7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
In the wake of the Second Impact, Tokyo-3's fate lies with 14-year-old Shinji Ikari and his ability to pilot the Evangelion -- a fighting machine designed by his father -- against a merciless army of alien invaders known as Angels. The film is the first installment of a four-part silver-screen remake of sci-fi anime classic Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Starring: Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Kotono Mitsuishi, Fumihiko Tachiki, Motomu KiyokawaForeign | 100% |
Anime | 95% |
Sci-Fi | 51% |
Action | 49% |
Teen | 17% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 6.1
English: Dolby TrueHD 6.1
Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 6.1 (48kHz, 16-bit); English: Dolby TrueHD 6.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Before we take off into the body of this review, let’s pause for a moment to look over our anime checklist:
Can't we all just get along?
Evangelion 1.11 You are (Not) Alone arrives on Blu-ray with a sparkling AVC encoded 1080p 1.78:1 transfer. This is a brilliant combination of both tradition cel animation and CGI, and the Blu-ray shows off both techniques wonderfully. Colors are incredibly robust and gorgeously saturated. Fine line detail on the handdrawn elements is superb, with excellent delineation between characters and backgrounds. Some of the CGI is a lot of fun as well. While some of it is used for computer readouts and more technically oriented moments, a large segment at the end features a polymorphous "evil" pyramid of sorts which constantly changes shape and intent, at one point becoming a gigantic drill trying to reach the underground NERV lair. Throughout all of this literal business (busy-ness), the Blu-ray supports an incredible level of detail and stunning gradations of color. Evangelion fans are going to be very pleased with the image quality of this release.
Funimation finally steps up to the high-def plate, aurally speaking, with two lossless tracks, both Dolby True HD, one a remixed English language track, and the other the original Japanese. Because I didn't want to distract myself from the image reading subtitles the first time through, I opted for the English track. (I typically go back to the original Japanese for subsequent viewings, usually without subtitles, once I have a handle on what the film is about). This is just a downright fun track, full of the typically hyperbolic delivery style that is de rigeur for a lot of animes. But there is such careful attention paid to directionality here, as well as one awesome discrete channel effect after another, that Evangelion's sound mix rises to a whole new level of enjoyment. One goes into these films expecting the battle scenes to be bombastic, and Evangelion certainly does not disappoint in that regard. You will hear the laser thrust of EVA's ammunition clearly moving through the various channels as it nears its Angelic target, but there's also an incredible wealth of ambient surround sound activity throughout much of this feature. Fidelity is top notch, with no distortion or drop outs, and LFE is simply spectacular. This is one soundtrack you definitely want to "turn up to 11."
When you first access the Extras menu, you might be lulled into the false belief you have a wealth of supplements before you to explore. Unfortunately, that's not the case. What you really have is a 15:47 feature called Rebuild of Evangelion, a series of animatics and test footage showing additions to this version. It is available with two different soundtracks, one by Shiro Shajisu and the other, somewhat funnily, featuring Ravel's "Bolero." Aside from this extra, there's a 2:20 Angel of Doom promotional video, and less than a minute of interstitial News Alerts advertising this Evangelion's immanence. A second column of extras is entitled Movie Previews, but what it boils down to is seven versions of one teaser, all playing out at about 1:36 to 1:41, with remixes of either "Fly Me to the Moon" or Evangelion's closing theme "Beautiful World." A third column features very brief teasers for other Funimation releases. When you add all of this up, it's a pretty paltry assortment of supplements for what should be considered a major release.
Your ultimate personal enjoyment of this latest iteration of Evangelion is probably largely dependent on your knowledge of the source material. If you're a longtime Neon Genesis Evangelion fan, you'll love the subtle changes here, even as you may have to overlook some of the glossing over this "Reader's Digest" version contains, by dint of its very (abbreviated) nature. If you're coming in as a neophyte to this franchise, you'll be able to get the gist of what's going on, but you'll miss a lot of the subtext and backstory, which is kind of a shame considering what a wealth of information the original series provided. One way or the other, this is a visually and aurally sumptuous release that is sure to delight longtime fans and may in fact pique the interest of a whole new group of folks who will want to further explore the complex Evangelion universe.
Evangerion shin gekijôban: Ha
2009
Evangerion shin gekijôban: Kyu
2012
Shin Seiki Evangelion Gekijō-ban: Shi to Shinsei
1997
1995-1996
シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版 𝄇 / Shin Evangerion Gekijōban
2021
レドライン
2009
Shin Seiki Evangelion Gekijō-ban The End of Evangelion: Air/Magokoro o, Kimi ni
1997
Anime Classics / フルメタル·パニック!
2002
Suzumiya Haruhi no shôshitsu / 涼宮ハルヒの消失
2010
サマーウォーズ / Samâ wôzu
2009
機動戦士ガンダムUC / Kidō Senshi Gundam Unicorn
2010-2014
トップをねらえ! 劇場版
2006
Classics / フリクリ
2000-2001
Classics
2003
2003-2004
Kôkyô shihen Eureka Sebun: Poketto ga niji de ippai
2009
2009
Special Edition | Bekushiru 2077 Nihon sakoku
2007
2010
2010