дважды, оба созданы личными знакомыми. Его жена, Мойоко Анно, написал Недостаточное направление, хронику их ухаживаний и брака и изображающую «истинное лицо» Анно как «основателя отаку культ». В 2007 году его версия студенческого возраста появилась вместе с другими основателями Gainax. Хироюки Ямага, Таками Акаи, и Тосио Окада в Кадзухико Симамото манга Аой Хоно. Анно присутствовал Осакский университет искусств с Симамото. Аой Хоно был адаптирован в телевизионной драме с живым действием в 2014 году, где Анно играл актер Кен Ясуда. Мультсериал 2014 года Широбако имеет случайный вид персонажа по имени «Мицуаки Канно», который является очевидной карикатурой на Анно.
Filmography
Anno participated in «The World of Hideaki Anno», Tokyo International Film Festival on October 30, 2014.
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Animator | Storyboard artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Summary movie of his show «Neon Genesis Evangelion» and «The End of Evangelion» Co-directed with Masayuki & Kazuya Tsurumaki |
| The End of Evangelion | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Co-directed with Kazuya Tsurumaki Also lyrics writer «Komm,Susser Todd» |
|
| 1998 | Love & Pop | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | |
| Revival of Evangelion | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Double feature edit of the summary movie of his show «Neon Genesis Evangelion»: Death & Rebirth and his film «The End of Evangelion» Also mechanical designer |
|
| 1999 | Gamera 1999 | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Documentary film about the making of Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris Co-directed with Masayuki |
| 2000 | Shiki-Jitsu | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2004 | Cutie Honey | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2006 | Gunbuster vs. Diebuster: Aim the Top! The GATTA! Movie | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Double feature film of the shows «Diebuster» and «Gunbuster» with a musical intermission |
| 2007 | Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Co-directed with Masayuki & Kazuya Tsurumaki Also production designer |
| 2009 | Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance | Yes | Yes | Executive | Yes | Yes | |
| 2011 | Kantoku Shikkau | No | No | Yes | No | No | Documentary film |
| 2012 | Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo | Yes | Yes | Executive | Yes | Yes | Co-directed with Mahiro Maeda, Kazuya Tsurumaki & Masayuki |
| 2016 | Shin Godzilla | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Co-directed with Shinji Higuchi Also editor |
| 2021 | Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time | Yes | Yes | Executive | Yes | Yes | Co-directed with Kazuya Tsurumaki, Katsuchi Nakayama & Mahiro Maeda |
| 2022 | Shin Ultraman | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Also editor and music supervisor |
| 2023 | Shin Kamen Rider | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Post-production Also editor |
Short Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Animator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Proverb Dictionary: He Who Shots Often, Hits at Last! | Yes | Yes | Yes | Student film |
| 1980 | At the Bus Stop | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Tough Tire! SHADO Tire! | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1983 | Daicon Film’s Return of Ultraman | Yes | No | No | |
| 1995 | Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genesis 0:0 — In the Beginning | Yes | Yes | Yes | Promotional short |
| 2001 | Ryusei-Kacho | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2002 | Anime Tencho | Yes | No | Yes | |
| The Invention of Destruction in the Imaginary Machines | Yes | Yes | No | ||
| 2003 | The Girl and the Railway | Yes | Yes | No | Full Short film within his film Shiki-Jitsu |
| Evangelion-Episode 26’Live Action Cut | Yes | Yes | No | Deleted scene from his film The End of Evangelion | |
| 2013 | Peaceful Times (F02) Petit Film | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2019 | Evangelion the Movie AVANT: 0706 Version | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also executive producer and storyboard artist |
Producer only
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo | Producer |
| 2014 | The Dragon Dentist | Executive producer |
| Hill Climb Girl | ||
| Carnage | ||
| 20min Walk from Nishi-Ogikubo Station, 2 Bedrooms, Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen, 2mos Deposit, No Pets Allowed | ||
| 2015 | Yamadeloid | Producer |
| Evangelion:Another Impact Conection | Executive producer | |
| *** and Violence with Machspeed | ||
| Tsukikage no Tokio | Producer | |
| Neon Genesis: Impacts | Executive producer | |
| Cassette Girl | ||
| 2016 | Mobile Police Patlabor Reboot |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Animator | Storyboard | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-1989 | Aim for the Top! Gunbuster | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1990-1991 | Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1995-1996 | Neon Genesis Evangelion | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also mechanical designer |
| 1998-1999 | Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2002-2003 | Petite Princess Yucie | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2004 | Re: Cutie Honey | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | TV Movie |
| 2005-2006 | Sugar Sugar Rune | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
19.” That’s limited animation for you.” -Hideaki Anno
20.
21.”No, but, I can’t stand CG shadows.” -Hideaki Anno
22.” I hate them see…I guess they’re just not crisp or something.” -Hideaki Anno
23.”So, with brush shadows, when you make them fluffy, I just can’t take it. It’s just not manly. (laugh) Girlishness when trying to express aesthetics just sucks. Shadows should be crisp and definitive. “Seaweed” shadows weren’t popular in the original robot anime.” -Hideaki Anno
24.”When depicting the aesthetics of mecha, the wavy shadows.” -Hideaki Anno
25.”Yeah, well, I can stand Sakano (Ichirou)-san and the other guys with good sense using them, but with everybody else they look like nothing more than seaweed. You wouldn’t think anything but that the mecha had camouflage markings. Those aren’t shadows. When we did “Ouritsu (Uchuugun)”, it was totally counter to that. The shadows were crisp, and the highlights did nothing but give the impression of light. If cel anime targets aesthetics it’s all over. Both clothing and skin are the same except for color. Just give it up, and go for the gusto in some different area. No matter how hard you struggle, there are just some things you can’t fight your way out of. The people who created the system at the outset understood this.” -Hideaki Anno
26.”Recently I watched some “Kinchuu” (“Kingiyo Chuuihou!”). As research for “KareKano”. I thought that perhaps that was what gags and shoujo manga were. But it felt a little old.” -Hideaki Anno
27.”Yeah. Whether something’s major or not at Comiket amounts to whether or not it gets made into erotic stuff. After all, the sex industry is strong no matter what era it is. As Tsurumaki (Kaguya) said, earnestly value all things equally. Both Hiromatsu Junko and Ayanami Rei. I can’t express it in words, but I feel the same chasm within myself.” -Hideaki Anno
28.”Cel anime fans are more sterile than that.” -Hideaki Anno
29.” Does that include us, by any chance? It’s an existence where courage and familiarity seem to be draining away.” -Hideaki Anno
30.” In order to see a made-up drama, there are even people who neglect their real lives, right? That kind of person does things like become a seiyuu fan.” -Hideaki Anno
31.”For something that could connect the virtual and the real, I too turned to the seiyuu. But that was a mistake. That’s why I tried to show something different in “KareKano”. But altering the existing system is tough.” -Hideaki Anno
32.”The first time I realized that was with Noda (Hideki)’s drama. I thought, this is the real thing! Before that, within myself I felt that the only thing that gave the feeling of corporeality in the anime dimension were the seiyuu. That’s why I kept on trying to express life. But I was deluding myself.” -Hideaki Anno
33.”Miyazaki (Hayao)-san said that we’re the “first generation to value the the virtual and actual equally”, but I say “What about you?”. -Hideaki Anno
Individual evidence
- ↑
- ↑ Jonathan Clements, Helen McCarthy: The Anime Encyclopedia. Revised & Expanded Edition . Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley 2006, ISBN 978-1-933330-10-5 , pp.471 .
- ↑ OtaKing and Millionaire . In: AnimaniA 05/2003, p. 12.
- ↑ Thomas Lamarre : The Anime Machine. A Media Theory of Animation . University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis 2009, ISBN 978-0-8166-5154-2 , pp.150-152, 248 .
- Yasuhiro Takeda : The Memoirs Notenki — Studio Gainax and the Man who created Evangelion . ADV Manga, 2005 (English). P. 174.
- ↑ Lawrence Eng : The Fans who became Kings — Gainax and the Otaku Culture in: Deutsches Filminstitut — DIF / German Filmmuseum & Museum of Applied Arts (ed.): Ga-netchû! Das Manga Anime Syndrom , pp. 88f, 92. Henschel Verlag, 2008.
51 Best Hideaki Anno Quotes So Far
1.”To live is to change.” -Hideaki Anno
2.
3.”You can’t run away.” -Hideaki Anno
4.”It’s just an imitation.” -Hideaki Anno
5.”You’re an idiot. Study harder.” -Hideaki Anno
6.”Yes. Nowadays, most anime is originally from manga or video games. That’s because sponsors, creators and audiences don’t really feel the need of anime. I think that as long as the manga they like are in the cell and they can hear the voices of their favorite voice actors, that’s all that matters. Anime itself is already just a secondary thing. I feel that it has already lost its power as a core piece of media. I’m disappointed in this situation.” -Hideaki Anno
7.”It’s a product of despair, though.” -Hideaki Anno
8.” I guess you’d like to see where it goes.” -Hideaki Anno
9.”It’s more of a disappointment than a despair. It’s abandonment.” -Hideaki Anno
10.”Evangelion is my life and I have put everything I know into this work. This is my entire life. My life itself.” -Hideaki Anno
11.”Evangelion is like a puzzle, you know. Any person can see it and give his/her own answer. In other words, we’re offering viewers to think by themselves, so that each person can imagine his/her own world. We will never offer the answers, even in the theatrical version. As for many Evangelion viewers, they may expect us to provide the ‘all-about Eva’ manuals, but there is no such thing. Don’t expect to get answers by someone. Don’t expect to be catered to all the time. We all have to find our own answers.” -Hideaki Anno
12.”No, not really. I haven’t decided, or should I say, it hasn’t come to me yet.” -Hideaki Anno
13.”Somehow, nothing but an inkling came to me. There was no epoch-making “That’s It!” Although, I _am_ thinking of stopping being limited by the bounds of time and space. (brief silence) Let’s see…methodology… For “KareKano”, if I try to do interesting things with a methodology that doesn’t depend on the number of cels, it’ll turn out just like “EVA”. I’m tired of reusing cuts and depicting using freeze-frame rhythm. That was how I did “EVA”. It’s what I did since the “Top (wo Nerai!)” days. But, not counting on the number of frames, the methodology that shows things most effectively is exactly that. It’s not a new methodology at all. To put it bluntly, settling into creatorhood may let you stay alive in life, but I just can’t stand the thought.” -Hideaki Anno
14.”Yeah, can’t stand it. Maybe it’s okay for people over 50 to get set in their ways as creators, but I intend to fight it as much as possible. Or so I say, and yet no matter how much I speak of seeking a new methodology, I can’t leave the original work to people walking on the street. What I’m talking about is the influential work known as “Macross”. In those days Yamaga (Hiroyuki), me, Sadamoto (Yoshiyuki), and Maeda (Mahiro) all began to get involved with anime because of our student part-time jobs. I could say that was how huge the talent of director Ishiguro (Noboru), who used that kind of unknown youngsters, was; the result of sensibilities drawn from deep within. Creators in those days had substance.” -Hideaki Anno
15.”The reason the game business prospered and grew so fast is because it was a venture. But games have finally tanked too. It happened pretty fast, didn’t it? Our generation is naturally a shallow one, and there’s noone who’s trying to overturn things. There isn’t anyone trying to make “me-anime” now, is there?” -Hideaki Anno
16.”The first time I saw “Virtua Fighter”, I thought, is this what anime is up against? It was quite a shock. That’s when I realized I’d have to level up somewhere other than the visuals, I guess right before I did “EVA”. Visual impact is anime’s strong point, but since games had followed on anime’s heels, it had become a time when a methodology no different from the others just wouldn’t cut it. All the cards had already been dealt, so we had no choice but to change the combination, or turn over cards that were thought to be taboo. That’s what I mean when I say that “EVA” didn’t use even a single new methodology.” -Hideaki Anno
17.”Yeah. They can’t seem to overturn it.” -Hideaki Anno
18.”Oshii (Mamoru)-san says “Now that the pioneers of anime have died, it will die with them.” He says the history of anime ended long ago.” -Hideaki Anno
Последние работы
После завершения «Евангелиона» Анно режиссировал большую часть аниме-сериала «His and Her Circumstances» — первой работы Gainax, являющейся прямой экранизацией, пока спонсор сериала и мангака не решили уволить Анно, оставив сериал его заместителю, Кадзуе Цурумаки. После этого Анно опять занялся работой на Хаяо Миядзаки и студию «Ghibli», сняв несколько коротких анимационных фильмов, демонстрируемых в Музее «Ghibli».
Анно также занимался режиссированием игровых полнометражных кинофильмов, сняв в 1998 «Love & Pop», экранизацию романа Рю Мураками «Топаз 2» об эндзё-косай — «оплачиваемых свиданиях» — популярном среди японской молодёжи виде проституции. Вторым игровым фильмом Хидэаки стал «Shiki-Jitsu» («Ритуал», 2000), история аниме-режиссёра, влюбившегося в девушку, страдающую потерей связи с реальностью. Фильм был создан на студии Studio Kajino (дочерняя компания Studio Ghibli) по мотивам романа Аяко Фудзитани «Сон девушки, бегущей от реальности» («Touhimu»). В главных ролях снялись известный японский режиссёр Ивай Сюндзи и сама автор исходного романа — Аяко Фудзитани, дочь американского актёра Стивена Сигала. В исходном романе главный герой не был режиссёром, его профессию поменял сам Анно, и сложившийся в результате образ героя позволяет некоторым критикам считать его отражением Хидэаки Анно.
Третьим игровым фильмом Анно стала выпущенная весной 2004 года экранизация манги «Cutie Honey». Этот фильм, представляя собой несерьёзную картину о фантастической супергероине, сильно контрастирует с его предыдущими, более реалистичными работами в игровом кино. Позже в 2004 году, Анно руководил (не в качестве режиссёра) выпуском трёхсерийного OVA-аниме «Re: Cutie Honey». Режиссёрами трёх серий являются Хироюки Имаиси (первая серия), Такамити Ито (вторая) и Масаюки (третья).
Хидэаки Анно выступил в качестве актёра в фильмах Кацухито Исии «Cha no aji» («Вкус чая», 2004) и «Naisu no mori: The First Contact» («Испуганный лес: Первый контакт», 2006). Во «Вкусе чая» он сыграл Касугабэ — режиссёра аниме, в «Первом контакте» он также сыграл режиссёра аниме, но уже в роли самого себя.
Хидэаки Анно озвучил главного героя в полнометражном аниме-фильме «Ветер крепчает» режиссёра Хаяо Миядзаки.
В 2016 году выходит режиссируемый Хидэаки «Годзилла: Возрождение» — очередной фильм о Годзилле.
Awards and honours
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The 18th Nihon SF Taisho Award | Neon Genesis Evangelion | Won | |
| 1999 | The 20th Yokohama Film Festival | Best New Director | Love & Pop | Won |
| 2008 | The 6th Tokyo Anime Award | Animation of the Year | Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone | Won |
| Best director | Won | |||
| 2016 | The 41st Hochi Film Award | Best Director | Shin Godzilla | Nominated |
| 2017 | The 71st Mainichi Film Awards | Best Director | Nominated | |
| Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
| The 90th Kinema Junpo Awards | Best Screenplay | Won | ||
| The 38th Yokohama Film Festival | Special Grand Prize | Won | ||
| The 40th Japan Academy Prize | Director of the Year | Won | ||
| The 26th Tokyo Sports Film Award | Best Director | Won |
| Year | Honor | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Medal with Purple Ribbon |
Background and interpretation
The story is based on the origins of the Gainax studio itself, which was founded by fans in the 1980s as a company that produced merchandising and later films. In addition, allusions to well-known animes of the time appear again and again in the course of the plot, mostly in the form of cosplay of the characters or merchandise items. Most of those involved in the anime were still founding members, according to Toshio Okada. According to Thomas Lamarre , Okada represented himself in the character of Tanaka — and for a time referred to himself as «otaking». In addition to the idealized history of the studio, the plot also showed the ideas that the staff, and especially Okada, connected with the otaku culture, and were a reaction to the criticism of otaku that emerged in Japan in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their background was in particular the serial murders of Tsutomu Miyazaki , who murdered girls and was also a fan of girl manga. Lamarre suspects that Gainax’s strategy against criticism was to portray the otaku in the story and the interviews in Otaku no Video as cranky and infatuated with their hobby, but at the same time as unrealistic, harmless and yet lovable.
Lamarre compares the visual style with those of the films that the Gainax team had produced for the Daicon fairs at the beginning of their career: the anime is rich in allusions and generally has a high density of information, which is divided into several levels of images and content. As the two major narrative levels, he makes up the epic narrative of the rise of the otaku company on the one hand and the otaku interviews on the other, each of which portrays a single person. In this regard, the structure of the plot is similar to the series Hideaki Annos , the most famous director of the Gainax studio. Its The Power of the Magic Stone and Neon Genesis Evangelion also emerged during this time, also took up and attacked developments in the otaku scene and alternated in their plot between an epic narrative and character portraits.