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That's a very clear explication of that final scene, Seth. The refusal of Instrumentality returns us to a world with boundaries, where the actions of discrete individuals once again have meaning and can help or harm others. So, the fact that Shinji's first act on returning to such a world - attempting to strangle Asuka - for all the shock and misery that it contains, nonetheless provides an ending that can be seen as hopeful and positive. Of course, very few people might be expected to take such a view without having first been thoroughly immersed in Anno's weltschmerz for the previous 90 minutes or 24/26 episodes.
I'd like to add that in my opinion, EoE, for all the "grim, disturbing, cataclysmic" elements that Paleface rightly points up, is also full of wonderfully romantic, humane moments. Misato's final speech to Shinji (and her murmured coda when she's alone), Ibuki's and Fuyutsuki's ecstatic union with their heart's desire at the moment of Instrumentality, all of Yui, Rei and Kaworu's dialogue with Shinji in the Sea of LCL, the long, impressionistic live-action sequence... the whole last half of the movie, on the right day, can turn me into a blubbering wreck. It hits the same way a great Flaming Lips song, like "Do You Realize??" or "What is the Light", can do... a huge, orchestrally powerful, overwhelming expression of hope and faith in the midst of the very worst things that life can throw at you. |
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