Neon Genesis is the story of a boy--no. That's not quite right.
Evangelion is one of the shows that "defined the giant robot anime." Or so claims the packaging of Evangelion 1.01: You Are (Not) Alone. Taking these--no, that doesn't fit either.
It's a bit hard to write an introduction for Neon Genesis Evangelion, don't you think? It's one of the best-known shows in the anime world. We had tackled the film back when it first came out, but now that FUNimation has put the first of the four films that are set to retell the Neon Genesis Evangelion story, it's time to take a second look.
Follow me after the jump for our review, along with a video review featuring the voice and skills of Ace0fClub5!
Evangelion 1.01: You Are (Not) Alone Creator: Gainax Publisher: FUNimation Release Date: November 14, 2009 MSRP: $29.98
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a series that has left its mark on the world. Since the show's initial airing, there has been endless debates in forums, in books and papers, and on every single convention floor, about the meaning of this scene or the greater existential question posed by that one.
Now Gainax has decided to tackle the whole story again in a much more streamlined version -- telling things over the course of four films. This theatrical release of Evangelion brings the title into a widescreen format with beautifully updated art and well-used CG graphics.
I went into the film expecting it to be a recap of the series. I did my best to ignore the conversation surrounding it when it hit fansubbers. So, after getting a good way into the story, it takes some serious detours, I stopped and looked at a friend. This was not simply a rehash -- there's something different afoot here.
When it comes down to it, Evangelion 1.01 is something that must be seen by anyone who's watched Neon Genesis Evangelion. Unlike many other anime to film adaptations (Gurren Lagann, for example) the story is handled with an appropriate pacing and eye to storytelling -- even if you hadn't watched the show already, you would still be able to follow the story fairly well. And for those of you who already know most of what's going to happen, everything from the visuals to the voice acting will keep you engaged until you hit those big twists.
Now, as to what's going to happen next, we'll just have to wait for the releases of the next three films. It'll take us a few years to actually see the whole picture that Gainax has laid out for us, and will probably necessitate a few viewings of NGE in that time. But, what's beautiful about all this is that Gainax has found a way to update this classic franchise and breathe new life into it, making it relevant for a whole new generation of fans.
Without a doubt, you should go ahead and get this film. There's no word on when FUNimation will acquire the license for Evangelion 1.11 on Blu-ray, so expect it to be a while. At least rent it on Netflix, or get a friend to watch this. You won't be disappointed.
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Aside from better quality, how will 1.11 differ? Will there be any additional footage? I got the DVD on my Netflix and saw this at the anime expo in LA for the past 2 years( japanese the 1st , dubbed the 2nd). Can't wait the next 3 films!
@Chaos591
"The film was given a retransfer to fix some darkness issues in the previous DVD release and roughly 3 minutes of new animation was added to the first 15 minutes of the original film"
(from wikipedia)
Totally agree with the post. This is a great movie. What is better yet is that the second movie is even better. Too bad it will be a while until we see a release of that.
To name yourself otaku1 and writing something so abhorrent makes me feel like disassociating myself from the otaku community.
@king3vbo I second your motion.
I watched this movie without watching the series. It was an excellent watch, because I actually found myself completely engrossed in the story although I despised Ikari Shinji and kept shouting "you chose HIM to save the world?" every 5 minutes.
It's like Der Untergang where I kept thinking "well it's your fault for choosing HIM as a leader" every time somebody cried on screen, and still watched until the end despite some good reasons (like assignments due in 8 hours) not to.
Brad, I agree with your summation of the film. If you haven't seen Eva, you want to see it and even if you have seen it, there is lots of new stuff and new changes to see. In particular, I thought that the last 20 or so minutes of the film was some of the most tense and exciting stuff I have seen in anime for some time.
Incidentally, I just wanted to offer a correction in your review. Funimation announced back in the summer that they already had the license for the Blu-Ray 1.11 release (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/convention/2009/anime-expo/funimation) and were choosing to stagger the release by putting out the DVD of 1.01 now and 1.11 on DVD and Blu-Ray in spring 2010. That's why I was complaining in my blog about the release of Eva 1.0: it's not that they don't have the rights to the Blu-Ray, it's that they want to put what feels like a double-dip. Doesn't help either that despite announcing the Blu-Ray existence at the cons, they haven't indicated anything about the Blu-Ray on their webpage so anyone not completely in the know about this film would have no idea about the dual-release.
Will it beat my old collection of Evangelion VHS... i don't know. In other words, form my personal view, I've always seen Evangelion as THE series that marked me during my anime watching life, and is because of this, that I've always been reluctant to approach new material. I understand that's a really stupid idea, but i just know that it will never have that same feeling back in 96...
anyway, now there's so many new material coming out, that i guess, in a way, i'm afraid the saga could change for me (as ALL the FF VII stuff did). I do agree that it's very good that all this Evangelion talk gets the people who haven't seen the series, to do so.
In the end, i guess i'll just have to see it for myself
After watching it, I have to say I was quite pleased. I'm going to be honest, despite being a huge mecha fan, Evangelion has always been...mixed for me. I loved it on one hand, yet I utterly despised it on the other. Perhaps it was because I was raised on hot blood and burning passion, but quite a few things about the original just didn't work for me.
Maybe it's because I'm older now and I can appreciate it, or because it looks like they've cut out quite a bit of mind-screw bullshit, or simply because Shinji seems to man up a bit faster than in the tv series, but I find this movie version to be an improvement in every way.
Too bad Gainax couldn't have given Gurren Lagann or FLCL the Evangelion 1.01 treatment. While I love the movie and OVA series, having either redone from scratch would have been a dream come true.
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