If you are like me, you grew up with Evangelion; it was one of the very first anime you watched along with the likes of Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z; however, unlike Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z, Evangelion was a special anime that focused on the deeper meaning behind it all. That of course was the human instrumentality project; the symbolic purpose of the EVAs, and the interactions and characterizations of the characters. This made Evangelion special; it had a unique focus in addition to being a typical anime; it was, needless to say, at least ten to fifteen years ahead of its time. The series ends with a lackluster finale, but is re-envisioned as a movie to help better deliver an ending to the series.However, the series is far from over. Rebuild of Evangelion is testament to this. It is nearly fifteen year after the events that took place in the series; things have changed as Third Impact has rewritten the face of the Earth and otherwise brought humanity nearly to extinction. All that remains is the destruction of the human civilization, all human souls contained within an sea of LCL fluid, and a few survivors of NERV that otherwise wish to finish unfinished business. Many of the cast of Evangelion are back along with some newcomers; characters have different personalities, and the movie is often direct and to the point with their interactions. Any loose business with characters from the previous series, is largely finished and tied up nicely.As for the movie itself; the plot is a bit of a weird one, but go figure – this is Evangelion we are talking about. If you are familiar with the series and the movie conclusion, this will feel like a continuation of events prior. What you would expect from the series, but with more modern animation and computer effects is here. In fact, that robust frame-skip style animation that includes cellshading, as well as neon lighting is also present. Camera angles are a plenty, and there are also lots of movement effects to keep scenes enticing. Scenes are executed wonderfully and the pacing of the movie matches; there is a lot of action, story, and otherwise conclusions and continuation of what has been, and what will be. The movie is not shy to admit this with a 'to be continued' at the end of the movie. In a word, it feels like an episode of Evangelion as it was always meant to be intended; it is just too bad we don't get twenty six or even thirteen of these style of episodes in a series to finally conclude it once and for all.It is not dry, it is not dull; and it makes no attempts to shy around changing the story for the better. The movie is seriously in a light of its own; it features special effects that are not normally seen in animation even these days and there was clearly a big budget that played a hand in it. The animation style is wonderful; character expressions are simply top of the line and more expressive than I've ever seen in anything animated. The characters' interactions are what this movie is really about, and it makes for a good two hour watch. I recommend the movie for anyone that likes symbolic anime with a lot of good art for effect; this anime uses special effects and is hardly what you would believe or expect – be ready to suspend your belief of realism and enter the unknown.Originally posted to Orion Age (http://www.orionphysics.com/?p=6178).

Evangelion: Q, unequivocally completes everything that was missing in the Evangelion franchise.First however, I noticed many reviewers of this film state in their review explicitly that they were confused by the story, and gave the film a low score. I will try to elucidate the plot in the end, and recommend people who don't understand the film refrain from rating the film. 1.0 and 2.0 with its dazzling visuals drew a lot of newcomers who aren't acquainted with the history of the Eva universe, those people of course will feel like nothing has happened in 3.0, when on the contrary, so much that has happened can be inferred.The visuals, editing, music... everything except the plot is what we'd expect from Evagelion. If anything should be said about them it is that somehow, music still overshot my expectation. So without further ado let's continue to the story. First, a review without spoilers:Unlike previous Eva plots, there is no plot device this time (DSS Choker does not count and I'll explain why below), in other words no elements introduced to impel the story forward to an intended outcome. Now that is a hefty achievements. Everything that happens feel authentic, real, which makes it seem like Q is not trying to make a point. The emotions between characters are genuine, and all the characters are fleshed out without having to show their background. In real life people do not reveal their past, yet often we feel we know them. That is the effect of characters in Eva Q.-Spoilers Begin here- - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - - Warning -The Evangelion series has finally lived up to its religiously connotative namesake with Q. The association of the DSS Choker with the Albatross that once hung on the neck of a certain mariner in Rime of the Ancient Marinare by Coleridge is obvious to littérateurs (in that story, the mariner shot the albatross and brought bad luck to his crew, he was then forced to wear the dead albatross on his neck until all his crew members died). Later, Shinji's sins, or DSS Choker, are quite literally removed by Kowaro, and placed upon his own neck, whereupon he ultimately died for Shinji's sins. Sounds familiar? In one simple story Anno managed to allude to not one, but two great works of literature, one of which finally substantially links Evangelion to Christianity, as it had initially done through visual only.Nothing substantial happens to the development of the characters... on screen. That is to say, they are fully fleshed out, grown up adults with personality and history before the film begins. Asuka is my favorite, she is practically a mother to Shinji during the final scene. Her thorough disgust with Shinji's childish, out-of-place behavior in the grown up world is actually an indication of her own disgust at her own past. She shows vicariously through Shinji that she terribly regrets ever being so crazy. (You may feel free to draw parallels between old Asuka and Hideaki Anno, who once suffered from depression.) Then Misato, after 14 years is clearly not infatuated with Shinji anymore, still can't let go. Her maturity is striking, it makes me wonder about her past, the hallmark of a good character. What happened to the Rei that Shinji saved(?) is still a mystery, we'll have to wait for 4.0... and finally, Kowaro, the savior that makes this film.Kowaro is the only source of light in Shinji's life throughout the entire series, as he should be, because he's Jesus. (In case you're wondering, I don't believe in God) He completely understands Shinji even though Shinji can't express himself. Kowaro is the love people so desperately search for their whole life. Seeing those two work so marvelously together is the highlight of this film, even if you say nothing happened in 3.0... well, this happened - their semi-erotic love affair - and that is enough.end of spoilers -Evangelion: Q is an Evangelion that matured even further than that of the original TV series. It felt like a true sequel. Though it may sit uneasily with 1.0 and 2.0, it is because those films failed to capture the spirit of the original. To me, the true sequence of the series, one that puts it in the best light, is: the TV series, the ending of 2.0, Q, and End of Evangelion or hopefully 4.0. The rest is good in its own way, and certainly watchable for their visual banquet alone.

Minor spoilers for Eva 2.0 and 3.0Forewarning: I am not a giant Evangelion fan. I've seen the TV series and have noticed moments of brilliance, but I was in some ways annoyed with the finished product (especially towards the end). My biggest problem was that the characters were not very likable. They were complex yes, but I didn't feel very connected to Sinji, Asuka, Rae, etc. They seemed to fundamentally lack any sense of pro-activity. Much of the plot consisted of their reactions rather than their actions.That's not important however, and I only bring this up to clarify my surprise at Evangelion: 2.0, which did something I hadn't expected: It completely won me over. 2.0 is fantastic, clearing up nearly all the issues I had with the series. There is not a single character that doesn't improve; Sinji actually shows some integrity and becomes a protagonist I can get behind. Never did I feel that he was unjustified in how he was acting. Rae, surprisingly enough, shows consistent character progression versus the TV series where she too often remained stagnant. By the end of 2.0, it's almost a surprise to think this is the same character from the beginning of the movie. She goes from emotionless and hardly human to a caring person wanting Sinji to be happy. A small change, but very noticeable. Asuka stayed relatively the same but with some important changes. While in the series she was portrayed as egotistical and self-righteous, in 2.0 she comes off as more anti-social. Important dimensions are added to her character as it's hinted that her bombastic personality might not be because of her need for praise, but simply a defense mechanism to cope with her loneliness.And then EVA 3.0 happened.Where to start? Well, let's begin by saying much of the foundation laid by the past films are not existent just as much of the positive turns for the characters have been nullified. It really baffles me in some ways: Why have Sinji grow so much in 2.0, just to turn him into a self- loathing angst character again that can't handle the conflicts in this film? Why have Rae develop a personality and have audiences connect with her when she's rescued, just to say she's dead and have us deal all over again with an emotionless Rae clone? Why hint at feelings of self-denial and loneliness in Asuka, just to have those issues ignored and never addressed again? Why have Misato cheer Sinji on to save Rae at the end of 2.0, just for her to reject and coldly dismiss him at the beginning of this movie?If these characters have problems that have changed them - THEN SHOW US. Don't build them up, skip ahead 14 years, and completely change them without explanation. It's not clever, it's nonsensical. Imagine any other show or movie you've seen, can you imagine how frustrating it would be to see the characters just beginning to be fleshed out, only for the plot to move decades ahead in the future. All the open questions you have and all the issues raised with the characters instantly become meaningless because their resolution occurred off screen. Remember Asuka's final lines in the last film, "I can laugh, I didn't know I could"? Well I hope you weren't expecting this to factor into her character at all because it might as well have never been said. Any character development from the first two Evangelion movies have next to zero influence in how anyone acts.Unfortunately, there are no excuses for Sinji and Rae. Killing off the Rae we've come to connect with just to introduce her next emotionless clone and expecting us to connect with her all over again is completely unjustifiable. Rae had already progressed so far in terms of her personality. But no, all that progress is gone. Now meet a new Rae, who is coincidentally exactly like the Rae you knew at the very beginning. Sinji is no better. Him becoming an emotional wreck by the end that has lost the will to live is not shocking anymore, it's pathetic. Does this character have any other dimension to him, or is it all self-loathing? Why make him the least bit competent when all you intend to do is tear down his character again? Sinji is a microcosm for everyone in this film; any development is meaningless because they revert back to their starting point, just to begin the whole process over again - like a dog chasing its tail over and over again.The whole movie stands in stark contrast to the last. The fundamentals of how NERV operates and what its relationship is to the characters is completely changed, and never explained. In fact, barely anything is explained. Asuka and Sinji have not aged a day after 14 years and the only explanation given is some reference to "the curse of EVA". Yeah, sure. All I hear is "we wanted to skip ahead 14 years, but we still needed Sinji and Asuka to stay at age 14 and pilot the EVAs." Don't you think if a machine stopped people from aging they would I don't know, warn them before they became pilots? Because that's kind of an important side-effect.On top of this, the film is much darker than the second. But darker in EVA means better right?? Well if done properly, yes. But that's not the case here. This isn't a "dark turn" that is properly foreshadowed; the viewer has been thrown into another universe where consequences of the last film have not been dealt with or explained.I'm sure there are many fans out there that will have a different perspective and will like this film. But for me, many of the reasons why EVA 2.0 won me over to the franchise are either ruined, reversed, or ignored.

I am extremely surprised at the number of people who where confused or disappointed at this film. If this movie is confusing then Evangelion is not the series for you, stick to something lighter and easier to digest. EVA has always been for the hardcore anime fans and 3.0 delivered a mind-blowing epic storyline with absolutely amazing visuals.It was a surprise that the story took a different turn, but it was pleasant because it's new material for the true EVA fans. Do you really just want to keep watching a remake of the old series crammed into 1.5hr with better graphics? Why not just go and watch the original series then? (The people complaining didn't actually understand the original series anyway) Not only is this new material, but it is executed extremely well, and I am sure the true EVA fans can appreciate it. The story is so deep and touches elements of philosophy, psychology, and spirituality. It's understandable that many people simply cannot fully grasp all the depth that is contained in this film.