subject: Review Of Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (not) Advance Movie 2011 Part 8 [print this page] Fortunately, many of its flaws are made up for by the excellence of execution. Apart from the occasionally blotted CGI shot, animation leaves little room for criticism. The sound editing is okay for anime standards, and the voice acting is once again fantastic. Besides the original cast reprising their roles, Maaya Sakamoto, whose voice you may remember as Aerith from Advent Children, joins the cast as Fifth Children. As always, we have loads of fanservice and the occasional on-screen gimmick for considerate viewers/fanboys. Be it the Deutsche Post stickers on Asukas luggage or the arranging of the basins of an oceanic cleaning facility in the pattern of the systema sephiroticum: Be sure to keep your eyes peeled, as there is plenty to spot.
From a dramatical point of view, the movie naturally has a hard stand. While the story advances pretty far (roughly up to the point of episode 19 of 26 in the original series), it still leaves the audience with a dangling cliffhanger. This is also what complicates a final verdict. At best, Evangelion 2.0 offers a great potential for the rest of the series. At worst, it is in many instances a pointless, exaggerated action movie. Things are furtherly complicated by the fact, that most moments of real depth in the movie are founded on knowledge only viewers familiar with the original material will have.
Conclusion: Should you watch this movie? If youre familiar with the franchise, that would be a sounding Hai! If not, watch the tv series, then watch this movie. While Evangelion 2.0 may not be the best anime in years, it is certainly worthy of the franchise, adding some interesting aspects to the well-known characters. From the point the movie leaves off, it seems not too unlikely, that by overcoming present flaws, the remaining two movies may very well turn the reimagination into the best contribution to the franchise since Sadamotos manga adaption.
