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Between that review I wrote a year ago and those podcasts I just put out, I should hope that this is the last I have to say about Eva 2.0. For now.

This isn’t going to be long, either. I simply want to say one thing that I’ve neglected to mention thus far, and that is: What happened to movies like these? Like, anime movies. Upon multiple viewings, I can say with some certainty now that Eva 2.0 isn’t the perfect, polished gem that I thought it was walking out of that theater in Ikebukuro on opening day, but it’s still an excellent film. It’s excellent because it is exactly what got me into anime in the first place. Yeah, I was one of those 10-year-olds in the late-90s/early 2000s who got into anime via Pokemon and Dragonball, but it was the big spectacles secured my interest in the medium. You know, them big crazy anime movies they used to make. While my tastes have matured to the point where I enjoy works that may be a touch more laid back, a movie like Evangelion 2.0 really does well to ignite a fire in my soul.

I mean, it doesn’t really take much. When I break it down, the things that blow me away in this movie are purely on a directorial and technical level. Take the final scene for example, which is really what drove it all home for me. It’s a wonderful mix of extreme, creative and beautiful imagery, along with a really acute attention to establishing tone through acting and music. Shinji hacking his way through various planes of existence while his skin gets torn off, NERV personnel spouting off exposition dramatically while looking on in horror, and the Eva doing her best Devilman impression, all matched to a rousing rendition of Tsubasa wo Kudasai. The way everything just culminates in that final scene is really mind blowing, especially the first time around.

But while I say it doesn’t really take much, I seem to remember seeing a number of other works trying their hardest to nail scenes like this, but they all fall flat. Maybe it’s just my imagination. But what I’m trying to say here–in hopefully under 500 words–is that this movie owns hard, and why don’t other anime movies own this hard? I mean, Tokikake owns really hard, but not in the same way. Is there just no market for crazy movies like these? Does the next masterpiece on the level of End of Evangelion just have to be Evangelion again? I mean, I guess there’s Gundam Unicorn… but wait, that’s Gundam.

Maybe the strengths of those franchises enables these works to occupy the godly realm that they do. I don’t know. But what do know is that I want crazy, big-budget action movies again. Actually, not even action. What I want is more super natural.

I mean, I guess I can just watch End of Evangelion again. I do finally have this lovely R2 rip, after all.

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The spoilerfic show! We do cover more technical information, but we really start to dig deep into the movie after that. What gems do we unearth? Eh, not much really. But it’s fun!

Guests

• Aaron Clark
• WELCOME TO BONERTOWN

Songs

• Opening Song– “Tsubasa wo Kudasai” by ~The Lovely Evangelion Girls~
• Ending Song– “Koi no Kisetsu” by Kon Yokou and Pinky & Killers

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We talk about Eva 2.22! This is a spoiler-free show that mostly covers the technical aspects of the movie, so I guess it’s kind of boring? Especially since I’m not an animation expert?? Good thing Aaron and Bonertown know things. Part II will cover more spoilerific details, so look out for it in a few days!

Some things mentioned in the show:

• Shameless Eva advertisements
• The NERV bucket
• The Evangelion humidifier

Guests

• Aaron Clark
• WELCOME TO BONERTOWN

Songs

• Opening Song– “Mellow 2009″ by Sagisu Shiro
• Ending Song– “Furimukanaide” by The Peanuts

Would have preferred Yebisu beer but couldn’t find any.

It’s a cheesecake because Misato promises service at the end of each episode.

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On July the 7th, 2009, omo, a mysterious man known only as “Alex”, and myself attended the once-in-a-century concert “Super Dimensional Tanabata Sonic” put on by Kanno Yoko and the Seatbelts. However, the podcast that was produced is mostly about the new Eva movie, and really unfocused rants about the concert. That’s just how we roll, here!

We also review Pepsi Shiso, and I eat a Chocolate Cornet.

For those afraid of spoilers, we do spoil the end of Eva 2.0, so when we say SPOILERS, skip to around the 19 minute mark and all should be good.

Some photos.

Guests

• Omo
• Alex
  

Songs

• Opening Narration– “Introduction” by Shigeaki Saegusa, from the Zeta Gundam soundtrack
• Opening Song– “What Planet Is This?” by Kanno Yoko and Seatbelts
• Ending Song– “Want It All Back” by Yamane Mai
• Closing Message– “SF Game Center” by Kanno Yoko

I know THE FIRST THING that’s coming to your mind is, “But wah, you already own that Kaede figure.” And to this quite understandable query, I will reply with this–that Kaede figure was the first PVC I ever got, and as such I didn’t know how to take care of it, so I left it in the sun for an extended period of time, and it got bent up. I tried to fix it up, but my mortal hands can only do so much. I saw the same figure in Mandarake for 1200 yen, so I figured I may as well buy it.

With that matter taken care of, I bet you are now wondering, “But wah, you don’t like Rei! Why do you have a figure of her in a bikini?” Well, see, my friend found that figure on the street. Literally. Standing straight up on the street, right out side of club Sega. I offered him 1000 yen for it.

Her tummy is soft!

June 27th, 2009 certainly was a great day for our beloved Evangelion. In addition to the release of a spectacular new movie, that awesome Rei glass I’ve wanted for years also finally came in the mail…

While doing my grocery shopping, I tried my best to fine a suitably orange-coloured drink with which to fill this glass. Orange Qoo wasn’t going to cut it–too yellow. I had to shoot for something more expensive. Itoen Mango Mix Fruit Juice seemed just perfect.

The taste? Not that great, I guess. The drink was at that point not chilled for long enough, and some soap probably got in there since I had to wash the glass right before using it. But that’s not the glass’s fault, now is it! I plan to use this quite regularly. More so than my Witch Hunter Robin shot glass!

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Throughout most of these comics, Tina is the straight man, while Rets plays the fool, but every now and then I like to switch it around, resulting in Tina being even more ruined than Rets could ever hope to be. I personally haven’t seen grotesque BL (haven’t seen much BL at all, really) but I’m sure at least ONE BOOK must exist. Tina has alluded to having a violent personality beneath her cute clothes and smiles, but I think this is the first time she’s every really expressed an interest in guro.

I’m not really sure how I feel about the artwork. The lines looked fine on paper, but something got lost in translation. The sunset effect is fine, I guess. Oh, and I’d just like to mention that otaku girls in Japan do dress pretty similar to how Tina does, surprisingly enough. I guess she’s not all that unrealistic after all!

June 27th is now coming to an end in Japan, and by now a good part of the nation has seen Eva 2.0, and so have I! Here’s my review! I won’t write much about it here aside from the fact that it’s very, very, very good. Way better than the previous movie. Fly to Japan to watch it! I dare you!

The new Haruhi is finally under way. It made a pretty big splash with its one self-contained time-traveling adventure, and has now moved on to what will probably be a three episode story arc. I think this current story arc is fine, but not the best the series has to offer. I like it, but I hope it’s resolved in some awesome way. At least the outfits are awesome. Especially Mikuru’s! Ah, she’s so cute. Thank you, KyoAni. Thank you.

That was a little longer than previous weeks, but I’m all anime’d out after that Eva reivew. I was planning on even doing a Shin Mazinger post today, but that’ll have to wait. Until next time!

Yup. Spoilers. This list won’t be comprehensive or in order, I’m just going by whatever pops up in my mind first. Please keep in mind that my Japanese comprehension isn’t the best, so I may get some things wrong.

(more…)

When the Rebuild of Evangelion was first announced, series creator Anno Hideaki proudly proclaimed that this series of movies would be a bold re-imaging of his original 1995 television series. The first film, “Beginning” came and went, and it’s generally agreed that the first installment was simply the first six episodes of the TV show, just cut down to 90 minutes. There were some slight changes, but it was hardly a “bold re-imaging.” Fans put all their hopes on the sequel, “Division” to really blow their minds.

Having just seen this film on its opening day, I can quite happily say that Evangelion New Theatrical Version: Division, or Rebuild of Evangelion: You Can (Not) Advance does fully deliver on the promise Anno made back when he first announced this project.

The first film, Beginning, decided to open with familiar scenes, but right from its opening minutes, Division delivers something that was never a part of the original series beyond some expositional dialogue. To make it even better, it features the much advertised new character–Mari–showing off her skills. Beyond this spectacular opening scene, the movie establishes quite firmly that This Time It’s Going To Be Different. Events are clearly shuffled around, omitted, or changed. However, while movie 1 also changed and omitted things, it was obviously just for time purposes, or to plant seeds of interest for the following chapters. The changes this time around feel a lot more thought out, and work a lot better to make the movie feel more like a movie and less like a bunch of TV episodes cut together.

What also helps the movie flow better as a complete piece of work is the fact that very few scenes from the TV series are recycled. There are some spread throughout (they keep the famous elevator scene) but for the most part the movie is completely new. They do cover a lot of familiar events, but the execution is very different. One big difference is the Angels– there are some completely new ones, and existing Angels are modified in ways that make them extremely different from their TV counterparts–even more so than what was done in the first film. The Angles in this Evangelion take on a more abstract existence–they change, evolve, and are clearly very smart.

The best parts about this film are simply how it expands upon aspects of the TV series that were hinted at or not touched upon at all, re-writes events so that they flow well as a film, and how familiar events from the TV series are reproduced at a more epic scale. In short, this movie truly is the epic re-envisioning of Evangelion that Anno promised. In place of filler episodes like Magma Diver and Jet Alone (which are awesome, mind you) the movie takes time to expand upon the post Second Impact world. Other branches of NERV are shown to some degree, as opposed to being simply spoken about. The battles scenes have more tension, more urgency, and at times more obvious Daikon IV references than the original. Even the characterization is changed somewhat. The degree the which things are altered isn’t superficial. This stuff is clearly important.

Of course, the main selling point of this movie is simply how it ends. I wont go into it in any great detail right now, but while other changes in the movie are different and good in their own way, whether or not they one up the TV series is up for debate. However, once you reach the final 30 minutes of Division, you begin to see Anno’s bold new vision come into fruition. It is indeed a familiar scene from the TV series, but the degree to which it is changed, yet at the same time very much the same culminates in such a way that quite honestly drove me to tears, and really does well to separate itself from the original. It’s nothing short of amazing. Almost End of Evangelion amazing.

As far as technical aspects go, this movie looks just as good as the first one, if not better. Since this film features the introduction of Mari, it’s kind of interesting to see how her post-2000 character design (and personality) meshes with characters written and designed over a decade ago. As I keep mentioning over and over again, the battles are simply amazing, even if they are few and far between. The music is primarily re-done tracks from the TV series, but in addition to the new orchestral tracks, there are two quiet vocal songs which play at very pivotal moments and only serve to highlight those scenes a lot better than the TV series did with its over-the-top orchestral score.

There are some minor, nagging issues with this film, most of which lie in Asuka’s somewhat rushed characterization, but for the most part, this movie does well to make good on Anno’s promise. This truly is Evangelion for the 21st century. However, at its core, it’s still the same Evangelion we know and love, just one more time, with even more feeling.

I’m going to make an entry after this one with some spoilers. You can read it if you want.