Evangelion: 1.11 You Are {Not} Alone [Blu-ray]

The stunning rebuild of the anime masterpiece is now extended and enhanced with never before seen new animation and 266 visual and audio improvements. Tokyo-3 still stands after most of civilization was decimated in the Second Impact. Now the city endures the ceaseless onslaught of the deadly Angels, bizarre creatures bent on eradicating the human race. To combat this strange and ruthless enemy, the government agency NERV constructs a fleet of towering humanoid machines the Evas and Shinji Ikari is called into action, reluctantly taking his place at the controls of Eva Unit 01.Living a life of loneliness and questioning his existence, Shinji struggles to accept responsibility for mankind's battle for survival in this visually striking rebuild of one of the most important anime of all time. Shinji will fight the Angels alongside the only person who might understand his plight Rei Ayanami, the elusive and frail pilot of Eva Unit 00. In this film experience not to be missed, Shinji and Rei will struggle to learn a simple truth: when carrying the burden of humanity's survival on your shoulders, you are not alone.

Additional Features

The blu-ray edition of You Are (Not) Alone makes it clear why Hideaki Anno has returned to his watershed tale Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) yet again. He's "rebuilding" Evangelion as he initially envisioned it, unconstrained by technological and budgetary limits, and the new visuals eclipse the broadcast series. In the original program, the Angel Ramiel was a flat blue tetrahedron; the clarity of the Blu-ray images showcases the reflections and refractions in its glassy surface. When that Angel blasts most of a small mountain into lava, the searing yellows and whites convey a sense of intense heat. The subtle palette created with computer coloring systems enables Anno to energize emotional moments between characters through the more effective use of light and shadow. Evangelion 1.11 contains about two minutes of additional material missing from the earlier Evangelion: 1.01, including some expository dialogue. When Shinji meets Misato, she explains that he has just seen one of the Angels, then gets them lost in the labyrinth of NERV headquarters. The color has been adjusted in some scenes that viewers of the earlier release complained were too dark to see clearly. The second disc contains extras not included in the initial release. "Rebuild of Evangelion" juxtaposes the often-sketchy storyboards with new CG footage of the skyscrapers of New Tokyo III rising from their silos, as well as other high-tech effects at various stages of completion. One version of "Rebuild" is incongruously set to Ravel's Bolero; the low strings and percussion of Shiru Sagisu's score make a more effective counterpoint. Four trailers play to a new arrangement of "Fly Me to the Moon" and three to the J-pop tune "Beautiful World." Although some otaku will want to keep their discs of the original series with its haunting theme song, "The Thesis of a Cruel Angel," the Blu-ray of Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone is a must-have for anyone interested in anime. (Rated PG-13: violence, nudity, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

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