Mini Film Review – Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

This morning I watched Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone; and it was pretty cool! Chief Directed by Hideaki Anno, and starring Spike Spencer, Allison Keith, and John Swasey; Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone is the first film in the Rebuild of Evangelion series. Following along the same lines as the first few episodes of Neon Genesis; You Are (Not) Alone focuses on Shinji Ikari, who is tasked with controlling a giant mech called an EVA, to stop the attacks by a rogue group of giant monsters called Angels. In essence, the story follows the same basic plot of the original series, but does like to chop out sections to create a more streamlined story. The story though is less about a hero saving the day; more on the internal struggles of an introverted hero, as he tries to understand what he is doing, or even why he is doing it. The animation is superb; it’s delicate, intense and exciting, with a clear level of polish on top. It’s like turning on a new video game console for the first time. It’s a pretty cool way to get the series going; with a bit more focus on the topics the original series took some time to really introduce!