DVD Review: Evangelion 1.11 – You Are (Not) Alone

March 23, 2010

Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone retells the beginning of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion story. In it, Shinji Ikari, an introverted and depressed fourteen-year-old boy, is forced to pilot a mecha (known as Evangelions in this series) by his father, the leader of NERV. NERV and Evangelions are humanity's last hope against the Angel attacks. At first Shinji refuses, but reluctantly takes up the cause when Rei Ayunami, the original pilot, is shown to be wounded and still willing to fight. However, after the battle, his resolve continues to be tested and it is only through coercion from Misato Katsuragi, NERV's Chief of Operations and Shinji's somewhat forced upon roommate, by his father and by seeing Rei continually rise to the challenge when he would rather run away.

Highlights:
The best part of Evangelion 1.11 has to be the battle with the Sixth Angel. Having seen both the original and the remake, they really went all out to redo this particular Angel while still keeping the basics about it the same. Evangelion 1.11 changed what was one of the most lackluster Angel battles in the original series into one of the most intensive by giving the Sixth Angel transformation qualities and having them react differently to different kinds of threats, giving it a kind of personality the original didn't have. In the original, the Sixth Angel was just an eight-sided blue diamond shaped Angel that uses energy beams it fires out of it; in Evangelion 1.11, the Angel retains its base diamond shape, but is able to transform that and the energy patterns it shoots out are based upon its shape. In spite of this being the most immovable of all the Angels, it is an incredibly exciting and dramatic fight, especially when Rei places herself in front of Shinji to shield him.

DVD Extras:
The extras on the second disc were decent. There was an original music video and some footage on how they went about redesigning the various scenes to the movie set to two different musical accompaniments. It gives shows various scenes from storyboards to their final implementation and sometimes alternates that were tried. It also becomes clearer while you watch it which items are hand drawn – for example the hills and close up character animations – and what items are CG rendered – the machinery and some of the distant background characters.

Overview:
Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone is overall a great retelling of the classic anime piece that revolutionized the anime industry. Visually, it is far and away superior and the behind the scenes extras give some great footage on the 3D rendering that helped give the glossy new look, especially to the Evas and machinery. In addition, for those who are familiar with the original anime, there will be plenty of scenes that are near identical reproductions of previous scenes and scenarios – for some, perhaps too many. This isn't to say the movie isn't just a compressed version of the first several episodes as there is some new footage and scenes, especially near the end, but it is largely a retelling of those episodes.

This leads to one of its only real problems: in compressing the timeframe for the movie Evangelion 1.11, it loses a lot of the more subtle traits that give the characters their complex emotional scars. Only Shinji is somewhat intact, but here still the movie compresses things and makes it look like his decisions are all made on the spur of the moment without much thought or reasoning behind all but a few. In addition, it removes some of the symbology the original had, such as when Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida, two of Shinji's classmates, are forced to enter Shinji's plug for safety while he is battling the Fifth Angel. In the original, there were several lines which were used to symbolize reasons why the plugs were created like they were and why no one ever entered with them. This was removed in the movie, which could be seen as rewriting – at least in part – the way Evas work. At the very least, this lends support as to why some things are best left in full length series as not everything can be compressed down without losing important elements. Although the movie is dumbed down, it is still a great movie worth watching.

Shiro Sagisu does a great job enhancing the musical score to be worthy of a theatrical release while still maintaining the elements that made the songs memorable to those who watched Neon Genesis Evangelion. If there is one element that should have universal praise, it is this. I realize that some people will lament the use of CG to aid in the animation and I have already touched upon the problems compression and simplification has with characters, plot and themes; however, Evangelion 1.11's musical score is superior in every aspect of the original.

The English voice acting in Evangelion 1.11 was on par with or superior to the English dub of Neon Genisis Evangelion. More than that, it is one of the best English dubs of an anime to date. I am hard pressed to find any characters who had any problematic lines, let alone just generally off base. Particularly the main English cast—Allison Keith as Misato Katsuragi; Brina Palencia as Rei Ayanami; and Spike Spencer as Shinji Ikari—excelled at their parts.

Overall, Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone is a great remake of the first part of the anime and a must see for fans of the original as well as younger audience. If you have seen the original, you will appreciate this a lot more. For those who haven't seen it, you can still enjoy it without missing anything and perhaps it may also pique your curiosity to compare the original anime to the remake.