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REVIEW: Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance BLURAY


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Otaking09



Joined: 24 Feb 2009
Posts: 637
PostPosted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:19 pm Reply with quote
Good review. I was wondering if you'd mention that Justin already gave a piece about this.

I'm happy you mentioned that insert song with the children's chorus. Love how juicily horrifying that whole sequence was.
Personally, I found the soundtrack here easier to appreciate and recognize how musically gifted the series is.

I'm also happy that the dub turned out alright too(I, too, was also curious about how Spike would go about it here).
Oh, Anno, when shall we see light of Eva 3.0???
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DangerMouse



Joined: 25 Mar 2009
Posts: 3992
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 2:28 am Reply with quote
Great read for a great movie.

Agree with both Otaking09 and the review about specifically mentioning the juxtaposition of those scenes with the children's chorus music pieces which was quite interesting and just a great choice that you wouldn't think of on the surface until you see how incredibly Shiro Sagisu puts it together, the Eva franchise's music continues to just be ear-catching memorable stuff with every installment.

As I'd thought she would Tiffany Grant reprises Asuka almost flawlessly with the new changes to her character and all the improvements in VA recordings in the intervening years between the TV series being recorded and these new movies (similar to Spike and Allison's great reprisals), so glad that they got her back as hearing her felt totally right from Asuka's first moments and hearing the three of them back all together hit all the right notes to add to the awesomeness of the movie.

I thought the VA for the new Mari character did a really nice job and was great in some of her key scenes and action and can't wait to see what she does when the rest of the movies give us the details about her character.
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pachy_boy



Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 1335
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:50 am Reply with quote
When I received my copy in the mail from Right Stuf (just a couple weeks ago, too), I watched it three times on the same weekend. First dubbed, then subbed, then the commentary, because this movie blew me away that much. As you may have guessed, I hadn't seen it in theaters, but it still rocks even on my home TV. This movie just did not disappoint all the way to the end.

I was pleasantly stunned by the character differences, and anyone who thought Shinji's weakness was too much in the original should find him redeemed in this version.

My favorite music bit since purchasing the soundtrack has always been 'At the Very Beginning,' used during Mari's first fight scene. It's kind of a catchy, spooky tune, although the new 'Beautiful World' version is itself a catchy upgrade.

And speaking of the subbed version, I was surprised to hear how so flawless the English was at the start of the film--and how incoherently broken Kaji's was when he was introduced in the same scene. It was almost funny.

Quote:
On a more minor note, Toji's sister, who we heard mention of but never saw in the original series, gets a momentary appearance here.


Yeah, that was a cute cameo.

Quote:
While the general thrust of the story remains similar to the TV series, there are some entirely new events and scenes here (the stuff on the moon, Rei's planned dinner party), but none of those are as bold an addition as the new pilot.


From what I've heard before, it sounded like Mari's part in the story was pointless and that she was there strictly to be boobs. Yeah, that aspect's there, but I otherwise had a different impression. I didn't feel she took any time or moments away from Asuka or Rei like I thought she would, and I felt that everything was leading to her having a more significant role in the next movie. We just don't know yet at this point.

Quote:
The biggest story on the dub front is that longtime anime veteran Tiffany Grant does, indeed, reprise her iconic performance as Asuka, and she adapts well to the tweaks in her character in this version (if sometimes reluctantly, as she laments in the audio commentary that she did not get to infuse any German into the role this time).


Regardless, she came back and did the kind of winning performance I don't think can be replaced.

Quote:
While the religious symbolism this time is mostly restricted to the cross-shaped blasts and some naming conventions, less obvious examples of it are still there if one looks carefully; the oceanographic institute's layout distinctly (and certainly not coincidentally) resembles the Kabbalan Tree of Life, for instance.


Watched three times, and I can't believe I didn't notice that!

Quote:
Fan service gets a decided upgrade, too, as we get to see a lot more of Asuka (she gets her own version of Shinji's nude scene from episode 2 of the TV series) and see her generally wearing skimpier clothing around the apartment.


If I had just one nitpick, it's that I didn't care for how blatant the fan service was, which I've always preferred to be casual. For instance, Asuka wearing as little as possible while trying to cook, being surrounded by scalding pots? How does that make sense? I know Evangelion has always had fan service, but regardless, to work it in just to have it is kind of, let's face it, degrading to the female characters that deserve more respect. Especially when no trace of the same treatment is given to the male characters (further reminding us that Evangelion was primarily made for a male audience despite it having female fans) spoiler[Rei's nude scene during the climax I felt worked more, because it all fitted and didn't feel tacked on, although Shinji himself still being clothed makes it feel uneven] But again, that's just a nitpick.

Quote:
The final post-credits scene and Next Movie preview will only drive fans into a frenzy over the all-new content of the as-yet-unscheduled third movie, and as anime franchises go, that's never a Bad Thing.


One can only hope that the final two films will still happen, my friend, one can only hope. In the meantime, this glorious movie's grand finale leaves me open to all the what-ifs and possibilities.
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kawaiibunny3



Joined: 10 Aug 2008
Posts: 534
Location: Houston, Texas
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:52 am Reply with quote
i just got mine yesterday and I hadn't seen it before and I'm absolutely on a evangelion high today Anime hyper

Also wanted to mention that the jazzy pieces of the score used mostly in the casual "happy" scenes are all taken from Shiro Sagisu's score of Kare Kano/His and Her Circumstances (another thing Anno directed as well)
a few of the slow pieces were taken from there as well (the piano piece that played when Kaji talks about Misato's past with her father is one for example)
Since I was a super big Kare Kano fan, these things popped out almost immediately when they played, so those scenes were almost a little distracting.
but there was a re-orchestration of the piece "Peace reigns in the land" played right before the big dramatic stuff happened, so that was a very nice touch for me I thought (it almost brought a little tear to my eye Anime hyper)


but anyway, very good film. I also can't wait for the 3rd one now~


Last edited by kawaiibunny3 on Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:54 am; edited 1 time in total
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boredandlazy



Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 189
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:53 am Reply with quote
I was absolutely amazed when I first watched this. I thought it was absolutely brilliant, I had a wide grin on my face after it finished.
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mdreura



Joined: 04 Nov 2010
Posts: 106
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:41 am Reply with quote
Otaking09 wrote:
Oh, Anno, when shall we see light of Eva 3.0???


This is the only minus on the Evangelion Rebuild for me. It has been two years since Evangelion 2.0 was in (Japanese) theaters and we haven't even seen promotional materials for 3.0 yet? Is the Duke Nukem Forever team in charge of production for the next film? I harbor certain doubts as to whether Studio Khara is ever going to finish what they ambitiously started here.
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braves



Joined: 29 Dec 2007
Posts: 2309
Location: Puerto Rico (but living in Texas)
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:03 am Reply with quote
mdreura wrote:
Is the Duke Nukem Forever team in charge of production for the next film? I harbor certain doubts as to whether Studio Khara is ever going to finish what they ambitiously started here.
I hope you were joking. It hasn't even been a full two years since it opened in Japan. This news is a few months old by now, but according to Shunji Suzuki they were in the middle of correcting key animation, so there's still a ways to go. But there's nothing out of the norm for their production schedule.
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BeanBandit



Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 303
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:19 am Reply with quote
I love this movie to death but I would have to disagree in regards to the dub. I watch dubs for the most part and I typically like Funimation dubs in general, but I though their dubs for Eva, particularly the dub script, I thought were terrible. I was especially taken back by the added swearing, there's been some talk of Funimation "punching up" their dubs in regards to titles like Hetalia and Sgt. Frog and I really noticed it with the dub of Eva (and Summer Wars to some extent). I also thought wile not terrible, the performances in general came off pretty flat, I switched between the English and Japanese tracks a few times and the differences in the two were pretty vast with the Japanese cast giving much better and more intense performances.

Just my 2 cents though, otherwise I totally agree with everything else said in the review. Will be interesting to see what others think in regards to the dub as it's one of the few times I found myself disliking a dub to this extent which is surprising as I'm usually forgiving of most dubs in general.
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aizensama666



Joined: 18 Oct 2010
Posts: 22
Location: Scranton(What?)The Electric City
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:57 pm Reply with quote
BeanBandit wrote:
I love this movie to death but I would have to disagree in regards to the dub. I watch dubs for the most part and I typically like Funimation dubs in general, but I though their dubs for Eva, particularly the dub script, I thought were terrible. I was especially taken back by the added swearing, there's been some talk of Funimation "punching up" their dubs in regards to titles like Hetalia and Sgt. Frog and I really noticed it with the dub of Eva (and Summer Wars to some extent). I also thought wile not terrible, the performances in general came off pretty flat, I switched between the English and Japanese tracks a few times and the differences in the two were pretty vast with the Japanese cast giving much better and more intense performances.


In my personal opinion, this is the best dub (other than Baccano!) that Funimation has made. They really did a good job with this one and I thought Spike Spencer's performance was the best he's done since EoE. In fact, the swearing reminded me of that movie as well (although a lot of people had a problem with it in that movie too).

I didn't like Mari's voice actress at first though. She came off kind of annoying and "flat" as you said. But by the time she put spoiler[Unit 02 into The Beast form ] I was in love with her. She was perfect in that whole scene
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LordPrometheus





PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 2:04 pm Reply with quote
This movie was incredible, an absolute work of art, especially on BluRay. My only complaint is that now I'm drooling over the release of Eva 3.0. Oh, what a painful wait it will be...

That to me is the mark of an amazing film; it makes you beg for more.
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sokpupet



Joined: 22 May 2004
Posts: 133
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:29 pm Reply with quote
The movie was indeed excellent, and it's going to suck having to wait for the third and especially the fourth movie.

I just have one request: That the third or fourth movie have the subtitle It's (Not) All About You.
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Otaking09



Joined: 24 Feb 2009
Posts: 637
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:07 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
I just have one request: That the third or fourth movie have the subtitle It's (Not) All About You.


Nope. They can't do it. They've already used parentheses for the "Not".
They'll have to use these "{ }" Laughing
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Reibooi



Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 394
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:48 pm Reply with quote
BeanBandit wrote:
I love this movie to death but I would have to disagree in regards to the dub. I watch dubs for the most part and I typically like Funimation dubs in general, but I though their dubs for Eva, particularly the dub script, I thought were terrible. I was especially taken back by the added swearing, there's been some talk of Funimation "punching up" their dubs in regards to titles like Hetalia and Sgt. Frog and I really noticed it with the dub of Eva (and Summer Wars to some extent). I also thought wile not terrible, the performances in general came off pretty flat, I switched between the English and Japanese tracks a few times and the differences in the two were pretty vast with the Japanese cast giving much better and more intense performances.


As someone who was very wary of this dub(Mainly because I thought Tiffany Grant was always the weakest of the main cast in the original dubs but she did a incredible job this time around) I found myself loving every bit of it. Pretty much everything about it was spot on. I honestly don't get what you mean by the Japanese cast giving more intense performances as some of the scenes with Shinji Spike could not have possibly been any more intense then he was and the fact that he still sounded like Shinji when the character never sounded like that in the past was amazing in my opinion. Trina also did a great job as Mari in the more intense scenes(such as the opening sequence) and as others said I basically fell in love with the performance when she starts piloting Unit 02.(really looking forward to see where the character and performance goes in the 3rd movie)

I Honestly don't think they could have done any better then they did. It was a nearly flawless dub. Sure the script was a bit wonky in places and people have their opinions on the punching up of the dub(which in my opinion fits considering the movie has a darker tone) But that kind of stuff is to be expected in any dub and doesn't take away from how incredible all the performances were.

Only thing that sucks is waiting for the 3rd movie now. I'm really hoping we hear about it this year and maybe even see it released in Japan late this year(in theaters of course) but that could be wishful thinking.
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sainta



Joined: 21 Feb 2011
Posts: 989
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:18 pm Reply with quote
The movie was amazing, but the cliffhanger ending was a double-edge sword as the premier date of the third movie was not still announced. I guess in the third movie Kaworu will appear more. I sense shonen-ai tones... Shocked
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gatotsu911



Joined: 18 Jul 2006
Posts: 457
Location: US of East Coast
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:19 pm Reply with quote
sokpupet wrote:
I just have one request: That the third or fourth movie have the subtitle It's (Not) All About You.

They already made that movie 14 years ago, only they left out the subtitle and called it The End of Evangelion. Thematically speaking, that film was as big a bundle of tough love as you'll ever find.

I love how half the Internet is freaking out about how OMGZ THERE IS SWEARING IN MY EVA!! Guys, come on, Evangelion characters have been swearing since the ADV dub, and they've been dropping carefully-placed F-bombs since 2001. I'd rather not see a repeat of the retarded "EoE F-bomb" controversy that I was lucky enough to miss the first time around. In a series full of graphic violence, nudity, sexual content and disturbing themes, I just can't wrap my head around the fact that a little naughty language is where some people evidently draw the line.

Now, in regards to the content of the movie... I'm not even going to start, because that would turn into a full-length essay before I knew it.

Regarding the dub overall, I have mixed feelings. I think the Funimation dubs for the Rebuild movies are certainly more well-rounded compared to the ADV and Manga dubs - they lack any of the low points that those dubs occasionally dropped to - but I've yet to see any moments of inspired, emotive brilliance in them either, like Misato's fight with Kaji in episode 15 or the fantastically handled hospital scene in EoE (which, while we're on the topic, contained the single best use of profanity I've ever seen in an anime). The moment-to-moment line deliveries feel to me as if the actors were trying a little too hard to mimic their Japanese counterparts, and as a result often come off sounding slightly forced, rather than natural. Whether you loved or hated them as a result, you have to admit that the original dubs distinguished themselves by having the cast really make the characters their own. Also, I am not a fan of John Burmeier's scripting. Nothing personal against the guy (I like him as a voice actor), but I don't think he's a born screenwriter. I have been underwhelmed by his work on both Rebuild of Evangelion and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I don't think he's TERRIBLE, mind you, but I have high expectations for Eva. If I had my druthers, I'd like to see Eric Vale working on the next movie, at the very least as a co-writer.

Also, @Theron: Are Spike Spencer commentary appearances really that unusual? I'm aware of at least two he's done before (Evangelion Platinum and Buso Renkin), and overall it's hardly as if he doesn't make himself available to his fans these days. For me the real treat will be hearing a commentary by Allison Keith, who was always one of the highlights of the original cast and yet seems to be incredibly elusive - to the best of my knowledge she's never done convention appearances or interviews, and has appeared on exactly one commentary.

Speaking of commentaries, it's a shame that Funimation couldn't have taken after Broccoli and gotten one from Kazuya Tsurumaki (and/or Hideaki Anno). Not that I expect either of them will ever offer anything as enlightening as a commentary (nor that their words would even be trustworthy if they did), but I mean... it'd be nice.

And finally: in before a certain member shows up on this thread to let us know how much he hates the Eva dub and how WRONG and BAD anyone who likes it is.

Now... to soldier out the wait for Evangelion 3.0: You Will (Never) See This Movie!!
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