#(SPOILERS) #This review will be a collection of my thoughts on the entire Evangelion franchise from start to finish and my final thoughts / review on the fourth rebuild movie. I've already written 3 reviews on Evangelion but this movie changed my overall view on this franchise a lot so I also want to go back and look at the parts that I didn't enjoy and why I liked the rebuilds so much more than the original series.
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I've already explained a lot of what I'm about to say in detail >here< and >here< so I'll try not to repeat myself too much. The problems I've had with the original show and EoE was mainly the fact that the show focused so much on the convoluted story, while also trying to keep it mysterious and cryptic that it just ended up being a complete mess. The character development was also heavily impacted by this decision, as whenever the show was shifting its focus towards the characters and their relationships, it quickly jumped back to the story which after around 7 episodes I just couldn't have cared less about as it was pretty much always the same repetitive ("pilot the robot shinji" - "I dont want to") etc. etc... It tried to be so much while barely even explaining the basic premise or having any form of world-building, which is essential to creating an interesting plot and characters. By the time the show was over I didn't know what I was supposed to feel. I didn't care for the plot and the characters left a lot to be desired, mainly because I hated the fact that they're based on what's now very typical anime stereotypes. A while later I sat down and watched End of Evangelion, with the hope that it might clear things up that were left unexplained in the original show. Unfortunately it continued to have the exact same issues that the series had and so I naturally didn't enjoy it either.
"Alright, so I've seen all of Evangelion now and have come to the conclusion that I just don't like it."
...is what I thought. I was under the impression that the rebuild movies were simply a modernized reboot of the series and to a certain extent that isn't completely false. The first 2 movies are still quite similar to the series, sharing most of the scenes with some slight additions and changes. The second half of Evangelion 2.0 however is where things take a drastic turn, with Eva 3.0 already having completely deviated from the original series. I've touched on this in my previous reviews, but the rebuilds do a much better job of explaining and driving the plot forward than the series, while also making the characters more appealing and despite the shorter runtime, somehow manage to develop the characters more than the series ever could. The plot is used more as a guideline for the character development rather than being the focal point, which works really well in my opinion.
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#Now onto Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0
Going into this movie after having been positively surprised by the previous rebuilds I naturally had high expectations. Not only is it the highest rated part of Evangelion, it's also the very last entry of the franchise. As I was quite disappointed with how the original series and EoE ended I was really excited to see how they'd end it all this time around and I love it. From start to finish the fourth rebuild managed to perfectly encapsulate everything I like about Evangelion and even improve upon it. The first half of the movie is about Shinji trying to come to terms with the fact that he pretty much destroyed the world and Asuka, who once again has to temporarily live with Shinji has had enough of his constant sulking and in her own way, tries to help him with his problems, though she acts like she doesn't really care about him. "Rei" is also present and is trying to find her place in the now changed world, while also trying to figure out what it means to be human, instead of living only by following orders and constantly asking herself "what would Rei have done?".
The movie then enters its final stage with Misato and all of Wille trying to stop Nerv, or more precisely Shinji's father from initializing the Human Instrumentality Project. I really didn't expect the last battle to be this over-the-top but I thought it was quite fitting and reminded me a lot of Gurren Lagann, a show which I also really like. One of the few problems I've had with this movie though and honestly all of the rebuilds is the very excessive use of CGI. I usually don't mind it as long as it's used well but it really is in almost every scene of the second half and it's quite noticeable as the CG animation has more FPS than the 2D animation, which could've easily been fixed... The movie still looks great, especially the first half, but it definitely could've been better.
Lastly, we get to the final "fight" between Shinji and his father in which all of Gendou's motivations, plans and feelings are revealed in a heart-to-heart, father-son conversation. The similarities between him and Shinji instantly become obvious and it's hard not to sympathize with him at least a little, despite everything he has done. In this last part of the movie I actually started to really like Shinji as a character, which is saying something as I've genuinely despised him in the series. He realizes that hiding his feelings and shutting himself off from everyone wont help him or anyone else and starts to takes matters into his own hands, even going as far as to be willing to sacrifice himself to save the world. In the last moment however, his parents take up the role of becoming the savior and give Shinji a new chance at life. With the world saved, we see Shinji sitting at a train station, now an adult, grown up and not being afraid of opening up to people anymore.
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This message of growing up is something that I think Evangelion tried to convey from the very beginning, yet it always failed to reach me due to the various reasons I've mentioned previously. The rebuilds and especially Thrice upon a time have finally managed to do exactly that and I am really glad that I gave it another chance. I might even give the original series and EoE another try if I feel like it. For now though I can confidently say, Thrice Upon a Time and the entire rebuild series are worth watching:
