Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!
"Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!" | |
---|---|
Neon Genesis Evangelion episode | |
Episode no. | Episode 9 |
Directed by | Seiji Mizushima |
Written by | Hideaki Anno, Akio Satsukawa |
Original air date | November 29, 1995 |
Running time | 22 minutes |
"Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!"
Anno conceived the episode to lighten the tone of the series after the previous episodes, which were characterized by an introspective, psychological mood. Shinji Higuchi, who worked with Anno on Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water and is known for his work's humor, drew the storyboards, giving the story a comedic tone. The installment contains cultural references to history, religion, films, series and previous works by the Gainax studio.
The episode's first broadcast scored a 7.1% audience share on Japanese television, and was well-received by audiences and critics. Reviewers appreciated the episode's humor, music score and action, ranking it as one of the best episodes in the series. Particularly positive was the reception given to the second and final clash of the installment, featuring the two mecha Evangelion 01 and 02 synchronized to music, which is also considered one of the best in the anime.
Plot
While waiting for the enemy to resume its advance, Asuka and Shinji, under Misato's guidance, try to train themselves by synchronizing all their actions. After several days and nights spent acting in harmony in all the motions of daily life, Shinji and Asuka sleep alone at Misato's house, and Asuka urges Shinji not to enter her room. That night Asuka apparently sleepwalks into Shinji's room and lies down next to him. Shinji tries to kiss her, but stops himself when she starts calling out for her mother in her sleep. Meanwhile, Misato finds herself in a lift with her former lover,
Production
Neon Genesis Evangelion first six episodes left the staff drained and feeling weighed down by the show's heavy mood; Hideaki Anno, director of the series, consequently decided to lighten the show's tone in the following episodes.[1] Anno then inserted Asuka to lighten the installments, introducing her as a sunny, extroverted girl, but without thinking to re-evaluate her character much as in the final episodes of the series and without foreshadowing.[2] Particularly important was the contribution of Shinji Higuchi, who had already worked on Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water[3][4] and was known for the humorous character of his works. Higuchi infused the episode with an adolescent and comic tone, similar to his previous works.[5][6]
Gainax studio decided on the basic plot for "Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!" in 1993,[7][8] when it published a presentation document of Neon Genesis Evangelion titled New Century Evangelion (tentative name) Proposal (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン (仮) 企画書, Shinseiki Evangelion (kari) kikakusho),[9] which describes "the Eva's first beside-water battle".[10] Akio Satsukawa and Anno co-wrote the script for the episode,[11][12] whose storyboards were edited by Higuchi.[13] Seiji Mizushima was chosen as the director,[14][15] Shinya Hasegawa worked as the chief animator,[16][17][18] and Mahiro Maeda and Mitsumu Wogi as the assistant character designers.[19][20]
Hasegawa took care of the scene in which Shinji tries to kiss Asuka,[21] while Ogura Nobutoshi drew the scene of Shinji and Asuka's final phone call.[22] The first battle between the Evangelions and Israfel was done by Fumitomo Kizaki. Masayuki took care of Asuka and Shinji's six days of preparation; Keisuke Watabe served as the person in charge of the first half of the final battle, while Yutaka Nakamura worked on the second half.[5] Hasegawa also personally recruited new members to add to the animation staff, including artists not usually associated with Gainax works. The result, similar to Yoshinori Kanada's animations, such as perspective kicks and playful drawings, stood apart from the other Neon Genesis Evangelion episodes.[22]
Compared to the other episodes, "Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!" is distinguished by the abundant use of special animation techniques such as residual images and kinetic deformations.[23] For this purpose, the characters' faces were deformed to unreal expressions, exaggerating movements and caricatures.[24] For the scene in which Misato screams with glasses in her hands, the staff used a wide-angle lens; this was not indicated in the script, as it was chosen later by the direction.[25] For the final synchronized battle, the Evas' coordination is technically replicated by a montage consisting of hand-drawn and digitally composited graphics by means of which both the two Evas' and their pilots' bodies appear to merge into one single entity;[26] the images were obtained by cutting the images of Asuka and Shinji with their respective Evangelions along the vertical central axis, combining them into one.[27][28] Takehito Koyasu, Tomokazu Seki, Tetsuya Iwanaga, Hiro Yūki and Koichi Yamadera, voice actors of several main characters in the series, played unidentified characters for "Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!".[29] In some sequences of the installment, the staff also used the songs "You Are My Only One", "Aoi Legend" and "Toi sora no yakusoku" by Kotono Mitsuishi, Misato Katsuragi's voice actress, from the image album Lilia 〜 from Ys,[30] while Yoko Takahashi sang the final theme song for the episode, entitled "Acid Bossa Version", a rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon" with a bossa nova and acid house sound.[31][32]
Cultural references and themes
"Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!" contains references to films, historical concepts, or previous works by Hideaki Anno. Asuka, for example, awkwardly quotes an existing
The final battle of the episode has been compared to
Writer Dennis Redmond described "Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!" as the Evangelion's most explicit comic parody of the
The episode focuses on several themes in the series, such as the value of
Reception
"Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!" was first broadcast on November 29, 1995, and drew a 7.1% audience share on Japanese television.[59][60] In 1996 it ranked second in Animage's Anime Grand Prix poll of "Best Anime Episodes" with 567 votes.[61] In July 2020, Comic Book Resources reported an 8.2/10 rating on IMDb for the installment, ranking it tenth among the highest-rated Evangelion episodes.[62]
The episode was well received by critics, who praised the director, the humour, the action and the music of the installment,[50][63] and some reviewers ranked it among the best episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion.[64] Screen Rant, for example, listed the battle against Israfel among the best fights in the series.[65][66] Film School Rejects's Max Covill ranked it second among the best episodes of the series; according to Covill, the installment doesn't move the plot forward in any particularly exciting way, but praised it for having the "most hilarious moments of the series" and the "excellent combat sequence".[67] He also lauded the scene in which Asuka and Shinji blame each other for the first defeat[68] and the one in which they try to synchronize for the final battle.[69] The Anime Café's Akio Nagatomi praised the performance of the voice actors, the humour and the late fight.[70] Writer Dennis Dedmond similarly praised Anno's scriptwriting, the near-kiss scene between Asuka and Shinji and the "gorgeously choreographed" final battle.[49] KKBox's Tomoyuki Mori described the namesake soundtrack, used during the battle, as "one of the most famous Evangelion songs"; according to Mori, it combines "lightness, sadness and strength".[71]
Other reviewers on Comic Book Resources criticized certain aspects of the characterization of the protagonists. Theo Kogod criticized Asuka's behavior, as well as Misato's decision to let her and Shinji live in her apartment.
Writer Dani Cavallaro saw in the second episode of FLCL, a series produced by Gainax and directed by Tsurumaki, an allusion to Israfel and the battles of Evangelion.[77] Furthermore, according to Gualtiero Cannarsi, the synchronized combat of Asuka and Shinji was virtually reproduced in the video game Rival Schools: United by Fate.[78] Official merchandise based on the episode has also been released,[79] including T-shirts[80][81] and action figures.[82]
References
Citations
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Bibliography
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