I have been a long time fan of NEON GENESIS
EVANGELION from reading the manga to watching the animated series and the two TV movies.
Years later, I would read the reimagined takes of EVANGELION whether it was ANGELIC DAYS or the current THE SHINJI
AKARI RAISING PROJECT (I can’t wait to read CAMPUS APOCALYPSE). Now EVANGLION
1.01: YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE is the first of four theatrical anime films that rebuild the TV series and expands it. The first one focuses on the first six episodes with the film going back to the original animation elements
for clean-up and fixing in addition to adding new CGI animation.
EVANGELION 1.01 thrusts the viewer
into the chaos caused by the Angels out to destroy humankind by reaching the Third Angel- Lilith. It is up to NERV by using teenage pilots to control EVAs (big robots engineering from Lilith) to
stop the Angels. Shinji Ikari is a son who wants his Dad’s love, but he
never gets it. His Dad (Gendou Ikari) is the head of NERVA and puts the world
on his son’s shoulders. It is almost to much for Shinji to bear and it
is up to two people to keep him from falling apart- Misato (the chief security officer of NERV) and Rei (the mysterious pilot
of the other EVA that his Dad gives all his attention to).
EVANGELION 1.01: YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE is
a little too fast paced. It could have slowed down and let the characters
breathe a little bit because it wouldn’t have taken away from the EVA against Angel fight scenes. I’m impressed by the animation and it does keep with the animation of the TV series. Yes, they do have a long escalator system and they do show how alone Shinji
feels. The only thing you see in the way of Shinji’s Dad is his concern
for Rei. He is like a cyborg the rest of the time when he shows no emotion. I can’t wait for EVANGELION 2.11 when it comes to DVD in May.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
I wish the second disc of this special
edition went more into the heart of making and rebuilding EVANGELION 1.01 for this EVANGELION 1.11 edition. Instead we get test footage in the form of REBUILD OF EVANGELION 1.01 which has no interviews with the
people responsible for making it. We just have test footage set to two different
music tracks. Then we get a promotional music video, several theatrical trailers,
and news flashes announcing the first film is coming soon. The 20 page guidebook
does give a little more insight into EVANGELION 1.11 while also giving key info on the characters and terms.
FINAL ANALYSIS: If you’re a fan of NEON GENESIS EVANGELION or apocalyptic anime, watch EVANGELION 1.11. If you just want the movie, go pick up the EVANGELION 1.01 disc due to the small amount of extras.
This DVD release is (c)3-19-2010
David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com
