Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

There is something that always attracted me to Evangelion; it’s probably the great characters who are so emotionally disturbed and yet I can relate to them in one way or another, maybe is the fantastic thought-provoking story, or it could be the sublime animation and awe-inspiring soundtrack. Yes, I’m a big Evangelion fan, I own every DVD, I’ve seen every episode and movies, read every manga and own various figures. So what was I expecting of Rebuild 1.0? Nothing more than greatness of course, but there was a part of me that was worried. That part kept asking how well the genius Hideaki Anno could adapt the first 6 episodes into a two hour movie and make it more appealing to casual watchers without disappointing faithful fans? And the answer was this masterpiece that teached me to never doubt Anno again.

Rebuild is not as mind-raping or thought-provoking as, say, The End of Evangelion and its main focus is the fight against the angels, which is no surprise if you’ve seen the first few episodes of the series. A little disappointing is the lack of character developing in the movie, other than Shinji, Misato and Rei we don’t really get to see much of the rest of the cast. Though it’s understandable since it makes things less complicated and easier to follow for newcomers, which is the whole point of the movie anyway, so it’s a tolerable disappointment.

But all of this great action would be pointless if there wasn’t a good soundtrack to set the mood, thankfully, Shiro Sagisu is back and he brings his best with him. The soundtrack which was composed by Sagisu and recorded at Abbeay Road studios with help from the London Orchestra is mostly a collection of old tracks revitalized for this movie; some of the classics you’ll instantly notice are “Decisive Battle” and “Rei Opus V”.  My personal favorites are the two new songs “Angels of Doom”, which is played during the battle against Shamshel and gives it an epic feel and the beautifully melancholic guitar piece “Cruel Dilemme IV”. There are also two songs by Utada Hikaru, the first is the fantastic pop song “Beautiful World” and the other is a cover of “Fly me to the Moon (In other words)” which I didn’t really enjoy. As someone who owns the OST I must say that if you ever have the chance to get it, don’t miss it.

Another good news is that the complete original cast is back and they’ve still got it (thought I doubt they ever lost it). Everyone from Megumi Hayashibara to Mitsuishi Kotono are here and doing what they know to do best. Luckily for us, their voice hasn’t changed a bit in ten years. I don’t know if Funimation will include the original Japanese voice acting in their release but they totally should.   

Evangelion never looked better

The best thing about this movie though, is its sublime animation and character design. This is one of the best looking animes I’ve seen in my life. It’s surprising the level of detail and the effort they put into it, everything from the backgrounds to the Evas look absolutely fantastic, and let’s not forget the great lighting effects. The CG and 3D imagery is also heavily used here, giving the movie a more modern feel. This truly is a masterpiece in animation filled with jaw-dropping effects and fantastic character designs.

And now we wait for Rebuild 2.0

Rebuild delivers what it promised, it makes the Evangelion story accessible to newcomers and casual watchers alike and it includes several new story elements to keep longtime fans watching and it surely will get you pumped up for Rebuild 2.0. It doesn’t hurt that it has a fantastic soundtrack and kick-ass animation either. So watch Rebuild 1.0, enjoy it, feel it, love it, and then watch it again.