Welcome to the New Term of 2023

Hello! This will be my first post in this new term of 2023. To begin with, I'd like to write down about an important figure that have inspired me in my interests and passion, which is films. 

Source: Shutterstock

The amazing filmmaker and artist I am referring to is Hideaki Anno. He is notable for his animation works but has also made some live-action films. I first came across his first work, Neon Genesis Evangelion back in 2018, just when I started getting interested in films. Evangelion is an animated series and a movie about the experiences and emotions of Evangelion pilots and Nerv personnel as they prevent mysterious monsters called Angels. 

Source: IGN

It was challenging and confusing to watch and understand in the beginning, because it diverts from my expectations of a mecha-action film as it focuses more on the psychology of its characters and deep philosophy of humanity. There were a lot of experimental techniques being used which I had never seen at the time, such as its long takes, jump cuts, its montage of screaming, and images to portray certain emotions and moods. By the end of it, I felt conflicted, and I thought to myself that there hasn't been a film that made me feel this way. I was confused about what Anno wanted to tell the audience, but it lead me to become curious of his works.

Returning to Evangelion a few months since, and the show's morals became clearer and more personal to me. I find it amazing that the worldbuilding is set on such a grand scale with huge stakes. Along with that, I grew to like how he explored each character more deeper by showing their traumatic past and struggle to find personal meaning. When it reached the final point, I felt really compelled because I had realized the meaning that Anno wanted to express. That is, through the main character's decision to face reality and live despite knowing its pain, he meant to show that there will always be hope and chance for happiness as long as we live.

Source: Reelrundown

Later on, as I get to know more about his animation works, I realized that I've started liking his approach to characters. For example, in His and Her Circumstances, a romance, Anno tried a different approach to the genre by emphasizing both characters' past and inner feelings on their relationship and their own inferiority. Then, there is Gunbuster, one of his earliest works. Here, Anno emphasized the deep struggles each character is facing, especially with the immense risk they are taking as pilots and the personal problems they faced because of it. Like Evangelion, he executed the sci-fi genre wonderfully despite its grand scale.

I think that his approach, which is to explore characters deeply as humans while also showing the conditions of the society or world surrounding them made his animated films compelling. In a way, his characters feel personal through their individual struggles and how society and others made them so. An analysis by SpasticSurgeon (2018) in his website summed up what I felt about Anno's characters, "Hideaki Anno’s work, beyond simply executing on a genre well, explores the human and uses his characters as ciphers for the universal human struggle to find meaning and purpose. In this way, the appeal of his work transcends genre sensibilities."

Source: Mubi

I found the same approach when I watched his live-action films, such as Love & Pop. Here, Anno shows the main character's struggle in her direction in life, her relationship with her friends, and her own worth as she fell deeper into the world of compensated dating culture in Japan. In Shiki Jitsu, Anno again explores themes of escapism through the relationship between a film director searching for reality and a woman living in her fantasy. He also made a big budget blockbuster live-action, Shin Godzilla, which made me think of him as a versatile director.

I've found myself inspired to see how Anno deconstructs genres and makes such a powerful and meaningful statement through his humanistic characters. I've learned through him that there exists a different and more personal approach I can take to films, which I can achieve by balancing characters and the issue I am exploring. From watching his filmography, I gained a feeling of wanting to create better characters by considering their feelings, action, and past more clearly. I also gained a desire to make films that talk deeply about important issues in society.

References:

• Frank, A. and Romano, A. (2019) 8 things to know about neon genesis evangelion, the legendary anime now streaming on Netflix, Vox. Vox. Available at: https://www.vox.com/2019/6/21/18683621/neon-genesis-evangelion-netflix-release-explained (Accessed: January 9, 2023).
• SpasticSurgeon (2018) Why hideaki anno's characters feel real, SpasticSurgeon. Available at: https://spasticsurgeon.wordpress.com/2018/01/18/why-hideaki-annos-characters-feel-real/ (Accessed: January 16, 2023).
• Hideaki Anno Japanese animator hideaki Anno Editorial Stock Photo (no date) Shutterstock. Available at: https://www.shutterstock.com/editorial/image-editorial/japan-tokyo-film-festival-tokyo-japan-6760000c (Accessed: January 16, 2023).
• Zelkiiro (2018) Anime reviews: "Gunbuster (aim for the top!)", ReelRundown. ReelRundown. Available at: https://reelrundown.com/animation/Anime-Reviews-Gunbuster-Aim-for-the-Top (Accessed: January 16, 2023).
• Love & Pop (1998) (no date) Mubi. Available at: https://mubi.com/films/love-pop (Accessed: January 16, 2023).