Filed under: Anime GainaxEvangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance
27.06.2009 by Patrick W. Galbraith
Before I begin, I need to state that I am a dyed in the wool Kaji and Asuka fan. To see these two characters, I lined up in Shinjuku a day early to see “Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance” (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Ha), the newest theatrical version of the immortal television anime series released June 27. About 1,000 Eva addicts joined me in festival, and by morning the media had staged its own “Evangelion Festival.” But for me Kaji and Asuka were the reason to celebrate, and this necessarily colors my review. I was particularly concerned about the presence of a new character, Mari, who many worried would overlap with Asuka. Also, I have been told I talk too much, and that my review of “Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone” was sufficiently extensive enough to alienate readers. I will keep this review to 1,000 words, and cover only my initial perceptions of the film.
First, this is an absolute visual feast. Truly, Studio Khara and directors Tsurumaki Kazuya and Anno Hideaki have done an amazing job. Every individual frame is a work of art, a complete composition full of symbolism, and the dense frames work together to create breathtakingly fluid motion. The action is blistering, the carnage visceral and the scenes of destruction epic and terrifying. Some standout examples are the opening scene where Mari chases and battles an Angel at high speed inside the corridors of her base, the showdown between Unit 01 and 03 and the climatic confrontation with the fourteenth Angel, Zeruel. With these visuals, the music is a real let down. There is no new theme song (Utada Hikaru does an acoustic rendition of “Beautiful World”), and BGM is a mix of nostalgic sounds from the series and wonky stuff you would expect to find in a Japanese TV drama from the 1990s. This often doesn’t gel. Classic music is replaced by old-fashioned songs sung by kids. One such innocent song is used to great effect when juxtaposed with the newfound brutality of the tragic end of Unit 03. A similar song is used later, and it just seems cheap.
However, the world in which the horrible violence of Eva and Angel battles takes place is, on the whole, a lot more cheerful. (Perhaps the reason for some of that cheesy BGM.) Scenes of daily life, for example people commuting in the city or the protagonists in a regular school setting, are more common and warm. The inclusion of settings outside Japan, and simple scenes like Kaji farming, create a more balanced worldview. People are less twisted and disturbed; after promoting from Ayanami, Commander Ikari actually considers his son, Shinji’s well being and agrees to have dinner with him (it doesn’t happen, but it’s the thought that counts). The students all go to see an aquarium where sea creatures that were wild before Second Impact are kept. The story is, as with the first movie, streamlined and simplified. Ikari explains key plot points like the conflict of interest with SEELE, and what will happen with Unit 01 and Ayanami. There aren’t the superfluous Angel attacks, or painful human relationships, for that matter. For example, the center of the narrative is clearly Shinji and Ayanami, and the pattern of their attraction is simplified to classroom settings and making food for each other. Asuka and Kaji do not come to Japan together, and actually have little connection. Kaji and Misato’s attraction (and Misato and Shinji’s for that matter) is similarly downplayed to keep the focus on Shinji and Ayanami. (Kaji does sexually harass Shinji, though!) Toji, Keisuke and Hikari are minor presences.
Asuka does in her usual tsundere way express feelings for Shinji, for example feeling lonely and coming to sleep in his room (this is not sleep walking as in the TV series) and confronting Ayanami about her feelings for him (this is after she calls Ayanami a doll in the infamous elevator scene, and it is masterfully played here). She is a compelling character, maybe even more so than in the original series, and her drive to excel, lack of social skills and loneliness really shine through. Her "Anta baka?!" line sounds sadder, not like the bitchy kid from the series but rather like someone who can't deal with people and so cuts them off. She also has some great fan service moments in shimapan and bursting naked from the shower. But instead of pursuing Shinji, she volunteers to test pilot Eva Unit 03 from the United States. Yes, Asuka, not Toji. After making an extremely moving cell phone call to Misato, and slipping into a sexy new version of plug suit, Asuka pilots it. The machine is infected by an Angel and goes rotten. Shinji refuses to fight it and the dummy plug system takes control of Eva Unit 01, which horribly destroys Unit 03 – and crushes the entry plug containing Asuka in its mouth. Absolutely chilling. Thankfully, the dummy plug system in this theatrical version does not make Shinji watch this. Not soon after this, Mari sneaks into NERV headquarters and takes Asuka’s Unit 02 to fight Zeruel. I am grateful that she is not a copy of Asuka, but a very Earthy, even bestial character unique in her own right (nice balance to all the ethereal characters). Apparently she was designed to be like a "Showa old man character," someone who doesn't think and likes to fight, and Tsurumaki says she is the only character not somehow coming from Anno's psyche. She drives Unit 02 berserk and has a knock down brawl, but gets cruelly dismembered.
In that same Angel battle, Ayanami does her suicide attack with the N2 bomb. It fails, and the badass Zeruel bites her Eva in half and swallows it, including her. Shinji quit NERV after the death of Asuka, but snaps out of his funk after seeing the heroics of Mari and the death of Ayanami. He flips out, and goes berserk (very “Gurren Lagann” here). He gains so much power that Eva 01 becomes a god able to rip a hole in the Angel and extract Ayanami. Shinji insists on doing this, even though Ayanami tells him she “has spares,” because he says there is only one Ayanami. (Cue the romantic violins… This burns my ass, because face it, she is a clone, and Asuka was sure replaced fast enough…). The reborn Ayanami merges with Unit 01 and sets into motion Third Impact. Luckily Kaworu, who has been waiting shirtless on the face of the moon, descends and impales Unit 01, stopping the process. He says he will make “only Shinji find happiness.” Service, service, said Gainax to the fangirls.
All in all this movie is great stuff, a real crowd pleaser. There are a slew of changes, yes, but you hardly even notice them at this point. In the first movie, I literally took notes on ever single change that appeared, because it was just a reordering and retelling of the Ayanami warming up arc of the series. This Asuka arc offers a whole different way for the story to unfold; as a result it is more fun and rewarding to watch. It is moving, entertaining and shocking all at once, and a must for "Eva" fans of all stripes. The trailer for the next film, “Quickening,” offers many intriguing info bites, including the return of all the characters, including Asuka in an eye-patch, and the appearance of Unit 08 and its pilot (perhaps Toji? ...).
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AlexanderB wrote on 08.8.2010:
Um... A correction, though. I don't think Asuka is dead, rather she is severely injured. Otherwise, the quarantene would be irrelevant, and Minato's rant to Shinji not caring about "Rei and Asuka" would not be coherent.
Banzai Co. wrote on 23.6.2010:
I never saw 1.0 but I did manage to buy 2.0(actually 2.2) and I found it to be extremely exciting. I can't wait for the next two versions, although I didn't know they added so much from each other, I was originally going to just wait for 4.0 until I noticed the huge time gap between each of them, it makes me want to get the next two (I really want to see alt. ending that's supposed to happen)
So 3.0 comes out this year later right? Because I really want to see the final version before 2013. Oh, and the live action might be cool, but won't it only be a japanese film? I would love a new series off of one of the fanmade mangas.
JesusMcAllah wrote on 10.6.2010:
Just a thought
[spoiler]
Kaworu says "kondo koso (this time), i will bring you happiness" at the end. The use of "THIS TIME" is very strange. This is VERY STRANGE, as after rewatching this scene multiple times, i thought it could refer to the Instrumentality of the original series. As you all Know, Shinji enters his own world for the final 2 eps, and in that IT WOULD make sense that this rebuild is another world he is imagining where Kaworu hasn't died and instrumentality isnt complete. In fact (i'm not sure) I remeber Kaworu saying how he will merge with lilith to make shinji happy in the original series.
[/spoiler]
If this were true, The Whole Rebuild of Evangelion could infact be a sequel!! Mind is blown.
Kendrix wrote on 09.1.2010:
I've also seen it, and I boldly recommend it to everyone.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Even though the Rebuild Series was made to attract new fans, they also made sure to hook up the old fans - there was, for example, a small focus on Toji before the Bardiel incident, so that you might thing he'll be the pilot again... and then - WHAM! It's Asuka!
And you freakin' know she's doomed.
You can really see that Anno is out of his depression - The same sucky things happen to the characters, some are even worse (All angels from the original got more Badass, it's Asuka in unit 03, Shinji doesn't meet Kensuke after he runs away, the oceans are dead and half of the world is fried, Rei gets eaten etc.) but the reaction of the characters is different.
It was announced from the start that Rebuild would have a different Ending- but the main point of the original was that the main characters (mainly Shinji) CAUSED their own sucky end with their own, dark views of the world. Bad things happened, but they also reacted badly to it. So Anno probably thought that the characters have to learn their lessons before the End to "earn" a better outcome - They all start off exactly like they did in the Series (Asuka = ambitious Jerk, Rei = withdrawn and emotionless, Shinji= passive and depressed etc.), but they make some serious developement. They overcome their issues just as their creator did.
After seeing them fail miserably in the Series, seeing their progress in Rebuild really touches your heart... Asuka slowly accepting Shinji, Rei and Misato, Rei trying to get the Ikaris together, and Shinji actually being heroic and hugging someone...
...Can I have a tissue, please? It's all just so touching!
Usually, I'm not very impressed by a boy saving a girl at any costs... every Shonen main character out there does it five times a week. But with SHINJI, who has to overcome his own fears and passive personality, it's really touching... I never though such a classig "boy saves girl" scene would ever move me to tears... but it did. Shinji is just a normal boy who has to fight giant, scary monsters, npt some brave, idealistic superhero. He's freaking scared, like any of us would be. And yet, there he goes, because he HAS to... even f he's ton into shreds and gets his fucking skin burned off!
Anno IS a real genius.
Another positive surprise was Mari: After my dissapointment with 368/2 Days, I was very sceptical of her, because, like many others, I feared that one of the best Animes ever could be defiled by a Canon!Sue. Then, I watched the Movie.
Mari didn't claim all screentime for herself, nor was she a carbon copy of another character.
But she was incredibly badass, cool and unique. She fit well into the Eva wold, and yet, she did not. Just the right mix of fitting and unfitting traits - she doesn't feel out of place, but brings in some fresh wind. I didn't think they could introduce someone who could be acontrast to both Rei and Asuka, (as those to are already exact oposites) but they DID. Unlike Mana Kirishima before her, our little insane, bloodthirsty, oddly smell-fixated Mari is a great adition to the EVA-Verse.
In fact, she now shares Rei's place as my favourite (Can't decide which one is more unique/ intresting) - well, besides Kaworu. Kaworu will allways be my favourite. And, while most of his short Rebuild-appearances featured him with serious or thoughfull expressions (due to the situations he was in), I got to see his trademark grin once again! just this alone makes the movie worthwhile.
I've allways loved Kaworu. He had that aura of happiness and deep wisdom that made him stand out amidst the dark world of the latter episodes. His new EVA is awesome... It looked so cool when it descended from the moon... The trailer to 3.0 didn't announce anything that barely resembled the corresponing part of the series, the only recognizable thing is Kaworu descending to terminal dogma - this time, in his own EVA. as much as I loved the new scenes, Kaworu's Scenes are something I wish they'd rather NOT alter. Maybe they could add in some interaction with Rei or Mari, or make Shinji's reactions a little bit different (i.e. Him managing to tell Kawuro that he likes him too BEFORE he kills him, or appreaciating Kaworu's sacrifice instead of becoming all depressive.)
M wrote on 04.1.2010:
Finally, a very good review of the film, one which appreciates the myriad delecacies offered! The one thing I've not yet heard mentioned is the generous use of Kare Kano music throughout the film, which proved very fitting (if darned sentimental), Kare Kano also having been a Gainax production.
tonbo wrote on 27.11.2009:
hi, people of all continents,
just seen the film , and to lay things to rest , they put Asuka thru quarantine after recovering her from that half crushed entry plug , as shown thru Misato and Ritsukos' conversation after the incident.
good thing the dummy system timed out.
Cain wrote on 17.11.2009:
Spoilers.....
Rubble400 wrote on 14.11.2009:
I think asuka is really dead, and that the asuka you see in the trailer is the asuka that is in shinjis mind, a bit like in Evangelion: RE-Take
if anyone wants to read RE-Take here's the link
http://kurogane.animeblogger.net/category/manga/doujin/
every NGE should read this
Pew pew wrote on 12.11.2009:
Zomgz after 03 was destroyed, the whole theather felt really silent. Everyone was resisting the idea that she died then (well, she didn't but yeah... its like... NO WAY did she die... maybe she lived... maybe...?)
And unlike Toji's dummy plug, which was merely (bad enough) crushed... Asuka's was... bitten in HALF. CHOMP, 2 pieces falling out of the mouth of 01. Lots of LCL and stuff that looked like blood. Where did her body go? Did the plug suit bubble up and protected her or something? Because, a few scenes after that + the salvage operation, Ritsuko is seen asking "Will they also eliminate her?"... and the answer was "No.. no.. she's far too valuable a specimen for them to do that. She will be quarantined for now." or something similar... and it was......
PHEW... popcorn was suddenly rememberred, time to take a sip of that drink... etc etc.... someone even left for the washroom.
Even the prospect of Asuka dying was NOT funny.
DAVE wrote on 07.11.2009:
To gendo:
Third Impact did not happen, it was about to.... but in the last moment, karowu stopped it by throwing a lance and impaling eva 01 in his core, in that way stopping the third impact that was taking place.
To rubble400:
No they are not dead. Mari is alive in the last moments of the movie, when the third impact is happening, besides she appears in the preview of eva 3.0, asuka is not dead either, she is badly wounded, but not dead, she also appears in the preview of the third movie with an eye-patch.