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After nearly a month of delays, The Coverage of ANIME EXPO is here!!! First up, a look at Eva 1.0

When I saw the news of the premiere of the English dub for EVANGELION 1.0 I was excited to say the least. You see, calling me a big fan of the original anime series would be a little but of an understatement. Although I came onboard a little late in the game (I didn’t actually finish the series until my sophomore year in high school), when I did I came on BIG. The series, which revolves around a young boy named Shinji Ikari who is chosen to become a pilot of a giant humanoid robot called an EVANGELION, EVA unit for short; caught my by surprise. I am not the biggest fan of shows like Gundam or Robotech. I feel that they are too action oriented for my tastes. I enjoy a balance of drama with my giant robots. Evangelion walks that line (almost) to perfection. I was blown away by the series, so when I heard that they were going to do an animated film reboot I cried out with joy.

I can’t really talk about the film without talking about the series because… well… It’s a reboot, one that stays fairly close to the story of the original. The film is the first part of 4, which will each roughly retell 6-8 episodes of the original series (with added plot points of course). EVA 1.0 does not see many plot changes. It is stays very close to the original series, so much so in fact that it feels like one is just watching a condensed version of said show. The plot changes are very few and far between. Sometimes it seems as if they have just taken entire scenes from the anime series, polished them to today’s standards, and cropped them to cinema standard. It’s like watching the first 6 episodes of the series again.

This is not to say that it’s not a good movie, It is an amazing movie. It’s just that like I said, it’s like watching the series again. They have gotten many of the voice actors to reprise their parts, all but two or three have returned. The most noticeable replacement is of one of the title characters, Rei Ayanami. Newcomer Brina Palencia takes the role of the anti social, blue haired eva pilot and I couldn’t be happier. She brings a fresh take to the character. She takes what the original actress brought to the stage, and completely ups the ante. The cold, quiet, and reclusive personality is conveyed in such a realistic manner. Her vocal presence could very well send chills down spines.

Fanboys may be mixed on this one. On one hand, it’s an amazing retelling of the series, bringing a cinematic feel to a story that deserves to be portrayed with the visual style of a Hollywood picture. On the other hand, it feels like watching the show over again. The new elements don’t really stick out enough to really notice. For anyone looking to dive into the world of Evangelion though, this is the perfect chance to jump in. Watching four films would be tons easier then sitting through a 26 episode series.

Final Verdict: Catch on Blu Ray, Don’t go out of your way to se this in theaters unless you are a huge fanboy or happen to live close to a showing (Anyone headed to San Diego Comic Con will have many chances to see this in a theater, Since you will be so close, I recommend you do).

7/10