Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth Anime Review

Reader Review

• Reviewer: Brian the Evil Clown
• Review Date: 2003-09-07 (updated 2010-04-09)
• 3.5 stars out of 5 (?)

I am a huge fan of the Evangelion series. I bought Death and Rebirth, expecting something new and exciting. The series left off dull with a confusing ending that needed more. Hopefully, Death and Rebirth would create something new for the series. But, it failed to do so.

Death and Rebirth is pretty much a movie to watch for those who could not afford the series. This recaps the Evangelion story in a comprehensible way, but well done. The scenes are well executed and interesting. The instrumental music accompanying the scenes add an odd mood that really gets to you and intrigues you throughout the movie. Each character has his or her own segment, which is a pretty much a compilation of scenes that are assisted by dialogue to help you understand why these people are important. But, these parts are missing the real juice from the series that made the characters so lifelike when you actually watched the series.

The whole production has a real emotional feel to it, whether you have seen the series or not. The animation is clear and precise, and adds to everything you would expect from an Evangelion movie. Heavy symbolism is used, most likely to make the film seem more artistic. The symbolism makes you think for a moment, wondering how this all ties in to the series. The mech action is great and very compelling. The mech designs are original and the way the Eva crew describes their functions are easy enough to understand for anyone.

All the characters are back, but not with the same effects. Some of the characters only in the series for one episode will have little to no significance to the viewer if he or she hasn't seen the series. Asuka, Rei, and Shinji are summed up quite well, but lack the deep character they were granted in the series. You don't feel the same way about the characters in the movie as you do with them in the series.

Death and Rebirth also contains the first 15 minutes of End of Evangelion (after an annoying intermission!). They show some sexual development with Shinji, and some feelings toward Asuka. But, for those who haven't seen the series, Shinji will just seem like a pervert, instead of a growing individual. The 15 minutes end shortly and leave you wanting more. I guess this was the scheme so you want End of Eva more.

All and all, this isn't a bad anime, and there's not much really to say about it. For those who don't want to buy the whole series, this is a good substitution. But, I would highly recommend seeing the whole series. Pretty much, this film was made to hold people off until End of Evangelion came out. Death and Rebirth's only main purpose is to look good in your DVD collection between the whole series and End of Eva. Don't jump on it.

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