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REVIEW: Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone

At least now we know why Shinji keeps on playing the same song over and over again: it was the only thing he could find that his machine could play.

Last edited by penguintruth on Thu Jul 10, 2008 11:33 pm; edited 1 time in total

I have to disagree it was "the boring parts". If anything, they took extra steps to trim out some of the unnecessary lingering that the characters do in some of the scenes. I was pleased that they cut short Shinji's runaway incident and hopefully they'll cut down the number of "inside Shinji's mind" scenes, as well, as they all tend to run together.

It was basically faithful to the series, except it had beautiful new animation. This isn't where Rebuild will be tested. The next three movies are the proving ground. Nevertheless, I believe I will buy this when it comes out on R1 DVD, even if just for the final battle with the geometric Angel.

Edit: Also, an extra second of Pen Pen, reading the paper inside his fridge! (See my avatar.)

The first battle scene was one of my favorite parts, but jeez, it's already been how many years? Skip to the sequels already!

I liked the new movie, but I think Zac's review was dead on. Hopefully the next one will be better. I'm really interested to see where they go with this. Hopefully it will be an ending that makes sense.

I actually thought the movie was great, even as someone who was critical of the TV series (I acknowledged its importance, but there were still things wrong with it). It was a little too "retread-ish" in the first half-hour or so, as it followed so closely to the original first episode. Afterwards, it started to open up more and did well at pulling the right content from the series and weave it together into the film. They either left out or tweaked a number of instances that were overdramatic or just padded the original story spoiler[(ex. Shinji's camp-out with Aida, toning done the more angsty scenes)], which helped make it more bearable, and the big changes made (i.e. the Eva fight scenes after the first one, revamped animation and score, the last Angel's design) also added to the movie's value.

Personally, however, I thought that it was the little things that were changed that made the film worthwhile. The angry look on Rei's face after Shinji talked poorly about his father (as opposed to her more plain expression from the series), the signs of distress (physically or mentally) in Shinji's body language and attitude (not overdone or too openly, just to the point where you can "get it"), the well-drawn "serious face" of Misato, the little touch-ups done in contrast to the original scenes made the story feel more realistic and not just an exposition/exhibition in emotion and behavior (sometimes overwrought in the series). I found myself actually caring and buying more into the characters than I had before and it showed in the big moments of film, which helped those sort of scenes hit the right emotional notes. It really highlighted how well made the movie was.

One of the most intriguing, and best, changes was in the relationship between Shinji and Misato. The TV show seemed to have so many "resets" in its status (Shinji objects to doing something, Misato coaxes/chastises him to doing it, he caves in (and often gets hurt in the process), maybe a fallout, then they either make-up or the next situation happens with little impact from the one before--all with in an episode or two), whereas their relationship was more difficult in the film. Misato tried to welcome Shinji in and he tried to fit, but after the number of things that occur to him and between the both of them, there's a disconnect and a coldness there and neither has a whole lot of hope or trust with each other. It makes sense when given the short amount of time they've known one another and all that occurs, rather than everything being "peachy" like nothing happened the next episode or mission around. The greater attention paid at forming the relationships and characters from scratch instead of relying on pre-existing knowledge from the series really helped make the "rebuild" more palatable and pleasing. Additionally, the better-composed story made everything "click" much better.

The film, outside of the first half-hour, has a freshness to it and feels more like a "perfecting" of Evangelion rather than just a "retelling". The slower moments of the movie didn't bother me too much, as they were all relevant to the story (not filler-esque), and helped remind you that there was more to the film than just lanky, sneaker-wearing robots fighting weird-looking creatures. Perhaps it's because I like that sort of thing can (<--big Ryousuke Takahashi fan), but it worked and usually the following action scene will wake you up. Overall, it was good to see that Hideki Anno didn't rest on the laurels of the TV show and made a film that felt more like a new story rather than a cleaned-up, compiled one. If there was one negative aspect to it, it was probably the more "explict" fanservice paid towards Rei's (and to a slight extent in one scene, Misato's) way. They felt more like shout-outs to her old fans and seemed alienating in some respect to newer viewers, as they came across that way in those admittedly unnecessary scenes.

The next film looks like it will follow along the lines of the series while beginning to set up the film's own story. It seems like it will be very interesting indeed, especially in light of the final scene.

On a side note, GAINAX had nothing to do with the production of the movie. Anno created a new studio (Khara) from the ground up to handle the film, with a mix of returning staff members and new talent in the mix.

I think the review might be a bit overly harsh.

True it's almost exactly the same as the 1st 6 episodes but with a simplified version of the character development. However that's exactly what needed to be done unless you wanted a 3-4 hour long movie.

That said the redone animation is all very nice while keeping the same feel as the original. The redone fight against Ramiel is incredible(especially at a cinema, but still very nice on a good enough TV or PC) and the trailer at the end hints of quite huge changes for the 2nd movie. Plus the soundtrack is very nice reusing the original beloved tracks and with the addition of the "Beautiful World" ending song(one of my favorite JPop tunes of all time).

I'm not too crazy about the series but I loved the first movie. I felt they removed all the boring & annoying stuff. I don't agree with "Evangelion: The Boring Parts Movie." at all. Quite the opposite.

Amen! I fell asleep through my first attempt at watching it. I'm surprised I managed to stay awake at the 10:30 PM screening on Saturday. I had to contain myself from arguing my eva fanboy of a friend and telling him flat out that the rebuild was a boring piece of $hit. I loved the series, but this was basically the same thing with prettier colors. Imagine what a waste of time the bootlegs would be.

It's interesting because the first part of the series is the part I actually liked. The ending I hated.

I found the concept of mecha that have to be powered by cable interesting. I also thought it was a bit more dramatic and apocalyptic than other mecha shows I had seen at the time.

I watched the version online but my impressions of the film where that it was pretty much the same as the series with a bit more glitz. But since I liked that part of the series, I thought it was a cool upgrade for the most part.

I guess I got used to the characters enough I didn't even notice they betray their flaws earlier than before. I am hoping that means there is more chance of getting beyond that, but who knows.

Hm. I'm enough of a fan of the original series that I'll probably pick this up if/when it gets a US release, if only for the nicer animation. (I make icons on LJ, so I like having "new" art for things--the TV series really is starting to show its age at this point in comparison to some newer series.) Seeing what changes they made will be interesting, too. I'm not really as anxious to see it after seeing this review, though. (...Of course, if one of the cons I go to are screening it, I'll totally check it out.)

I agree with this review but I can't help but feel that it would've been much better received if it wasn't a follow-up to the TV series. I don't think the movie does any worse job of depicting the characters' emotionally complex personalities (especially considering the shorter time-span) it's just that we've seen, heard and read so much about Evangelion now that it just doesn't have the same impact. It's for that reason that I see this film more as 'necessary'; the building block that will hopefully lead to the next films, ultimately with much more new content to offer.
(/2 cents)

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Forum - View topicREVIEW: Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone

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REVIEW: Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone