The series became a bone of contention, as well as a trend-setter for several years to come. Opinions were sharply divided as to whether it was a thing of amazing depth and complexity or of pompous windbaggery, inscrutable and too complex for anyone other than a dedicated fan to follow, and forever isolating many people from Evangelion for a long time.
Either way, it’s hard not to acknowledge its’ influence on many series that followed, making landmarks in both it’s animation style and artistic direction, the themes it presented, the ideological ideas, it’s plot and design, and many of the other elements.
It also gave the ‘super robot’ genre of mecha anime – as in, the shows with super-powered, super-heroic robots – something of a revival, giving them more complex characters and plots than before after deconstructing and putting a twist on the ‘monster of the week and secret society’ formulas so beloved and staple of those shows.

But despite it’s popularity, both fans and critics alike had problems with Evangelion for it’s immensly dissatisfying ending, which was full of meandering introspection and endless talking heads, rather than any form of real resolution.
This was later improved upon by the release of the theatrical movies ‘Evangelion: Death and Rebirth’ and ‘The End of Evangelion’, which presented a more complete ending, but one that was still esoteric, complex, and required a lot of either background information, or leaps of imagination to make ones’ own conclusion.

As such, the ending was still seen as dissatisfying by many, and while other versions, such as the ‘Platinum Collection’ with remastered sound and other tweaks were released, things went quiet for quite some time, bar rumours of a live-action film, and even some pre-production art, which never came to anything.

However, in 2007 a new project related to Evangelion emerged, in the form of ‘Rebuild of Evangelion’.
Director Hideaki Anno stated that this was to be a complete rebuild of Evangelion, with masses of new animation, retouches and computer additions to the original animation, re-writing of the plot adding new scenes and characters, redesigns of the titular Evangelion (or ‘Eva’) mecha, and the Angel foes, and many other alterations and additions, in order to utilise new technologies available, and to make the series accessible to new fans, and to truly ‘realise his original vision’ of Evangelion.

The Rebuild is envisioned as a Tetrology of films, with the first three being a retelling of the series adding the new elements, and fourth and final movie being a completely brand-new ending to the series.
The first movie, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, was released in 2007 in Japan, and has now been released in the UK with an all-new and specifically engineered dub, and a good amount of promotion (I even saw a trailer for it on YouTube!)

As I have been anticipating the release of the Rebuild Movies on DVD since I first heard they were coming out, I snapped up a copy as soon as I could, in order to provide this review, as I picked up the series on VHS when it first came out, and have followed it’s fortunes and misfortunes with great curiosity since.

As soon as the movie began, I could see the differences, and they weren’t small. Cel animation has been enhanced with brighter, crisper definition and colours, flat and plain looking models for aircraft, tanks, ships, and buildings have been replaced with detailed, intricate and beautiful cel-shaded CGI models, creating a world with more depth and beauty than before. And there is also more evidence of the great disaster of the ‘Second Impact’ that befell humanity prior to the show, with cracked pavements, ruined and abandoned vehicles and more – and this is only the first few scenes, mind, and background details.

The plot proceeds the same as I remember, but with new details and elements, new discussions and conversations amongst characters to better introduce them to new fans, and to concede to the shorter 90-minute running time and movie format – but they do not cheapen the presentation. Instead, it keeps things moving, and gives us a more concise insight into Shinji, the main character, and the people around him.

The fights between the Angels and Eva units, when they come, are familiar, yet full of exciting new elements and twists. More emphasis is made on the conventional firepower available, and the sheer amount of it being thrown at the alien and unknowable enemies, which only serves to show how deadly and dangerous they are, before the Evas themselves go into combat – with the fights made more exciting, visually and in terms of plot, by the addition of new animation, new weapons, and redesigns of existing elements.

Most of all, the climax of the movie, where episode 6 of the series would be, Operation Yashima, where the lead character and his Eva unit-01 have to snipe one of the enemy using a gigantic energy weapon, powered by the electrical output of all Japan, is given a lot more emphasis on the sheer mind-boggling amount of support and undertaking needed for such an insane plan to even be attempted, and massive amount of destruction the redesigned angel wreaks on the city and it’s surroundings.
The entire sequence is newly animated, and redesigned, giving more of a dramatic and pulse-pounding excitement, that even knowing the original plot, made me watch eagerly to see the outcome.

If there are downsides to be pointed out to the new movies, they come from the dubbed cast – some of the characters sound flat or unconvincing, but they do not distract from the overall goings-on of the plot.
Some elements could do with a little more explanation, but this could also be seen as setup for the next movies in the series – but also as an oversight. Some elements of Shinji and other characters’ lives could also have been pleasant to see – such as his first days at school, meeting his classmates and their situations, and more time spent on introducing secondary characters could also have been appreciated. But, given the faster pace of the movie and it’s efforts to focus on the main characters in greater detail, again this could be a conscious choice.

The movie keeps much of the series’ humour as well as it’s drama, and it will be interesting to see how the next one comes, as it features all new characters, and the introduction of the redesigned Evangelion units and more angels. The plot is set to diverge further from the series in the second movie also, and this will also be a further source of excitement.

Unfortunately, as the second film only came out in Japan in October 2009, there will likely be a significant wait – but hopefully not as long as the first one!
I suggest Evangelion: 1.0 to anyone who either liked the original series, but found it unsatisfying, or anyone who has been interested in Evangelion, but never managed to get into it, as well as anyone simply looking for a good anime movie that is exciting, as well as something to think over once they’ve watched it – but be prepared to have patience for the next installment.

Many of the best-regarded of the Studio Ghibli movies come from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki, who is head of the studio, as well as being one of it’s most prominent creative forces.

Ponyo, or to use it’s full title, Ponyo: On The Cliff By The Sea, shows the hand of his work, and indeed, he was the main creator for the newest film.
Ponyo is very much a fairytale, full of magic, bravery, love, and excitement, and is squarely aimed at children – but it’s hard to imagine adults won’t enjoy something about it.

The story follows a ‘princess of the sea’, who is in the form of a goldfish-like creature, as she escapes from her father, who lives under the sea. She meets a young boy names Sausuke who lives with his mother in a small town by the sea. He names the strange fish he finds washed up on the shore ‘Ponyo’ and quickly realises she is a lot more than she seems – but he is thrilled, fascinated, and caring for her automatically. When she talks to him, he knows that she’s very special, and vows to look after her and love her – but then her father takes her back.
Ponyo decides she wants to be human, and escapes again, but as she is the daughter of the ‘Goddess of the Sea’, and is very magically powerful, she accidentally upsets the balance of things.

Adventure follows after, as Sausuke and Ponyo have to find Sausukes’ mum, as well as overcoming all the challenges before them, and it’s an adventure of the imagination as much as of the characters, in true Ghibli fashion.

All of Miyazaki’s trademarks are present in the movie too – a love for the diversity of nature and it’s gorgeous backdrops. The sheer detail in some of the surroundings and scenery, young protagonists, and strong female characters, as well as a softly-pitched environmental message and moral content.

The last point is probably the biggest difference between a Ghibli and Disney movie – the subtlety of the moral message, pitched gently and not repeatedly shoved in the face of the audience.

The film’s strongest points are it’s beautiful artwork, and the imaginative freedom and absolute fun and joy of it’s story. Even when dangerous and potentially sad or scary moments are happening, it still maintains an air of excitement, fun, and wonder that capture the mind of a child in it’s whole, and remind older viewers what it’s like to see the world through the eyes of a child again – and all without talking down to them.

The fact that Ponyo received a general cinema release is worthy of note – as all of Studio Ghibli’s releases are now distributed by Disney – and without any cuts or alterations to the content, as part of their agreement – it seems like they are finally being taken seriously, and getting the treatment they deserve, by getting full cinema releases.

By comparison, when Spirited Away, which was later selected as the Oscar Winner for best animated film that year, was released in cinemas, it received showings for only a day or a week, at many cinemas, where as Ponyo is showing nationwide, and is still showing after I viewed it more than a week ago.
Hopefully this film will receive as much attention and reward as it’s stablemates, as it certainly deserves it for being an exciting, imaginative, and beautiful to watch piece of cinema, that while simple in it’s storyline and unchallenging, is nonetheless joyful, uplifting and simply fun to watch.