this was all a cruel angel's thesis from the start

Zankoku na Tenshi no These

" Zankoku na Tenshi no These "  (残酷な天使のテーゼ, Zankoku na Tenshi no Tēze ? , " A Cruel Angel's Thesis ") is the theme song of the popular anime Neon Genesis Evangelion performed by Yoko Takahashi . It is used as the opening to the series, and two instrumental versions of it are played in the final episode, " Take care of yourself. " These are "The Heady Feeling of Freedom" and "Good, or Don't Be", scored for violin, piano, and guitar. "The Heady Feeling of Freedom" is a somber and reflective piece for bowed strings and guitar, while "Good, or Don't Be" is played to a light piano and guitar tone. A similar version can also be heard during the intermission between the two parts of Evangelion: Death and Rebirth .

The single was released on 25 October 1995 within the Zankoku na Tenshi no These (Single) the catalog number KIDA-116 and it also reached a peak rank 17 in the Oricon album database, appearing in the ranks 61 times.

Unlike what is commonly assumed, this song was written without any involvement from the show's creators. [1] Anno originally wanted to use an excerpt from Borodin's Polovtsian Dances in the opening, but the producers did not approve of this and instead decided to use a J-Pop song, which eventually resulted in the creation of "A Cruel Angel's Thesis". The lyricist, Neko Oikama had next to no knowledge of the show. Oikama simply skimmed through a proposal of the show (possibly Neon Genesis Evangelion Proposal ) and watched unfinished versions of two episodes on fast forward, only serving to broadly "fit" the anime after the fact. [2] [3] [4] Oikama took inspiration for the title from the manga A Cruel God Reigns . [5] She said the lyrics "become a legend" were originally "become a weapon". She was orientated that the show was "difficult and philosphical". Oikama described it as: "older women", "mothers" and "14-year-old boys and girls", and decided to make it about the perspective of a mother when her child "leaves the nest". [6] The original song included a male chorus, which was cut at director Hideaki Anno's request in order to "emphasize maternal affection". [7] The writing process for Episode:01 took as long as six months, [8] and the opening sequence was not yet finished. [9] [10] Singer Yoko Takahashi was also brought in relatively haphazardly and had no knowledge of the series, and would only see the opening featuring her voice when it aired on TV. [11] She had also first met Anno on the day of recording. [12]

• 1.1 TV Size
• 1.2 Full Size
• 4 External Links
• 5 References

TV Size [ ]

Full Size [ ]

[13]

During the instrumental break in the middle of the song, a chorus can be heard. The lyrics to the chorus are not in Japanese, nor in any other recognizable language. According to the January 1996 issue of Newtype magazine, the lyrics can be phonetically transliterated into Japanese as 「ファリィア。セタ(or セパ）メッソ。ファリィア。トゥスェ」 "Fariya. Seta (or sepa) messo. Fariya. Tuse" , and they are supposedly written in an untranslated language passed down from ancient times. One could entertain the possibility that they are written in the same language as that of the Dead Sea Scrolls . [14]

See Also [ ]

• " Zankoku na Tenshi no These 2009 VERSION "
• " Zankoku na Tenshi no These MATSURI SPIRIT "

External Links [ ]

• 「残酷な天使のテーゼ」MUSIC VIDEO（HDver.）/Zankoku na Tenshi no Te-ze“The Cruel Angel's Thesis” at King Records' YouTube channel

References [ ]

• ↑ "Producer Ootsuki said he allowed Anno to do whatever he wanted in the anime except for the theme music. Ootsuki was particular about the theme and handled the music staff by himself. No anime staff, even Anno, met the music staff, he said." - Yuko Miyamura, BS AnimeYAWA
• ↑ “My manager got the job, we had a quick meeting lasting about 30 minutes, skim-read the proposal and watched two episodes on fast-forward. And with that I was told ‘so, yeah, just write whatever you want!’, and finished the song [lyrics] in about two hours. Sorry to burst your bubble, guys!” https://soranews24.com/2015/01/08/a-cruel-angels-thesis-took-just-two-hours-to-write-says-evangelion-lyricist-neko-oikawa
• ↑ "I hadn't watch Eva and wrote it in 2 hours. I don't even know what the story is or who is fighting who." https://twitter.com/otakucalendarjp/status/1356542049751687171
• ↑ She also professed that she didn't know much about Neon Genesis Evangelion when she first wrote the song, and she still hasn't watched the series. "It's a finished job, so [I'm] not really [interested]," she said. When she wrote the song, the anime hadn't been finished yet and she only had the proposal and the first two or three minutes to go by. "It wasn't even colored. I wrote the song, and my job was done. I wrote it in about two hours." - https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2021-02-03/lyricist-neko-oikawa-shares-how-she-was-scammed-out-of-her-evangelion-royalty-money/.169084
• ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160830224921/http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/11939169
• ↑ https://www.sankei.com/west/news/161228/wst1612280011-n1.html
• ↑ Refrain of Evangelion OST Booklet, 2003.
• ↑ 2nd JUNE interview
• ↑ Notenki Memoirs
• ↑ According to Hidenori Matsubara during the Animazement 2015 convention, "the song was created before they even got done with animation for the opening theme. Strangely enough, the song manage to go along with the opening animation."
• ↑ Yoko Takahashi Performs Neon Genesis Evangelion Theme, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” to Excited Crowd at Anime Expo 2015 in LA
• ↑ —When was your first meeting with Mr. Anno? "It was on the day of recording. As I said earlier, when I entered the studio before anyone else to get ready, even while I couldn't afford, a man dressed in black and wearing sandals suddenly appeared. I didn't know who it was, but I just said hi, and he was actually Mr. Anno (Hideaki). It was a shocking encounter (laughs)." - Yoko Takahashi: EVANGELION FINALLY (2020)
• ↑ https://www.animelyrics.com/anime/eva/ngetnshi.jis
• ↑ http://www.mars.dti.ne.jp/~yato/eva/ura.htm
• 2 Rei Ayanami
• 3 Kaworu Nagisa

"Cruel Angel's Thesis (Neon Genesis Evangelion)" lyrics

• AmaLee Lyrics

A Cruel Angel's Thesis

A Cruel Angel's Thesis is the opening theme song for the series Neon Genesis Evangelion , composed by Hidetoshi Sato and sung by Yoko Takahashi . The lyrics are by Neko Oikawa while the arrangement is by Toshiyuki Omori. The song also has the distinction of taking first place in the JASRAC Awards. [1]

This song was written with relatively limited involvement from Hideaki Anno and the production staff, being handled by producer Toshimichi Otsuki . [2] Anno originally wanted to use an excerpt from Borodin's Polovtsian Dances in the opening, but the producers did not approve of this and instead decided to use a J-Pop song, which eventually resulted in the creation of this song by Neko Oikawa.

Oikawa apparently had very little knowledge of the show, which was under production at the time with the episodes not having been colored. According to tweets and interviews, Oikawa went through a proposal of the show (possibly Neon Genesis Evangelion Proposal ) and watched two unfinished episodes on fast-forward, only serving to broadly "fit" the anime after the fact [3] [4] The writing process for Episode 01 took as long as six months, [5] and the opening sequence was not yet finished. [6] [7] The original song included a male chorus, which was cut at director Hideaki Anno's request in order to "emphasize maternal affection". [8]

Oikawa states that she took inspiration for the title from the manga A Cruel God Reigns . [9] Among other statements, Oikawa said the lyrics "become a legend" were originally "become a weapon" and that she decided to make the song about the perspective of a mother when her child "leaves the nest." [10] Singer Yoko Takahashi was also brought in relatively haphazardly and had no knowledge of the series, and would only see the opening featuring her voice when it aired on TV. [11] She had also first met Anno on the day of recording. [12]

Original Japanese Lyrics: Neko Oikawa

Translation Notes

1 This was translated by Takayama Miyuki and these are the translator's notes:

• young boy, become the legend! : The word "shinwa" actually means "myth" ("legend" would be "densetsu"), but I think it sounds better as "legend."
• with surging, hot pathos : "Atsui" (hot) can also mean "intense, passionate." "Pathos" is "the quality or power in life or art of evoking a feeling of pity or compassion; pity; suffering; sorrow."
• Embracing this sky [universe] and shining : "Sora" (sky) is the reading given for the kanji for "uchuu" (universe).
• has any meaning : The kanji used for the "a" in "aeta" is not the normal kanji used in "au" (to meet). It's the first kanji in "ouse" (encounter, tryst) and has more of a connotation of meeting by fate or being brought together by fate, not just meeting. (Interestingly, a dictionary I have gives the meaning of "au," when written with this kanji, as "to meet (with drama or pathos)")
• for learning freedom : The "watashi wa sou" is probably "watashi wa sou omou." And "bible" in this case isn't referring to *the* Bible. "Bible" can also mean "guide book, how-to book, a book valued for its use as a reference," like in "a handyman's bible," or "a bird-watcher's bible."

2 This is the translation found on the U.S. release of Evangelion by ADV.

3 The instrumental section contains chanted non-Japanese lyrics in Yoko Takahashi 's version and a few others, while other versions of the song have a purely instrumental section. The January 1996 issue of Newtype magazine transcribed Takahashi's lyrics in this section as "Fariya. Seta(or sepa) messo. Fariya. Tuse." which they speculate is from the fictional language of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Alternatively, an EvaGeeks forum discussion suggests that the lyrics may be "Faria? Será mesmo? Faria? Eu sei!" which is in the Portuguese language. Since the word "Faria" is usually used in a similar way as the English word "would", those lines could be interpreted as someone doubting something or someone else. There has never been any official information on the actual lyrics or their meaning, if any.

• ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-05-25/songs-from-evangelion-other-anime-win-jasrac-awards
• ↑ From the animania blog report on the March 28, 2005 NHK Anime Yawa talk show (translation by animania) - Otsuki said he allowed Anno to do whatever he wanted in the anime except for the theme music. Otsuki was particular about the theme and handled the music staff by himself, going as far as to claim that no anime staff, even Anno, met the music staff (apparently contradicted by Oikawa's statements). - Yuko Miyamura, BS AnimeYAWA
• ↑ “My manager got the job, we had a quick meeting lasting about 30 minutes, skim-read the proposal and watched two episodes on fast-forward. And with that I was told ‘so, yeah, just write whatever you want!’, and finished the song [lyrics] in about two hours. Sorry to burst your bubble, guys!” http://soranews24.com/2015/01/08/a-cruel-angels-thesis-took-just-two-hours-to-write-says-evangelion-lyricist-neko-oikawa
• ↑ "It wasn't even colored. I wrote the song, and my job was done. I wrote it in about two hours." Anime News Network interview with Neko Oikawa
• ↑ 2nd JUNE interview
• ↑ Notenki Memoirs
• ↑ According to Hidenori Matsubara during the Animazement 2015 convention, "the song was created before they even got done with animation for the opening theme. Strangely enough, the song manage to go along with the opening animation."
• ↑ Refrain of Evangelion OST Booklet, 2003.
• ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160830224921/http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/11939169
• ↑ https://www.sankei.com/west/news/161228/wst1612280011-n1.html
• ↑ Yoko Takahashi Performs Neon Genesis Evangelion Theme, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” to Excited Crowd at Anime Expo 2015 in LA
• ↑ —When was your first meeting with Mr. Anno? "It was on the day of recording. As I said earlier, when I entered the studio before anyone else to get ready, even while I couldn't afford, a man dressed in black and wearing sandals suddenly appeared. I didn't know who it was, but I just said hi, and he was actually Mr. Anno (Hideaki). It was a shocking encounter (laughs)." - Yoko Takahashi: EVANGELION FINALLY (2020)

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• Cruel Angel's Thesis (Neon Genesis Evangelion) Lyrics

AmaLee - Cruel Angel's Thesis (Neon Genesis Evangelion) Lyrics

Artist: AmaLee

Album: Nostalgia

Like an angel with cruel and merciless intent Go forth, young boy And you'll become a legend In time, this blue of the sky Will reach out to knock on the door to your heart You're looking at me Make it all that you see Content and we're merely smiling Once more, the touch you long for Consumes you in yearning to find that embrace You're unaware, though Now to what fate will sow Temptation implores you to know Someday, you'll notice I pray that you'll realize These wings on your back aren't a dream At last, you'll have all you need to escape to The world where you'll finally be free This was all a cruel angel's thesis from the start Brought to life, out the window, now it's taking flight Scorching pathos if you betray your memory Follow this deviant-divine philosophy Shining more than these stars that bathe the galaxy Go forth, young boy And you'll become a legend With grace, and in my embrace You'll fall deep into sleep, so tempted to stay In the morning that falls You alone will be called By message from the world of dreams Moonlight reflects in your sight The night that surrounds you invites radiance And it's all in good will But if time could stand still This moment, I'd freeze it in place If there is meaning in two people meeting Then, maybe we're doing this right Within this trial, that might be the bible The way that we'll both reach the light This was all a cruel angel's thesis from the start It is time for the sorrow in us to arise You held tightly to all that's left and tangible Stuck between both the dream world and the actual You outshine any mortal who has walked the earth Go forth, young boy And you'll become a legend People who weave love create without knowing And carve a path through history Though I'll take a stand, I'm still only human The goddess you need can't be me This was all a cruel angel's thesis from the start Brought to life, out the window, now it's taking flight Scorching pathos if you betray your memory Follow this deviant-divine philosophy Shining more than these stars that bathe the galaxy Go forth, young boy And you'll become a legend

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• Cruel Angel's Thesis (From Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Like an angel with cruel and merciless intent Go forth, young boy, and you’ll become a legend

In time, this blue of the sky Will reach out to knock on the door to your heart You’re looking at me Make it all that you see

Content and we’re merely smiling

Once more, the touch you long for Consumes you in yearning to find that embrace You’re unaware though Now to what fate will sow Temptation implores you to know

Someday you’ll notice – I pray that you’ll realize These wings on your back aren’t a dream At last, you’ll have all you need to escape to The world where you’ll finally be free

This was all a Cruel Angel’s Thesis from the start Brought to life, out the window now it’s taking flight Scorching pathos if you betray your memory Follow this deviant-divine philosophy

Shining more than these stars that bathe the galaxy Go forth, young boy, and you’ll become a legend

With grace, and in my embrace You fall deep into sleep, so tempted to stay In the morning that falls You alone will be called By message from the realm of dreams

Moonlight reflects in your sight The night that surrounds you invites radiance And it’s all in goodwill But if time could stand still This moment, I’d freeze it in place

If there is meaning in two people meeting Then maybe we’re doing this right Within this trial, that might be the bible The way that we’ll both reach the light

This was all a Cruel Angel’s Thesis from the start It is time, for the sorrow in us to arise You held tightly to all that’s left and tangible Stuck between both the dream world and the actual You out-shine any mortal who has walked the Earth Go forth, young boy, and you’ll become a legend

People who weave love, create without knowing And carve a path through history Though I’ll take a stand I’m still only human The goddess you need can (not) be me

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/r/askphilosophy aims to provide serious, well-researched answers to philosophical questions.

What is the origin of “It was all a cruel angel’s thesis from the start”, and where can I read the full thing?

I think it has something to to do with free will vs determinism philosophy, but the only thing I can find when searching about it is the song “a cruel angel’s thesis” from the anime “neon genesis evangelion”. Please help

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Meaning of Cruel Angel’s Thesis by AmaLee

"Cruel Angel’s Thesis" by AmaLee revolves around the themes of destiny, self-realization, and the complex nature of human emotions. The song talks about the journey of a young boy who is urged to face his destiny and become a legend. The lyrics use angelic imagery and references to dreams and temptation to convey a message of self-discovery and the pursuit of freedom.

In the refrain, the mention of an "angel with cruel and merciless intent" sets the tone for the song, suggesting that the path to greatness may not be easy or straightforward. The lyrics go on to describe yearning for an embrace and the desire to escape to a world of freedom. The references to wings on the boy's back symbolize his potential for greatness and the realization of his true self. The chorus emphasizes the challenging nature of the journey, highlighting the struggle between memories and dreams, and the need to follow a unique path guided by a "deviant-divine philosophy."

The bridge introduces a more reflective tone, acknowledging human limitations despite the yearning for greatness. The juxtaposition of love, history, and the acknowledgment of human fallibility adds depth to the narrative. Overall, "Cruel Angel’s Thesis" encourages listeners to embrace their destinies, navigate the complexities of life, and strive for greatness despite the challenges they may face. The song blends themes of hope, destiny, and the complexities of human nature to create a powerful message of self-discovery and resilience.

This meaning interpretation was written by AI. Help improve it with your feedback

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高橋洋子 (Yoko Takahashi) - 残酷な天使のテーゼ (A Cruel Angel’s Thesis) (English Translation)

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高橋洋子 (Yoko Takahashi) - 残酷な天使のテーゼ (A Cruel Angel’s Thesis) (English Translation) Lyrics

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