Anime Review #2: Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone

Please note that this is not a summary, rather, a commentary on an anime movie – reading this and watching the film are two completely different experiences.

Spoilers (and in fact, storytelling) are definitely avoided, but some details may still be disclosed. Please continue at your own risk.

Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone is the latest, Blu-Ray and DVD version of the movie initially entitled “Evangelion 1.00 You Are (Not) Alone”.

In a nutshell, this movie is a re-imagining of the first half of the popular anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion. The second part is featured in the next movie, Evangelion 2.22.

The movie starts the same way as the anime series, but immediately, the much-improved graphics and fight-sequences are noticeable. For the familiar readers, the original anime series was popular because of two things: its weird and philosophical storyline, and its cool graphics. The decade-later movie was also ten times better in terms of graphics.

Although the artwork of most characters were retained and kept original, some artistic improvements were made. For instance, Unit 01’s green paint is now glow-in-the-dark, and its overall appearance is more eerie.

Unit 00’s color has also been improved, from the bright orange to the new, yellowish orange, that even matches Rei’s jumpsuit.

Another sequence that was almost always implied, skipped, or briefly shown in the series was the way the entire Tokyo-3 was “retracted”, that is, it moved to an underground location for the safety of its inhabitants.

In the movie, the sequence was shown for a good couple of minutes, and it was absolutely awesome! The buildings slide down seamlessly as the defensive turrets rise up. While some platforms or buildings can be forced down by releasing the holding clamps, most are slowly and safely lowered at a rate that would be, I would imagine, not nauseating.

The nostalgic movie ranges from the day Shinji Ikari was called by NERV, until the first battle he and Rei Ayanami participated in as a team. Unfortunately for Asuka fans, she won’t appear until the next movie.

Overall, the movie was edited superbly. The cuts implemented were just enough to tell the whole story, but not too few as to make the movie dragging. One of my favorite scenes was when Shinji and Rei were given their instructions: Shinji will be the sniper and Rei will be on defense. While dressing, Shinji notes, “You know, we might die this time.” Rei’s answer, done right as she was tightening her jumpsuit, was one of the coolest anime movie moments I’ve seen in a long time:

“No.

You won’t die.

I will protect you.”

And then she leaves the room, without letting Shinji react.

Of course, another “improvement” comes with the fact that this is a movie, with its own different ratings than a TV series. Fans familiar with the show will definitely recognize the scene when Shinji visited Rei to deliver her security card. There, Shinji stumbles into a naked Rei. In the TV show, Rei’s private parts were brilliantly blocked from view by random objects. In the movie version, such “restrictions” weren’t needed, so what’s naked is naked.

Finally, I’ll leave you with a treat. Because of the additional freedom, scenes such as Rei putting on her jumpsuit become possible. It’s probably not good enough to be GP, especially here in the Philippines, so I took the liberty of censoring some parts of the following snapshot. The actual film has absolutely no pixelated scenes.

You can purchase this movie from the following Amazon.com links:

• Blu-Ray
• DVD

All photos are snapshots taken from the movie and are considered fair use, because it does not reduce the willingness of potential customers to purchase the movie, and may event urge them to do so.