While the recently released blockbuster Warner Brothers’ film, Joker, may not seem to have much in common with the anime franchise of Neon Genesis Evangelion at first glance, the two do have more similarities than you may think. With the protagonists of both franchises focusing on the mental disabilities of Shinji Ikari and Arthur Fleck, one fan of both creative outputs has managed to unite the two by combining footage from the recent film and the intro song from Evangelion!
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Twitter User Argumentwinner managed to ingeniously blend the iconic anime opening theme with the trailer that gives us our first look at Arthur Fleck, the aspiring standup comedian who eventually finds himself becoming the Clown Prince of Crime himself, the Joker:
the joker trailer but its cut to the intro of evangelion pic.twitter.com/0C7tGbg8bq
— the philosophy joker (@argumentwinner) October 8, 2019
Both the worlds of Shinji and Ikari are quite brutal in completely different ways. While both certainly have father issues, that existential threats that surround them are completely different. Shinji is attempting to win his father’s attention by piloting a giant mech suit that seems to correspond with his unique mental challenges, while Arthur is looking to become a standup comedian as his mind continues to lose its ability to tell reality from fantasy with each passing day.
Both Neon Genesis Evangelion and Joker take a hard look at the mental challenges that can be a part of society we encounter in our day to day lives. Both franchises landed to critical acclaim, with Joker managing to overtake the box offices to boot during its recent opening weekend. Neon Genesis Evangelion was able to recently make the news once again by returning to the airwaves via the streaming service of Netflix. With another feature length film coming out next year, we’ll have to see if Evangelion manages to reach the heights of Joker’s recent theatrical run.
What do you think of this trailer that brilliantly merges the worlds of Neon Genesis Evangelion and Joker? What other anime would work as a good comparions to the recent WB Blockbuster? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the harlequin of hate!
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a psychological drama by way of giant monster versus mech anime. The franchise debuted as a television series in 1995-1996 with two films following in 1997. Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth is an one-part drastically abridged retelling of the first 24 episodes of the television series, and one part new animation. The End of Evangelion, the second film, would incorporate some of Death & Rebirth’s original animation and offer an alternate take on the original series’ controversial final two episodes. The original series and movies are now available to stream worldwide on Netflix.
Joker is now in theaters. Upcoming DC Movies include Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Batman on June 25, 2021, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2020.
