Watched half of the Evangelion 3.33 bluray. I’ve decided not to rewatch the first two films (however much I would enjoy that), since I feel I have a pretty good bead on them. This will be my third time around with the third film and it’s starting to make a little more sense. The story takes up 14 years after the second film and MC Shinji-kun, who has just woken up from some hibernation after being rescued by Asuka, is at first totally clueless about what’s going on. Turns out the Earth is totally devastated by the Near Third Impact (a global holocaust) that Shinji inadvertently set off when he saved Rei in the second film, and NERV is at war with the new faction led by Misato that has broken away from them. NERV has just stolen Shinji back thanks to a seemingly revived Rei. That’s a pretty amazing setup. Because of the complications of the plot this really is a film that rewards multiple viewings. The confidence in Director and Writer Hideaki Anno’s storytelling is off the charts. It’s a matter of jump in and enjoy getting lost in the ride.
Watched second half of Evangelion 3.33. Talk about a reset! Back at NERV, Shinji is introduced to Kaworu, an enigmatic youth with whom he must pilot the latest EVA (it’s a double plug model) on the mission to reclaim the Spears of Longinus. The scene where they play a piano duet, and thus become attuned to each other, is a dazzling display of sight and sound. The mission finale sees Shinji making yet another blunder, and being traumatized by what happens to Kaworu, who fixes it in his stead. As he, Rei and Asuka head off across the post Near Third Impact wasteland at the end, one wonders if he will ever recover. This was a solid film in the series, and understanding it more, I upped my rating on Letterboxd from three and half to four stars.
Watched the first half of Evangelion 3.0+111, the fourth and final Evangelion film. Loved that whole sequence with Shinji, Asuka and Rei in the Third town that they encounter after their walk across the Third Impact wasteland. Had that ‘let the healing begin’ energy and I was there for it, even though I knew it would end badly for poor Rei. This prompts a recovered Shinji to take to ship on the Wunder when it arrives to take Asuka away for the final showdown with NERV. So many great details here. I especially loved the way Rei’s blank personality begins to fill with humanity as the townsfolk befriend her and help her become whole. Makes her demise all the more shattering (yet oddly satisfying).
Watched the second half of Evangelion 3.0+111. It’s such an epic second half, where the crew of the Wunder take on the might of Gendo’s Nerv organisation and its attempt at bringing off the Fourth Impact. Unfortunately, I got pretty sleepy towards the end and could barely concentrate on what was going on – and it’s so damn complex and confusing. So, I’ll give the last part another go tomorrow, when hopefully I’m more coherent.
Watched the last quarter of Evangelion 3.0+111 again to try and bring some closure to the experience. So much of that finale is crazy as batshit, but I love it. What the hell is Gendo’s plan REALLY? He wants to join with his dead wife, but he doesn’t know where she is. Turns out some part of her is with his son Shinji, but he doesn’t find this out until the end. And what’s with that giant head of Rei that sprouts out of the Eve creature? That seems to be the catalyst to causing the Fourth Impact, and it’s up to Misato flying solo in the Wunder to puncture it and thus save the world. I think! It doesn’t really matter in the end, because the whole thing’s such a glorious spectacle. And, man, I love that ending at the train station where Mari comes to Shinji and they run out of the entrance to the strains of Hikaru Utada’s One Last Kiss. The image becomes a real-life image of an actual railway station shot from above and we watch Shinji and Mari run off to some kind of happiness. Damn, that song always kills me. The four films, especially this last one, are glorious. I don’t care what anyone else says. I will love them forever.