I think there's a scene in one of the EVA remakes that like... copying one of Touga and Utena's scenes pretty closely-- the one where he puts the can of pop on her cheek.

Don't mind my rambling, I'm exhausted.

Yeah, in regards to the final scene of 2.0, here's a scene-for-scene comparison someone made: http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/8541/skurebuild.jpg

I'm not sure if it's intended as a direct homage, but they are quite similar, so it's entirely possible.  I think I read somewhere that Anno actually wanted Ikuhara on the Eva staff...

Huh!  Well, on one hand, some aspects of that sequence are pretty iconic; Michelangelo did something similar on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel before Kunihiko Ikuhara was a gleam in his great-great-great-grandfather's eye.  On the other hand, that does look like a frame-for-frame match, doesn't it?  And of course, Shinya Hasegawa worked on animation for both Eva and Utena; maybe he saw a thematic link?  Pretty cool!

Holy carp monkey ON ANOTHER CARP MONKEY.

Such a good catch.

moonrabbit wrote:

I'm not sure if it's intended as a direct homage, but they are quite similar, so it's entirely possible.  I think I read somewhere that Anno actually wanted Ikuhara on the Eva staff...

No kidding...but I have the unfortunate feeling that Ikuhara-sama wouldn't be too impressed by the tribute.

Last edited by Scoluron (12-02-2010 12:37:42 AM)

Giovanna wrote:

I dunno, Ikuhara seems to me egotistical enough to enjoy any kind of tribute. And this isn't the first time SKU has been referenced in anime since. I can't remember the name but there was some genki shojo anime that was basically exactly what SKU mocked that ripped huge chunks from the opening sequence.

It seems worth noting that (per Wikipedia) End of Evangelion was released on July 19, 1997, while the Utena anime ran from April 2 to December 24, 1997.  Since the shot in question is from the last episode of Utena, it seems like technically, chronologically, Ikuni would be ripping off Anno, not vice versa!

Last edited by satyreyes (12-02-2010 02:23:13 AM)

satyreyes wrote:

It seems worth noting that (per Wikipedia) End of Evangelion was released on July 19, 1997, while the Utena anime ran from April 2 to December 24, 1997.  Since the shot in question is from the last episode of Utena, it seems like technically, chronologically, Ikuni would be ripping off Anno, not vice versa!

This is a different film. This is the second of four planned 'rebuilds' of the original series in movie format. End of Evangelion was exactly that--another vision of the finale of the series, and that came out in '97. This movie, Rebuild 2: You Can(not) Advance (I think) came out like last year or the year before.

Giovanna wrote:

I can't remember the name but there was some genki shojo anime that was basically exactly what SKU mocked that ripped huge chunks from the opening sequence.

A bit off-topic, but there's a manga called Shitsurakuen that has a TON of similarities to Utena. Even the title, "Paradise Lost" in Japanese, makes me think of the lyrics in Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku. The basic plot centers around a girl who wants to become a knight and protect the girls of the school from an abusive battle game staged by the mysterious all-male student council.  It even has weapons coming out of people's chests, no joke.

The first time I saw that scene in Rebuild of Evangelion, I didn't even think to connect it to Utena, haha.

LOVE.

I always knew there was a connection between Ikuhara and Anno, Utena and Eva, but I didn't know it was Enokido. Go figure, he's the creepy dark shadow over both stories.

You know what, seriously, there really needs to be a comparison essay or something done--there's too much similar here to ignore, and a lot to say about things that are different. Right off the top of my head, Shinji and Utena are polar opposites--one has almost no motivation, flails, and runs away every third episode, the other motivates herself and by it runs right into a spiny brick wall made of Akio cars and swords. Neither has exactly the most informed approach on life, but both are completely products of what's come before. A frightening thought, when you consider their youth, and an encouraging thought, when you consider they both break free of the yoke of their pasts in the end. SKU and Eva say, oftentimes, very much the same thing, and sometimes in very similar ways. (For chrissakes they both have 'brainless doll' female antaga-protaga-wtf-ists!) You really have to wonder if the big differences are the manifestations of their creators, not just Ikuhara and Anno, but the entire respective staffs. Who conveyed the message more clearly? Who felt better about what they were saying? I wonder.

PS. FFFFFFF I don't have time to be on another forum I don't

Giovanna wrote:

I always knew there was a connection between Ikuhara and Anno, Utena and Eva, but I didn't know it was Enokido. Go figure, he's the creepy dark shadow over both stories.

There are a few interviews between Ikuhara and Anno available online but none of them focuses directly on their works. As you say, in both cases large parts of the stories were influenced by the staff, and at least in Evangelion's case we know that the staff used to throw around *really* weird ideas that fortunately (or not) didn't make it to the final work.

Giovanna wrote:

Right off the top of my head, Shinji and Utena are polar opposites--one has almost no motivation, flails, and runs away every third episode, the other motivates herself and by it runs right into a spiny brick wall made of Akio cars and swords.

That's right, but the Shinji in the "Rebuild" movies is a different character than the Shinji in the original series. He's more emotionally adjusted and can certainly be more motivated than before, especially when his... er, "princess" is in danger. That's not always a good thing, as he can go to the point of destroying the world to save her. (fortunately, non-heteronormative bishounen are always around to save the day)

Emiemipoemi wrote:

This. I logged into evageeks.org just a couple days ago since every 5 months or so my obsession with Eva pops up again and lemme tell ya . . . as much as I love reading everything and as much as I looooove Eva, there is no way I could ever lurk that forum as much as I lurk this one. (Plus you guys are way more friendly.)

You're right, EvaGeeks isn't one of the most friendly and relaxing places on the internet, with trolls, some rude members and "funny" moderation. But hey, it's an Evangelion forum, the antisocial behaviour of the members is fitting to the show they talk about

As much as I both love and hate that place, I must admit that they had some interesting ideas, my favourite one is probably their Commentary Project. Unfortunately it was more or less abandoned years ago, but we're (slowly) working to restart it.
Having something similar for SKU would be awesome (well, one can dream, right? )

Talking of Utena shout-outs, check out the cover of the latest Hayate the Combat Butler DVD:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclo … p?id=15689

I've never seen this show, but it sounds like it does a lot of otaku references and parodies.

Nope, we ain't got that.

What we do have are the original fan-translations of the series in script format. This was back before fansubbing was easy and common--the scripts were a fan community project to encourage fansubbing. We general use them for reference and analysis over the scripts used in the American releases of the show, since they're more consistent and agreed to be more accurate overall. They're on Empty Movement, actually. http://ohtori.nu/scripts

YES! I KNEW it wasn't me just being crazy and seeing Utena everywhere I go.

On a side note on Utena/Shinji being polar opposites yet the same, can you also count the fact that they both don't fit the typical gender role. Utena being the girl/prince she is and Shinji being designed to be very feminine looking and his taking the submissive/'female' role in some of his relationships (noteably with Kaworu and Asuka) and in life.

And they both have playboy double agents, supressed lesbians, manipulative/abusive older male familial figures and I'm sure I could go on...

This thread just made my day .