Evangelion Movie 3: Q

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a legendary series which made its First Impact in the anime industry seventeen years ago. Boasting a cast of characters as intricate as the plot itself, Evangelion has earned both pride and glory as one of the pioneering anime series that has garnered massive audiences and acclaim around the world.

But this praise is not without being sullied with controversy.

Indeed, the original Neon Genesis Evangelion adaptation was notoriously known for its unconventional plot, its extensive complexity of drama and its indescribably upending conclusion which had left even those most hardened fans mad with confused outrage. The Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy of films ... were produced with the aim of doing justice to the original series.

Now the question remains: Has Hideaki Anno, the Neon Genesis Evangelion series creator, stepped closer to the completion of his beloved Evangelion as he wanted it to be?

Rebuild of Evangelion: Evangelion 3.0 Q Quickening takes off fourteen years after the Near-Third Impact that was triggered at the end of Rebuild of Evangelion: Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance. After this lengthy period of time, everything that we have come to familiarize ourselves with from the two preceding movies has been drastically and irreversibly transformed. Be warned and brace yourself as you watch this next instalment of the Evangelion series, for this is -the- Evangelion that you are facing and it will not fail to throw you off your rocker regardless of how well-anchored your chair may be.

There is no shortage of action in this film and Evangelion 3.0 delivers quite the powerful punch. The opening sequence is merely a taste of the intense combat that is featured throughout the film. An entire set of new EVA units is introduced in this latest instalment for each of the young pilots. The new mecha units have been redesigned and upgraded to beefier and vastly more powerful versions of the predecessors, which is no surprise considering the large time lapse that has taken place. However, unlike in previous conflicts, the battles that are now being fought are not simply between Mankind and Angels. With the advent of the Near-Third Impact, loyalties have shifted and Misato Katsuragi’s anti-NERV organization WILLE now wages a brutal war against NERV with its flagship the AAA Wunder that possesses enough insane power to kill even God.

The dramatic changes unveiled in Evangelion 3.0 do not simply limit themselves to merely new EVA units and circumstances. Surprisingly, the most unsettling transformations occur at the human level. Past allies have become each other’s mortal enemies in this desperate and merciless battle to determine the future of Mankind. Evangelion 3.0 paints a grim blood red future which is personified by the redesigned returning characters and on the newcomers to the cast. The atrocities of war have been made apparent on the battle-hardened and gloomy faces of the cast. It is quickly ascertained that humanity harbours a great contempt for a tragically oblivious and ignorant Shinji Ikari and it is implied that the responsibility of a dreadful sin weighs on heavily on his shoulders. Ironically, much to the contrast of the entire world that has changed around him, Shinji Ikari manifests no change whatsoever despite the time that has passed since his last conscious thoughts. Veterans such as Misato Katsuragi and Gendou Ikari return with menacing demeanours and sporting superfluous eyewear. Unit 02-Dash EVA pilot Asuka Langley Shikinami makes a stunning return with a magnificent eye patch and her trademark tsundere compliments. Fans will also rejoice with the coming of Mari Illustrious Makinami’s glasses and her perpetual state of latent sexual attractiveness. Kaworu Nagisa makes his debut as the new EVA pilot and steals the hearts of many with his enigmatic charisma. In essence, Evangelion 3.0 features the original cast whose colours and identities that have been completely repainted with the red gore of war.

Evangelion reprises its role as an animated psychological trip straight to the mental asylum, but unlike the original adaptation, Rebuild of Evangelion manages to fall into the boundaries of comprehension that mere mortals possess. The film itself takes on a grim atmosphere and maintains a subconscious aura of mystery that shrouds the audience in ignorance. Many details concerning the events that occurred within the fourteen year time lapse were meticulously withheld for a large part of the movie and the culmination of this tension has a tendency to leave its viewers in a catatonic state of shock. Near the film’s conclusion, viewers may expect to suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and exhibit inexplicable confusion with many unanswered questions that will hopefully be resolved in the series finale. Currently, I can attest to that deranged and disturbed mental state.

The musical score of Evangelion 3.0 composed by Shiro Sagisu is an artistic masterpiece in itself. The music features a harmonic symbiotic relationship between orchestral instruments, choir and electric guitars surprisingly added to the mix. Most strikingly of all, the piano pieces steal the spotlight. Kaworu and Shinji’s piano duet vastly contrasts the doom-and-gloom atmosphere that Evangelion 3.0 boasts, but their light musical presentation was a refreshing welcome which provided a brief respite to the other heavy piano pieces that reflected the grim circumstances. Hikaru Utada’s fans will also scream in delight with her return to the musical scene with the melancholic Sakura Nagashi featured while the curtain of credits draw to a close.

With the long-awaited and highly anticipated Evangelion 3.0 aweing its audience with top-tier animation quality and a masterfully executed story reaching its conclusion, viewers will be left with even more questions and angst as they wait for the Rebuild of Evangelion to draw to its inevitable close. Evangelion 3.0 leaves much to be desired, and perhaps to the dismay of many, its direction may be out of the comfort zone that was presented in the preceding films. It seems that the producers are hell-bent on pursuing the near-suicidal mission of saving the original Neon Genesis Evangelion ending, and in order to achieve this daunting task, they employ the same tactic of “screwing over Shinji as many times using the most dastardly means that they can possibly conceive.” After all, it is Evangelion, and it is a necessity that the remake lives up to its reputation. One can only dream that they succeed, and I look forward to that day.

Now returning to the initial premise of embarking on this arduous and lengthy journey; have we come one step closer to answering Hideaki Anno’s goal of remaking Evangelion as it he wanted it to be? Alas, that is a question which can only be answered by Anno himself. However, as witnesses of his artistic masterpieces, each individual of his audience is privy to their own answer to that question. With this, I thank you for reading mine.

I just watched Evangelion: 3.0 and I have to admit it was not what I expected. Having watched the previous 1.0 and 2.0 I knew that there would probably be new characters, new music and scenes, but I did not expect that there will be so many! It's almost a completely new movie, quite different from the old story. Evangelion has always been apocalyptic and this can be seen much more in 3.0 than in the previous 2 movies. While watching it you can feel that the end is coming. There are so many new and never before seen things (really really cool too)! The ... music, the art, the action scenes ,the EVAs and the plug suits, everything is perfect and blends into one unforgettable movie. It was hard to keep up with all that was happening and I wish it didn't end that quickly, I wish there was more! And there will be more. Like before, there was a preview of the 4.0 movie after the credits of 3.0 and yes there will be more new things (it's really tempting to write what they are but I don't want to ruin your enjoyment)! I think that any EVA fan will not be disappointed. Just watch it whenever you can (preferably on a big screen). It will make you think and wonder a lot because, as usual, not everything is explained but this is EVA after all. I know I want to watch it again!

Evangelion is a complex work; the television series challanged the dimensions of the anime world by creating a dark, world where not everything is told to the viewer. Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone and 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance were somtimes viewed as not following this trend, showing us just about everything.

Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo changes all that.

Story: Fourteen years have passed since the climatic moments of 2.0; this is not the world Shinji Ikari remembers. Many things have changed, and Shinji is left very much like the viewer; completely and utterly confused.

I'll be fair; Evangelion is well known for having a ... story that baffles the casual viewer; however, 3.0 takes this idea way too far. We know very little about what exactly is going on during the story, or why they are happening. The ideas and motivations of characters are not thoroughly explained, and the viewer is left unbeknownst to whatever the hell is going on.
As I said, I will be fair to this movie; there is still a fourth move coming, and that may answer some questions that are lingering in our minds, but until those questions are (if they are) explained, the story remains the weakest portion of 3.0.

Art and Sound: Easily the highlight of the film. As compared tot he relatively colorful animation of 1.0 and 2.0, Redo shows off a much darker world then the one we left years ago; the world is dark and shadowed, and great clouds cover the skies. This is truly a world descending into hell, and whilst I usually hate darkly drawn anime, this is easily the best of them.
The music, of course, is perfect as usual. Sweep orchestral tracks fills this film, giving the movie a large sense of scale that only the greatest of anime films could muster. The music is at lest on par with 2.0, which was truly excellent.

Character: Another aspect of the film that suffers compared to the other two films; characters in 3.0 are very different to when they were seen in 2.0, in particular characters such as Rei and Misato. Normally, I would have no problem with this, but the issue stands that their ideals and motivations are not throughraly explained. Again, when 4.0 rolls around, they may be explained, but until then, this simply is to large a problem to ignore.

Overview: In closing, Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo is not a bad film at all; it's still very good. However, the story and character issues are simply to large an issue to ignore, but does not detract horribly from the film. Hopefully with 4.0 somewhere on the horizon all of my (and all the other Evangelion fans) questions will be answered, and the conclusion of The Rebuld of Evangelion will wrap up all of the issues everyone has had with the series.

I havent been an Evangelion fan for long. I just watched the TV series a few months ago, and I loved it of course, but it wasn't one of my favorites. I hated the End of Evangelion, I feel like it kinda messed up the entire TV series. After that, I reluctantly watched the first two movies, and they were ok. I had my hopes kind of low for 3.0.

Maybe that's why I am absolutely floored and how truly fantastic this film is. I feel like I cant express it in words, but I'll try.

Story (10):

Here's where 3.0 is either a hit ... or a miss with some people. I can see how the story would be completely confusing and frustrating for some, while amazing for others. Personally, I found the story to be fantastic. (Being a huge Kaworu/Shinji fan probably helped that a lot though. Maybe I'm biased.) Most of the time you don't know what's going on at all. This might be frustrating for some people but, remember we have another movie coming, and that will very likely explain most of the missing parts in our brains right now. Keep that in mind before you watch this movie. Confusing and dark plot lines in movies are my favorites, and Evangelion 3.0 delivered that beautifully, even more than the entire series could combined.

The ending was heartbreaking. I should be used to bawling my eyes out while watching Evangelion at this point, but I'm not. And I don't think I ever will be.

I really can't say much else story wise without spoiling, so I will move on.

Art (10):

I'm not sure I even need to comment on the art. It's the same as it was in Evangelion 1.0 and 2.0, except a bit darker. I love it. The animation, as usual, is glorious. It keeps true to the original series' style, while at the same time making it modern. It works very well. There are some disturbing images, but if you're an Evangelion fan, you're used to that already, so it's a moot point.

Sound (10):

As expected, the soundtrack is perfect. As it was in the previous films, and in the TV series. Not much else to say, except that it fits the dark atmosphere of the art and storyline as it always has.

Character (10):

3.0 is centered mostly around Shinji and Kaworu for the majority of the movie. We do see Asuka quite a bit though, who acts a little differently than she did in the previous Evangelion movies. In fact, most of the characters do. This might bother some people but... whether they have aged on the outside or not, 14 years have passed. Of course things are going to be different. Misato we dont see much, but she is completely different than she was before, almost unrecognizable. Like I said, there's another movie left, so we have an explanation for that for later. Rei is the same basically, from what I can tell, never been a huge Rei fan. Though Shinji's attitude towards her does change drastically, which is completely understandable with the given circumstances.

The only person I have a problem with is Mari. Never liked Mari. She just feels out of place, the only reason she's there is to back up Asuka. And to be the ""comedic"" relief, which this dark, emotional, action/mecha film does not need. She's utterly useless. She could be anyone, a cardboard cutout would have more personality. I don't even want to talk about her because it's just grueling how unneeded and annoying she is, so, moving on.

Shinji and Kaworu really steal the movie for me... watching these two interact is incredible. Self-loathing, depressed, guilt-ridden Shinji, who has nothing and no one to hold on to, finally has someone to love him. And someone for him to love. When have we ever seen Shinji smile like the way he smiles at Kaworu in this movie? We haven't. Maybe this just hits a personal point for me, since I know what depression and guilt can do to someone, and how much just one person can do so much to help. It's truly an amazing story, whether it's "romantic" or not, you can perceive it how ever you want. But Kaworu means everything to Shinji. He is his last hope, the last thing that makes him happy, the last person who can "save" him and the world that he knows. But I'm getting a little off track, so let's get back to personalities before I go overboard.

Kaworu's personality in this movie is mostly the same, as is Shinji's. If you enjoyed seeing the little interaction they had in the TV series, you will love them in this one. Though Kaworu's entire existence feels like he's only there for Shinji... that's kind of how it is. And he still has a personality of his own. He's quiet, thoughtful, kind, and extremely upfront with his feelings toward Shinji. It's hard to describe Kaworu's personality, honestly. But if you watched the original TV series you know how he is. He is my favorite Evangelion character, always will be. Sorry Misato, you're a close number 2.

Enjoyment:

This film is a blast for me. The dark story and atmosphere just really captured me, engrossed me into the post almost-third impact world. It's confusing, scary, and just has a really uncomfortable "what the heck is going on" feeling to it. I love it. Seeing the characters interact in this world (again, Shinji and Kaworu) is the best part. There is nothing that can spoil this film for me, not even Mari's annoying self. I had a blast watching it the first and second time, and I'll have a blast watching it the 50th time, I'm sure.

Overall:

Overall? Hm. I would say it's a masterpiece. Probably my favorite anime film, if not one of my favorite overal films, of all time. There's just very few things about this movie I dislike. I wish it were a bit longer but... We can wait for 4.0 right?

I hope you guys enjoy this film as much as I did. And please forgive any typos I may have made, it's 3 AM and been a long day. I just had to talk about this movie before I exploded of excitement.

Thanks for reading!

The unwarranted hate towards this movie has been baffling. Many critique the story for not explaining much, others critique it for having dumb characters that simply do not trust each other, and other critics simply go for the idea that it wasted our time. To those people I say, what is your point? This is Evangelion for crying out loud. The Neon Genesis Evangelion TV show was precisely all those things combined except it was much longer and much more monotonous. This film definitely has a lot of value to it and is much better handled than anything the TV series ever did.

If there was ... one saving grace the TV series ever had, it was its main character Shinji. Many people might call that blasphemy, but it is no further from the truth. Going psychologically into the mind of a depressed kid who has the entire weight of the world on his shoulders is something you do not see much in anime. In this movie, they go full force with this concept. Shinji through his one shining moment in the last movie where in which he tries to save Rei, actually ends up being the one who causes the third impact killing probably millions...OUCH! It's like kicking down an already beat up puppy. To make matters worse, his old friends do not trust him anymore and he never was able to rescue Rei. Everything is once again thrown all at him, causing him unbelievable pain. Also, his father Gendo still does not care for him...things just don't go well for Shinji. However there is one more light of hope in his life. Kaworu becomes friends with Shinji and acts as the stool that keeps him standing in order for him to never give up. The friendship is incredibly well handled and much more believable than his short appearance in the TV series. The ending of the movie uses all of the above themes such as the friendship/relationship, Shinji's ongoing fight with depression and him trying desperately to make things better no matter what the cost. The ending is incredibly emotional and tragic because like I said before things just simply never go well for Shinji.

As for the plot point of his friends not trusting him, I believe that they have good reason. He not only killed millions, but he could potentially be used in a ploy by Nerv (who are the bad guys now) to crush the rebels. Them being not trusting towards him is understandable because they do not want to reveal their own plans to the enemy. Though I must admit, the rebels not revealing anything to Shinji at the end when he is about to make things worse was quite dumb on their part. Oh, and Asuka is still as annoying as ever!

The movie is incredibly well animated thanks in part to the large budget, and by god do they like to show it off! Many minutes are wasted with montages of preparing for battle. The other flaw with the movie is that not much of the actual plot is revealed and things are still incredibly clouded in mystery. That is to be expected in an Evangelion movie but I still wish they could have given us more instead of wasting our time with mech transformation sequences and some abnormally long pauses. Once again, to be expected in a Evangelion movie. I do wish they could have stepped away from these flaws though. Also, gratuitous pointless clone Rei nude scene...ONCE AGAIN, to be expected. LOL! Let's hope that the last movie at least resolves the plot and gives us the answers we want.

In the end, I enjoyed Evangelion 3.0. It ain't a masterpiece and has many flaws, but Shinji's depression psychology and friendship with Kaworu is the main focus of the story, and it does it extremely well. That is what this movie is about, a point critics tend to gloss over.

Evangelion 3.0, in my opinion, is the most enjoyable of the three rebuild movies so far in the four part movie series. I guess one reason is because it was a film I wasn't expecting. In the last two Rebuild movies, most fans of the original series, like myself, already knew what to expect as their stories unfolded. The first rebuild move 1.0 covers the first 6 episodes of the original T.V seriies. The second movie does seem to take a different direction in some parts of the story, but overall uses the same plot elements from the latter half of the T.V series ... to help tell its story. While the movie was good, it didn't seem to work as a film, since it was treated more live its T.V counterpart, and the pacing of the film seemed to be too fast as the director was trying to add too much information into the film, which failed to set an overall tone.

Evangelion 3.0 sets a tone for its audience that is so effective and mesmerizing. The story takes place 14 years after 3rd impact was avoided. Our main protagonist awakes inside a dark ship, where he finds his former guardian, Misato Katsuragi, as the captain of an anti-Nerv organization called Will-E. Their goal, as stated by Misato later in the movie, is to stop her former organization Nerv from preventing future Impacts from occuring. However what's so striking and captivating about the opening scene is how everyone seems to have a sense of hatred for Shinji. As he starts to ask questions about the past, he is treated with silence and looks of disgust from everyonne on board. The environment feels as if Shinji is on the lowest level od Dante's hell itself. Was Shinji's desperate act of heroism to save Rei in the last film, the real reason as to why the whole world is wrecked beyond repair? Who knows?

After the battleship Wunder successfully defeats the angel in the ocean. Shinji is again treated like crap from everyone on board. Even Asuka, the one girl he seemed to care for, has an unknown grudge against him, as she attempts to punch him through a glass wall. Did Shinji's actions alsso seem to have a bad impact on her. Once again, who knows? The fact that we as an audience know so little about the past and the effects it had on the people around him, icrease our intrigue in the fim, as we demand to know these answers. Later on, Shinji is rescued by the woman he believed he saved, Rei, and is taken back to the old ruins of Nerv. These ruins seem to be hell itself, as there is no lush of life, or anything inhabiting the old headquarters. They seem to be decaying in structure, and are stained in red. However one area of the ruins seems to be full of life, as it contains a boy, a piano, and a plant full of life.

Shinji quickly quickly befriends this boy known as Kaworu, as they bond by learning how to play the beautiful tune "Ode to Joy" Shinji also tries to talk to Rei, but seems to have no chance, as she doesn't remember anything about Shinji or what she did in the past. This leads to Shinji relying on Kaworu, as he appears to be his only chance at finding peace. However Kaworu cannot hide the truth of Shinji's past actions, as he shows Shinji the horrifying aftermath of the 3rd Impact he started. While Shinji does seem to be affected drastically by his actions. Kaworu later offers him the chance to redo the past by joining him in piloting an Eva.

The most tantalizing element of this movie is the lost hope and despair Shinji feels as he is revealed little by little about how much worse he has made the world. The tone is captured just right, and the pacing is just perfect as it lets the movie tell the story itself through Shinji's perspective. Add to that a great musical score composed by Shirô Sagisu, along with great camerawork and lighting, this film is a fun and engaging experience for any fan that wants something different. While the film leaves many questions unanswered, it does help set up for an exciting fourth and final installment.

Oh, Evangelion, the name alone manages to spark riots among avid fans of the series, emotional outbreaks over those who have loved and cared for the characters as they developed and the people like me, who are simply here for the ride in the hopes that Anno and his team will finally stop mindfucking us and give us an ending worth watching.

For those of you who don't know, i'll fill in what you may have missed before i go on to the actual review:
To cut a painfully long and complex story short, teenage pilots are called up to pilot giant mecha robots known as Evangelions ... to fight off the world's greatest threat known as Angels to prevent the Third Impact; a disaster which will inevitably cause the destruction of the human race.
In the series, our main protagonist, Shinji Ikari, who, due to many psychological defects such as a giant Guilt complex and something called Hedgehog's dilemma (the inability to become close to someone in the fear you may get hurt trying to get close to them) he is often seen running away from his fears rather than grabbing the bull by the horns and saying "screw this, i'll do what i want".
In the rebuild movies, however, the story is radically changed, adding in new characters, plot points and most importantly...personalities as Shinji, up to now, is a complete badass who ends up making selfish decisions that result in cataclysmic consequences because he simply doesn't give up.

Then 3.0 happened, and whatever 2.0 had built up in terms of character development and story had been completely re-written as not only is there a 14 YEAR time skip between movies, we never, at any point in the film, get to know what the hell happens and why things have panned out the way they have.
Is this a bad thing? No, the story itself is masterfully done which is honestly the least i expect from Hideaki Anno, but its done in a way which raises more questions than it answers, which many die-hard Eva fans such as myself will start to think "Its going to have another mindfuck ending" you see, this isnt so much of a film, its more of a transition piece between 2.0 and 4.0, it doesnt do much to move on the story, but focus on the relationship between Shinji and Kaworu, alot of things have yet to be explanied such as
-Who is WILLE?
-Why do they exist?
-What THE HELL happened in the 14 years?
-Why do Asuka and Misato treat Shinji like dirt?
-What is the point in Mari?

Sadly, none of this explained, and we just got what we got...

What we DID get was badass action scenes through and through, especially the whole Asuka-Neko Eva thing that i dont entirely understand, the hints of a more in-depth and overarching story that Eva fans are most likely shit scared of right now (I know i am) and most importantly, a fucking PIANO scene in which we see Shinji learn how to play the Piano via Osmosis as it takes him best part of 80 seconds to play an entire classical piece.

All joking aside, Evangelion 3.0 does not do much at all to move the story along, sure it gives you vital information in preparation for 4.0, but thats all it is...preparation.
The fight scenes are above-par i have to say, each sequence is heart pounding and for those who havent watched it yet, you will have no idea how these battles are going to end , especially the last one, where 5 friends are pitted against eachother for reasons we sadly do not know.
The dialogue is fantastic, using only relevant information and having its own blunt way of explaining things, sadly i have not seen the dub yet, but i've heard its very good and am looking forward to it!

People think that Anno has got his hands on the steering wheel again, and that this movie has substantially more religious undertones than the last two, but honestly i think people are just over-analysing it, i understand the story perfectly fine and my brain was barely switched on.
Another important point to mention is that if you're expecting character development for Mari or any other character that isnt Shinji or Kaworu, you're going to have a bad time i'm afraid

WARNING - SPOILER IMMINENT.

There is not a fine line between subtlety and senselessness. As with, there is an unmistakable difference between directing styles that allow an open interpretation with one that leaves the audience clueless. Q will leave you mostly clueless. It takes the questions posed in 2.0 and further complicates it, with new questions thrown at you along the way, without possibly having an answer. Evangelion as a whole have always been this way, but Q takes it up, more than just a notch.

I would like first to establish, from my point of view, what Q is and what Q is not:

1. Q is ... an alternate version of Episode 24, heavily altered and expanded. It is in all its glory, a psychoanalytic journey that dissects Ikari Shinji who is thrown into a world he no longer knows; every single person he cares about either bore a grudge on him or no longer care about him, for reasons unknown.

2. Q is a dialogue that is character driven. There is a plot but it hardly moves, significant in the big picture only because Gendo said what can be summed up as “JUST AS PLANNED”.

3. Q is not the answer to your questions. That much is obvious without even watching it.

4. Q is not overly complex. It is not “2deep4u”; it simply offers no explanation for a lot of things.

5. Q is not a standalone movie. While the idea that you should wait for 4.0 before giving a verdict is ridiculous, you should not judge it after watching it just once.

Now, let’s get to business.

“Ikari Shinji is awakened by WILLE, an organization that is aimed to defeat Nerv, led by Makoto Katsuragi and most of the staff that once worked for Nerv. He however, is treated with disdain by WILLE and even by Katsuragi, much to his confusion. Rei is nowhere to be found. While Shinji is forced to deal with the seemingly unjustified hatred aimed towards him, Nerv attacks WILLE and Shinji bears witness to a situation that further complexes his confusion.”

Q presents a rather extreme departure from what our common sense has led us to believe from the events in 2.0. The fact that Third impact in Q is not at all what we saw in 2.0 (to what is able of us) is the defining element of Q. It is frustrating how Anno chooses to justify this simply using a time skip, forcing us to fill in the blanks with assumptions without evidence.

Instead of relieving our questions since the 2009 premiere, Anno chose to dump even more of them. New Angels dubbed as the “Nemesis Series” with markedly different properties, how Eva 01 ended up in the Tesseract, a monologue by Kaworu that defies human understanding. Those are some among the many questions that begs answer you can’t possibly find before 4.0. And not just that; 4.0 might not even have an answer.

Like said before, 3.0 offers little in terms of plot progression since it is based on Ep 24; altered and lengthened whereas the previous movies although different from the series, still borrows elements than spanned several episodes. The only significance Q has in terms of plot is remarked by Gendo near the end, and is enigmatic at best.

We were also fooled by the preview for Q in 2.0, which is also something I am not a fan of. It also devalues the preview in Q itself. To me this is obviously trolling on Anno’s part.

But Q is not at all bad. No, I’m going to level with you here; Q is excellent.

If you’re one of those people who wanted an objective movie, steer clear. This is not for you. In fact, if you want an objective ending, Evangelion as a whole is not for you. Evangelion is not a lovey-dovey, heartwarming slice-of-life comedy moestory that is so laden nowadays, and Q is Evangelion with schizophrenia on LSD wielding a baseball bat on a Pterodactyl. When you see it, you won’t know what to make of it. If you liked 2.0 just because of the last scene where Shinji mans up and became God while trying to save Ayanami, you will be equally disappointed. Evangelion is depressing, cryptic, cynical, enraging and unresolvable, and I want it to stay that way.

What is Q about?

Q is about understanding a boy who is thrown into circumstances he couldn’t possibly have known. A boy who is hated for doing something he believed was right, with consequence nobody could’ve known. A boy who almost destroyed the human species unknowingly while trying to save a girl, how he copes with hatred and disdain he did not deserve, how he realized the girl is not saved, and how these piling burdens drive the dynamics of Shinji-Kaworu, who is the only person that consoled him and offers him the hope of salvation. Basically, Q is a story of teenage angst, times a billion. Q is about doing something right the only way you know how to, only to be blamed for it. Q is about Anno.

And I love it.

I was thrown into a movie without possibly understanding a significant part of it, yet this weakness fades in the face of Shinji’s struggle for salvation.

Up till know, I’ve watched the movie 3 times. I’ve referred to wikis, to /a/, to forums, so on and so forth. I’ve spent days looking up for plot weaknesses, analyzing them and discussing them. Plotholes remain plotholes but some things are to me debatable, and I have no qualms with the directing decision to opt them. An example would be about WILLE’s refusal to explain to Shinji about what he had caused; it is unnatural to act like WILLE had acted in this regard, but it is not impossible. The rationale is simply its function to drive the story the way Anno had intended; it is to me, a forgivable flaw.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all three times, each more than the previous. I am well aware of the fact that unless 4.0 is 3 hours long, Anno could not possibly answer all the stacked up question; what actually happened in the Near-Third Impact, “The vessel of Adams”, Kaworu’s senseless monologue, and is the Rei in Q the same Rei he thought he saved (which can explain the telepathy and Q-Rei’s self-hallucination). But he doesn’t have to either. In fact, I would prefer that he’ll just disregard the smaller questions and only go to those that have a major impact (some mentioned just now).

It should be of no surprise if Q serves mainly as a preparation for 4.0. I would say that I am left wanting for more and now my head may probably explode due to the pent-up hunger for answers. But at the end of it, I am extremely pleased with Q. I hope Anno would continue to expand his idea and I hope that 4.0 will be amazing. I wish to Anno, good luck and all the best, only wanting him to know that he has created something truly unique and personal, even if it was just expanding from his oldl idea.

Not everyone likes Evangelion, and not everyone likes Q. But for those of you who do, don’t let what others say affect you.

Apparently, a lot of hate for the new Eva movie comes from the fact that the movie essentially pressed the reset button after the end of the second movie and threw away certain plot elements and stuff that were established beforehand. This isn’t really a surprise to me given that even before it came out, I knew that the script for the movie had been rewritten numerous times before and after the second movie came out (in fact, the second movie and Evangelion as a whole are the product of a bunch of rewrites) and I knew that the chances of seeing the scenes from ... that initial Eva Q preview were nil. I was also aware of that time skip thing due to accidentally glancing at the MAL summary (why?) when I went there to see what was up. Yeah, that time skip. That’s pretty much the reset button that apparently got pressed in the audience’s mind. What do I say to that? Bollocks. And I’m not even English.

I had an idea of what Evangelion Q was going to be like once the subtitle came out. You know, that You Can (Not) Redo thing right next to the 3.0? Yeah, the other two Eva movies had those subtitles as well and lived up to them effectively. Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone gave Shinji a mother figure with Rei when all the other characters shunned him and Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance tried to have the characters mature, only to be brought down by forces beyond their control. Since the second movie ended with the Third Impact occurring due to Shinji’s “growing a spine” it makes sense that the next movie would be set on trying to reverse the damage caused by it. And failing miserably, because Evangelion says “fuck that shit”. We’re not that Shaft magical girl show we keep getting compared too. We’re Evangelion, bitch!

Yeah, while the movie was obviously not what was originally intended, I fail to see how it has jumped the shark or reset anything of any kind, especially considering how events played out, both in regards to what happened previous and what happened here. The basic gist of the story is this: Shinji fucked up and caused EoE to happen, only people actually survive it —-> he gets thrown in a harsh world that he caused and is depressed b/c his GAR moment from the last movie worked against him —-> he tries to make things right —-> he fucks up again because the reset button does not exist in Evangelion —-> he gets sent into even more depression —-> movie ends. There’s a couple of other details, but that’s what happened in a nutshell. And I’m failing to see where Eva went wrong regarding that. Or is it the basic plot line people don’t like? To which I ask, why?

Evangelion has always been about personal failure and how it affects the mind. One of the biggest draws (and biggest weaknesses) is, and has always been, Shinji’s fall from grace. And that’s what this film gave us: Shinji going through hell and having his mind broken because he keeps fucking up. The only thing that’s different is how they put him through that hell: utilizing a trope all too common in anime, and then reversing it for maximum impact. This was done in the second movie too, except Eva Q moved on from mocking super robot shows to mocking Jun Maeda’s endings. And let me tell you right now, it was fucking fantastic to see Shinji depressed, filled with hope to the point of overconfidence, and then more depressed than ever when he realized that trying to reset everything just makes things worse. Especially since I don’t like reset button endings and I think whoever invented should be tarred and feathered for the rest of his miserable life.

And I loved how they showed it too. Similar to how AKB0048 uses its flash as a way to both support and attack the idol industry whilst giving fan service, Evangelion Q uses its flashy robot fights and other fan-pandering elements to keep the audience’s attention whilst exemplifying just how determined our characters are in their goals that are doomed for failure, particularly when Shinji is concerned. In fact, every complaint I see from a detractor is just another positive to the show to me. Shinji never getting to see the outside world, instead trapped in a dark isolated place where he can only mostly assume how dangerous it is outside? Dug it because what’s assumed is usually much more damaging than what you actually know, especially if you’re alone. Kaworu warming up to Shinji so easily? Considering Shinji’s mental state at the time, it makes perfect sense. The way we’re just thrown into this new world without much of an explanation and we’re never really given one (like how the resistance group was formed and why piloting an Eva prevents you from aging)? Reflects Shinji’s state of mind quite well, so why not? There’s even some good old mindfuck thrown into the movie. Maybe not as much as the series, but it’s still there.

I never thought this message got lost by all the distractions this movie had (and believe me, I noticed quite a few). Yes, Mari remains all but useless except to be an extra pair of tits. Yes, there’s quite a few communication problems. Yes, we don’t actually get to explore this destroyed world and what happened to characters like Shinji’s high school friends or Kaji or whatever. Yes, they might have overdone the robot fights a bit. But in the end, I don’t think any of those are important to the plot, and I think the plot itself kept its focus on what it was trying to do the entire time.

I loved the directions this movie took. And I am definitely buying the fucking Blu-Ray when Funi eventually puts it out.

This is my first review and I feel that this is an appropriate movie to review first because of its (i feel) incredibly skewed MAL reviews that might turn viewers off.

First of all let's get the basics out of the way:
Art and Sound were both amazing, and you shouldn't expect less from something that has as much budget as this movie did. Utada Hikaru's "Sakura Nagashi" is no doubt the highlight of the soundtrack, and you should definitely not skip the credits because of it.

Now for the messy stuff:
First of all, I am not an old Evangelion fan like many people are. People seem to ... think that the show's popularity stems from simple nostalgia when I am living proof that it is not. I watched NGE a few months ago and it is easily one of my favorite animes and probably always will be. Not because it is a perfect display of writing and animation or anything, but because I emotionally connected with the characters.

I personally disliked 1.0 and 2.0 and in my opinion they don't even reach half of the emotional depth that NGE reached. I was very surprised to see such good scores of those two films on here. Before I watched 3.0, I was prepared for the worst. I mean I was seeing these reviews that label this movie as a 'cop-out' and stuff, so I figured this was going to suck.

Turns out that people were wrong... Like always. What I've definitely learned most from this film is DON'T WORSHIP MAL REVIEWS. Especially with series like Evangelion. I'll say this: 1.0 and 2.0 are ONLY worth watching so you can get to 3.0, it's the only really good Eva movie of the three.

While watching this movie, I couldn't help thinking "YES! This is what EVA is! Not what 1.0 and 2.0 was!"
You'll find plenty of long, atmospheric shots that I longed for in the first two movies. You'll find a plot with more questions than answers that I longed for in the first two movies. You'll find twists and turns that I longed for in the first two movies.

A lot of great NGE stuff is here! And people don't appreciate it...

Most importantly: MINIMAL FAN SERVICE! Yes!! Screw the fan service that plagued the first two movies! Sexual content is fine when it serves a purpose, like it did in NGE, but completely dehumanizes characters when used like it was in 1.0 and 2.0. Not to mention they had an entire character (tits glasses) devoted to fan service who is confirmed to serve no purpose in the series. What a waste of screen time. If the Mari character was removed, OR if she was an actual GOOD character, then these movies would have been much better.

Anyway, I think the reason for the bad reviews is due to people awaiting another movie like 1.0 and 2.0. THESE same people probably didn't like NGE and hated episodes 25 and 26 and/or EoE.

But i'll tell you right now, if you liked NGE including episodes 25 and 26 then chances are that you will like this rebuild the most out of the three! So if you were like me, disappointed at the first two movies and unsure about the third, WATCH IT!

The main problem people have with this movie is that it is ambiguous. That's not a problem, that's an asset! That's amazing! Viewers should be able to interpret a movie based on what they see instead of being banged over the head over and over with plot and exposition. That's what happened in 1.0 and 2.0.

I hope that 4.0 leaves more questions than answers. People are made because they think this is a setup film for 4.0, which I guess it is. (So was 1.0 but people didn't have a problem with that...) The ending is definitely implying that. But I REALLY hope that it's not. I hope 4.0 doesn't answer everything. That's what good media is all about. Don't cater to the masses who just want transformers: evangelion. Make it enigmatic and make it amazing!

You have to be open minded when watching this movie. People say that it does not work as a 'stand alone'. In my opinion, it does. If this was the last rebuild movie, it's still be great in my books. What did the three do after the last shot? Well, think of that yourself.

basically, screw the haters, this is the best rebuild movie (still not as good as NGE though) and I will defend that. It's just so INTERESTING. Stop being so closed MINDED! And I hope Anno trolls everyone in 4.0 and makes it a summary or something. That would be amazing. But a normal movie would also be cool.

9/10

Based off the two previous Rebuild of Evangelion movies, 3.0 takes the cake for being the movie that really sets Evangelion in a much radical and different direction that's foreign to even the most hardcore Evangelion fans. Arguably, Evangelion 3.0 is a step closer in the direction of a much more darker Rebuild movie that is almost on the levels of its original roots from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Evangelion 1.0 was merely a summary of the events of the first half of Neon Genesis Evangelion, while Evangelion 2.0 offers a gradual diverge from the original series and ended on an optimistic note. With 3.0, it's ... this type of film that thrusts you into a whole new atmosphere you will (not) be ready for, no matter how many times you re-watch it. This is only natural however as there's still one more movie left to go with a lot more material to explain and cover. So, what exactly does 3.0 offer?

To start off, I must emphasize that it is not recommended to make the same mistake I did and drop it within the first ~30min of 3.0. The reason I mention this is because the first 30min of 3.0 is arguably the most jarring part of the film that leaves you scratching your head, or worse, feeling frustrated. This is because nearly nothing makes sense at all, as characters you once knew in previous installments of Evangelion are now acting as if they did a complete 180 on their personality. Nearly everyone exhibits a state of being cold, angry, and uncaring. Not to also mention, NERV is not a single entity but instead branched off into a rogue organization known as Wille. Details behind the "who, what, and why" are never disclosed, which is quite a pitfall in the story telling considering the 14 year time-skip that took place; what you saw as a preview from Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance is not applicable to this film at all.

On top of that, spoken dialogue by the Wille staff (which features most of the former NERV employees) consists of a lot of technical babble that is not explained to the viewer, rendering the viewer feeling at a state confusion. Granted, even in the original Neon Genesis Evangelion, the NERV staff would spew out technical terms that wouldn't make complete sense, but at least you got the idea that "Pattern: BLUE" meant the enemy was an Angel or when the psycho graphs went crazy, it meant the Evangelion pilot was in deep trouble. For 3.0's case, it's not entirely easy to figure out what Wille's objective was during the "decisive battle" sequences. At the very least, you can infer that Wille is trying to combat Angel related beings, even though the unknown attackers behave in odd ways, even stranger than your average Angel threat. However, not every character is trying to make you play the guessing game. Thankfully, our main character, Shinji Ikari, is the pinnacle boy that the audience can sympathize with. Why? As you will quickly notice, Shinji will also be entirely and utterly confused, lost, and frustrated just as the audience is. If anything, this is director Anno's clever spin of Evangelion to make the audience of naysayers as well as fans of Shinji to be able to sympathize with this character more easily; the whole cast around him are far too alienated away from the audience, as there's not much choice but to default and rely on Shinji to help progress and make sense of what's going on.

As the movie presses forward, a familiar (iconic) character makes his appearance: Kaworu Nagisa. Similar to how Kaworu interacts with Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion, he is no different in 3.0. This is the only character in the film to make the audience breathe sigh of relief knowing that there is at least someone else that will open up to Shinji and make better sense of what's going on.

Not only that, but Kaworu has more screen-time compared to Neon Genesis Evangelion, which can be seen as a good thing since it allows the viewers to see a more developed Kaworu. Watching up to this point is rather important as you will see how they fit some explanations into 3.0 with the events that took place in 2.0 to a degree.

One of the high points of this movie however is the OST. While the last two Rebuild movies recycled some old Neon Genesis Evangelion tracks with a modern spin to it, 3.0 takes a bold approach and actually consists of new unheard Evangelion tracks. Only a few NGE tracks transgress into 3.0, such as an altered musical score of "Decisive Battle" which is still just as good as the ones featured in previous Evangelion installments. To further elaborate how well the rest of the OST did, it's really a mash-up of various musical elements thrown into each individual track. Usually, one might say opera singers, electronic bits, classical instruments, and guitars would make a terrible soundtrack. To my surprise, 3.0 does exceptionally well to use such aspects and create an epic-aspiring piece to help the movie stand on a leg; "The Ultimate Soldier" and "God's message" being prime examples. Oddly enough, while this movie isn't as merry as the past two Evangelion movies (well as merry as you can get when it comes to Evangelion), the OST helps keep a hopeful tone in the atmosphere throughout the movie without many depressing themes.

Animation wise, some of it is rather decent. The reason I say decent is because while the quality is there, like in the previous two films, it's a little over the top. For instance, a whole sequence is dedicated to seeing this new and unheard of aircraft, called the Wunder, take off from the sea and unneeded CGI takes up screen-time. In some ways, it doesn't blend well with the rest of the anime as the CGI will stand out too much. In other areas, it is lackluster, as the CGI is mostly used for objects not used for action sequences and eye candy seen most notably in 2.0. When CGI isn't a major glarring issue, it's still worth a viewing experience, especially towards the end where the animation is pleasant to see accompanied by a "godly" OST.

Overall, gathering from this review, it may seem I was displeased with Evangelion 3.0, and you would be correct. As most of us know at this point, Anno is not one to cater and spoon feed to his fanbase, no matter how much we kick and scream; 3.0 definitely expresses this bombastic notion. However, I feel it is too early to jump on the band wagon and say this is the the most horrendous Evangelion movie I've ever seen. While I did 'rage quit' the first time I watched this, the more I looked into it and read up others' take and interpretation of 3.0, the more it didn't seem like such a bad movie. What I mainly want to applaud this film for however is how effectively Anno was able to mess with the audience's emotions and actually feel like you were literally in Shinji's shoes. Other than that, take it as you will and brace for the most confusing Evangelion movie at the current point in time until 4.0 is released to hopefully clear up the story better.

SEE! EVANGELION... IN THE FUTURE!

SEE! EVANGELION... IN SPACE!

Taglines suited for a Mel Brooks treatment of anime's headiest mecha drama, but oddly apt as well in the case of Evangelion 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo (I didn't have the pleasure of a theatrical screening of 3.0), which jetisons generally familiar stomping ground to weave a new story. That it has been paired with a live action/CGI Studio Ghibli short which fits neatly into Nausicaa continuity is particularly curious, as one might expect such a short to be more controversial by the nature of its medium. But Evangelion is not a production ... to be shown-up.

In all fairness, this film is a mixed bag that tends towards greatness, hampered by trying to do too much in too short a run time. In its opening, it immediately makes clear that its audience is the least of its concerns - you want a conventional opening? You want to know what's going on at every single moment? Not happening on either count. And what an opening! It's the movie's strongest scene; remember reading about how much engineering went into The End of Evangelion's Mass Production Eva fly-in shot? I'd hate to know how much of the Redo budget was spent on the first few minutes, but it was well worthwhile. The imagery recalls a psychedelic trip out of the Japanese-set 2009 Cannes competitor Enter the Void: a fractal which changes little by little in a dark and empty distance until we at last see Unit 2.

The opening battle scene is a fantasia of action. As we watch Shinji watching it, we have about as much an idea of what's going on as he does. But that does not detract from the beauty of the mad rush. Switching from high-octane spectacle to snail's pace exposition, the movie does somewhat falter. The entrance of Rei Ayanami is especially clunky and worthy of criticism. But it can almost be forgiven as the story, alternately fat and thin, continues to unspool. Visual references are made to NGE Episode 24, which might be the only thing audiences expected upon entering theaters or popping in the disc; but visual references to Episode 25? Color this reviewer surprised.

Jeers are already filed panning the re-write of Shinji's relationship with Kaworu as more on par with fan fiction than official Eva-dom. Although the dynamics of this supremely important relationship are largely new, it only keeps with the rest of the film's odd new world. For as much fault as could be levied on too-short treatment of the pair, at least that much keeps with the television source material! Meanwhile, Fuyutsuki's role is made significantly more important; while setting a Shogi board, the man drops more bombs on Shinji's perception of reality than the JSDF dropped on the Third Angel. Indeed, we and Shinji are caught-up on the backstory principally by way of three conversations over the course of the film. None of them are integrated well by the script.

Whereas the NGE television series was renowned for the intricacy of its plotting, the third Rebuild feature cannot boast much beyond stunning novelty. Had it been any less stunning, it would have been unforgivable. The impression can come across that as Anno retreads his material for the umpteenth time, his heart is less committed while his aim to abuse his audience's sensibilities increases (when he considers the audience at all). We will not be able to rule definitively on this film until the next is released, which fact is, itself, is a troubling weakness. Its own pitfalls aside, the second in the Rebuild series was alone a staggering achievement in transforming the Evangelion mythos. Had more time been spent making it less obscure, the third feature could have been the jewel in the Rebuild crown. As it stands and will likely remain, it is the most incomplete of the new movies, a nouvelle cuisine entree served mysteriously lacking some sine qua non. Here's hoping the conclusion of this "thoroughly modern," multi-course meal is, itself, more satisfying.

For those who aren't aware of what the Rebuild of Evangelion series is about, it's pretty much the Neon Genesis Evangelion series with changes there and there and an ending that's promised not to be a complete failure. Also it gives eyegasms and eargasms to any person that watches this movies, which is expected for an anime that has such a big budget. But does You Can (Not) Redo live up to the hype that the outstanding You Can (Not) Advance set for the audience? The answer is well, rather difficult to say.

Fourteen years have passed since the last movie, which had a very strange ... ending that wasn't explained to the viewer and I expected it to be explained properly here. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Evangelion 2.0 ended with the so-called Third Impact as a consequence to Shinji doing...something. So our protagonist wakes up after all that time not having aged and he doesn't understand why. The problem is that throughout the movie, you'll be as confused as Shinji here. Several plot devices that appear here just come and you'll have to swallow it like that food your mother used to make that you didn't like. A few more things happen and the film ends. Like seriously, I'm not even joking. Stuff such as the two spears in the end is never explained why things happen when you interact with them, no one ever explains to us what does waking the EVA up means, nobody explains to us why it took this new organization, WILL-E (who want to throw down NERV for whatever reason), fourteen years to find Shinji's body on the EVA. All those plot holes can be slightly ignored due to the fact that 4.0 has yet to come out and they may be answered, but if not this movie could throw all the amazing work 1.0 and 2.0 did out of the window.

If you recall the extremely popular and controversial anime Sword Art Online, one of the main problems it had is that the time-skips didn't show the characters evolve or gradually turn into different people, they simply changed because the plot demanded it. Here, sadly, it's the same case. The characters are the weak point of 3.0. Shinji had become a much more likeable person in 2.0, much manlier, let's say, not letting his emotions show off like a seven year old kid playing Call of Duty. But now, due to all this mess that's happening to him, he's back to his whiny side. However, I think that (finally) it's acceptable that he's a wuss, because you know, thinks are pretty different from what he remembers. Rei is literally a different character, for reasons you'll find out when you watch the movie. She's as dead as she was in the beginning of 1.0, all that development for nothing. Asuka remains still pretty tsundere-ish, although we're not explained how the hell did she survive from that event on You Can (Not) Advance.

However, the biggest problem here and what makes the character aspect of 3.0 mediocre is Misato. On the other movies, Misato cared a lot for people, never took things too seriously and was extremely close to Shinji. On this movie, we see she's not like that. She doesn't speak much, she's cold and even hesitates wheter if she should KILL Shinji or not. What's even worse is that if she had talked a little bit to the protagonist about what has happened the whole movie wouldn't exist. Why is she like this? The movie doesn't tell us. We have to bear with it.

What about the new introduced members of the crew? They appear only in the first scene. To never talk again. What about Kaworu, that white haired guy? He is the most likeable of all the characters here, but, there are still problems. Why does he care so much for Shinji when they just met? How did he come into being? It is seen in the movie that he can survive in conditions normal humans can't, but why? Fuck knows. Gendo and Fuyutsuki have around 20 lines together and Mari still seems like she's only for fanservice particularly in that scene in the end where her boobs jiggle around like jelly.

Saving the rather average aspects of the movie is the Art and Sound. Evangelion 3.0 looks beautiful, every little piece of detail that's added in the backgrounds still blows my mind. The movements are never rough, everything extremely "soft" let's say. There is always something to look at, the scenes in the movie as alive as they could be, except for that LSD piano song. As for the music, the epic soundtracks still fit the action packed anime that Evangelion is, particularly that tense song in the ending.

Overall, did I enjoy Evangelion 3.0? Well, yes I did. Maybe it's that dear spot that the Rebuild series goes in my heart, that feeling where I can understand most of what's going on that I didn't have in the original series (which, might I add, isn't the case here). The animation, the soundtrack and the outstanding first minutes just kept me thrilled throughout the whole movie. It's just that lasting appeal which dropped more and more that left me with a bittersweet flavour in my mouth. That and the rather short length of the movie for what they were trying to go for. You see, while the "action" begins right when the movie starts, the plot begins 50 minutes into the movie. It seems like that even the developers knew this due to them showing us viewers the title of the movie "Evangelion 3.0" at that moment when they sort of explain to us what originated this much destruction in the world. This wouldn't have been a problem in a movie like The Disappearance of Haruhi, which starts slow but is an hour longer than this.

You should watch Rebuild of Evangelion, including this one. It may have been a huge disappointment, but it's still pretty good and my expectations are really high for 4.0, with hope that they will explain all the loose ends this movie has.

I have a hard time writing reviews for things I particularly enjoyed, as I fear I would be doing them a disservice, but I'm going to attempt to review this movie anyway.
Many people have criticized the third Evangelion movie as being far removed from the original series. Respectfully, I would agree to disagree. The second movie has almost nothing to do with canon, yet is the highest rated media from the franchise. Regardless of it's intention, I did not enjoy the non-canon fanservice trash that was the second rebuild movie, and I will die on that hill. I am told the first is supposed to ... be an accurate portrayal of show, the second is supposed to be the creator's interpretation of the fandom/the fandom's interpretation of the franchise, while the third is how he himself views it. If this is true, then man does the fandom have a scary interpretation of the franchise. The second movie ends with Shinji throwing away his own life in an attempt to save Rei. The third movie only builds off of what was already established.
We start off with Shinji finding out he has been essentially out of commission for the past 14 years, and is nearing age 30. He threw away his adult life in an attempt to rescue Rei, ever the metaphor for waifu culture and escapism. Despite wasting his adult life, he has not aged. He still has the body(and mentality) of a traumatized 14 year old boy. I fear this probably hits many hardcore anime fans a little too close to home. Shinji leaves his responsibilities behind in an attempt to seek out his escapism(Rei), only to find out that his waifu is hollower than ever. She does not have thoughts, feelings, or wants of her own; she is a doll. He begins to seek out escapism in other ways after finding out his waifu was never real, where we finally encounter Kaworu. One of my biggest criticisms of the original franchise was that we only got to see Kaworu for one episode before his tragic death, and that I wished we had gotten more characterization. Man, does this movie make up for it. Kaworu is a nihilist, but not a negative one. He more or less chooses to accept his fate as life continues to throw him for loop after loop. He is calm, affectionate, and friendly. He is the friend we all wish we had, and it is easy to see why Shinji turned to him for his escapism. I see Kaworu as a character bound by his own idea of fate, believing that he cannot change his purpose in life and must follow what he was created for and this movie is no exception to that interpretation. The one time Kaworu attempts to change his fate, he is punished for it, in yet another tragic and gory death.
My biggest criticism of this movie is that immediately after Kaworu's tragic death our emotions are interrupted by a completely unnecessary boob jiggle scene. I really don't know why the animators thought to put the one fanservice scene there out of all places, but damn did it ruin an otherwise amazing movie.
I've seen a few people complain about how Shinji ruining everything over and over is not canon/accurate, but I would agree to disagree that this was the exact kind of feeling the original franchise was attempting to convey with the infamous Hospital Scene; the feeling that one has messed up so badly that they can never make up for it. While having Shinji cause the third impact is much less controversial/offensive, I do understand why many feel like that is exactly why it may not have the same emotional impact. We see him beating himself up, but it's much less relatable to the audience. While we can all relate to the feeling of thinking that we ruined everything, we can't relate to literally doing so. I think the Hospital Scene may actually do this a lot better. Shinji was misguided and traumatized when he caused the third impact, but sexual assault is an unarguably unforgivable act, it is objectively disgusting, and it is a stark contrast to the Shinji from the beginning of the show who was extremely guilty about accidentally walking in on Rei changing. It allows us to see exactly how the character has degraded over time. It reminds me a little bit of Breaking Bad, where we see Walter White writing out a list of pros and cons in the first season on why he should or shouldn't kill someone who wishes to kill him, but by the last season he has no guilt whatsoever about poisoning a child in order to trick someone he abused into helping him kill someone who wants to hurt him. Yes, I dared to mention a piece of mainstream media in an anime review, please don't shoot me.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie a lot, and I can't wait to see what the 4th and final one has in store.

The third movie in the Rebuild of Evangelion quartet does not disappoint. Being the penultimate film does not cause it to flounder in any way, as is common in series longer than 3 installments. The fourth film is set up nicely while providing an exciting and well made story.

The animation, as with the previous 2 films, is gorgeous. Even if you are not a fan of the Evangelion series, you should watch these films just to appreciate how beautiful they are. One of my favorite things about these, which occurs again here, is how animation is to its fullest extent in ways live action could ... never do. Besides the intense and stylized fights and the fantastic creatures and scenery, the animation changes, getting choppier and more frantic as the walls of reality break down. I have seen similar techniques used in fight scenes in Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Casshern Sins, but I believe it is most impressive in the Rebuild of Evangelion series.

I’m afraid I can’t comment on the voice acting, as I watched the film in Japanese. The previous two films’ English cast has been astounding, and from what I could gather, it is the same in their native tongue.

The film is not perfect, though. It takes a while to set up and I often found myself questioning what exactly was going on. This is something one comes to expect from Evangelion, though, despite the reassurances that this new movie series would be more “accessible.”

For more of my reviews, go to tuesdaysdusk.tumblr.com/tagged/review

Well this is my first review for this site. I was considered lucky to be Japan while this movie was screened as i know many of us out of Japan are still waiting.

Ok down to the review. This movie is pretty much different from its predecessor of the Rebuild series, That i believe even the old fans of the Neon Genesis Evangelion Series would feel alienated. This current entry of Evangelion 3.0 shows the devastation and the loss of humanity thanks to the protagonist's action in 2.0. This leaves a big gap between 2.0 and 3.0 that leads many plot holes. For those who are ... new to Evangelion, this will be confusing. Taking all of these out, Evangelion 3.0 is nicely crafted, the battle scenes are awesome, composing, and great art and definitely one of the best animated film for 2012.

The only disappointment from my view would be the characters, new characters over here show little development in this film due to plot pacing.

I watched the movie the moment the Blu-Ray came out, and let me tell you, I've sit on this one for a long time.

At first, I was going with the crowd saying that this movie wasn't good, that it was a 6, that it lacked what Eva had. But I was wrong. The movie has everything Eva has, but in different aspects, this is not the classic Eva tale, and we gotta accept that this story is not a remake, but a new universe. And it still follows the Eva themes and stories.

The story puts us on the same spot as Shinji, we don't know ... what the hell is happening at first, but little by little we discover what is happening and the truths behind it, it's a story that unwraps and shows more and more until the end. I liked that, and in a format of a movie, it fits well. - 9

The art is a centerpiece of the entire movie, the CGI is what you expect on 2012, looks great, and it aged well compared to newer anime in 2019-2020. The 2d looks gorgeous, the art impressive, you can notice how they gave it the full movie treatment, the colors pop and from the tang to the scenery you can feel the colors. - 10

Audio is classic evangelion, has everything you expect, from the alarm sounds, mech sounds, explosions, everything even the weird sounds that happen in between, the angels, holy molly it's a mix of sounds that you will recognize and will set you at home. The soundtrack is gorgeous, using choruses and piano, out of this world - 10

Character is built right, specially if you watched the last movie (3.0+1-0) where you can see the changes, you aren't supposed to know why they changed, you are in Shinji's shoes most of the time, you are as lost as him, so this aura of mystery on what is changed makes this more intriguing and makes some of the moments more powerful, the only constant, is Kaworu which, if you've seen 2.0, is the same. Trying to make Shinji happy. - 9

Overall I enjoyed it a lot, after watching it 3-4 times after that 2012 watch, it just hit me the 2nd watch and it's pretty amazing. (10 for enjoyment)

Most people go into the "why you changed this or that" or "how you dare to take eva and do this with it, story was perfect at the end reeee..." but trust me, don't take this as a remake of eva, this is a new eva, a new story, a new universe, a new take and option for those characters to redeem themselves, maybe they do it, maybe not, but it's always good to try for Shinji and co.

I'm feeling a Light to Strong 9 on this one. Tran...


Sition!

i actually really enjoyed this movie, in comparison to what most people say after they watch. it had many elements that were previously not seen in evangelion before that i think actually elevate the story.

story - 9
while i do think it was an incredible film, i do understand why others dislike the story. it’s occasionally slow and there’s very little excitement, it being mostly built around shinji’s reaction to the world around him. i personally like this, won’t the exploration of lore being really interesting to me, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. i do wish something else happened with the plot, but ... i think it was okay.

art - 10
i dont want to say a lot here, because its obvious that the art was just spectacular and up to scratch with everything else evangelion related.

sound - 10
the soundtrack to this film was, as the other films, really good. i wish there were more moments where we could've heard some of the really iconic pieces though.

character - 10
first off: i love the contrast between the characters. shinji still being an immature, severely impacted teenage boy in comparison to how everyone else has changed is really impactful in my opinion. rei’s character was interesting as i actually saw a development of her character in the film, which gives me questions as to how they’ll use her in 4.0. i’m left rather intrigued by the likes of misato and asuka, but the only character which i think is underdeveloped is mari. i’m disappointed there’s no in depth exploration into this newer character, but it didn’t distract me too much from my favourite character in the film: kaworu. i love how kaworu has been used in this film. his previous appearances in the other rebuilds gave me the impression he would be rather important later on, and i was correct. in my opinion, kaworu serves the purpose of being the one person who truly loves shinji unconditionally, as even the other characters who cared for shinji, such as misato, don’t consider his life as valuable.
i love how the film shows more sides to kaworu, which was relieving as i was concerned he wouldn’t really have much of a personality.

enjoyment - 10
i really did enjoy this film. i love stuff like this that can be slow or dragged out but still serves a purpose. i love the shift in mood and i love the portrayal of character.

over all - 10
this movie was just really good. the best aspect for me was character, but unfortunately the worst being story. although, the art and characters and my love for the series override most of the issues i have.

"Shinji, from now on .... you won't do anything"

I WILL TRY NOT TO PUT DEEPER INTO A QUESTION OF SPOILERS, SINCE I STRONGLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS FILM.

Evangelion 3.33 is the penultimate movie in this Evangelion Rebuilds saga, and it is the most disastrous and confusing in many ways, but for me, it is one of the best movies I have ever seen.

Story:In a nutshell, this is confusing and inexplicable, perhaps many people were eager to see how the story unfolded after what happened in 2.22, the story of this movie makes a stop in everything but that at the same time advances, there ... are many things that are counting but you don't know what the hell is going on until you get to a point where you give up and you only watch the story just to see what happens.
I try to develop this but there is no correct explanation, more than that many people have tried to analyze and make theories about what the hell happens in 3.33. I think many of us know that what destroyed this is that ellipsis of years

Art:Perhaps one of the reason I wanted to see 3.33 is the drastic change in animation, and good grief is very beautiful and epic, I could say that the movie has 60% CGI AND 40% 2D animation and no problem since it doesn't bother as much or Sometimes the CGI is very opaque. I swear I love the character design too much

Sound:
the soundtrack, is the thing that stands out the least in this movie, I can't talk so much about this, perhaps the ost that sounds while the section occurs is the most outstanding, but already the rest is very meh.

Characters: oh boy came what I wanted most to talk about.

Perhaps another reason that this movie would not be liked is because of Shinji's attitude ... I guess.

but for me Shinji Ikari is the best of this movie, be it for his behavior, his intrigue, his despair, his depression, it can be justified because Shinji is like that at the beginning and end of the movie.

I have even come to the point of comparing ourselves with Shinji, since he does not know anything about what is happening, or when he will see an answer of something summary to 5 words and already, even at the moment of the interrogation they could have explained a little more about what the hell is going on, but they only tell him one thing, "you can't pilot the Eva and if you do you die", instead of deepening the thing and thus coming to reason, I think if that had happened, 3.33 would be a different movie.

Perhaps the other characters do not shine as bright as Shinji and can be understood, since we are seeing almost if Shinji's perspective of what happens in 3.33, perhaps it is to introduce you to this new world or just to pause the story

Enjoyment:How can I say 3.33 is a movie that can be enjoyed a lot, either by history, which I say is a negative point to this, but you can create your own theories about what happens or what the hell happened in those 14 years.

Overall:3.33 is one of my favorite anime movies, more in itself due to the development of the character that Shinji has since most of them do not come out so much in the movie, as I said before the negative point is the main story, you may try to drive us in the skin Shinji of not knowing anything and the fool is to understand things at the last moment (since they tell him 1 second before something catastrophic happens) but it is not almost a justification for literally not explaining something.

Anyway, it is a movie that I will always enjoy and I will never get bored of watching it,

Can I recommend it highly? Yes and no.

If you are a person who bothers you that they do not explain anything to you, it is not your movie.

First off , I will score this movie on its own merit , and not how it compairs to the orignal series.
That would be both unfair and pointless.

This is the 3rd installment of the Evangelion rebuild movies.
The first one was a less nuanced rendition of the first few episodes of the show.
The second one was a 2 hour long fanserivce extravaganza

And now this one.
Right of the bat we see that we wont be getting a faithfull rendition to the show.
This is ok since a rehash would be boring anyway.
The new style seems way more focussed on one character and his current ordeal , rather than ... a multitude of characters and their past.
In a movie you dont have time or correct pacing to explore 10 characters to the extent of the show.
So they didn't.

This movie however explores the darker , psychological side of EVA , all be it with way less nuance.

The audio visual experience is top notch , better than 1.0 and way better than 2.0' style , which just became boring after 2 hours of robots and boobs.
The more lengthy dialogue heavy scenes , which take up more than half the movie are interesting and are a good change of pace from the very exiting action sequences.

The movie exhibits a bit of edgyness to shock its audience , this may be a bit cheap , but since they simply dont have time to explore all the characters and build up thension , they had very little choice.
It may be a weak spot , but it did not deter harshly from the overall experience.

The contents of the movie are completely original , nothing here is a retelling of the show.

This movie has shinji and koworu as the biggest characters , their dialogue exchanges are well written are dont suffer from the boredom and plain annoyance that 2.0's lengthy action scenes induced in me.

Characters like Rei and misato get little screentime , and when they do show , they dissapoint.
Mari at this point seems like shes here because she was in 2.0 , so she has to.

In the end , we have had a lot of facets of the original evangelion that were explored in the movies.

The only thing missing is character and backstory , 4.0 is our only hope for that.