Reviews

I'm not going to write about the plot of this movie since its essentially a remake of the first 6 episodes of the show shot for shot but with better animation and crisper visuals. But let me get one thing out of the way first, I FREAKING LOVED the original EVA series. Here we were with our boring and repetetive mech shows, and there came EVA to turn it all upside down along with all of anime. Also, End of Evangelion is not only an anime masterpiece, but a masterpiece in pure animation filmmaking.

I'm going to jump right in and tell whats different in this remake. Not a lot actually. The first 2/3s of the film are essentially hi-def remakes of the first 4 episodes. Its not until the last 1/3 when the sniper angel fight is fought where the changes start coming at you. The final angel fight is way different, and almost better than the original. Some important stuff is revealed to Shinji a lot earlier than before, and Kaoru has a grand entrance on the moon. Yep, you heard me, on the MOON (that big object in outerspace that orbits the earth, in case I didnt EMPHASIZE that last point enough.)

The best thing about this film is revisiting this universe. Hideaki Anno, the show's creator, is striving to reinterpret his masterpiece with this new set of moives, and this first one does a great job of setting up new material to come, while at the same time remaining completely faithful about what EVA is really all about.

However, that's also where part of the movie's problems lie. Most of the movie is nothing new though, and you'll have to wait unitl the next 2 movies and the finale to really see the drastic changes Anno is making in this reinterpreted version of EVA. Also, this really isn't an issue, but as such a fan of the original series, this new movie set will never replace the original. The original Evangelion series inspired me to study animation filmmaking, and this new set of films simply doesnt have the same effect. Its still REALLY DAMN GOOD, just not as meaningful or revolutionary as before.

In conclusion, Rebuild of Evangelion 01 does its job and sets up the overhaul of the EVA series that Anno is striving to do. Its not at all revolutionary like the show, but it is still an interesting experiment in filmmaking, and I'm definately intrigued by how this story can be reinterpretted by Anno after all the stuff he went through making the show and End of EVA (mental breakdown and all). Watch the original series and End of EVA first in order to appreciate what these movies are really trying to do as a requirement though.