Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone — He said, She said — anime movie review
He Said
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone is the first installment of the Evangelion Rebuild, a series of four movies attempting to retell the events of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion from a fresh perspective, featuring all new animations, enhanced special effects, enhanced fan-service, and a completely new ending. You Are (Not) Alone sets about retelling the series first 6 episodes in a condensed fashion, introducing main characters Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami, chronicling their first three Angel battles, and (as the title would suggest) spending particular focus on their emotional estrangement from the world around them…and that’s really it.
Sadly, the first thing you’ll notice upon viewing Evangelion 1.0 (at least in the theater) is the English dubbing. While I usually find Funimation’s voiceover work to be pretty decent, the job done here is completely atrocious. Take for instance, Shinji Ikari. It’s as if he was voiced by NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley, completely with the weird mouth-voice speaking around a throat bubble, and completely random inflection. His presence never failed to annoy me, and that’s a terrible for the film’s main character. The female voice actresses weren’t much better, providing the picture with a potpourri of over-excited shrieking and unenthusiastic monotones. Simply because of this, I would recommend that, if you can, wait for the DVD release to watch this film.
But let’s ignore the dubbing issues for a second. How does Evangelion 1.0 fare otherwise?
Being that the film is only 98 minutes long, and the previous episodes would have spanned close to 132 minutes without credits, Evangelion 1.0 is something akin to a Cliff’s Notes version of the original series, by way of George Lucas’s Star Wars Special Editions. The speed increase is largely facilitated by the story team eschewing all scenes of interpersonal dialogs, save for character introductions, eliminating any sort of background exposition, and compressing fight scenes to a fraction of their original length. As a result, there is little to no chance for emotional investment in any of the characters, and you’re left to wonder about things that were initially explained up front in the original series. Furthermore, the pacing of individual battles are completely shot to hell, with the initial buildup, panicky cliffhangers, and resolution being met within the blink of an eye. For example, a battle dialog plays out something like the following: “You’re going into battle” — “Shoot!” — “We can’t make it” – screaming – “Shinji’s on fire!” – “Abort!” – “We can’t!” — “We won!” — “How dare you do that?!” — *SCREAMING* The pace is so frenetic there’s no chance to build up suspense, and the original mega-crises became comical.
However, if you’re already well versed in the Evangelion universe, and just going into the picture to check out the snazzy visuals, you might be able to overlook the problems mentioned above. The new animations are essentially shot for shot recreations of the old series (see comparison below [thanks wikipedia]), but slightly tweaked to feature new snazzy cell-shaded mechanical and Angel animations. That in and of itself is quite cool, and many times I found myself getting lost in the multi-layered, three-dimensional technoscapes. But at the same time I sort of missed all the hand-animated spinning gears and blinking diodes I’d grown to love before…To me at least, CG mechanics, while looking amazing, seem to require a lot less artistry and effort.
So, with Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, you have something of a mixed bag. On the one hand you have a plethora of shiny new visuals, but on the other, you’ve lost all emotional involvement and suspense. Now, the last time I watched an Evangelion episode was close to 10 years ago (back in the days of VHS!), so I’m not really equipped to know how any tweaks to the underlying story played out, but for the most part what might have been there seemed marginal at best. When all is said and done, Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone could provide a decent diversion for longtime and rabid Evangelion fans, but everyone else would do better by sticking with the original series.
She Said
Okay, I am intrigued, but is it for the right reasons? The last Angel fought in 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone was a giant morphing tangram (like the “Ball of Whacks” Chris got for me) that was so spectacular, I secretly wanted it to win. It also seems like there’s a love tangram brewing between brother and sister, sister and father, father and… work and possibly daughter. Not to mention the inappropriate chides about an adult bedding a tween subordinate. I’m interested in the mechanics of one-dimensional personality inter-relationships, but this curiosity makes me feel a little bit dirty. Do I want them all to hook up? Each character is so isolated and lonely that it might help them all shake their funk. Ew, no, gross.
Anyway, none of this is confirmed in this first installment, so take this from someone who is completely unfamiliar with the series trying to make sense of the tiny shards provided by Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone.
Of course, in Evangelion, the mechs are a major draw, but in 1.0 we’re mostly watching Shinji get the tar knocked out of him whilst he learns the ropes… with no training! Sure, his “mentor” goes through this odd spiel concerning the Earth’s rotational axis with prowess they failed to credit her with prior to this soliloquy, but basically it boils down to “when the auto-targeting crosshairs line up, fire!” This leads Shinji down a repetitive self-loathing path that only reverses itself in the heat of battle, when he defies all orders to retreat and chants “must’nt run away”, ultimately saving the day. How long can he keep that up? I wish I had more empathy for him, but the dubs make him too whiny to bear. I’m sure he’s supposed to be more introspective than the production proffers.
Everyone is hopeless. I want to slap Shinji when he’s in self-pity mode. I want to slap the writers for adding tasteless topless teenager shots. The military presence is laughable. Shinji’s mentor is a joke. Loopholes run rampant. But I still want to see the next three movies!
I have to mention that Sundance Kabuki Cinema is one of the cushiest digs in SF Japantown. Set up like a home theatre, the seats are paired up with a ~12″ wide console divider, increasing the possibility for snuggle-age and less of arm-wrestling a stranger over a narrow armrest. Perks include ordering and consuming food and alcoholic beverages, specific seat reservation, no advertisements (the catch is the $1.50-3.00 fee per ticket for such service). Also ladies, be warned that the first floor restrooms entrance doors are propped open, so I’ve been surprised by men, and surprised men who overlooked the signage.
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone plays at the Sundance Kabuki Cinema until September 17th. If you live outside the SF Bay Area, be sure to check out Funimation’s website to find screenings in your area.
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