Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

Rebuild of Evangelion has great animation. And I guess that's the best thing that can be said about it.

The original show was so full of ideas and emotion that even a 25 minutes episode could make you feel drained and confused. The first movie of the remake packs together about six episodes and this means that a lot of scenes had to be cut in order to fit the much shorter time frame and keep the story flowing. The result is that the characters have less depth and we are going too fast from one angel killing to another. It almost seems like a Hollywood remake with great computer-generated imagery and a lot of action. This is missing some of the spirit of the original.

The series was imperfect and highly uneven but in a bizarre way this was also one of the things that made it great. I think Anno should have Evangelion untouched – why remake something that is already as good as it can be? Rebuild of Evangelion is not a failure but it's kind of pointless.

The most notable problem for this movie is it's pacing, for fans of the original series they will be able to notice how scenes are cut very short in comparison to the original. This movie wants to retell 3 hours of the original in about half the time and it definitely shows. However the visuals are beautiful and for better or worse the music has been changed or updated in every scene. If you like NGE this movie is still worth the watch just to see the differences and to make your own opinion and for anyone just jumping in this is a fun action movie with some badass visuals.

Evangelion 1.11 is basically a retelling of the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series ep1-6 with very few deviations from the original. Of course, this is a decade newer with a much larger budget, so the animation quality itself is vastly superior, spectacular by every sense of the word. If I have any complaints they are that this new version simplifies the characters and their faults (in my opinion, the crowning achievement of the original show) and instead focuses more on action and intense battle scenes. However, this directorial decision also makes the whole thing more streamlined and accessible for the average anime fan. Finally, the English dub of this film is fantastic, practically as good as the original Japanese audio and that's saying something!

Suggested rating: PG-13 for violence and brief nudity

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.

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!