Evangelion Returns...
5.12.2008
I recently found a copy of the new NGE movie, You Are (Not) Alone. It pretty much covers everything from the series from the first scene, stopping right before Asuka's debut. Some thoughts I've had...
- It feels just like Evangelion. Many of the scenes are almost exactly the same, though they do take away a good portion of the filler. I've heard some people complain about things missing like enough development time of characters or lack of drama for the sake of moving through the story. I agree that some parts feel rushed, but there was a need for the pace; if I try to not think of it in terms of the previous story, there are some odd choices of scenes (it'll probably be explained once the other films come out) but it still has most of the core to the story.
- I first watched NGE in about '02, before I even cared about Japanese culture, so one scene I never really understood in the dub was when Shinji first got to Misato's place and said "I'm home."; it makes so much more sense now that I know some about Japanese and the ただいま/おかえりなさい (tadaimi/okaerinasai) exchange.
- They've kept a lot of the random moments that you remember from the series, for those that pay attention like that. The bathroom scene (where they're talking while the camera goes across the line of stalls) still has the "Out of Order" sign on one of them.
- The CGI in here is a little overdone in some places. It may just be the nature of the style that comes with the series, but there are occasions where either it wasn't needed or it was too overdone. (2 exceptions: the Ramiel battle and the movement of the city)
- As one of those people that is used to be someone intending on being a music major, I really appreciated the music here. Many of the scenes used remixes from the old series, taken into more modern levels; the tracks have a sense of suspense on occasion, both by the nature of the tracks and what I expected from them. When you know the music, and you've heard it for a long time, the movie makes adjustments on those themes that you have heard for so many years, and the suspense increases greatly there.
- If I had one major complaint here, it's that there are scenes that are just plain too dark. You'll go 15 seconds hearing all kinds of things going on, and knowing that there are things going on, but you won't see anything going on. I've tried on both my monitors, at night, with all the lights off; you can't tell what the hell's going on...
- The Ramiel fight scenes (6th angel...the blue one that's shaped like a Octahedron with a hell of a sniper shot) is easily the best Evangelion set of scenes I have ever seen. The angel is around for the last 40 minutes of the film, and all you can say is ... damn. You just wish they could've done what they did in this film in the first series.
- I do think that this movie is better than the combined 6-7 episodes. You lose a lot of the theme work done simply because there are time restrictions here, but in return you get something that is genuinely a good watch. It's like watching a clip show of the best of Evangelion, but it's seamless, provides some great fight scenes, and still maintains what is the essence of Evangelion.
- It feels just like Evangelion. Many of the scenes are almost exactly the same, though they do take away a good portion of the filler. I've heard some people complain about things missing like enough development time of characters or lack of drama for the sake of moving through the story. I agree that some parts feel rushed, but there was a need for the pace; if I try to not think of it in terms of the previous story, there are some odd choices of scenes (it'll probably be explained once the other films come out) but it still has most of the core to the story.
- I first watched NGE in about '02, before I even cared about Japanese culture, so one scene I never really understood in the dub was when Shinji first got to Misato's place and said "I'm home."; it makes so much more sense now that I know some about Japanese and the ただいま/おかえりなさい (tadaimi/okaerinasai) exchange.
- They've kept a lot of the random moments that you remember from the series, for those that pay attention like that. The bathroom scene (where they're talking while the camera goes across the line of stalls) still has the "Out of Order" sign on one of them.
- The CGI in here is a little overdone in some places. It may just be the nature of the style that comes with the series, but there are occasions where either it wasn't needed or it was too overdone. (2 exceptions: the Ramiel battle and the movement of the city)
- As one of those people that is used to be someone intending on being a music major, I really appreciated the music here. Many of the scenes used remixes from the old series, taken into more modern levels; the tracks have a sense of suspense on occasion, both by the nature of the tracks and what I expected from them. When you know the music, and you've heard it for a long time, the movie makes adjustments on those themes that you have heard for so many years, and the suspense increases greatly there.
- If I had one major complaint here, it's that there are scenes that are just plain too dark. You'll go 15 seconds hearing all kinds of things going on, and knowing that there are things going on, but you won't see anything going on. I've tried on both my monitors, at night, with all the lights off; you can't tell what the hell's going on...
- The Ramiel fight scenes (6th angel...the blue one that's shaped like a Octahedron with a hell of a sniper shot) is easily the best Evangelion set of scenes I have ever seen. The angel is around for the last 40 minutes of the film, and all you can say is ... damn. You just wish they could've done what they did in this film in the first series.
- I do think that this movie is better than the combined 6-7 episodes. You lose a lot of the theme work done simply because there are time restrictions here, but in return you get something that is genuinely a good watch. It's like watching a clip show of the best of Evangelion, but it's seamless, provides some great fight scenes, and still maintains what is the essence of Evangelion.
Labels: anime, evangelion
posted by bradleyjx at
7:53 PM
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