Evangelion Shin Gekijôban: Jo (2007) Reviews

• Evangelion: Rebuilt!

  dial812007-09-01

  I was lucky enough to buy tickets to the opening day of Rebuild of Evangelion 0:1. After waiting in line from 5:30am, wearing custom printed Evangelion shirt, I was able to get front row seats to the first screening... and it was worth the wait! The classic epic story is retold with amazing new animation, new sound effects, new music and new scenes. Gainax has refreshed a timeless classic without taking the magic away from the original series. I doubt any fan of Evangelion would be disappointed - besides the fact we waited 12 years to witness Evangelion as indeed by Hideaki Anno. Rebuild of Evangelion 0:1 is how it was meant to be if the creators had the technology 12 years ago. If you've watched the TV anime to death or you are new to Evangelion, either way, Rebuild of Evangelion is for all fans of the anime. For those of you who don't know, Rebuild of Evangelion 0:1 is part one of an upcoming series of four movies. With the fourth film being a new conclusion to the original story. Compared to the original anime series and movies, besides being more enjoyable, these films are easier to follow for new fans of the series. I walked out of the theater smiling and thinking to myself: "One down, three more to go!

• An epic visual feast for both new and long-time fans alike

  piratemath-12008-06-12

  I was a large fan of both the original series, the half-release 'Death and Rebirth' and the replacement ending 'The End of Evangelion', so I'm not giving this praise as some guy who's just walked in on this. I am extremely pleased with this new iteration of Evangelion. I don't even know where to begin ... Gainax threw out everything they had, completely redrawing all the animation and backgrounds in painstakingly high detail. It is the most apparent revision to the series at first glance ... all the visuals are top-notch, even the computer-generated graphics which I would typically find unforgivable in a film - but everything is drawn and animated so smooth, and the rare use of CG is so well-integrated into the film that it feels like you haven't been taken out of the organic animation at all. The storyline is quite similar to the original, though first on the side I want to say they've taken much thought deciding how to develop the characters better; and the result is that the cast is much more believable and their chemistry is quite fantastic. The characters just feel deeper, their emotions are more genuine; it's hard to describe in a review but if you're a fan of the original series you'll find their personalities and interactions much more developed and satisfying. The plot, as I've said; has not changed too much at this point.. there are exceptions here and there, with the introductions of pivotal locations and characters earlier on; no doubt to lay down continuity for the later installments. (The original Evangelion had a slight problem with eclectic character and plot point introductions.) They have taken care to set the stage more carefully for the first scene this time around; and as shown with the early introduction of an important character Gainax intends to make full use of some fantastic characters that didn't get enough time in the spotlight to really add anything especially deep. I recommend this film to anybody who is a fan of serious animation; and I would say that it's an absolute must-see for fans of the original series. It's comforting to know that in a world of poor remakes and extensions of popular titles, that Gainax has their wits about them and shows true dedication in their efforts to make Evangelion into everything that it could possibly be.

• A Nutshell Review: Evangelion: 1.0 You are (Not) Alone

  DICK STEEL2008-03-11

  While I knew a little about the Japanese anime Neon Genesis Evangelion through the reading of various fan sites dedicated to it, I've never actually sat down and watched an episode of the series. So when opportunity came by to experience the Rebuild of Evangelion, why not start the slate clean? Rebuild of Evangelion is actually a tetralogy based on the original anime series by the same creative team, but it's not exactly a shot-by-shot rehash in that it does include some extra scenes, and I guess the objective is to allow the tetralogy to encapsulate what worked in the original, while at the same time to perhaps make it the more definitive telling of the story. Kind of like how comic books like to do the various reboots and tweaking of origins to suit the times. We're introduced to Shinji Ikari, the teenage kid whose father Gendo is commander of an organization called NERV, which developed the Evangelion mechas to fight against alien Angels who invade Earth. To a layman like me, it's something like Ultraman battling monsters, except that are certain constraints here that make Evangelions interesting. Firstly, they are dependent on launch pads and are wired to NERV control, and what more, piloting these sophisticated mechas involves some bio-fusion between children, and the bots. Imagine having the fate of the world resting on the shoulders of a child, and what more, a rookie one in Shinji, who has to learn the ropes on the job. To complicate matters, he's the reluctant hero who whines a lot, is indecisive, and seems like he could lose it all anytime. But that's exactly what makes Evangelion a joy to watch. The flawed heroes, compounded by the fact that with every increasingly powerful Angel to battle, the Evangelions seem to be more patched and repaired after each encounter, you'd wonder how long it could hold up before actually crumbling. The battle sequences here are nothing less than spectacular to watch, as we discover along with the heroes, just how best to defeat the vastly different Angels. Animation wise there's nothing to specially shout out about, as it's quite standard 2D fair with the usual attention to details. Being the introductory movie, this film begins quite unconventionally in the thick of the action to grip your attention and never let up. As it moves along, it does drop hints of previous incidents, while introducing us to new characters along the way, expanding its mythos and universe. And in all intents, it does leave many doors opened for questioning, and it's almost definite that these would (hopefully) be answered in the subsequent films. Oh, and for action junkies, I give the thumbs up for the final battle in this movie - the creative team really do know how to make everything look really bleak! For those who are new to the series, I quite sure this will serve as an excellent starting platform into the Evangelion universe. For those who have already been in the loop (and probably hated the series ending), this could be interesting for you to see what changes were made, and whether you will prefer the tetralogy instead.

• Revisiting Evangelion in a fresh way.

  lewiskendell2011-03-15

  It's hard to imagine that fans of Evangelion won't be pleased with this leaner, gorgeous rebuild of the original anime series. And if you're new to Evangelion, this is a great place to start.  You Are (Not) Alone is a pretty straightforward adaptation of the first six episodes of Evangelion. It's somewhat condensed but still containing all the major moments and plot points. While the next three movies promise new story additions and characters, this movie contents itself with mostly cosmetic changes, along with tightening up the story, a few extra scenes, and eliminating some filler. There wasn't a lot in the first six episodes that needed to be altered.  That means slightly less whining from Shinji. SLIGHTLY. The animation and visuals are outright beautiful, especially on blu-ray. I could recommend this on that aspect, alone. The re-designed Angels and action scenes are improvements over the original's (especially the sixth Angel), in my opinion and the voice work is great. Does You Are (Not) Alone make the original series redundant and unnecessary (or vice-versa)? No, I don't think so. Both of them have merit, and both are worth watching. But, I'm very interested in seeing if the next three Rebuild of Evangelion movies rectify some of the mistakes that the latter portion of the series fell prey to. 

• Amazing. (Slight spoilers)

  Mustachioed-Ken2007-09-25

  I feel like The South Park kids in the South Park movie when they all rush out immediately to tell everyone just how great the Terrance and Phillip movie was. Of course this is Evangelion and comparing it to the fictional 'Asses of Fire' will probably upset many people on this board. Let me cut to the chase. I've always been a die hard Eva fan. By always I mean since about 1999 when Australia first got it's run of the show. Now I live in Tokyo and speak a hefty amount of Japanese so I was fortunate enough to see and understand this movie (since I believe a subtitled version wasn't released in Japan). It never actually dawned on me how suitable Eva is for film rather than as a series. Think of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings or any epic saga that will remain in classic film history forever as opposed to (the slightly annoying) 26 chopped up bits of story, (and don't get me wrong I love the series and hate LOTR) but this movie (and the ones to come) are just so perfect. Leaving the theater I immediately wanted to rush out and buy the entire subbed box set but I guess I'll have to wait a few years for that purchase to exist. Now, moving on to the actual film. The main concern I had (and probably a lot of you have) is if the story would be butchered (if you calculate the entire series into three movies you can imagine a lot of the story would be gone) but rest assured it was brilliantly paced, timed, characterized and everything. The first half hour brings you into the story at the exact same pace the first episode did, leaving out nothing, which I thought was necessary. As the story continues (to tell the attacks of the next two angel) a lot of character and plot progression is made and it's only the unnecessary gags or repeated dialogue that's gone from the original series. Overall very well done. Maybe it's just the Japanese version but Shinji and Rei were slightly different to the American dub. Shinji was stronger, more rebellious, more lost, more "Kakkoii" and Rei's voice acting was almost cute. Also, the animation was excellent. The scene depicting Tokyo 3 merging underground was breathtaking. Music (classical mixed with J-Pop) was also excellent. All in all nothing is lost and a true classic is born. Ladies and gentlemen I hope you all have the chance of owning the entire film's box set in a few years time. Also (slight spoiler) Kaoru makes in appearance in literally the last minute of the film, just to give the audience a slight tease. Oh! And after the credits (which were scored with Utada Hikaru's Beautiful World) a trailer of the SECOND Evangelion film is shown in which THE NEW CHARACTER, a girl with glasses as well as Kaoru, Asuka and Kaji are all shown. If anyone has any questions about the film or how it may be different to the series, please ask. I rarely give a film 10 out of 10 (Requiem for a dream, Donnie Darko, Paprika and Fight Club being the only others on that list) but this film deserves it.