Neon Genesis Evangelion You Are (Not) Alone Review
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"I must not run away, I must not run away." - Shingi Ikari
One of the best Anime series of all time has returned in a brand new way. Funimation brings to us a retelling entitled "Neon Genesis Evangelion You Are (Not) Alone." This movie is part 1 out of 4 movies to be released. Is this remake worth the price of admission? Or should we stick with the original?
Story
Tokyo-3 still stands after most of civilization was decimated in the Second Impact. Now the city endures the ceaseless onslaught of the deadly Angels, bizarre creatures bent on eradicating the human race. To combat this strange and ruthless enemy, the government agency NERV constructs a fleet of towering humanoid machines – the Evas – and Shinji Ikari is called into action, reluctantly taking his place at the controls of Eva Unit 01.
Living a life of loneliness and questioning his existence, Shinji struggles to accept responsibility for mankind’s battle for survival in this visually striking rebuild of one of the most important anime of all time. Shinji will fight the Angels alongside the only person who might understand his plight – Rei Ayanami, the elusive and frail pilot of Eva Unit 00. In this film experience not to be missed, Shinji and Rei will struggle to learn a simple truth: when carrying the burden of humanity’s survival on your shoulders, you are not alone.
Justin On Story - If you have seen the original you will be happy to see, that they have maintain the original story. The only problem I have with this is, that if you never seen the original you might miss a few plot points. The character interactions are a little different now. Shingi is less of a whiner in this retelling. Instead he is a little more comfortable, but he still does questions himself. Misato is more of a big sister/ mother to Shingi in this one.
*Spoiler Alert* There is a scene when Shingi is scare and Misato holds his hand to comfort him.
Commander Ikari and Shingi relationship are not really established, you don't get the feeling why Shingi should hate his father. However keep in mind that this movie only follows the storyline of episodes 1 - 6. Hopefully we will see more of why Shingi is so withdrawn from people. It's just moves a little too fast, it jumps from on set piece to another. However I'm happy that they did mention the "Hedgehog Dilemma."
Animation
Picture Comparison
Original
Remake
Animation - Compared to original as you can see for yourself. This remake has one of the best animation I've seen in a while. It is truly a work of art. From the landscape of Tokyo 3 to the updated look on Misato and the others. The color use is superb.
Music - The music is composed and arranged by Shiro Sagisu. You will hear the same themes used in the original series, such as "Rei Theme, Misato Theme, Hedgehog Dilemma and etc." The great part about the music is that it's fully orchestrated by the London Studio Orchestra. Plus an added bonus an all new theme song by my Utada Hikaru entitled "Beautiful World." Press play below to hear the new theme song.
Beautiful World By Utada Hikaru.
Voice Acting - There is no doubt that when it comes to Anime there are two sides. People who only want the Japanese dub with English subtitles. Then the people who only want the English dub. Luckily Funimation provides us with both options. Most of the original cast returns. Spike Spencer returns as Shingi Ikari and is brilliant as ever. Allison Keith returns to play Misato. There have been voice changes to Rei, Commander Ikari and others. Rei is now played by Brina Palencia and she does better if you ask me. Voice acting is very good in this one. Have no fear Funimation pulled out all the stops.
DVD Features - Unfortunately the only features we get are trailers. I was hoping to see behind the scenes look of voice recording. Unfortunately it seems we get the short end of the stick. Maybe when if they release an ulitmate collection we will see some goodies. Here is hoping.
Final Grade B+ - Neon Genesis Evangelion You Are (Not) Alone gets a B+. Great animation, wonderful story with a few missing plot points. Dvd features is a huge let down, but this a must have in your Anime collection.
Neon Genesis Evangelion You Are (Not) Alone Trailer
One of the best Anime series of all time has returned in a brand new way. Funimation brings to us a retelling entitled "Neon Genesis Evangelion You Are (Not) Alone." This movie is part 1 out of 4 movies to be released. Is this remake worth the price of admission? Or should we stick with the original?
Story
Tokyo-3 still stands after most of civilization was decimated in the Second Impact. Now the city endures the ceaseless onslaught of the deadly Angels, bizarre creatures bent on eradicating the human race. To combat this strange and ruthless enemy, the government agency NERV constructs a fleet of towering humanoid machines – the Evas – and Shinji Ikari is called into action, reluctantly taking his place at the controls of Eva Unit 01.
Living a life of loneliness and questioning his existence, Shinji struggles to accept responsibility for mankind’s battle for survival in this visually striking rebuild of one of the most important anime of all time. Shinji will fight the Angels alongside the only person who might understand his plight – Rei Ayanami, the elusive and frail pilot of Eva Unit 00. In this film experience not to be missed, Shinji and Rei will struggle to learn a simple truth: when carrying the burden of humanity’s survival on your shoulders, you are not alone.
Justin On Story - If you have seen the original you will be happy to see, that they have maintain the original story. The only problem I have with this is, that if you never seen the original you might miss a few plot points. The character interactions are a little different now. Shingi is less of a whiner in this retelling. Instead he is a little more comfortable, but he still does questions himself. Misato is more of a big sister/ mother to Shingi in this one.
*Spoiler Alert* There is a scene when Shingi is scare and Misato holds his hand to comfort him.
Commander Ikari and Shingi relationship are not really established, you don't get the feeling why Shingi should hate his father. However keep in mind that this movie only follows the storyline of episodes 1 - 6. Hopefully we will see more of why Shingi is so withdrawn from people. It's just moves a little too fast, it jumps from on set piece to another. However I'm happy that they did mention the "Hedgehog Dilemma."
Animation
Picture Comparison
Original
Remake
Animation - Compared to original as you can see for yourself. This remake has one of the best animation I've seen in a while. It is truly a work of art. From the landscape of Tokyo 3 to the updated look on Misato and the others. The color use is superb.
Music - The music is composed and arranged by Shiro Sagisu. You will hear the same themes used in the original series, such as "Rei Theme, Misato Theme, Hedgehog Dilemma and etc." The great part about the music is that it's fully orchestrated by the London Studio Orchestra. Plus an added bonus an all new theme song by my Utada Hikaru entitled "Beautiful World." Press play below to hear the new theme song.
Beautiful World By Utada Hikaru.
Voice Acting - There is no doubt that when it comes to Anime there are two sides. People who only want the Japanese dub with English subtitles. Then the people who only want the English dub. Luckily Funimation provides us with both options. Most of the original cast returns. Spike Spencer returns as Shingi Ikari and is brilliant as ever. Allison Keith returns to play Misato. There have been voice changes to Rei, Commander Ikari and others. Rei is now played by Brina Palencia and she does better if you ask me. Voice acting is very good in this one. Have no fear Funimation pulled out all the stops.
DVD Features - Unfortunately the only features we get are trailers. I was hoping to see behind the scenes look of voice recording. Unfortunately it seems we get the short end of the stick. Maybe when if they release an ulitmate collection we will see some goodies. Here is hoping.
Final Grade B+ - Neon Genesis Evangelion You Are (Not) Alone gets a B+. Great animation, wonderful story with a few missing plot points. Dvd features is a huge let down, but this a must have in your Anime collection.
Neon Genesis Evangelion You Are (Not) Alone Trailer
