Said conceptual play is genuinely radical, in an incredibly contemporary manner, remarkable for its refusal to resort to oh so common 'woke' liberal platitudes that reinforce the already dominant structures under the guise of emancipation. Archetypal notions of active masculine prince, passive female princess and an eternal unchanging justice could very easily have been preserved with the movie only adding the liberal caveat that 'anybody can partake either archetype' (ignoring, of course, that this still preserves the relationship of domination between the two). Instead, these static, societally-structuring moral archetypes are whole heartedly destroyed, and instead a movement is undertaken towards a new subjectivity of flux and transformation, free from all old straightjackets. One interesting additional element of note in the film, absent from the show, is an explicit connection made between the subject and technology in that movement.
Really though, it's pointless to question whether this film is 'better' than the original show when they both complement each other so well. Watching this has only made me appreciate the anime more, and I'm sure I appreciate the film more for having seen the anime (this is by no means a prerequisite for enjoying it though, all of the three people I watched with went in blind and loved it). Easily up there with EoE in the realm of best anime films, and one of the pieces that justify the existence of the medium as a whole.
