Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

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Type	Film
Directed by	Hideaki Anno Masayuki Kazuya Tsurumaki
Written by	Hideaki Anno
Release Information
Release Date	27 June 2009
Length	108 mins.

Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance is the 2009 sequel to Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone written by Hideaki Anno. 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 Hideaki Anno's Studio Khara.

Plot

The 3rd Angel

The movie opens with a new Evangelion pilot, Mari Illustrious Makinami, 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 7th Angel attacks

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 Langley Shikinami, 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.

The 9th Angel controls Unit-03

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.

The 10th 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.

Kaworu piloting Mark.06.

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 Lance of Longinus 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 make you happy."

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.

Reception

In a positive review for Anime News Network, Justin Sevakis praised the new character interactions and development, stating "Evangelion 2.0 feels as though the project has been put on mood stabilizers: it's not any happier, but it's more stable and certainly more focused. And in the end, it's a vast improvement."

Mania.com reviewer Chris Beveridge wrote that "Watching the second installment of Evangelion is more rewarding and more difficult than the first. It's more rewarding because you're seeing this interpretation taking on its own life fully, from the way Asuka is introduced, the new character of Mari and the larger scope of how the world works with Evangelion units...They go big here with a lot of changes, changes that could annoy and irk the faithful, but it's an interpretation that is doing something different at this point and it does it well, giving it all the kind of smoothness it needs, even if it does feel rushed sometimes when there are so many Angel fights throughout it."

Sequel

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

Soundtrack

Main article: Evangelion:2.0 You Can (Not) Advance Original Soundtrack

External links

• (Japanese) Official Site
• Evangelion: 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance at IMDb
• The Star review