Online hatred took Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno to a dark place

Hideaki Anno, the creator of Evangelionis an anime symbol. He says he’s done with the show. But with his fame and popularity came haters that took him to a very dark place.

At one point, twisted online comments made Anno contemplate dying by suicide.

In a recently broadcast NHK, Anno opened up to the film crews for an open and honest interview. The name of the program is Pro: Shigoto no Ryuugi (Professional: T he Way of Work) and the show followed him over a period of four years as he completed the last one Evangelion

. “Professional” is a word that Anno said NHK he didn’t like it and wished it had been changed into one humorous exchange during the credits.

The program showed the ups and downs of the creative process and even how Anno would go back to fix the script late in production. This would of course have an impact on the release schedule.

During the show, it was very clear to him how he was feeling Evangelion. “I’m done with this (film) Eva, ” he said. That doesn’t mean, of course, that the Evangelion will necessarily stop, but as of now, Anno doesn’t seem to be and continues. He also seems more than ready. When NHK asked if he had an emotional attachment to Evahe answered immediately, “None.”

In another section, Anno shared how he felt after reading an online thread where commentators discussed how to kill him. The incident occurred when Evangelion was broadcast on television over twenty years ago.

Anno has been fighting depression for years – a fight he was open about. It’s rare to see this kind of openness in Japan when it comes to mental health. The subject as Japan today points out has long been taboo. That is starting to change.

“For me, I try to work hard for society and people who love anime, but there was this thread about how to kill Hideaki Anno,” said the anime creator told

NHK. “You kept writing the very best ways to kill me, for example, that I could be killed one way or another. When I saw this, I stopped caring about everything – like doing anime. I had enough. Once I thought of jumping in front of a car. Another time I thought about jumping off the roof of the company. ” NHK asked what was stopping him and Anno replied, “Because it seemed painful. Dying is really okay, but I didn’t like the idea of ​​being in pain before death. “

It’s so easy to make funky comments online. However, these words have meaning. And that meaning can affect people profoundly and profoundly.

The National hotline for suicide prevention in the US is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255. A list of international suicide hotlines can be found here Here.