Anime: Evangelion Shin Gekijouban: Jo

Critic's Log - Earthdate: January 21, 2013. Review #30: Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone



Today is my birthday and I have just turned 22. With Evangelion 3.0
being released a while back and the fact that Evangelion: Final is
slated to be released this year. I decided to tackle the Rebuild of
Evangelion series since I already have seen the original classic. Since
it's my birthday today, I will call the shots on what I want to review
today, and here's the review for Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, or
Evangelion: Beginning, or Evangelion 1.01/1.11, OH JUST GIVE IT ONE
FRACKING NAME ALREADY! Here's Evangelion 1.0



It is the year 2015 A.D. and Shinji Ikari
is summoned by his father who works at a secret organization called NERV
and his father requests him to pilot a giant humanoid (or Giant robot
if you like to call it that) in order to defeat a giant being known as
an "Angel". Did I already mention this in my review of the original
series? Yes I did, so what's the damn point in me mentioning this? Well,
this comes as to no surprise that this first movie of the remake is a
retelling of the first six episodes of the original series. So that's
pretty much the premise of Evangelion 1.0.







To be technical, this is a Studio Khara
production and this is their first release. Studio Khara was founded by
Hideaki Anno himself and this is probably why this movie is his first
release under the studio name Khara. Putting studio technicalities
aside, The animation is eye candy from beginning to end and it's really
hard not to look away either because it looks gorgeous for the most
part. Allow me to clarify something, The animation is great. Even though
it's mostly done on computer, the CGI integration is also great and
should put Studio Gonzo to great shame. The action scenes are
spectacular and are much better than the original series. I should point
out that when the movie first came out, it had a big problem, it was
dark and certain scenes were hard to see everything to. This is only in
the "1.01" release of the movie. A second release of the movie which is
simply called "Evangelion 1.11" fixes the darkness issue and adds a
couple minutes than the original and is easily the preferred version of
the movie. This absolutely has nothing to do with the animation, I just
thought I'd point that out.







The music from the original series is
mostly heard in this movie, which is totally fine considering this is a
retelling of Episodes 1 - 6, which the story is pretty solid for its
first act. so was the music for those episodes, so I have nothing to
complain about too much about the same music being used in particular
scenes. The music sounds slightly different in the remake compared to
the original. The only scene I didn't like the music to is when Shinji
is told by his father to pilot the Evangelion, why? Because the music
playing in the original scene was pretty effective. I didn't find it
effective that much in the remake. That's just a minor nitpick. The
music by Shiro Sagisu is what you would expect, it sounds epic at times,
and there are some tracks that compliment certain moments greatly. The
"Angel of Doom" track is simply a great song, too bad it's overshadowed
by the themes in the remake's sequels.







When it comes to voice acting, The Japanese
cast is excellent as always and since the seiyus have aged since the
original, some characters do sound a bit older than what they sounded
like in the original series. Megumi Ogata is pretty good As Shinji even
though she had to act nearly the same way she did in the original
series. Megumi Hayashibara is terrific as always as Rei, Tomokazu Seki
is great as Toji. Fumihiko Tachiki is great as always on playing the
role of Gendo Ikari LIKE A BOSS! Kotono Mitsuishi sounds a bit older as
Misato Katsuragi and she's great in the movie. So the Japanese cast is
great here. When it comes to the Dub, I was skeptical when the dub was
announced because I was not a fan of the dub in the original series
which was done by ADV films, it's listenable to some extent but I think
it had some moments that were not performed right, also The End of
Evangelion as well as Death and Rebirth has some of the worst dubs I've
ever heard and they shatter continuity between the show and the movie.
The director's cut dubbed episodes also do this too for some unknown
reason. After hearing the dub of the remake, I can say that the Remake's
dub is more bearable to those that did not like the dub in the
original, but it still has some problems though. Spike Spencer is more
experienced this time and he plays Shinji just fine, but whether you
like his voice or not is up to you. Brina Palencia is pretty good for
the most part as Rei, Justin Cook was the perfect choice as Toji and he
deserves props for being the best voice of Suzuhara-san in any of the
dubs. John Swasey is great as Gendo Ikari for the most part. Kent
Williams sounds a bit too young as Fuyutsuki but I'll let this pass.
Allison Keith reprises her role as Misato and to my surprise, she's
great in Rebuild compared to her role in the original. Colleen
Clinkenbeard is a voice that gives me a bit of a mixed reaction when she
was the voice of Ritsuko Akagi. Ms. Clickenbeard has done better but I
just can't see her pulling off Dr. Akagi, she's not terrible in this
one, I just think someone else could've voiced her and done it better.
The low point in the dub for me was Greg Ayres as Kensuke Aida (The
nerdy friend of Toji) His voice really doesn't fit the character at all,
I know they were trying to give him a nerdy voice but it doesn't stick
to me at all. The Japanese cast is obviously the superior one, but the
dub is great too to some extent, and much more bearable to the ADV dub
from years past. Mike McFarland's ADR Direction is much more better than
the original show's dub and that's saying a lot. Also, Mr. McFarland
was the ADR Director for Fullmetal Alchemist and its remake and he
doesn't disappoint us with his direction of the dub, even though not
every single voice is spot-on though.







The characters are pretty much the same
like the first six episodes. Shinji is interesting if you've only seen
this movie, he's a bit of a mixed bag since the end of the original
series. Shinji is not too bad of a character in this movie because even
though he whines and gets angry in a couple of scenes, there's a reason
for it. The way Shinji reacts and develops is actually not bad and gets
overlooked. If you didn't like Shinji Ikari in the original series, he
is more tolerable in this movie. Rei is still a bit mysterious and
there's not much to say about her in this movie. Misato is actually
interesting in the first movie for a specific scene which I'll get to in
a minute, Gendo Ikari is LIKE A BOSS and STILL DOES HIS POSE! 'Nuff
said. The characters are good for the most part.







When it comes to story, It is very faithful
to the original source material from the first episode to the 6th, I
will say the same towards the animation. The only problem I think some
otakus will have is that this looks nearly just the same as the first 6
episodes its based on. Honestly, I have no problem with this because the
animation is ten times better than the original series, The earlier
episodes didn't look so great at first but the episodes are ok for the
most part. If this problem I'm referring to annoys you, then allow me to
convince you on one thing. That last third of the movie makes up for
that. That third would be when Ramiel shows up. Ramiel had a drastic
change compared to the original series. Ramiel went from fighting like a
Death Star to a shape-shifting Angel that can really tear shit up.
Don't believe me? Watch this



DAMN!

If you got a home theater room with good
speakers, turn the speakers as much as you want because Ramiel really
makes some noise. This last third is undeniably the highlight of the
movie. There are some differences between the first six episodes and
this movie. The first Rebuild movie interestingly shows Lilith instead
of revealing her in the middle of the series. For Angels, Sachiel is
completely unchanged, Shamshiel is improved but appearance hasn't
changed much. Ramiel on the other hand I already mentioned, Ramiel is
the only one in this movie compared to the original counterpart that had
a drastic change. Misato knows about Lilith for some reason which
actually is a bit interesting, Some fights look the same, but have a
bigger emphasis on action. Then there's the final scene that shows
Kaworu, Kaworu appears in only one episode in the original series, now
Kaworu is getting more than just one appearance which is fine. With all
that mentioned, even if this movie seems like a repeat of stuff from the
original series, The intent for this series of movies is for both fans
of the original series and to those that are new to the series. I
guarantee this movie won't disappoint.







Evangelion 1.0 is available from Funimation.



With all that said, Evangelion 1.0 is a
wonderful experience with gorgeous modern animation and visuals. This
first act of a promising remake of a revolutionary classic is proving
itself that the first 6 episodes are solid in terms of visuals and so
forth. This was made to make it look better and show people that this is
something they could've done if they had the budget for it. The Rebuild
movies do have a higher budget to make this possible. It doesn't
disappoint but it has some bumps which is why I don't deem it to be
perfect. For the most part, Evangelion 1.0 is a solid first act.



I give Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone a 9.3 out of 10, it is EXCELLENT!



Feel free to comment below, and don't run away.

Compilation/Alternative Version Review
This material is a movie/OVA compilation or alternative version of an original work that was previously aired in TV format. The review will only comment on the differences between those works, therefore those who want a full analysis of the show must read the original review before this. I won't be reducing the scores solely because the work is a retelling, my scores will reflect the work as a standalone as far as I can.

Evangelion Shin Gekijouban: Jo (Evangelion 1.11) presents itself as an Evangelion Rebuild as shown in the first seconds of the movie. It's the first of a tetraology of movies that will try to reinvent the original show, one of the best works of japanese animation of all time regardless you like it or not. The original Evangelion (NGE) brought a new way of presenting animes, giving the audience a grand debate inside the character's mind as well as showing giant mechas fighting giant monsters in a semi-futuristic Tokyo like most shows did back then. It also brought to screen references to real-life elements like psychology, religion, bits of politic, and others that weren't used until then. It was a groundbreaking show that created a love-hate between fans that even today generates lots of debates.

For those who don't know, NGE is a tale about humanity facing its final threat in the hand of divine-like beings called "angels". After a catasthrophic event in the south pole, mankind started to act to prevent their doom. Their most powerful weapons and the only mean to survive are the Evangelion units, giant human-like creatures piloted by teenagers to face the angels. Behind the scenes there is far more than just a fight for survival, as NERV and SEELE play their cards to take the world in the direction they want to. Anyway, read my original review to more details on everything else. I'll be only commenting the differences from now.

Differences
So, Anno Hideaki and the guys behind Studio Kara managed a superb feat to reassemble the original cast 14 years after NGE was released. What we have here in this movie is about one-fourth of the TV series, going from the initial events to the cube-shaped angel. Mostly we'll see the very same string of episodes, without a bit of unimportant scenes and a few other changes.

1. Production Values
   NGE was a behemoth back in 1995. Gainax put so much effort in making it nicely animated and detailed, as well as giving a quite unique touch in the artstyle that even today that show manages to keep up with the rest of the competition. Evangelion 1.11 does a great job in maintaining the original style, from character to mecha designs, and enhances everything a lot. Studio Kara give us freshly animated Eva units with fluid motion, more frames per second, lots of nicely merged CG elements like airships, trains, the Geofront interior, etc. Sadly, most of the non-combat scenes simply look like a HD version of the original TV series, meaning we have sharp visuals, but the animation is quite static for today's standard, especially for a movie.
   
   The Cast
   One of the most important things here is how the show managed to keep the same voice-actors for the vast majority of its cast. This means we still have one of the best works in voice-acting and also means we have a very powerful nostalgic value attached to the movie. To further make things better for old fans, many background themes remain the same, so you can expect a great work here too. It's amazing how these classic elements managed to keep the show fresh and make it look new while still leaving a good nostagic value.
   
   Enhancing the Combat
   NGE's start was not that exciting. It was the show worst part after the bizarre normal ending. We had lots of characters, many daily-life episodes to develop Shinji's problem, tons of terms and backdrop story thrown at you. It was confusing in the sidelines and very simple in the narrative: Shinji walks around town/school, angel appears, he gets in and kick their butts. So, how could they manage to make this first movie better than the first part? The answer Studio Kara found was making the scenes with the angels something more exciting to the eyes. What we have here are redesigned angels and combats that aren't different from the original work, but are certainly absurdly more beautifully and dramatically animated. The cube-shaped angel received more care to be worth of a ending sequence to this movie. So those who like action may find this more pleasant than the original first episodes.
   
   The Good/The Bad
   Evangelion 1.11 offers no new scenes. It's basically a compilation of the first 6 episodes from NGE using top-quality animation and new CG elements. That alone is superb and the show is still definetely awesome. But that takes us to two very different conclusions: first, those who were expecting just a reanimated version of the show will be thrilled and enjoy the show greatly; second, those who expected a different plotline from the start (or those who hated the original) will be disappointed to see the same things as NGE again.
   

Comments
When I first watched this movie I was quite amazed with the quality, but was disapointed because it didn't brought any differences in the plotline from the original. Lots of other fans also shared this complain and many even threw rocks on the show because of it. But hell, it was still Evangelion and one of the best things we have in the animation world. I kept my movies around to watch again and was eager to see the next ones.

So I've rewatched the first movie two more times, both times not expecting something new. And well, that makes much of a difference. The top-quality animation in combat, the classic sound direction, voice-acting, new CG elements, and the high definition visuals of everything is simply the ultimate experience of the first quarter of NGE. Watching it expecting something different can harm the experience, but if you know it's just NGE again than this can certainly live up to the classic show.

Fans of NGE can certainly give this a shot. And be warned that from the second movie onward the plot takes a very different sequence. For NGE haters, you may try to watch this in order to keep up with the changes that are coming in the next movies, but I doubt it'll change your minds.

Average Scores of the Movies

I knew it was supposed to be a summarized version of first quarter of the original "Neon Genesis Evangelion" TV series, but I expected more new scenes or at least major difference in every scene like the Doraemon remake "Nobita no Kyouryuu 2006" (Nobita's Dinosaur 2006).

Animation 4/10
The animation retains the original 1995 style and definitely more detailed compared to anything made in the '90s, but nothing remarkable compared to most other 2007 anime films. Practically all scenes are redrawn using the original storyboard and layouts devoid of any new camera angles or cuts. In fact, it's better to prepare yourself for a "digitally remastered recap" release than anything new.
TV-anime/OVA and theatrical features work on completely different level of budgets and deadlines. Animation quality in this film is so-so at best in movie standards. The new 3D Angels, especially Ramiel, were protrusive against the 2D cel animation in the background.

Sound 6/10
The BGM is also slightly improved from original, really exciting in battle scenes, but same bland music in slower, slice of life scenes.
I was a Takahashi Youko fan before she sang the theme song for "Neon Genesis". The opening song for anime, "Zankoku na Tenshi no These" was arguably the most famous and memorable OP of the decade. Hikki's "Beautiful World" is a good theme song just like all her other tie-ups, but it can't even be compared to its predecessor.
They did use the original voices though, which was really well-done, and didn't ruin the character impressions.

Story/Character 4.5/10
To be honest, I didn't like the TV series at all. I enjoyed the first few episodes as I did for many Japanese mecha series, but they focused too much on Ikari Shinji's hesitation and despair in piloting Eva after that point. I watched this film in hope that maybe I was too young to fully appreciate this series back then, and enjoy more this time, but even after 26 episodes and a rerun movie, Ikari Shinji only seems nothing more than a really dumb and weak kid who likes to exaggerate his emotions all the time. It was frustrating to watch, and in the end, the only thing I gained from watching this 'movie' was a 30 second teaser for the upcoming sequel.

Value/Enjoyment 1/10
I have only watched the TV series twice, when it was aired in 1995 (missed 3 or 4 episodes), and once more in 2003. For me, it was a carbon copy of the TV series, except a few new scenes of mechanical aspects of "New Tokyo 3" and the teaser in last 30 seconds of the film. Other than slight improvement in graphics, which I can barely notice because my eyes are used to much better animation in recent years, I have detected no difference in 98% of the screen time. What I'm trying to say, is that I wasted 100 minutes of my life watching a long rerun.

Maybe anime otakus who watched the TV series over and over can spot subtle differences and get a kick out of it, but for a casual anime viewer like me, it was a 100 minute long rerun. It wasn't even a movie. I don't understand why the producers felt the need to make this so-called cinematic release other than reviving a dead franchise for the sole purpose of making more money. I would vote a 0/10 for value if I could.

Needless to say, the viewing experience was unpleasant. I encounter very few works that I regret watching (since I don't stick around and just drop such series or movies), but this was one of them. I will definitely not be watching the 3 upcoming sequels.

In short: if you like NGE, you will love Evangelion 1.0, if you haven't seen NGE, or didn't like it, you very well might like 1.0 anyway.

For those of you that don't know, Evangelion 1.0: You are (not) alone, is a heavily edited re-release the first six or so episodes of GAINAXs critically acclaimed Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE) which is generally considered a cornerstone of modern anime.

Animation:
Since it's a re-release, the animation style has remained relatively unchanged.
The animation of the characters is good, but not stunning, since they have to be the same as the original character design, you can see that they are out of the nineties, but that's okay, it's to be expected.
What is really brilliant is the animation of the scenery and the action scenes (Evangelions, Angels and military hardware), this was a little limited in the original release, but with Computer graphics it has become absolutely amazing.

Sound:
The original release had quite good sound for it's time. The music was excellent and tied in very well with the action scenes and the voice acting was skilful and convincing, but, like the animation, it was restricted by the technology and budget GAINAX had at the time. Like the animation, they kept the previous quality and fixed the issues they had and re-leased it in 5.1 Dolby digital sound.
Since it's supposed to be a movie now, they have of course removed the OP and ED, which is a pity, they were quite good.
"Cruel Angels Thesis" was Epic.

Story:
Wow. The original NGE was notable for it's amazingly creative and in-depth story. But in Evangelion 1.0 the extraneous and sometimes annoying extras that littered the back story are weeded out, leaving a complex, interesting, but still enjoyable storyline.
Point of note, they mess around with the episode order, so Asuka doesn't hit the scene till Evangelion 2.0, which is fine.

Characters:
The Characters are much the same as in the original NGE, which is quite good, but because not as much time is spent setting them up you don't get as much of a feel for them, that said there isn't as much of Shinjis self-loathing that blighted NGE (NO EMO SHINJI, WOO!)

Value:
Man, if you liked NGE, Evangelion 1.0, will be very high value, GAINAX has taken ~130 minutes, and cut it to 100 minutes by losing a bunch of unneeded self-pity, and then improved all of the animation and audio.

Enjoyment:
Personally I am a fan of NGE, not a massive "ZOMG BESTEST SERIES EVAR" idiot fan, but I liked it a lot. Now GAINAX has re-released with all that I considered flaws in the original fixed, with shiny new sound and animation, and some other extra stuff, I can't help but love it to bits. It's awesome. Watch it. Buy it. You'll thank me later.