If you are like me, you were extremely happy with the news that there was goIng to be a new series of films based off of Evangelion. But this was not some ordinary rehash, but a complete new story with pretty new visuals. Let me tell you that my inner fanboy practically exploded into an orange-like goo much like the entire cast of Neon Genesis after hearing this news. So you could imagine my glee the second my eyes laid on the torrent sitting there looking pretty. All it took was a click and I was in Evangelical heaven.
Was I happy with the end results? You better believe it. Check out my review after the jump.
Now, a good majority of you have already watched the Evangelion television series, so you should already know the story of this movie. Episode-wise this movie takes place between episode one and episode six, but this isn’t just a simple re-cut of the episodes like Death and Rebirth. For one this movie is paced differently so that it feels more like an actually movie and not like a bunch of episodes strung together. Those who have seen any of the Gundam remake movies know what I am talking about here.
That is only half of it, though. The other change to the story comes with extra scenes sporadically added to the film. A good majority of these new scenes add elements from the later part of the story into the beginning part; so that SEELE plays just as an important part in the beginning as it does later on in the end of the series. Also the ending of You Are (Not) Alone is completely new and different from the source material, indicating a new storyline on the horizon.
for the most part, the Rebuild of Evangelion, scene for scene, is the same as its predecessor. This isn’t a bad thing because the original television series is wonderfully shot to begin with. and of course when I say shot I mean drawn. But that does not mean they retraced the old episodes frame by frame. No, You Are (Not) Alone has about three times more detail than your average Evangelion episode. This add so much more flavor to the package and really makes Tokyo-3 look more alive than ever. The buildings actually move up and down on more than one occasion this time around! Not to mention they have buildings made entirely of guns, a perfect detail absent in the television series.
The music, composed by Shiro Sagisu follows the ways of the story and visuals in regards to the original anime. It sounds familiar, though outright different. For starters the soundtrack was recorded at Abbey Road Studios by the London Studio Orchestra. One song that really stood out more than the traditional, timpani pounding songs the series is known for was the song played during the final part of the Ramiel fight; you know the angel that looks like a giant diamond. This song is full of choir-like singing and serious orchrastrated epicness, aka Evangelion’s "Duel of Fates". A welcomed edition I must say.
Perhaps one of the biggest differences between the anime and this movie is the final battle with Ramiel. Everything you know and love about this battle is the same as the anime, but somehow it feels drastically different. For one the tension has increased ten fold; you actually feel like there is something on the line this time and Shinji has to get his act together to save what’s left of the world. Ramiel itself is radically different as well. No longer is it stuck in a diamond shape, but can mold itself for both offensive and defensive capabilities. But this aspect isn’t just for Ramiel, but the other angels are different in their own ways as well; but I’ll let you discover that on your own.
Despite the quality of this film, You Are (Not) Alone is only held down because of the reasons why it was created. Many fans might look at this and see only money, or others might say that the original series never needed to be made. Yes, anything Neon Genesis prints money for Gainax, so making a remake would be a no brainier for those who love money. But does that automatically make the movie bad? Hell no it doesn’t! Art should be viewed solely on its merits and not the circumstances of its creation.
The original series did not need to be remade; and that’s good because it hasn’t been remade. The Rebuld of Evangelion is another take on the Evangelion universe, expanding on ideas that were not touched on in the original series. Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone is basically the coming together of every fanboy’s and fangirl’s wet dream; those who love Neon Genesis will not be disappointed.
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The best part of this movie is the lack of extended scenes with Shinji being sad..