Hideaki Anno, in his everlasting wisdom, has given us the Eva film we had no idea we wanted, and also the one the franchise needed. Both a send up of the great characters that have Eva so timeless while also a savage but also poignant deconstruction of the "wish fullfillment" narrative, 2.0 is so good that it sometimes almost feels like that it came straight from the original series.
Shinji Ikari (Megumi Ogata/Spike Spencer) and the rest of NERV are continuing their fight against the Angels. With a brand new pilot with them, Asuka Langley Shikinami (Yuko Miyamura/Tiffany Grant), Seele begins their plan to start the mysterious Human Instrumentality Project.
Similar to the first film, 2.0 follows the original series events, but this time it's far more liberal with changing events and moving scenes around to fit the brand new narrative. In fact, to a large extent, the film is 75% brand new material, with the 25% old stuff remaining heavily altered. It's a far more unpredictable experience then 1.0, and that lends heavily to the enjoyment factor of this film.
Anno laser focuses the narrative on Shinji once again, this focusing on the idea of him being "stuck". Finally wanting to help, Shinji finds himself in a world filled with corrupt leaders and things that he finds deplorable. And in the end, attempting to "fix things" only ends up with him causing even more problems. Much of the narrative plays out like a happier, more optimistic version of the original series, but Anno quickly destroys that in the second half with a brutal, unrelenting third act that ranks among anime's greatest climaxes. The last 5 minutes in particular are a beautiful crescendo of music and animation that is probably the best moment of the entire Eva franchise.
The series has never looked better then it does now - the beautiful colours, the seamless intergration of CGI and 2D animation, the fight scenes that flow as smoothly as the best live action movies, and the subtle character movements. It's one of the best animated films in recent memory, and combine that with Anno's calculated direction makes the animation pop even more.
The entire cast, on both sides, return for the sequel, along with some newcomers as well. Both Yuko Miyamura and Tiffany Grant from the original series return to play Asuka, and both give her the same lovable cocky personality along with the hidden depths that made her such a brilliant character in the first place. Maaya Sakamoto and Trina Nishimura join the cast as brand new character Mari Makinami, who is immediately steals the show in the limited scenes she is in. But the standouts are both Megumi Ogata and Spike Spencer, who give their best performances as Shinji to date. It's a stunning performance on both ends that showcase the best of both Japanese and English voice acting.
Shiro Sagisu is the composer once again here, and gives his best work on the franchise to date. With tons of new material and epic new pieces, Sagisu's unique sensibilities continue prove themselves to be a perfect fit for Evangelion, with special mention going towards a song in the last 5 minutes that feels like it shouldn't fit, but it somehow does.
Reclaiming the franchise in the best way possible, Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance is, for lack of the better word, fucking brilliant. It's a stream of amazing visuals, compelling characters, and a twist turning, genre defying narrative that defines the best of Evangelion. It's a absolute masterpiece and one of the best pieces of the entire franchise.
I give Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance a 10 out of 10.
