The problem with characterization is that Hideaki Anno is trying to "save" his characters: reconstruct them form their own reconstruction. Maybe this characteriztion appeal more to people like Anno, those who are perfectly happy with themselves, though they were not before to "Shinji" levels.
Thank you. This is exactly how I feel expressed far more eloquently. One more thing: If I read one more comment about the films being more badass in a way that suggests that badass-ness is all that ultimately matters and the characters could be cardboard cut-outs for all they care, I'm going to make like a berserk Eva and go on a bloody rampage.
I actually rather regret writing this now.
I was so pissed off by the butchered characterizations and Asuka being ruined when I saw the movie that I completely neglected to address the horrible pacing, the plot holes and the other problems.
...Horrible pacing and plot holes? Did you even WATCH the original NGE?
These are the words that shall come from my mouth. I shall be known for speaking them.
Yes? What "plot holes," pray tell, did the original have? Nothing as grating and inexplicable as the whole nonsensical Vatican Treaty comes to mind, does it? The series didn't explain much anything, but that has nothing to do with plot holes. Everything in it pretty much fits together.
There are no issues whatsoever with the pacing. The whole series is expertly paced, giving everything important its due, not rushing anything, and still moving at a brisk pace. Rebuild is a rushed mess that tries to do too much and suffers as a result.
I know that pacing is a subjective issue, and people may reasonably disagree with each other. Speaking for myself, I thought the series had problems. In episode 21, in the same amount of time given to the Jet Alone episode, we're introduced to Yui and Naoko, and we see them, Fuyutsuki, and Gendo getting involved with the Eva project, the formation of GEHRIN and NERV, Yui's death, Naoko's murder/suicide, and Rei's first appearance and death. I didn't like how Kaworu (who was important to the plot as well as to Shinji's development) got less screen time than Toji, Kensuke, and Hikari (whose lack of importance was demonstrated when they were Put On A Bus without any effect on the plot). Also, I haven't seen any complaints about how both Sadamoto's manga and Rebuild cut out several angels (even from people who wrote extensively about their dislike for the changes in these versions), which deepened my pre-existing opinion that a lot of the early episodes were unnecessary. Again IMHO, you could cut a third of the original series without losing anything important.
I don't want to get into an argument with anyone about this, its just my two cents.
Even if the series had its own pacing issues and plot holes that wouldn’t mean the ones in this film should be glossed over. That would be sort of a fallacy of low expectations. The films issues seem even weirder because I remember reading that the studio that produced this film (Khara ) ran a full year over its deadline, and that Anno wrote about 11 drafts of the script. I don't think the film had to deal with the tight budget, time limitations, and network pressuring that the series did… In my opinion, the pacing of the series worked well on an episode by episode basis. However like Bionicman said its subjective.
Great review by the way. Though it would have been nice to see you talk more about the story structure.
Re: Bionicman.
I'm sorry, but I find your arguments weak. How many episodes did you think would have been proper for telling the backstory of the series? Toji, Kensuke and Hikari were supporting characters and given their due as such. Furthermore, the series quite effectively made Kaworu an important character even despite (or perhaps because of) his lack of screen time. He wouldn't have been nearly as memorable if he'd stuck around for longer. Be that as it may though, surely you can see that these are nitpicks, not major structural problems?
The real problem, the point you've missed, is that Evangelion isn't ABOUT the Angels. Rebuild and the manga don't suffer for cutting some fight scenes, they suffer for removing the characterization between and during them. The characters' downfalls and the tragic payoffs at the end of the series would have been meaningless without earlier episodes to give them context.
Hell, Rebuild demonstrates this perfectly. I didn't even address how the entire second act of 2.0 is a gigantic failure precisely because the movie didn't take the time to flesh anything out. There is NO meaningful connection between Asuka and Shinji - they barely interact with each other - and yet a major dramatic scene is entirely dependent on their relationship. Shinji laughably even claims she's "important" to him, but where was this importance established? How do his succeeding actions make sense in light of this? They don't. Toji's fate in the series was handled better than Asuka's in the film - and he's not even a major character.
Re: Tzeentchling.
Thanks. I really struggled with the character limit writing this. I would need a lot more space to address all of Rebuild's problems.
I don't understand everyone's problem with the test suit. Yes, it was fanservicy, but that doesn't make it bad. Misato always said there'd be more fanservice. Plus, she was in the test suit for, like 11 minutes in total - not something to complain about.
Moral Relativity FTW
Well, actually, YES, the fan service makes it bad. It especially makes it bad because it's awkwardly stuck into what's supposed to be a meaningful scene of "character development." It undercuts every attempt at a serious emotion displayed during those 11 minutes and the major dramatic beats that follow.
Personally speaking, I find it rather tasteless that what happens to Asuka happens while she is dressed like a street-walker, even if it's not shown.
It is bad. But the real significance of the slutsuit is that it serves as a symbol for what a shallow and low-brow movie this was.
Unearned character development? That's a new one.
More like completely random character development that comes out of nowhere. :P
Meh, the plugsuits aren't that hot on their own. I can tell you now, though, that rule34 has had a FIELD DAY with them.
I really don't have a problem with them, to tell you the truth. If you decide to take offense to them, so be it.
ALSO. I like what Anno has done with the characters. Rebuild is a bit like a fix fic, in that the characters have less mental problems (or at least show them less). This means, basically, Shinji is less emo, Asuka is less tsun and Rei is a bit less stoic. You see them fixed mentally, just a little bit, and it is such a good thing to see after watching them deteriorate due to their respective mental conditions in the series. I like Happy!Shinji. I like Rei with more emotions. I like Asuka Shikinami and her new and improved dere side (BUT NOT THE LAST NAME FANBOYRAEG). Even if it is poorly written, it feels so good to see the characters changing for the better.
I've read fanfics that did a better job at this. It would be nice to see them in their NGE personality at first, but then actually changing for the better. In a realistic and well-written way. Add the animation and the awesomeness of the Angel fights from Rebuild... and also remove the Fanservice. Then it would be perfect for me.
More like completely random character development that comes out of nowhere. :P
Well aren't you a happy little puppy.
@ Mr Mallard.
Well, if you can overlook the poor writing, then good for you. If you can spin this poor writing into a "happy ending" for the characters even though some of them are too different for it to be at all significant, then again, good for you. And I mean that without sarcasm. As kay4today pointed out though, Shinji and Company "improving" is such a sham if they were never the "real" Shinji and Company in the first place, if they never hit the lows of the originals. As I said in the review, that's moving the goalposts. There is no true overcoming, only arbitrary alteration. I half-expect Asuka to fight the MP Evas again in 3.0 and to succeed and kick ass oh-so-spectacularly (in an overlong fight sequence spanning multiple One Winged Angel forms for the bad guys, no doubt), but why would this matter if it's the wrong Asuka, a mere caricature of the real thing?
If he wanted to do all of that for a second time, there would be no point of making Rebuild in the first place. It's called [[Reconstruction "Rebuild"]] for a reason. And aside from that, it's an Alternate Continuity— not a sequel. Yes, the angst is toned down. That's partially due to time constraints, and then Anno now being a happier, mentally stable person. I think the main complaint was the addition of Mari, who is currently a Mary Sue with, well, no place in the series. She literally shows NO kind of emotional/social/whatever struggle, and is just there as plot advancement. But, I could pardon that. Kinda. Why? Because the rest of the movie was awesome.
I feel like the fandom is split on the quality of Rebuild because they're convinced that constant angst-tempests are great, the original series had angst-tempests, and therefore Neon Genesis Evangelion is a work of art. It isn't. It's the ballad of an emotionally/mentally unstable person mixed with Take Thats to the Otaku fandom. It is not at all a bad series, don't get me wrong, and the rather poor quality of the final episodes isn't entirely their fault. But it wasn't so unequivocally amazing. I liked the first psychological analysis of Shinji, but what was with the second one? Moreover, why did they do the same damn thing for Asuka and Rei? Asuka's case was kind of understandable, but we already UNDERSTOOD what Rei's issue was— they just regurgitated crap about her personality easily gleaned from the episode with Ramiel. You want to talk about ruining characters? How about when Anno pretty much pressed the Reset Button on Rei's Character Development?
/rant
What am I saying? I'm saying that the original series has it faults. Fairly glaring faults, too, but the fans are like, "Oh, that's what makes it special and not [[Naruto all]] [[Bleach those]] other shows that are all like 'I fight for my friends!'" And yeah, this series is pretty different. And, Character Development this time around did feel slightly rushed. But it doesn't mean that the original series didn't have faults or that any official divergence from the waterfalls of angst are evil, because I'm (pretty sure that we wouldn't want to want to go through all of it IN HIGH DEFINITION.
/different opinions
And Mari isn't a Mary Sue. She's not perfect or anything, she's just Fanservice.
Mari's presented as this fully capable EVA pilot that has no crippling emotional/psychological issue to speak of aside from being bat-shit crazy compared to the disturbing crazy of the other characters. She pretty much embraces evidently lethal battle for no currently disposed reason, and fights rather elegantly when compared to everyone else when you compare it to other Angel fights in the original series and this one. Hell, she even knows how to release EVA-02's physical limiters... but weren't those things put in so that they wouldn't go out of control? How can she still control EVA-02? Despite that, it's still awesome, but flawed. With the plot not finished, it can't be said for sure whether she's an actual Mary Sue. At the same time, she currently has no motive for piloting EVA to speak of. I know Shinji is unsure about why he pilots EVA, but at least the question comes in his direction and more than once as well. In terms of audience appeal, she's Fanservice. In terms of plot, and the setting thereof, she's a Mary Sue. THUS FAR, that is.
And on the note of "different opinions", the actual truth of that is mixed— he DID make this JUST after coming out of his depression, and it shows. And it gets worse. I'm pretty sure the first few minutes of End of Evangelion were a Take That from him to the otakus, and if it's not, then the fact that he literally shows death threats in the movie cannot be dismissed. Rei's psychological analysis takes place with an Angel used purely for plot advancement, and it lasts for, what, two minutes? During that time, not much new is given to us about Rei that we haven't already gleaned up to now. And then she literally presses her own Reset Button, reverting episodes of what ended as a somewhat beautiful Character Development. But THAT last part was my personal opinion.
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Succeeds on the merits of its spectacle alone.
Can you guess what my least favorite scene of Rebuild so far is?
It's Asuka suiting up in her new plugsuit late in the second movie.
Obviously, there's the fact that the ridiculous test plugsuit is the apex and ultimate symbol of the movie's focus on cheap pandering. But much more serious is the conversation Asuka has with Misato at the same time. Her resolution to be more open and kinder is, frankly, totally random and pretty much unsupported by the two or three scenes that focused on her before that. It's character development that's completely unearned, demonstrative of what a bad character Shikinami is, and demonstrative of a more general laziness in the writing. I don't know whether the characters were pared down to generic shells because of pacing issues, or whether it's the result of deeper, more conceptual problems, but unless things improve in the final two movies, Rebuild will be consigned to merely being a series of epic adventure films, and nothing more. And that makes it a poor successor to the original series.
The characters of Neon Genesis Evangelion are defined by extremes. Not everybody likes them, but so what? It's much more important that they're complex and interesting. They are depictions of mental illness - and I just don't think you can go half-way with that by filing off the jagged edges. I don't mind the idea of portraying the cast of Evangelion in a healther, more positive light. Actually, I would LOVE to see that! But there's no point to it when the characters doing the healing have never been as troubled as the originals. That's just moving the goalposts. Them dragging themselves up from the lowest possible point - that's what I think would be interesting to see. The truth is, Rebuild's reinterpretations have sacrificed the depth that made me care about the originals in the first place. The time that could have been spent on developing them was used for the lavish set pieces, and of course, boobs.
The Rebuild of Evangelion certainly hasn't given us bad movies so far. The animation's great, there's plenty of pulse-pounding action and several intriguing possibilities for the last two films. I am withholding final judgment for now, but the pedestrian character dynamics leave little room for further development, and the original's thematic richness is nowhere in sight either.