Part 1 http://forum.evageeks.org/viewtopic.php?p=437636#437636 The response to the “Break” [Evangelion 2.0] preview as the impetus for major changes — I’d like to ask you about “Break”. Preproduction for “Break”—including work on the scenario and the settei —was underway at the same time as “Prelude” [Evangelion 1.0]. That was because, I think, they were consecutive works, planned to be successively released. That plan was significantly changed. I’d like to hear how it came about that you revised the script that existed at the time of the “Prelude” premiere. Things changed just following the premiere, right? Hideaki Anno : Right. It was from that point that the big changes were made. — If I was to make a conjecture on the basis of the various [CRC] interviews, during work on “Prelude” there was a version of the script that did not yet include the most interesting parts. [[*] TODO what did this footnote refer to?] [Shinji] Higuchi-san said that he had drawn storyboards based upon the script at that time. Anno: Certainly, a script had been written by March 2007, at the same time “Prelude” was being made. The eleventh draft became the final version of that script. Work on the storyboards was also taking place during “Prelude” from that earlier version of the script. From the point of view of quantity, I think the first drafts were already completed for about two-thirds of the whole. That’s because we had planned to begin work on “Break” without any pause or interruption once “Prelude” was finished. However, I couldn’t live up to it. After the [“Prelude”] premiere, I decided to look again at the content of the second part, starting from zero. — Was the highly favorable reaction of the viewers at the premiere a significant reason for that? Anno: Yeah. It started after I heard the reaction to the preview at the Milano theater in Shinjuku. [“Prelude”] was a theatrical film, but because I wanted the format to be the same as the TV series, I intended from the beginning to insert a “preview” [at the end]. The same music would be used. I thought, as “service”, it would please the viewers of the original work. However, I didn’t expect that big a reaction. Originally, I thought, because there would be a “gap” until the second part, attaching a preview at the end would increase the viewers’ anticipation. I also expected that, among the viewers, there would be some for whom this [preview] would be the “peak” of the film. However, this was more than I imagined. In particular, the reaction to the new character was bigger than I expected. — At the theater I went to, [the crowd] was extremely charged up, even at the very end. Anno: Right. I didn’t expect that much. The staff who went to see [the film] were also deeply impressed and excited [by the reaction]. In the first version of the plot I thought of, the new character would have a very active role from the third part on. I didn’t think the character would do any more than make an appearance in the second part. Although, because she appeared in the original series, she doesn’t seem much like a new character, Asuka was also a highly important “new character” who, in the Rebuild films, would appear from the second part on. Because I would surely place emphasis upon [?] Asuka, I didn’t intend to seriously deal with a new character in the second part. However, there was so much anticipation for the new character among the viewers that I felt I had to respond to that. So, I decided to increase the number of the new character’s appearances. It was at that point that I first began the work of reviewing the second part. The strength of the response to the preview, the intensity of the viewers, significantly changed the way I looked at “Break”. It moved my heart, and the “rudder” of the work began to significantly shift. — How did the actual work [process] change? Anno: There was the content of the film, the script, but I began by looking at how I was making the films. During the making of the first part, “Prelude”, I feel like I was half-fixated [?] on reenacting the TV series. Because we had lacked money, workers, and time, I wanted to recreate the old material. I was so fixated on the idea of reenaction that I was making [the film] without deviating from the timing of the [original] timesheets. Half-way through I realized that it was okay to alter the timesheets. Although it might seem strange, despite [the film being] a kind of “new, digital satsuei work”, I was overly hung up on the initial phrase, “film remake”. During the initial screening of “Prelude”, I felt that, if I had gone this far in updating all the images, I could have deviated a bit more from the [original] storyboards. [?] The original conception was that the films would start out from the same place as the TV series, but I felt I was too fixated upon that place. So, from the second part onwards, I intended to abandon those elements “fixated” on the original series and proceed with the feeling that I was making an entirely new work. I would set out from “ground zero”. To begin with, I naturally thought I would correct my mistake by altering the script. The scripted plot, at that stage, was still developing in accordance with the original work, and with a view to utilizing the genga of the original work, so from that point I decided to make changes. I returned the plot and the outline to their initial state and reexamined things from the beginning. In order to examine the drama and the course of the plot as a whole, and to establish the new character, Mari [Makinami], I held a retreat. This mainly involved scrutinizing the outline with the directoral camp and (Yoji) Enokido-san, who was participating once again [owing to Tsurumaki’s suggestion ?]. It was only men; we shut ourselves up in Atami for three days and two nights. At that point new ideas and drastic amendments to the plot were proposed—for example, Masayuki’s suggestion that, following the main title, the film begin with the graveyard visit, or Enokido-san’s suggestion of a Shinji-Mari “Love Love” pairing. From that point, a full-scale revision had seriously begun. — No changes were made to Mari’s appearance in the pre-title sequence itself? Anno: Right. Mari and the provisional Unit-05, the third angel, and so on—the idea of beginning with this character and this mecha that we’ve never seen before, and this new setting, “Bethany Base”, outside of Hakone—this remained unchanged from the first draft outline. The plan of the battle, Mari’s dialogue and personality—these sort of things changed, but the course itself, the general course of the story of the pre-title sequence, didn’t change. I wanted it to impact both viewers of the original series and people for whom “Break” was their first time seeing Eva. I thought that, although people familiar with the original series would be overwhelmed with unfamiliar things [?], because of Kaji, there was a common denominator which could enable them to feel secure for the moment. Starting with English and Russian dialogue with Japanese subtitles was the same. First of all, I wanted to begin the film with the impression of things being different than they have been up until now. — The provisional Unit-05 was not a familiar EVA with a “bipedal” form. Anno: Right. I wanted to introduce an unfamiliar Eva with a form you could immediately identify as different. I also wanted, for the pre-title sequence, to try to create fully CG images, including the angel and the Eva. A fully CG battle was itself, within Eva, an unfamiliar image, [so I wanted to use it] for the pre-title sequence. I also had an “experimental” intention. To what extent was a fully CG Eva battle possible? I thought it would be good if we could test technical things out or experiment with how things are set up within the work. The form and details were complex, with the four legs, and so on. It would have taken a lot of time and effort to draw by hand; the design is considerably difficult to draw. It was a battle scene where the movement and so on couldn’t be efficiently drawn if we didn’t use CG, so I wanted to take this opportunity to experiment with it. We had also put together a complex design for the angel intended to be rendered in CG. The background animation was also something where its creation was directed with an eye to CG. [?] I figured, in addition, that the pre-title sequence was the beginning of the work, so there was plenty of time left on the production schedule. Even if there were various difficulties with a full CG battle scene, I figured that we had plenty of time to investigate the difficulties using animatics and so on. However, in the end, for various reasons, we ran out of time. There were cuts that worked well in the animatics, but, to sum things up, they didn’t really go as planned, which was a bit unfortunate. [?] Among other things, we added in hand-drawn effects, and introduced CG explosions. Including the satsuei treatment, we continued experimenting with various things until we almost ran out of time. As an on-screen image, I think the final result paid off. However… — CG was used in “Prelude”, but here there is more action, and things have much progressed. Anno: Yeah. With people who can draw the Eva genga really well being limited, if I wanted to maintain or increase the quality—I thought from the outset that I wanted to replace, as much as possible, elements like walking and running movements, which would originally just get repeated [?], with CG. The angels, as well—since I conceived of the plot I intended to make all the angels mostly CG, excluding Unit-03 (the ninth angel) and the final tenth angel—the opposite of the pattern from “Prelude”. There, we began with hand-drawn angels, and ended with full CG. I considered the total amount of work to be done and its allocation between hand-drawn and CG parts, and the script reflects that consideration. [?] I always take production-related risks into account, so the number or amount of battle scenes are decided in advance, before starting the script or the script outline.

Part 2 http://forum.evageeks.org/viewtopic.php?p=438665#438665 A script bogged down in revisions upon revisions — It seems that during the scriptwriting process an enormous number of serious revisions accumulated. Anno: Yeah. Counting both large and small revisions, there was a total of more than forty revisions of the script. The first major changes took place from November 2006 to the start of December, while we were still working on “Prelude”. — What sort of changes were those? Anno: Asuka became the test pilot for Unit-03. Up until that point Touji had been the test subject, just as in the TV series. The only difference was that Shinji knew that in advance. Up to that point, the script as a whole was filled with various “nuances” reminding of, or “tastes” of, the original series: an “adult” depiction of Kaji and Misato, Asuka’s discord with her mother, Asuka’s idolization of Kaji and her immediate friendship with Hikari, and so on. In addition, the climax around this time was a kind of synthesis between episodes 19 and 23 of the TV series, where Shinji would be persuaded by Kaji to launch in Unit-01 and Rei would sacrifice herself in order to save Shinji; faced with this grief, Shinji’s heart would be unable to bear it, and Unit-01 would go out of control. The drafts up to number five were written according to this plan. [The first draft storyboards up to part C that were requested before the premiere of “Prelude” were generally based upon the drafts of the script written up to this point. ???] — What was the impetus for the change? Anno: The big thing was the comments made by Makki (Director Kazuya Tsurumaki’s pet name). “For this, we can’t make films just by summarizing the TV series”. He also said, “I want Asuka to have a ‘film-like’ role. At this rate, she will just be making an appearance—she provides no drama vis-a-vis Shinji, the protagonist; she is not involved”. Furthermore, “As a story, it’s not different enough from the original series”—all these in succession. He further said, “Isn’t a change as drastic as having Asuka pilot Unit-03 necessary?” I think, because this was a major, fundamental change, opinion was divided when I researched the views of a number of staff members. (Ikki) Todoroki, in particular, was tremendously opposed . After thinking about it, I ultimately adopted Tsurumaki’s proposal and decided to change the pilot of Unit-03. That was the sixth draft of the script. It was finished following the 2007 new year, on January 8th. In this draft, the test pilot was simply changed from Touji to Asuka, [and the reason for it—Mari, the new pilot, is reassigned to NERV HQ from Europe, and Asuka will be taken off of Unit-02, so she volunteers—was really just improvised. ?] The change of test pilot was forced into the draft, with the characters and situations left unaltered. So, naturally, I received, and agreed with, a proposal memo sent out by Tsurumaki, which said, “We have to provide Shinji, as well as the audience, with the same degree of shock and sense of loss as when Touji was lost in the TV series. For that reason, by boldly portraying Asuka as a ‘good character’ , I hope to greatly convey that sense of loss”. Because of that, I wanted to have Asuka pilot Unit-03 in order to do something for Rei, and Shinji, and others—something for other people. As Tsurumaki put it, it’s like a “death flag” is raised . As a result, Asuka piloting Unit-03 ended up being made into the “peak” of her drama. I changed various parts of the script in accordance with this. For example, Asuka’s impetus for piloting Unit-03 would connect with the story of Rei [learning to cook and?] preparing a dinner party for Shinji and Gendou. It seemed like these things, as well as Asuka’s character, dialogue, and so on, had gradually become solidified. Aside from Mari, the course of the story and drama up to Part C was roughly the same in the eleventh draft of the script, dated March 11, 2007, as it would be in the film. However, Part D still followed the course of the original series. Up to the eleventh draft, the plan for what would be done with Unit-02 during the battle with the tenth angel—for example—had continually changed. I went from a proposal from Tsurumaki which suggested that, “as it puts pressure on production, it would be better if Unit-02 did not appear [during that scene]”, to “Mari will pilot Unit-02”, and at one point I even settled on a plan where “an unconscious Asuka will pilot Unit-02 using the dummy system”. The eleventh draft [?] was written along those lines. The development following the defeat of Unit-02 and Unit-00 just followed the course of the original series, where Rei, who is consumed by or united with the angel, tries to take in Unit-01, and, when she notices what she is doing, self-destructs. At this point, I temporarily stopped working on the script. That was because work on “Prelude” was facing a great crisis, and I had to focus upon it. If I’m not mistaken, at one point I requested image boards and storyboards of the last battle based upon this draft from Shin-chan Shinji Higuchi. — When was the suspended work on the “Break” script resumed? Anno: I was in a daze for a little while following the first “Prelude” screening. From there I once again uncovered various issues, large and small. Gathering [the various opinions expressed at ?] the script retreat held at the end of October, as well as my own thoughts, I revised a large portion of the script, producing what you might call a new version. This twelfth draft was completed on December 6, 2007. At this point, there was a development where, during the fight with the falling angel , Mari and Asuka are present in the [Unit-02] entry plug together. Then I wrote the entire script anew, rewriting it with the feeling that it was an all-new work. Because of that, the parts of the script predicated upon the appropriation of materials [genga etc.] from the original series were largely eliminated. In addition, one more new, significant change emerged at this time. Abandoning the scenario where Rei self-destructs in the last scene to save Shinji, I decided on a course where Shinji saves Rei. This was due to (Toshimichi) Otsuki’s opinion as a producer that, because [the story of the second part would also lead to the third part ?], he wanted it to end hopefully, with a positive feeling. Regarding this, opinions among the staff were again divided. This time, it was Tsurumaki who particularly opposed, or resisted, this change. Makki said that he wanted to prominently feature Rei III, who was barely present in the old work, in the third part [of Rebuild], developing her in depth. It seemed like this had been one of his motivations for participating [in Rebuild]. However, in the end I decided on the scenario where Rei is saved, and he assented, saying “If it’s all right with Anno-san…” I think I decided that way because, with “Break”, I was searching for something called “change”. As well, I thought this would lead to the next change. At this point I could generally see what the roles of Asuka, Rei, and Misato would be. The problem was Mari.

Part 3 http://forum.evageeks.org/viewtopic.php?p=460996#460996 As a foreign element, Mari struggles to enter — I heard that you had a very hard time with the creation of Mari’s character. Anno: Right. It was extremely difficult. Ever since I started the new films I had decided on this “one trick” where I would increase the count of female pilots by one with a new character. I felt that there was a danger where, if I didn’t do this, I would end up repeating the same story, and be unable to significantly change things. I felt that, even if I had to force it, if I didn’t throw a new Eva pilot as an extreme, foreign element into the films, then Eva would not significantly change. At the start, I feel like I forcibly thrust her into the story. The early drafts were so erratic that, being unrelated to the story, Mari’s very existence seemed to have no basis. Outside of the pre-title sequence, she practically did not appear at all. But because at the time I expected that, if she made more than a cameo appearance in the second part [2.0], I would be unable to develop Asuka or Shinji or someone else, I left things as they were. I figured that I should develop the new character from the third part [3.0] on, where the story would completely change. It would be easy to insert her there. Well, that was a thoroughly naive outlook. At any rate, when it came down to actually increasing her appearances, I couldn’t fit her in at all. It just wasn’t possible for her to appear. The original Evangelion had been more rigidly made than I had thought. There was no real margin for new elements to enter into the story or into the drama. I created the original series by selecting the best ways of doing things that I could think of at the time, so if I damaged one element, other elements would become damaged as part of a chain reaction. At the end, I started to get less and less interested in doing it. This was difficult to deal with. The work was more than ten years old, but still, I had created it myself, so it wasn’t easy for me to damage. This isn’t self-congratulation—I was forced to again recognize that the “flow” was very well constructed. The original Evangelion was entirely created from my unembellished feelings and my improvised writings, so it was not completed according to a theory. As a result, I thought I would get other people, outsiders, to help me destroy it—Tsurumaki in particular. In addition, there’s parts of myself that are different compared to that time. So, I tried to change [Eva]. It was a battle with my so-called past self, my self eleven years ago. It took a great deal of inner strength. — It’s a process where you might end up repudiating your inner core, so I can imagine the pain involved. Practically speaking, how did you attempt to insert Mari into the story? Anno: To begin with, I left [certain things] to others. I tried to propose as little of her image myself as I could. I gave O-sada [Yoshiyuki Sadamoto] and Makki a rough impression of her settei: her outward design was to be that of a English private school girl, a bit “O-nee-san”-like, maybe with a love of animals as well, and so on. After that I left them to work things out; I felt like I would just check what they completed. I think, since it had been decided that [the character] would appear, the teamwork on the character design started at very early stage. I think Sadamoto struggled greatly [with Mari] for a while as well, but arrived in the direction of “a meganekko, with long, straight hair”, and so forth, early on. After all, the rough design was ready in time for the preview at the end of “Prelude”. He struggled with it again when the time came to gather and revise everything to produce Mari’s settei images, but I think the result was very good, as you would expect from O-sada. However, there were some difficulties as her personality wasn’t coming together. Things started with a process of elimination. There was already a “normal” character in Hikari, and “eccentric” characters in Rei and Asuka. First off, [we] tried to take those personality characteristics and aspects of appearance that had not been yet been used in Eva as a starting point. She was made up of simple elements; for example, “she wears glasses as an accessory, which we had avoided using up to this point because they were hard to animate”. Yet if this were all, she wouldn’t be a new character, only a “not” character—whatever Rei, Asuka, etc., weren’t. The positions of the characters in the original work were also extremely rigidly constructed. If Mari were to be inserted carelessly the drama, the story, and the balance of the whole would completely fall apart. Although I was aiming for change, if it was only different from the original work, in the end it would be nothing but a “counter” to what had come before… — That’s surely the case, as being a “counter” means that it becomes a premise in which the same sense of values is incorporated. Anno: Right. Well, it’s difficult. By the draft of February 15 2008, draft 13a, I had the idea that “Mari’s appearances following the pre-title sequence will come sooner, be more numerous, and be more impressive. To that end, Mari will take charge of the battlefield during the fight against the falling angel, riding with Asuka, who hates the situation, in the entry plug [of Unit-02]”. Then Mari covers [庇う] for Asuka, but a wound she received during the pre-title sequence grows worse, so she is hospitalized until she reappears again in the last scene. That was the plan, but it didn’t work out. It seemed artificial, and didn’t fit. On the other hand, if Mari continued to appear, scenes which related Mari to Shinji would become necessary, and because of that Asuka’s presence would become too far reduced for the scene where she pilots Unit-03 to be allowed to remain. On top of that, scenes between Mari and Shinji where I felt “this is right” were not coming easily to me. Furthermore, as the screenplay had nobody knowing Mari, the conversations did not go anywhere. So, I made her a senior schoolmate of Asuka’s from Europe, but then this weakened the sense of Asuka’s isolation, so that was again no good. At that point the balance [of Eva] was coming apart like a tower made of toy blocks. http://forum.evageeks.org/viewtopic.php?p=463004#463004 part 3 continued With all those various drawbacks and time running out, we totally cut the appearance of Mari in Part B when we worked on the storyboards instead of doing it in scripts. In the storyboards, I think there is about one cut remained that had the frame with Mari behind Asuka on Unit-02 and with a big X-mark inside. The saku-uchi [team discussion and working on the drawing] of that scene was done at an early stage, so there was no more time to do re-think for it. But with this revised script the parts except Mari’s, up to Part C, became relatively complete. Well, still there were also many script revisions piling up concerning small changes in dialogues or switching the scene order in places like the section with Touji/Kensuke and Shinji or the SEELE scene. Things like the story of Asuka’s relationship with her mother, or the somewhat “adult” episodes between Misato and Kaji, were revised or eliminated at the stage when the storyboards were being brought together. With the “flow” being brought together, we became unable to incorporate parts that didn’t involve Shinji. I had also wanted to incorporate as much as I could an “adult vividness”, but this time I decided to take the risk of leaving it out. I decided to make it an easily comprehensible view of world building that put junior high students at the center. — After that much arranging and getting down to what was essential, Mari and Part D still remained [to be dealt with], right? Anno: Right. The fourteenth draft, dated January 14th 2008, was separate from what came before, beginning from Part D. At that point it was fixed that Mari would pilot Unit-02. However, Misato and Shinji’s separation, what the course of action would be after the berserk of Unit-02 that Mari piloted, what happens after the angel consumes Unit-00—these sorts of things were a long way from being settled. Mari’s appearances, as well—in draft 13b, dated May 23rd, there was a scene where she had tea with Shinji on the roof of the school. For Part D, I focused on continually producing revisions from May to about September. There are 13 drafts just in the data that still remains. Really, it was like all sorts of ideas were coming up and then disappearing. The first story plan was dated August 3rd, 2006, so the script went through about two years and five months of repeated twists and turns in total. Anyway, I think I devised new ideas every day in order to make things interesting.

Part 4 “[We] persisted in changing Mari’s appearances up until the very last minute” — It seems like the changes to the script continued even though the date of the film’s release was getting close. Anno: Yeah. Tsurumaki, who was in charge of the storyboards plus the director of Part D, persevered until the very end. Especially in regards to Mari. Draft 15.2, dated September 25, was at one point sent to be storyboarded, but when it came time for Tsurumaki to do it, there were things in the script that, no matter what, he was not convinced about. [With these points] unsettled, a memo emerged from him concerning them. He said that if these [problems] were not resolved, he couldn’t draw the storyboards. So, during the studio’s new year’s holiday, we sequestered ourselves at my house and at a hotel in Hakone, and we did nothing but think of ideas in order to clear up the difficulties. We were delighted when we came up with them. The script put together as the solution to these difficulties, draft 16.2, turned out to be the final draft. This was the part stretching from the conversation in the bomb shelter between Shinji and Mari in the heavily damaged Unit-02 to the Kaworu epilogue. That was January 18th, 2009, so it was a situation where we were almost out of time on the production schedule, and didn’t know if the images [for the film] would be finished in time for the premiere. We storyboarded after that, so we persisted in revising things to the point of real danger. — You had half a year until the premiere. It would seem that, even if you had started the afureko [voice recording] after the new year, a portion of the scenes would still not have been in a condition suitable for recording. That includes the parts involving Mari and Shinji, right? Anno: Mari and Shinji’s encounter was finally storyboarded on February 28th, 2009. At the stage when Makki storyboarded the script [the scene] was in a revised form with additional ideas. Tsurumaki was determined to get Mari to arrive from the sky. I feel he just kept at it until an idea emerged that cleared [the way for] that. But really, Mari’s encounter with Shinji, the scene where she re-emerges, was created by repeated trial and error; I forget how many times I rewrote it. That scene, as well, was initially intended to be placed after Unit-02 was sealed away, but when we watched the rushes through, it didn’t flow properly. In editing, we tried inserting it at various points, and in the end it was decided that the scene would be advanced to an earlier point in Part B. The connection where [Shinji’s] S-Dat falls on the roof and begins acting up was really a chance result. http://forum.evageeks.org/viewtopic.php?p=464064#464064 Part 4 [Continued] — In addition, there were scenes that just featured Mari. Anno: Concerning Mari, at the very last minute, during editing, the opinion was expressed—maybe by O-Sada—that Mari does not appear in enough scenes, that we forget her along the way. Well, I think he felt this way because, as a result of moving the roof scene to a position earlier than was originally planned, there was a gap until her appearance in Part D. So, we decided to think of additional scenes in the way of content we could produce from that point on. Because afureko was already complete, we thought of various [possibilities] without [using] dialogue, making use of different takes from other [unused] cuts; digging up rough layouts, inserting them in editing, and taking a look at them; and so on. We declared [options] to be useless a number of times, and in the end we decided on inserting a scene that used genga from the 2.0 preview trailer after [a shot of] Touji. Oh my, concerning Mari we really were at a loss and struggled till the very very end. I think for this kind of situation [it would be great] if I had the ability to suddenly hit upon something. I wish I had the power to quickly come up with ideas that could clear the challenges. — In what way do you think Mari’s character was established in the film as a result of those difficulties? Anno: I think she became a good character who for all her short appearance was impressive. This was again due to Tsurumaki’s persistence. In any case, we depicted her with great care in order to leave an impression. I wanted Mari to be an outsider within myself as well as an alien presence in the world of Eva. Because of that, I entrusted a significant potion [of the work concerning her] to Makki. If I had taken too much initiative, there was a risk that she might become [just like] the already existing characters. I think the result was very good, and I’m pleased with it, because the character contains something of the feeling of an alien presence. The image of her voice was also not decided by me, and the suggestion of (Maaya) Sakamoto-san, if I recall correctly, was, in addition, made by O-Sada. I guess Makki also approved [of that suggestion] at the time. I think I said something then, but at the end I said something like “I think it’s fine”. That was at the time of a drinking party at the studio. Otsuki-san, who had grown impatient with the fact that, despite being close to the afureko period, the casting was still undecided without me having made any suggestions, was asking staff members then and there which seiyuu would be good for the new character, and Sakamoto-san’s name was brought up. The response of the surrounding staff members was favorable. So, Otsuki-san said, “Anno-san, Sakamoto-san is fine; we’ll choose her. Tomorrow, we’ll talk at the office”. “Yeah, that’s fine”, I said. [So far] I had only said hello to her in some events, but I thought that [the decision] was something good. She also performed well in Top 2 (Aim For The Top 2!), and as it was a recommendation from O-Sada and Makki, I thought there would be no problems. Well, later when I went to drink with various people, I was told by Minami [Masahiko] of Bones, “Anno took our Maaya without asking us blah blah” (laugh) — What was the result like, [using] Maaya-san? Anno: Sakamoto-san was extremely good. She performed as part of a regular team that had already been formed more than ten years ago without hesitation. Well, she was good. When I heard her first test I was convinced that it would work. Her song was excellent as well. — Was it your idea that she sing that, the “365-step march”? Anno: That was me. It was a song from the Showa period I heard when I was a child. I had her sing it as I wanted to bring out a feeling of ease despite it being her first campaign. In addition, wanting to bring out a ‘Showa-era old man’ feel from her character, I also put in actions like her saying “Dokkoisho” when she stands up, or her unconsciously striking her palm with her fist when she says “Yoshi. So da”. To put it in terms of cooking, that was just about the final seasoning. — Concerning Mari’s naming, I believe [the name] came from Anno-san, but what was the source for it? Anno: “Illustrious” is the name of an English aircraft carrier. “Makinami” comes, not from the former Imperial Navy, but from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Ayanami class of destroyers [escort ships]. “Shikinami” is the same. I don’t know whether or not I will bring this out in the main work, but in the new films, I altered the settei of the Eva pilots compared to the original. Because of this, Asuka[’s name] changed as well, from Soryu to Shikinami. As for the name “Mari”, I originally got the name “Mariko” from a character who appeared in my wife’s (Moyoco Anno) manga, but for various reasons it was changed to “Mari”. Well, Bucchan [Yutaka Izubuchi] was also probably pleased with the change (laughs). — The Mari Izubuchi-san enjoys, would that be Brave Raideen’s Mari Sakurano? Anno: Yeah. Around the end of the original Eva, I was asked by Bucchan if Asuka and Rei[’s names came from] Rei Asuka of Brave Raideen. I was somewhat unfamiliar with Raideen, and unthinkingly responded with the question, “Was there such a character?”, upon which I was emphatically told, “Yes, there was!!” Until I was told that, I hadn’t noticed it. I hadn’t been conscious of it at all. Part-way through [production] I thought about changing [Mari’s name] to Chizuru ; if I had done that I think it would have pleased Sho-chan (Shoji Kawamori’s pet name). There was also my wife’s character; and after all happened I finally had a chance to save Bucchan’s face by making a link with Raideen; so after all I went with Mari (laugh) — That’s a truly beautiful friendship. Anno: It is, isn’t it (laughs). By the way, I prefer the voice of Raideen’s Mari in the first half of the show. Hiromi Oka—she was good, wasn’t she?

Part 5 http://forum.evageeks.org/viewtopic.php?p=464235#464235 The various changes made to the main characters were… — What was the reason for changing Asuka’s name to Shikinami? Anno: I mentioned this before, but, because I changed the settei relating to the Eva pilots, in order to provide consistency in accordance with that I thought it was best to change the name. I also thought that the change in name of a main character would enable viewers from the previous work to receive the message, “This time is different, a new feeling”. Of course I felt uncomfortable [about it], and there are things that I think are better in the original, but here I feel like I [had to] risk changing things. [?] As I thought that fans from the original work would probably not expect changes to the extent that Asuka’s name would be changed, I wondered if the sense that, “Ah, this is different than before” could be conveyed in a shocking and easy-to-understand way; and I wondered if it might be good as a topic [for conversation] as well. — Indeed, when articles were published in the anime magazines on the changed design of Unit-02, I wondered what was going on, not seeing much of a response, but as soon as Asuka’s name change was announced there was an enormous reaction. Anno: I would imagine so, as the majority of the fans are focused on the characters rather than the mecha. I also had a lot of difficulties creating Asuka’s character this time. For the design itself, it was okay to make not much more than minor changes to her plugsuit, but it was hard establishing her personality and personal history for the new films. Well, it was difficult. — It’s not just Mari and Asuka, who participate [in the new films] from “Break” onwards. It was impressive to see Rei display significant changes as well. In particular, there is the fact that she prepares a meal, or the shock of her saying “poka-poka”. Concerning changes made to the regular characters as well, if there were reasons [for this], please inform us of what they were. Anno: With Rei, for some reason, i just feel “it happened like that” naturally. I never remember why it happened that way. Regarding Rei’s dinner party for Shinji and Gendo, that was originally a plot I had thought of using for episode 4 of the TV series. I remembered it and thought I would include it this time. I have a memory of it being, at that time, something like Shinji’s birthday party. I think I replaced that with the dinner party this time. So, the episode where Rei prepares a meal was already in the first draft of the script. The dialogue where Rei says, “…it’s a secret. I’ll tell you when I get a little better [at it]” was included in the second draft, dated September 9th, 2006. That’s the second time that Rei smiles at Shinji. The Rei of “Break” was established from this point on. Since I hit upon that dialogue, I feel like Rei spontaneously became a character whose emotions leak a little bit into her outward appearance. As far as Rei is concerned, [I am] unconscious. I don’t control anything. With “poka-poka”, as well, I felt like she said it of her own volition before I was even aware of it. It’s also the same with Shinji. In my mind he is so much a matter of course that, despite him being the protagonist, I often forget that he exists. As for Misato, in the new films, I made her position as a secondary protagonist as opposed to Shinji clear. Shinji, as well as Rei, as well as Misato, as well as Asuka—as they express their emotions within the limited space of a film, to a certain extent they will act in accordance with given roles. I feel that, within the development of the story, things that I have to do have already been determined. If this was TV, even I went on various tangents I would still have room to recover, so [the characters] would act as I pleased. [???] In a film, I can’t do anything about this. Nevertheless, I had the feeling that the characters were not simply extensions of the old work, but were new characters as a result. Although they were characters who already existed inside of me for over fourteen years, I feel like they were still changing. Asuka in particular changed from her [original] character settei. http://forum.evageeks.org/viewtopic.php?p=473270#473270 Part 5 [Second Segment]: — With Asuka’s relationship to Kaji also changed, I felt something new [about her]. Anno: Yeah. I completely cut it from the film. The main reason was that, in a film, there is simply not enough room to depict something like Kaji and Asuka’s story. Even if we had put just a little [of that] in, then she would not have worked as a character, and it would inevitably have been a nuance that only those who knew the original series would understand. So I completely cut that [relationship], and instead decided to have Kaji be close to Mari. That decision was made because of the fact that, among the main characters who had appeared up to this point, there were none who knew Mari, and this was causing me various difficulties in writing. That being the case, I figured that Kaji was the most suitable. He was, like Mari, a character who appears from “Break” onwards. He’s someone who seems to know various secrets, and to have various connections. — I feel like you killed two birds with one stone there, and I had the impression that that also had a big impact to Asuka’s incident with Unit 03. Anno: Yeah. As [part of the] drama, I wanted to increase Asuka’s degree of isolation even more than in the original work. Because, in the series, the total amount of time available is significant, and I was able to play around with her portrayal, it became “Asuka is a girl who has the man she longs for nearby, and who, on the surface, is skilled at social relations”. In a film like this, because the time available is short, and the characters will be a mess if you cannot pull them together compactly, I simply isolated her from her surroundings, so it’s as though she doesn’t know anyone except for Misato. I thought her subsequent change of heart would also be easier to understand if I had her start with no friends. Because of that, I separated her from Kaji as well. If I hadn’t, the feeling that she had come [to Japan] alone would have become diluted. In accordance with this, I kept her contact with others besides Misato and Shinji slight, and I also kept her conversations with Hikari relatively short in the [film’s] second half. In any case for movies if one film lasts around 2 hours, I think bigger extents of change are better for conveying [messages] to the audience. I set the Unit-03 incident as the climax for Asuka, and with her emotional peak being the moment right before she disappeared from the stage I wanted to make the gap between this and [the part] after her disappearance as big as possible. Starting form the falling angel battle which she could not deal with by herself, she got liberated little by little, and at last she laid bare her feelings for the first time to other people which was Misato. But, well, it was hard work to think up and bring about various stories in order to liven things up here. [She is] not the protagonist, and then there is also the weighting balance. That said, Part C is almost a story with Asuka as center. Because Rei’s dinner party became the hinge for the rest of Part C, the main character, Shinji, had a hard time making appearances in the story. Because there are many “waiting” situations rather than a feeling of activity, you just forget about him. Watching the rushes that were made along the way, Shinji’s appearances were too few, or should I say that he didn’t appear for too long a period of time. So, in order that the audience would not forget [him], the scene where he listens to the radio while studying was afterwards added. Despite that, as far as Shinji’s story [in Part C] goes, it is nothing but “looking forward to Rei’s dinner party”, so when Shinji finally appears again, [the added appearance] only emphasizes that.

Part 6 http://forum.evageeks.org/viewtopic.php?p=475234#475234 Devices used and changes made in order to fit [the film] into a limited length [of time] — It seems that the changes in the characters and story were not so much made according to a plan as decided in accordance with various “balances”. Anno: It’s not just “Break”; it’s like that for all my works. I all of a sudden noticed things when I read the script or the storyboards. I noticed a variety of things, large and small, with surprise when I watched the rushes. So, I hurriedly went to deal with these various things. It was a cycle of repetition. It was really creation by trial and error. Because this caused my staff troubles, I wish I had more of the capacity to settle everything at once in an interesting way. Nevertheless, because “Break” had many characters and there were many sequences that it had to incorporate, I couldn’t see the overall flow and balance if I didn’t actually experience it firsthand. — [The film] had to incorporate an extraordinary number of things. That was naturally a great challenge this time around. Anno: That’s because, if you put it in terms of the TV series, [the film goes] from episode seven to about episode twenty-three. That’s a length of about eighteen episodes of twenty-two minutes and thirty seconds. When it comes to showing that in a little less than two hours, [you can’t do it] if you don’t cut off a sizable amount. — Was that problem of what to keep and what to remove a major challenge starting from the scenario stage? Anno: I knew from the start that there was absolutely no margin to develop various scenes, but for some reason, during the initial stages, it was hard for me to recognize that, and I ended up inserting various things. First, I served up a full plate, and had the work afterwards of cutting things down: “I won’t put this in, I won’t put that in”. Especially as concerns the characters, there was even a period where I tried in a number of ways to increase the number of scenes depicting them. Asuka’s scenes also ended up increasing, and when I finally noticed I was faced with the difficulty that she now seemed to be the main character. — There’s an inviolable rule that [another character] can’t be more prominent than Shinji. Anno: In the end, he is the main character. But, well, from a compositional point of view, if we have Shinji involved in even the side stories, well, [I thought] that could be done without problem. — In the [finished] film as a whole, Shinji clearly stands out as the main character. Anno: That was the result of an accumulation of a variety of great efforts. As we were talking about, in case it was poorly done, the implication could be the risk that [Shinji] might just appear abruptly only at the end. — Asuka also had a “romantic comedy”-like part: the development where she cooks a meal, and so on. Anno: With that, for some reason or other I wanted to develop, in an easy-to-understand way, a “junior high school-like” part. — The heavy emphasis on “having a meal” was also striking, but was there something intentional in that? Anno: I thought that I would attempt to adopt a slight fixation with the idea of “eating”. The influence of my wife is significant. Owing to her, I have changed a little bit. So, I tried increasing the emphasis on meals. Up until the 13th draft of the script I had also inserted a scene where, after the battle with the falling angel, Misato invites Kaji, Ritsuko, and the three operators to go to a Ramen shop, and they sit around Asuka and have a meal together. Kaji tells Shinji, who has both of his arms bandaged, “No Problem. Here, open up–” . Asuka reluctantly feeds ramen to Mari, and, in response to Misato’s words, “Asuka, helping another person probably feels pretty good”, says, “It’s just irritating”. But, in the end I decided to cut it. Because I wanted to focus quietly on Asuka and Shinji’s reactions, and because it’s hard to animate a meal scene, I decided not to do it. It wasn’t in draft 13a of the script. Because this time the climax was based on episode 19 of the TV series, the image where Eva consumes an angel—well, the result was the opposite [of that], but, I wondered if I should feature the act of “consuming prey”, including that sort of image. — [The motif of] “Food” has been placed throughout the film. Having a meal together with friends, buying and eating ice candies, eating a bento at school, making a meal [for someone] and suddenly stopping… This seems to me to be tied into these “Break”-type changes, where [you feel], “this is a new impression although it’s the same Eva”. Anno: I think, concerning that, that it probably has less to do with scriptwriting considerations than with what was discussed previously, my personal changes. I finally tried to take an interest in “eating”, and I think that’s something like a manifestation of that . For myself, I wondered what sort of thing “eating” was supposed to be. I myself have many likes and dislikes, and since childhood I was not so attached to the idea of “eating”, so I wanted to try to do some rethink on that area. Because of that, while I connected the depictions to form the story flow, I intentionally center it on the act of “eating”. The increase in the amount of car scenes is the same; it’s because I started driving. From the time I got my license right after I left high school up until my marriage, I have practically been a “paper driver”. The streets of Tokyo are frightening. I started driving eight years ago, and became interested in cars for the first time. I started to remember the makes and models of cars, and I began being able to hold conversations with Sadamoto and Tsurumaki about cars. So, this time, I wanted to try to put as much of those parts of me that hadn’t existed at the time of the old series or twelve years ago into [the film] as I could. Things like having an interest in eating meals, or riding cars, or being in Kamakura with my wife, or, at a social level, being married, and also working at my own new production studio. It’s a reaction to those parts. Unless I intentionally imbued [the film] with those parts of me that didn’t exist twelve years ago, then I would feel like things hadn’t changed after all. I thought it would be good if these, if those “feelings” that weren’t previously present would take hold in the film. And for new interesting points that I could not fill in myself, I intended on quickly inserting new elements from the staff like Tsurumaki or Masayuki to get [the whole thing] into chaos…

Part 7 http://forum.evageeks.org/viewtopic.php?p=492149#492149 First segment “The relationship between Eva and Hideaki Anno’s authorship ” — But the final decision is made by Anno-san. Tsurumaki-san’s opinion was that this is the reason that [the work] becomes “Eva.” Anno: Before that [decision] I ask my assistant Todoroki what he thinks about it. Todoroki’s viewpoint, both as a fan and as a creator, is extremely accurate, so I’m very grateful for his advice. I think, if I’m aiming at entertainment, it’s no good if only I find it interesting. I also have to aim at the greatest happiness of the greatest number. I think it’s good if, to the best of my ability, I align my feelings about what is interesting with that. Well, I insert my individual likes and preferences into the parts that are playful and not that important. That way it connects to [one’s] “fetishism”, and is good, I think, because it brings out “flavor” and “thickness” in the work. It’s not really the case that I’m forcibly [bending it to my whims]. At any rate, the things I am fixated on are there as well, but of course that’s because I wanted to place importance, not on envisioning the work from the beginning, but on the work somehow ending up a certain way without my intending it to, due to the course of the actual situation or to the unconscious, or to the mood. Well, it means always “favoring the interesting direction.” Eva in particular is created in this flexible manner. — Just because it’s “Eva”, the vast majority of people in society still believe that [the films are] a product of Anno-san’s authorship. This account must have been given many times. Anno: It depends on the definition of authorship, but I don’t really feel that’s the case. That’s because, in my situation, rather than having a firm blueprint at the outset and saying, “as an author, I want to depict this theme”, I create while every day blindly trying to work out what I can do to make things interesting. It’s not a way of doing things where I start with the finished form and create [the work] aiming at that. Until the first screening I don’t know how it will end up; I do nothing but constantly change things in order to make it interesting. I do that up until the very last minute of the schedule. It’s like this every time. Well, it’s a lot of trouble for the staff. It’s something like, “the principle of the supremacy of the work”, or that I want to place more importance on what will be of benefit to the work than on what I want to do personally. I think that’s what’s important. Well, I’m not concerned about my authorship and so on. I feel, more than anything, if the work is interesting, if it becomes more interesting, that’s good. I just have the responsibility of ultimately choosing, in accordance with what is possible to complete on time, what seems like it will end up being the most interesting idea or way at a given point in time. I’m able to amuse and entertain the customers who pay to see [what I make]. If I put something in which makes them feel unpleasant, that’s also done with their interests in mind. Commercial films are both works [of art] and products. You’re creating for the people who watch them. I’ve always thought our job was [a part of] the service industry. — Although I felt that trying to treat Anno-san as an author was out of place with an evaluation of “Break”, I was somehow satisfied by what you said just now. [??] Anno: Because, for Eva, I’m at the core of the actual work, writing the original scenario and the scripts, I think that something like my authorship will leak out or seep through no matter what, but I feel that much is just right. Unlike manga or novels, you create as a group, which is something I love about film work. Of course, there is also a method of creating which says, “the purpose of the staff is to put the vision of the director onto film without the slightest deviation”. Anime in particular points in this direction, since, as a matter of efficiency, it’s well suited to the realization of a vision. For people who want to create an image along the lines of their visions, this is the recommended [form of] visual expression. But, if [anime is] well suited to realize a long-prepared vision, I think the work will end up being more interesting if, as far as possible, one were to combine the visions of various staff members, rather than just establishing a single vision. I think, if the work has a heart or a core, then it’s better if the image is entirely [thrown into] chaos. Rather than a whole with a sense of unity, I prefer that it be lacking in some respects. I think that human beings and human society are themselves like this, and that if the work too is composed of a variety of things, it will be more real for the audience, or carry a greater sense of reality. So, a cosmos forms in the midst of complete chaos, according to the intention of the director, or else naturally. That’s good. That’s how Eva is created. Over and over again—it’s extremely difficult.

Part 8 http://forum.evageeks.org/post/502059/Evangelion-20-CRC-Anno-Interview/#502059 New scenes necessary in order to bring Shinji towards adulthood — During voice recording, two versions of scenes, for example the cable car [i.e. the NERV tram] scene, were recorded. Was this [a kind of] insurance based on the assumption that there would be cuts? Anno: It was among other things [a kind of] insurance, but in the end [that scene] was cut. Work [on that scene] progressed to the layout stage, but when I watched the rushes through, the only information there was Asuka playing a game by herself, Kaji appearing and [the film] communicating to the audience that he knows Misato, and the meeting between Shinji and Kaji. I thought the amount of essential information was slight, considering just how much was being crammed into a single sequence. That was the only purpose of the scene. This was a mistake of the script. Tsurumaki said, “this scene makes no sense.” Because it was storyboarded from an early version of the script, it was still forcibly including the image [of the meeting] from episode 8 of the TV series. I thought it wasn’t very good to include Misato there. However, when that scene was cut, Shinji and his friends ended up not meeting Kaji until the aquarium, [and you end up asking,] when did they get to know each other? However, for a number of reasons, I cut it. — Surprisingly, I didn’t notice that Shinji and Kaji first met at the aquarium. Anno: That’s because you know the TV series. You had that image in mind before watching [the film], so to a certain extent you saw it in that way, but I think someone who didn’t know the TV series would definitely have caught it. So, because the initial meeting between Shinji and his friends and Kaji is an essential scene, we remade [the meeting] from the storyboards upwards and included it in 2.22. — The new aquarium-like sequence at the water purification plant takes on much of the weight of the [character?] depictions, but was there a special intention behind it? Anno: It was to depict something Shinji had to know about. Something like “the enormity of the world.” [I wanted to depict] the sea and the sky and the earth, in a concrete way. If only the school and the city were depicted the whole way through, then that extensity would never emerge. As well, I wanted to put it in as a partial depiction of what really happened to the world to make the seas red. — For the earth, there’s the scene where he’s gardening with Kaji. Anno: Right. This time as well, Kaji takes on the role of the adult who broadens Shinji’s knowledge. Kaji does the rite-of-passage type things that bring [a child] closer to adulthood and which one’s parents would do in a normal situation. The action of Shinji touching the earth in the [watermelon] patch was added afterwards. At the earliest point, due partially to the difficulty of the sakuga , Shinji only looked at the watermelons with Kaji; he didn’t help out with the weeding. However, after the premiere of “Prelude,” I went to Yamagata to collect information with my wife and her friends. For the first time in a long time I gathered up wild plants to eat, and I felt that this was of course the sort of situation that Shinji needs. I remembered the scent of the earth, something I had forgotten. It was owing to that real-life experience that I added Shinji pulling up the weeds. Although I pulled up weeds often when I was a child, after I went to Osaka and Tokyo, I no longer did it at all. Recently I moved to Kamakura, and once again my opportunities to come into contact with the soil have increased. It’s owing to my wife that I’ve been able to have this sort of experience [again]. From the bottom of my heart, I am grateful [to her].

Part 9 http://forum.evageeks.org/post/552332/Evangelion-20-CRC-Anno-Interview/#552332 Through the collective effort of a number of creators, completely revised angel designs — I would like to inquire about the angels as a new element this time around. Were the images of the angels basically something that you put forward? Anno: For the third angel, I did the rough original sketch. The concept was that it had already been captured, dissected, analyzed, and securely stored away by human beings. So, the image was that of a specimen, the enormous skeleton of a living being. Also, because we associate skeletal monsters with Stegon , we jokingly discussed giving it the ability to spew corrosive liquid from its mouth as a weapon (laughs). — Why did you end up choosing [Mohiro] Kitoh-san? A: Because his designs are unique and interesting. I asked for something more along the lines of Narutaru than Bokurano. I thought that the image of the dragon king’s palace [to do with Narutaru?] was interesting, and that I would try creating an angel along the lines of that impression. — Was it created assuming that it would be in CG? A : That’s right. Assuming it would be in CG, I had the image in mind of [a creature that was] basically just bones. Also, thinking that you might not get a sense of movement if it didn’t have some kind of legs, I added small ones. When we set it in motion, the impression it conveyed somehow became more cute than frightening. I thought, because of this, it could become popular with women, too (laughs). For the movement of its neck and tail, I of course had in mind the souen of tokusatsu. — The seventh angel was in the old familiar Heiwajima style. A : That didn’t come from me. It was an idea proposed by (Daizen) Komatsuda-kun and Shigeto Koyama-san together. — There is a spikiness to it reminiscent of the Toshiba IHI pavilion at the 1970 World’s Fair. A : I felt that, as it was constructed out of a number of identical components, like [a construction with] blocks, geometrical, and possessing many components, it couldn’t be drawn by hand, and was best suited to CG. I [?] did express the opinion that it might end up being like the World’s Fair pavilion . The final result tended a bit towards being “art”, but I thought it was good. The design of the seventh angel changed repeatedly. When we were first doing work on “Prelude,” I requested a design in advance from okama-san. The studio was not yet ready for commissions [?]; this was at a considerably early stage. Anyway, I had him make many drawings with no predetermined image, and then we would go back and forth in response to them. As, at this stage in the work, it was so early that the visual image of the new films had yet to fully solidify in my mind, I had okama-san just draw for me. Afterwards, we had a plan in place where Unit-02 would be introduced by diving from mid-air to battle an angel in the water. So, an image of, or commission for, an aquatic angel that we could get away with not having move very much was decided upon. Since [depicting] Unit-02 here would use up our sakuga-drawing time, I decided from the beginning to do the angel in CG. However, before the “taste” of okama-san’s angel could really come together, I became busy with “Prelude,” and that [earlier] work seemed to spontaneously come to an halt. So, when work resumed on “Break” after the first “Prelude” screening, I told Komatsuda-kun, who was in charge of that scene, that we could change the storyboards, and I asked him if he had any ideas. At that point he and Koyama-kun presented their proposal, and although I apologized to okama-san for doing so, I decided to use it. As the angel would only appear briefly, as, so to speak, a “yarare mecha”, I wanted it to have a visual impact. That was something the proposed design provided. In addition, it was good that the structure of the design, including the movement, was well-suited to CG. — What about the 8th angel, which you called the “falling angel” in production? A : To start with, I asked (Takashi) Watabe-san [to do the design]. His design incorporated alterations while preserving the image of the original. The idea or conceit whereby the angel unfolds from a spherical shape was contributed by Watabe-san at this point. Only I felt his design was a bit too biological to be well-suited to CG. I wanted something with a strong visual impact, simple and geometrical as well as exciting. [Considered] as a [mental] image, it’s [really] just [something] falling, so I wanted to have that feeling visually. When I thought, who would be well-suited for this, then I realized, of course, it could only be Mahiro (Maeda). It was great, as we had time on the schedule, and Mahiro attacked the work enthusiastically. He submitted things like a visual image of something the color of squid ink moving, and a design where mysterious human forms danced along the bottom of a sphere. I liked that there was a strange kind of continual motion. As I recall, the angel concealing itself when it first appears with a kind of mosaic effect was conceived during the making of the preview trailer. I didn’t want to clearly show the forms of the angels in the trailer. So, not knowing what to do, that was a desperate measure, but the result was good. Furthermore, the covering of itself with the A.T. Field and the deployment of the field as a rudder were ideas that we came up with on the spot and incorporated while viewing the output during the CG work. — What about the human form that finally emerges from within [the angel]? A : As it becomes entangled with Unit-01, I decided that it would be the only part [of the angel] to be drawn as sakuga. I asked (Yoshito) Asari-san, who was occupied in the studio with the 10th angel’s design, if he would be able to do yet another task for me, and had him draw a few rough sketches or idea sketches on the spot. I have a feeling [this] commission was made relatively early on. I had Honda-kun make a final consolidation of the idea sketches. Later on, once Mahiro’s full design was complete, I had Honda-kun redraw the design all over again in order to give it consistency or identity. That became the form [of the angel] we would put on the screen. — I heard that the CG team had a great deal of difficulty with this angel. A : Things didn’t go well at all. [There were difficulties with] the sense of enormity and the movement, and there was not enough time. We continually experimented with the image [of the angel] without it becoming settled. The work around that point went on in a total state of confusion. Again, we were doing a variety of things right up until satsuei. — I heard that the part where [the angel is] defeated was redone an astonishing number of times. A : There were a number of difficulties doing that cut—the movement of the angel up until it liquefies, conveying the size of the angel, the utilization of the initial layout—and in the end we ran out of time, so we finished the minimum possible before the film went to theaters. Just about the only good thing was (Takashi) Hashimoto-kun’s sakuga of the wave. Accordingly, in 2.22 we tackled [that sequence] once again. — The onrush of the wave was tokusatsu-esque. A : That was a scene Masayuki added in storyboarding. It was a cut he “ad-libbed” that wasn’t in the script, but the fact that it looked like the way water is poured out in tokusatsu was great. Hashimoto-kun’s sakuga were excellent, the satsuei and so on also went well, and [it ended up being] a great scene that looks like the product of an uncompromising effort. When I first watched the rushes, I thought that it needed a close up shot—or should I say, that I wanted to see one!—so I asked Norita (Takashi Hashimoto’s pet name) to add an additional cut. I was aiming at the tremendous energy of the scene where Sapporo collapses in the TV version of Japan Sinks. — Did the design of the ninth angel—that is, of Eva Unit-03—change? A : Well, the design of Unit-03 itself [remained] just about the same, I think. We basically just changed the colors a little bit. — In the battle with Unit-03, the design of the dummy plug is new. A : As there was no time at all to alter the design [of the plug] during the TV series, just about all that we could do was to have a laser disc start spinning in the back and change the color scheme with a full screen para overlay . This time we finally had the chance [to thoroughly change it], so I asked (Ikuto) Yamashita-kun to alter the design of the rear interior. He suggested that we give the rear interior a human form. I wanted the dummy plug to have the sense of a jumble of a number of elements: a slimy motion using CG, or a disgustingness to its motion; a robotic coldness, and yet a biological feeling that makes it seem like it might contain a human being. We took pains with the details of the movement, appearance, and so on, but the result was good. — After the dummy system begins operating, it becomes impossible for Shinji to see what is going on outside. A : Right. This time I wanted to emphasize the sense that Shinji couldn’t do anything, so we created a situation where his hands had been forcibly restrained by lever-like devices [?], his monitors had been completely appropriated for the usage of the dummy system, and he could only guess what was happening based on the noises reverberating inside the plug. I thought, the dummy taking his place in the cockpit, his forward field of vision will also be obstructed. The image on the monitors is information from the outside seen from the perspective of the dummy system. [Just] an unusual screen image was enough. — Has the settei of the dummy plug itself also changed a little? There is a scene where Gendo is suggestively touching [the dummy plug]. A : Right. I’m not sure it will come out in the work, but I am thinking in terms of a settei slightly altered from the original. — The design of the tenth angel, which corresponds to the angel from episode nineteen of the TV series, has also been considerably altered. A : Right. That was also the result of repeated changes. I wanted to transform [the 14th angel from the TV series] into a new angel based on the original design, as I wanted new designs for all the angels in “Break”. Accordingly, just like with the TV series, I had Asari-san drawing various rough sketches [of the angel’s design] in the studio. I had Honda-kun revise those into settei. Only the face remained identical to the TV version, as the face, I thought, was good, after all. The idea was that it would be more interesting to start by misleading the audience members who knew the previous work into thinking for a moment that this was the same angel [as before], and then rapidly transform it. The idea came up at a meeting between Asari-san, Makki, and myself. — The transforming, the growing of the tentacles, and so on, is an idea characteristic of Asari-san. A : Yeah. I believe that the foundation, and many other things, were ideas that came from Asari-san. As we were aiming at something that would appear the same as before but be in fact different, Asari-san was greatly troubled [by the difficulty of it]. — When I interviewed Tsurumaki-san, he said that the “pata-pata” [sound of paper fluttering; i.e. the paper arms] conceit was material that came from the proposal for the TV series , and he wasn’t sure why it was changed [in the film]. A : That was because I thought that its impact was, in the end, likely a one-time thing. Originally, at the time of the series proposal, the initial image was an “origami angel,” a cube that would change shape, going “pata-pata.” Then, it would link up and form a Moebius strip, and so on. That was what we were thinking during [the initial] planning. However, in the production environment of a television series at that time, that sort of depiction was very much impossible. So, that really was a design used in the series proposal that existed from the beginning. However, I intended to at least use the “pata-pata” idea somewhere. So, for episode 19, I thought that, as this is the most powerful angel, I have to use it here. The Moebius strip [idea] was considerably simplified and brought over to episode 23. But, we were able to do it at that time because we were finally able to use simple 3D CG models as guides for the sakuga. The “pata-pata” [element] of the angel was really well done, so it was hard to abandon it, as a visual [element] as well [as a design concept]. But I feel like I took the risk of switching to a different method of attack because I was searching for change. — Was the new development where [the angel] devours Unit-00 also something you conceived during the initial scenario-writing stage? A : Well, the storyline where Unit-01 devours the angel was no longer present at the earliest stage of the plot. For the new movies, from the earliest stage of planning there was a conception where “Unit-01 will reach its operational limit, cease moving, and nearly become absorbed by the tenth angel; in order to save Shinji, Rei will forcibly unite Unit-00 with the angel and self-destruct.” The script was written according to that conception up until the fifth draft. That changed from the seventh draft on to a conception where the angel devoured Unit-00. It seemed more natural that, rather than deliberately fusing with the angel, Rei would be devoured by the angel and absorbed against her will. I didn’t arrive at that idea until a great deal of time had passed. I lamented my lack of talent [afterwards], wondering why I hadn’t thought of it before then. — Why hadn’t you? A : Well, it was as Ritsuko’s line expresses it, something impossible. [Impossible] in terms of the settei in my mind. But I thought that was good, so it was better this way. I thought, I can just rethink the settei to conform with it (laughs). What was important was the appeal of the circumstance of the angel devouring the Eva. — Tsurumaki-san also said something about wanting to make the design after the absorption resemble a Sentai Series villainess. A : I thought, if we put it on screen, it would be a little too much [like] a manga. I felt that, if it has a vaguely human body and balances itself, in cel anime, a symbolic [means of] expression, it won’t be seen as anything but a giant human being. I thought that, if this was live action, there would be a way to do it, but it’s difficult in anime. We didn’t have the time or resources to do something with it. On top of that, Komatsuda-kun saying that he wouldn’t allow a woman to be beaten [in the film] was a major reason. He had a strong negative reaction, saying that, even if it is not a woman in terms of the settei, the male protagonist will be striking something that can only appear [to the viewer] as a woman, and that he was unable to direct or depict that. I thought that it certainly isn’t good if we have a person rejecting [the design] to this extent. So, with accumulated revisions, it became the current design. In color coordination, there were still a variety of issues concerning what to do about base colors and what to do about irowake . Finally, it reached its current form.