This is perhaps one of the best made cosplay plug suit I ever seen with fitting cosplayer who look alike with it’s anime counterpart. I don’t want to look like I praise them too much but the details to their outfit are superior. I wonder how much effort and time have been in the making of it.

Others cosplay can be view in this pool of photos here.

The new movie Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance is definitely one of the biggest and most anticipated Anime movies of the year. When I heard that Singapore would be screening the movie, I couldn’t wait to see unadulterated EVA awesomeness on the big screen.

…and now that I have watched it, here are my thoughts, feelings and analysis of the movie.

Of course, there will be SPOILERS!!! For my spoiler free review click here.

So where do I begin? Well, instead of going for the chronological review, I’ll be organizing my review by the points that I would like to address instead. Masugu GO!

- Animation

First of all, the Animation. Fluid 2D animation combined flawlessly with gorgeous CGI really gave a whole new life to the series. The first movie already showed off the quality of the CGI, this movie really used it to its full potential, especially with the Angels and the fight scenes which I’ll talk about later. However, let me just say that the epic fight sequence at the beginning with Mari and the Angel just blew my mind and set the tone for the entire movie. Another thing that I thought was a nice touch that was also seen in the first movie is the usage of CGI models in the NERV displays.

With regards to the character designs, I’m not too fussy, so no complaints or comments about them.

- Characters

- Asuka

Asuka was the first character that I was really looking forward to seeing when I first heard about this new movie series. Being one of my favorite characters, hearing her say ‘Anta Baka?’ in the Cinema was simply too awesome for words. As for her character, she’s the same fiery red headed tsundere that we all know and love despite her change of name from Sohryu to Shikinami. Her characterization was really well done and I dare say much more well handled than the TV series, mainly because they hint in greater detail and display her ‘I don’t need anyone else’ more explicitly. This is best shown in the fight scene with the Eighth Angel (Sahaquiel). Her confidence in herself and stubbornness nearly backfires when her first shot at the Angel core misses its mark. She only makes it with the help of Unit 00.

Asuka’s relationship with Shinji was explored even further in the movie. We see her try to cook a meal for Shinji, getting jealous of Rei. Exceedingly moe/kawaii. Sadly she was MIA in the second half of the movie, but oh, well.

Yes, yes… I’m all for the TEST plug suit.

- Rei

What a big improvement. She actually has some personality this time! Keeping her cool, quiet and composed persona, Rei shows numerous instances of emotions and independence. Her attempts to make a meal for Shinji were cute and the little scenes where Shinji interacted with her really helped to bring out the best in Rei. Something that I loved was when we found out that Rei was a vegetarian. Although this was stated in her bio, I don’t think it was mentioned in the TV series. Once again, a nice detail that fleshed out her character even more. Whatever the case, her determination to make a bento for Shinji and to organize a dinner to get Shinji closer to his father showed off her caring and, dare I say, moe side that was seriously lacking in the TV series. One final touch that showed how much she cared for Shinji (‘loved’ as Asuka put it) was when she kept Shinji’s tape player by her side. Rei did sacrifice herself in the original TV series, but this time, it was so much more poignant and obvious that Rei felt something for Shinji. I actually felt for her. Had she been portrayed this way in the TV series, she might have become my favorite character instead of Asuka!

She even defended herself from Asuka’s slap this time round, instead of taking it face on like she did in episode 22. This little scene encapsulates her character change/evolution from the original series so well in such a short time.

- Shinji

…and that brings us to Shinji. Shinji is well known as the gutless, spineless and possibly most well known pussy in Anime history. NOT ANY MORE! It surprised me greatly to see that in the final battle, he decided to risk his life, and through his own determination and will, save Rei. Nice to see his character evolve and grow instead of staying the same. Once again, the relationship that Shinji and Rei have for each other is so much deeper and well fleshed out. Other than that, Shinji was pretty much Shinji in the rest of the movie.

- Mari

She’s the new character that everyone has been talking about. I found her to be a very amusing character that I suppose will play a bigger role in the future films. I felt that she was the happy go lucky genki girl. At first, I was slightly skeptical of her character, but at the end, she warmed up to me so much that I will even go as far as to say that she is now up there along with Asuka and Rei as an Honored Eva Girl. Her personality really shined at the end with her stepping in brazenly using Eva 02 and becoming all bestial. After that, I was all for Mari. Again, there hasn’t really been enough of her for me to fully get a grasp of her personality, though from what I’ve seen, Mari is definitely all right in my books and might be even my favorite new character from the movie series. (Yeah, well… She’s the only one so…) What really surprised me was how well she fit in with the rest of the characters. Knowing that Asuka, Rei and Shinji are characters from the 80s and Mari from the 21st century, she didn’t feel out of place at all.

More on her actual role in the plot. From what I gather, she’s from the US Nerv HQ going to Tokyo’s Nerv HQ for reasons still not revealed. The world of Evangelion was again expanded as we got to see the American Nerv HQ. This goes back to the whole basis of the movie, adapting and expanding the Evangelion Universe.

…and she says ‘Nyaa’. Come on. That’s epic.

- Kaworu

Last but not least, the mysterious Bishonen, Kaworu. Still, nothing much from him, except some shots of him on the moon, looking beautiful. I suppose he pilots Eva 06 as well. Can’t wait to see him play his part in the next movie.

- Side Characters

For the side characters llike Touiji, Misato, Ritsuko, Gendou, etc… I don’t really have much to say about them. To me, nothing really significant has changed with their characterization. However, it is possible that there are some details I have missed. I’ve only seen the movie once after all. (^.^;)

They also weren’t featured all that much in this movie either nor were any histories really explored or revealed, except for Misato’s past which was briefly shown and hinted at through an abstract interpretation of the Second impact. I don’t mind at all as I suppose more time will be devoted to them in the following movies, as did the original series.

- The Evangelion Units

The titular cyborgs of the movie, the Evangelion units never looked this good… Or kicked that much ASS! Let’s go through them one by one:

- Unit 00

Well, nothing much to say regarding 00, except that it gets EATEN. Its blue color scheme was never used either. In my opinion, this is for the better as that translates to one less figure I’ll have to buy. (^.^;)

- Unit 01

The star Evangelion unit of the movie. One of my first observations when it came to Eva 01 was that Yui was never mentioned explicitly to be residing in the Evangelion unit. While it was hinted at by Ritsuko, in the final battle, instead of Yui saving Shinji, he enabled Eva 01’s Awakened State by himself, though his seat did turn into blue flame. I kinda liked the original’s idea of ‘Yui is protecting Shinji’ but I like the movie’s portrayal as well. Hopefully, this will be discussed and explored further in the later movies.

A parallel to to Episode 19’s Beserk Mode (Synchro Ratio 400%), the Awakened State = Neo’s awakening from the Matrix. Invincibility (super powerful AT Field), the power to fly and project energy blasts from its eyes. Unit 01 even had the ability to generate an arm out of pure energy and materialize energy blocks. All this coupled together with a sweet neon orange highlights and Angel Halo and you’ve got the definition of epic staring you in the face. I absolutely love the whole Awakened State and believe that it did the original Berserk mode justice and kept the feeling of ‘Eva’s Awakened. Pwnage now’. However, this time, since Shinji was in control, the Eva’s actions were more controlled as well. Gone is the bestial carnage of the original. That brings us to Unit 02.

- Unit 02

The updated look of Unit 02 is great. Some people didn’t like the ornamental piece on its head, but I do. To me, the head piece gives Unit 02 a more regal and menacing look that enhances and improves on the original design. It was great to see the Unit 02’s new weapons and tech such as the dual Progressive Knives, Jet Pack and Cross Bow, but what really left the greatest impression on me, and I suppose everyone else, is the introduction of Eva 02’s Beast Mode.

Completely out of left field, I’d say that 02’s Beast mode is the closest thing to Eva 01’s Synchro Ratio 400% Beserk Mode from the original series. As said above, Unit 01’s Awakened mode was far more controlled. In contrast, Eva 02’s beast mode was well, beastly. Great job by the animators/director in conveying the raw, unbridled fury of Eva 02 through the limiter pylons exploding from its body and the whole Venom (Marvel) esque mouth & teeth.

One other thing that I absolutely adored about the whole beast mode was that it showed the closeness of the bond that the Evangelion unit and its pilot shares. In the original series, sure we knew that the Nerve Clips, LCL and plug suit made the pilot synchronize with the Eva unit to enable the pilot to control and execute fine movements through the Evas. This connection is so close that the pilots feel the pain of the Evas. However, in this whole scene, Mari’s every movement was mirrored by the Eva. We could also see the corruption of Mari through the fantastic little tweaks to her facial expression. Great scene that was wonderfully executed.

…and just because this picture is so cute.

- Unit 03

Eva 03 served exactly the same role it did in the original TV series, however, this time, it was piloted by Asuka. I’ll get into that later on, but the only major difference is that it’s ‘corruption’ nature was expanded with it growing extra appendages to make it look more inhuman and alien than it already was. Of course, it also started to corrupt Eva 01, which it didn’t do in the original series (It only corrupted Eva 00’s Arm).

- Unit 05

The provisional unit with the most unique look out of all the Eva Units. Ever since I saw it in Revoltech form, I was pretty curious. While the movie did do the Evangelion Unit justice in terms of action sequences, it was destroyed and never seen again after the first battle, ala Demolishor from Transformers ROTF. Not really sure how I feel about its destruction, but I didn’t care much for it from the start anyways.

- Unit 06

First seen in the trailer at the end of Evangelion 1.0, it’s appearance was just as brief. Seeing only glimpses of it as it was being built on the moon, Eva 06 made a full appearance only after the credits rolled to stop the third impact by impaling Eva 01 with the Lance of Longinus.

- The Angels

Following in the footsteps of the Evangelions, the Angels themselves received a significant overhaul in terms of design, function and bad-assery.

- Third Angel – Skeleton Thing

The first completely new Angel we see. Since it appeared in the first scene of the movie, it really set the tone for the rest of the film, assuring the viewers that they were in for a completely new ride, while keeping elements same as the original. This is definitely more evident with the later Angels, but it was really refreshing to see a new Angel. Great design that complements the other-worldly and bizarre look of the other Angels of the series. Do note that Sachiel, the Third Angel of the original series, is now the fourth, as mentioned in the first movie.

- Seventh Angel – Spider Clock Thing

The spider like look is definitely carried over from the Ninth Angel, Matariel, of the original series. Other than that, it is once again a completely new angel that seems to have a very mechanical, clockwork design, what with it’s ticking bird mask and pendulum bob. The addition of the bird like mask was another nice touch. Destruction wise, it did a great job of being very imposing and threatening mainly due to the expressionless and emotionless nature of the Angel. CGI wise, there’s nothing more to say other than, good. The mechanical structure was presented very well, especially when it reconstructed itself.

- Eighth Angel – Space Bomb Thing

Based on the tenth Angel, Sahaquiel, the movie’s interpretation of Sahaquiel has it become more menacing and imposing than it was, as hard as that is to believe. This was helped tremendously by the CGI, adding a level of intricacy, bizarreness and mystique to the Angel that the original lacked. Talking about intricacy, the entire scene also had much more detail and fuss as to how they were going to ‘catch’ the Angel. Overall, this contributed to the sense of scale that was lacking in the original. Other than changing its design, a face with hands was added to make Shinji’s/Eva Unit 01’s job of holding the Angel up harder than it already was. Turning in to Lance of Longinus esque things, the Angel really did a number on Unit 01’s hands. I do believe that because it was made of a mystical weapon the Angel was able to hurt the pilot physically, instead of just causing pain (ala Asuka’s injuries in the End of Evangelion).

- Ninth Angel – Corruption Type Thing

Everything I said about Eva 03 applies here as well, as they are pretty much one and the same.

- Tenth Angel – Thing of Utter Pwnage

My absolute favorite Angel of the series, I’m happy to say, get’s the best movie treatment. Zeruel’s original design was great and I’m so glad that it was the Angel in this movie that most closely resembled its original counterpart, the changes that were made to its design only added to its awesomeness. It now has entire body made out of steel fiber arms, allowing it to be more ghostly, deathly and soulless. In terms of powers, aside from the eye blasts and steel body, it now has the ability to project super-strong AT Fields. Yup, not just one, but layers upon layers of them. One’s not enough for the Angel of Pwnage. Elements of End of Evangelion’s Lilith were incorporated into its design as well, but I’ll talk more about that later on in this review.

- Action Scenes

What more can I say that hasn’t been already conveyed in words in the previous sections? Amazing, magnificent, outstandingly, well done action scene after scene that kept me on the edge of my seat. Again, scale is the key word here. What the original series had, this movie kicked up 10 notches. Well, also, since they are action scenes, you really have to see them for yourself. It is a visual media after all.

- Interesting Observations

Now, I would like to take some time to talk a little about some of the plot points of the movie. While I have already discussed some of these above in previous sections, there are some really interesting little observations that I would like to point out and bring up for discussion, especially with regards to the differences between the movie and the original TV series.

- Improvements and Homages

The first movie was, frankly speaking, nothing more than a re-do of the first. Sure it was flashy, pretty and a fantastic fan-wank that got everyone interested in Evangelion again. This movie, however, delivered on director Hideaki Anno’s promise of being a bold new re-imagining of the franchise. Indeed a re-imagining. Many things from the original series were re-used, but aspects were changed and new elements were brought in to keep the most ardent Evangelion fan delighted.

- Asuka X Beer Cans

A nice little scene that had absolutely no need to be included, but I’m so glad they did. Remember how in the original series and the first movie, we had the little comedic scent where Misato removed the beer can that was covering Shinji’s privates? Well, the same scene was repeated, this time with a straw covering Asuka’s naughty bits. EPIC WIN.

Will it be Mari’s turn next movie?

- Re-Shuffled Scenes

Many other scenes were straight from the TV series, such as Misato overlooking a flirting KajiXRitsuko and Gendou and Shinji visiting Yui’s grave were in the movie as well, but they were shuffled around. For instance, the Gendou and Shinji scene was in Episode 15 of the original series, but was one of the first scenes in the movie.

- Notable Scenes

I did mention this above in Rei’s section, but the slapping scene between Asuka and Rei in the lift was perfect as while being a scene taken straight from the original series, it changed it slightly. But this change was great in illustrating the differences and bold steps that the movie takes away from the TV series.

The last improved scene I would like to mention is Shinji’s temper tantrum after the battle with Unit 03. Instead of sitting idly in the cage, Shinji actually takes the Evangelion unit and stomps on the GeoFront, King Kong style. Originally, Shinji didn’t feel like much of a threat, but in this movie, he actually used the Eva to stomp on the building, increasing his credibility and the overall tension and seriousness of the moment. I do believe that this is one of the few times that we see any of the Children do what they want to do with the Eva and not for the sake of Nerv.

Continuing on, Unit 01 was actually seen physically resisting the Dummy Plug as it strained in the holding cage. Just another little touch that had so much more visual impact.

- Original Music

Another thing that the movie didn’t disappoint in was re-using the kick-ass music from the original movie. Imagine my delight when ‘Normal Blood’ (you know, Dum dum, dum dum dum, dum dum, dum dummmmm…) was used when Evangelion Unit 01 Awakened. The buzz that came off me was simply immense. Not only was ‘Normal Blood’ my absolute favorite BGM from the original, the fact that they used it at the climax instead of during all of the instances the Evangelion went beserk heightened the awesomness, impact and anticipation. I shed a tear. Seriously. A MANLY TEAR.

During Asuka’s introduction, music that sounded like ‘Both of You Dance Like You Want To Win’ played in the background. Very apt.

- Battles

The battles, especially the one with the Bomb Angel, again was a great homage to the battles in the original series. As discussed above, nothing was really completely changed, but simply improved and expanded.

However, this movie knew when to be nostalgic. The battle with the Tenth Angel was kept, nearly frame by frame, identical to the original series including the Eva 01 heroically stepping in to save everyone and Gendou getting sprayed with the blood of Unit 01.

- The Red Sea

A huge addition to the new movie series that was only hinted on, but blatantly pointed out in this one, is the Red Sea. Having read a number of opinions and discussions about the Red Sea, I’m inclined to agree with the theory of the ‘Circle of Life’ in that life repeats itself.

We’ve seen this before in shows like Megazone Part 3, but it would be really interesting to see how it is all tied together. If you are still unsure as to what I’m talking about, let me explain:

This whole Movie-Verse could be a continuation or ‘re-set’ of the Evangelion world after the events of ‘The End of Evangelion’.

Red Sea from 'End of Evangelion'

Not only does the Red Sea hint of this, but other things do as well. For instance this outline in the ground:

could possibly be one of the MP Evas that fell back to earth, judging from the elongated head and posture. What do you think?

MP Evas from 'End of Evangelion'

- Asuka, Unit 03, Mind Rape and The Dummy System

A whole new spin was taken on the battle with Unit 03. Instead of going out together with Asuka and Rei, Shinji is all that stands between Nerv and Unit 03. Speaking of Asuka, she’s the pilot of Unit 03 this time. Many details from the original were re-worked into this one particular battle. Eva 01 gets corrupted instead of 00 and Asuka’s mind rape happens during the corruption of Eva 03 instead of later on in the series. It was a clever way to rework Asuka’s mind rape earlier into the series, but boy was I surprised.

The Dummy System was modified as well to physically ‘take over’ the pilot in the more literal sense of the word. A device covers Shinji and obscures his view and ‘hands’ take the controls. This adds more to the visual aesthetic of the Dummy System and intensifies the inhuman nature of the system. However, the one thing that I kept wondering about is how did Shinji know what was going on?

Green and black is a great new look for the Dummy Plug.

- Elements of ‘The End of Evangelion’ (Rei, The Tenth Angel, Unit 01’s Awakening and the Third Impact)

I’ve talked about how elements were reworked and scenes combined with other scenes for the new movie. Well, the end of the final battle was one big homage to the End of Evangelion, what with the Tenth Angel’s Lilith-like assimilation of Rei and Unit 01’s Awakening. Did I forget to mention that Unit 01’s Awakening was the beginning of the Third Impact? It really perplexed me at first as I kept asking myself how it would progress from here. If the world ended, what was there left to cover in the subsequent films?

All my doubts were answered by my favorite weapon of the series, The Lance of Longinus (I think). Descending from the heavens above, Unit 06 impales Unit 01 to stop the Third Impact in its tracks. Biggest anti-climax of all time? Yes. Was it annoying? Hell no. It was definitely stunning, but for some reason, it all just seemed to flow and I had absolutely no qualms about it. I thought it was much better than waiting for 2 – 3 years to find out what happened.

- Music

I’m not a music aficionado by any standards, but I did immensely enjoy the soundtrack to the movie. What stood out to me the most was the music at pivotal scenes of the movie. Soft, cheerful, childish music played during the climactic battles (Dummy Plug/03 and the Final Battle). The juxtaposition was simply too overwhelming. Not only were the scenes made more poignant, the music actually increased the visual impact of the scenes and made them seem more horrific, grotesque and creepy than they already were.

- Problems With the Movie

Now. Why wait until the end of the review to talk about the failings of the movie? Well, simply because there isn’t any. Really. This movie was just that good. If I had to go out of my way to nitpick some issues, I’ll say that the main issue I had with the movie was its pacing.

The Evangelion movie was based on a TV Series, thus, the movie felt episodic in nature. It was Battle, Character Development, Battle, Character Development, Battle, Character Development and Battle. It wasn’t as jarring or deal-breaking as it sounds here, but it is an inherent problem with movies that adapt themselves from TV series and this was evident in the first movie as well. Nothing much can be done here I suppose.

Another possible drawback is that the movie definitely has an appeal to Evangelion and Anime fans. I don’t think it will go over so well with soft-core fans or those who are new to Anime. Tons of little details and nuances could and would possibly fly over their heads. If you want to take someone who is new to the series to this movie, make sure he/she watches the original, or at least the first movie, first.

- Third Movie Trailer

As with the first movie, the trailer for the next film was placed at the end of the end credits in a classic ‘Next Episode’ fashion, music and Misato’s narration and all. I won’t talk about it too much, but boy, does it get me hyped up for the next movie.

‘Service-su, service-su!’

———

In conclusion, I really want you to know that while I tried to deal with as many things as possible during the course of this review, I have barely scratched the surface of the movie. There is so much more depth to it that can only be conveyed via watching the film. Character interactions, voice acting, scenery, settings and more, all were just done inexplicably well.

Overall, I say that the movie is a superb and solid addition to the Evangelion franchise that, contrary to many fan’s original worries, does justice to the original series. But hey, even if you are one of the few out there that actually disliked the movie for whatever reason(s), you’ll still have the original, so don’t fret too much. As for the rest of us, Evangelion 2.0 is a solid Anime film that shows just what Anime is capable of. Telling a story using the most absorbing, influential and impressive medium of them all, visual media.

The movie felt longer than it was. This effect is usually attributed to a bad movie, however, Evangelion 2.0 was just so engaging, so enthralling and so mind-blowing that time/space seemed to stop as I was thrown into the wondrous world of Tokyo-3.

With a rich plot, gorgeous animation, kick-ass action sequences and savory fan-wanks, this movie is a masterpiece of animation that must be seen by all Evangelion fans, new and old. I can’t wait for the next one.

Will it turn out like this:

Only time will tell. But I’m SO looking forward to it.

———

Plot: 4.5/5
Animation: 5/5
Action: 5/5
Voice-Acting: 5/5
Presentation: 5/5
Music:5/5

Total (Not an Average): 5/5

———

Well, this has been a long review. If you have seen it, do feel free to post your thoughts on the movie, my review and whether you agree or disagree with me. (^.^)

———

All pictures sourced from Gelbooru.

My very first anime convention, and it was the incredibly awesome Anime Festival Asia in Singapore. While many people chose to focus on the merchandise, I decided to focus on the participants of the con – the cosplayers. SIXTY crazy photos ahead! With Singapore being the next most proliferate anime hub, the cosplayers have quite the reputation to hold up, and it doesn’t disappoint.

I would have posted earlier, but being sick kinda delayed it a little. Oh, the above photo wasn’t taken by me, as I didn’t bring my DSLR with me on my trip, that and I also couldn’t get that close to the lovely Gwendolyn.

So I arrived on late Friday, and basically my first breakfast before going to AFA was my absolute favorite breakfast delicacy in Singapore – Roti Prata. Delicious start to my visit!

On the way to Suntec. Decided not to go through the City Hall to Suntec underpass because my friend wanted to have a smoke. It was a nice day for a walk anyway. The weather is nice this time of year – much cooler than summer. It’s like Vancouver’s summer weather!

Inside Suntec. The convention hub is also a mall!  Not too much has changed in here since my last visit, compared to the rest of Singapore. (more photos in the near future).

My AFA ticket. It’s rather unfortunate that my Sunday ticket is still firmly attached to the stub. I got pretty sick near the end of Day 1, and basically was wrestling with the idea of whether to attend Day 2. I regret not going, but at the same time, it probably would have destroyed the rest of my vacation here.

My lunch. Swenson’s baked chicken on rice. I haven’t had Swenson’s in over 4 years! Singapore’s chicken has a very different texture to it, one that I can’t say I really like. The meat is stringy and dry – even with all this sauce.

Into the fray I go. Fortunately, thanks to Zh3us’ organizing, I was able to obtain tickets without needing to line up for hours. I arrived late, and the line-up was still insane! When you walk in the door, you’re greeted by this large (or should I say small) Gundam.

No idea who they are, but frankly, I don’t care. THIS is how cosplay works. Not like most of that North American crap.

A Beyond-Perfect-Grade Gundam. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen something as cool as this at that kind of scale.

I’m speechless at how cool this looks. BADASS!

After finally seeing a Cintiq for the first time in person, I’ve decided to buy less anime figures, sell more anime figures, and save up for a Cintiq.

Absolutely amazing work. I enjoy these kinds of paintings more than the typical anime fan art nowadays. I especially love it when they introduce a more asian/anime influenced edge into this kind of work. It’s what I hope to accomplish in the future.

Suigintou cosplayer. She’s absolutely adorable! And I’m not just talking about the outfit! A very friendly, and timid demeanor from the brief 15 seconds of interaction I had with her.

This is what the convention is all about – jacked up prices for large volumes of anime merchandise, and a lot of rare ones too!

Not a cosplayer, but her job is obvious. Decided to cover her face out of respect.

K-On! Not much else I can say about this photo other than “NICE GUITAR!”

I kinda know who the girl on the left is (Bleach?) But the rest escape me. I’m guessing they’re just loligoth.

Same deal. Who are they cosplaying as? Doesn’t matter. I’m sure any girl would love to wear a flowing princessy dress for a day while people snap pictures of her like a celebrity/model.

Can’t say for sure, but I think this guy is a very famous artist. (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time?). Autograph signing had just closed when I got there.

I absolutely cannot wait to see this movie! Production I.G. FTW!

Stickers to prove your worth.

Absolutely awesome Black Rock Shooter cosplayer. The eye thing is a very nice touch. What I find interesting is that you can have ANYONE simply carry a samurai sword, and it will look like cosplay. Wear loligoth, carry a katana = cosplay. Wear a school uniform, carry a katana = cosplay. Wear street clothes, carry a katana = cosplay.

kero kero kero kero. Super adorable.

More Gundam goodness. Now this is a Gundam worth getting!

At the Danny Ch- er I mean Good Smile booth, with the ultra cute Xenoglossia Nendoroid Petits! I don’t recall seeing anyone post photos of these cuties.

WIN. There’s no other words required.

Obligatory photo. ^_^ I chose not to post my shots of Black Rock Shooter and World is Mine. Everyone’s posted it already.

This looks so cool.

These were all available for sale! I bought the smallest one.

This guy was awesome. He had a voodoo doll Miku with him too. He was nice enough to pose with me of him decapitating my head. Too gruesome to show that!

After reading Rule 2, I lost interest. This is what Singapore is like, my friends! (please laugh. I’m just teasing.)

I do find the rules humorous though, especially rule 4.

awesome awesome Eneloop dog. This made my day. Seeing a Miku taking a photo with it also made my day (and yes, I did take a photo with her, and the dog, seperately).

No idea who she’s cosplaying as, but whatever. Cute smile.

Awesome KH cosplayer. Those weapons are hand-made! I asked what it was made out of and what was involved. It was very technical. I was lost at “composite”.

Terrible fanart is terrible. I like how well it’s rendered, but the entire thing looks… dead. There’s just something incredibly lacking about it – the facial expressions, the poses, the composition, how stiff everyone looks, the complete lack of dynamic movement, it’s just all wrong. Being a huge fan of Valkyria Chronicles, I found this image insulting.

Hardcore card players playing anime card games. It’s like an anime version of Magic the Gathering!

Miku buying Miku merchandise. This is where you’d find artists like puppychun.

Actually very good cosplay. I’m not a Bleach or Naruto fan, but again, THIS is how cosplay is done right.

Yes, this is how good fanart looks. Stylized in your own way, but in ways that add to the original concept, not take away. While the general style is “generic”, it’s done well, and works well with the character.

ka-wa-ii.

<3

Again, two more cosplayers with absolutely amazing handiwork. It’s like these two are the opposite of the first two princess and prince duo.

More epic cosplayers.

So many people! But this isn’t even a lot!

Yaoi FTW! I do not support that message.

Yuri FTW. This I do support.

Breaktime – a “local” drink – Bandung. It’s a rose syrup milk drink. It tastes deliciously sweet with a fragrant rose scent. This definitely tops my previous favorite – Orange Qoo.

I believe she’s one of the AFA Cosplay Contest finalists. Quite amazing work.

This Naruto cosplayer is not a Narutard.

Double Post for deserved kawaii-ness.

There’s something about a group of cosplaying girls sitting around chatting. Bonus points for them being frilly loligoth cosplayers. You’ll notice they’r still segregated between the “anime hair color” group and the “natural hair color group”.

There were better poses from her, but oh well.

This guy was a great cosplayer. Very friendly, totally open, and very patient. He held that pose for a good 30 seconds while someone with a DSLR snapped away silently.

Then he took a picture with me like we’ve always been good friends. XD

Ulala variant color. VERY HOT. I love retrocool style clothes.

MOAR PEOPLE!!!

YES. It really should have been a girl character! HAWT.

Who is the girl on the right cosplaying as? She’s very pretty.

MOAR PEOPLE!!! Check out the giant sword on the left.

Ran into her back in the con. She’s very cute.

Gwendolyn from Odin Sphere. When I first saw her wandering, I was floored. I wasn’t camera ready as she went through a door and vanished. I wasn’t satisfied leaving without a shot of her. I ran into her again (friend pointed her out). Unfortunately, this photo doesn’t do her justice anyway. I also saw ONE girl dressed as Konata (height was accurate too) but wasn’t camera ready at the time she went passed and disappeared around a corner.

Quite sad that this was the only pic I got of Danny Choo as he was mobbed and rushing away. I shouted “DANNY!” he looked over, and said “Hey!” That blurry thing in front of him is his hand as he waved. If I’m not mistaken, that’s Alodia. It’s blurry, but you can see her Witchblade makeup still on.

At the end of it all, after looking through all my photos, I feel it’s time I bought a new point and shoot camera. Most of the photos I got were blurry under this low light condition. There are cameras nowadays with face tracking, smile tracking, and anti-motion blur processing. I want to get a point and shoot that I can take out for quick shots and not have to worry about missing a moment.

AFA 09 was a lot of fun, and I really wish I was able to attend Day 2. I’ll definitely try to attend again. I’ll at least be attending my local anime con – Anime Evolution, though my friend tells me that I’ll be disappointed after having been exposed to AFA.

I’ve still got more to experience here, and I’ve already taken quite a number of photos of Singapore – the next most proliferating anime hub on the internetz. So stay tuned to check out what Singapore is like!

Thanks for checking out the photos!

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema. It is a yearly festival that has been going on for nine years. I have been going to university in Waterloo since last year, but I had never heard of this event.

Fortunately, this year I received an e-mail from my campus’s gaming oriented club informing me about this festival. And once I learned from their website that they would have a showing of the North American premiere for Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, I knew I had to go.

Initially, I expected that most of the films that were to be shown would be Japanese. I was surprised when I found out that only 3 out of the 14 were Japanese anime films. They had films from many diverse countries countries including Ireland, Hungary, Australia, Sweden, Belgium and Serbia.

The theme of this year’s festival was Russian animation. Specifically, the focus of the event was on a select number of some of the oldest films in Russian animation which had their start in the Soviet Union. I even got to see the Soviet Union’s first animated feature film, The Lost Letter, which was made in 1945.

I also have to give a big kudos to the team who put this event together. They did an amazing job with the programme booklets, ticket system, and the overall aesthetic quality and organization of the festival. The staff was also very friendly and made me feel right at home. I had a great time and definitely plan on going next year.

konnichiwa pues chi un nuevo manga hentai de evangelion nyo para los que les gusta esta serie y tambien sus mangas hentai ke son de broccoli nyo n.n bueno aki se los dejo para que los descargen gema n.n

descargar

Anyone looking for a new watch? Well, here’s a watch that should interest you^^ Quad Elements has finally opened pre-orders for the Evangelion Unit 03 Watch following earlier releases for Unit 01 and Unit 02.

This 3rd unit looks much more attactive to me and is really tempting me to get it >.< But it cost 24,990 Yen. Why does it have to cost so much…

Anyway you can order it here at Hobby Search.

UCC Evangelion Coffee will be sold at AFA09 at the price of S$15 for 6 cans. Only 1,000 Sets available , so be sure to go there early to grab them^^

Via AFA09 Fackbook

I think it would be easy for me to to pass myself off as someone schooled in psychological and spiritual subjects because if given a chance, i would simply love to rattle on non-stop about stuff like the Oedipus Complex, the Electra Complex, Human Instrumentality, the Tree of Sepiroth, Thanatos, Oral Stage, the Dead Sea Scrolls and so on.

Nope, i didn’t take a psychology course in college. Also, I didn’t read about them from books. What i actually did was to spend an abnormally excessive portion of my teenage years being fixated over the anime: Neon Genesis Evangelion.
On a superficial scale, Evangelion is the step mother to all Japanese mecha anime (the mother is of course Gundam), another bland tale about kids operating giant robots to save the world. On closer inspection, it is an important epic chronicling the progress and evolution of the Human Race. But at its core, it’s a classic bildungsroman about a boy’s determination to find the courage to be accepted by others, as perfectly pointed out in a conversation between 2 important characters of the show.

That’s the thing about Evangelion, it connects on so many levels of human ambition: whether it centers around saving the world, or simply the emotional and psychological struggles of an individual.

I just finished watching You can (not) advance, the second film off the Rebuild of Evangelion Tetralogy, a project which was initiated to re-write the ending of the original Anime series and movies which aired in 1995 and 1997 respectively. Let it be known that Hideaki Anno, the creator, have already attempted to rewrite the ending once before, and this is his third attempt at getting it right. Judging by the looks of the 2nd film which took a painstaking 2 years to create, he’s finally on the right track. As with most forms of entertainment that strives to be intellectual, the story demands the viewer to draw their own conclusions, but at the end of the show, I got the feeling that this is too precious a story to leave it up to just my own interpretation, so I went on the internet for hours, scouring through heaps of information to find some form of truth about the series.

Why does it inspire such a manic following?  Because, to put it in a brash way, Evangelion is also the single most important work in animation history and the founding father of all shows that try to incorporate mythology in their plots (yes to all you JJ abrams fans out there, there exists no show with a mythology as dense as Evangelion, not even Lost), and fans still throw themselves and their cash at every attempt to franchise or rewrite the story 14 years after the show’s initial creation.

As Hideaki Anno himself would say:

“Evangelion is a narrative involving repetition, it is a story about how a protagonist won’t back down and continues on struggling in the face of unrelenting adversity. It is a tale about the will to move forward, however incrementally. It was created with the longing to share with as many people as possible the true endearing qualities of animation film, where mental images can be visualised into reality and a wide diversity of expression is available in order to touch upon the emotions of the audience on a primal level.”

At the end of the Rebuild films, I have no doubt that you’ll be be shocked, frightened, impressed, delighted, excited and depressed. You’ll experience the entire gamut of human emotions and find them to be a bottomless pit with no sky above, and through this, you will discover your worth as an individual.

In other words, what I’m trying to say is, this is epic stuff. You should watch this or else you might regret it one day.

Wildarmsheero recently linked me to an old interview with Sadamoto Yoshiyuki, character designer of Evangelion, where he describes Eva as being what would happen “if you add “Ideon” and “Devilman” together and divide by two.” A surprisingly accurate description when I actually think about that.

That brought my attention to a Post-Eva mecha show, RahXephon, which can in a similar fashion be described as the average of Evangelion and the old 70s Sunrise anime Reideen (not to be confused with the 2007 version or Chouja Reideen from the 90s).

Going by those statements, we come to the following conclusion:

RahXephon = (Ideon + Devilman + 2Reideen)/4

Anime, ladies and gentlemen.

Da gibt es eine Szene in diesem Film, in der vieles klar wird. Wenn man sie denn entdeckt, denn der Moment wirkt auf den ersten Blick nebensächlich. Es geht darin um Shinjis SDAT-Player, der in der ursprünglichen Fernsehserie Neon Genesis Evangelion als Symbol und Motiv verwandt wurde. Immer und immer wieder wurde damals gezeigt, wie Shinji die Tracks 25 und 26 hörte. Erst den einen, dann den anderen, dann wieder den einen. Diese Einstellungen fanden sich immer dann, wenn Shinji sich in sich selbst zurückzog, wenn er sich dem Druck, der auf ihm lastete, nicht mehr aussetzen konnte und sich abkapselte. Man konnte sie auch als Ausdruck dieses drückenden Fatalismus verstehen, der auf NGE lastete – sie deuteten das Ende an, im einen Fall das Ende der Serie (Episoden 25 und 26), im anderen, End of Evangelion,  gar das Ende alles und jeden. Von vornherein war klar, dass alles enden würde. Diese Weltenschwere ließ Shinji nie los.

In Rebuild 2.0 ist der SDAT-Player nach einem Zwischenfall defekt. Statt 25 und 26 zu wiederholen, springt er weiter zu Track 27. Die Szene dauert kaum einige Sekunden, sie ist weder auffällig noch so zentral, wie sie mit meiner Beschreibung erscheint, aber sie ist da.

Wenn man will, kann man in diesem Track 27 ein Sinnbild für die Rebuild-Reihe sehen. Eine Absage an die zwingende, innere Logik von Neon Genesis Evangelion, die ihren Ausdruck fand in der motivischen Verwendung der beiden Songs. Rebuild macht Schluss damit – und geht zugleich einen Schritt weiter, ist also eine Fortsetzung, die zugleich eine gänzlich andere, eigene Logik hat. Das zu begreifen ist wichtig, sehr wichtig. Neon Genesis Evangelion funktionierte nur innerhalb seiner eigenen Logik – ebenso, wie es die Rebuild-Filme nur innerhalb ihrer eigenen tun. Bei aller Nähe und bei allen offensichtlichen Gemeinsamkeiten liegen ihnen einige elementar unvereinbare Antriebe und Motivationen zu Grunde – nicht frappierend viele, aber mehr als genug, um beide Ansätze als eigenständige Auslegungen ein und des selben Plots verstehen zu müssen.

Vergleiche zwischen NGE und seinem Rebuild sind natürlich immer möglich, gerade im Kontrast erschließt man sich oft die Feinheiten und Funktionsweisen beider Ansätze – nicht möglich ist aber, die Maßstäbe des einen auf den anderen anzulegen und daraus eine Wertung zu ziehen. Damit macht man sich’s nur selbst schwer, denn es geht nicht. Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance muss als eigenständiges Werk behandelt werden, nicht als Remix, nicht mal mehr als Re-Interpretation. Es gibt keinen Track 27 in Neon Genesis Evangelion – es gibt kein Rebuild in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Nicht vergessen, nie vergessen.

(An dieser Stelle die Warnung: Das Review wird stellenweise Spoiler für Evangelion 2.0 enthalten; die jeweiligen Absätze markiere ich mit einem roten Asterisk*.)

Ende Juni lief der zweite Rebuild-Film nach etwa zweijähriger Produktionszeit in den japanischen Kinos an. Zwei Wochen später schon kursierte eine qualitativ… mäßige Camrip im Netz, deren Verlockung ich erlegen bin. Denn die japanische BD liegt in weiter Ferne, ist noch nicht einmal datiert, während für die deutsche bei Universum der Mai 2010 angepeilt wird. Zu lange, viel zu lange. Also Augen auf und durch, denn nach Rebuild 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone war die Spannung immens. Das lag vor allem am Projekt selber; ein Jahrzehnt nach dem schier unfassbaren Abschluss der Serie in End of Evangelion, sollte Anno Hideaki sich erneut seines Magnum Opus annehmen. Ein faszinierender Gedanke, denn Neon Genesis Evangelion war ein epochales Werk. Und jetzt würde er den Stoff für die Leinwand neu erarbeiten, gar ausweiten? Woah.

Schwer tat man sich noch mit dem ersten Film der Rebuild-Reihe, wenn es darum ging, ihn in den ausufernden Kanon des Epos Neon Genesis Evangelion einzupflegen. Die Meere blutrot, die Engel anders benannt. Viele Details fügten sich nicht mehr in den Plot, wie wir ihn kannten. Gerade gegen Ende. Nach dem furiosen grande finale mit der komplett neu geschriebenen Operation Yashima sahen wir plötzlich Kaworu, wie er einem Sarg auf dem Mond entsteigt. Vier zu seiner Rechten sind offen, vier geschlossen, und einmal quer durch die Szenerie zieht sich ein großer Streifen Blut. In seinem Angesicht eine gewaltige Ausgrabungsstätte mit einem maskierten Koloss – ein Engel? Ein EVA? Und dann, nach dem Abspann, die Vorschau auf den nächsten Film – EVAs 05 und 06? Die First Ancestral Race? Und eine neue Pilotin? Wenn schon der erste Film im Detail und in den letzten Minuten so viele Änderungen beinhaltete, würde das Sequel wohl umso mehr davon bieten. Im Raum stand bald die (durchaus plausible) Theorie, die Rebuild-Filme wären eine Fortsetzung von End of Evangelion, eine buchstäblich postapokalyptische Geschichte und zugleich Reset der Serie unter anderen Bedingungen. Track 27 eben.

*Konnte man Evangelion 1.0 noch ansehen, wie nah er sich phasenweise am Ausgangsmaterial bewegte, sind es bei Evangelion 2.0 allenfalls Zitate daraus. Aus den Episoden 8 bis 19 bediente sich Anno des Plots, stellte einige der zentralen Ereignisse – Asukas Erscheinen, die Kämpfe gegen Bardiel und Zeruel – zusammen, fügte aber auch etliche neue Entwicklungen hinzu. Der Film eröffnet gleich mit dem Kampf Maris, der neuen Pilotin, in ihrem provisorischen EVA-05 gegen den dritten Engel in der amerikanisch-russischen Bethany Base, ist also chronologisch noch dem ersten Rebuild-Film vorgeschaltet. Bald schon wird Asuka eingeführt, und mit ihr die im Fokus des ersten Filmes stehende Beziehung von Shinji und Rei um eine Dimension erweitert. Sinnbildlich dafür der Kampf gegen Sahaquiel, in dem die drei Kinder zusammenarbeiten müssen, um den Fall des Bombenengels auf Tokyo-3 aufzuhalten – und es vor allem Asuka schwerfällt, sich in das schon eingespielte Regimen zu fügen.

*Die Kinder sind gezwungen, in diesen konflikthaltigen Interaktionen ihre eigenen Vorstellungen vom Leben in Frage zu stellen. Asuka etwa beruft sich anfangs noch auf die Prinzipien der Leistung und Stärke, weil sie darin bis dato die Beste war. Warum müssten sich die Japaner immer für alles entschuldigen? Schließlich fresse alles, das leben wolle, anderes Leben. Um selber zu leben, müsse anderes nun mal sterben. Mit anderen Lebensentwürfen wie demjenigen Reis, die sie von Anfang an dafür verachtete, ist das nicht kompatibel. Mehr noch: diese Prinzipien sind das be-all and end-all ihres Wesens. Im Kampf gegen Sahaquiel aber werden sie verneint, denn alleine wäre sie zu Grunde gegangen. Und mit dem Verschluss ihres EVA-02, um die Stationierung von EVA-03 in Japan zu erlauben, wird ihr buchstäblich der Boden unter den Füßen weggezogen, ihre selbst auferlegt einzige Existenzgrundlage. Was ist sie nun noch?

*Doch in bester dialektischer Manier, und dabei teils drastisch anders als in NGE, wachsen die Kinder aneinander. Sie lernen voneinander. Mit einem bewusst einfachen, fast schon primitiven Vorgang bringt Anno das zum Ausdruck: mit dem Essen. Anders als in Asukas martialischer Vorstellung eines Fressens oder gefressen Werdens ist Shinji jemand, der nicht für sich selbst, sondern auch für andere Essen zubereitet. Für Asuka ist das ein ungewohnter, eigentümlich intimer Ausdruck der Zuneigung und Sorge: ich sorge dafür, dass du lebst. Für Rei hingegen stellt sich das als Zugang zum sozialen Leben selber dar, als etwas, wodurch man in der Gesellschaft sein Glück findet: ich sorge dafür, dass es dir gut geht.

*Beide machen den entscheidenden Schritt aus ihren jeweiligen Dilemmata heraus, indem sie schlicht kochen. Asuka will Shinjis Geste erwidern. Das ist für jemanden wie sie ein gewaltiger Schritt, weil er ihre ursprüngliche Philosophie negiert – sie erkennt an, dass es andere Menschen außerhalb ihrer eigenen Sphäre gibt, deren Existenz ihr wichtig sind. Rei wiederum empfindet bei etwas so Gewöhnlichem wie einem gemeinsamen Mahl Glück, und das will sie teilen mit den Menschen, für die sie etwas empfindet. Sie will für alle kochen, für sich, Shinji, Gendo, Asuka; sie geht damit auf’s Leben zu. Natürlich bringen dabei beide ihre Opfer, zu sehen an ihren Händen. Keine von beiden ist es gewohnt, zu kochen, und so schneiden sie sich ständig. Und trotzdem machen sie weiter.

*Ihren finalen Ausdruck findet diese Entwicklung in der zweiten Hälfte des Filmes. Rei wurde für den Tag, an dem sie ihre Party abhalten wollte, als Testpilotin für EVA-03 designiert. Die Amerikaner baten die japanische NERV-Abteilung, EVA-03 nach der mysteriösen Explosion von EVA-04 in Nevada, die weite Teile des Kontinents verwüstete, bei sich aufzunehmen. Doch Asuka erklärt sich bereit, Rei diese Pflicht abzunehmen – teils aus dem Grund, selber wieder ans Steuer zu dürfen, doch eben teils auch, um es Rei zu ermöglichen, zusammen mit Shinji und Gendo zu essen. Und dafür bedankt sich Rei sogar. Asuka und Rei sind aneinander gewachsen.

***Doch zugleich ist diese Sequenz, etwas nach der Stundenmarke, auch der Auftakt zur furiosen Schlussphase von Evangelion 2.0. Denn EVA-03 ist von Bardiel infiziert, der mit Asuka in seinem Inneren Amok läuft und schließlich nur von EVA-01 unter Führung des Dummy Plug gestoppt werden kann. Shinji wird Zeuge der monströsen Vergeltung Shogokis, der Gogoki zerfleischt. Zwar sieht Shinji nichts, doch er spürt und hört, was er tut. Daher weiß er auch genau, was passiert, als Shogoki den Entry Plug Asukas zwischen den Kiefern hält. Und ihn zerbeißt.

***Analog zur Beziehung der Kinder, die sich in der ersten Stunde entwickelt, nur um an dieser Stelle abrupt und brutal zerfetzt zu werden, ist auch der Verlauf des Filmes. Lange Zeit bereitet er vor, nimmt sich Zeit, um die Geschichte zu entwickeln, die Konflikte einzuführen und zu entfalten – nur, um in einer furiosen, atemberaubenden, spektakulären halben Stunde zu münden, in der das alles auf die Spitze und weit, weit darüber hinaus geführt, mit Genuss und Brachialität in Trümmer gelegt wird. Dass Anno und Sagisu Shirou, der Komponist, mit ihrem Soundtrack während besagter Szene an das nervenzerreißende Finale von End of Evangelion erinnern, ist mehr als passend. Wie damals Komm, süßer Tod ist auch hier ein vermeintlich fröhlich klingender, auf Textebene aber gänsehauterregend passender Song Untermalung und Folie des Schlimmstmöglichen; während EVA-01 im Abendrot steht, am Horizont ein Regenbogen, trieft ihm LCL aus den Lefzen, mit denen er gerade Asuka zermalmt hat; und Hayashibara Megumi, VA Reis, singt dazu: Sayonara. Anno macht unmissverständlich: was jetzt folgt, wird End of Evangelion noch in den Schatten stellen wollen.

***Und was dann folgte war schon im Camrip kaum zu fassen, und auf der großen Leinwand erwartungsgemäß überwältigend. Shinij kann nicht ertragen, was mit Asuka geschah, und nimmt seinen Abschied. Währenddessen jedoch steigt Zeruel herab und dringt mühelos bis zum NERV-HQ vor. Er schlägt Schneisen der Verwüstung, legt Tokyo-3 und das Geofront in Schutt und Asche. Auftritt Mari, die sich als Agentin einer unbekannten Macht in das Hauptquartier einschlich und die Kontrolle über EVA-02 übernahm. Sie führt ihn in eine Vernichtungsschlacht gegen Zeruel, und als ihre ersten Attacken nicht wirken, geht sie einen Schritt weiter: Sie löst EVA-02s Rückhaltemechanismen, die die Bestie im Inneren der EVA-Rüstungen bändigen, und wird mit ihm zum Biest, einer buchstäblich ungeheuerlichen, bestialischen Kampfmaschine. Mari riskiert dabei ihren Verstand, riskiert, vom EVA absorbiert zu werden, aber schon fast lustvoll, wahnhaft stürzt sie sich in den Kampf

***Doch sie scheitert. Rei greift ins Geschehen ein und will Zeruel zusammen mit sich selbst in die Luft jagen. Zusammen mit der fast völlig zerfetzten Mari durchbricht sie dessen AT-Field, doch der Angriff scheitert, und Rei wird von Zeruel verschlungen. Zeruel macht sich auf zum Central Dogma. Nun stellt sich ihm Shinji in den Weg, der mitansah, wie Rei starb. Er kehrt zurück, besteigt EVA-01 und nimmt den Kampf auf. Dann aber, er wird besiegt, geschieht etwas Epochales. Nicht nur Asuka und Rei kamen verändert aus ihren Begegnungen, auch Shinji. Er steckt nun nicht auf, sondern… nun, es ist schwer, das in Worte zu packen. Er transzendiert.

***Shogokis Augen, Glieder, Rachen erglühen rot, und über seinem Haupt erstrahlt eine Gloriole. Er lässt alle irdischen Begriffe und wird vom Mensch unter Menschen zum Gott unter Menschen. Shinji greift sich Zeruel, bricht ihn, dringt in ihn ein. Er will Rei zurück. Er löst sich auf, konkretisiert sich wieder, erst strahlend weiß, dann liegt seine Haut in Fetzen, aber er will Rei zurück. Unmenschliche, göttliche Anstrengungen, bis er sie wieder erreicht, sie befreit, mit ihr verschmilzt. Damit läutet er das Ende der Welt ein, denn das ist der Third Impact. Und im Hintergrund singt Hayashibara Megumi: In diesem endlosen Himmel will ich meine Flügel ausbreiten und fliegen, einem anderen Himmel entgegen, frei und frei von Traurigkeit.

*Was da alles geschieht ist schwer in Worte zu fassen. Fast jede Einstellung ikonisch, fast jedes Geschehen geht Meilen über das hinaus, was man sich zuvor hätte vorstellen können. Endlos könnte man Adjektive auseinanderpacken, aneinanderreihen – phänomenal, spektakulär, gewaltig, überragend, überwältigend – und doch wären sie zu kurz gegriffen. Evangelion 2.0 hat eines der intensivsten, atemberaubendsten Enden, das ich je in einem Film erleben durfte. Erst recht auf der großen Leinwand, in 35mm-Projektion und mit DTS-Sound. Und das ist nicht nur der Handlung geschuldet, sondern auch den Schauwerten. Eine solche visuelle Brillanz findet man in kaum einem Anime ein zweites Mal, und Evangelion 2.0 ist damit reich gesegnet, vor allem in den zahlreichen, fantastisch animierten und musikalisch unterlegten Kampfsequenzen.

*Natürlich findet all das in erster Linie auf einer vordergründigen Handlungsebene statt. Die hintergründigen treten zurück ins zweite Glied, werden zwar zitiert, immer wieder aufgegriffen, aber machen doch Platz für die actionreiche Auflösung des Films. Das kann man gerne kritisieren, genauso, wie man den Film als Ganzes kritisieren darf. Wenn man mit der Serie vergleichen will, dann ist klar, dass ein Spielfilm die psychologischen Details und Feinheiten in der Fülle, wie sie in der Serie minutiös aufgearbeitet worden sind, schlicht nicht leisten kann. Evangelion 2.0 gibt diesen Anspruch nicht unbedingt auf, aber man kann nicht umhin festzustellen, dass die inneren Mechanismen, die Beziehungen und Entwicklungen der Charaktere, die drüben beim Japankino in einer sehr, sehr klugen Analyse umrissen worden sind und für die Fernsehserie eine unüberschätzbare Rolle gespielt haben, in Filmform vereinfacht werden mussten. Das ist Fakt. Und damit muss man natürlich nicht glücklich sein.

Aber hier kommt auch ein anderer Fakt ins Spiel, den ich anfangs eingeführt habe: Rebuild of Evangelion ist nicht Neon Genesis Evangelion. Das sind zwei verschiedene Entitäten. Weder tut man sich noch seinem Filmgenuss noch den Werken einen Gefallen, wenn man das vergisst. Rebuild of Evangelion ergründet man am besten aus sich selbst heraus. Und in Evangelion 2.0 haben wir einen sensationellen Film mit enormen Ansprüchen an sich selbst, denen er fast allen auch gerecht werden kann. Sicherlich, bisweilen tut er sich schwer damit, alles in der angestrebten Perfektion zu erreichen, und wird immer dann ein wenig holprig. Manchmal gelingt der Spagat nicht ganz.  Und manchmal hätte man sich, wenn man die Serie kennt, noch ein wenig mehr Details gewünscht, noch etwas mehr Hintergrundgeschichte.Viele Nebencharaktere spielen kaum noch eine Rolle, und auch wichtigere Elemente wie Asukas Vergangenheit mussten weichen.

Das muss man in diesem Fall einfach akzeptieren lernen. Man muss sich darauf einlassen können, begreifen können, dass es in dieser Fassung der Geschichte nun mal einen Track 27 gibt. Dass all das, was wir aus der Serie kennen, da ist, nur eben anders. Entschlackt, neu arrangiert, in eine neue Logik gebracht. Dass in diesem neuen Arrangement weniger Raum ist für die extrem ausführlichen, tief ergründenden Charakterstudien, die Neon Genesis Evangelion bot. Das mag in den Augen vieler ein Versäumnis sein, und das ist natürlich völlig legitim. Doch es geht am Kern der neuen Filmreihe vorbei, denn so kann man Evangelion 2.0 nicht als das erfassen, was es ist: ein Ereignis.

Denn die inszenatorische Wucht Annos, die überwältigende Inszenierung des Films wiegt all das auf. Und macht wieder bewusst, dass Anno seine Geschichte eben nie exklusiv als introspektive psychologische Fingerübung verstand, nicht als E-Anime, sondern eben immer auch und im gleichen Maße als U-Anime. Es ist völlig richtig, dass sich Anno aus praktischen, sicher aber auch inhaltlichen und persönlichen Gründen dafür entschied, die Mechanismen der Geschichte etwas zu vereinfachen. Doch es wäre nicht nur unfair, sondern auch am Kern des Rebuild-Projektes vorbeigedacht, dabei das zu ignorieren, worauf er stattdessen abzielte: auf den Film an sich. Und Evangelion 2.0 ist ein Ereignis, in jeglicher Hinsicht. Man darf gespannt sein, wie Anno sich in Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0: Quickening noch steigern will, und dann noch einmal im vierten und letzten Film. Es scheint schier unmöglich nach dem, was er uns in Evangelion 2.0 vorgelegt hat. Aber wenn jemand das Unmögliche einfach wegfegen und weit, weit hinter sich lassen kann, dann ist das Anno.  9,5/10

Here’s the Part 2 of Evangelion’s Service^^

And here’s Part 1 for those who have not seen it.

And here’s Part 1 for those who have not seen it.

Delicious Eva-flavored Doritos

In honor of the first Rebuild of Evangelion movie being released on DVD in the U.S., I thought I’d post my thoughts of the dub. My dub review comes from a theatrical viewing of the dub a few months ago, and is not representative of the DVD. But they should be identical anyway.

First of all, I completely loathed the original Evangelion dub (and I hated the original movie dubs even more). It had one of the worst assembled casts of all time. Worse than the people in “Manos: The Hands of Fate.” Not to mention one of the shittiest directors, Matt Greenfield, ever. Basically, he just cast a bunch of his no-talent friends, and had them ham it up. The original dub is on par with what you’d find in a middle school drama class. It is fucking awful. A testament to why you should never watch a dub. And just in case any of you think I “hate all dubs,” let me explain something else. There are some anime dubs that I loved, and watch those shows exclusively in English (e.g. Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Outlaw Star, and Fullmetal Alchemist — just to name a few). Anyway, my expectations for the Rebuild of Evangelion dub were extremely low. I was expecting a turd on celluloid. So, how did it hold up?

Shinji – Spike Spencer performed much better than he ever did in the TV series. It seems like he has grown quite a lot as an actor. His line delivery was spot on almost all of the time. He embodied the role quite well, and was very convincing. The only complaint I have is that his screams are somewhat comical, and when Eva-01 got blasted by Ramiel, his screams were so ridiculous they actually made me laugh out loud. I don’t think the other theater-goers were very happy with me.

Misato – Allison Keith-Shipp did a good job, too. While I still think her acting can be a little weak, and her voice shrill, for the most part she was fine. She had the proper amount of gravity during dramatic scenes, and the right amount of lightheartedness in the fun scenes. She was probably the person I hated the most in the original dub, and I expected her to ruin the entire movie. Fortunately, she has improved a lot as an actor since her original performance in the TV series. Not bad, not bad at all.

Rei – Her voice actress was excellent. She was able to be quiet and solemn, without sounding fake and hoarse like Amanda Winn-Lee (the original english Rei). She doesn’t have that many lines, but her delivery for all of them was perfect. Without a doubt, she was one of the highlights of the dub.

Rei getting her Rick James on.

Gendo – Why is Crispin Freeman* not voicing this character? Gendo was all right, but not too memorable. He came off as more of a bastard than the previous dub actor, which is definitely a good thing. Still, there was something lacking in his performance. Maybe he came across as too emotionally involved, where Gendo should seem detached. Again, a good performance, but not amazing.     *Rumor has it that Robin Williams, a self-proclaimed Evangelion fan, also auditioned for the role of Gendo. While it might have been odd hearing a big star on an anime dub, I think he would have been much better than the person they went with. At least he would have sounded different than the actor who played Fuyutsuki.

Fuyutsuki – He sounds too much like Gendo, and sometimes it can be hard to tell which character is speaking. I’m apathetic to his performance as he does not have much of a presence in this movie.

Ritsuko – Sort of flat sounding. She had more of the detached voice that Gendo should have had. I think her actress, while good, could have been better. There’s just something about her voice that doesn’t quite fit the character.

Toji – The best Toji so far. At first I didn’t like his voice, but it grew on me. By the end, I thought he fit the role well.

Kensuke – I think that Greg Ayres did an awesome job. Even though he is omnipresent in anime these days, he did fine. His higher pitched, almost puberty-cracking voice was perfect for the role. He had the right amount of enthusiasm and nerdiness to make Kensuke memorable.

Keel – Although he only shows up in Monolith form, his voice is menacing as hell. Great choice.

Kaworu – He seemed all right, but his part was too brief to make any real judgment.

Bridge Bunnies – They sort of just blend into the scenes, and nobody stood apart from the others.

While I don’t think this cast will ever surpass the original Japanese actors, Funimation did a damn good job. This time they had a real director instead of motherfucking Matt Greenfield, and that payed off in spades. Spike and Allison have had years to improve their skills, and with a competent director, were able to turn in great performances. Overall, the dub was good, and I can entertain the idea of watching it again in the future. While the original Japanese is still the best, this English dub is a vast improvement over the ADV dub.

And also, it rocked watching Evangelion in a movie theater, on the big screen.

Verdict: Good

O, so O Levels ended? icic… What now? ~4 to 5 months of holidays. So long can do wut?

Coming up:

16/17 Nov: Graduation Ceremony rehearsal/actual.

20th Nov: Collect AFA 09 tickets, watch Evangelion 2.0

21-22 Nov: AFA09

24-26 Nov: Chalet

27-30? Nov: SITEX

Stuff to get:

1) Full tower casing

2) MOTHERBOARD (LGA775, nforce (to go SLI)

3) DDR3 RAM (if new board hates DDR2)

4) an NVIDIA card. a 9800 maybe? or 260.

5) PSU

6) CPU COOLER (gonna OC, so need a better one) ON HOLD

7) HEADPHONES?

GUNDAMs? or some goods @ AFA09

That’s the end of my plans, all done in a week (excluding Grad ceremony). Crap load of $ going out within a week, I’ll have no choice but to either be a hikikomori or go find work after that.

Before Os, worry about exams/O LEVELs/studies. After Os, its money woes and how to put that crap load of amount to good use (no, I’m not worrying about my results yet. Too early for that and its a waste of time too.

konnichiwa  nyo pues chi aqui un nuevo  video cosplay  hentai de evangelion nyo O.O esta ves de rei ayanami nyo n.n esta muy bueno  y recrea el hambiente como en la serie de anime O.OU o  la pelicula ,bueno aqui se los dejo para ke lo vean y descargen nyo ^-^

descargar

Here’s some Evangelion Service^^ Can’t wait for the third movie to come out

Hope everyone likes my Evangelion service^^

Here’s Part 2 of Evangelion Service.

Here’s Part 2 of Evangelion Service.

The long-awaited domestic DVD release of the Neon Genesis Evangelion remake movie, Evangelion: 1.01 You Are (Not) Alone, is coming on November 17th. To give people an idea of just how much the old Eva horse has been rejuvenated by the remake, FUNimation has posted a whopping eight and a half minutes of the movie on YouTube.

I’m not personally an Eva fan, but holy crap, this looks (and sounds!) good. No wonder it did so well back in 2007.

Ever wonder what or where the service Misato promises at the end of every preview is? Anyways, just collected my tickets for tomorrow’s showing of Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance! I will be watching the Friday 11.40pm showing at Cineleisure Orchard.

To commemorate the event, let’s take a look at all the Evangelion Related Magazine Exclusives that I have acquired so far.

Asuka from Young Ace Vol. 2

Mari from NewType Magazine

Mari Plugsuit Ver. from Young Ace Vol.1

Yes, this Mari figure does have an exchangeable head with her helmet off, but I forgot to take a picture. (^.^;)

Overall, for Magazine exclusives, they have superb detail and are exceedingly well crafted. Won’t miss out on the Rei figure that will be released with Young Ace Vol. 3! Ah, as for the revoltech miniature, I’m sure you’ve seen my review by now. (^.^)

Anyone seeing the movie at the same time and place as me?