Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

I would have seen this sooner, but I'm no longer in the habit of paying for DVDs of movies I haven't actually seen yet and Netflix took their sweet time making it available for rental. The second part of Hideaki Anno's theatrical retelling of the Evangelion story satisfied me more than the first, covering more of the original series' plot and doing so in a less easily predictable way. There were some slight differences between the events of the first movie and the handful of episodes it covered, but they generally weren't significant enough to pay much attention too. They really took strides towards their promise of doing something different with You Can (Not) Advance though, introducing new characters, shuffling around their appearances, and changing certain memorable events in significant enough ways to produce even more major changes down the road. It's often just the little things, but the twists they add in make the project seem worthwhile rather than just a way to cash in on the franchise's large number of fans.

If you don't already like Evangelion, I don't think anything about this movie will change your mind. It's definitely made for people who already know what the story is about. There's a certain feel to the proceedings that make them a bit esoteric, where it's much easier to follow what's going on if you've already seen the several hours of episodes that the less-than two hour film summarizes. It results in a film that's a lot of fun for certain people, but probably wouldn't play to a larger audience very well. Personally, it's hard to be bothered too much by that - I'm aware that the structure of the story doesn't fit the traditionally acceptable mold for a feature film, but I also don't care so much because it's really interesting to see these familiar events play out in a slightly altered way and with significantly higher production values. The animation and art design in general on these films is top notch, and with the right appreciation for the medium you might get something out of them even if you have no idea what's going on otherwise. The frequent fan-service is a distraction, but not enough to keep the movie from being the most enjoyable animated film I've seen in a little while. I know it's going to be another long wait before we get the last two movies, but I guess I can live with that.

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

I think some fans are split on these films, even more than they already are on the original series, Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's a newly animated and updated remake of the show, produced and written by the original creator Hideaki Anno and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, who previously worked under Anno and also directed things like FLCL, so it has the pedigree to work. And it's supposed to diverge significantly from the original story at some point, so it's not quite just a shameless rehash. The ending is some people's biggest problem with the series, so who knows by the end what people will decide is the definitive version. I really liked both the show and the film that retconned the ending (featuring the most disturbing scene I've ever witnessed in an anime!), and enjoyed this movie well enough too.

It covers roughly a quarter of the original story I guess, though some things are changed and accelerated to get into the meat of the story quicker. It's really nice looking, maintaining the feel of the characters and setting while still upping the production value, and is generally true to the series. There's some nice big action sequences and some new takes on certain events that certainly make it worth a look for people who already saw the series. It's a shame it took over two years for it to be released on video in the United States, since the sequel is already out in Japan and the property has certainly proven itself with American fans enough to where you wonder why it wasn't quicker. I couldn't totally shake the feeling that I was watching a long, pretty recap of the original show, and hopefully it's not too long before the whole thing's released and we can see where they're really going with it.

FLCL

I've seen this before, but had to write this for a class, which explains why it's a bit more analytical/spoiler-filled.

FLCL is a very strange straight-to-video series, though if you just ignore a lot of the more off the wall moments a more coherent narrative does emerge. The story is about Naota trying to grow up. He is in a shell at the beginning but gradually opens up through the influence of various females around him. Some boys try to teach him too, but usually fail. A lot of his trials involve various phallic symbols like bats, guitars, and guns. Sometimes they get pulled out of his head, and he has to use them to prove himself, usually impressing any girls who can see. Another motif is flavors. Naota's attitude changes over the course of the anime, and his choice in drink reflects his mood or who he's thinking about.

It's more or less sci-fi in the nostalgic mode, recalling a simpler time when we went to grade school and piloted robots that were transported from another dimension through our heads. There's a lot of dissonant animation and art styles, even a mimic of South Park, that add to the peculiar vibe of the story. Naota is a reluctant protagonist but becomes a hero in the end. The two most important secondary characters are Mamimi, who usually ends up causing trouble for him, Haruko, who is a little crazy but encourages him to be a better person. Most of the characters try to push him one way or another, but things usually turn out all right.