Neon Genesis Evangelion: Rebuild 1.11 FULL LENGTH Reaction!

Hey! No problem!! Thank you so much for taking all the time to craft this comment and leave it for the video! I really appreciate it! I hope, after watching Thrice Upon a Time for the reaction, that I might get a chance to see it on the big screen! We shall see! The rebuilds have been fun so far – having seen EOE and the main series, and with these being films, I can tell that it’s going to be different seeing how they’re formatted, and what info they choose to reveal at what times, so that’s going to be interesting! I do agree that I’m likely going to comment on what’s lost in the “show don’t tell” portions with the rebuilds, but I’m sure we’ll have fun with it! :) Yes, I’ve noticed the numbering is…off in this movie, obviously I don’t want ANY hints or clues, but I am thinking about that factor. And yes, the name Ayanami has been a mystery in the series…guess we’ll see what happens with that! :) If we get any answers! Hahahaha, everyone up in arms about me dissing pizza! XD I guess my thing was it’s not so much having pizza for a crucial meeting at the end of the world (though it does strike as a little silly to me), but the fact that it’s PIZZA HUT. Come on, NERV, state of the art equipment and you get the “fast food” equivalent of pizza? I guess they were under a time crunch, but I would have dished out some corporate funds to get a better pizza. ;) But I see what you mean! Ahhh, thank you for clarifying the translation thing with Gendo! That DOES make more sense! I appreciate that! But yeah, NERV’s way of explaining things is…”face palm” indeed, hahaha! Thanks for the clarification on the shots repeated throughout the series with the staff and Ritsuko; I couldn’t remember but at least they’re well animated here! Ahh, again, I don’t really want to get into plot details like that until I’m finished with the rebuilds because I’m terrified they’ll lead to spoilers and ruin something in the rebuilds for me that’s to come. All I will say is that’s interesting that the mask could symbolize Adam more than SEELE, so putting it on Lilith to “fool” people would be neat…but really? Like five people have access to see Lilith. Who are we fooling? Even SEELE seemed to know it was Lilith and not Adam…so…we were fooling Kaji in case he found this secret underground base? It’s a weird plot point for now, but I don’t want to talk any more about it until the Rebuilds are done, so I can see where it goes! :) I think EOE conditioned me with sexual tension surrounding Misato and Shinji, but for their sake I HOPE it’s not there, haha! That is a cool interpretation of that scene with Shinji, too, at the end of the road! I like that; I could see that being the case! Thank you so much for the comment and insights! I’m VERY excited to get to Rebuild 2.22 now!! :D :D

Romaniablack

I love Ramiel's upgrade in all of this! Yesss, she sounds so terrifying!! It's so wonderful! And I agree, the operation here getting the upgrade was excellent and Misato at the helm and getting her powerful boss moment? I can only imagine how this all looked in the theater! :) Hahahaha, that comparison to Erwin too! Man, now I want Misato and Erwin to meet in a crossover! That would be utterly amazing and terrifying at the same time! :D And yeah, that is a good point -- the idea of making Shinji and Rei's bond seem like a "plan" in all this is a little forced and takes away from that moment a bit -- but, I treat the original show as the ultimate canon, so that at least is there. :) Thanks for the comment!! :D

Romaniablack

Ahhhh, that is very true as well! Especially the second part of nostalgia! I have a feeling I'm going to have a lot of fun with the rebuilds, so we shall see! :) :)

Romaniablack

I think i liked it much more this time around compared to the first time i watched it. Maybe back then, waiting years for new NGE content made it feel more underwhelming as this first one didn't really add that much to the original besides some great animation. They say "absence makes the heart grow fonder" but maybe also more prone to nostalgia and unreasonable expectations? 😆

Christopher Pettersson

That is a good point and take on "Fate" -- I think the translation may have something to say with it in how it sounds; it was definitely an odd moment so your take with it adds something. But yeah, it was always going to be a hard row to hoe when adapting all that content into a feaure length film. I overall really enjoyed it, but didn't want to shy away from what I thought was lacking from the anime. However, the promise of a detour from the original plot has me VERY EXCITED to see what we get! 😁😁 Thank you for the comment!!

Romaniablack

Ooohhh intriguing!! I will definitely have to bring that up in a future reaction, so thank you for letting me know about that!

Romaniablack

Pizza can be a great warroom snack -- just maybe get a brand other than Pizza Hut, hahaha!!

Romaniablack

Ohhh that's so cool!! I can definitely see the influence! And thank you for the kind words! I played a lot of Kingdom Hearts when it first came out, so her voice is ingrained in my brain! :)

Romaniablack

Absolutely true, and on top of that we have audience expectations and preferences. I myself prefer a longer form story and i must say that these days there are very few movies that can stand up to all the excellent shows we get. Still, others prefer the more easily digestible format of a movie and nothing wrong with that.

Christopher Pettersson

Adaptation is always complicated and making something into a movie is not necessarily the end all be all of how a story can best be told, I think that's a good takeaway for AoT for example, some people were hopping for a movie but stories that dense might benefit from having the room of a TV show even if that constrains them budgetwise. Life it's all about compromises.

Alex Kornejo

Watching your reaction and reading the comments make it feel redundant to go through how i feel about the movie... yeah, some things i like, some things i don't like, yupp, great animation... sure, things are trimmed and not as expansive as in the anime series, the nature of the movie format i guess. I think you have to somewhat see it as you (try to) do when a book you like is adapated into a movie, things will have to be removed or simplified. Maybe some things will have to get awkwardly crammed into it to make more complex things fit within the confines of a movie. One thing i dont quite agree with your take on is the "fate" thing, i don't think you have to see it as the characters talking about fate with a capital F. With Fuyutsuki it can be that he knows that their plan, that they have chosen to enact, will lead to things not great for the kids and him not quite taking responsibility. Misato might herself believe or not believe in "Fate", but either way her words to Shinji might again not imply any form of capital F Fate imbued in him (either by her or the story). Or perhaps i just see what i want to see as someone who mostly doesn't like fate/destiny stories and doesn't believe in anything of the sort in real life.

Christopher Pettersson

Yeah, it proves that with the exception of End of Evangelion (which was like the finale of a tv series than a stand alone picture), it really is hard to cram the emotional beats of NGE into a single movie. Hahaha, I'm usually the "old man grumbling and shaking my cane" when it comes to reboots or remakes, but I'm actually excited to watch this series and be able to talk about what's great and what we should "shake our canes at," coming from the perspective of having seen the original series! Should make it fun! :) But yessss, the animation and soundtrack in this were glorious! The eerie sounds of the angels were probably my favorite and the music leading up to that final showdown against Ramiel! :) Thanks for the comment!

Romaniablack

Shiro Sagisu's Music & Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's Art are every bit as glorious as always. And the climax of the movie is a definite upgrade, Ramiel's 'alien geometry' makes me think of tesseracts and other multidimensional objects moving through 3 dimensions like in that Carl Sagan 'Flatland' anecdote. Operation Yashima was nice in the show but compared to this you can really tell how constrained they were by a TV budget vs a movie Budget for such an ambitious sequence. The scale here is astonishing, really makes you think of all the effort a whole nation would have had to put into a matter of hours to make the whole thing possible, with every technician and specialist doing their part, plans getting executed nearly as soon as they're thought up and with Misato at the helm of it all with Ritsuko as her right hand woman. And she's able to make a convoy of giant tractors stop with a wave of her hand, how's that for a girl power moment? I'm sorry for Erwin's gambles but Misato Katsuragi is the Michelangelo of Military Project Management and Operation Yashima is her Sistine Chapel. Somebody called Operation Yashima 'competency porn' in that original video and here it gets elevated to High Art. That sequence alone makes the movie worthwhile. And then we get to the actual battle. Ramiel is looks gorgeous and sounds horrifying, can't talk about perfection so let's move on. Having talked about the positives here's a negative that really bothers me beyond nitpicky pacing stuff; the fact that they implied Shinji & Rei getting closer to each other during this act is part of Gendo's plan really bugs me because it takes away agency from both Shinji & Rei and makes what's supposed to be the emotional resolution of the movie to be a false bond. Plus it makes no sense to be Gendo's plan since the bond that was forged here is what screwed him over in NGE.

Alex Kornejo

"They're not as highly integrated in my soul as NGE+EoE" Me and you both buddy. I’m also with you on Romania’s take on pizza during crunch-time meetings. Product placement aside, it might be the most controversial thing she’s said so far. Of course that’s what you’re gonna order when you got a bunch of people too busy to think about what they’re gonna be eating. Hot? Cold? Who cares? It’s pizza. Eat it and move on, we’re building a cathedral in a day here people. Ritsuko’s shots I feel they stand out now because we know what was up in between Gendo, Ritsuko & Rei so those quick glances take on an extra edge that was easy to overlook before. Same goes for Misato’s familiarity to Shinji, before you could see it as ‘oh she’s just bubbly’ but now her jokes and touchiness now makes you go ’that’s kind of awkward’. SPOILER FROM NOW ON: Your points about the angel numberings and where does ‘Ayanami’ come from if they were Ikari & Rokubungi might not be spoilers but they can be leading; I’d let her figure those things out on her own.

Alex Kornejo

2.22 SPOILER: Misato already knew about Lilith and Shikinami has no unlawful attachment to Kaji so... Like Touji in 1.11. Kaji's got no plotline now for 2.22. Unbreakable anime rule #1: Best girls always get shafted.

Alex Kornejo

You put my exact feelings into words, your remarks about the movie is also exactly what I felt while watching it.

Unfortunately the four-act dramatic structure ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kish%C5%8Dtenketsu ) might not apply to the rebuilds. The first three movies' Japanese titles are actually the names of a completely separate Japanese three-act structure ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo-ha-ky%C5%AB ). 1.0 is the "Jo" in "Jo", "ha", and "kyu", which translate roughly as "beginning", "break", and "rapid" (because according to the theory the conclusion of a story should be swift).

GSMD

Hi!! I've been super-mega busy lately so I haven't commented almost at all. But I have seen every video every Thursday!! I'm glad you are watching the "Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition", a.k.a. as Rebuild of Evangelion. Holly Ramiel, how many names. I don't think anyone calls it for that first name, though. Maybe in theaters? Oh, and speaking of that, here in my country (and I think in South America in general) Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 is right now in theaters!. I'm seriously considering to go and see it in the big screen this time. In general I like the rebuilds. They're not as highly integrated in my soul as NGE+EoE but I think is worth watching them. It has very good moments, and the animation and music is great. In fact what I like the most of the rebuilds is the new soundtrack, specially in 2.22 and 3.33. I think you mentioned very well the issues this movie has; I mostly agree with what you have said. For me the main issue is the pacing/structure/rhythm. If you are a super-mega-hardcore fan of Evangelion, this movie isn't great because is very rushed and condensed, doesn't breath and doesn't really explore the characters. OTOH, if you have never seen Evangelion before, this movie is also too rushed and condensed to really allow you to understand what's going on, so it isn't great in this case either. Yes, this movie does explain a lot of things directly (as the Lilith thing, the fruits, etc.), but I'd argue that most of that explanaiton only make sense to someone already familiar with Evangelion, it doesn't help much to someone who have just started the journey with this movie. And that is really weird considering the time this movie came out. I've always mentioned that something I really like about NGE, and I think is something it does masterfully, is the "show, don't tell" thingy. And I'd say that NGE, more than ambiguous, is subtle. Most things are right there, they are just unspoken and is expected that you take those pieces and puzzle them together. I've loved your reactions and analysis to NGE since the day I found them because of that very thing: you are very good at picking those pieces and at the same time you show a lot of empathy for the characters. Thank you very much :) Sadly, this movie loses most of that. I get it, but it's still a shame. I hope you can, someday, rewatch the anime, I bet there will be a lot of new things you'll pick up with all the knowledge you have now. And who knows, maybe you even change some of your theories. Regarding this movie, well, you saw it, it is very similar to NGE. In fact it's very interesting to watch some scenes side by side to see how similar they are. There are however many differences. You noticed many of them but there are some that could be worth commenting (no spoilers here, of course): - Sachiel, the first angel shown, is the 4th angel in this movie, but in NGE is the 3rd one. I suppose in the series is the 3rd since Adam and Lilith were 1st and 2nd, respectively. Here Lilith was called the 2nd angel. What about the 3rd then? - When this movie starts there is a shot when you can see some buildings destroyed and the draw of the outline of a giant body (like when there is an accident, I'm not really sure how to say that in english). There was a strange look in your face when it appeared, but you didn't comment on that later. I'm 99.97% sure that shot doesn't exist in the first episode of NGE. - In NGE, in the battle with Shamshel (the second angel shown, 4th one in NGE but 5th in this movie), Shinji manages to destroy the core but the body of the angel is preserved. In fact NERV was able to retrieve and study the sample. A similar thing happened with Ramiel, when you can see the giant octahedron being dismantled in the distance through many episodes. In the movie that doesn't happen, instead in both cases the body explodes or melts into blood or something. - In this movie we hear Yui talking about naming the child Shinji or Rei, similar to NGE. But here she plays with "Rei Ayanami" or "Shinji Ayanami". Where does the last name "Ayanami" comes from? In the series Gendo's name was "Rokubungi" and Yui's "Ikari", there was no "Ayanami". There are more differences, but these are some of the ones I find very interesting and come to my mind rewatching with you. In this opportunity I disagree with you more than usual. I don't know, maybe I didn't really understand some of your comments or maybe I'm wearing the devil's advocate hat today. That being said, I do agree with your opinion for the most part, I just would like to comment and discuss a little here :) I'll start with something very much irrelevant (:P), the pizza thing haha. I get what you are saying about marketing and all of that, however I been in time critical situations (gladly never an end of the world type of thing), like some late work with a team for a project near deadline, and many times we had resorted to order some pizzas and energy drinks to survive. I mean, we can just buy 2 or 3 big boxes of pizza and eat while we continue working. It's not nutritive, but very quick and effective, specially if you can't even waste time thinking what to eat. So, marketing aside, I don't find that weird they eating pizza and coffee if they have been in the room for hours, working against time. In your discussion you comment about Gendo saying "We will explain it to you" when Shinji doesn't want to get in the robot. That happened exactly the same in the anime. Maybe it doesn't sound familiar because there's some differences in the subtitles, but the dialog in japanese is the same. In the english subs of NGE usually Gendo says "you will be instructed", which sounds a lot more cold and does not involved himself (unlike the "we" in these subs). In any case I want to point out how calamitously BAD NERV is at explaining things. I mean, Shinji accepts to pilot... AND NOBODY COULD EXPLAIN TO HIM BEFOREHAND THAT THE WHOLE ENTRY PLUG IS GOING TO BE FLOODED WITH SOME LIQUID?? Really?! I know one could argue about how fast everything is happening or even that they didn't want to scare him by giving him too much detail, but c'mon!! And there are more examples, like the hilarious "Dodge!" or the "Oh, don't worry, is not your real arm being broken, it's just your brain making you believe and feel that, but you'll be fine" (palm-face). The faces of the staff reacting to the EVA-01 are the same as in episode 2 of NGE. I don't remember very well the expressions of episode 18, but I'm like 99.994% sure these ones are frame by frame the same as Ep 2. In episode 5 of NGE, there is also the shot of Ritsuko watching Gendo rescue Rei. The expression could be different, but that is obviously subjective. I think even the times of those shots of Ritsuko are very similar between this movie and episode 5. The brainwashing line from Fuyutsuki have always sounded like sarcasm to me, not an actual suggestion. I could be very wrong, but it's like he saying to Gendo: "So what? Do we brainwash Shinji now? Is that what were you going to say?" And Gendo replying "No, but we CAN put Rei in the EVA 01". At least that is more or less the tone I get in that scene. I don't have a copy of this movie here right now to see if my subtitles are different. You are right though, this movie doesn't portrait Gendo and Fuyu as deeply as the anime does. And the mask of Lilith! I'm very glad you noticed that the creature on the moon is wearing the mask that Lilith had in NGE, so I can talk a little without being a spoilery being. Some time ago I watched a video about a theory regarding the masks and I think I felt very convinced then, although I haven't seen it in a while. In the anime, Lilith was wearing the purple mask with the triangle and the seven eyes, basically the same symbol of Seele. But maybe that wasn't the mask of Seele nor the mask of Lilith, but the mask of Adam. In NGE, the whole thing about Lilith being in basement is that it was a deception: everyone where led to believe that Adam was in basement; even Kaworu thought he was going to meet Adam, and wasn't until he was just next to him he noticed it was Lilith instead. Putting the mask of Adam on Lilith was part of the deception. Seele could have adopted the mask of Adam as a symbol instead of the other way around. Now, in the movie, since they know that Lilith is in the basement, not Adam, there is no need to hide his identity anymore and so the mask is different. What do you think? And speaking of meeting Lilith, I don't feel the sexual tension in the elevator scene with Shinji and Misato. For me, she holding his hand is just as it seems: she trying to be a company for him. After all, the reason Misato takes Shinji to the basement is to explain how they are also risking their lives, that he is not alone in this mission or its risks. Of course all those sexual elements that surrounds Misato and her attitude are present in this movie, it's just that I don't see them in that particular scene. But maybe is just me. I have a different interpretation of the scene when Shinji decides to get back to Misato and the bunch of agents Smith appear. This is what I think when I see that scene. When Shinji looks the destroyed road I sense some kind of horror in his eyes. He looks shocked to me. I think his reason to come back is not that much that he can't go further, but the realization that he escaping will only lead to that same landscape everywhere: destruction and desolation of all the things he knows. He starts to understand that he doesn't want that guilt, and more importantly, he cannot really escape. It does not matter how far he goes, the consequences of his decision will follow him, just as this broken road far away from the city, and just as the agents of NERV tracking him. He is aware of the agents but he doesn't want to pay attention, he tries to close his heart to the world and go back to those peaceful days when there was nothing to do; at least he thinks he can, until he is confronted with this image. Indeed, he can't go further, he can't escape; but not just physically. So he screams that he have had enough, acknowledging, to himself and to us, the fact that he has being followed by those agents. I agree that the scenes in episode 4 of the anime carry a lot more weight, with the cinema, the conversation with Kensuke, the colors, etc. In the anime, Shinji gets back because the agents catch him in Kensuke's tent, and even when Shinji seems more resigned than surprised, I don't know if he is aware of the agents tracking him, unlike in this version. Are these scenes presented more richly, subtly and intimately in the anime? Yes, I think so. But I don't think the version presented in this movie is devoid of meaning, is just an exploration of different thematic elements, perhaps more on the nose due to the constraints of being in a movie, but still. And that last paragraph leads me into the themes of fate and destiny. I think I also have a different take than you here, but I need to put my ideas into perspective first. Besides, since english is not my main language and I am not that good, it takes me a lot of time to write some of this more complex ideas. I hope to have something clear to say about those topics withing the next few days. You know, if we were a supreme being with our souls merge as one in orange juice to the sound of "Komm, süßer Tod", everything would be easier and you could know exactly what I think without me having to write it. Well, nothing to do now, we missed the third impact. Take care. Hope you are doing well. I'm wishing to watch your 2.22 reaction. Bye!

Daniel Contreras

There can be only one Best Girl per Rebuild. 1.11 was Ramiel's time. Maybe Kaji will have his chance in 2.22! ;)

Romaniablack

I'm DEFINITELY excited! <3 Thank you!!

Romaniablack

Oh no, I am SO glad I didn't skip this one because there was quite a lot of new content in it and I can't imagine starting a sequence without the first haha! No, I'm glad I watched it, but thank you for the comment! :)

Romaniablack

Actually I was thinking about commenting that you could skip this one, but decided not to, as that would be a spoiler. The real Rebuild begins with 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.

iHatePiano

You have a really good ear, because "Beautiful World" was in fact written and performed by... Hikaru Utada, the same artist behind all the main Kingdom Hearts theme songs! It is funny you brought that up though, because it's pretty easy to see the impact that Evangelion might have had on Squaresoft/Enix starting in the late 90s. Not only in the eccentric way they name their projects (like you also mentioned earlier), but also in the stories for the games themselves. I can see the Eva influence all over Final Fantasy VII and Xenogears in particular.

Loco Logic

2.22 is going to be fun

Dooly

I agree that it feels too rushed. I mean, I know they have to fit in a lot in a short run time, but all the slow moments are really what made the OG series special. Anyways it's good to go in with an open mind, I feel like a crotchety old man grumbling in my rebuild-hater corner so hopefully you will enjoy it more. I will say it has some great moments as well as very nice animation (although I prefer the charm of the original) and the soundtrack is absolutely beautiful.

britegirl

There is no debate. Kaji is best girl.

Matthew B