It’s hard to state exactly what the significance of ‘A Cruel Angel’s Thesis’ is. Being the opening of the one and only Neon Genesis Evangelion, it’s a staple that every single anime fan on earth can identify within one second of hearing the song. In Japan, just about everybody is familiar with it; it’s been played so much there that it’s consistently voted ‘The Best Anime Song Of All Time’ and ‘The Number One Song People Are Sick Of At Karaoke’. Yes, it’s Japan’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ or ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ Even people who’ve never seen Evangelion know every word. Now, its original singer Yoko Takahashi is revisiting it and giving it a festival spin.
No, this isn’t just a one-off video for kicks. ‘A Cruel Angel’s Thesis MATSURI SPIRIT’ has gotten a proper CD single release and everything. Why not? Make anything Evangelion related and it’ll make bank. It’s an economic hypothesis that’s been proven true again and again. I guess with the fourth Evangelion movie finally coming out, it makes sense that we’re seeing something like this manifest itself. Besides, at this point ‘A Cruel Angel’s Thesis’ is so culturally ingrained in Japan that it is practically tradition at this point, just like the taiko drum in the track and the matsuri style dancing in the video.
It’s hard to have a real opinion of ‘A Cruel Angel’s Thesis MATSURI SPIRIT’ on its own. I’m probably not going to sit there with headphones and give the CD single a deep listen. However, the video and recording is a nice little tribute to Evangelion and the song itself. If you look closely, you can see the dancers have Evangelion themed traditional Japanese clothing on, which is a nice touch. At least now we have something to slightly make up for Netflix taking away ‘Fly Me To The Moon’
You can buy ‘A Cruel Angel’s Thesis MATSURI SPIRIT” now.