User:Sjones23/The End of Evangelion

The End of Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン劇場版 THE END OF EVANGELION) is a 1997 anime film written and chief directed by Hideaki Anno; it won the Japan Academy Prize for popularity. It is an alternate ending to the popular animated series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Many Japanese viewers felt unsatisfied by the series' two episode resolution, episodes 25 and 26, which take place completely in the psyche of the main characters. Only a few brief scenes hint at what happens outside of Shinji Ikari's mind, and viewers wanted a more satisfying explanation of these events. Additionally, episode 25 was originally planned to take place in the physical world; but it was changed due to time and budget restraints. This original script for episode 25 was then reused for the movie. The film is divided into two parts, Episode 25: Air and Episode 26: まごころを、君に (Magokoro o, kimi ni, "My Purest Heart for You").

The first part, Episode 25: Air, is based on the previous film, Rebirth. Rebirth is roughly equivalent to 2/3 of Air. The End of Evangelion later became the second half of Revival of Evangelion, a concatenation of Death(true)² and The End of Evangelion.

The film depicts the apocalyptic completion of the Human Instrumentality Project, where individual identity is destroyed to create a single existence for all human beings - that is, people's AT-Fields are destroyed and the entirety of humanity is turned into LCL. In this film, Shinji rejects the Human Instrumentality Project in favor of individual existence, whereas in the series it is left ambiguous.

Although the film was less abstract than the series' end, many fans criticized its violence and shock value relative to the television series and many continued to harbor a dislike of Anno's work in reaction. It is a common misconception that Anno created the film as revenge on the ex-fans of the TV show. The numerous hate-mail and death threats sent to Anno are related to the theatrical release of Death and Rebirth, not the TV series. Some of these letters, along with letters of praise, are briefly flashed in the film, near the ending. Also, it may be another reference to the series Space Runaway Ideon, which also had a similarly-apocalyptic movie ending entitled Be Invoked.

Plot

 * ''This summary only includes the main events of the film, and not any of the characters' personal or emotional journeys.


 * All characters and terms are those of the TV series. Please check the corresponding articles.


 * Titles of the episodes are in the format "original Japanese title/alternative English title".

The film is split into two episodes of about 45 minutes each, which either correspond to, or contradict with, episode 25 and episode 26 from the TV series. Both are shown without opening credits, but both include ending credits, meaning that credits for episode 25' are shown half way through the film.

Episode 25': Air / Love is Destructive
Third Child Shinji Ikari desperately pleads for help to Second Child Asuka Langley Soryu, laying in a hospital in a temporary coma. In a frenetic attempt to wake her up, he accidentally pulls the covers from her bed, exposing her nearly naked body. After freezing in shock, Shinji masturbates to orgasm while looking at Asuka's comatose body. The scene concludes with Shinji muttering "I'm the lowest..." .

Meanwhile, Gendo Ikari and SEELE come to their final disagreement regarding the Human Instrumentality Project's execution. SEELE begins its assault on NERV by attempting to break into NERV's MAGI supercomputer system using the other MAGI across the globe. After being released from detainment, Ritsuko Akagi sets up a protection system for MAGI, 666, that will lock them out for 62 hours. As time is short, and the original MAGI computers are to be salvaged intact, SEELE is forced to send the Japanese Strategic Self Defense Forces to invade the GeoFront using extreme force rather than simply obliterating the facility with bombs and ordnance. The JSSDF, in the form of deployed special forces commandos, move into the GeoFront and kill NERV combatants and unarmed personnel.

Correctly anticipating that the JSSDF have received orders to kill the Eva pilots, Major Misato Katsuragi orders Asuka to be relocated from the NERV private hospital facility to within Unit 02. Upon discovering that Shinji is still within the NERV facilities, Misato sets out to rescue him personally. First Child Rei Ayanami, however, goes to the LCL pool near Terminal Dogma; as she leaves her room, Gendo's glasses are shown on the floor, shattered. Concluding that their defeat is inevitable, Gendo bids farewell to Deputy Commander Kōzō Fuyutsuki and retreats to Terminal Dogma to initiate Third Impact. Soon after, the JSSDF invade Central Dogma and the remaining NERV staff members make a last stand against the invaders there. As the destruction of the GeoFront was the main objective of their operation, the JSSDF detonates an N² bomb over its surface, shattering the roof, decimating Tokyo-3 and exposing the GeoFront to a barrage of missiles that fall down seconds later over the pyramid. Meanwhile, Misato saves Shinji from being killed by shooting his assailants, and drags him into her car and drives toward Unit 01's cage. In front of the elevator to the launch bay, they are attacked by JSSDF troops, and Misato is shot in the back while rushing Shinji through an elevator to Unit 01's launch bay. She shrugs off the wound and has an emotional final talk with Shinji, persuading him to end his cycle as a pilot and enter the Eva one last time. She gives him her cross pendant (now bloodstained), and an adult kiss, with a promise to "do the rest" when he gets back. Just after pushing Shinji into the elevator, Misato collapses on the floor and speaks her final words (to Pen-Pen and Ryoji Kaji); she is then killed in an explosion seconds later.

Meanwhile, Asuka wakes up inside Unit 02 in the bottom of the underground lake outside of the pyramid. When the JSSDF drop depth charges to try and kill her along with her Eva, she is overwhelmed by her thanatophobia. Asuka suddenly realizes catharthically that her mother has always been with her within Unit 02. She then regains complete consciousness and easily fights back the assault, though they manage to sever Unit 02's umbilical cable in the process. SEELE concludes that Unit 02 is a burden upon their plans. To eliminate it, they send the nine mass-production (MP) Evas, Units 05 through 13, to destroy it. Asuka fights the MP Evas, defeating all of them just before Unit 02's batteries expire. However, one of the replica Lances of Longinus carried by the MP Evas breaks through Unit 02's AT Field and impales its head; Asuka is shown screaming in pain and holding her left eye, blood streaming from the wound. As Unit 02 powers down and collapses, held up by the Lance in its head, the MP Evas return to life and take to the skies, circling Unit 02 like birds before descending to tear it apart with their teeth. Although Unit 02 is powerless, and thus should not be synchronized to Asuka, she is again shown in extreme pain, holding her abdomen (which can be seen to be covered in a dark stain that is clearly blood) in addition to her eye, as if she is trying to hold in her insides. After the MP Evas take to the skies once again, Asuka, in a blood rage, wills Unit 02 to "go berserk," fervently repeating "I'll kill you," although she is only able to make the Eva lift its right arm. Another replica Lance splits Unit 02's right arm in half; for a moment in the scene, it is also shown that Asuka's arm is split in half. Many replica Lances impale Unit 02; although her fate is not made clear, the NERV personnel back in Central Dogma assume that Asuka has been killed.

During the battle, Ritsuko goes to Terminal Dogma to stop Gendo's plan, ordering MAGI to self-destruct, and with it the GeoFront. However, Casper (MAGI's third core and Dr. Naoko Akagi's personality as a woman) overrides the command and halts the self-destruct sequence. Gendo speaks a confession to Ritsuko, translated in the official English version as "Ritsuko Akagi, the truth is/I truly..." (the rest is inaudible) - to which she responds, "(You) liar...". He then shoots and kills her.

Back at the GeoFront, Unit 01 activates on its own, breaks the hardened Bakelite blocking Shinji's path to the entry plug and emerges from it, decimating the remains of the pyramid and generating a new type of wing-like AT Field. The episode concludes as Shinji, witnessing the mangled remains of Unit 02 being carried by one of the MP Evas, screams in horror.

Episode 26': My Purest Heart for You (Sincerely Yours) / ONE MORE FINAL: I need you.
As Shinji writhes in mental agony due to seeing the dismembered Unit 02, Unit 01 generates a new type of AT-Field, which takes the shape of a crucifix surrounding it. As if in response to Shinji's (and Unit 01's) scream, the Lance of Longinus rockets back from the moon's orbit, halting before the floating Unit 01. The MP Evas pierce Unit 01's hands with two of the replica Lances, thereby marking it with the holy stigmata. They then proceed to bite and grab the "wings" of Unit 01's AT-Field, as their collective AT-Fields form a Tree of Sephiroth, with Unit 01 in the center.

Back in Terminal Dogma, Gendo literally pushes his right hand (fused with the embryonic Adam) into Rei's body; however, Rei defies Gendo's control, absorbs Adam's embryo and most of Gendo's right arm, and merges with Lilith on her own. The crucified creature transforms into a moving, glowing white figure of enormous and ever-increasing proportions. Lilith is freed from her mask and takes the shape of Rei, ascending to the sky and transforming the MP Evas into her avatars. Terrified, Shinji is finally made to let down his AT-Field when Lilith/Rei reveals herself to also possess the body of Kaworu Nagisa. As Shinji submits to Rei/Kaworu/Lilith, the real Lance of Longinus penetrates Unit 01's core, transforming it into a cross-shaped Tree of Life. The Egg of Lilith, a black moon, rises from the Geofront into Lilith's hands. Inside Unit 01, Shinji retreats into a desperate internal dialogue with Asuka that results in his complete loss of hope. This is the beginning of Instrumentality, initiated on Shinji's decision within Unit 01: "Nobody cares whether or not I exist... nothing ever changes. So they can all just die."

For people to willingly let down their AT-Fields, the barriers of their souls, Lilith takes on several forms and approaches each human individually in the form of the person he or she loves the most, or simply forces her way past their AT-Fields if he or she has no loved one (as is the case with First Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba); these actions reduce every human being to a pool of LCL. Their souls, represented as red, marble-sized dots, make their way back into the Egg. Shinji is absorbed separately into Instrumentality: a crease resembling a vaginal opening appears in Lilith/Rei's forehead, into which the Unit 01 cross plunges itself. Rei and Kaworu show him that the sea of LCL, the union of all souls, is the world he wanted to create. Through a series of internal dialogues and reflections, however, Shinji concludes that it is better to live life as an individual, even though living and pain are inseparable.

With this, Unit 01 bursts from Lilith's eyeball holding the Lance of Longinus, and Lilith's physical form decomposes and dies, as the Egg explodes. Shinji returns to earth with his physical form, emerging from the sea of LCL. The MP Evas fall to Earth in crucifix-like postures. Unit 01 (now in a fossilized state) and the Lance of Longinus drift off into space; Yui explains to Shinji that this will serve as an eternal reminder that humanity existed. Before leaving, Yui explains in a flashback dialogue with Fuyutsuki that all living creatures have the ability to return to their original forms, as long as they have the will to live as separate individuals.

Shinji then wakes up lying on a shore. Misato's rusted cross pendant is nailed to a piece of debris nearby, and Asuka lies motionless next to Shinji, still in her plug suit, her left eye and right arm covered in bandages. After Shinji awakens, for an instant, an image of Rei appears to him at a distance then vanishes, in the same fashion as in the first episode of the TV series. When Shinji notices that Asuka is lying beside him, he begins to strangle her, only to stop when she reaches up and caresses his face, the same gesture that Yui gave to him in their final talk. He breaks down, sobbing on top of her. The film concludes as Asuka's eye focuses on Shinji and she speaks the ambiguous phrase "kimochi warui".

The final scene
The closing scene is vague and highly interpretable, and has caused several controversies as to its possible meanings. In the scene, Shinji and Asuka have separated themselves from the collective human existence, apparently alone in the post-Third Impact world. There are indications that Shinji emerges first and considerably before Asuka does: Shinji has put up memorials to those he loved, and Misato's cross on her memorial has visibly rusted. Their interaction on the beach display a wide range of positive and negative human emotions. The world is irreversibly changed, however, and what happens afterwards is only hinted at.

Some fans have speculated that Asuka may be an amalgamation of Asuka, Rei, and Misato because of her apparent red and brown eyes, the same eye colors as Rei's and Misato's (respectively). Further, she is wearing bandages that correspond to the physical damage she suffered during her last fight in Unit 02 (pierced left eye, injured right arm); these injuries mirror Rei's injuries seen in the opening episode of the TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Furthermore, Rei had appeared to Shinji above the ocean of LCL in the previous scene. This theory was first proposed shortly after the movie was released, and was popular for some time. One point raised against this theory is that in this scene Asuka's eyes are actually their normal blue, and not a reddish-brown. A scan of the Cardass Wide Card for the scene in question, which reproduces the original cel used for it, shows that her eyes look somewhat grayish, but this is because of the color tones and lighting of the scene.

"Shinji rejected the Human Instrumentality Project, and as such he has no control over whatever happens next. He is an ordinary boy. Yui says earlier in the film that anyone who can "imagine themselves in their own heart" can come back, on their own." Asuka is one of those people and re-emerged from the LCL pool after her own mental journey (partly shown in episode 25) was complete.

Asuka's closing line, "気持ち悪い. " ("Kimochi warui.") likewise can be interpreted in a number of ways. It was translated on Manga's DVD as "How disgusting," but it can also be translated as "I feel unwell/terrible/sick," "What a disgusting feeling," "Feels bad," etc. This has caused much confusion among Western fans, though the true meaning of the line is unclear in the original Japanese as well. An episode of Anime Yawa, a Japanese show dedicated to anime, was broadcast on NHK's satellite TV 31 March 2005; it described this final line and its original meaning: initially the final line was written as "I'd never want to be killed by you of all men, absolutely not!" or "I'll never let you kill me." ( "Anta nankani korosareru nowa mappira yo!") but Anno was dissatisfied with all of Miyamura's (Asuka's seiyuu, Yuko Miyamura) renditions of this line. Eventually Anno, asked her a question which described what he was going for with this scene: "'Concerning the final line we adopted, I'm not sure whether I should say about it in fact. At last Anno asked me 'Miyamura, just imagine you are sleeping in your bed and a stranger sneaks into your room. He can rape you anytime as you are asleep but he doesn't. Instead, he masturbates looking at you, when you wake up and know what he did to you. What do you think you would say?' I had been thinking he was a strange man, but at that moment I felt disgusting. So I told him that I thought 'Disgusting.' And then he sighed and said, 'I thought as much.''"

However, Tiffany Grant, Asuka's English dub voice actress, says this: "The most widely circulated translation of the last line of EoE [ End of Evangelion ] is 'I feel sick,' but Amanda Winn Lee (voice of Rei Ayanami, who also directed EoE) said she asked several translators, and she felt 'disgusting' was the most accurate adaptation. You could say she is disgusted with/sick of the situation or with Shinji himself. My favorite explanation though, is this one: My husband, Matt Greenfield, directed the TV series and is very familiar with the whole Eva franchise. Matt has said that although (Eva creator) Hideaki Anno seems to change his mind frequently about what various things mean in Eva, Anno once said that Asuka's comment about feeling 'sick' was a reference to morning sickness. Now THAT gives ya something to think about, doesn't it! Of course, Anno is quite passionate about the idea that every person should decide for him or herself what Eva means to them."

Another explanation can be found on the Cardass Wide Evangelion trading card for the scene "ONE MORE FINAL: I need you."; it affirms Shinji's choice to return to reality, and in doing so has separated himself from Asuka once more. His first impulse is to strangle her, to finish what he started during Instrumentality, but once he feels her caress (which is very similar to the one he received from his mother only moments before), he realizes what he's doing. He releases his grip and collapses as an emotionally broken little boy, which disgusts Asuka. This presents a more human response in showing Asuka's opinion over Shinji's behavior, but the act of caressing his cheek may represent a better connection between the two, since it deviates from Asuka's normal response to fight back or slap Shinji.

Alternately, it is also possible that Asuka's expression of disgust is directed at their world, and would therein be a parallel of Shinji's own reaction to his abandonment of a perfect world and return to individual existence. Whereas Shinji's final expression of regret was physical, Asuka's was verbal. Interestingly, this is a reversal of roles from their previously established personalities - Shinji is now the one to act, while Asuka is passive.

Despite the somber ending, there are clear statements that the results of Instrumentality are not permanent. Both Rei and Yui comfort Shinji and tell him that people can restore themselves to physical existence if they want to, depending on the strength within their hearts. This being said, it is obvious that Asuka is one of the first persons to manifest herself back into reality. Another Evangelion trading card explains:

"'In the sea of LCL, Shinji wished for a world with other people. He desired to meet them again, even if it meant he would be hurt and betrayed. And just as he had hoped / wanted, Asuka was present in the new world. Only Asuka was there beside him. The girl whom he had hurt, and who had been hurt by him. But even so, she was the one he had hoped/wished for....'"

Many also speculate that because a lambent image of Rei in a school uniform was either present over the bodies of the already dead during the soul collection (as the case with fallen NERV personnel) or present at their death (such as Misato and Ritsuko), it could be said that their souls were in fact collected either before or after they died and that they can all return one day. However, Yui's quote may only pertain to those who actually died during Third Impact. Thus, it leaves much up to the viewer to decide whether or not the rest of humanity returns. This kind of choice could be analyzed as parallel to Shinji's choice in what kind of world he wanted, and perhaps was intentionally planned out that way, as it leaves the viewer as "God" of the fate of the post-Third Impact world.

Postmodernism in the film
The film contains some highly postmodern sequences, including a scene showing a young Shinji playing in the Geofront with film lights around him (indicating he's on a film set), and some live action sequences including scenes of the seiyū of Misato, Rei, and Asuka (supposedly posing as their characters), and some live-action video footage of a movie theater and its audience. In addition, much of the artwork can be considered superflat (a Japanese genre of postmodern pop art) for its depiction of perverse, distorted sexuality of one of the film's main characters, Rei, and more importantly, in its 'secularization' of Judeo-Christian iconogoraphy in the form of Japanese otaku culture. Scenes from the film have been featured at Takashi Murakami's exhibitions, and were discussed in depth in his book and exhibition, Little boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture.

In addition, there are letters from fans, including a few death threats via the internet, along with graffiti on Gainax's headquarters shown in the film. These scenes are difficult to identify, but can be seen as a quick succession of flashes after the line "this is the end of your dream" and before the colossal Rei/Lilith figure bleeds from its neck.

The End of Evangelion: Renewal
A new version of The End of Evangelion was released on June 25, 2003 in Japan by Starchild / King Records as part of Renewal of Evangelion, a box set which "compiles new digitally remastered versions of the 26 TV show episodes, 4 remade-for-laserdisc episodes, and 3 theatrical features" and "includes a bonus disc with never-before-seen material". This version of the film conjoins the "recap" film Evangelion: Death with End, omitting the Rebirth segment from the first film (as it serves as little more than a teaser for the second film). The point of interest is the never-before-seen-material, which includes a live-action sequence with the voice-actresses for Rei, Asuka, and Misato portraying their respective characters. In The End of Evangelion, some of the live action scenes are from the film's original copy, namely the scene in which there are schoolgirls facing away from the camera as a track of Rei, Asuka, and Misato criticizing Shinji is played. It is now clear that the theatrical release of The End of Evangelion is not the movie's complete or original form. The live-action sequence in Renewal was indeed part of the original movie, but it was scrapped for reasons unknown. One feeling shared by many who have seen it is that it is too ambiguous, unclear, and inconsistent with what is accepted as the story of Neon Genesis Evangelion as a whole; a few of the problems are that 10 years have lapsed (the Eva pilots are all 14 years old at the end of The End of Evangelion, here they are 24 years old), Shinji does not exist in it, and Asuka has a sexual relationship with Touji Suzuhara (in the TV series, they have almost no relationship, exchange no more than a dozen lines, and are very antagonistic toward each other). At the end of the sequence you can hear Shinji's voice-actor saying: "This isn't it, I am not here", this proves the fact that it is a false reality seen through his eyes.

The true value and purpose of this live-action sequence is highly debated among fans. One interpretation, brought about by the deliberately gritty film quality and downbeat dialogue in the sequence, is that the scenario is meant to be a direct contrast to the "possible reality" imagined by Shinji in Episode 26 of the TV series. Whereas the sequence used in the show depicts an extremely happy, pleasant and colorful world which revolves around Shinji, this sequence depicts a drab, melancholy "reality" in which Shinji does not exist at all, and the people he is close to are living their lives having never met him. Neither of these is the true reality; but, it could be theorized, by seeing both, Shinji comes to the realization that while his world may not change itself to his will, he can change his reality simply by being.

At this time, Manga Entertainment is "ironing out the contracts" to release the Renewal versions of Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion saying that they hope to have these versions out sometime in 2007 if things work out. Currently, Manga Entertainment holds the overseas license for the pre-Renewal versions of the movies, whereas A.D. Vision holds the license for the Evangelion TV series, including the Renewal editions of the TV episodes (released under the subtitle The Platinum Edition).

Gendo's silent line
Gendo's final words to Ritsuko are muted and were never scripted. There was originally meant to be an explosion in the background making the line inaudible, but even after it was cut Anno still wanted the line to be unheard. Yuriko Yamaguchi (Ritsuko Akagi) had difficulty delivering the subsequent line "Liar" without knowing what Gendo had said. Anno gave her one small hint as to what the line was, and she knew exactly how to deliver the line. To this day, nobody except for those two people have any idea what that hint was and therefore what the line might have been.

In the subtitled version the line reads "Akagi Ritsuko-kun, I truly ...", however in the dubbed version the line is "Ritsuko Akagi, the truth is ...". Though the change is minimal, some fans believe it changes the connotations of the statement. In foreign versions of the film, the silent line does not exist, and Gendo says "I'd always love her" (referring to Ritsuko's mother).

Trivia
Shinji: "I'm so fucked up." Misato: "So fucking what if I'm not you!?"
 * As of July 29, 2007, The End of Evangelion is ranked #38 on IMDB's "Top 50 Animated Films".
 * Yui's final words of reassurance to Shinji, spoken as the Evas turn to stone and fall back to Earth, were previously iterated in Episode 20 of the TV series. However, the Manga Entertainment dub yields a different translation than the original ADV dub, thereby making this deliberate repetition more unclear to viewers of the English version. Similarly, Asuka's ambiguous closing line was previously iterated in the Director's Cut of Episode 22. However, the ADV dub of that episode translates the line as "It makes me sick," thereby damaging the continuity. (It should be noted that the English versions of the Director's Cut episodes were not released in the US until after the release of the films.)
 * The red dummy plugs seen injected into the Mass Production Eva series before they launch are labeled "Kaworu". This is never explained, but has lead many to believe that they are either programmed with Kaworu's personality, or that, like Rei, there were extra Kaworu clones which were used.
 * When Misato is reading the disk containing the information of the second impact given to her by Ryoji you can read what it says on the screen. It's a text which speaks about anime but it has certain words like "Second Impact" in capital letters to make it look as if it is speaking about Evangelion. The text is actually a parody of Gainax's own studio origins and mentions mock names of several of their series. The binary code on the screen can be interpreted, but will only yield unintelligible signs, marks, and foreign letters which seemingly have no correlation with each other: �ÝKktiK¨ºÙµ¨íÔ#5´A�SÔhŠ+@ÖµM@¥oK¨ºÙµ¨íÔ#5´A�
 * The scene where Maya is reading information pertaining to Unit 02 contains anatomical information of the Evangelion on top and a large list of seemingly random letter combinations. Upon closer inspection, the letters are in sets of three and either feature the letters "A," "T," "C," or "G." These letters are most likely a reference to the nucleotides held in a single strand of DNA of adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine.
 * During Ritsuko's death scene, the boat she was riding during her first appearance can be seen in the foreground when she plunges into the pool of LCL.
 * Ritsuko sets the firewall as Type 666, Devil's Number. The number 666 also makes several other appearances in the movie, in quick "flashing" content scenes. As Shinji and Misato are in a garage early on in the film, a sign on a column indicates that Garage 667 is to the left, thus implying they are both standing in Garage 666.
 * Three minor audio changes were deliberately made to the English dub of the film for creative purposes: the line "Hit 'em again," was added to the scene in which the JSSDF soldiers are burning NERV employees (offscreen) with a flamethrower, whereas there was no corresponding line in the Japanese; a splattering sound effect was added to the scene in which Misato shoots a JSSDF soldier through the head; and also, a similar splattering effect is added to the scene in which the replicas of the Lance of Longinus, called Heavy Lances, on which the Mass Production Evangelions are impaled, swell and explode. In the commentary on the Manga Entertainment DVD release of the film, English language-version director Amanda Winn Lee pointed out and took responsibility for all audio changes, explaining why she felt them to be appropriate.
 * Some fans have criticized the English dub of the film for its (supposed) use of gratuitous profanity; namely, the word "fuck" is used twice in the film:

Previous dubs of Evangelion had contained profanity as well, including several uses of the word "shit"; however, such strong profanity had not previously seen use. English-language director Amanda Winn Lee defended both uses, contending that they were completely appropriate given the context of the scenes.

Music in the Film
JS Bach's music features prominently throughout the movie. Episode 25' has the Japanese title Air, after Air on the G String which is played during the episode.

Other works by Bach include Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major (I. Prélude) and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring may have been chosen for its Christian overtones, which are a feature running throughout the movie. The movement was transcribed for piano, and plays again with string instruments during the end credits.

A further song, Komm, susser Tod (Come, Sweet Death), is derived in name from an orchestral composition of Bach. It plays near the end of the movie and is performed by Arianne. The upbeat, catchy tune of the song, combined with the point in the film at which it is played (the actuation of Instrumentality) and its lyrics, in which the singer extensively describes her motivations for suicide, have made the song infamous among fans as a symbol of the confusing and bizarre nature of the film, particularly the second episode. A novel of the same name was published by Wolf Haas the year after the film's release, and is sometimes mistakenly believed to be the basis for the song.

Pachelbel's Canon also features extensively in the film, particularly as Komm, susser Tod bears many similarities to it, especially in the verses, and it is played over the ending credits.

The song in both the end credits and the credits to episode 25' is entitled "THANATOS -If I Can't Be Yours-" and performed by Loren & Mash, is based on "THANATOS", a background music piece used in the series.