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Evangelion’s Rebirth isn’t so Sweet after this Disposable Death | Review

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A review of the spring 1997 anime movie “Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth,” produced by Gainax and Production I.G, based on the original story and series by Hideaki Anno.

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I knew I would be disappointed with this film just by hearing all of the negative feedback it received. Now, would I have sent Hideaki Anno death threats? Lord, no, but I can understand why Death & Rebirth, despite its critically-acclaimed impact on the series, is often – and should be – skipped. To those who haven’t seen it, you’re probably thinking, “Why pass up more information to a series that lacks much explanation as is?” That’s because Death & Rebirth offers absolutely nothing new. Zilch, save for interspersed musical quartet scenes, a one-minute firsthand account of the Katsuragi Mission, and pretty half-way credits moment.

The following song just reminds me of all of the sh*t these poor kids went through. It’s sad, really:

The “movie” is actually two episodes: one 70-ish minutes and the other 30-ish minutes. Part one, Death, is a shotty recap of the first 26 episodes of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Instead of taking the typical approach of sequential order used by most recap episodes, Death jumbles all of the scenes up and attempts to sort them out by characters. That’d be like saying, here’s 20 minutes of Asuka, followed by 10 minutes of Rei, then 20 minutes of Misato, etc. It fails incredibly, however, due to having inconsistent rhythm, nonsensical ordering, and honestly, all of the “meh” scenes from the original series. While I understand going for a psychological approach to sort of line everyone’s emotional patterns, flaws, and triumphs up, that doesn’t mean you cut out all of the quality combat scenes that made Evangelion a fan-favorite.

I always thought this was going to be Death & Rebirth. WHAT IS THIS ARTWORK FROM?? That Angel looks B.A.

By the way, over 90% of the film is REUSED ANIMATON from the series. Wait, what?? The only new thing Death brings to the table is those lackluster quartet scenes mentioned above. Kaworu on first violin, Asuka on second, Rei on viola, and Shinji behind the cello. Even though we don’t get to see them play (cue typical Evangelion black screen and text), the film merely putting classics like the “Canon in D” or “Air” in the background, the assigning of their instruments speaks for itself. Don’t get it? Here:

Shinji Ikari, cello. First to arrive, set up, tune, and practice Bach’s “Cello Suite #1,” a soothing piece which weaves notes on all four strings together; arpeggio (yes I’ve played it, often overhead in media, but whatever). The cello is the closest string instrument to the human voice. Specifically, some say it was modeled after a woman’s — a mother’s voice. Shinji pilots Unit-01, which we all know by now contains the essence of his lost mother. The cello is a mirror to Shinji’s desire to be with his mother again. Also, it’s the only instrument in a traditional quartet that you can hide your chest behind.

Asuka Langley Soryu, second violin. Second to arrive, cheerfully giving Shinji a “good morning call,” unpack, tune, and burst out the first few bars of Bach’s “Gavotte in Rondo,” a busty and springy song full of independence and repeated melody. Want to know why they’re called “second violins?” Simple. It’s because they’re not first; that is what Asuka has been struggling with since the beginning – Always trampling over the competition with a fierce façade, yet falling so short in the last second.

Rei Ayanami, viola. Third to arrive, set up, tune, and wait patiently to start. I can’t remember what she practices (if she even did so), but she plays the viola, an instrument that has been joked about for centuries because it’s nearly impossible to hear. It’s shaped like the violin – an imitation, a clone, much like Rei herself – but it harbors the same strings as the cello. Remember that warm and fuzzy mother feeling I was talking about? Yeah. Starting to see the connection?

Kaworu Nagisa, first violin. Fourth and last to arrive, set up, tune, and become ready to play. I also can’t recall what he practiced, but the instrument speaks for itself. It’s the first violin: It guides the group, provides cues, gets all of the high licks, and impresses us most upon first glance. Kaworu was only around for an episode or two toward the very end, yet his impression not only on Shinji but the audience as well enraptured viewers. SPOILER: Kaworu is not only the last to show up in the film and to quartet practice, but is also the last angel. He’ll literally fly higher than everyone else, whether that’s over the planet or in the music. It is through his death (his final cue) that the show can ascend into its final stage.

Then there’s a 5-minute intermission which plays “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” on acoustic guitar and another track from the original series . . . Yep, a real freakin’ intermission. That sh*t just made me laugh.

Rebirth, the second half (last third), is actually the first half of the film The End of Evangelion. As such, you should skip this copout and head straight on over to that masterpiece following your Evangelion experience!!

Supposedly, the animation and sound quality in Death & Rebirth is a huge improvement over the original series. I neither saw nor heard a difference, SOOOO, for those interested in my thoughts in those areas, please check out my review of the original series!

I get what Death & Rebirth was supposed to be: a grand compilation of the psychological sides of the main characters meant to “butter you up” for the true end. But it FAILS MISERABLY, and as such I only recommend it to EXTREME fans of the franchise. The content was great, but its presentation just doesn’t do the original series a bit of justice. The playing of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” by our favorite quartet of psychologically-scarred NERV-lings was a nice end to Death, but since they aren’t actually animated performing (and it’s a crappy compilation), I’m not even going to personally rate it. Instead, I’ll be leaving Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth in the “Breads” section of the café NOT because it’s necessarily bad, just disposable for non-fans. Did I like it?

Let’s just say that in my case, more Eva is a good thing. A wonderful thing.

As always, I hope you found my thoughts interesting! Until the next part of Eva-Week, this has been

– Takuto, your host

Neon Genesis Evangelion Review

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As said in my “You Are (Not) Alone” Valentine’s day post, I had a pleasant three-day weekend to binge-watch the infamous robot anime Evangelion, a timeless classic in the anime community. So what do I have to say about it? Well, I can fully appreciate Ender’s Game now.

Fifteen years ago, the Angels, gigantically scary extraterrestrial life forms, caused The Second Impact, a catastrophe which wiped out half of humanity and literally threw Earth of its axis. In present-day 2015, the Angels have returned in Tokyo. To counteract, a secret UN agency by the name of NERV has developed weapons – human fighting machines known as “Evangelion.” Though they can only be piloted by fourteen-year olds, for some odd reason cause its anime, the heroic Evangelion robots hold up against the Angels with ease – most of the time.

Shinji Ikari’s whole world is thrown into chaos when his asshole of a father, the head of NERV, demands that Shinji pilot purple Evangelion 01 during a sudden Angel attack, even though his own son is terrified of the thought. Regardless of what he truly wants, Shinji must courageously force himself head first into intense battles, diving deeper and deeper into despair and insanity to uncover his self-worth.

Shinji is a difficult character to talk about mainly because his life is a double-edged sword; pilot the Eva and win – everyone loves you. Lose, however, and you’re on everyone’s death list. He has a pussy attitude and his constant apologizing gets on many people’s nerves. To top off this train wreck, he specifically says that distancing himself from others is easier than being with someone. As much as I want to say he is a hero, he really isn’t, but rather the child that humanity must pity. That’s not to say that his life is hell, though, because it definitely sucks! I think a distressed youth such as Shinji was the most interesting viewpoint the series could have had.

Misato Katsuragi, the sexy chief of operations officer at NERV, takes timid Shinji under her wing, serving as the motherly figure that was robbed from him as a child. She is pretty messy, as she leaves beer cans and instant-made food containers lying all around the apartment. For most of the show, she serves as the comedy and fan service side of things, but she’s way more than that. In work, she is punctual, intelligent, and a captain, while at home, Misato is relaxed, carefree, and a lover. Misato is a fun and awesome gal, and Allison Keith portrayed her with a quality-matching English dub performance!

Asuka Langley Soryu pilots red Evangelion 02, and as such acts as Shinji’s partner for parts of the show. She serves the plot as Shinji’s opposite with her busty German speaking and ballsy/brash loud mouth. She too suffers from intense mental grief, shown physically through the way she feels the need to conquer everyone else – that she is better and above all others. The two fight a lot and over the course of the show, she opens him up to a more social, sexually-open life. I especially enjoyed Asuka as a character and her English voice actress, Tiffany Grant. She nailed the German, I tell you! 😉 “Wunderbar…” God damn, I can’t even…

The one whom I was disappointed with was Rei Ayanami. Then again, I’m not one for silent characters. With her blue hair and red eyes, you get the impression right away that something about her seems, hmm, fake? She pilots the prototype orange/blue Evangelion 00. To the plot, she is much more in The End of Evangelion. For now, however, she acts as Shinji’s “love interest,” though they don’t get really far between his shyness and Rei’s awkwardness and lack of communication. Rei is the opposite side of the same coin to Asuka: a peaceful, compliant fantasy girl to a demonic, enticing sex counterpart.

So that’s all, right? Nothing else to the characters? Of course not. Neon Genesis Evangelion’s cast is massive; I’d be spending several reviews recapping just the complexity these last four characters if I could. They are all wonderful, intricate, memorable, and most important of all – human.

All of the characters are pretty screwed up though. Towards the second half and end of the series, they all descend into their own personal hell, growing more insane due to the vibe the Evangelion give off until they eventually crack. Even the good doctor Ritsuko crumbles in madness. It makes you feel depressed, shameful, guilty – just all of the things that they feel, really.

And the plot is the same way. What started out as a regular mech series that has fighters cleverly taking down enemies ended up soiling itself in darkness and messed-up plot turns. However, the show’s real antagonist,” Seele,” lacks so much explanation that they are hard to understand. They pull random crap out of nowhere and it can be really confuzzling. Character motives become distorted and you ultimately end up with a show soaked in raw twistedness.

To the animation by low-budget Gainax – IT’S NOT AS BAD AS PEOPLE SAY IT IS. Frankly, I found the animation to give the show a unique feel to it. Yeah, it’s crap during a plentiful amount of scenes; there are freeze frames where nothing is moving for a freakin’ hour; the Evangelion and Angels are not given justice in Gainax’s animation – so what?! It makes you feel eerie; the dull tone and paleness makes the story more mysterious in a sense. Praise to the Rebuild films – ABSOLUTELY – but this anime makes do with its poor studio budget, and I appreciate that.

The soundtrack supports many militaristic themes for the engaging battles, but nothing really stands out. Even more emotional moments lack interesting tracks. I suppose it fits the mood well, but it’s not a brilliant score by any means. One of the main things I took from this experience was the addicting opening, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” by Yoko Takahashi. I kid you not; I never skipped this opening once when I watched the series. While the legendary lyrics don’t really match Shinji’s character, the song is still a must-listen! 😀

If you didn’t understand Neon Genesis Evangelion – that’s fine, did anyone? Just to name a few questions: Who can truly say when evolution has gone too far, as well as whether having a God is a good thing for humanity? As long as you grasped your own beliefs from this anime, then you have mastered the Evangelion experience, so-to-speak. Many believe this anime to be symbolic of life; some think Hideaki Anno was simply high when this show came out in 1995, and he probably was. Neon Genesis Evangelion truly masters character relationships, and is intelligent, creative, disturbing, unnerving, and downright weird. But at that, one hell of a ride. “Science has made us gods even before we are worthy of being men.” – Ritsuko Akagi

Thank you so much for reading my review over this timeless anime classic! Leave a comment below with any thoughts or questions you had. Hit the like and/or follow buttons for more content like this and until next time, this has been

– Takuto, your host