Evangelion Rebuild 1.0 pre
Lots of pretty gradients. Soft, yet vivid colours (it was a cam rip, so maybe it might be different when the DVD comes out in April with some extra content. Maybe that’s why ratdvd was invented). They renamed the songs… Borderline Case (or was it Crystalline Night Sky?) was renamed to Danse des Lucioles, whatever that means. And they actually timed it just right so that the song has the most impact… and I should know, because it’s my favourite song from Evangelion. I know, it’s just a background song. But this time, they timed it just right… Japan slowly going dark one city by one, and the last part coincides so perfectly with the stars (which look absolutely beautiful, I’ve never seen a scene like that in the original Evangelion) it just more than makes up for the fact that the pacing is a little fast.
Yes, the pacing is too fast. Suzuhara and Aida are only a shadow of their former selves, the first scene of school we see is when Shinji gets punched in the face, it’s very much about the thoughts of the people in NERV. What Shinji thinks (and what is going through is head is made much more clear this time), what Misato thinks of Shinji, what Ritsuko thinks of Shinji, what Gendo’s planning next for Shinji and Rei, and… Rei.
Come to think of it, Rei lost a lot of her cute side in this movie. She’s a lot more like a woman now. Not that I’m complaining, I don’t mind the change.
Yes, the pacing is a little too fast. The Angels are introduced way too quickly (well, it feels that way, but really in the TV series they also did just suddenly appear). Ritsuko now hints more at having a frustrated love. And it’s just like old man Gendo said, Kaworu was from SEELE. I just couldn’t get any of this stuff, but when I saw the scene where SEELE was talking directly to Kaworu, I went ‘Hey! Old Man Gendo did say something about that!’. It probably isn’t a great idea to introduce Kaworu this early, or even hint at his connection with SEELE this early on. One thing I liked about the original Evangelion was that it never really said anything directly.
Oh the graphics are really pretty. Gradients everywhere, even subtle gradients. EVA-01 actually gets a green glow on its decals now, so it looks pretty damn awesome in its first fight. The 3D shorts actually complement the movie and don’t stick out like sore thumbs (look at Initial D). Tokyo-3 rising out of the ground now is more impressive. Why? Well, added scenes, and more gradients (duh) and more seconds devoted to the scene overall (which means I get to hear more of the song too!).
The preview for the next movie (they remember us people who watched the TV series! Yay more service!) shows quite a few more Evangelions. In fact, so much more that I lost track. EVA-04 was destroyed (sucked into a Sea of Dirac, which… uh… Wikipedia says doesn’t quite work for quantum physics or somesuch and thus probably doesn’t exist) while its S2 Engine was tested, and EVA-03 was hijacked by an Angel, and apparently there was an EVA-05? What the flying fuck… EVA-06? WHAT THE FUCK!!??? Oh well at least Asuka and Kaji come in next time. More service please! I wonder if they’ll actually make Suzuhara and Toji full fledged characters the next movie and have that battle on the sea again…
I should add that this movie is an improvement over the TV series. It does lose out on some parts (like the cute part of Rei’s aura, or more Suzuhara and Toji) but it knows what its source material was all about, and it focuses more on it. Improved scene-setting and graphics are the sweet part of this unique flavour.
EDIT: They redesigned the NERV logo… but forgot to change it in some places.
EDIT2: That’s… that’s strange. I can’t stand. No, wait… I can… ow! It seems almost 60% of my muscles are malfunctioning. For some reason EVA-01’s nerve connections come to mind. It must be that goddamn HP Kayak XU I lugged up the stairs the day before. Goddamn that thing was 15kg at least.My biceps are at 40% potential, too. That shit had better be worth it when Rahz brings its LCD panel back tomorrow.
This year is shaping up to be a good year for anime. Gundam 00 was pretty damn godlike (well, I’ve heard all Gundams are, but hey), Code Geass S2 is coming out, Suzumiya Haruhi S2 is coming out (I hope CLANNAD fails and cancels quick), Evangelion 2.0 coming out, then there was ef – a tale of memories. I’m looking forward to it.
