After watching both "Evangelion" the series and "The End of Evangelion", both of which I really didn't like, I decided to watch the rebuilds hoping I would like them more and for once I'm positively surprised. I actually enjoyed this movie even though it's pretty much just a recap. Now, you might be wondering how I can enjoy this movie while disliking the original series and I have a very simple answer to that question: Pacing. The pacing in this movie is way better than in the original series and it focuses more on the characters than on the story, which I was a big fan of. '95 Eva tries too hard to convey an incredibly convoluted plot while also trying to make you care about the characters and imo it fails to deliver on either end. 1.0 on the other hand, decides to keep the story more in the background and instead let the characters carry the movie. For the first time, I think I understand why people can sympathize with Shinji, but more on that later. Now, all of this might not be the movie itself, but also me simply paying more attention to the characters this time around, but nevertheless, I feel like this is a result of cutting out some of the less important parts of the story and I think it works really well.
Not only is the pacing a lot better this time around, the art and animation have also seen a big upgrade and it's overall a lot more pleasant to look at. It feels new while not taking away anything from the atmosphere and vibe the original series had. The use of CGI is definitely noticeable but not to a point where it gets annoying or takes away from the immersion. One thing people often seem to overlook when it comes to the use of CGI is that it can also be beneficial and this movie is the perfect example of that. A lot of the fights have noticeably better animation, most likely due to the fact that this is a movie and has a bigger budget but also the fact that it uses CGI. The 16:9 aspect ratio also gives scenes, especially the fights, a more cinematic feel. Just compare these 2 shots of Unit 01 running and you'll see that there's way more detail and depth and it's like this in pretty much every shot.
Now, Shinji is a character I've always despised, I would go as far as to say I hated him both as a person and character, however, after watching this movie I think I've started to understand not only him, but also other characters like Misato a little bit better. The reason for his behavior isn't just that he doesn't want to pilot the Eva, or is too scared to do it, he also struggles with the fact that he doesn't have anyone he can truly rely on and seeing his dad care more about another person he doesn't even know, rather than his own son, makes him even more depressed. It's not like this wasn't shown in the series, but because I was too focused on trying to understand the plot and why everything was happening, I didn't really catch onto this. All in all, I think I'll enjoy the rebuilds a lot more than the previous parts of Evangelion.
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#The improvement in art, animation, pacing and focus on the characters not only make this movie a lot more enjoyable, it also gets the point the show was trying to convey across more clearly. I am hopeful about this franchise once again.
