Evangelion 1.11-You Are (Not) Alone

2015 AD. Fifteen years ago, a cataclysmic event known as the Second Impact wiped out half of the human race and devastated the planet.  Now, The Angels have returned to finish the job.  But humanity is ready.  The military organization known as NERV has produced a next generation weapon capable of dealing with these towering harbingers of death: The Evangelions.  Only a certain chosen few can pilot these machines.  One of them is Shinji Ikari, whose father, the leader of NERV Gendo Ikari, abandoned him as a child.  The other is Rei Ayanami, a lonely, quiet girl who will follow any order without question.  Shinji and Rei must confront their inner demons and take control of these giant robots if humanity is to survive its greatest ordeal.  For failure means the coming of Third Impact…and the end of all life on Earth.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is an Anime that has withstood the test of time since its creation in 1995.  Created by Hideaki Anno, this series changed the way we looked at the giant robot genre in arguably a greater way than either Gundam or Macross did in the 70’s and 80’s.  Larger than life monster battles, deeply personal and heartwrenching character conflicts, twists and turns and unanswered questions, the pros of Eva far outweigh any cons, especially when you have as amazing a finale as The End of Evangelion.  It cant be ignored, however, that Anno himself was not a well man back when the show was originally made.  More than a decade after End of Eva, he now has a chance to retool and retell his story the way he originally envisioned it.  Which brings us here to the first chapter of the intended 4 part “Rebuild of Evangelion” saga.  While it might not be what fans might’ve hoped, You Are (Not) Alone is a solid entry point for new and returning fans.

You Are (Not) Alone covers roughly the first six episodes of the Anime.  And it does so incredibly faithfully in the process.  A huge chunk of the movie is almost a shot for shot remake of those episodes, right down to the positioning, movement and even sound effects.  There are some minor changes here and there but for the most part this is the same Evangelion we fell in love with brought into a new age of Anime.  And I can see how that would be a downside for some coming into this movie.  The Rebuild of Evangelion is being built on doing some major changes to the classic story.  Yet in the first film, we don’t get any major differences until the beginning of the last act. 

And you know what, there’s nothing wrong with that.  Sure viewers are anxious for new stuff, that’s why they came into this little adventure.  But You Are (Not) Alone is equally an introduction for new fans as well as a hug to old fans who might not have seen Evangelion in a while.  It’s familiar but that’s to ease everyone into the setting a couple of decades old by this point.  There’s hand holding but once the end arrives, you know that by the second film they might very well be running with new updates and additions.  From what’s covered in the movie, it also means that some popular fan favorites like Asuka and Kaji wont be around until Chapter 2.  There is plenty of everyone else to go around, like the troubled Shinji, the silent Rei and the still sexy Misato.  Big props to the English dub of the movie for being able to bring back Spike Spencer and Alison Keith, who have been the voices of Shinji and Misato since the day Evangelion first came to the US and I cant wait to see if other classic voice actors from Eva history follow suit.

Evangelion 1.11-You Are (Not) Alone might look like a simple HD Remaster of the beloved giant robot classic.  But there’s both more to it and a lot to enjoy that’s familiar.  The action is still some of the best, especially with the new animation.  The character drama is as fresh as ever, and even might have some people sympathizing with Shinji more than ever before (shocking I know).  And there’s plenty of classic nods and tunes and ferocious sounds to please die hard fans and get new ones engaged in the story as well.  This isn’t the running at the starter gun beginning some might’ve expected from the Rebuild of Evangelion series.  It is, however, a warm embrace from an old friend, a quick catch up on things from the past…before no doubt heading full speed into some brand new territory.

8/10

And we’ll see if the second chapter can live up to those expectations.  Check back for my review of Evangelion 2.22-You Can (Not) Advance right her on the Gundam Anime Corner.