The creators who were active on the front line of Neon Genesis Evangelion are still bringing us new works on the animation production site to this day. For example, Seiji Mizushima, the director of the all-CG theatrical version of "ExpelledfromParadise-". For example, the director of "Little Witch Academy", Ji Chengyao. For example, the director of "Tian Yuan Breaks Through the Eye of the Red Lotus" and "Cutting the Girl", Yoyuki Imaishi. What did they feel and learn at EVA 20 years ago? And how do these experiences work out into today's work? Recently, in an interview, they confided in their roots of "inheriting the soul of EVA".

[Tong guò "EVA", these 3 people are still walking on the road of animation to this day]

Neon Genesis Evangelion, which began broadcasting in 1995, has gained incredible popularity. Now the work is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary, but there is no fading in terms of zài feeling. Even elementary and junior high school students who were not born at the time of the broadcast of the work will naturally know about "EVA".

So why is "EVA" so popular? Faced with this question, there may be a myriad of answers. For example, the newly designed "machine qì people" and the classical style "face the unknown enemy" are used, and the characters are full of personality, and the lines can fully express their characteristics. And the work breaks through the category of machine qì animation, and the plot goes to the depths of everyone's heart. When we think about what is attractive animation, we can see that there are various elements in "EVA" that evoke an impression of the work. Therefore, no matter how many times you have seen it, it will never be annoying and will never fade.

It's just that "EVA's" powerful sense of existence is not just about its "fun".

A popular work can have an impact on the people it touches, impact fans, and even change the course of anime history. It's not just as simple as being "fun", "popular", and "selling well". Such works can make an impact on all sides and open up a path that is intimately connected to the present. In this respect, "EVA" is also an unforgettable work.

The three directors who appeared in the article this time were all involved in the production of the work as the producers of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" when they were still young. What did they see and think of in the studio, called "GroundZero"? And for them today, what kind of impact do these experiences have on today's animation? They had a wonderful time in the cradle of "EVA". Here, we asked 3 people about their different "EVA" experiences.

Of course, in addition to these 3 people, everyone else must have their own "EVA" experience, right? And on the question of what exactly "EVA" is, they should also come up with their own answers. And thinking about such a question will also give us a hint of what the "future of animation" really is.

The three directors who appeared in the article this time were all involved in the production of the work as the producers of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" when they were still young. What did they see and think of in the studio, called "GroundZero"? And for them today, what kind of impact do these experiences have on today's animation? They had a wonderful time in the cradle of "EVA". Here, we asked 3 people about their different "EVA" experiences.

Of course, in addition to these 3 people, everyone else must have their own "EVA" experience, right? And on the question of what exactly "EVA" is, they should also come up with their own answers. And thinking about such a question will also give us a hint of what the "future of animation" really is.

[Revealed the director's mode for me]

Seiji Mizushima

I challenged the ninth episode as a young staff member

Seiji Mizushima's career in the animation industry began as a camera crew. At that time, GAINAX was working on the theatrical version of "Wang Li's Space Army", and he joined the production of the work as a member of the photography company......

"It's a work that requires repeated overlays of film, and it's very difficult. At that time, most of the people around me were complaining that "this is a headache company that doesn't understand the rules of the industry", but from my standpoint, I also have this attitude. After that, I gave up my photography job and thought about moving to another job. At this time, a friend who is an animator asked me to watch "Leap to the Top". This work is very interesting, and it makes me sigh: how can someone make such an interesting work. When I looked at the name of the company, I realized that it was GAINAX (laughs). ”

After that, Seiji Mizushima made a career in the industry, and worked as a performance assistant at Fantasy Studio, as well as performing for Katsuhiko Nishijima's works.

"Mr. Nishijima and Mr. Anno used to be partners in Graviton's studio, so I also met with Mr. Anno because of this relationship. And because of this relationship, he put forward the request that he want me to participate in the production of "Neon Genesis Evangelion". At the time, I wondered if I was called to be a performance assistant, but instead I became a member of the 9th episode of "Hearts Overlap in an Instant". ”

The ninth episode is a storyboard by Shinji Higuchi and the drawing director by Shinya Hasegawa. "They asked me if I was going to be in charge of episode seven or nine. I thought Mr. Higuchi's storyboard was easier to handle, so I remember answering it directly at the time. The first draft of Mr. Higuchi's storyboard was very long, reaching 500 shots. At that time, there were also shots of the first and second planes trying to fight together and entwining the space life pipelines to attack, which seemed to be quite a sketch. Since I knew Hasegawa-kun and I, we discussed, 'Then let's take the lead and bring the young people to make zuò'. Then the two of us went to find animators who knew each other, such as Mr. Yutaka Nakamura, Mr. Keisuke Watanabe, and Mr. Fumitomo Kisaki. ”

Although the process of making zuò is very fun, the pressure also coexists.

"In GAINAX, in order to create interesting works, people have to go beyond their responsibilities and discuss various things with each other. This is a matter of course in the company. So if we do something vague, it will be pointed out right away. And there are young people who are even better than me. I wanted to work in a calm way, but every time I walked from the station to the studio, I realized the pressure. ”

Thus, the ninth episode of the system is completed.

"After watching it, I felt that the characters were different from other episodes (laughs). However, this also reflects the characteristics of the young people's system. Anyway, Mr. Anno said 'good' after watching the video, so I think I can be considered to have contributed to GAINAX. ”

The experience at that time was also decisive for director Mizushima.

"In my production site, there is always a relationship of 'xia keshang', as long as it is to make the work interesting, then everyone can give opinions, and it has nothing to do with seniority. And the reason why I did this was undoubtedly influenced by GAINAX at that time. Also, among the people I've worked with so far, there is no one who has been able to show me more than Mr. Anno what it is to be a director. At that time, I was able to see firsthand how I treated Mr. Anno's works and how I judged them as a director, and that was a positive impetus for me to become a director in the future. The reason why I was able to direct "Biochemical Body", "Earth Defense Enterprise", and "Psychic King" was also because I applied what I learned at that time. In this sense, I once again sighed that being able to join Neon Genesis Evangelion in the early days was a major turning point in my life. ”

[This is a work that is difficult to summarize uniformly]

Ji Chengyao

The original painting of Yu Honda reveals the "right answer" for us

"The reason why I came to GAINAX at that time was because they were recruiting young staff to produce the theatrical version of "Aono your". However, in the end, at a certain stage of production, "Your" was frozen. In addition, there are some projects that have not been realized, so even though I am drawing for Neon Genesis Evangelion, I am worried about whether the work will be broadcast. ”

As the original artist, Ji Cheng was mainly responsible for the painting of the action scenes.

"When it comes to machine animation at the time, people tend to focus on the Gundam series and the Brave series. However, EVA is different from the people who had it at the time. Either way, it needs to be explored initially, and EVA is even more special. How do you explain EVA and how to draw it? It's hard in this regard. I guess it was only after looking at the EVA drawn by Mr. Honda that I finally understood the 'correct answer'. Not only EVA, but Mr. Honda also showed a strong sense of existence in terms of roles. ”

When asked how Ji Cheng thought of EVA, he said: There are some impressive plots in his heart.

"I'm in charge of the battle plot of the second episode. Even though it was already in the layout stage, I changed the storyboard in the middle of it. Now that I think about it, the EVA depicted in the original storyboard seemed too heroic. But for Mr. Anno, it should be made more of a scourge. For this reason, I have always had a sense of disobedience and confusion. So I decided to start all over again. ”

And Yoshiseong was also responsible for some of the shots in the final episode. This is the original picture of the scene after the impact.

"I don't even remember what was discussed. Speaking of which, we didn't mean to tell anything, but we just felt that it was 'in the style of real animation'. So from the perspective of real animation, I think what we made is still very ordinary. Maybe it would be better to use a more rude form to express the chaos of the scene. ”

So, for Yoshisei, what does the production site of "EVA" look like?

"'EVA' is a work that doesn't make a big splash. From the point of view of the balance of works such as cost performance, the performance should be like this. Since there were many difficulties in balancing the works such as "Leap to the Peak" and "The Mystery of the Sapphire", 'EVA' paid special attention to this aspect. However, I think the OVA chaos state in the 80s was very interesting, and I also chose to become an animator under such circumstances, so I felt very aggrieved by this cost performance, and I felt a sense of liberation after the work was broadcast. I think it's a very limited performance. However, from an animator's point of view, I'm glad that I was able to play freely rather than on completion. Instead, performers want to be able to find some great animators to help. But great animators have what they want to create. Then there will be antagonism. I've had this problem at the 'EVA' site as well. ”

In "EVA", Yoshisei felt that being able to see Kazuya Tsurumaki's storyboard allowed him to learn the most.

"Mr. Tsurumaki's storyboard has an excellent finish in terms of painting. And it is still achieved with the least amount of force to achieve the perfect effect. All the animators who grew up at GAINAX were influenced by him. If there really is a so-called 'GAINAX style', then it should be created by Mr. Tsurumaki. ”

For Yoshisung, what kind of work is "EVA"?

"It's been a long time since the end of the show, but after all, there is also the appearance of 'New Theatrical Version', so 'EVA' is still an active work. Therefore, it is difficult to make uniform generalizations. I can't summarize: 'EVA is a XXX work'. This also makes the work seem quite incredible. ”

[Just like my father]

Imaishi Yoyuki

From "EVA", I learned how to make animation

"After the broadcast of "The Mystery of Sapphire", GAINAX entered a period when there were no major works. That's when I started looking for a job, so I wondered, 'Will I not be hiring?' However, an anime magazine published a conversation between Mr. Anno and Mr. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, in which he said, "We are preparing a machine qì human animation. We are now looking for animators' content. So I applied for a job. At the time, I thought that Mr. Anno, who hadn't heard from me for a while, would unexpectedly make an animation of the handsome machine (my impression at the time), so I joined the company with expectations. ”

And Imanishi, who became a rookie animator, naturally entered the scene of "Neon Genesis Evangelion".

"Behind my seat were the assistant director, Kazuya Tsurumaki, and Yasuto Murata, who was in charge of the animation check. And Mr. Anno would come over and talk to them from time to time. As I listened to their conversation, I thought, 'Oh, that's how the animation was made!' Neon Genesis Evangelion is not an anime with a lot of movement, so when I work on other anime works in the company, I tend to focus on the delicate portrayal of the characters. But if there is an EVA part, then there will be a lot of lines, and it will be more difficult. However, the original art is very good, so I don't feel bad. The nineteenth episode "Manly Battle" was cut from the original drawing of Mr. Mitsuo Iso, who I was in charge of. At that time, it was still a simulated film, so it was fun to check the animation together in front of the projector. ”

And the TV series ushered in the final episode.

"In the last episode, I was ready to realize that I was going to face a terrible Shura field that was beyond my plan. However, there is no such thing. In order to do a good job in the last episode, Mr. Anno may have cut a lot of the large-scale plot that he originally expected. Considering the number of troops at hand and the schedule (although I don't think that's the only reason), such a judgment is wise. However, "Neon Genesis Evangelion" is a work that carefully thinks about the workload, effects, etc. from the beginning. And Mr. Anno often makes decisions very early. ”

What did Imaishi himself think of the last episode that aired at that time?

"The first half of Neon Genesis Evangelion is a very straightforward machine animation. However, from the middle of the process, it evolved from animation to 'a kind of image table xiàn form', which is very exciting. Therefore, many people may be excited to think, 'This last episode is not going to be dark!' So after it aired, I learned that there were people who were shocked and angry about such an ending, and I was a little surprised by it. ”

For Imanishi, "EVA" became the benchmark for his future production of zuò animation.

"For example, when I was drawing an animation, Mr. Anno would take a casual glance at him and say, 'The brush isn't strong enough here,' so I improved the animation on the spot. Generally speaking, after seeing the original painting, the director will not care about the rest of the matter. But Mr. Anno did. That's what 'EVA' is like at the production site, as long as it's to make the finished product better, then everyone will do something beyond their scope of work and then work hard to the end. This is the site of the production zuò that I first entered, so I was instilled with such an experience. I have experienced first-hand that this is the scene of doing something with all your might. ”

After becoming a director, Imanishi was in charge of two TV animation works, "Tengen Breakthrough Red Lotus Eye" and "Cutting Girl". "When I was making the zuòTV series, I didn't think enough of the creativity I put in. That's what I've seen with Neon Genesis Evangelion - it's hard to be successful if you don't incorporate enough information into a work. ”