"2DAniCritic" Review:

Evangelion 1.11 - You Are (Not) Alone

Review Score: 3.64 / 5.00        

Disclaimer: this review covers both "Evangelion 1.01" (first home video release) and "Evangelion 1.11" (director's cut).

It's rare for me to review a series of films separately instead of as a whole. When released as a trilogy or similar, the films tend to rely heavily on each other. A viewer really cannot enjoy one without intending to watch the others. But the "Rebuild of Evangelion" films are not only capable of each being satisfying when watched alone, they have enough content to warrant multiple essay-long critiques.

To this day, "Neon Genesis Evangelion" is the stuff of legend, and one of the most famous (and infamous) anime series to date. But its creator, Hideaki Anno, clearly wasn't satisfied with it: even at the time, the series would receive multiple versions of an ending, in the form of new episodes or movies to replace or supplement the original broadcast verson. It's not entirely surprising then that Anno would want an opportunity to start over from scratch. In 2007, the first movie of a planed four was released to retell the story from the beginning: "Evangelion 1.0 - You Are (Not) Alone."

It's not the only anime franchise to do so either; re-editing long anime shows into a "recap" theatrical film was relatively common. But "Evangelion 1.0" was not just a re-edit of old footage. Anno's new studio (Studio Khara) was formed explitily to take on the task of re-animating the entire thing with modern production values, an expensive proposition to retell the same story over again. This too would not be an uncommon trend to re-introduce classic franchises to modern audiences. In the case of "Evangelion," it's good they did, as the original show does NOT hold up all that well to modern expectations.

I first saw "Evangelion 1.0" on DVD, a blind purchase at a time when I was just beginning to discover anime, and was just beginning to grow my home video collection. I had not yet watched the original series (and only would do so about a decade later). Funimation released version "1.01" on DVD only first, a slightly re-edited version of the original "1.0" theatrical release, with a nice slipcover and behind-the-scenes booklet. Not paying attention to the news, I bought that first version, not knowing they would release a "1.11" version on DVD and Bluray a few months later. "1.11" brought improved lighting and contrast to the video picture (all the better to go with the Bluray and 6.1 surround-sound audo), and also added a few extra minutes of footage, effectively being a director's cut, something rarely done in animation (it also includes impressive packaging and that booklet). Since then, Funimation would be wise enough to wait a few months to release only the extended versions on home video ("2.22," "3.33," etc.). I would eventually own all of the movies on DVD and Bluray.

With this type of background, I think I can offer some insight onto the intended audience. Firstly, let's suppose you've never seen the original series. "Evangelion 1.11" covers roughly the first six episodes of the show, ending at an appropriate plot-break to feel standalone. Adapting a smaller length of content ensures the film doesn't need be rushed. In fact, "Evangelion 1.11" takes its time with its pacing. Being the first of a new film series, the filmmakers and writers worked hard to introduce the world carefully, making the movie better suited for a new audience than an old one.

Let's then talk about "1.11" and "1.01": is there any benefit to watching one over the other? "1.11" does have a few minutes-worth of extra scenes, but these don't really add answers to the convoluted background details. Instead, they help break up pacing a bit more, adding extra lines to help ease in new viewers. One early added scene has a character addressing the hero in a car, asking "don't you have a million questions you want to ask?" Having seen "1.01" first, I admit the significance of the movie was lost on me, and those extra scenes in "1.11" make a noticable improvement for a newcomer's viewing experience. Aside from some noticable color-banding on the Bluray, "1.11" is the one to watch out of the two.

Is there any reason then for existing fans to watch "Evangelion 1.11" as a way to revisit the show? Yes. While a newcomer should feel comfortable enough watching the film without prior knowledge, they are likely to walk away thinking the movie was simply "good," instead of "great." While there is some interesting design work at play at the start, the original story didn't really take off until mid-way through the second half. Knowing the world of "Evangelion" before going in will make it easier to appreciate the improvements made in the movie, such improvments being fairly significant. The core story hasn't drastically changed (and many scenes are directly remade shot-for-shot), such that a viewer could almost entirely replace the first part of the series with this movie, and continue watching the television version. The only major difference I could gather was that the Eva robots aren't explicitly shown to be sentient in this movie, while they were from episode 1 of the series. Knowing what "Evangelion" is and knowing director Anno's tendencies, a fan will want to pay attention to every attempt to tell the story, to try to analyze every minor difference. But even that fact doesn't make "1.11" required viewing (a fan could easily skip straight to "2.0" to see the changes): if nothing else, it's just great to see a fan-favorite show get the big-screen treatment it deserves.



The story still starts in the distant future (actually, it is set in 2015... perhaps a bit soon, but matching the original 1995 anime). The human population was hit by a massive wave of desctruction called "The Second Impact," and those that remain are still in danger by "The Angels," massive alien-lke monsters that seek to reach something kept far underground to cause the Third Impact and destroy humanity. All of the world's resources are put into protecting the underground base and to stopping the Angels. NERV is one such government-funded agency, a massive organization that builds the Evangelion robots, giant humanoid mechs that can be piloted for one-on-one combat against the Angels. Young teenager Shinji Ikari, the son of NERV's director, is brought in as one of the only pilots capable of driving the robot. But with such a heavy burden on his shoulders to protect humanity, Shinji is hesitant. A naturally quiet and socially-awkward child, with a strained relationship with his father, he doesn't like to be the center of attention, and doesn't like the social pressure being put on him. Even though the movie has large monster battles, the story is really about the internal emotional struggle for Shinji: should he just run away? He doesn't owe anyone anything. Multiple times, he does refuse to pilot to Eva, but multiple times, both from his own decisions and from outside encouragement, he finds a reason to keep trying.

It's a more personal story than other Japanese-mecha shows of it's kind, and is the big reason why "Evangelion" holds so much resonnance today. And "Evangelion 1.11" is a signficant improvement in telling this intro to the story. The writing and pacing is signficantly better. The quiet moments of Shinji walking alone outside or laying awake at night are more effective. The direction and camera shots are better. Even the English dub (with many core members of the original English cast returning) is significantly better. Much of these improvements came from near the end of the original series: the original early episodes were a hot mess. Here, everything is refined. Even annoying tropes about the characters (Shinji being a whimp, Gendo being a cold emotionless husk, Misato being a unresponsible young adult, etc.) are toned down a little... not enough to fix things, but an improvement nonetheless.

Of course, the production values are also improved. While the character designs are effectively the same, that's not really a detrement, since that was one of the best parts of the original series. The Eva mechs and their bio-inspired design is still as effective today as it was decades ago. Character rendering is also only slightly improved, a refinement made possible from years of experience and with modern HD workflows. Being a theatrical film, partial nudity and other subtle fan-service shots are present, true to the original series and a bit more than what television would allow in the mid 1990's. The animation is better across the board, and the reliance on CGI for background buildings and movement isn't too heavy: even when used on distant character extras, it isn't noticable, and the whole movie feels like a proper 2D animation. Classic musical themes return in remixed scores, and the soundtrack makes heavier use of classical string music to portray Shinji's lonelieness to powerful effect.

I keep comparing "Evangelion 1.11" to the original series. I can't help it: if you could only choose one, "1.11" and the rest of the Rebuild films are the best way to experience the story (all the better, since the original series on DVD has long been out of print outside of Japan). But even without considering the legacy, "Evangelion 1.11" is a solid science-fiction movie, both for viewers who want action and for viewers who want thoughtful contemplation about what it means to have reponsibility thrust upon you, knowing that you are not truly alone. Even if it is simply "good" to the average viewer, I wouldn't change a thing about it, and it's effectiveness will depend at least partially on the new series as a whole.