Evangelion 1.11 followed the original TV series ep1-6 with hardly any changes, 2.22 roughly follows ep8-19, but there are so many changes that it would be difficult to list them all! Here are just a few of those: Shinji has way less self-hatred, Asuka is more introverted instead of being that loud-mouthed b****(whom I loved...), and Rei actually seems human and is more than able to start a conversation! There's also a new sexy female pilot who at the moment seems to serve no purpose except to increase the sale of Eva merchandise...That said, the best thing about 2.22 is the awe-inspiring visuals and the incredible new soundtrack by Shiro Sagisu, the combination make up for some of the most incredible battle scenes in any movie ever, you have to see and hear it to believe it.The film ends in such a way that your guess is as good as mine as to what's going to happen in the next installment, actually there's a teaser trailer showing Asuka in space... Evangelion 3.33 is scheduled for release in Japan this fall, which means it will be a lonnnnnggggg wait before we can purchase the DVD in the states.Suggested rating: R for intense violence, nudity, and language (dub)

"The Third Impact is beginning. This is the end of the world."Evangelion 2.0 is a much bigger departure from the original series than the first movie was, and it's an incredible anime feature, as a result. Everything is bigger and better, and it feels much more like a movie than just a collection of episodes. The animation is once again fantastic, the new battle scenes and Angel designs are impressive, and all the story/character additions and character changes are absolutely for the best. The writing and flow of the story has been notably improved, to the benefit of all of the main characters. I also have to mention how great the music is; it serves as a perfect compliment and counter-point to what's happening on screen, and at times demands as much of your attention as the visuals do. Casual Evangelion fans, die-hards, and newcomers should not hesitate to check out these movies. It's completely accessible to a new audience, while retaining and expanding upon the core of why this series is one of the most popular and influential. I'm no Evangelion fanatic, but I can't deny the quality of what I'm seeing in progress. 1.0 was great, and 2.0 is fantastic. I CANNOT wait to see where the third movie takes us, next. This is one of the best movies (animated or otherwise) that I've seen in quite a while.

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance does in fact not advance my love of the series. I certainly would not recommend this movie to anyone who has not watched the original series as so much is introduced with little or no explanation. Essentially this movie attempts to cram the original television series into a movie format while simply making minor changes to certain Angels appearance, adding onto Evangelions "modes" and introducing a new pilot. If you're new to the Evangelion series and would like to know: any back story on the events leading up to what happened to the earth, why the Angels are here or what they are, what the Evangelions are, and why kids have to pilot them....Do not expect any of this to be explained. If you have followed the series and would like to know who the pilot is and why she is here or possibly answer questions left from the original series....Do not expect any of this to be explained.The original series certainly suffered from periods of inactivity, shots that go on for way to long, and confusing sequences which it compensated for with wonderfully done battle scenes. This movie does do away with those unnecessary long scenes and attempts to compress the story in between rapidly occurring battles. However these battles to me simply did not have the intensity that built up in the series nor were as interesting as the ones featured in the other movie. Ultimately the fight scenes came across as rushed copies.Finally I did not enjoy the music. The orchestrated score fit well into the movie but the translated Japanese pop songs seemed to make certain scenes grind on.Overall I found this movie to be lacking in Story telling of any sort. Characters are rushed together and their motivations/back story/interactions severely lacking. The plot is paper thin and was only comprehensible due to my knowledge of the series. Nothing new that was introduced made it worth the time of watching.

The first Rebuild Of Evangelion gave audiences and fans just about the first 6 episodes of the original series with some small differences but showed promise and pointed to the fact that Anno might be heading to a different direction with the Rebuild series than his original Anime show.You Can (Not) Advance does take the series into a completely new direction and actually changes situations that fans of the original series are familiar with for the better and actually drops the angsty over-philosophical dribble that hurt his original engaging creation. Characters develop new relationships and interact differently from the show. The three EVA pilots from the original series get some great development here and differ a lot from NGE in a very good way. New characters are introduced, stakes are raised and the film has a lot of build up which boils down to one hell of a climax.The film has a more intense tone this time around and is very fast paced. The action is incredibly engaging and the film is the first in a while that has gotten my heart beating like crazy during the intense action on-screen. The film does give you breathing space with lighthearted interactions between characters and humor and thus makes it less heavy overall than NGE and EOE even though it certainly is more gruesome and still has it's moments of pure nightmare fuel.The Score of Evangelion is at it's best in this film and truly delivers. It varies from beautifully orchestrated racing score to sweet and engaging J-pop and Anno sure makes the out-of-place songs fit as well as he did in the show and EOE. The entire experience watching this addition to the series is unforgettable and gives me much hope for even more improvement in the next two installments.Overall the film is a vast improvement for the series and hints at better things to come with it's significant changes and has raised the stakes for the Evangelion universe. Anno seems to have gotten over his depression completely and bloomed into a true crafter of worlds and emotionally charged storytelling.