145 replies to this topic

[Zero BD]

The mind rape scene might not happen due to some of the old angels being removed and introducing some new ones in their place. Thats why 2.0 will more likely be 50% new and 50% retelling.

[BlackLightning]

The mind rape scene might not happen due to some of the old angels being removed and introducing some new ones in their place. Thats why 2.0 will more likely be 50% new and 50% retelling.

thats hope I guess... but I still wish that the angel of might and the Suicidal one (forgot which angel is that... the one free-falling to Tokyo 3) will still be there... Those 2 are the most kickass angels imo...

[True]

2.0 Spoilers --Click here to view--

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 04 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 04. 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 kitteny 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 04 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 04 – 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 Unit 08 and its pilot (perhaps Toji? ...). Guess I will be in line two years from now, too.

Sourcee

Oh God Anno, pure genius.

10/10

Now two years till the next one

[Onionhead Attacks]

You know... this couple of years wait is killing me...

I forget, but when did they originally plan for the movie series to finish showing? 2009? 2010?

[BlackLightning]

Is it just me or this movie seem to go toward Shinji/Rei this time instead of Shinji/Asuka? I need more info about the movie before I made any judgement about it though. That aside, I think its nice that Rei got her turn to shine this time after her presence went nearly non-existent in the original series until the last episodes...

Edited by BlackLightning, 29 June 2009 - 11:17 AM.

[Onionhead Attacks]

Is it just me or this movie seem to go toward Shinji/Rei this time instead of Shinji/Asuka? I need more info about the movie before I made any judgement about it though. That aside, I think its nice that Rei got her turn to shine this time after her presence went nearly non-existent in the original series until the last episodes...

Yeah, I agree. I really really want to see this movie for myself and make my own judgments. In the spoilers it said that Shinji rescues Rei "because there is only one Ayanami" and it makes me wonder if he did that because he liked Rei romantically or was it because he didn't want to lose another fellow pilot after Asuka's death? It could be a bit of both.

The Rebuild movies are really coming along nicely even though there seem to be a lot of changes so far. It's really grabbing my interest for how the series is to end this time around.

[True]

- --Click here to view--

Asuka isn't dead (kitten YEAR EYE PATCH!) so she'll be back for the next couple of movies and definitely have an impact, especially on Shinji. You can't let a major character like her just go out like that.

Plus, it's Anno and we all know how he likes to screw with the fans.

EDIT:

Spoilers from Wiki!

2.0 Spoilers --Click here to view--

According to reviews following the release of the second film, Asuka's character has undergone some significant changes such as:

- No longer having a loathing for dolls. She is shown to carry around a hand puppet and converses with it from time to time. She states to Shinji that it is a memento from her late mother.

- Her previous infatuation with Kaji is now completely non-existant. Indeed, in this film they don't even meet until she arrives in Japan

- She is much more open about her feelings for Shinji. This is shown by her jealousy of his closeness to Rei and the fact that she makes lunch for him spurs Asuka to attempt cooking in order to attract his attention. Most significantly, after the battle with Sahaquiel, Asuka comes to Shiniji's room that night and the two spend time talking with one another about their pasts, which develops into a connection between the two.

- Finally, it is Asuka rather than Touji Suzuhara who pilots Unit 03 during its disastrous first test. During the course of Unit 03's possession, Asuka is forced into a catatonic state by Bardiel and wrecks destruction on NERV HQ. When Shinji refuses to fight in order to save her from harm, Gendo initiates activation of the Dummy Plug system which causes Unit 01 to completely crush Unit 03, culminating with Unit 01 crushing the entry plug in its jaws. Following this, Shinji nearly destroys the Geofront in a rage, showing that he felt for Asuka what she felt for him.

- Asuka is shown later to have survived the incident, but is currently under heavy medical attention and Shinji has no knowledge of her survival. She is shown in the end credits to return in the third film, with a patch over her left eye.

Oh God yes Asuka awesomeness.

[Zero BD]

True... I love you man. And you can take that whatever way you want too. I can't wait to illegally download this movie when it comes out in dvd in japan.

[Onionhead Attacks]

OMG. Twist after twist from the original series and I can't say that I exactly disapprove of the changes... It's refreshing to see it told differently than to see the same thing reanimated with updated effects. And OMG! As an Asuka/Shinji fan... I will squee when I see the movie! Gimme NOW!

Dude. Anno likes giving Asuka eye patches or something?

[True]

True... I love you man. And you can take that whatever way you want too. I can't wait to illegally download this movie when it comes out in dvd in japan.

I came across a 26 minute cam-rip of the end of the movie. DDL is right here. Not the best quality, but still damn sweet right?

2.0 spoilers --Click here to view--

At first I was a little disappointed with what I heard about Asuka, but after getting more info on the movie I'm satisfied. She gets plenty of interaction with Shinji, they even get to share a bed, she's less clinically depressed this time around and overall better off...then she gets eaten. Which would be a BAD END normally, but we get Pirate Asuka so it's fine. Also her "death" is partly responsible for manly Shinji because he doesn't want to lose another person he cares about. The end had me going "what the hell is going on? What is this?! OH kitten IT'S THIRD IMPACT!" So in short we get GAR Shinji, Pirate Asuka, Moe Rei, and kitten Mari.

How awesome is all of that?

[Zero BD]

Bro, awesome pure awesome. I'm pretty confident that their will be more camrips for this movie in comparison with the nothing we got from 1.0. rofl

[Whirlpool-Maelstrom]

Wow I didn't knew there was so many eva fans in here, it's nice too see that there are people who enjoy a nice old school anime, aniway this new movie seems really promising, I really can't wait for the subbed version(cuz i don't understand jack of japanese), the shinji/asuka relationship, new eva's, new angels, almost new story, Oh boy am I excited. Aniway(again) I hope to have some good discussions with you guys here about eva of course. Stay cool.

Edited by Whirlpool-Maelstrom, 13 July 2009 - 01:12 PM.

[Zero BD]

Does anyone want the torrent for the camrip of the entire movie of 2.0? Its not so bad but there aren't any subs yet. I'm guessing its from the fact that the quality of it probably isn't worth it. But I did enjoy the movie and it alone made me remember why I love Evangelion.

[True]

Dude hell yes that be sweet!! Give out the goods man!

Also, any idea about when 3.0 and 4.0 will be coming out? I've heard they'll be finished up to around 2010-11.

[Zero BD]

Evangelion 2.0

Take it and love it. Now regarding 3.0 and 4.0 it might actually come out sooner then 2.0 did. Only reason why I say this is cause in 2.0 they had to get a couple more voice actors. They should have everyone they need for the last two movies. At least thats my point of view.

[True]

Ahhhhhhh yeah thanks a bunch man! I don't think anyone is going to sub it but the highlights will be sweet. The DVD release can't come any sooner!

[Cloud]

Noooooooooooooooo, Torrents!

My firewall doesn't allow me to download them. I need a DDL, thanks anyway Zero.

[Onionhead Attacks]

No chance of streaming either? D;

[True]

Just finished the movie and even with the poor quality...but man what an experience. The action was great but I wanted to really understand the dialogue. The DVD can't come any sooner!

Also, I freaking love Mari! She's totally batsh*t insane and crazy and a nice tangent from Rei and Asuka (though Asuka will always be #1!!)! She's having an explosion of fanart from Japan, but can't top pirate Asuka!

[True]

If anyone is interested here's a DDL for the full version of the Rebuild 2.0 song.

Beautiful World - Utada Hikaru (acoustic mix)