Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:破) is a movie sequel to Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone written by Hideaki Anno and directed by Hideaki Anno, Masayuki and Kazuya Tsurumaki. It is the second of four films released in the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy based on the original television series. It was produced and co-distributed by Studio Khara and THE KLOCKWORX. The movie was released in June 27, 2009 in Japan.

Plot


The movie opens with a new Evangelion pilot, Mari Makinami Illustrious, being launched in Provisional Unit-05 to destroy the resuscitated skeleton of the Third Angel in its attack on NERV's arctic Bethany Base. She successfully defeats the Angel by self-destructing Unit-05, safely ejecting at the last moment.

The film cuts to Shinji Ikari and his father Gendo visiting Yui's grave and the following attack of the Seventh Angel, which is dispatched by the newly arrived Unit-02 and its headstrong pilot, Asuka Shikinami Langley, via an emergency airdrop. Chief Inspector Ryoji Kaji, present at the battle with Unit-05 and arriving alongside Unit-02, delivers a suitcase to Gendo containing an object referred to as the "Key of Nebuchadnezzar."

As the movie progresses, Kaji takes the children on a field trip to a research aquarium tasked with resuscitating the ocean ecosystems lost in the Second Impact and all three Evangelions engage the Eighth Angel, showing a previously lacking teamwork. Unit-01 is critically damaged and Unit-00 loses the use of its arms, but SEELE's members declare that only Unit-01 need be repaired and that Unit-00 has served its purpose.

Meanwhile, Gendo and Fuyutsuki visit the Tabgha Base on the Moon to view SEELE's progress on the mysterious "Evangelion Mark.06" and while they are denied access, they confirm that Mark.06's construction is fundamentally different from the other Evangelions and briefly even see Kaworu Nagisa sitting on its finger. On Earth, Shinji decides to cook an extra meal for Rei, a gesture that inspires her to invite everyone over for a self-cooked meal during the following week with the hope of improving Shinji's relationship with his father. Meanwhile, Mari arrives in Tokyo-3 by parachute, but accidentally lands on top of Shinji at his school.

Soon after, Evangelion Unit-04 and NERV's U.S. branch are destroyed during a test of an experimental engine, driving the U.S. government to send the completed Evangelion Unit-03 to Tokyo-3. In accordance with the "Vatican Treaty," where Japan and all other nations are forbidden to possess more than three functioning Evangelions at a time, Unit-02 is sealed away. Rei is initially chosen to pilot the new Eva, but Asuka offers to do it for her so she can still host her dinner, earning a rare "thank you" from Rei. The activation of Unit-03, however, goes awry and is revealed to be possessed by the Ninth Angel. As NERV's only functional Evangelion and pilot, Shinji is ordered to destroy it but refuses to fight back for fear of killing Asuka, who is trapped inside. Gendo orders the activation of Unit-01's dummy plug system and the now autonomous Evangelion savagely dispatches the Angel/Unit-03, finally crushing Asuka's entry plug. Shinji is disgusted with his father's actions and, after an unsuccessful assault against NERV headquarters, decides to quit NERV. Asuka is revealed to be alive, but badly wounded and in quarantine for fear of mental contamination by the Angel.

After Shinji says his goodbyes and boards a train headed out of the city, the Tenth Angel attacks. As Unit-01 refuses to accept the dummy system, Mari hijacks Unit-02 but fails to defeat the Angel, even after initiating a controlled "berserker" mode by removing Unit-02's limiters. Rei pilots Unit-00, despite its arms being barely functional, and manages to penetrate the Angel's AT-Field with the help off Unit-02 to use an N² mine-armed missile. The Angel emerges unscathed from the blast and consumes Unit-00, with Rei still inside. Mari happens upon Shinji in the damaged Unit-02 and tries to take him to safety, but, upon witnessing the destruction and Unit-00's consumption, he decides to return and pilot Unit-01 once more.

While forcing the Angel out of NERV headquarters, Unit-01 runs out of battery power. Resolving to still save Rei, Shinji proceeds to return to a "berserker" mode and defeat the Angel, while making a mental connection within the Angel to save Rei. The result is Unit-01 and Shinji, now fused into one being, combining with the Angel's spattered core, which takes the form of a giant Rei, into a being described as being close to "godhood." Ritsuko declares that the Third Impact is about to occur, while Gendo and Fuyutsuki note this is the result they have hoped for and Kaji comments that SEELE will not be happy with this occurring before the other units are ready.

After the credits, the Third Impact is halted by a Spear of Cassius falling from the sky and impaling Unit-01 mid-apotheosis. It is revealed that the lance was thrown by the Mark.06 descending from the moon. Kaworu is revealed to be the pilot and he proclaims to Shinji that "this time, I will show you happiness."

NERV

 * Gendo Ikari (Rebuild)
 * Kōzō Fuyutsuki (Rebuild)
 * Misato Katsuragi (Rebuild)
 * Ritsuko Akagi (Rebuild)
 * Ryoji Kaji (Rebuild)
 * Makoto Hyuga (Rebuild)
 * Shigeru Aoba (Rebuild)
 * Maya Ibuki (Rebuild)
 * Shinji Ikari (Rebuild)
 * Rei Ayanami (Rebuild)
 * Kaworu Nagisa (Rebuild)
 * Mari Makinami Illustrious
 * Ryoji Kaji (Rebuild)
 * Asuka Shikinami Langley

School

 * Tōji Suzuhara (Rebuild)
 * Kensuke Aida (Rebuild)
 * Hikari Horaki (Rebuild)

SEELE

 * Keel Lorenz (Rebuild)

Evangelions

 * Evangelion Unit-00 (Rebuild)
 * Evangelion Unit-01 (Rebuild)
 * Evangelion Unit-02 (Rebuild)
 * Evangelion Unit-03 (Rebuild)
 * Evangelion Unit-04 (Rebuild) (Mentioned)
 * Evangelion Provisional Unit-05
 * Evangelion Mark.06

Angels

 * Adams
 * First Angel
 * Second Angel Lilith
 * Seventh Angel
 * Eighth Angel
 * Ninth Angel
 * Tenth Angel

Production
In September 2006, it was confirmed that the film would be produced as part of the Rebuild of Evangelion series, with a release date tentatively set for January 2008 release and a 90-minute running time. In November 2006, the December edition of the Japanese anime magazine Newtype confirmed the second film was written during post-production on the first film. Anno stated the introduction of new characters and Evangelion units would begin from the second film onwards.

The release date was pushed back several times from the original announcement of January 2008: first, to a December 2008 release before an update on the official website on October 6, 2008 announced the official English title and a "early summer 2009" release date. A final postponement revealed that the film would be released on June 27, 2009.

Release
Evangelion 2.0 premiered on 120 screens across Japan on June 27, 2009, taking the number 1 spot at the weekend box office with an equivalent of $5.37 million. The film went on to gross over $40 million in total earnings.

Home Video
The film was released to DVD and Blu-ray on May 26, 2010 in Japan. Many cuts were made for the home video version, and a new scene between Kaji and Shinji was added. Like the second release of Evangelion 1.0, the DVD/BD was titled "Evangelion 2.22".

Reception
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance was well received by Japanese viewers, and currently holds a 4.48/5 on Yahoo! Movies Japan. It currently carries a 78% (Fresh) rating on RottenTomatoes

Sequel
The final scene contains a 'next episode' style preview for the third installment, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo:

"When Director Anno spoke about the 14-year timeskip at the final stage greeting, he addressed why Kaworu was wearing a commander's uniform. Fuyutsuki and Gendo were removed from power at Nerv, following the end of Ha. Kaworu became commander, and Kaji became Vice-Commander. Anno said Q was originally supposed to be a film about how this happened.

''Q (Evangelion 3.0) was originally meant to be about the 14-year timeskip, and Anno planned to not have Shinji in the entire film. Shinji's voice actor, Ogata Megumi, was surprised at this. In the end, that idea was set aside, and Q became the film we got.''

''There are no details for the lost 14 years but a scenario for them exists. Preview at the end of Ha is from that story. - July 11 stage greeting for 3.0+1.0''

Later, Anno detailed he might come back to the franchise to work on that scenario or others: 'Evangelion' Creator Hideaki Anno Reveals 'Evangelion 3.0+1.0' Might Not be the End

Please see List of Common Misconceptions for an extended explanation of this and Anno's projects.

Trivia

 * If looked carefully, Shinji's SDAT music player skip to track 27, which it never did back in Neon Genesis Evangelion. This is to show that this movie starts to differ greatly from the original series.
 * When announced, the tentative name of the movie in japanese was エヴァンゲリオン 新劇場版 中編 REBUILD OF EVANGELION：０２, the name would change later and the Rebuild would be dropped. Overseas, the Rebuild is still used to this day, even when it isn't officially named like that.