Lately, I have been thinking a lot of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Something is bothering my mind.
One day, when I was reading a book on Christianity, I found the phrase,'Eli, Eli lama Sabachtani.'
This phrase is not alien to me. I have known about this phrase a long time before I purchased my first Bible.
For your information, this is the phrase quoted from Jesus Christ during the event of crucifixion. It means, 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?'
When I heard for the first time of this phrase, it is included in the lyrics of a System of A Down song, Chop Suey. Amazed with the magically constructed lyrics, I made a research on it and found this phrase embedded in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34.
5 years later, I watched Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE).
Whilst I was watching the anime, I was disturbed with lack of attention from Ikari Shinji's father, Ikari Gendo. He never show any emotion towards his son even after Shinji saved humanity from utter destruction.
Ok. Now this is the real matter.
What if we substituted Shinji as the Son of God, and Ikari Gendo as God the Father.
Does this ring a bell?
Jesus was crucified even after his greatest effort to spread the Word of God. His frustration of the silence from his Father was finally revealed at the Cross.
It is quite similar with Shinji's situation. However, both Shinji and Jesus never gave up and persisted on completing the missions ordered by their Fathers.
It is true that NGE is full with Judaeo-Christian references, but this kind of similarity is quite shocking to me. It is not superficially done by naming the characters and other props with religious identity. It is done by using the whole plot as the medium to convey the real story behind it.
Others characters can be seen as similar with their Biblical counterparts but as I am not an expert with the history of Christianity, I think it will be better for me to stop here.
Can I say that NGE is a complete retelling of the story of Jesus Christ using modern technology and robotic era as a disguise?
. . . . . . . . . .
Watching anime as a way to learn about other way of thinking and philosophy. Cool isn't it?
*I'm not sorry for my Engrish. Practice makes perfect.
