Human-Evangelion Synchronization: A textual and semiotic analysis of trauma, transhumanism and technological implications in Hideaki Anno's Evangelion

Zhang, Paul

Human-Evangelion Synchronization: A textual and semiotic analysis of trauma, transhumanism and technological implications in Hideaki Anno's Evangelion

Zhang, Paul

Permalink

Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2025

Open Access

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Open Access

This item is open access.

Adobe PDF

Download thesisAdobe PDF (2.43 MB)

View statistics

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Zhang, Paul
dc.date.accessioned	2025-11-04T01:56:06Z
dc.date.available	2025-11-04T01:56:06Z
dc.date.issued	2025
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190610
dc.description	University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.description.abstract	This research paper presents a qualitative and multimodal semiotic analysis of the anime franchise Evangelion in its four rebuild films. The dissertation examines the interconnected relationship between the films and concepts such as human identity, suffering and transhumanism. Existing scholarship has investigated Evangelion's technological symbolism from singular theological perspective—either Christian or Shinto-Buddhist—creating a scholarly gap in providing a holistic semiotic analysis of the technological themes. This dissertation addresses that gap by applying an integrated theological framework, examining how visual and non-visual semiotics shape Anno’s portrayal of technology. Through denotative and connotative semiotic methodologies, this study focuses on pivotal themes such as "instrumentality" and "synchronization," revealing Anno’s complex depiction of technology. Incorporating both Shinbutsu-Shugo and Christian perspectives, the analysis significantly enhances the understanding of Japanese anime’s technological representations and their broader cultural implications. Additionally, the study provides deeper insights into how Anno presents moral and ethical arguments concerning transhumanism's potential benefits and detrimental nature, which are increasingly dominant in contemporary society. Thus, this dissertation will investigate how existential human trauma acts as a catalyst for transhumanism and how the radical transhumanist approach can trigger a recurring cycle of human suffering.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.format	Thesis (MA)
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US.UTF-8
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/190610/1/thesis.pdf
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	© 2025 Paul Zhang
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/cph
dc.title	Human-Evangelion Synchronization: A textual and semiotic analysis of trauma, transhumanism and technological implications in Hideaki Anno's Evangelion	en_US.UTF-8
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*

Abstract:

This research paper presents a qualitative and multimodal semiotic analysis of the anime franchise Evangelion in its four rebuild films. The dissertation examines the interconnected relationship between the films and concepts such as human identity, suffering and transhumanism. Existing scholarship has investigated Evangelion's technological symbolism from singular theological perspective—either Christian or Shinto-Buddhist—creating a scholarly gap in providing a holistic semiotic analysis of the technological themes. This dissertation addresses that gap by applying an integrated theological framework, examining how visual and non-visual semiotics shape Anno’s portrayal of technology. Through denotative and connotative semiotic methodologies, this study focuses on pivotal themes such as "instrumentality" and "synchronization," revealing Anno’s complex depiction of technology. Incorporating both Shinbutsu-Shugo and Christian perspectives, the analysis significantly enhances the understanding of Japanese anime’s technological representations and their broader cultural implications. Additionally, the study provides deeper insights into how Anno presents moral and ethical arguments concerning transhumanism's potential benefits and detrimental nature, which are increasingly dominant in contemporary society. Thus, this dissertation will investigate how existential human trauma acts as a catalyst for transhumanism and how the radical transhumanist approach can trigger a recurring cycle of human suffering.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190610