Rebuild of Evangelion: Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance Movie
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance is the second of four movies in the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series. This series acts as a recreation of the Neon Genesis Evangelion story on a fundamental level and has major differences when compared to the original in both story, characters, and development. Although there are some similarities with the original series in terms of plot, 2.0 is the point where the Rebuild movies truly begin to break off and tell a different story.
Unlike the TV series (animated by GAINAX), the Rebuild series is animated by Studio Khara, an animation studio founded by Evangelion Director Hideaki Anno in 2006. In addition to Anno, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto provided character designs and Ikuto Yamashita created the mecha design. The movie also included newly available 3D CG technology that wasn’t present in previous movies.
This movie first released on June 27, 2009.
Summary
The movie opens on an original character not introduced in the original series, Mari Illustrious Makinami. Mari sits in preparation while a previously unseen Evangelion Unit, Evangelion Unit 05 is activated.
Although this is Mari’s first time piloting, she displays incredibly proficiency, leading to the defeat of the Angel, although the unit was destroyed in the end. Shinji and Gendo visit Yui’s grave and they have a short conversation before Gendo departs via jet. Misato takes Shinji home by car and, on the way back, they discover the Seventh Angel attacking. She tells NERV to prepare Evangelion Unit 00 for battle, but it is revealed that Evangelion Unit 02 is already above them and about to strike.
This is Asuka Langley Shikinami’s debut, and she takes down the Angel with an impressive combination of skill and precision. When Gendo returns from NERV’s lunar base, he and Rei have dinner together and she asks him if he would have dinner with everyone at the party they are having. Gendo hesitates, but agrees. As Evangelion Unit 03 is being transported to Japan, Asuka is chosen to be the pilot that will test the unit, as international treaties limit the number of active Evangelion units and Unit 02 had to be taken out of NERV’s hands. Unfortunately, the day the party was the same day Asuka has to begin testing Unit 03, forcing her to skip the party.
As testing for Unit 03 begins, things go awry as it is revealed that the unit is infected with the Ninth Angel, which begins taking over the unit with Asuka in it. Evangelion Unit 01 is sent to destroy Unit 03, but Shinji cannot bring himself to do so, as he realizes that Asuka is still inside of it. Gendo orders for the controls to be switched over to their A.I. system, which promptly begins attacking the Unit 03 despite Shinji’s disapproval. When he regains control of Eva-01, he begins retaliating against NERV for forcing Eva-01 to destroy Eva-03, especially in such a gruesome way. Shinji is knocked unconscious, and when he wakes up, he is taken to his father and Shinji tells him that he no longer wants to be a pilot.
Shortly after, the Tenth Angel begins its attack and quickly infiltrates NERV. Mari is somehow able to gain access to Evangelion Unit 02 and she is the first to attack. Mari activates a feature of Eva units that NERV was previously unaware of. This ability is still not enough to win the battle on its own, but it allows Rei to break through its A.T. field with a powerful missile, although this is also not enough to stop the Angel. Mari crashes into the shelter Shinji was hiding in and shows him the amount of destruction caused by the Angel. The battle has yet to cease, and Shinji witnesses the Angel consume Unit 00 (and therefore Rei). Shinji gathers the determination to pilot Unit 01 once again in an attempt to save Rei. Shinji runs out of power before he can finish the battle, but he manages to cause Unit 01 to go into a berserk-like state that ends up causing it to begin the process of Awakening. The Third Impact begins, leaving Ritsuko and Misato to prepare for the end of the world. Before the complete destruction of the world, however, Kaworu throws the Spear of Cassius at Evangelion Unit 01 and renders the unit inert and stops the full catastrophe of the Third Impact from happening.
Differences Between 2.0 and the *Evangelion Anime
The introduction of a new character Mari Illustrious Makinami. Although her background is not thoroughly explained she has a deep understanding of the inner workings of Evangelion Units.
Asuka’s last name is changed from “Soryu” to “Shikinami”. Although her appearance and personality are largely the same, the name change is stated to portray that Asuka is a different character.
While some Angels return from the original series, two previously unseen Angels appear. The Angels Sahaquiel, Bardiel, and Zeruel also appear, but have been redesigned.
Reception
Upon the release of Evangelion 2.0, the movie featured to be Number 1 at the Japanese box office, with sales of ¥4 billion making it the second highest-grossing anime film of 2009. In addition to sales, the movie won first place in the Animation category of the French Lyon Asian Film Festival. It also won the “Excellent Animation of the Year”, being nominated for the Japan Academy Prize in 2010.