Evangelion 2.0 is an oddity. Firstly, it succeeds in carving its own identity by the end. Unlike 1.0, it feels like there’s a bit more heart put into it. It’s less reliant on scene-by-scene recreations (though when it happens, it is still inferior), but it adapts an idea and conveys that information differently. Like the aquarium or the cooking sequence (giving characters more humanity with different events from the original but capturing its spirit). What makes 2.0 interesting is how it diverges from subtle to significant changes. I think the original slice-of-life moments are my favourite in this film, as they adhere to some of the core themes of the original (plus EoE), which is human connection.
I really liked the additional scenes with Rei compared to the original, as she was more intentionally a mysterious character. However, here comes the main confusion about the target market. Apparently, Mari's character is here to introduce newcomers, which is the most baffling decision, as I don’t understand why she exists. She doesn’t serve as a bridge for newcomers, if anything, it would serve more confusion. You are already compressing 13 episodes worth of information—close to a 2-hour film—and now adding an additional character to what is already an immense task is just confusing. She isn't that well-developed, she just exists. I'm happy to be proven wrong in the upcoming rebuild films, but here, just not that much. There are also just odd moments where plot twists or big revelations that occurred in the last 6 episodes of the series are mentioned so casually. I should preface that not being a standalone series isn't a critique, it's just that often I hear it mentioned "it's okay to start with rebuild" which is just false in my perspective. The production, I feel, is better this time around, especially with Asuka and her incredible Sakuga moments. Like the introduction of this iteration of Asuka and so forth.
Speaking of Asuka, I feel a bit complicated about the subject. I do like this iteration of Asuka, her being a bit more open, however, just the layers of the original aren't here. That dynamic with Shinji is just a lot less compelling, however, certain changes are quite interesting considering her origin. I will have to wait and see how I feel in the long term. That said, I do like how Anno retooled certain plotlines to involve Asaka to give her more depth in this limited time span.
I would say surprisingly, that I liked Gendo more as a person compared to the original. He’s still a horrible dude, however, seeing what previously were offscreen events was good. I can continuously list changes I liked or disliked, but there’s no point. Overall, 2.0 is an improvement and finds its own identity by the end, but still, the consequences of compressing so much material kind of hurt in some cases. As a whole, I thought it was a good film.
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