Neon Genesis Evangelion, perhaps considered to be one of the most popular Japanese anime up to date, takes on a new form in Japanese entertainment. Namely, through high art.
On December 23rd, 2006, Gainax will release a clip on their website of a new way of presenting their highly popular anime, Evangelion, but this time performed through a form of Japanese theater: Noh theater.
Japanese Noh theater originated in the late 14th century, and is also one of the oldest existing forms of theater. Much of the performance is influenced by Buddhism, and a few of the most noted playwrights of Noh are Kanami and his son, Zeami. Noh plays traditionally include the shite (the main character), the waki (secondary character), and four musicians, consisting of three drummers and a shamisen player, and a chorus. There are five types of Noh plays: gods, warriors, women, various figures, and demons. Noh is characterized by the intricately detailed masks used for the main character, the waki.
It is interesting to note that a high art traditional Japanese theater troupe decided to perform an anime/manga! Generally most plays are based off of older stories (if I recall correctly, this act is known as honzetsu such as traditional Japanese literature. So if an anime or manga is able to be adapted to such a high performing art, Evangelion must certainly be truly something special.
sources:
http://www.theaterguide.co.jp/pressnews/2006/11/21_2.html
http://www.gainax.co.jp/eaw/ (where the clip will soon be posted)
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