Your sole favorite Rebuild of Eva film thus far?

[WunderBah]

Just wanted to ask, out of curiosity.

[Giji Shinka]

3.0.
Best film ever, for me.

3.0 has only one flaw: Gendo's unbelievable/unrealistic luck.

[Gorbatschow]

^ same here.

[Fireball]

It changes from time to time but right now I'd say 1.0 because it is the least wonky of them. Some may call it boring for just retelling but goddamn, experiencing dat Ramiel fight in glorious HD on my big screen. That moment when Angel of Doom plays as EVA-01 rises from the ashes. Every time.

[TheFriskyIan]

Got to give it to 1.0, I don't care if it's NGE HD. Everything about it was perfect to me, the pacing was perfect, the animation was perfect, the soundtrack was perfect, the atmosphere was perfect. I'm not saying the other two weren't good, but 1.0 was a great introduction into the new movies.

[Nuclear Lunchbox]

I would have to say 3.33. Looked gorgeous, sounded great, and was so utterly WTF that it made me remember what lies at the heart of Evangelion.

[ElMariachi]

I like all three for different reasons :

- 1.0 for being such an awesome retelling of the prologue arc, also Ramiel

- 2.0 for its insane action scenes and interesting new elements added(Mari, Mark.06), also super-Zeruel and Mega-pissed-off-red-eyed Shinji

- 3.0 for the complete change of setting, throwing us into a completely uncharted territory and changing completely the dynamic between the different factions (at last the good guys have the means and an organization to fight the big bad death cult!), also Mark.09 for the complete lack of fucks it give to any damage inflicted to it, Operation US, and for once a glance of the effects on the landscape of an Angel based Impact (and oh boy is it nightmarish), the downside being how much shit Shinji gets on this movie, being essentially reduced to an ignorant plot element dragged here and there while absolutely everyone else knows what's happening. (well, except Rei Q!)

And for the three, the gorgeous image and animation and the epic music from Sagisu.

3.0 has only one flaw: Gendo's unbelievable/unrealistic luck.

My personal head-canon is that Gendo monitored everything that happened in neo-NERV and manipulated the events to drive Shinji insane(Toji's shirt and Fuyutsuki's traumatic info-dump), and that he may had a way to spy on the Wunder to know exactly when and where attack to make Shinji think that Misato lied to him and make him come with Rei Q by his own volition.

Well at least the neo-NERV part, Shinji's ultimate mental state at the moment of retrieving the spears was far too much critical for Gendo's plan for him to simply leave it to luck, if it's revealed that Gendo did absolutely nothing and that everything that happened was just him being the luckiest SoB ever, that would completely destroy my suspension of disbelief beyond repair.

[Giji Shinka]

My personal head-canon is that Gendo monitored everything that happened in neo-NERV and manipulated the events to drive Shinji insane(Toji's shirt and Fuyutsuki's traumatic info-dump)

This is something that I 100% agree, and I agree that Shinji pulling the spears thing wasn't just luck.

But...

And that it may had a way to spy on the Wunder to know exactly when and where attack to make Shinji think that Misato lied to him and make him come with Rei Q by his own volition.

The problem is that there are no hints that he spied Wunder, unless it's revealed in 4.0 that Yui is Gendo's ally, and that she somehow communicated and told where Shinji was.

[Nuclear Lunchbox]

And I would totally believe that Yui thing in a second, by the way.

[ElMariachi]

Oh, but it appears that I do believe that Yui is Gendo's ally!

See, there are hints in the new dynamic between Gendo's and Rei II(mainly that he gave her Yui's maiden name) and also how Yui's word that Gendo remembered when dinning with Rei("please, take care of Shinji") sounded like a last request before disappearing, that could be interpreted as that unlike in NGE, he knew what would happen during the Contact Experiment... and that they were in cahoots since the beginning.

Wouldn't that be a completely awesome twist compared to NGE? Also I just want to see Misato's face when she learns that her so precious "Ship of Hope" is actually working for the enemy!

[WunderBah]

Wouldn't that be a completely awesome twist compared to NGE? Also I just want to see Misato's face when she learns that her so precious "Ship of Hope" is actually working for the enemy!

It would certainly add up with Gendo's statement near the end Q on Misato's actions going according to plan.

[Mr. Tines]

Perhaps the digressions could move to a more appropriate thread?

@Topic
The sole one that I've seen, natch!

[A.T. Fish]

That moment when Angel of Doom plays as EVA-01 rises from the ashes. Every time.

It always gives me goosebumps.

If I had to choose one I'd go with 1.0, it's a nice retelling of the first portion of NGE and it's the only one so far with a somewhat satisfying conclusion. I like 2.0 but there are some things about it that bother me, such as Asuka's rushed development and Mari's awkward presence, though things like the new Bardiel scene and a more emotive Rei please me a lot. 3.0 still feels too alien for me to elect it as a favorite.

[CJD]

As I've mentioned before, 2.0 without a doubt. I can respect the skill put into 3.0 but it's not my cup of tea. 2.0, on the other hand, was everything I could have wanted.

[Sephizim]

I was about to say I'm probably the only one out there who would answer with 2.0, but at now I know that list contains at least me and CJD.

While I will freely admit that 1.0 and 3.0 had better music (DEM NADIA REMIXES) and 2.0 isn't by far the best movie (pacing, plot, and some of the changes were questionable) I can't deny that once Zeruel shows up, from there on out, it becomes one of my favorite movies. Episode 19 is my favorite episode, and I feel they just amped it up even more than they did for the Ramiel fight. The music is great, the action is wonderful, the remix of THE BEAST II is easily one of the greatest things ever, Shinji willing Unit-01 to reactivate, and changing an animalistic massacre into a slaughter with god-like powers... and I still tear up a bit when I hear "Tsubasa wo Kudasai."

I get that people think this goes against the core of what EVA is. Shinji isn't a typical anime protagonist. People think that the only thing that fixed this ending was Shinji getting his soul crushed in 3.0. People hate that the ending seems to just be a middle finger to anyone who doesn't ship Shinji and Rei. I hear and understand all of the complaints that fans have with this ending.

And yet... god damn it, the kid deserved at least one victory. Even if it almost ends the world and gets brutally reversed later, that moment where he finally takes a stand, and finds something he cares about enough to hold on to, no matter what, and to get that, even knowing back when I first watched the movie that it probably wouldn't last... when he pulls Rei out of that core, she's holding the SDAT and the music swells as Zeruel explodes... it gets me every time. Shinji is very real to me. I identified with him so strongly when I first watched the series (I was only a year or two older than he is in the show), and seeing where he fails helped me to mature beyond those same qualities I see in myself. So when he suffers, it hits me on a personal level. And to see him succeed for something important, something that matters, even just once, that is one of the greatest moments for me.

Is it the best movie ever? No. Is it my favorite part of the entire Evangelion franchise? No. But I still love it, and am proud to say so.

[HeeroYuyIII]

The first movie is pretty awesome. I always liked the beginning of Eva. So action packed, great art and this movie faithfully captures that essence. I think Shinji should be played by Kappei Yamaguchi, but Mitsuishi is great, as well as Tachiaki and Koyasu and many more. The animation issues are gone, the plot is more streamlined, the music is beyond epic, just a really good film.

[Guy Nacks]

They're all underwhelming to me compared to the series.

3.0 edges everything out so far. for the sole reason that they actually tried doing something substantially different, but that doesn't change my feeling that Rebuild is basically Evangelion Lite.

[Blue Monday]

Q, followed by 1.0 then 2.0, in that order.


Q is contemporary Evangelion; a minimalist and sombre tragedy, bookended by crazy over-the-top sci-fi action pieces - All the while breaking new and uncharted ground for the IP. Therein lies the "feels most Eva of the three" for me; because it's all-new and evokes the same feelings I had watching NGE more than a decade ago. My only beef is that Mari and Asuka not physically being aged 28 year-olds is a missed opportunity, I will continue to openly lament.

9/10 and has vindicated New Theatrical edition IMO.


1.0: Fantastic. The story we all know and love re-imagined to cinematic proportions with some very slight and subtle changes that have context within NTE. Fights against Sachiel and Ramiel are gorgeous and Sagisu's soundtrack is out of this world. However, I feel I need to grade the movie on more than just technical proficiency.

8/10


Evangelion 2.0 is great fun. Have to hand it to Khara creating such an awesome, accessible and mainstream anime action film that still carries some of the mysterious and somewhat dark undertones, sub-plots and themes the original work has. In 2.0, I'm in it for the action, basically. Otherwise, this one feels like it's too long at times (even though the pacing has the feel of a Heisei era Godzilla movie). Often in re-watches I've fallen asleep and some of the character divergences are only forgiveable in light of the turn of events, a la Q.

7.5/10

They're all underwhelming to me compared to the series.

When including EOE into the equation, nothing will ever rival the source material in my eyes.

[Sailor Star Dust]

Just wanted to ask, out of curiosity.

Just curious, why didn't you include your own thoughts in the opening post?

And yet... god damn it, the kid deserved at least one victory.

Hmm, to me, 1.0's Operation Yashima and aftermath (starting a friendship with Rei) felt like a proper victory for Shinji compared to 2.0's ending. Partly because of the mix of negative and positive elements happening during Third Impact.

My favorite of the Rebuild films so far is 3.0 because it feels the most like NGE itself with the Bitter End Arc. Though I equally like all 3 films for different reasons (a lot of what Blue Monday said, though I haven't fallen asleep at any of them).

[Sephizim]

I feel the need to just add to my previous post that I enjoy all the movies immensely. Picking one over the others was not easy, and I went with 2.0 purely for the fact that neither of the other two achieved such an emotional reaction for me like that ending does. 1.0 was good, but it was a familiar victory, and 3.0's ending was tragic, but it still didn't hit a chord as much as 2.0. The chaos of positive and negative emotions with Third Impact along with Shinji saving Rei with "Tsubasa wo Kudasai" playing in the background is the height of that ambivalence that is the Evangelion experience.

Its hard to put into words, but its the closest anything in Rebuild has come to creating that feeling I had when I first watched EoE. Dread, excitement, confusion, a need to know more, all of those feelings. I really hope that 4.0 will meet or even exceed that experience for me.