Evangelion Movie 2: Ha

When the threat of the Angel menace escalates, mankind's defense force is pushed to its limits, with NERV at the forefront of the struggle. Shinji Ikari and his partner Rei Ayanami are assisted by two new pilots: the fiery Asuka Langley Shikinami and the mysterious Mari Illustrious Makinami.

With the aid of their mechanized Evangelion units, equipped with weapons perfect for engaging their monstrous opponents, the four young souls fight desperately to protect their loved ones and prevent an impending apocalypse. But when startling secrets are brought to light, will the heroes' greatest challenge prove to be the monsters...or humanity itself?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ayanami, Rei Main

Hayashibara, Megumi Japanese

Ikari, Shinji Main

Ogata, Megumi Japanese

Katsuragi, Misato Main

Mitsuishi, Kotono Japanese

Souryuu, Asuka Langley Supporting

Miyamura, Yuko Japanese

Nagisa, Kaworu Supporting

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Pen Pen Supporting

Hayashibara, Megumi Japanese

Ikari, Gendou Supporting

Tachiki, Fumihiko Japanese

Makinami, Mari Illustrious Supporting

Sakamoto, Maaya Japanese

Kaji, Ryouji Supporting

Yamadera, Kouichi Japanese

Akagi, Ritsuko Supporting

Yamaguchi, Yuriko Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Anno, Hideaki Director, Script, Storyboard, Executive Producer, Key Animation, Creator

Tsurumaki, Kazuya Director, Storyboard, Key Animation

Masayuki Director, Storyboard, Key Animation

Reviews

Aug 11, 2009

Touka

Recommended

Every once in a while an anime movie is released to enormous widespread acclaim; the likes of Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Spirited Away were hailed as sublime, game-changing features. Evangelion 2.0 is no exception, a film perhaps not as innovative now as the original series was at the time of its release, but nevertheless an awe-inspiring work that raises the bar ever higher - an anime feature up there with the greats.

While the first Rebuild of Evangelion movie followed the series closely, events are drastically changed in 2.0. The plot vaguely follows episodes 8 to 19 of the series (and picks up from ... where the first Rebuild movie left off), but it's during this film that the 'remake' starts becoming the 'reimagining' Anno said the Rebuild tetralogy would be. A treat for fans new and old, the new canon material does not disappoint. Twists and turns - as expected - are ever present, new characters enter the fray and the plot takes fresh, astonishing directions while retaining its mysterious, engrossing aura. The pace is near flawless and both veteran fans and new audiences alike will be able to watch with wide-eyed excitement and suspense as the new plot unravels.

The animation and art are one of the absolute stand-out elements in Evangelion 2.0. As in the first film, the Angels have been given a make-over, along with the Evangelion units, the futuristic, ever wondrous city Tokyo-3 and even the characters. Between them, the animation staff for the Rebuild tetralogy have worked on a huge number of highly acclaimed works, which includes the original Evangelion series. The team create an alarmingly beautiful world among all the chaos and destruction, with such intricate attention to detail, stunningly complex designs and action set pieces unlike anything before it. The art style is bold, clean and dazzling, and the animation is dynamic, majestic, smooth and ever fluid. Studio Khara have set a frighteningly faultless example to other animation studios - they've outdone themselves.

The music was composed and arranged by Shiro Sagisu - who scored not only the first Rebuild film, but also the original series and The End of Evangelion - and recorded at the famous Abbey Road Studios with the London Studio Orchestra. Music has always been a very innate part of Evangelion; as integral as the Evangelion units themselves, and it's no different in Rebuild. Sagisu creates a fine amount of stunning compositions that further bring to life Tokyo-3, the characters and the phenomenal action sequences. Rebuild 2.0 even has it's own 'Komm, süsser Tod' moment where an upbeat song is played in contrast to a brutal sequence, with the lyrics adding a welcomed sense of irony, which is what we've come to expect and delight over from the Evangelion franchise. The ending song is provided by Japanese sensation Utada Hikaru, who offers a beautiful acoustic rendition of her famous track 'Beautiful World', a perfect companion piece to the ending, again in contrast.

Rebuild 2.0 excels in its characterisation. The charismatic Asuka is introduced, who adds a whole different vibe to the film and there is yet more original material for fans of the series, as established characters such as Shinji and Rei develop significantly, the latter in directions you may not expect. A completely new character - Mari - also joins the fray. Much of her motivations are shrouded in mystery, which allows the film to stay at a consistent pace and prevents it from becoming bloated, considering the amount of characters and plot developments already at hand, but her presence adds yet another exciting new element, along with some comic relief. Despite a cast of characters that were established almost fifteen years ago, they come across in Rebuild as very fresh, very unpredictable. These aren't the same characters from the Evangelion series, they're new interpretations, new versions; with a clean slate comes new directions, new experiences - in areas the film becomes as fresh to long-time fans as it is to new audiences.

Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0 is an absolute spectacle, as astonishing to the eyes as it is the ears. The second film is able to out-do the first installment in every aspect, all the while taking the story in thrilling new directions for fans both new and old. A remake would have been too easy for Anno and his team - instead they have gone above and beyond, recreating the Evangelion universe we've come to know and love, offering us new interpretations fifteen years on, proving - with some ferocity - that Evangelion is far from gone. Rebuild solidifies Evangelion as an absolutely exceptional franchise, continuing to awe-inspire fans the world over, reminding us all why we fell in love with it in the first place.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Nov 14, 2017

VeiledEdge

Mixed Feelings

Evangelion 2.0 is where the descent of the Evangelion brand begins. The plot is nonsensical from beginning to end. The movie appears to have no sense of purpose or direction other than exhaust all of its budget in a few select fight scenes and spend the rest of its time haphazardly trying to be a standard slice of life anime. It's honestly hard to stomach. The only redeeming factor is the ending, which is a complete rip off of episode 18 from the series. To its credit, it is better done here than in episode 18. However, this does not make up for the other ... 90% of the movie being completely worthless.

The biggest problem in this is how little it does to develop its characters as compared to the series. Don't expect any character to even resemble its predecessor in terms of depth and conviction. They're all now lifeless, more generic stock versions of the character archetypes they created. It's almost shameful, but I almost feel like they were at least trying to do something good. They simply didn't have the same level of inspiration.

Even though I gave this a high score, I wouldn't recommend it. It is a shell of a disillusioned dream of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The first movie brings your hopes up and this one slowly tears them to shreds. This is nothing other than a generic action movie that grabs some pointers from the series near the end.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Apr 10, 2011

MikeOnHighway61

Not Recommended

I've been trying to overcome the 'great depression 2.22' that came over me and lasted for over a week now after watching this movie and the only way I can do it is by writing this review. I hope you'll bear with me here, this is going to be a bit of a personal review, but I'll try to be fair. My anger has vanished in most parts although if someone says the words "sabisu sabisu" for a tease I still feel like kicking his butt delinquent-style.

There never was an anime series in my entire life as an anime-consumer that moved, influenced and fascinated me ... as much as Hideaki Anno's original NGE series. I can not describe every single detail about the original series' ingenuity for it would take too much space in these few lines (since this is a review about the second rebuild film). Let's just say that I have never encountered another anime series with more finely written, intelligent, charismatic, understandable and individual (probably the most important characteristic considering the whole bunch of archetypes today) characters combined with an exciting and cleverly told plot and a superb atmosphere from which we can learn a message that is important in all periods of our lives.

When I first heard about Anno and the old crew directing a series of Rebuild movies, I didn't really know what to say. He said that the old NGE series was not fit for newer generations and that he would have to update it for them. He probably meant problems that emerged in society nowadays, so I trusted him. I was quite happy after watching the first movie that stuck pretty much to the original first quarter of the series and was looking forward to the second movie which should integrate new elements (although I was REALLY afraid of that new character wearing a pink (!) plugsuit). Then I saw the ratings on MAL and my excitement grew. What did they change? The answer: everything.

- The Characters:
In general, we can say that every fascinating character from the original series just turned into some kind of stereotypical alternative version. There is not a single trace left of what once was a psychological profile given to them. Not only did they simplify the characters, but also gave away their backgroundstories in some kind of 'in-your-face!' manner, so that subtlety became a foreign word. Of course, you may say, this is a movie and you can not rebuild complex characters within such little screen time. It's not like they do not get any screentime in the movie, there's plenty of it around, but the creators don't use it at all (except for dull slice of life sequences and ecchi fanservice)!
I'd like to take a look at the changes from the original series and analyze what the new character's personality is like, so as for people who haven't watched the thing yet I'll write down a

[SPOILER TAG]

here, so I can go into detail:

Shinji Ikari:
Original: Lost boy who gains some confidence while working for NERV but always feels left alone, feels rejected by everyone, trying to find a personality on his own, craving for affection from anyone ----- 2.22 Version: your typical shounen hero and also a harem lord
'I wonder who of my love interests can cook better?'

Asuka Soryu Langley:
Original: Lost girl who strives for affection from anyone by any means necessary, is still haunted by past, inferiority complex ----- 2.22 Version: Violent tsundere archetype randomly in love with the harem lord while being exploited for lots of fan-service:
'Kyaah ecchi!'
(oh yeah, and she's talking to a sock puppet, now THAT's subtle)

Rei Ayanami:
Original: Scientific abuse incarnate, an artificial lifeform that is torn between substitutability and development of personal feelings towards society and her creator ------ 2.22 Version: Kuudere archetype who discovers her random love for the harem hero
'Whenever I think about him, my chest feels warm...'

Misato Katsuragi:
Original: Being left alone by her father's death, she has to encounter a harsh world after the second impact and makes her way to the top with discipline, although she hides an easy-going side inside which she only shows to people dear to her, craving for affection from anyone ------ 2.22 Version: Supporting cast who's just there to tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about the EVA mystery 'in-your-face!'-esque. Misato's fate is shared by every other character in this movie (except for Kaji, he's there to make you laugh with silly attempts to speak the english language, best scene in the whole movie), so I spare you the ranting here.

and finally, my 'favourite' 'character' from this 'movie' (ok, that last quotation mark was just for fun)

Mari Makinami Illustrious (yeah, that's her name, folks, I didn't know it either, but I read it on the package of the DVD after watching the movie):
well, Mari, she... she's... yeah, she has a nice rack... and... aaannnd... she wears glasses and... a pink plugsuit... and she is the most UNFITTING 'CHARACTER' FOR THE BLOODY DAMN NEON GENESIS EVANGELION FRANCHISE!!!!!
...
Ahem, sorry for that, but it's true, a 'character' who's there for the whole purpose of fanservice and hollywood action scenes has nothing to do with the (let's say) 'realistic' world of Evangelion. She's even enjoying the EVA fights, what's this?! they always depicted the war against the angels as a terrible burden for the youngsters (which it IS) and she's enjoying it?! And what about that parachute, ahh, nevermind, let's go on...-.-

[END OF SPOILERS]

- The Story:
Now, what I can say about the story in general is that they really tried to create something different and the way the movie ends, it really is possible they are going to change it into something else. But this doesn't mean it's going to be good, really.
The whole purpose of the background story in the original series was to be discovered by the audience bit by bit so that they could put all the pieces of the puzzle together and create their own interpretation of what's happening. Now, Hideaki Anno assumes that kids these days don't use their brains anymore so he presents the story with every bit and every little mystery directly in your face. You do not need to think about it, the characters will tell you everything you need to know. This simplification destroys everything the smartly presented plot of the original show stood for.

- The Design:
This is the most surprising thing about the whole movie. People tell me everywhere how great this thing looks and how smooth the 3D animations blend in. But you know what? It is not true, it's simply not true! The 3D evangelions look like ingame graphics from a poorly programmed ps3 game. Not only do the 'great' 3D effects make EVA02 blend in like Krauser II on a K-On concert, they also allow us to discover silly programming mistakes like transparent school desks (if you don't believe me, take a look at shinji's classroom). And for the design changes... sheesh, you shall see yourself... ('Test-Plugsuit' and 'Za biisuto' eh, gosh...-.-)
Of course the drawings and character designs are ok, it's Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the original designer, after all (he tends to go for the 'one piece' hip, but that's ok here).

- The Final Conclusion:
I am absolutely sad to say it, but 'Evangelion 2.22: You can (not) advance' is one of the worst pieces of celluloid anime movies I have ever seen, considering its predecessors. There is not a single shred of intelligence left in this bleak version of a once brilliant series. I trusted Hideaki Anno and his nakama, for I thought they were some of the few people left in the business taking their job seriously and trying to really give something to the audience instead of just taking their money for cheap entertainment. But that's what happened and that's what Evangelion 2.22 is, cheap entertainment. I still can't really believe it.
And what's even more important: What's up with all the people who love this movie and call it masterpiece? I really could understand it if there are people who don't know or don't care about the original work (archetypes substituting real characters is common today) or watched it for tits, they will have their cheap thrills with the hollywood action and the countless fanservice ecchi moments and maybe really like it as the Gurren Lagann it wants to be (hey, GL is great, but NOT NGE!). But for the Neon Genesis Evangelion fans who loved the series for everything it stood for, all the attributes I mentioned before, everything that EVA 2.22 destroyed and spat upon, I do not understand them at all...-.-

----

Oh yeah, and here's a little speculation to round out the review that requires a

[SPOILER TAG]

Just a little conspiracy theory, my only hope that keeps me from screaming 'zetsubou shita!':

All of this ridiculous nonsense could just be Shinji's first attempt of creating a new world, but based on his teenage dreams and thus filled with bullshit teenagers might find interesting and kakkoii. As a conclusion Hideaki Anno once again could draw the ace up his sleeve here and say: "This is nothing but fantasy bullshit, it doesn't have anything to do with reality! Get a life, kids!" kinda like he did in the original series. That wouldn't really make this movie much better, but it would not kill the whole franchise.
Until the next movie comes out, I'll just pray every night that "sabisu sabisu~" was just an ironic hint to that outcome!

[END OF SPOILERS]



Thanks for reading

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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