Story: Eva is pretty well known on MAL, so I'll just give you a Cliff's Note version: these things called Angels are trying to blow up Tokyo-3, and the only people who can stop them are teenage kids that can pilot these things called Evangelions, or Evas for short. This first movie is pretty much a redo of the first 6 episodes of the tv series, with some scenes added, some scenes omitted, and some new scenes that don't appear in either the tv canon nor manga canon. My only complaint is that some of the scenes of Shinji in school were either cut out or shortened; these scenes did have some good exposition, but otherwise, it's not bad at all. Some scenes are handled better here than they were in the earlier versions. 9/10.
Artwork: The Eva tv show was actually pretty good-looking for its time, but it could've also used improvement, and boy, did Hideaki Anno improve the visuals now. Everything is redrawn, and for the better; the animation is smoother, the colors more vivid, the backgrounds more beautiful, and now there is flawless integration of CGI with the hand-drawn cells. This, quite honestly, rivals the artistry of Ghibli films, and certainly looks better than most anime today. The Blu-ray version is a must-own, especially if you have a widescreen HD monitor. 10/10
Sound: The music certainly sounds a lot better than the tv version. Many of the scores are just remixes of tracks from the tv series, except now, they come in 6.1 and have the orchestration you would expect from a Hollywood feature. The music that plays when Shinji's Eva first activates gave me goosebumps when I first heard it here; it's that good. The ending credits song is great; a perfect way to send off the film.
The Japanese dub is, much like the tv series, top-notch. Then again, it has the same cast, and you can't go wrong with that. As for the English dub . . . well, it is better than the ADV dubs of old, (I compared Youtube videos prior to watching this) but unfortunately, the English voices of Shinji, Misato, and Gendo still sound out of place, and considering how important those three characters are, that's a serious detriment in my book. Basically, unless if you absolutely have to hear Colleen Clinkenbeard as Ritsuko Akagi, this is one I recommend subbed. 9/10.
Character: I won't go into too much detail, because again, this is Eva we're talking about, so I'll just talk about how Rebuild portrays them. Shinji still starts off cowardly and angsty, but his angst is downplayed somewhat, and I think he's more realistic like this. (He's not as lighthearted as he was in the manga, though, that was a bummer.) You also get a better impression of Misato's character in this movie than the earlier portions of the tv and manga canon, but everyone else is still pretty much the same, for better or worse. I like the characterization of Eva, and I only took off one point for two reasons: Touji and Kensuke have less screentime, and Asuka has yet to appear. 9/10
Enjoyment: Even despite the (relatively) few flaws, seeing Eva on a widescreen tv is like nothing else; the tension of the NERV headquarters, Shinji's isolation, the terror of the Angels and Evas, Rei's quiet dignity, these things and more come alive in a way they never did in the tv and manga series. I get the feeling that this is supposed to be the true version of Eva, and that every other version is just a phony. 10/10.
I am now anxious for Eva 2.0; I hear it's supposed to be better than Eva 1.0. I just have to see how this series will unfold. For now, the Blu-ray cut of Eva 1.0 is a great start, just . . . mind the bloodshed and boob shots.
