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TV Review – Neon Genesis Evangelion Episodes 13 thru 18

Neon Genesis Evangelion – Episodes 13 thru 18
Written by Hideaki Anno, Mitsuo Iso, Akio Satsukawa, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Shinji Higuchi
Directed by Tensai Okamura, Masahiko Ōtsuka, Ken Andō, Naoyasu Habu, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Minoru Ōhara

Neon Genesis Evangelion is finally unfolding its mystery with this batch of episodes. Of everything I have watched so far, these were the ones that grabbed me the most. I won’t say I understand every detail of what is going on, but the ideas presented here are both about how the Angels are evolving and what NERV’s true end goal is with the development of Evas. Some very anime-trope-y things are still going on, but they feel toned down in this section of the series. I think that was the right idea because now we’re starting to see who the real villain of this story is, and I don’t think it’s the Angels.

TV Review – Neon Genesis Evangelion Episodes 7 thru 12

Neon Genesis Evangelion – Episodes 7-12
Written by Hideaki Anno, Yōji Enokido, Akio Satsukawa, and Seiji Mizushima
Directed by Keiichi Sugiyama, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Tsuyoshi Kaga, Hiroyuki Ishidō, and Tetsuya Watanabe

Here are my thoughts on the first six episodes of Evangelion

My feelings on this next batch of six episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion are far more positive than the first six. The first six were not terrible, but these are diving just a bit more beneath the surface of the back story, and some characters are introduced that add some much-needed conflict & new personalities to the series.

PopCult Podcast – Seven Samurai/The Hidden Fortress

Akira Kurosawa is one of the greatest filmmakers to ever live and his movies have had a profound influence on the form. Today we talk about a group of ronin defending a village & the story of a princess in peril that should feel familiar.

PopCult Podcast – Perfect Days/Tokyo Story

Two quiet slice of life dramas get the spotlight this week. Wim Wenders finds poignancy in the life of a public toilet cleaner as he makes connections. Ozu delivers his humanist masterpiece with a quiet family epic.

Patron Pick – Monster (2023)

This special reward is available to Patreon patrons who pledge at the $10 or $20 monthly levels. Each month, those patrons will pick a film for me to review. If they choose, they also get to include some of their thoughts about the movie. This Pick comes from Matt Harris.

Monster (2023)
Written by Yuji Sakamoto
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda

After seeing Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 2017 masterpiece Shoplifters, I was in awe. Watching his follow-up, Broker, was less moving of an experience. It’s a good movie, but it wasn’t as good as the first one I saw. While there is a body of work going back to the 1990s that I want to explore, for now, we move forward to the director’s latest film, Monster. I made sure I went into this film knowing very little other than that the plot focused on two middle-school-age boys. I’m so glad I didn’t know the story’s details because with each loop the narrative made back to its start, I was left wondering where we were being led.

Movie Review – Millennium Actress

Millennium Actress (2001)
Written by Sadayuki Murai and Satoshi Kon
Directed by Satoshi Kon

Perfect Blue was my introduction to Satoshi Kon, which blew my mind. It was my first time seeing anime that wasn’t fantastical but grounded in reality. However, that didn’t stop Kon from showing us why animation was the best way to present this story. He did things with animation that were impossible with live action or too cost-prohibitive. Still, it felt right at home with any Hitchcock or De Palma psycho-thriller. Over the 2023 holidays, we watched Tokyo Godfathers, another film whose premise doesn’t automatically lead one to animation. However, Kon shows us again why he could only tell this story the way he wanted with the near-limitless possibilities of the form. Going into Millennium Actress, I wondered how he would showcase the art form with this film.

TV Review – Neon Genesis Evangelion: Episodes 1 thru 6

Neon Genesis Evangelion
Episodes 1-6
Written by Hideaki Anno, Yōji Enokido, and Akio Satsukawa
Directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, Hiroyuki Ishidō, Tsuyoshi Kaga, and Keiichi Sugiyama

My track record with anime has not been fantastic. I find I more often prefer anime films over long-form series. Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue) has become a favorite, though I have yet to see Paprika. Hayao Miyazaki is a genre of animation unto himself, so if anything, that’s an entire branch of anime separate from the rest. Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) is a visionary whose work staggers me every time I see it. While I haven’t done a deep dive into it yet, Mamoru Oshii’s work, like Ghost in the Shell, is fascinating. When it comes to anime shows, my most significant exposure was being in the room during college while friends watched Dragonball Z on Toonami every afternoon. I was not a fan. I had other friends who were into things like Inuyasha, and I watched films like Vampire Hunter D. A few years ago, I took in a couple of Attack on Titan episodes, but it just wasn’t for me.

Movie Review – Hiroshima, Mon Amour

Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959)
Written by Marguerite Duras
Directed by Alain Resnais

Some historical events seem to be glossed over. We’re taught they happened, but then the textbook quickly moves on to other topics. One of these is the atomic bombing of Japan. I personally believe this sits beside the Holocaust as the two most monstrous acts ever performed by humans on each other. Because I came along decades after the act, I was fed the very manicured propaganda around it. Even worse, I was homeschooled and given Bob Jones University’s take. I think most of us couldn’t really articulate what happened directly following the dropping of those bombs or what the mood in Japan was in the following weeks or months. But such a thing could not happen without the people’s lives being devastated beyond anything we Americans have experienced.

Movie Review – Tokyo Godfathers

Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
Written by Keiko Nobumoto & Satoshi Kon
Directed by Satoshi Kon

This year, I wanted to look at some Christmas-themed films & television specials that are not part of the traditional canon but aren’t a garbage fire. Last year, I did a series titled “A Very 2000s Christmas” and found that decade to have some of the most rotten, mean-spirited dreck centered around a holiday that purports to be the opposite. I needed some media that brought me Christmas cheer this year. We start with this animated feature film from Japanese master filmmaker Satoshi Kon. I first became aware of Kon when I watched his incredible psychological thriller, Perfect Blue. When I found out he had made a Christmas film, it seemed like a perfect addition to this list.

Movie Review – Stray Dog

Stray Dog (1949)
Written by Akira Kurosawa & Ryūzō Kikushima
Directed by Akira Kurosawa

When we think about Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, we typically think of samurai films, his earlier work like Rashomon & the Yojimbo films, or his later epics like Ran or Throne of Blood. But Kurosawa was a far more diverse filmmaker than that. He directed four noir movies in the post-war era of Japan, and Stray Dog served as the way forward for the genre in Japan. Watching Stray Dog today, you can see its influence spread beyond Japan. Noir from China and South Korea show their roots in this earlier picture, its unique mixture of comedy and crime stories. Where American noir was restrained by the morals of the Hays Code, particularly that crime can’t pay and the police cannot be mocked, Japanese cinema had no such restraints. As a result, Stray Dog feels ahead of its time compared to the noir of the States in the 1940s.