It’s been a while since Evangelion was released, and for some reason there are now remakes. These new films are called “Rebuilds” the supposed reasoning was so the series creator Anno could recreate the series as he had originally wanted. But of course, things are much more complicated then that.

For this review it is recommended that you watch the original series as the rebuilds are rather dependent on them, the review may hold minor spoilers for the original series.

-Visuals-

The visuals in this movie are top notch, the designs are the same for the main cast but sadly some of the designs for the angels and Evas have been vastly downgraded or discarded entirely.

That being said the show has many moments of improved atmosphere and action and manages to maintain a nice sense of ominousness throughout the movie.  One thing you will likely notice is that there are many changes in small things like the color of things in the background or just different designs for technological things. The meaning behind this I will leave for you to interpret.

Over all the visuals are pretty solid, they are well animated and  have for the most part solid design. There are negatives and they make some questionable changes but it still leaves a positive impression.

-Story-

The story is largely a basic retelling of the original Evangelion. This time around there are minor changes with major implications. There is honestly not much I can talk about without spoiling some major things. I can say that for the most part the movie is really well told, if a bit rushed through certain parts which is a bit frustrating as I would rather see characters have proper development then having their progression be rushed.

Something that is a bit more prominent with the new movies that it shares with the End of Evangelion is that it is a bit less reserved, while the original series wasn’t completely classy it still stands out as a bit better off than the less held back movies which don’t hold back on the fanservice.

Overall the movies story and execution really disappointed me, having come off of watching the original series with its stellar story this just felt a bit flat and like it had lost its magic. That’s not to say that it’s a bad movie, it isn’t the movie is good. It just feels like it could have been better had they not made it more typical feeling.

-In The End-

After having finished the film I couldn’t help but have mixed feelings about it. The directing is solid and maybe just a bit fast paced and the visuals are top notch but have some inconsistent things that hold it back. No matter what part of the movie I think of I always see a negative with it, the good doesn’t outshine the bad like the previous installments of the series did. Instead we got a movie that while fun and being worth watching isn’t perfect.

If you are looking for an entry point to Evangelion, I would recommend the original series. It isn’t as flashy and has it’s own set of problems, but overall it is more unique and has a better lasting impression than the movie. Than again if this is your first it might be fine, I wouldn’t know as I started with the series.

–Coming Next–

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance