Parents' Guide to Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

Profound, disturbing and beautiful, this is an anime masterpiece, albeit with one big caveat. Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion relies on you having seen the original TV series. There are no concessions to casual viewers, and no recap of the 24-episodes-worth of frantic drama that led to the harrowing events of this movie. The incredible Japanese voice cast make the characters entirely crushing, heartbreaking, and desperate. Creator and director Hideaki Anno is relentless in his vision that lays bare the destructive nature of humans. His portrayal of armed conflict is a vision of hell. Even the mecha fights, which in other movies are fist-pumping thrill rides, here are melancholic and desperate. We know the pilots and the hideous time they're having. Everyone in the movie is a fully developed character. Their internal life is just as important as their external, which lets the confident direction shine.

While it's decidedly bleak, it's not entirely one note and takes surprising turns. One section is an assault of images, with an existential conversation between two characters over the top of it. They, like the movie, are questioning life and emotions. It's an unforgettable section, equal to the spectacle of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey but with more to say. Japan is the only country to have been attacked by nuclear bombs and the blast shadow looms large over its art. Here, the prospect of total destruction is faced head-on, unblinking. This movie is art that helps make sense of it and dreams of a way forward.