Rebuild of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 (2021)

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021)

Dirs. Hideaki Anno / Kazuya Tsurumaki / Katsuichi Nakayama / Mahiro Maeda

Given my feelings about part three — and that in the lengthy interim between it and part four Anno had helped make what I consider to be the worst live action Japanese-language Godzilla movie since the Showa Era lost its way — I didn't feel the pang of the nine-year wait that happened, but I sympathise with anyone that did.

Evangelion: 4.0 You Can (Not) be Fucking Serious, as it'll forever be known to me hereafter, has some stunning animation, but is less successful in other ways. It has the dubious honour of being the least engaging anime movie that I watched in 2022.

The frantic aerial battle that fills a large chunk of the opening was off-putting to me, but I can see how it could be considered impressive by others, in how it resembled some kind of futuristic fighter plane conflict. In retrospect, when paired with what follows, it plays a successful part in conveying how important the role of contrast is to the whole.

Rebuild of Evangelion: 3.33 (2012)

Evangelion: 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo (2012)

Dirs. Hideaki Anno / Mahiro Maeda / Kazuya Tsurumaki

Parts 1.11 and 2.22 stayed recognisably close to the original NGE TV Series plot, but part 3.33 spirals off to places new. There are big changes and most of them aren't good.

Firstly, none of what's teased in 2.22's post-credit preview is actually in the third film. Instead, it's set a significant number of years after, which could be as jarring for the viewer as it is for one of the characters.

In retrospect, it's helpful to accept that what was teased did actually happen, albeit offscreen. Mercifully, the implied level of 'fan service' is largely absent, besides some cheap low angle female pudenda shots.

A dramatic space-set action scene opens proceedings, and is quickly followed by some tedious Anno dialogue; as someone who prefers to watch anime subbed, it felt more pronounced than it might otherwise have seemed.

Rebuild of Evangelion: 2.22 (2009)

Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance (2009)

Dirs. Hideaki Anno / Masayuki / Kazuya Tsurumaki

I said previously that the film is faithful to Dir. Hideaki Anno's original vision 'at least for now'. To expand upon that, it's more than just a retelling, it's a 'rebuild' of the story - like its English language title states. The original series fell in on itself before its ultimate completion, so a redesign isn't necessarily a bad thing, if done correctly.

The foundation upon which the 'rebuild' is constructed is largely the same as before - but as more tiers are added, the resultant structure takes on a wholly different appearance. That change becomes more apparent in 2.22 than it was in 1.11. [1]

It covers episodes 7-19, which is quite a task in such a short amount of time.

Rebuild of Evangelion: 1.11 (2007)

Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone (2007)

Dirs. Hideaki Anno / Masayuki / Kazuya Tsurumaki

A cinematic 'Rebuild' of the 'classic' Neon Genesis Evangelion TV Series. The first film (of four) covers episodes 1-6. It's overseen by the same director as the series, Hideaki Anno, so is faithful to his original vision - at least for now, but that's for a future post.

Newcomers to the world of NGE may find it difficult to assimilate everything on first viewing, but in truth even the series didn't make complete sense to a large percentage of its audience until the second sitting, so in a way being perplexed is par for the course.

Nevertheless, for the benefit of anyone that's wholly unfamiliar with the basics, a quick intro: fourteen-year-old Shinji Ikari arrives in Tokyo-III, having been summoned there by a father he's not seen in three years.