Surely, we’ve got some bird watchers in the Anime Vice community - - just how far off is a penguin from a cockatiel in the aves class?
It’s not Pen-Pen and his ambiguous level of intelligence in the clip above, but that bird still demonstrates a level of capability that’s a little eerily above that of a regular house pet. Even if this is just a cute YouTube clip, it seems so fitting to EVANGELION’s overall oeuvre. I’m sure many hardcore EVA fans are seeing this fit precisely into the show’s themes of emerging consciousness and human (or avian) instrumentality. Comics Alliance relayed it last week, but I felt like it could still go for a spin here. While “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” is certainly a catchy ditty, it always struck me as upbeat and… karaoke-appropriate in a way that didn’t quite fit the melancholic, Apocalyptic tone of EVA.
Just listen to it again below for proper comparison and contrasting…
I feel like I ought to always end this with some question to stir the discussion, so let me ask you lunatics what anime theme you’d want to hear sung by a little birdy. I know it’s a thought you entertain every day. Myself, I’m certainly partial to “No Need For Promise” from VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE.
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE. Order them on Amazon here & here. Follow him on Twitter: @tompinchuk
....i want that bird
Lol
I think every song in Eva (whether it be from the series, the old movies, or the new ones) that has lyrics sits on an instrumental and melodic bed that's completely off for the series/scene it's in.
I'm no ornithologist, but I am a lunatic.
What I know of Eva seems to be quite melancholic...
Needs more bird songs.
Now if you'll excuse me I have to watch Evangelion again.
@sickVisionz said:
Irony is indeed a powerful tool.
I suppose I'd find Bouken Desho Desho from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and What's Up, People? from Death Note would be my personal choices.
Impressive. Most impressive.
Bwahaha!
One word: EPIC!!!
@AURON570: Except the last thing most of dramatic scenes needs in some goofy song providing audio irony. Eva does something along the lines of playing the Benny Hill chase song during dramatic scenes.
@sickVisionz: Like when? Are you referring to the scene where Kaworu kills a certain someone, and choir music is playing? I just tried looking it up, and in fact there is a parody of the scene which replaces the original music with the Benny Hill chase song... I don't see how that is relevant. In my opinion, the original choir music fits well with the scene. Shinji is in a position of power to kill a potentially harmful being. But he is unsure of whether what he is doing is right, or of what value/use it will be if he exercises this power. This is unlike how in some religions (which the choir music reminds us of) there are definitions of what is right and wrong and supposedly one can refer to religious texts or talk to a priest if they ever wonder what to do in a certain situation. It is ironic that choir music plays and for such a long period of time because, it almost makes it seem like killing Kaworu is just another inevitable religious ritual. In a way the long scene pause only teases the viewer by withholding the conclusion and forcing both Shinji and the viewer to question what is the right thing to do.
Or maybe you are referring to the scene near the end of evangelion 2.0 where this song plays?
If you listen to how the song is sung, you should notice an overall tone of hopefulness and yearning. The song begins with a single singer, then a choir joins in, then the instrumental comes in, then the choir leaves the singer and the instrumental. If you look at the lyrics, the song is about the singer making a wish to be able to fly into the huge sky without any sadness. This is fitting for Shinji because of what he ultimately tries to do, save Rei. He finally finds something that he wants to do and tries to accomplish it. The irony is that the song itself is simply about a wish, a wish to fly and be free, the actual flying and being free is not accomplished by the end of the song. Likewise, even if Shinji (a single individual) is able to save Rei, it is not certain what will become of humanity if the instrumentality project still goes through.
Or maybe you mean the opening/ending themes or the upbeat previews at the end of each episode? Or maybe even the battle music. It's possible to go through the entire series and analyze the use of music in relation to the scene in which the music is being played, and then offer an interpretation to why the music fits or is ironic or doesn't fit with the scene, but I don't currently have time for that. My overall impression of evangelion and how it uses music is that: music is used ironically in many ways, and from the irony you can show how it emphasizes the irony of Shinji's situation throughout the series, and the irony or problem of the human instrumentality project.
@AURON570: Different strokes for different folks. I get the irony but irony for irony's sake doesn't do anything for me, especially when done at the expense of a well scored scene. I'm all about end product. When you put pop ballads over dramatic scenes, to me that's a misstep even if the lyrics might actually fit the situation. Songs and music are way more than just lyrics on a sheet of paper, especially if we're talking about scoring a scene. Getting the lyrics right but completely failing on the melody and instrumental is an overall failure to me.
When I watch this, the last thing I think is that the score should be replaced with a pop ballad, no matter how many parallels the lyrics make or how comedically ironic the lyrics vs the music is.
They could make a million parallels a second but this would still be a vastly inferior musical choice to what they could have gone with in my opinion. Irony for irony's sake doesn't do anything for me, especially when you're doing it at the expense of the scene.
PS, the video in your post is fine to me. The music is uplifting and the scene is about someone rescuing someone. Practically zero goofy irony for irony's sake is in it.
I have to disagree and why can we not get analysis like this in the watch and learn? This is the kind of analysis I love! Music or art style that doesn't "fit" a scene can enhance the power of a scene by comparison. Now and Then Here and There does this very well. The overall depressing and sad feel of the show is enhanced by the art style which is Saturday morning cartoon.
@sickVisionz: It's not irony for irony's sake, it's irony to emphasize ambiguity. That's a pretty good find to directly compare the two scenes. The different scenes have a different effect overall. Maybe they decided to use that music in 2.22 in order to prime viewers for when they hear the similar song in the scene that I posted. In this scene Shinji is helpless as he watches what happens, but in the scene later, where similar music plays, he is trying his hardest to save Rei. It's a different approach than what they did in the original anime series. The music that plays in the original scene is almost like battle music, like the music that plays every time NERV prepares to fight an angel and deploys the EVAs. I honestly can't say which scene is "better", but they're certainly different and produce a different effect overall.