With the release of the movie Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0, the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise will come to an end (again) after an eight-year wait from the release of the last movie. In fact, the production team claims that this will be the true finale to the Evangelion franchise, which started in 1995 with the original anime from Gainax Studios. But the 25-year history of the franchise did not pass without events, and that is that the series has had other "endings" throughout its existence.
The original proposed ending
No, it's not from the animated series. Before presenting this you should be aware of something known as Neon Genesis Evangelion Proposal, which was a 35 page document presented in 1993 for the promotion of the animated series. In essence, it is the prototype of the entire franchise, which included illustrations, explanatory notes, descriptions of the characters, the mecha, the settings and the synopsis of the 26 proposed episodes. If you search the Internet, you will even find it translated into Spanish.
Well, now that you know it, it is important to mention that this "proposal" aligns quite a bit with the first 14 episodes of the original series, but after that it deviates quite a bit. The latest episodes have a much more drastic theme, Kaworu appears many episodes before the anime and after that, things fall apart, with the appearance of twelve powerful Angels (known as "The Apostles") who descend from the Moon and that they cause the disappearance of EVA-06 and the entire American continent, and finally something known as "the ancient ruins of Arka" becomes the key to the "Human Complementation Project" something that Shinji's father, in this version , does not support at all.
The end of "congratulations"
The changes between the original proposal and the second half of the 1995 animated series were the product of Hideaki Anno's depression and Gainax studios' financial problems. Both factors reached their worst levels just in the final two episodes of the series. After Shinji defeats Kaworu, the characters descend into an existential internal conflict resulting from the Human Complementation Project itself. This finally achieves resolution when Shinji realizes that life is worth living, which is succeeded by the infamous "Congratulations" scene.
These two episodes were made entirely with fairly minimalist animation. There are indications that really bad things happened, such as Misato being shown being shot and Ritsuko floating in the water, but before we knew it the visual action stopped dead in its tracks. The part most remembered by fans is the "dream" sequence where the cast appears around Shinji applauding him.
Some fans have theorized that this means Human Complementation spawned numerous alternative timelines with happy endings for Shinji. Spin-off manga like Neon Genesisi Evangelion: Angelic Days and Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Ikusei Keikaku, as well as fan-fictions like Evangelion: RE-TAKE took this theory and developed it. This is possibly the reason why, in the Rebuild of Evangelion project, Kaworu seems aware that this is not the first time he has met Shinji, saying "this time I will make sure you are happy", indicating that only he is aware that the timeline is repeating itself.
The End of Evangelion
Due to the huge popularity of Evangelion and the huge amount of fan criticism for the series' two infamous final episodes, Gainax had a chance to make a completely different ending for the series through a movie (or something like that). The End of Evangelion has a narrative quite similar to the one at the end of the animated series, to the point that several argued that they paid to see exactly the same. However, while the end of the animated series occurs within their minds, the end of the film unfolds externally.
Nine Series Production EVA Units descend on NERV as part of a brutal attack on the organization. The vast majority of NERV personnel are killed, cut, or burned alive, with only Misato protecting Shinji in the end. Asuka awakens from her catatonic state to defend NERV from Serially Produced Evangelion Units in one of the franchise's most iconic fights. Misato takes Shinji to his Evangelion Unit, but dies in the process. By the time Shinji comes to help Asuka, her Evangelion Unit has run out of power and Asuka has been devoured.
Gendo Ikari then uses Rei to trigger Third Impact and kick off the Human Complementation Project, directly going against the franchise's original proposal. However, Rei does not allow Gendo to make use of the Third Impact to unite with Yui, and gives control to Shinji, who, in his pain and frustration, condemns all of humanity to mix in a hive mind. Just like in the original series, Shinji completes the Instrumentalization, allowing humanity to return. However, the only person returning is Asuka, whom Shinji ends up trying to strangle but stopping when she caresses his cheek.
If this seems bleak enough to you, then you should be grateful that they didn't cheer up the other ending they had planned, in which Shinji, having completely lost his mind, is lying on the beach sunbathing, with Rei's severed hand on him.
The end of the manga
The Evangelion manga started publishing simultaneously with the animated series, but it didn't end until 2014. The end of the manga is similar to The End of Evangelion, with some key differences, such as the fact that Shinji arrives. in time to save Asuka from being eaten by Serial Produced EVA Units. Shinji convinces everyone that Instrumentalization is indeed good for everyone, but realizes that this was not true and ends up canceling the apocalypse.
Where the manga ends up differing the most with The End of Evangelion is in its epilogue, which is much more optimistic. Some time later, humanity has returned, with no memories of the EVA Units, the Angels or the Third Impact, it is snowing again, something that after the catastrophic damage the environment received after the Second Impact is considered a miracle. Shinji is living with his aunt, preparing to go to school, when he meets Asuka on his way. Neither of them recognizes each other, but they are attracted to each other as if it were something of fate.
This ending is, to date, the most optimistic shown by the franchise. It reinforces the theory that the original Third Impact (that of the 1995 series) created a multiverse, specifically designed so that Shinji has a chance to be happy. It remains to be seen if this will be confirmed in Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0 and also to see if this will really be the last and true end of the franchise.
Source: CBR
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