Synopsis
At the dawn of the new millenium, mankind has awakened a threat unlike any faced before: the Angels. Conventional weapons are useless against them. They can only be stopped by means of the Evangelions - bio-engineered vessels born from the Angel’s own technology mixed with human science. But the knowledge brought by the Angels is also the key to bringing about a startling new genesis for the human race. Placed in the hands of three young pilots, the final fate of humanity resting upon their shoulders, the Eva’s are the world’s last hope…
Review
The one that ends the epic. This is the true ending to the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series. But before you go all crazy, I want to say that episodes 25 and 26 go with this ending movie, as Ganiax and Director Hideaki Anno confirmed long ago. (Episodes 25 and 26 of the TV series are what goes on in Shinji’s head, this movie is what goes on outside of him, also confirmed by Gainax). I can’t really say much about the actual movie, because it would give away too much even talking about its beginning. (It is the end, after all.)
I’ll give a brief synopsis: Kaworu, the last angel, is dead. All the events of episode 24 have taken place and the movie begins where that episode left off. It’s the next day, the night before Shinji having been forced to kill Kaworu, and he looks on into one of the great Tokyo-3 craters as the sun heats the Earth. He then heads to Asuka’s hospital bed to ask her for help, but she doesn’t respond. (Being comatose and all, that happens from being mind raped by an angel.) He is very frustrated geting no response from her, and starts shaking her wildly. She flips over, and her shirt opens, revealing you know what. Shinji sees this, and reacts like you would expect an extremely messed up, frustrated, abandoned child to act. And thus the movie begins to end all movies.
The Breakdown
Simply has one of the most breathtaking stories of the modern era. While pointlessly ambiguous in some cases, in the end it is all worth it. Has some excellent action to, so for those action nuts out there there is something for you guys to. Simply put, buy this disc.
» The Pros
The characters. Their depth. It's amazing how much Anno taught us, subtly or not, about these characters, their problems, and how they go about fixing said problems. It's just under the guise of one of the best post-apocalyptic mech shows of all time. One of the greatest stories ever told.
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» The Cons
Can be very freaky and confusing at times. Is purposely ambiguous many times during the movie to make the viewer think, which can be a good or bad thing. Also, the almost pointless and vague Christian and Buddhist (and many other) religious references will be lost on many, thus not understanding the entire scope of the film. (Though really, this film is more about looking inside of the characters than religion.)
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» Animation
10 |
By and large this movie was animated very very well. Done by the excellent Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Blood: The Last Vampire), this movie sports up-to-date animation that never fails to impress, being extremely good in the mech battles, that have a real sense of scale to the surrounding area. |
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» Sound
10 |
Sporting both a 6.1 DTS ES Surround, 5.1 Dolby Digital EX, and Stereo sound for both the English and Japanese tracks, everything comes through amazingly well and there is some great subtle use of directionality as well. The sound effects are great to, except I want to note one thing: The English track in the movie has added new sounds effects (like Misato shooting a guy in the head, and his brains make an extra squish noise.) I don't like this, because the original sound effects were fine, so I found that unacceptable. Luckily, they didn't add much, and what they did add I couldn't tell most of the time. The music in the movie, is of course, amazing, and your breath will be taken away when you hear the vocal tracks. |
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» Story
10 |
The story being as amazing as it is, I'm surprised that no matter how hard I think of it I couldn't find anything wrong with the story. It's by and large one of the most different, interesting stories you'll see and you will learn a lot about the human psyche simply from watching it. |
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» Recommend
10 |
If you don't pick this up, your one of two things. One, you haven't seen the TV series yet and so can't see this. Or two, something is very wrong with you. (And if that's the case, maybe you should watch this, you may be able to relate to the characters.) :) |
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» Other Information
Language: English/Japanese with English Subtitles
Extras: Audio Commentary by the Dub Staff
Package: Very very good. While not my personal favorite (Death and Rebirth wins out) it's high up there. A very simplistic design, with Shinji and Asuka with their backs towards us looking on at the dead Rei/Lillith being as the ocean of LCL and broken buildings is right in front of them. Good stuff. |
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
