The story picks up right after You Are (Not) Alone, introducing us to a new EVA pilot Mari, a somewhat maniacal and scary pilot who will do absolutely anything to defeat the angels and has fun piloting the EVAs (wow...I mean just wow...). The other pilot fans are a lot more familiar with, Asuka finally makes her debut here, and she's just as self-important and egotistical as you remember. This new film covers the events between episodes 8-20, and that's where I'm going to stop telling you the plot. Seriously, don't ask me about the plot or else I'll be tempted to spill the beans and ruin every surprise and holy crap moment in the movie (there are a lot, let's just say that).
There are drastic changes to the events that you remember that would ruin the experience if I told you. None of these changes are arbitrary though, they feel very natural for the characters and story that you know, and in some ways drastically alter how characters interact with each other. The ending really demonstrates how well these changes work as the romantic relationship between two characters that never got together in the original series takes front stage. There is so much emotion in this scene I'm at a loss of words to describe it. The changes are all very well thought out and most important, all work incredibly well. The writing is some of the best in anime I've seen in quite some time. Nothing feels forced, nothing feels unnecessary, and nothing feels unnatural. In essence, its almost perfect.
Everything about this film is so close to perfection its hard to even write about. The visuals are incredible, using CG effects that blend seamlessly into the more traditional 2D character designs. The evoke the appropriate amount of dread and apocalyptic imagery that Evangelion and overall serve to make the audience fascinated by what's going on. The visuals are all polished to perfection and leave you with some of the best visuals and special effects in anime for quite some time.
The soundtrack is also great, composed by Shiro Saigusu, the composer from the original series and End of Evangelion. Though it is different from those, it is still perfect for this movie. It brings the right emotions to every moment and brings the right sense of ironic dread you saw in End of Evangelion in all the right moments.
I really wish I could tell you guys more about why this film and this story is so amazing. But know this, Hideaki Anno has really outdone himself this time. I was skeptical about whether he could make make lightning strike twice, and he absolutely did. All the changes to the story and characters really make this reboot something special that should be viewed on the same level as the original series and End of Evangelion. This is as close to perfection in anime as you will likely get this year. Even if you hated the original series, I suggest trying the Rebuild series, its that amazing. The wait for Evangelion 3.0 has now officially begun for me, and with a movie like You Can (Not) Advance preceding it, it's going to be hard.
I give Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0- You Can (Not) Advance, A+
