Anime And Manga Series

"[during her duel with Utena] You, that girl, the Student Council members, all of you look down on me. Without a care in the world, flaunting the power you all were born with!"

"When I was a little girl, my mama said to me, "You're the princess of the Onion Kingdom!" and I actually believed her."

"[to Utena] It's like something was stolen from you and made you a coward! I don't know what it was, but if something was taken from you, then take it back!"

"When everything around you is impure, you have no choice but to become impure yourself."

"I want everything to disappear! Miki and I are the only things worthy of existence!"

"Believe in miracles, and they will know your feelings."

"[to Juri] You must hate me for what I've done. Yet I have no problem taking him from you."

"[to Juri] So pretty. I loved the look in your eyes when I hurt you. I always thought you were stronger than anyone…and yet now you seem so weak."

"[talking about Juri] I'm the one who's always been there in her heart! I've beaten her in the end!"

"I understand. I suppose you have no choice but to revolutionize the world. The way before you has been prepared."

"Anthy: Utena, have you heard of Cantarella? Utena: Cantarella? Anthy: It's the name of a deadly poison that the Italian Borgia family used in the past. Utena: Really... Anthy: How do you like those cookies? I baked them. Utena: What a coincidence. That tea is poisoned too. Anthy: Really? It's quite delicious. Utena: So are these cookies."

"Ancient creatures died and left naught but fossil fuels, like coal and petroleum. Without that sacrifice, our present energy civilization would not exist. That sort of sacrifice is what is always demanded."

"[To Utena] I see: It's that memory that's been supporting you up until now. No need to be ashamed, because the memory you possess is a worthy one. Only those with beautiful memories are allowed to wish, "If only those days could last forever, if only I could still be what I was back then." I know that you're the same as myself. Your eyes are like those people who can't help wanting to make memories last forever."

"You stand here before me because of the illusion you've created! That's what allows you to enter the dueling arena! Am I wrong? In the end, you and I are the same."

"At that time, at that place, who was actually there and who was not?"

"Eternity means lasting forever, right? For years, decades, centuries, millennia, eons, and on and on. My life may be just a moment, but.... Eternity means that this moment lasts billions of billions of years, without end. I.... I.... I want eternity."

"I think you mean "Rose Groom." I'm a boy."

"I wonder if the flowers themselves are happy, being forced to last so long. Eternity doesn't exist in this world, does it? It's just that one could think that a heart that longs for eternity is beautiful"

"Narration: Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a little princess, and she was very sad, for her mother and father had died. Before the princess appeared a traveling prince, riding upon a white horse. He had a regal bearing and a kind smile. The prince wrapped the princess in a rose-scented embrace and gently wiped the tears from her eyes. "Little one," he said, "who bears up alone in such deep sorrow, never lose that strength or nobility, even when you grow up. I give you this to remember this day. We will meet again. This ring will lead you to me one day." Perhaps the ring the prince gave her was an engagement ring. This was all well and good, but so impressed was she by him that the princess vowed to become a prince herself one day. But was that really such a good idea?"

"Ruka: She's a fool because she doesn't realize that her miracle is standing atop someone else's sacrifice. But that's the sort of person who receives miracles."

"Even fans of the sci-fi genre who avoid anime altogether have likely heard of Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell, which were each landmarks of both style and substance. But arguably the greatest and certainly most thematically dense of the three 90's sci-fi anime masterpieces is Neon Genesis Evangelion. It has one of the most enduring worldwide cult franchises and passionate fanbases in all of geekdom ... the most celebrated cast in anime ... [and] poster boy/protagonist Shinji is one of the most nuanced, popular, and relatable characters in anime history."

"Evangelion is my life and I have put everything I know into this work. This is my entire life. My life itself."

"I wrote about myself. My friend lent me a book on psychological illness and this gave me a shock, as if I finally found what I needed to say."

"Evangelion is like a puzzle, you know. Any person can see it and give his/her own answer. In other words, we're offering viewers to think by themselves, so that each person can imagine his/her own world. We will never offer the answers, even in the theatrical version. As for many Evangelion viewers, they may expect us to provide the 'all-about Eva' manuals, but there is no such thing. Don't expect to get answers by someone. Don't expect to be catered to all the time. We all have to find our own answers."

"Rei is someone who is aware of the fact that even if she dies, there’ll be another to replace her, so she doesn’t value her life very highly. Her presence, her existence—ostensible existence—is ephemeral. She’s a very sad girl. She only has the barest minimum of what she needs to have. She’s damaged in some way; she hurts herself. She doesn’t need friends.."

"Anno's project is a postmodernist retelling of the Genesis myth, as his series title implies—Neon Genesis Evangelion. It is a new myth of origin, complete with its own deluge, Armageddon, apocalypse and transcendence."

"When monstrous angels invade the world, the children of Evangelion are recruited to pilot the giant cyborg Evangelion units against them. Most are reluctant soldiers, recruited just as reluctantly by their adult supervisors."

"The child soldiers of Evangelion are a fairly direct embodiment of the "kids are our future" axiom: By accident of biology or design, they're the only ones capable of piloting the only devices capable of staving off Armageddon."

"In Japan, Evangelion is an enormous content and merchandise industry with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Images of its biomechanical Eva robots are on everything from coffee mugs to smartphones and even airplane wraps."

"The meat of Evangelion, for which these elements are mostly trappings, is in the psychological complexity of its characters and its philosophical examination of the nature of relationships and the self. Structured around eschatological Judeo-Christian imagery and a Freudian mother-worship of religious proportions, Evangelion takes us on a nightmarish ride of existential angst and brutal physical violence, climaxing in an elaborate fantasy of return to an idyllic, primal state of oneness. Through this lurid mix of confession and spectacle is woven a complex examination of apocalypse and self-definition, a death-rebirth narrative that consciously exists in the shadow of Hiroshima."

"Neon Genesis Evangelion imaginatively reinterprets elements of Christian eschatology and Jewish mysticism and combines them with Oedipal and Mother Goddess imagery to construct a painful but ultimately liberative narrative of personal and social self-revelation."

"...the series questions the construction of human identity [. . .] in relation to the nature of reality itself. Providing more riddles than solutions, the series takes the viewer on a journey into both inner and outer reality before ultimately leaving both its characters and its audience floating in a sea of existential uncertainty."

"The basic concept is simple: Huge bio-machines called Evangelions, or Evas, piloted by specially recruited teenagers, battle monstrous giants known as Angels that are wreaking havoc on the human survivors of a global calamity. However, Anno and his team at the Gainax animation studio created a world highly developed not only visually — the mechanics of the Evas in particular were so realistic that they seemed less drawn than designed — but also narratively, emotionally and spiritually. The Eva pilots — especially the troubled, sensitive Shinji, whose coldly calculating dad had developed the Evas — were strongly individualistic types whose turbulent lives were as much a part of the series’ appeal as its titanic Eva-versus-Angel battles. The show also incorporated a melange of religious symbolism, and a wealth of psychological and philosophical themes reflecting Anno’s own investigations and beliefs, as well as his long struggle with depression."

"Oh this is... this is nice, this is the end, okay. Where exactly am I? Oh grea… here's the song, oh good. Um, there's some things that are still unresolved here, guys! How do I get home? What do I eat? Was Rei my-my mom? Or a clone? Or, hell, was this all in my mind? Wha-what's an EVA? Is that sort of a Freudian thing? Er… um Am I real? Oh, hell, does a bus run through here? I mean, I'd like to go home now but um… Oh God… Where's home? Okay, okay, okay. I mustn't run away, I mustn't run... Okay I got that, good, okay. Now, if I were to run away, let's analyze that: Where the fuck would I go? I'm on a big blue ball! Uhh, is this how you end the series? I mean, is this where we go from here? Okay, the movie better sure as Hell make up for this, I'm telling you right now, 'cause I'm stuck in Nowhereland! You ran outta ink too, didn't you, ya bastards?"

"I didn't mind it. The schedule was an utter disaster and the number of cels plummeted, so there were some places where unfortunately the quality suffered. However, the tension of the staff as we all became more desperate and frenzied certainly showed up in the film ... About the time that the production system was completely falling apart, there were some opinions to the effect that, "If we can't do satisfactory work, then what's the point of continuing?" However, I didn't feel that way. My opinion was, "Why don't we show them the entire process including our breakdown."

"There are a lot of giant robot shows in Japan, and we did want our story to have a religious theme to help distinguish us. Because Christianity is an uncommon religion in Japan we thought it would be mysterious. None of the staff who worked on Eva are Christians. There is no actual Christian meaning to the show, we just thought the visual symbols of Christianity look cool. If we had known the show would get distributed in the US and Europe we might have rethought that choice."

"Often anime are perceived as shallow children's films punctuated by the occasional adult-themed anime, centered around violence or sex. One of the many elements of Neon Genesis Evangelion that sets it apart is that it is aimed at children and teens while dealing with sophisticated themes in a manner that is subtle and inoffensive. These complex themes are much more present in the films than in the television series, perhaps due to the nature of television censors. On the surface, EVA appears to be like many other anime. Yet EVA is intrinsically different not just due to its handling of potentially controversial subject matter but because the films are self-reflexive of the genre itself."

"Lauded by some as the “single greatest anime series ever made,” Neon Genesis Evangelion has been interpreted in a variety of ways by Western scholars. Susan J. Napier has said that the subject matter of EVA consists mainly of sexual, psychological and Judeo-Christian religious content. Although there is some merit to such interpretations, there is a great deal of evidence in the series and films that has been ignored by Napier and other Western scholars that points toward a Japanese, rather than Western, heritage. In particular, I suggest a deep understanding of Buddhist cosmology and philosophy is present in EVA. In other words, as one delves deeper into EVA, one finds that the Judeo-Christian imagery – while clearly present – cannot account for many of the narrative twists, turns, and developments. Similarly, the Western identification of sexual and psychological traits are also supportable to some extent. These features may also reflect indigenous Japanese and specifically Buddhist concepts. In addition, I suggest that there is a larger contextual basis at work in this series and the two films that can account for the specific elements that many scholars have deemed "confusing.""

"Fellow Earth Federation citizens! I appeal to you all. Zeon is exhausted! It is low on troops! Low on ships, weapons, and even ammunition! Why then should we surrender? Dear fellow citizens, our true enemy is no longer Zeon but our own weak leaders. Hiding behind some notion of "absolute democracy", they are reduced to absolute indecision. Why should we the survivors of this horrible war, entrust them with the power to make decisions for us!?"

"Many of your fathers and brothers have perished valiantly in the face of a contemptible enemy. We must never forget what the Federation has done to our people! These brave men have shown us these virtues through their own valiant sacrifice. By focusing our anger and sorrow, we are finally in a position where victory is within our grasp, and once again, our most cherished nation will flourish. Victory is the greatest tribute we can pay those who sacrifice their lives for us! Rise, our people, Rise! Take your sorrow, and turn it into anger! Zeon thirsts for the strength of its people! SIEG ZEON!"

"Those who grew up in the 1960s have at least a minimal understanding of the memories retained by Japanese people about the war that happened 20 years ago. Besides that, I was able to observe what could be called military history. Those were my basic resources."

"When making Gundam Reconguista in G, I interacted with fans for the first time in a long while, and I realised that without a doubt, there is such a thing as “present fans,” and that different people look at it in a different way. Did you know that most of the early fans of Mobile Suit Gundam, the very first in the series, were girls?"

"There is no other way for mankind to last forever, except by living under the direct control of "we", "the chosen, superior race of Zeon". If this war drags on, it will pose a serious threat to all of mankind. We must teach those slow-witted people of the Earth Federation a lesson they will always remember. Now is the time for mankind to stand up for the future! HAIL ZEON!"

"OK, OK, I remember now: In English, people use the term ‘dynamic' to politely describe something that is ‘incomprehensible', right (laughs)? To be completely honest with you, the parts of Trigun Maximum that I pay special attention to and try to make easy to understand are the action scenes within the story. I have all these images running through my head of characters moving this way and that, and contorting into all sort sorts of amazing action poses, but thinking about it and putting it to paper are always two different things. If I try to get the ideas from my head to the paper without compromising the original poses or action that I had, it often comes out complicated, affecting the ‘follow-ability' of the story, as well. Also, regarding the story, I have continually been trying to build it in a logical and intuitive manner, so maybe that's why it seems like the story has become easier to follow. One thing I'd like to note: I think that in creating manga, both hemispheres of the brain are used, and the differences between the two show themselves as you create."

"I've always really liked industrial design, and whenever I'm out and about I find my eyes being constantly drawn to what I'd like to consider ‘good shapes'. Like any other artist, though, I draw a lot of my inspiration from movies, toys or artists that I admire. And about the intricacy of my character designs – well, I am sure readers have noticed, but there are subtle inconsistencies in design and art in each panel. These intricacies come back to haunt me every time I notice a difference in one panel to the next, and I really wonder sometimes why I decided to make Vash and Legato so detailed (laughs)."