Production
Writing and inspiration
The original soundtrack of Neon Genesis Evangelion was composed by Shiro Sagisu and distributed by King Records, which was also directly involved in the conception and production of the series. [2] The music was produced by the director and main scriptwriter of the series, Hideaki Anno, who gave several instructions to the composer and was personally responsible for choosing the titles of the pieces. [3] [4] Toshimichi Ōtsuki, a representative of King Records, first approached Anno about making Evangelion and gave him the opportunity to launch the project, [5] taking on the role of one of the series' producers. Ōtsuki gave Anno artistic freedom over the entire series' production, except for the series' opening theme song, "A Cruel Angel's Thesis". [6]
Working on Anno's direction, Sagisu sought to capture a "retro" feel in the soundtrack and tie it to the psychological themes of the series. For example, to give the Eva's cockpit the feel of a mother's womb, Anno asked him to compose a melody that would accentuate a feeling of nostalgia. [7] Sagisu and Anno also attempted to differentiate the soundtrack from the soundtracks of other mecha anime series. [7] Most of the compositions were produced with sounds and methods typical of the 1970s, [8] avoiding the use of synthesisers [9] to give the tracks a nostalgic sound. [10] Most of the tracks give prominence to brass instruments, while other tracks emphasize cello or piano. [11] According to writer Masaki Miyakawa, the nostalgic touch of Sagisu's compositions was due to the production process of Japanese animated series of the time; the designs were often not finished until after the production of the soundtrack, so director Anno would have given Sagisu directions by referring to existing products. [12] The first recording sessions were held at King Records studios from 12 March 1995. [13]
Philip Brophy of Real Time compared Sagisu's soundtrack to the soundtrack of Thunderbirds , and the works of Steve Reich and Ken Ishii. [14] Miyakawa compared "Angel Attack" and "Decisive Battle" to the compositions of Japanese special effects tokusatsu films, such as Godzilla; "Angel Attack", in particular, has been compared to the soundtrack of Ryūichi Sakamoto's The Last Emperor (1987) and the song "Kyūchi ni tatsu Gandamu" (窮地に立つガンダム, lit. 'Gundam in trouble') from Mobile Suit Gundam . [15] According to Matthew Magnus Lundeen of Game Rant , the song "Angel Attack", which he likened to the theme of Jaws, was based on the compositions of old tokusatsu series, such as Ultraman or Kamen Rider , [16] while "Decisive Battle" and "Angel Attack II" were compared to the music of James Bond films, [17] specifically to the main theme of From Russia with Love (1963). [18] [19] Miyakawa compared "Rei I" to Sakamoto's compositions and the opening theme of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), [20] "Background Music" to "My Sharona" by The Knack, "She said, 'Don't make others suffer for your personal hatred'" to the music of the Ventures, "Nerv" to the music of super sentai series and "Asuka Strikes!" to American country music and "Octopus's Garden" by the Beatles. [17]
Miyakawa and several fans have also noted similarities between Sagisu's work and the music of the anime Space Battleship Yamato , [19] with which it shares the instrumentation of strings, horns, rhythm section and percussion. They have compared "Eva-01" to the song "The Birth" and the theme of Battleship Andromeda, "Background Music II" to "The Original Space Battleship Yamato" track and the main theme of The Magnificent Seven (1960), and noted that "Background Music III" may have been inspired by Yamato song "Hero's Hill", heard in the film Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato (1978). [21]
The music used in the twelfth episode during the confrontation against Sahaquiel was described by writer Dennis Redmond as "a Spanish-style aria reminiscent of Leone's Spaghetti Westerns", [22] while "Eva-00" has been compared to the works of Bernard Herrmann. [23] According to Heike Hoffer, the music reflects the psychology of the characters in the series; Misato's theme has a jazzy, laid-back sound, Asuka's has a Western sound, and Rei's has a Debussy-like harmonic piano. [24]
The track "Borderline Case", used during the introspective scenes featuring Shinji, has been noted for its metaphysical tone, and ambient or minimalist influence. [25] According to a file on the album Refrain of Evangelion, Misato's theme also has an unusual tune compared to the other soundtracks in the series; however, since Sagisu also participated in the composition of the music for the variety show Waratte iitomo! , "this type of music is also his cup of tea". [3] The series' opening theme song, "A Cruel Angel's Thesis", has been described by Jack Doyle of The Mary Sue as "a baroque pop earworm". [26] The original composition, characterised by sounds similar to music of the second half of the 1980s, has also been remixed into various genres, such as techno, jungle [27] and traditional Japanese music. [28]
Classical music
In addition to Sagisu's original compositions, the soundtrack also includes classical music, [29] such as Johann Sebastian Bach's Suite for Cello Solo No.1 in G Major, [30] Violin Partita No.3, Suite No. 3 in D Major [31] [32] and Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, [33] [34] Johann Pachelbel's Canon, [35] [36] Georg Friedrich Händel's Messiah, [37] Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem and Ludwig van Beethoven's Ode to Joy . [38] [39]
Hideaki Anno, himself a fan of classical music, [40] [41] initially requested that the Polovician Dances, from Aleksandr Borodin's opera Prince Igor , be used as the opening theme song for the series, but that request was rejected by TV Tokyo. [3] Anno's use of classical music during violent scenes has been compared to Stanley Kubrick's works. [42] [43] The Cello Suite, played by Shinji in the fifteenth episode of the series, [44] was selected by screenwriter Akio Satsukawa, who is known for using classical music pieces, such as Manon Lescaut and Madama Butterfly , in his works. [45]
Ode to Joy is used as the soundtrack for the series' twenty-fourth episode, [19] [46] and features lyrics with several parallels to the series' plot. [47] The song was used to echo the theme of the episode [48] [49] and for the line "We enter intoxicated and quivering, O Heavenly One, into Thy temple". [50] The piece was used in both the original series, [51] [52] in the scene in which Kaworu Nagisa attempts to break into the deepst part of Nerv Headquarters, [53] [54] as well as in the film Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth and in the third installment of the Rebuild of Evangelion saga. Haiku Hoffer has noted how Ode to Joy, unlike other pieces such as Bach's Cello Suite, is well known in Japan, as it is played during end-of-year concerts called Daiku; [55] the fact that Kaworu hums the piece in front of Shinji, seen in Japan as a song to be sung as a group symbol of cooperation and a sense of community, [56] would immediately suggest to the Japanese viewer how the two characters are destined to become friends over the course of the series. [46] Also audible in the piece is the phrase "der Cherub steht vor Gott", "the cherub stands before God", which Hoffer associates with the fact that Kaworu stands before the Angel Lilith, a figure resembling a deity. [57] Pachelbel's Canon has also been used in Rebuild promotional videos. [58]
Other songs
The soundtrack features contemporary songs that were not composed for the series. Tracks by Kotono Mitsuishi [59] [60] and Masami Okui are used in several scenes of the series, usually as background music or on Shinji's Digital Audio Tape player. The soundtrack features songs by Mitsuishi, Misato Katsuragi's original voice actress, including "You are the only one", [61] [62] "Aoi legend", "Toi sora no yakusoku" (遠い空の約束, lit. 'The promise of the distant sky') [63] and "Fall in a Star", [64] [65] all from Lilia 〜from Ys〜, a 1992 album dedicated to the music of the Ys video game series. [66] Mitsuishi's songs were also reused in Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone and later released in the related soundtrack albums. [67] [68]
Okui's songs "Bay side love story -from Tokyo-", [69] [70] "Face", [71] [72] "Ryōte-ippai no yume" (両手いっぱいの夢, lit. 'Hands full of dreams') [73] and "Fushigina yoru"不思議な夜 (Mysterious nights), [74] rom Gyuu , the singer's first album, were used. The fifteenth episode also features Tentō mushi no samba (てんとう𰙫のサンバ, lit. 'The ladybird's samba'), a 1973 song popular at Japanese weddings, recorded for the series during dubbing by Junko Iwao, Miki Nagasawa, Yuko Miyamura and Megumi Ogata. [75]
"Fly Me to the Moon"
For the closing theme song, staff decided to use an existing song, "Fly Me to the Moon" by Bart Howard, with original arrangement and interpretation. [76] The animations for the end theme song were designed and created by Masayuki, one of the assistant directors of the series. [77] [78] The song was later included in the various soundtrack albums [79] and reused for some promotional videos of the feature films Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone and Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance , the first and second chapters of the Rebuild. [80] [81] The song is performed by British singer Claire Littley and the anime's female voice actors, Megumi Hayashibara, Kotono Mitsuishi and Yuko Miyamura, in different versions from episode to episode. In one of the initial proposals, it was instead the opening theme song of the series that would change from episode to episode, imitating the opening song of Silver kamen . [77] The main version, arranged by Toshiyuki Omori and sung by Claire, was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. [19]
In 2003, Gainax released a new edition of the series called Renewal, including a bonus disc containing various extras. [82] A remastered version of "Fly Me to the Moon," [83] without credits, [84] was also added to the bonus disc. This extra was later added to subsequent Japanese editions, [85] such as the Blu-ray box set of the series released in 2015. [86] [87] New versions of the piece were also added to the Renewal edition. The various versions of "Fly Me to the Moon" are:
| Episode | Vocal | Version | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original | Renewal [88] [89] | Original | Renewal [88] [89] | ||
| #1 | Claire Littley [90] | Normal | |||
| #2 | Normal | Normal (without Strings) | |||
| #3 | Claire Littley [91] | Yoko Takahashi | Normal | ||
| #4 | Normal | Normal (without strings) | |||
| #5 | Megumi Hayashibara [92] | Rei #5 [93] | |||
| #6 | Megumi Hayashibara [92] | Rei #6 [94] | |||
| #7 | Yoko Takahashi [95] | 4 Beat [96] | |||
| #8 | Aya [95] | Bossa Techno [97] | |||
| #9 | Yoko Takahashi [98] | Yūko Miyamura | Acid Bossa [99] | Bossa Techno | |
| #10 | Normal [100] | Normal Orchestra (with chorus) | |||
| #11 | Claire Littley [101] | Kotono Mitsuishi, Megumi Hayashibara and Yūko Miyamura | Normal [102] | Normal Orchestra (#1) | |
| #12 | Yoko Takahashi [101] | Kotono Mitsuishi | 4 Beat [103] | Normal Orchestra (with chorus) | |
| #13 | Yoko Takahashi [104] | Acid Bossa | |||
| #14 | Yoko Takahashi [104] | Megumi Hayashibara | Normal | Normal Orchestra (solo) | |
| #15 | Off Vocal | Kotono Mitsuishi | 4 Beat [105] | ||
| #16 | Off Vocal | Kotono Mitsuishi, Megumi Hayashibara and Yūko Miyamura | Normal [105] | Normal Orchestra (Interlude Start ~ #1 Second Half) | |
| #17 | Aki | Jungle [106] | |||
| #18 | Claire Littley [106] | Off Vocal | Normal | B-4 guitar & piano | |
| #19 | Claire Littley [107] | Kotono Mitsuishi, Megumi Hayashibara and Yūko Miyamura | Normal | Normal Orchestra (#2) | |
| #20 | (Off Vocal) | B-22 A-Type [107] | B-4 piano | ||
| #21 | On-Air | Yoko Takahashi [108] | Off-Vocal | Normal | 4 Beat |
| Director's Cut | (Off Vocal) [108] | 4 Beat (90 seconds) [108] | |||
| #22 | On-Air | Aya [108] | Bossa Techno [108] | ||
| Director's Cut | (Off Vocal) [108] | Bossa Techno (80 seconds) [108] | |||
| #23 | On-Air | Megumi Hayashibara [109] | Rei #23 [109] | ||
| Director's Cut | Rei #23 (90 seconds) [109] | ||||
| #24 | On-Air | (Off Vocal) [109] | Normal [109] | ||
| Director's Cut | Normal (90 seconds) [109] | ||||
| #25 | Megumi Hayashibara [110] | Rei #25 [110] | |||
| #26 | Megumi Hayashibara [110] | Rei #26 [110] | |||
