Rebuild of Evangelion: Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance Movie
Evangelion: 2.0 You Cannot (Advance) is the second of four films in the Rebuild of Evangelion series. This series acts as a recreation of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The story of the series is fundamental and has major differences from the original, both in terms of story, characters, and development. While there are some similarities to the original series in terms of plot, 2.0 is where the Rebuild films really start to come into their own and tell a different story.
Unlike the television series (animated by GAINAX ), the Rebuild series is animated by Studio Khara , an animation studio founded by Evangelion Director Anno Hideaki in 2006. In addition to Anno, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto provided the character designs and Ikuto Yamashita created the mecha design. The film also included new 3D CG technology that was not present in the previous films.
This film was first released on June 27, 2009.
Summary
The film opens with an original character not featured in the original series, Mari Makinami . Mari sits preparing while a previously unknown Evangelion Unit Evangelion Unit 05 is activated.
Although this is Mari's first time piloting, she demonstrates incredible skill, leading to the Angel's defeat, though the unit is ultimately destroyed. Shinji and Gendo visit Yui's grave and have a short conversation before Gendo leaves in a jet. Misato drives Shinji home, and on the way back, they discover the Seventh Angel attacking. She tells NERV to prepare Evangelion Unit 00 for battle, but it is revealed that Evangelion Unit 02 is already above them and about to strike.
This is Asuka Langley's Shikinami debut, and she takes down the Angel with an impressive combination of skill and precision. When Gendo returns from the NERV moon base, he and Roi are having dinner together, and she asks him if he wants to dine with everyone at the party they're throwing. Gendo hesitates, but agrees. Evangelion Unit 03 is transported to Japan, and Asuka is chosen to be the pilot to test the unit, as international treaties limit the number of active Evangelion units, and Unit 02 had to be taken from NERV's hands. Unfortunately, the day of the party fell on the same day Asuka was scheduled to begin testing Unit 03, forcing her to miss the party.
As testing for Unit 03 begins, things take a turn for the worse when it is revealed that the unit is infected with the Ninth Angel virus, which begins to take control of the unit with Asuka inside. Evangelion Unit 01 is sent to destroy Unit 03, but Shinji cannot bring himself to do so, as he realizes that Asuka is still inside. Gendo orders the controls transferred to their AI system, which quickly begins attacking Unit 03 despite Shinji's disapproval. When he regains control of Unit 01, he begins to seek revenge on NERV for forcing Unit 01 to destroy Unit 03, especially in such a gruesome way. Shinji is knocked unconscious, and when he wakes up, he is taken to his father and Shinji tells him that he no longer wants to be a pilot.
Shortly after, the Tenth Angel begins its attack and quickly infiltrates NERV. Mari is somehow able to access Evangelion Unit 02 and is the first to attack. Mari activates a feature of the Eva units that NERV was previously unaware of. This ability is still not enough to win the battle on its own, but it allows Rei to pierce its AT field with a powerful missile, though this is also not enough to stop the Angel. Mari crashes into the shelter Shinji was hiding in and shows him the amount of destruction caused by the Angel. The battle has not yet stopped, and Shinji witnesses the Angel consuming Unit 00 (and thus Rei). Shinji musters the resolve to pilot Unit 01 again in an attempt to save Rei. Shinji runs out of energy before he can finish the battle, but he manages to drive Unit 01 into a state of madness that eventually causes it to begin the Awakening process. Third Impact begins, leaving Ritsuko and Misato to prepare for the end of the world. Before the world is completely destroyed, however, Kaworu throws the Spear of Cassius at Evangelion Unit 01, rendering the unit inert and preventing the complete catastrophe of Third Impact from occurring.
Differences between 2.0 and the anime *Evangelion
-
The introduction of a new character Mari illustrates Makinami Although her background is not fully explained, she has a deep understanding of the inner workings of Evangelion units.
-
Asuka Asuka's surname changes from "Soryu" to "Shikinami." While her appearance and personality are largely the same, the name change is intended to show that Asuka is a different character.
-
While some Angels return from the original series, two new Angels appear. The AngelsSahaquiel None Bardiel , and Zeruel also appear, but have been redesigned.
Reception
Upon its release, Evangelion 2.0 was ranked number one at the Japanese box office, with sales of 4 billion yen, making it the second highest-grossing animated film of 2009. In addition to its sales, the film won first place in the Animation category at the Lyon Asian Film Festival. It also won the "Excellent Animation of the Year" award, and was nominated for the Japan Academy Prize in 2010.
