The Amazing Race

Failure to do so can result in time penalties, which can negatively affect finishing position in that leg of the race. It covers a similar story as the series, but from the perspective of Shinji Ikari, whose personality is altered to be somewhat more decisive than his anime incarnation. All teams must abide by the rules set at the beginning of the race. A manga of the series, drawn by series character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, was published by Kadokawa Shoten. In this case, after the other two teams finish, they are informed that the race is over at their next Route Marker (Joe and Bill, Season 1; David and Jeff, Season 4). "N² mine", as translated by ADV, is technically not an error since Japanese word heiki (兵器) is a term that means weapon; but fails a semantic test as mines are not used in the same manner they are used in the series (for example, being dropped from planes and being used in suicide missions). On occasion, the third place team has fallen so far behind the other two teams that they cannot finish the race in a timely manner. Furthermore, the word "Angel" can be seen appearing on video screens in NERV HQ during Angel attacks, and this was the case in the original version of the series as broadcast in Japan; it is not an alteration to the ADV release.

Ideally, all three remaining teams arrive at the Finish Line within a reasonable amount of time. Unlike the translation of "Children" into "Child", which was altered by ADV, the use of "Angel" in the English dub was specified by Anno and Gainax. All other teams win lesser amounts of money on a sliding scale based on their finishing order, as follows:. It should be noted, however, that the English angel is derived from the Greek for "messenger" (ἄγγελος, ου, ὁ). The first team to reach the Finish Line wins the race and $1 million. The Japanese word used to refer to the Angels is shito (使徒), which literally means "messenger" or "apostle." The usual Japanese word for "angel" is tenshi (天使). At the Finish Line, host Phil Keoghan and all the eliminated teams wait for the remaining teams to arrive. The English language dub produced by ADV, however, uses the word "Child" instead of "Children.".

Remaining teams must complete one or more tasks before receiving the clue directing them to the Finish Line. Shinji is the "Third Children," not the "Third Child.") This is intentional, and not a translation error. city. "Children," the plural of "Child," is used to refer to each of the Eva pilots in the singular (i.e. The second part of the leg has teams traveling to a final destination, usually located in a major U.S. Nerv is the German term for "nerve". This first part of the leg includes intermediate destination(s) where the teams must travel to complete a series of tasks (Alaska, United States Seasons 1 and 2; Hawaii, United States, Seasons 3, 4, and 6; Calgary, Canada, Season 5; Puerto Rico, United States, Season 7; Montreal and Toronto, Canada, Season 8). Seele is the German term for "soul".

Three teams compete in the last leg of the race. The term Gehirn is German for "brain". This usually results in teams who believe they are coming in last checking in at the pit stop wearing every single article of clothing they have just in case it's a non-elimination leg, making for a rather comical sight in some cases. There are frequent allusions to the biblical Adam and Eve throughout the series, as well as to the Evangelion's relationship with the Tree of Life. In addition to being stripped of all their money and starting the next leg without an allowance, teams were forced to surrender all their possessions, except for their passports and the clothes they were wearing, for the remainder of the Race. Additionally, the term "Eva", a frequent abbreviation of Evangelion used in the anime, is the name of the biblical Eve in Greek, coming from the Hebrew name "Chavva" meaning "breath" or "life". Starting in Season 7, the penalty for arriving last during a non-elimination leg became more severe. This dual meaning may be the reason both the series itself and the "mecha" are called Evangelion.

Teams generally beg from locals or even the other teams during the Pit Stop to rebuild their cash reserves. It only came to mean "good message" or "good news" over time and eventually became most commonly associated with the Christian gospels. Additionally, the last team to arrive begins the next leg with zero dollars to their name, meaning they do not receive the money given to the other teams at the start of the leg and may not collect money during the Pit Stop. Initially, the word meant "good messenger", the prefix "eu" meaning "good" and "angelion" meaning "messenger" (from the same word that means "angel") and was used to describe the runners who brought news in ancient Greece. These teams are required to turn over all the money they accumulated throughout the race. Evangelion is an anglicised version of the Greek "εὐαγγέλιον" (euangelion) for "good news", and is typically translated "gospel" in the Bible. Season 5 introduced a penalty to the team arriving last at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg. The Japanese term for the first book in the Bible is "Souseiki," perhaps a wordplay (with two different beginning and ending kanji) with "Shin Seiki" in the Japanese title.

Beginning in Season 5, the statement "The last team to arrive may be eliminated" has been used on every leg with the exception of the first. Genesis (γένεσις, εωσ, ἡ) means "origin, source" or "birth, race" and is also the Greek title for the first book of the Hebrew Scriptures, describing the creation of the universe and early Hebrew history. In Seasons 3-4, the clue preceding the Pit Stop ended with the statement "The last team to arrive will be eliminated" in the first few legs, and "The last team to arrive may be eliminated" after a certain point. Neon, the neuter form of the word "Neos" (νέον, νέα, νέον), literally means "new" or "young". In Seasons 1-2, the clue preceding the Pit Stop ended with the statement, "The last team to arrive will be eliminated," except in non-elimination legs. It literally translates to "New Beginning Gospel" and is read in two parts. Racers are not told in advance which legs are non-elimination legs. The title, Neon Genesis Evangelion (νέον γένεσις εὐαγγέλιον), appears to be wholly Greek.

Each race has a number of predetermined non-elimination legs, in which the last team to arrive at the Pit Stop is not eliminated and is allowed to continue on the race. The decision to call the series Neon Genesis Evangelion in English was originally made by Gainax, and not, as some fans have believed, by translators. Season 8 also had a double-length leg, which worked the same as Season 7's; in addition, the 2-hour finale took place over a double-length leg. The two translate literally from Japanese and a borrowed term from Greek, respectively, as "New Era/Century" and "Gospel". Season 7 had another, this time with teams meeting host Phil Keoghan on the usual Pit Stop mat at the halfway point, only to have him hand them the next clue instead of checking them in. The Japanese title for the series, Shin Seiki Evangelion, is composed of two parts: "Shin Seiki" and "Evangelion". The second half of the leg featured a second Detour and second Roadblock. Some of these more confusing lines were re-recorded for the 'Platinum Edition' DVD in 2004.

The televised episode ended without a Pit Stop with a 'To Be Continued' message. In some aspects they can be misleading, and even contradictary to the original, causing increased confusion towards the show, and increasing the likelihood of outrightly wrong interpretations for numerous English-speaking audiences. Season 6 introduced the first double-length leg shown over two episodes. The translated dubbed versions of the series and movies of Evangelion were done by ADV Films and Manga Entertainment. (Despite a flat tire, Uchenna and Joyce only finished 10 minutes behind the #1 team Ron and Kelly.) The longest amount of time Phil waited at a pit stop for the last team to arrive was more than 24 hours, due to the last team having flight problems and missing their departure time at the previous pit stop - see Season 2. Numerous webcomics, such as Okashina Okashi, Tsunami Channel and Punks and Nerds have featured Evangelion tributes. The record for the shortest amount of time that Phil waited for the last team to arrive was around 10 minutes on the 11th leg of the 7th season. English image board 4chan has a meme ("zOMG! It's Rei!") based on the character Rei Ayanami.

Alternately, host Phil Keoghan may go out to the team's location to eliminate them if they can't/won't finish a task (Marshall and Lance, Season 5, Lena and Kristy, Season 6). In the online community, Eva is a common source of parody. Occasionally, on an elimination leg, if all other teams have checked in and the last team is very far behind, Route Markers may instruct them to go directly to the Pit Stop without completing the rest of the leg (Peggy and Claire, Shola and Doyin, Mary and Peach, all from Season 2, Michael and Kathy and Andre and Damon in Season 3). Anno is believed to be featured as a guest voice in the piece, taking on the roles of the "Space God" and "Black Space God". Teams normally complete all tasks and check in at the Pit Stop before they are eliminated. The drama is set after episode 26 and has the characters discussing a sequel to the show, clearly breaking the fourth wall. The winners of the third leg in Season 8 won free gasoline for life, from BP and ARCO (specifically, $1200 of gasoline a year for 50 years, which is $60,000 per winner). In the Eva soundtrack Addition, a twenty minute audio drama was included that reunited the entire voice acting cast, titled "After the End".

In Season 7, cash and automobile prizes were awarded for the first time on some legs; unlike season 6, however, at least two legs did not have a prize awarded. Even Anno himself decided to poke fun at his work. In Season 6, prizes were given to the winners of every leg. It is interesting to note that despite EVA 05 being mentioned as a good guy in the film, the series of the toyline is still referred as "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and that the graphics on the blister card (with Japanese writing) are left untouched; some movies and shows usually rename or repackage an existing product with a generic name/graphic logo to save money from royalty fees. In some legs, the first team to arrive wins a prize such as a vacation or camera, which they receive at the end of the race. However, Jake rejects the offer after telling him that his parents do not allow him to accept gifts. The last team to arrive at the Pit Stop is eliminated, unless that leg of the race is one of the predetermined non-elimination legs (see below). In another scene, we see Robin Williams's character, Sy, offering the figure to Jake for free.

While a team arriving at 12:00 PM will depart at 12:00 AM, the total amount of rest time may be more than twelve hours, in which case the pit stop will be extended by 24 hour increments--such as one day and twelve hours (36 hours). The first time we see the figure, is when the York family visits the SavMart (a parody of Walmart) chain store, whereas the character Jake (Dylan Smith) begs his mother to buy him the "Eva" 05 action figure. Teams depart for the next leg of the race at the time they arrived plus twelve hours. In the 2002 movie "One Hour Photo" starring Robin Williams, the "Evangelion" real model action figure by Bandai, can be seen in several parts of the movie. During the Pit Stop, teams are also interviewed to provide commentary and voice-overs for the completed leg. Furthermore, "Evangelion" has also been referenced in American media as well. The production staff provides food free-of-charge to the teams at the Pit Stops (food during the legs must be purchased with the money the teams receive). Gainax's own His and Her Circumstances and FLCL had a few Eva parodies, as did Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi and even Invader Zim's Christmas Episode had a cameo parody of Evangelion.

Each Pit Stop is a mandatory rest period which allows teams to eat, sleep, and mingle with each other. The same can be said for both WarGrowlmon and Gallantmon Crimson Mode, as they were modeled after EVA-01. Pit Stops are the final destination in each leg of the race. In the Digimon Tamers series, a lot of Evangelion elements were used in the backstories for the three main children, their friends, and D-Reaper.
. Evangelion has also been explicitly referenced and parodied. The Weaver family in Season 8 was the first team in the history of the Amazing Race to be yielded twice, once by the Paolo Family, and another time by the Linz Family. Evangelion also introduced a new wave of fans who are far less interested in the technical aspects of science fiction anime and more interested in analyzing the metaphysical symbolism that they perceived, in contrast to Gundam and many previous anime which were presented as hard science.

In the family edition, the show said there were only two Yields, but there was another Yield on Leg 1 that didn't make it to air. Indeed, the style set and created by Evangelion has become the standard for most mecha shows since the late 90s. Also starting in Season 6, teams are warned about an upcoming Yield in the clue immediately preceding it. Evangelion however changed this with its fast and sleek Evas, making a noticeable contrast to the arguably bulky and cumbersome looking Patlabors and Transformers of the past. Starting in Season 6, the number of Yields was reduced from one on every leg to only three in the entire race. Previously, almost all mecha or giant robot shows took their "mechanical suit" designs from Gundam, Mazinger, and other similar shows from the 60s, 70s and 80s. However, each team may be Yielded by other teams an unlimited amount of times. Evangelion also dramatically changed the design of giant robots in many animated works.

Like the Fast Forward, each team may use only one Yield during the game, and only one team may use each Yield. Some feel that RahXephon is another work that bears strong influence from this series. When the yielded team arrives at the Yield, they must turn over an hourglass found on the Yield sign and wait for all the sand to drain before continuing. While many find that the video game Xenogears (1998) shows obvious and major signs of being heavily influenced by Evangelion, its creators (Xenogears co-creator/co-writer Soraya Saga in particular) have denied this vehemently. To do this, a team places the picture of the team they wish to yield onto the Yield sign (found near one of the Route Markers). More superficially, "Evangelion" started a wave of using Christian symbolism in other anime and related fields. The Yield, which was introduced in Season 5, allows any one team to force another team to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time. The show "His and Her Circumstances" (1999) which was also directed by Hideaki Anno shares many of the techniques (the experimental 'ripping-apart' of the animation and use of real photographs) and portrayed psychological conflicts in much the same way.

Similarly, NFL wives Monica and Sheree of Season 4 earned the Fast Forward but only placed 4th in the first leg (behind a three-way tie for first, the only time this has ever happened on the race).
. The psychological nature of the show influenced later works such as Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997) and Serial Experiments Lain (1997), both of which, like Eva, center around an ambiguous world-changing event to come. Dennis and Andrew during Season 3 were eliminated. However, as much as Evangelion owes to the past, it also has a large influence on a variety of anime shows in the present as well. Joe and Bill during Season 1 arrived last but were not eliminated due to a penalty to Nancy and Emily. This is a direct echoing of Jean Paul Sartre's assertion in his book Being and Nothingness, in which he views consciousness as the ultimate factor in determining reality - it is a power which can negate certain things, and create a new subjective reality in the process. In the history of the show, two teams who earned a Fast Forward still arrived last at the Pit Stop. In other words, he is absolutely free to create the world as he wants, to negate only what he wishes, and leave only what he knows will give him happiness.

A Fast Forward usually results in the team arriving at the Pit Stop first, but does not guarantee it. To view it another way, only by negating certain possibilities does Shinji's reality form. Since each team may use only one Fast Forward during the whole race, they must decide when it is most advantageous to use it. Through Shinji's own free will, he is able to create the ground, rules, in fact the whole world around him. Any team that is beaten to the Fast Forward will have wasted their time and must go back and pick up where they left off. It is depicted as a simple white background in which the only drawn figure is Shinji, floating about in absolute nothingness. Only one team may use each Fast Forward. As well, in the very final televised episode, Shinji is shown a world in which there is absolute possibility.

To find the Fast Forward, the team must perform the task described on the Fast Forward clue, which is found along with a regular clue at one of the Route Markers. Rei has no soul of her own, and loses her "self" in each reincarnation; Shinji is desperately trying to overcome a lack of self confidence; and Asuka covers up her own despair and inner turmoil by acting overconfident and giving the appearance that she is self-assured. The Fast Forward allows the first team that finds it to skip all remaining tasks on that leg of the race and proceed directly to the Pit Stop. Viewers will note that Rei, Shinji, and Asuka can each be seen to resemble a different kind of Despair. In Season 1, even the first leg had a Roadblock, but it was not originally aired; it was included in the DVD release.
. Namely, that Despair comes in three forms: Despair at not being conscious of having a self; Despair at not willing to be oneself; and even Despair at willing to be oneself. A Roadblock is featured (although, in some episodes, not aired) in every leg except the first one. The Sickness Unto Death is a book written by Søren Kierkegaard (one of the first, and most religiously-oriented Existentialists) regarding the human condition as a type of Despair.

The six-Roadblock limit was dropped for Season 8; additionally, that season's four-member-team format required some Roadblocks to be completed by two people. For instance, episode 16's title was translated as "Sickness Unto Death, And..." in the English subtitled version. In contrast, Season 5 featured three teams that split the Roadblocks 11-1 or 10-1. However, there are more specific instances of Existentialism's influence on Evangelion. Since there normally are twelve Roadblocks in the Race, this rule forces each team to split the Roadblocks equally between the two members (unless a team uses a Fast Forward to skip one Roadblock, in which case the split can be 6-5). Though open to speculation, this is evident in both the televised and Movie endings of the series. Beginning in Season 6, each team member may only complete a maximum of six Roadblocks throughout the entire race. As such, the Human Instrumentality Project of Evangelion is an attempt to break down the barriers that separate mankind, and Shinji's ultimate decision is whether or not the limitations and inherent freedoms of the human condition as individual creatures are good things, or whether they should be denied.

Once a choice has been made, the teammates cannot switch roles. However, according to Existentialism, human beings, partly because of their isolation, are uniquely free to choose their own interpretations of events, to create their own realities and most importantly, to own these realities as true expressions of their world and themselves. They then must decide which team member would be best suited to complete it. Essentially human beings are alone, without any sort of method by which to break away from such loneliness. Often, a team may figure out the specific task by observing their surroundings, using common sense, or even seeing other teams already performing the Roadblock task. Because human beings are physically trapped within their own bodies, their thoughts and actions are trapped within their own realm of knowledge, never to be shared in their most personal form with anyone else. Before heading into a Roadblock, teams read a vague clue about the task to come, i.e., "Who's really hungry?" (for an ostrich-egg eating challenge), or "Who wants to get down and dirty?" (for a task involving making mud bricks). The core tenet of Existentialism is that human beings ultimately influence their own reality, through the choices they make.

A Roadblock is a task which only one team member may perform. Its central themes are heavily based on Freudian Psychoanalysis mentioned above as it concerns the characters and general plot creation, as well as Existentialism, which itself owes much to Psychoanalysis. Should a team choose to switch Detour tasks part-way through, there is no penalty, other than naturally lost time.
. Evangelion is a work with a variety of different source materials for its core composition. Often, there may be some degree of luck involved with the "easier" option, such that a team may accomplish the task faster than if they had taken the quicker, harder, riskier option. The only major edits that viewers have noticed is the deletion of when Mistao and Asuka curse; it was replaced with a censor bleep. In later seasons, the trend has been towards Detours which offer less clear-cut choices. At this point, the rumors were supressed, and to everyone's suprise, Evangeleion aired with mostly no edits.

One task is typically an easier option that takes more time to complete, while the other is usually a difficult or frightening option that can be finished quickly. Also, at the time Evangelion was airing on The Anime Network, and many guessed that Evangelion wouldn't air because it was already on TAN. Teams must successfully complete one of the tasks described on the clue in order to receive their next clue. Many speculated that this wouldn't happen, because of what had happened to ADV and CN over Evangelion and Giant Robot Week. A Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. This surfaced again with the rumors that Evangelion would air on Adult Swim. The Route Info clues can instruct teams to go to several types of locations, including a specific location in another city or country, another location within the team's present city, the Pit Stop of the leg, and the finish line of the race. Some believed that ADV Films were very disatified of the airings, and had put Evangelion on a "black list," along with (rumored) the rest of the ADV library.

In addition, teams may be required to take public transportation, drive a marked car, or walk, according to the clue's instructions. When Neon Genesis Evangelion aired on Toonami's Giant Robot Week in 2003, it was obvious that much of the episode that was aired (Episodes 1 and 2) were heavily edited, including edits to Misato's binge drinking and, for some odd reason, the absense of Pen-Pen, Evangelion's Mascot. For example, the very first clue of the race specifies which flights teams may take. It can be argued also that the wide distribution of his series through ADV Films and television in Europe, Australia, and the Americas has also contributed to his standing. However, the clue may make specifications about how the teams have to travel. This general opinion changed somewhat when the twin Evangelion movies came out in the late 90's, bringing Anno more respect and recognition as a filmmaker as well as fair amounts of fans of his work. The clue usually only provides the name of the team's next destination; it is up to the teams to figure out how to get there. It can also be argued that the show's content was, in the end, more influenced by Anno than by Bandai, though despite creative conflicts between the sponsors and the director, the series was not widely perceived during its run (1995-96) as being the work of a visionary director or auteur such as Hayao Miyazaki.

Route Info clues instruct the teams where to go next. In response to this, fans argue that the show reveals an extremely complex understanding of psychological theory and that if the show was strictly a commercial venture, it would not have such an uncommercial ending.
. Additionally, the primary corporate backers were toy companies Bandai and Sega, giving rise to the criticism that the series was simply intended as a strictly commercial venture. Route Markers are always colored yellow and red, with the following exceptions:. Despite being generally highly regarded, the series has received criticism due to the many religious and psychological references, which some viewers saw as being superficial. Most Route Markers are attached to the boxes that contain clue envelopes, but some may mark the place where the teams must go in order to complete tasks. He made his live-action debut with "Love and Pop" in 1998 (posters were designed by longtime collaberator Yoshiyuki Sadamoto), then went back to animation with the 26-episode "His and Her Circumstances", then made the live-action "Shiki-Jistu" in 2001 (which used brief pieces of animation in key scenes), and was uninvolved with animation until his participation in supervising (but not directing) the 2004 Cutey Honey OAV Project.

Route Markers are the flags that mark the places where teams must go. The shift in tone and style corresponded with a shift in Anno's worldview that would lead him to abandon the "otaku lifestyle" and temporarily leave anime for live action film making. One rule that was clarified in Season 7 is that teams may not beg for money at US airports. (It is also worth noting here that in this episode the Angels were going to speak to Shinji, but the creative team dropped this in favor of a more original concept in which the Angel shows Shinji various images within his mind, while he 'talks' to himself.) Several sources (interview with Kazuya Tsurumaki, interview with Hiroki Azuma) seem to indicate that although Evangelion was sketchily pre-planned, the story details were open to alteration, possibly for the purpose of adapting to audience demands or more likely (regarding Anno's tastes and fights with sponsors) free directorial decision making. This includes borrowing money from other teams, begging from locals, or selling their possessions. On the other hand there is some evidence that Anno's frustrations began earlier than End of Evangelion, and that this film was the culmination of a growing anger as evidenced by the sudden shift in tone around episode 16. If a team spends all of their money or has it taken away in a non-elimination round, they may try to get more money in any way that doesn't violate the local laws. In addition, the plot of End of Evangelion does seem to match that of the TV series, providing closure to things such as the Instrumentality Project, the true purpose of NERV, and the private agenda of Gendou Ikari.

For more on this penalty, see Non-elimination Legs. The deaths of these two characters correspond to events in End of Evangelion and would tend to disprove the theory that the tragic and violent end of various characters in End of Evangelion is due to Anno's frustration towards some fans. Teams were forced to surrender all collected money, would not be given any on the subsequent leg, and needed to start the next leg with zero dollars to their name. The theory of a pre-planned ending in addition to episodes 25 and 26 is backed up by some evidence, including a still in the intro depicting Unit 01 with wings and still-frame shots of the deaths of Misato and Ritsuko which appeared in the TV ending. Starting in Season 5, there was a penalty for teams coming in last on a non-elimination leg. Others have argued that Anno intended End of Evangelion to be the proper climax all along but that he was unable to show it because of budget restraint and television content laws. Any money left over after a leg of the race can be used on subsequent legs. Some believe that it was a manifestation of Anno's frustrations with the fan culture that attacked his original ending, and used End of Evangelion as revenge against those.

The exception to this is the purchase of airline tickets (and, in Season 8, gasoline), which the teams pay for using a credit card supplied to them by the show. Despite the success of End of Evangelion, its ending was considered controversial by many fans. (In Season 1 teams were allocated nothing during one of the legs, and in Season 4, teams were given only one dollar for each of the final two legs.) During the race, all expenses (food, transportation, lodging, attraction admission, supplies) must be purchased from this allowance. (Blockbusters in Japan usually make $40-60 million, and a movie is considered to have done well if it makes more than $10 million). The amount varies from leg to leg, ranging from one dollar to hundreds of dollars. The film made around $12 million at the Japanese box office. Dollars regardless of the current location of the race. End of Evangelion.

This money is usually given in U.S. The project was completed later in the year, and contained the complete section of Rebirth, i.e. At the beginning of each leg of the race, each team receives an allowance of cash with their first clue. Due to scheduling difficulties, they released Death and Rebirth consisting of a character-based recap of the entire series (Death) and half of the "proper" ending to Evangelion (Rebirth). The various relationship dynamics between the team members under the stress of competition is one focus of the show. Prompted by these responses, Gainax launched the project to create a movie with a "proper" ending for the series in 1997. Both teammates must also arrive at each Pit Stop together in order to clock in. Among these were death threats and letters of disappointment from fans who thought Anno had ruined the series for them.

If one teammate becomes injured and is unable to finish the race, the team must forfeit (for example, Marshall and Lance during Season 5). After the ending of the TV series, Gainax and Hideaki Anno received numerous letters and emails from fans, both congratulating and criticizing the last two episodes. Teammates must race the entire race together; they cannot split up or continue on without each other. However, when aired again in a time slot more suitable for adults, its popularity exploded and rekindled many adults' interest in anime. (Nicole actually beat Christie for the title of Miss Texas USA in 2003.[1]). When first aired in Japan at a time slot intended for teenagers, Evangelion was not especially popular. Several contestants from Season 5 had previously competed against one another in the beauty pageant circuit. For example, we can see in a paragraph, circa 1990, from literary theorist Victor Burgen which might be described as "Eva in a nutshell":.

For example, Kris and Jon from Season 6 were long-distance daters for only a year. Though the religious and biological concepts are sometimes (perhaps intentionally) used in ways different from how contemporary Christianity or biology used them, Anno's use of Freudian jargon and psychoanalytical theory is fairly up to date with what was contemporary theory at the time. However, producers have shown more leniency and changed these rules in recent installments of the race. Evangelion is thick with allusions to biological, military, religious, and psychological concepts. In addition, racers from different teams could not have previous acquaintances with one another. The feeling of constant anxiety in Evangelion can be seen as a reflection of the constant anxiety Japan felt after the attacks destroyed the image of Japan as a clean, violence-free society. Originally, the race required team members to have a pre-existing relationship and to have known one another for at least three years. The series started broadcast after the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway on March 20, 1995, and production occurred around the period of the attack.

All contestants are at least 21 years of age, except for Season 8, which featured some children and teenagers. It fully embraced the style of mecha anime, and in particular shows a large influence from Yoshiyuki Tomino's Space Runaway Ideon; particularly, there are scenes in End of Evangelion which are clear homages to the last movie for the Ideon series. Past team relationships include: long-time married couples, siblings (including twins), parent/child, friends (roommates, fraternity brothers, platonic friends, high school friends, lifelong friends etc), romantic partners (both heterosexual and homosexual), and couples who are separated or formerly dating. Evangelion, however, shows the reversal of this trend. The teams represent a wide demographic of different ages, races, sexual orientations, and personal relationships. Mamoru Oshii had been quoted as saying that nobody wanted to watch "simple anime-like works" anymore. Season 8 of the race featured teams of four, but Season 9 will return to the two-person team format. For example, Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro (1988), and Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) were both low-key works, and Akira (1988) took most of its influence from American comic books.

Each of the eleven teams (twelve in Seasons 3 and 4, ten in Season 8) on The Amazing Race is composed of two individuals who have some type of relationship to each other. From the period from 1984 to the release of Evangelion, most highly acclaimed anime had a style somehow distanced from the usual styles of anime. . The list goes on and on, with multiple equally plausible interpretations existing, and references to areas other than Judeo-Christian concepts also appear, most notably concepts held by Freudian psychology. The ninth season will begin airing on February 28, 2006. (Some fans have also chosen to interpret the triplet nature of the magi to represent the Holy Trinity of Christianity, or—in the field of psychology—the Freudian concept of the Ego, superego, and id of the unconscious mind, among others.) The Tree of Sephiroth (Tree of Life)—an illustration of ten orbs showing the relationship between heaven and earth—is also mentioned. It has defeated competitors including CBS' Survivor (which was the first reality show to win an Emmy), Fox's American Idol, and NBC's The Apprentice. The Magi supercomputers are collectively named after the "Magi" (wise men, or astrologers) who were mentioned in one of the synoptic Gospels as having visited Jesus at his birth.

For three consecutive years, (2003 to 2005), The Amazing Race was awarded the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality/Competition Program. It has been theorized that Kaoru represents Jesus, as he is an Angel in human form (although Christianity actually teaches that Jesus is not an angel, but rather God in human form). Teams must then follow clues and instructions and make their way to checkpoints in places around the world, eventually racing back to the finish line in the US. The angels may well be in reference to the angels of God from the Hebrew and Christian texts. The race starts in a US city. The Christian crucifix sign is often shown, frequently as energy beams shooting up skyward. The race resembles a treasure hunt in amateur rally racing. It is clear that Adam and Eve (in other languages, such as Spanish and Portuguese, called Eva) are a direct reference to the first human beings from the book of Genesis.

The race utilizes progressive elimination similar to Survivor; the last team to arrive at a designated checkpoint leaves the game. In assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki's own words: "We just thought the visual symbols of Christianity looked cool." Whether this mindset changed during the course of making the series, influencing the intended depth of meaning of the symbols, is another question altogether. It was created by Bertram van Munster. The staff of the project have said that they originally used Christian symbolism (Christianity is practiced by around only 1% of the population in Japan) only to give the project a unique edge against other giant robot shows. It is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer for CBS and Touchstone Television (technically making it partially a Disney show) and hosted by New Zealander Phil Keoghan. The most prominent symbolism takes its inspiration from Judeo-Christian sources and frequently displays related symbols. The CBS program has been on-air since 2001 and is currently in between seasons. Their interpretation will vary from individual to individual.

The Amazing Race is a reality game show normally broadcast in one-hour episodes in which teams of two or four race around the world in competition with other teams. from outside sources, and the varied meanings that may be found in them. In an article according to Backstage.com, both "The Amazing Race" and "The Amazing Race: Family Edition", separately, were among the top 10 television shows with the most product placement in 2005. One of the many intriguing features of Evangelion is its extensive use of symbols, imagery, etc. Season 8 had teams driving around in GMC Yukons, visiting a BP gas station that fielded no challenge in particular, receiving clues from AOL inboxes (done in Season 6 also), and completing a challenge with Buick luxury golf carts. In the 7th DVD of the Platinum Collection, it is shown that episodes 25 & 26 and End of Evangelion are in fact just two separate endings to the series, such as multiple endings in video games, and have no real connection to one another other than both are separate continuations of episode 24. Season 7 featured a gnome-hunting challenge, with the gnome featured being a Travelocity Roaming Gnome. Yet another group of fans sees the final two episodes as being a part of the introspective detours from the second half of End of Evangelion.

Excessive product placement, particularly in recent seasons. The line is sometimes considered to be a reference to the end of Space Runaway Ideon, in which case it ironically implies a pyrrhic victory and death. USA Today shared similar opinions, adding that "the idea of being trapped in the back seat for a forced cross-country family drive comes closer to a nightmare relived than a dream come true." [7] Racers were also disappointed that they did not have a chance to travel to more exotic locations; in one episode Marion Paolo commented "Why are we going to Phoenix, Arizona for? I want to go to New Zealand!". Others believe that the characters are congratulating Shinji for finding his own identity, as his realization that he is an individual identity is the deciding factor in whether or not Instrumentality will occur (therefore, the characters are congratulating Shinji because his decision to remain an individual means that they can all remain individuals) -- this interpretation is reconcilable with End of Evangelion. Seeing parents yell at their children in exotic New Jersey? Not so fun." [6]. Some fans believe that the final scene of episode 26 where all of the characters are shown telling Shinji, "Congratulations" is a sign that Shinji accepts the Instrumentality Project and therefore is at odds with End of Evangelion. Entertainment Weekly commented that "Half the fun of The Amazing Race has always been watching the inter and intra-couple bickering that goes with being chronologically late and lost in a foreign land. The highly stylized nature of these episodes leaves them very open to interpretation.

The expanded cast also made it more difficult to develop individual story lines. There is some debate as to whether The End of Evangelion is a complement to, or a replacement of the TV episodes 25 and 26. The main issues were the lack of international travel and watered down challenges tailored to families. In End of Evangelion, Shinji is directly involved in the initiation of Instrumentality, but ultimately rejects it at the last moment. Fans, critics, and racers were lukewarm over the format changes implemented in the family edition. The specifics of Instrumentality are not explored in the series, either. In the two most recent seasons, Season 7 and Season 8, the winners were revealed in online betting scandals well before the airing of the final episode. The ending is left open to interpretation: clearly, Shinji eventually overcomes his issues with others and comes to accept being with them, but whether Instrumentality follows through or if it occurs at all are left unanswered, directly.

Recent betting scandals. In the series, episodes 25 and 26 consist of abstract introspection by the characters, especially Shinji. In the latter reason however, in the case of a leg being in a poor country, penalized teams usually beg from tourists or from other teams. The plot of The End of Evangelion and the plot of the series seem to diverge at the end of series episode 24. The second is that it is embarrassing to see Americans beg from people of Third World countries. When everyone comes to this state, they will no longer feel the pain or loneliness that would typically precipitate from interaction between humans; it is comparable, but not equal, to death. One, is that the penalty is not sufficiently harsh enough. This causes their bodies to revert to LCL.

The implementation of the non-elimination penalty is generally criticized by fans basically into two camps. This artificial evolution strives to merge all human souls into one by disposing the individuals of their AT-Fields that separate egos from each other. The one other reality series that possesses this trait is The Mole. SEELE is the main driving force behind this project, for reasons unknown, but they mention that humanity must evolve or it will die, thus the need for a forced evolution. The implementation of the Yield has been criticized as taking away from the virtually unique ability of teams to control their own destiny in a reality series rather than being at the mercy of opponents as shows such as Survivor. Considering the religious implications of the term "evangelion", this event was said to bring about the salvation of mankind in the context of a newly created Earth and humanity's becoming one with God. Season 7's Fast Forward task in Leg 8 featured the same hair-shaving task as Season 5, although Season 5's was not taken. The secret second task, the Human Instrumentality Project, intends to start an artificial evolution of mankind.

Repetition of tasks in different seasons. While Ritsuko does mention at the beginning of the series that the Evas do have some biological components to them, the extent to which the Evas are biological is not immediately apparent; it is finally revealed, towards the end of the series, that Eva's are essentially Angels (made from Adam, the first Angel, except unit 01 which is almost certainly made from Lilith, the second Angel) onto which mechanical components are incorporated during its creation — part of the reason being to restrain and control them. Recent seasons have emphasized gross-out extreme eating contests reminiscent of Fear Factor, rather than focusing on the cultural aspect of the challenge. It is later apparent that the Evas are not really "robots" but rather living, biomechanical organisms, in contrary to the popular belief of the general public. Design of challenges, especially food competitions. That is not to say that it is impossible to synchronize in such a situation, as is shown in an experiment in Episode 14, in which Rei and Shinji synchronize with each other's Evas. What had been clues are now more like simple directions in many cases; they remain more challenging in the final legs. Each Eva has its own designated pilot, due to the bond between the pilot's soul and the soul of the Eva; otherwise, any other person who tries to synchronize (simply put, to technically work as one mind) with the Eva is more likely to be refused.

In recent seasons, there have been few actual clues for teams to decipher. Though unit 02 does not ever go truly berserk, Asuka says in "The End of Evangelion" that she feels the presence of her mother protecting her in the Eva. For example, in Season 1 the majority of Route Markers contained clues about the next location, not specifically stating the location itself. Unit 00 goes berserk and lashes out at the tormentors of Ritsuko Akagi's mother, apperently attempting to kill Rei. The watering down of the clues in subsequent seasons. One example is when Unit 01 goes "berserk," acts without control of its pilot or NERV and refuses to shut down (or in one instance, to start without Shinji). For example, Dennis and Erika (Season 5) had known previous racers John Vito and Jill (Season 3) for many years.[5]. The Evas also appear to behave under the influence of the soul inside it.

In fact, many teams had connections to the producers or past contestants, trivializing the standard application process. It is frequently speculated that qualifying pilots must have lost a mother, whose soul is used as the soul of the Eva. For example, Season 5 featured only one past reality show contestant (Alison was on Big Brother) and Season 7 featured three past reality show contestants (Brian was on Fear Factor; Rob and Amber had been on multiple editions of Survivor). Pilots are selected by the Marduk Institute, which is later discovered to be composed of about 108 ghost companies, (108 is the number of sins in Japanese Buddhism, and the number of beads on a typical Buddhist rosary/mala) but Gendou Ikari and Ritsuko Akagi are actually in charge of selecting pilots. The stunt casting of teams where producers have tended to cast models, actors, and more recently past reality show stars. The Evas have the outward appearance of massive humanoid robots and can apparently be piloted only by children conceived after the Second Impact. The confrontational, and sometimes abusive behaviour presented by certain players, most notably Jonathan (Season 6) and Colin (Season 5). NERV carries out two tasks: to defend the Earth from Angel attack with a small number of Evangelions (Evas), and the Human Instrumentality Project, which, according to Gendou, is the path to becoming one with God.

Nevertheless, bunching teams also adds to the unending suspense that many feel some of the earlier seasons lacked. NERV is, in theory, under the control of SEELE, but NERV has its own agenda, driven by its commander Gendou Ikari. While all versions of the Race have suffered such problems, many fans feel that recent seasons (and Season 6 particularly) had more than usual or, perhaps, necessary. In the conflict with Angels, mankind is represented by the mysterious organizations NERV, GEHIRN (which started out as the investigation team for the Second Impact but became NERV later on), SEELE, and the Marduk Institute. Bunching, where teams are constantly grouped together due to bottlenecks such as chartered flights and pre-planned hours of operation of businesses that the teams must use to complete tasks. The true nature of the Second Impact was concealed from the general public, who was led to believe that the devastation was caused by a small meteorite, traveling close to the speed of light, impacting in Antarctica. (For an exception, see The Amazing Race 6 In-Race Trivia.)The finish line mats are an elevated red carpet with The Amazing Race logo enlarged on it. On September 13 an attempt was made to capture it which ended in apparent failure when it proceeded to self-destruct, creating what would be called the Second Impact.

In season 8 the mats were yellow with a black and white border. In 2000, a group of scientists conducted an expedition in Antarctica where a large being of light, deemed by them as the first Angel, Adam, was discovered. Beginning in Season 4, they would feature an ornately decorated world map. Other designs, such as the sleek Evangelions, created a great counterbalance to the bulky super robots of old. In Season 2 and Season 3, they were black with a yellow border. The attractive designs of the three main female leads, Asuka, Rei, and Misato have been immortalized in the dōjinshi community and in subsequent anime. In Season 1, check-in mats for pit stops were representative of local cultures. The character designs have also contributed to the popularity of Evangelion.

Due to the rather obvious nature of the crossing of the finish line, in later seasons several "decoy runs" have been done where teams from the final four are filmed crossing individual finish lines, to deter people from learning the identity of the winning team. There have also been many hypotheses on the nature of the relationships between the characters, including:. Before the race actually begins, the teams are filmed running from the starting line several times, in order to get different close-ups and angles of all the teams. The characters' personalities reflect their tactics, and their interactions reveal the nature of each in respect to each other. In doing so, the final destinations still remain a secret. A commonly held theory (also supported within the series itself) as to the meaning behind the characters is that Rei, Asuka, Shinji, and Misato all represent different methods people use to validate their own existence/individuality and separate themselves from their fellow human beings (analogous to the concept of AT-Fields). However, to keep things as much of a surprise for the teams as possible, production will obtain visas from more countries than are actually on the race itinerary. Most characters are, in their own way, socially maladjusted, and the patterns of relationships between the characters are complex.

Teams need to receive travel visas ahead of time for the countries that they will be visiting. Fellow pilots Rei Ayanami, a silent girl frequently mistaken for being unemotional; and Asuka Langley Soryu, a fiery, proud, red-headed girl; are also primary characters, as well as Shinji's father and NERV commander Gendo Ikari, NERV's head of strategy and tactics Misato Katsuragi, and NERV's head scientist, Ritsuko Akagi. The opening credits feature scenes and locations from past and current seasons of the race. For many years he had lived away from his father with one of his teachers until he was summoned mysteriously at the start of the series. Even after the race has aired, however, the amount is still required to remain confidential. The main character of Evangelion is Shinji Ikari, a shy, dour adolescent boy and Eva pilot. Teams receive monetary compensation for the time away from their jobs back home.
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Eliminated teams are often sent to "sequesterville", a foreign location on the race where they get to relax and do some sightseeing until the race is over. For the rest of Latin America, and between 2000 and 2003 (in numerous occasions) Neon Genesis Evangelion was broadcast on the Argentinian-based, anime and animation satellite channel Locomotion (which later, on August of 2005, became Animax).. Host Phil Keoghan is known to take the same flight as the teams on various legs of the race. The series was also internationally broadcast in Latin America by cable channel I-Sat during 2003 and 2004. The camera and sound crews rotate teams after each leg. Neither of the movies have been broadcast. [2] Occasionally, race personnel are shown to viewers, most notably during Season 7 where Brian and Greg's cameraman was shown lying on the ground after suffering minor injuries in an auto accident. None of the airings have suffered censorship and/or cuts.

Also, for similar reasons, the show makes the point of not actually showing the crews to the point where crewmen have occasionally been digitally removed from the picture in post-production. After the series ended was re-broadcast twice. On the program, teams are only shown requesting two tickets, so that they don't break the fourth wall. In Chile, the television series was broadcast by Chilevision during the time slot between 6:00 and 6:30 PM in 2004 with episodes dubbed into Latin American Spanish. When purchasing tickets, teams must also buy them for their camera crew. DVDs and manga are available in major stores. Each team is accompanied by a cameraman and soundperson throughout the race. At the same time, the now-extinct Locomotion channel aired the series in Brazillian Portuguese language.

The exact conditions that determine whether or not a time credit is awarded are unknown. The series was dubbed in Portuguese. However, in Season 8, two teams were stopped because of drained batteries and did not receive time credits. It was soon moved to after midnight. In early seasons, several teams were awarded time credits because of such difficulties. Many believed the schedule a mistake, since the timing meant that many small children could watch it. Sometimes, teams are delayed by production difficulties. It started on the 8th of December 1997.

(See The Amazing Race 2 Trivia). In Portugal, the series is fairly popular, since it was originally aired weekend mornings on the most popular channel in Portugal (SIC). However, no time credit is given for their wait in this unlucky situation. There never had been a completely and professionally synchronised German version until the release of the Platinum Edition DVD set in 2005 by ADV Films. If a team's vehicle breaks down through no fault of their own, they may request a replacement vehicle without receiving a time penalty. the original Japanese version subtitled with more or less correct German translations. Through lucky guessing and help from other teams, they were able to reach the Pit Stop, but were assessed a 1-hour penalty. e.

One exception to this was during Season 1, when Dave & Margaretta missed the cluebox at the base of the Eiffel Tower. In Germany NGE was broadcast in 1998 and again in December 2000/January 2001 by VOX once a week after midnight as a subtitled version, i. A team that skips a Route Marker or performs a task incorrectly usually does not receive a penalty; rather, the racers will not be able to check in at the Pit Stop and will be told by host Phil Keoghan to complete the missed tasks. The Evangelion movies were never broadcast on TV, but were released in 2005 on DVD by Panini Video, changing a few voice actors. As no other team has quit a Detour since then, it is unknown whether that larger penalty still exists. The manga, also translated in Italian, was released by Panini Comics (previously called Planet Manga). In Season 1, Nancy and Emily voluntarily quit a Detour and received an even larger penalty: 24 hours. Dynamic Italia didn't cut or censor the series in any way: they also put in the Italian version the unreleased scenes from Japanese Home Video edition.

In Season 7, Rob and Amber, Ray and Deana and Meredith and Gretchen also quit a Roadblock and received a 4-hour penalty that did not start until the next team arrived at the task. It enjoyed great success. In Season 6, Hayden and Aaron quit a Roadblock and received a 4-hour penalty. In Italy, the series was first released on VHS/DVD by Dynamic Italia (now called Dynit) and was then broadcast, dubbed in Italian, on the local MTV. There is a larger penalty for quitting a task voluntarily. The entire series and the two movies are now available on DVD through Madman Entertainment^[1], along with a new "Platinum" edition of the series, remastered from a fully restored video source. If a clue specifies a maximum speed, a team that exceeds that speed receives a penalty (Gary and Dave, Chris and Alex, Season 2). The success of Evangelion prompted SBS to gain the rights to several other anime series and many anime features, including the two Evangelion movies, which it later broadcast in their entirety, with both Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion screened again in 2005.

Speeding. As a result, SBS broadcast Evangelion twice a week, with the original run shown on Saturdays at 8:30pm, beginning on the 2nd of January 1999, and the second run shown on Mondays at 8:30pm, beginning on the 22nd of March, 1999. Driving away in another team's car (Don and Mary Jean, Season 6). Consequently, SBS decided to rebroadcast the entire series, despite the fact that it had not yet fully completed the original run. Taking more than one clue from the clue box (Freddy and Kendra, Season 6). News of the broadcast slowly spread, and as a result, there was an upsurge of viewers midway through the season. Taking a shortcut when the clue specifies that a marked course must be followed (Andre & Damon, Season 3). This was the first anime series to be broadcast on SBS, and in prime time.

For example, a team that takes a taxi when the clue specifies that they must walk would receive a penalty (Frank & Margarita and Joe & Bill, Season 1; Heather & Eve, Season 3; Reichen & Chip, Season 4). In Australia, the series was broadcast by SBS Television. Using a prohibited form of transportation. This ended around episode 16 when the block that aired the two shows was canceled and the shows themselves moved to 5 a.m. This penalty is known to apply in the following cases: