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Dreamworks Delves Into Anime
peter_gzowski writes "Dreamworks has acquired the license for the worldwide distribution of Satoshi Kon's latest picture, Millennium Actress. Satoshi Kon is best known for directing the anime classic Perfect Blue, but has also worked on Patlabor 2 and Roujin Z (the latter two from the director of Ghost in the Shell & Akira, respectively). Read about it from Yahoo! Movies or Anime News Network, whichever you prefer. I guess Dreamworks was feeling left out after Miramax (with Princess Mononoke) and Columbia Tri-Star (with Final Fantasy and Metropolis) got into the anime distribution business. Maybe Spielberg and company will fare better trying to convince North American audiences to watch serious animated films."
Neon
Genesis
Evangelion
Do NOT watch the dubbed version. I'm not a sub purist, but in this case the dub really is terrible. Young and inexperienced characters have mature voices, gasps become goofy gufaws, and the screams of torment and anguish sound like someone yelling "Fore!" before swinging their damn golf club. And I listened in every language on that damn DVD. Every other language sounds as poor.
Do NOT browse websites for information on it. Wait until you've watched it through.
And if you decide to watch it, WATCH IT ALL. Do NOT quit halfway. I don't mean in one sitting necessarily, but if you only watch the first half of the episodes, you're going to think it's just like every other anime, or worse. Big robot mechs, teenage heros, cute girls, save the world, blah blah blah.
Mech pilots taking dance lessons to perform a ballet sequence in combat to defeat the latest enemy? Tracked to silly music? Spare me, NGE. This is mind blowing? Pft.
Or was that episode something different?
Why are the mechs in NGE so tall, thin, and dexterous when compared to the mechs in other anime series? It's because toy manufacturers have an easier time building short, heavyset mech models. Early mech designs of Gundam Wing (the most popular mech anime in Japan at the time of NGE's release) were modified to make those stupid little toys stand up better. The NGE crew didn't care about the commercial possibilities of their work, and the ballet episode was just a vehicle for that point. NGE is something more.
After you've watched it all, then you can go online for the analysis. Have fun looking things up in the Apocrypha and Pseudopygraphia (sp?). Note that the symbolism is both blatant (big crucifixes in places) and subtle (character motivations, personalities, and relationships).
You'll either love it and be blown away, or you'll hate it. I've not met anyone between.