Nearly ten years in the making, Hideaki Anno's final entry in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise is Evangelion: 3.0+ 1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, a prolonged exercise in extreme emotional catharsis. The Human Instrumentality Podcast ends its season on Eva by contrasting its Miyazaki-ish first half with its End of Evangelion-remixing climax. We go deep on the lasting occult and philosophical themes that keep drawing fans old and new into its heart-rending jaws. Other excursions include a long disucssion on the purpose of art and fantasy, with a little environmentalist melancholia along the way.
Joining us is filmmaker, screenwriter, critic and podcaster extraordinaire Emily Yoshida, whose work at websites like Grantland, The Vulture and others is among the best anime criticism (and film criticism in general) out there. Yoshida tells the story of how she got into Eva, and in return the hosts discuss how her podcast It's Cool to Like Anime (R.I.P.) became a foundational influence on the Human Instrumentality Podcast. Together we discuss the complicated experience of loving anime as a leftist, and draw paralells between Eva and Phillip Pullman's seminal His Dark Materials books.
Yoshida's It's Cool to Like Anime is no longer online, but below is a selected heavy-hitters list ofher published work. Look out for her writing as part of FX's series Shogun in the future.
‘Sailor Moon’: The Explainer (https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/sailor-moon-the-explainer/)
Ghost in the Shell and anime's troubled history with representation (https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/9/11612530/ghost-in-the-shell-anime-asian-representation-hollywood)
An Introduction to Japan’s Most Idiosyncratic and Exciting Animation Director, Masaaki Yuasa (https://www.vulture.com/2018/03/an-intro-to-japans-most-idiosyncratic-animation-director.html)