Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance [Blu-ray] [DVD]

Evangelion 2:22 is going to take some serious viewing(s) to get your head around it - whether for veteran fans or newcomers alike.The film is just bonkers.After Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami have overcome the threats of the first film, the world of Nerv is afforded a brief respite, allowing some necessary rebuilding of the Evas and defences. The team are bolstered by the arrival of Unit-02 and its pilot; the exasperating Asuka Langley, along with the clandestine dispersal of serie’s-new character Mari.Naturally, the new wave of angel attacks draw the absolute limit from Nerv and the pilots, before the film culminates with a familiar scene for long-term Eva fans.At the beginning of the Rebuild series Hideaki Anno touted a wave of new developments for Neon Genesis Evangelion, and he’s definitely delivered on that front. With (at least) two films remaining, you’d wonder where else the story is to go; with almost all the original series now accounted for in terms of the ultimate destination: The Human Instrumentality Project.One aspect I applaud in this second instalment is the art design and blend of drawing and CGI to realise the forms and traits of the Angels. They look absolutely stunning. As with 1:11, they are evolved from the originals and their methods of evisceration are almost beautiful -and superbly directed.The special features are decent too - one of which gives a good insight into the significant differences between the original Japanese script and the translated, localised version.The classical soundtrack synonymous with the series is updated too with some great results. The atmosphere somehow seems to be a bit more sombre.Another facet that is much more apparent in this Rebuild is the conflict between America, Europe (‘Euro’), and Japan over the stranglehold of the Eva units. It adds a nice mix to the story that wasn’t so obvious in the original series.If you have the Collector’s Edition, it comes with a superb booklet with some essential information; akin to the booklet within the original serie’s Platinum Collection release.Neon Genesis Evangelion is changing.God’s in his Heaven ... You’ve never seen anything like this before.

The second rebuild film is a little weird. Its great to see the characters back once again and the animation is gorgeous. The only problem is the contents of the film... the first half is like a copy of the 9/12 episode of the first series but, then half way through it switches to an entirely new story. Which is completely fine as this is supposed to be a rebuild of the original, but then it continues to switch back and forth which can be a little frustrating to watch if you have seen the original series. Additionally, Asuka seems to have changed slightly and not for the better in my opinion. Also some key points within the original series that add to the entire feel of the world and the characters mental states has been removed or shorted to 10 second clips, which was very disappointing to see. But, overall it was great and anyone who hasn't seen the original will be very happy with the film overall as it is very enjoyable to watch. The fight between Sahaquiel was amazing and beautifully done.

The second of the four films retelling the story of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' sees the story begin to diverge from the original in some rather drastic ways. The film takes us from the arrival of Asuka (whose last name has been changed from Soryu to Shikinami) to the apparent beginnings of Third Impact. As well as the name change for Asuka there are a number of other major changes from the original such as the design of some of the Angels being changed and others being combined, Asuka doesn't have a crush on Kenji, it isn't Toji who pilots Unit 03 and an entirely new character, Mira, is introduced.Although I still prefer the original, this second film in the 'Rebuild' series is certainly entertaining and the animation is great, far better than anything the original series could have hoped to achieve, the English dub is also very good. One of the changes made that I like most is that there is some nice development of Rei's character.There are some problems I have with the film however, namely that some of the changes made to the storyline aren't properly explained and the new character Mira isn't properly developed. I feel that the reason for these problems is that 'Rebuild' is a series of films rather than a TV series. I feel that if 'Rebuild' had been a full TV series then there would have been more time to introduce and develop the changes and given a bit more depth to the series.While I wouldn't say that this series of remakes is as good as the original 'Evangelion' series it is turning into a very interesting series of movies and is definitely a must see anime. I feel a rating of four stars is appropriate.

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance continues from where the last film left off, Shinji Ikari continues to pilot Eva unit 01 in NERV's ongoing fight against the Angels, the second film in the Rebuild teratology based on Neon Genesis Evangelion.Where Evangelion 1.0 was mostly the same as the original series, Evangelion 2.0 begins to deviate, beginning with the introduction of a completely original character, the enigmatic Mari Makinami.The plot develops differently, character relationships have more depth and the animation is awesome.This is the one where everyone's favourite tsundere comes into it, Asuka Langley Shikinami, a new Eva pilot transferred from Germany and my personal favourite Evangelion, Unit 02.Evangelion 2.0 takes everything you love about Evangelion and takes it to the next level, the last 40 minutes of this film contain some of the best action I've ever seen in animation and that deviation from the original series comes into fruition by the end.