Story:
Its about pilots in huge robots fighting other huge monters ( the end ). Well seriously though,he movie picks up after the first movie ended and honestly, I dont even wanna tell you a lot about its plot because thats the fun of watching this movie. All the plot twists, drama and the story are very good. Yes, it certainly isnt a Death Note in terms of its dialogue, but it really doesnt need to be. The story mainly revolves around Shinji and how he deals with his situation. The problems that occur that mean a possible threat to his friends and his personal development. His first "real" relationships with people with his age and potential loss.There are some extremely impressive dramatic sequences in this movie which will make you think daaaaamn, thats gotta be painful 0_o. All in all, the story is very well done and although its part of a series, the ending is just amazing.
Characters:
YES! SHINJI ISNT A PUSSY ANYMORE. Honestly, I had already thought that he did sthovie, but awesome in the 1st movie Shinji ( the MC and a pilot of the huge ass robots that i mentioned before, the Evas ) receives some great character development in this movie. He starts to like some of the other pilots and gains feelings for some of them. But he's forced to deal with potentially losing them which makes some scenes that much more impressive. I really like him in Eva 2.0. Then there is Rei, who previously had the personality of a rock. She starts to get into relationships with the other characters and gains somewhat of a personality. There are still quite a bit of development that she could experience, but overall its a pretty satisfying change to see someone like here actually caring about other people, especially Shinji. Asuka is introduced in this movie and she is the definition of tsundere. She has some social issues ( like Shinji ) that are adressed during the movie which make her ... well, interesting. I really didnt like here during here first 10min of on-screen time, but as she opened up to the MC she seemed more likeable ( still dont like her as much as Shinji though ). Misato .... weeeell, many old NGE fans cant stand her in this movie (like the story and about everything else, cuz I dunno ). I like her, I mean, yes I know that her backstory is shown in one short scene ... oh shit, no NGE comparisons, totally forgot 0_o Anyways, she is a character that is helps the other characters at doing what they do, while being their commander. And dont wanna drag this section out, so I'll just tell you that especially the development of the characters of the movie is impressive while their personalities differ in a mjor way. From the shy Shinji without self confidence ( during the beginning ), to the bossy Asuka and Rei, who seems to slowly develop into someone likeable.
Production Values:
Isanely good. From the animation to the music, its nearly perfect. Lets get to the animation first. Its soooo good. Some of the action scenes to the scenes in which the characters just talk, everything is animated masterfully and I cant really say anything bad about this part of the movie. The characters designs are great and the mechs all have more or less unique designs. The actions scenes, as previously mentioned, are so well animated that you well get that: HOLY SHIT, THATS AWESOME! feeling in this movie, several times. The music sounds incredible too. Its orchestral music with choires and that means the definition of epicness. From "Beast 2" to "Decisive Battle". The OST is one of my favourites. Many OSTs are just remakes of tracks from NGE, but they still sound awesome. So yea, 10 for art and animation and a 9 for its music
Enjoyment:
I freaking loved this movie, it was intense, suspensful, and sometimes incredibly dramatic. It had some of the most impressive action scenes I've ever scene which were accompanied by some of the best OSTs I've heard in a long time. Great characters development, a good plot and an amazing ending. Why no 10 in terms of the story or the characters? Certain characters could've had a bit a of more focus on them while its not a completely standalone story. When Evangelion 4.0 comes out and has a great end, the 9 will turn into a 10, because then, I'll be fully statsfyied. Well all of that in short: I enjoyed the living hell out of this movie.
Target Audience:
There are many problems that NGE fans have with this one, so If you've held back on watching this movie cuz of its incredibly high ratings, watch the damn things. Mecha fans, people who enjoy amazing production values, people who are able to really involve themselves in an extremely interesting plot and people like me,who watched it due to their interest in the source material ( while not having watched the series yet ) will definetly enjoy this one.
Overall 10 / 10
