Rebuild of Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone 720p - (2007 Lang: English, Japanese, Russian, Sub: Eng Rus)

An epic visual feast for both new and long-time fans alike!

I was a large fan of both the original series, the half-release 'Death and Rebirth' and the replacement ending 'The End of Evangelion', so I'm not giving this praise as some guy who's just walked in on this.

I am extremely pleased with this new iteration of Evangelion. I don't even know where to begin ... Gainax threw out everything they had, completely redrawing all the animation and backgrounds in painstakingly high detail. It is the most apparent revision to the series at first glance ... all the visuals are top-notch, even the computer-generated graphics which I would typically find unforgivable in a film - but everything is drawn and animated so smooth, and the rare use of CG is so well-integrated into the film that it feels like you haven't been taken out of the organic animation at all.

The storyline is quite similar to the original, though first on the side I want to say they've taken much thought deciding how to develop the characters better; and the result is that the cast is much more believable and their chemistry is quite fantastic. The characters just feel deeper, their emotions are more genuine; it's hard to describe in a review but if you're a fan of the original series you'll find their personalities and interactions much more developed and satisfying.

The plot, as I've said; has not changed too much at this point.. there are exceptions here and there, with the introductions of pivotal locations and characters earlier on; no doubt to lay down continuity for the later installments. (The original Evangelion had a slight problem with eclectic character and plot point introductions.) They have taken care to set the stage more carefully for the first scene this time around; and as shown with the early introduction of an important character Gainax intends to make full use of some fantastic characters that didn't get enough time in the spotlight to really add anything especially deep.

I recommend this film to anybody who is a fan of serious animation; and I would say that it's an absolute must-see for fans of the original series.

It's comforting to know that in a world of poor remakes and extensions of popular titles, that Gainax has their wits about them and shows true dedication in their efforts to make Evangelion into everything that it could possibly be.

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone. (ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版: 序 Evangerion Shin Gekijōban: Jo, lit. "Evangelion: The New Movie: Prelude") is a 2007 Japanese animated film written and chief directed by Hideaki Anno. It is the first of four films released in the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy based on the original anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was produced and co-distributed by Anno's Studio Khara in partnership with Gainax. Hideaki Anno wrote the first movie and is the general director and manager for the entire project. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto provided character designs for the film, while Ikuto Yamashita provided mechanical designs. Both Shinji Higuchi and Tomoki Kyoda provided the film's storyboards.

In 2015, fifteen years after a global cataclysm known as the Second Impact, the child Shinji Ikari is summoned to Tokyo-3 by his estranged father Gendo, the commander of the paramilitary organization NERV. Shinji is caught in the crossfire between UN forces and an angel, an alien lifeform; colonel Misato Katsuragi rescues him and brings him to NERV headquarters. Gendo demands Shinji pilot Evangelion Unit 01, a giant bio-machine, against the angel. Shinji concedes when Gendo threatens to send Rei Ayanami, a wounded Evangelion pilot, into battle instead. Shinji wins the fight after Unit 01 goes berserk and destroys the Angel.

Misato becomes Shinji's guardian and he is enrolled in the local middle school. When another angel arrives, Shinji's classmates Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida sneak out of the emergency shelters to watch the battle. The angel slams Unit 01 into a mountainside, nearly crushing Toji and Kensuke. Misato has the two take cover in Unit 01's cockpit and orders Shinji to retreat, but he ignores it and destroys the angel with Unit 01's knife.

The Sixth Angel appears and begins drilling into Tokyo-3 to reach NERV headquarters. When Shinji attacks it in Unit 01, the Angel fires a powerful laser, critically injuring him. He wakes from a coma some time later and Rei tells him she will take his place and leaves for the mission alone.

To motivate the despondent Shinji, Misato takes him to the deepest level of NERV headquarters and shows him a giant white being crucified to a cross-like restraint: the Second Angel, Lilith. Misato explains that the angels are attempting to initiate contact with Lilith and bring about Third Impact and the end of all life on Earth.

Shinji agrees to pilot Unit 01 against the angel alongside Rei in Unit 00. He destroys it with an experimental positron rifle, which requires the entire electrical power output of Japan to power. Rei is nearly killed defending Shinji from the Angel's return fire, but he saves her by cooling Unit 00 in water and prying open its cockpit using Unit-01's knife. Rei, normally cold and emotionless, shares a smile with him.

On the surface of the Moon, Kaworu Nagisa awakens from one of nine coffin-like containers arranged on the surface. In a pit in front of him, surrounded by construction equipment and scaffolds, is an unidentified giant, wearing a purple seven-eyed mask and wrapped in white bandages. A black monolith appears, through which he and SEELE 01 engage in a cryptic conversation. Looking towards Earth, Kaworu says that "the third one" has not changed at all and that he looks forward to meeting Shinji.

While I knew a little about the Japanese anime Neon Genesis Evangelion through the reading of various fan sites dedicated to it, I've never actually sat down and watched an episode of the series. So when opportunity came by to experience the Rebuild of Evangelion, why not start the slate clean?

Rebuild of Evangelion is actually a tetralogy based on the original anime series by the same creative team, but it's not exactly a shot-by-shot rehash in that it does include some extra scenes, and I guess the objective is to allow the tetralogy to encapsulate what worked in the original, while at the same time to perhaps make it the more definitive telling of the story. Kind of like how comic books like to do the various reboots and tweaking of origins to suit the times.

We're introduced to Shinji Ikari, the teenage kid whose father Gendo is commander of an organization called NERV, which developed the Evangelion mechas to fight against alien Angels who invade Earth. To a layman like me, it's something like Ultraman battling monsters, except that are certain constraints here that make Evangelions interesting. Firstly, they are dependent on launch pads and are wired to NERV control, and what more, piloting these sophisticated mechas involves some bio-fusion between children, and the bots. Imagine having the fate of the world resting on the shoulders of a child, and what more, a rookie one in Shinji, who has to learn the ropes on the job. To complicate matters, he's the reluctant hero who whines a lot, is indecisive, and seems like he could lose it all anytime.

But that's exactly what makes Evangelion a joy to watch. The flawed heroes, compounded by the fact that with every increasingly powerful Angel to battle, the Evangelions seem to be more patched and repaired after each encounter, you'd wonder how long it could hold up before actually crumbling. The battle sequences here are nothing less than spectacular to watch, as we discover along with the heroes, just how best to defeat the vastly different Angels. Animation wise there's nothing to specially shout out about, as it's quite standard 2D fair with the usual attention to details.

Being the introductory movie, this film begins quite unconventionally in the thick of the action to grip your attention and never let up. As it moves along, it does drop hints of previous incidents, while introducing us to new characters along the way, expanding its mythos and universe. And in all intents, it does leave many doors opened for questioning, and it's almost definite that these would (hopefully) be answered in the subsequent films. Oh, and for action junkies, I give the thumbs up for the final battle in this movie - the creative team really do know how to make everything look really bleak!

For those who are new to the series, I quite sure this will serve as an excellent starting platform into the Evangelion universe. For those who have already been in the loop (and probably hated the series ending), this could be interesting for you to see what changes were made, and whether you will prefer the tetralogy instead.