Product Details

• Actors: Colleen Clinkenbeard, Spike Spencer, Allison Keith-Shipp
• Directors: Mike McFarland, Hideaki Anno
• Format: Widescreen, Color, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Surround), Japanese (Dolby TrueHD)
• Subtitles: English
• Dubbed: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Funimation
• DVD Release Date: March 29, 2011
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (200 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B004EC5IV6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,478 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #75 in Movies & TV > DVD > Anime
• Learn more about "Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In You Can (Not) Advance, the second installment in his four-feature retelling of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Hideaki Anno diverges further from the original storyline--and pushes the visual boundaries of his epic. Shinji and Rei share a more amicable relationship, but Shinji's fragile calm is shattered by the arrival of pilot Asuka Langley Shikinami. She single-handedly destroys the Seventh Angel, a fantastic creature that suggests a tarantula designed by Gustave Eiffel. This version of Asuka is even more abrasive than the original, and complains more bitterly about being ordered to share quarters with Shinji. When the experimental Eva Asuka is testing mutates, Commander Ikari forces Shinji to attack it, even though it may cause her death. Horrified at his brutality, Shinji quits--until a new, more powerful Angel strikes at NERV headquarters. Seeing Rei absorbed by the Angel, Shinji charges back to rescue her. The power supply to his Eva fails, but Shinji forces it to continue fighting through sheer will power. It mutates into what Ritsuko calls "a divine being" that may cause the Third Impact. While the storyline of the films is tighter than the TV program, it's no less convoluted: Kaji brings Commander Ikari "the Key of Nebuchadnezzar;" the SEELE cabal continues their plotting to bring about the Human Instrumentality Project, which is somehow linked to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Anno adds some new characters, notably pilot Mari Makinami Illustrious. The larger budget of the feature films is clearly evident: the backgrounds are more carefully rendered, the cinematography more imaginative, the animation more polished and special effects more special. The scenes of the three Evas running in a coordinated attack have unprecedented weight and power. The prismatic colors, thunderous explosions and eerie lighting in the final battle show that like the original TV series, Anno's new vision will be influencing artists on both sides of the Pacific for years to come. The Neon Genesis Evangelion Movies are must-haves for any otaku or student of animation, and fans can only wait impatiently until the third film appears. (Rated PG-13: violence, nudity, alcohol and tobacco use)--Charles Solomon

Product Description

The landmark anime Evangelion evolves, reaching new heights of intensity in the feature film: Evangelion 2.22. In this explosive new story, brutal action and primal emotion clash as a group of young pilots maneuver their towering cyborg Eva Units into combat against a deadly and disturbing enemy.

In the battle to prevent the apocalyptic Third Impact, Shinji and Rei were forced to carry humanity's hopes on their shoulders. Now, as the onslaught of the bizarre, monstrous Angels escalates, they find their burden shared by two new Eva pilots, the fiery Asuka and the mysterious Mari. In this thrilling experience for fans of giant robot destruction, the young pilots fight desperately to save mankind - and struggle to save themselves.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

245 of 263 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer brilliance January 28, 2011

By Daniel J. Eckert

Format:DVD

For those who don't know, the Rebuild of Evangelion series is a four-part theatrical remake of the infamous anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. Evangelion was a deconstruction of the Giant Robot genre. The original series was very much love it or hate it. The polarizing issues ranged from the characters' notorious pyscholgical problems, to the confusing final two episodes, to the show's use of rather horrific imagery, peppered with pieces of Christian and Kabbalistic symbolism, resulting in one of the most brutal, influential, and controversial examples of Anime. I liked the original series, but I was fully aware of its flaws, and I considered it to be a flawed masterpiece.

Now onto Rebuild of Evangelion. Evangelion 1.0 sums up the first 6 episodes, with the continuity changed slightly, and the Angel fights given a massive makeover. I enjoyed it very much, and while it is very similar to the original, it sets the stage for Evangelion 2.0.

Now as for Eva 2.0...
IT. IS. AMAZING! This film seriously ranks among my all time favorite movies. It fully brings the Rebuild series into its own. It composes of roughly episodes 7-19. This results in many of the Angel fights being cut, but a couple new Angels are added as well, but the timing feels well-paced. It also addresses the show's polarizing aspects. The infamously broken characters are given some well placed adjustments. For example, Asuka in the original was known for being a rather narcissitic bitch with a very traumatic childhood. But in Eva 2.0, some of her more redeeming qualities are shown. The second half the the movie drastically alters the continuity with the original show, revealing that Rebuild will truly shine as its own work, instead of just remaking the original.... I don't want to spoil anything, but after seeing this you will have a newfound respect for our hero, everyone's favorite whiner, Shinji Ikari. The ending is one of those rare combinations of heartwarming and terrifying, with a helping of badass. Compare that to the original ending, which was notoriously confusing, or the concluding movie End of Evangelion, which was just plain terrifying.

I recommend this to all Anime fans, but especially to those who've seen the original, whether they liked it or not. An absoloutly mind-blowing experience. Read more ›

34 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of the Film itself March 16, 2011

By michael moreno

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

To understand truly how great this film is you should watch the original TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion which this Tetralogy is based on. The differences and improvements to the characters may seem subtle, but in a 2 hour film those differences are magnified compared to a 26 episode series which had a lot of time to develop characters.

That being said the animation, CG, lighting, etc are incredible and I can't remember seeing anime action look so incredible in a long time. I watched the English subtitled version of this film and voice acting and subtitles where fine, don't know about the English dub but the voice actors are supposed to be the same from the TV series so they probably did a fine job.

Also in case you don't know this is the 2nd out of 4 films, so if you haven't seen the 1st film you will be lost and be prepared to want more once the film is over. This film I will recommend to anyone regardless of a preference to anime or not, this is a great sci-fi, action, and drama mixed together. I will make my friend who was angry by the ending that the TV series left us with watch this because it improves and clarifies the story the second time around.

The TV series in the end failed to tie everything together, still the TV series ranks in my Top 5 TV series ever. I can only hope the films complete the story. But judging by the first 2 films I would have to say they are right on track.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, but not a replacement for the original - A Comparison June 22, 2011

By VIN

Format:Blu-ray

I bought this and felt I needed to give my Amazon rant about it to provide some thoughts to the public - particularly those who know the original (or who are deciding between buying this or the original!).

After being an Eva fan since the release of the original series, I used to watch (and re-watch) every episode intently, fascinated by the multilayered plot, themes and amazing sound and visuals. What we have here with Rebuild 1.11 and 2.22 are a highly desireable and well received remake of the original series that, instead of simply retouching the original, attempts to 'retell' the story in a manner more suitable for a modern audience. There are new scenes, touch ups to original scenes, a new character, a fleshed out story with some slight alterations and 'new' angels. Anno and the Eva team have done this all to create a movie length feature which can summarise 8 or 9-odd episodes worth of material from the original series. While rebuild 1.11 stays quite true to the original, 2.22 beats its own drum. The story here was designed not only to give a greater background to the bigger picture but also sets up the story toward what will be a more generic type of ending we can expect from 3.33 (ie. no unanswered questions). There is less mystery and intrigue, character commentary provides more understanding to what is going on, and much of the soul searching, depth of emotion of the original has, obviously been sacrificed to cater for a much shorter feature time. I was surprised however to see completed redesigns of certain angels, which was fresh.

I have given it 4 stars because of its freshness, storytelling and attention to detail overall. Eva has never lost its appeal after all these years and brings an original and powerful story to the anime public.... The amazing mecha designs, battle scenes and plot keep you interested. Where I do feel this remake loses out in comparison to the original is in the soundtrack. I noted numerous changes to the soundtrack and the power of the original score doesn't appear to be here. While new viewers won't take notice of this, I felt a noticeable lack, particularly where the decisive battle and angel attack scores were missing - they added so much to the original but instead we are left with a silent tension in parts of the story were they would have worked to great affect. This unfortunately appears to affect both 1.11 and 2.22 and seems, to me at least, to be a strange direction choice. Happily though, unlike the DVD version of the 1.01 rebuild, the voices of Ikari and Misato (in English) have been faithfully reused and the English voices sound as they originally did.

Another change is character development, new characters and new angels. This is, of course, quite major. I have an opposing view on this. On the one hand, it certainly adds to the story, and fleshes it out more. Particular characters become more transparent, they can be better understood. On the other hand,certain other characters, such as the new Mari, parlay between an important set piece yet having no true impact to the story whatsoever. She is very much a 2D character that seems to have been thrown in to counter the undecisive, fragile persona of Shinji. While it's exciting to have a new character, I couldn't help but feeling Mari's addition was incohesive and slightly odd. She is a lively character, yet lifeless, without purpose and her movements appear to go unnoticed by NERV or SEELE. However, I can fully appreciate her addition, soley because she provides a counterpoint by which we can better weigh the character degredation of Asuka, perhaps in 3.33.

Lastly, I must say that the mystery and intrigue of the original series has been slightly compromised in the rebuilds. This may of course be to accommodate the feature length, but part of what made the original so great was the fact you could not understand many things until it was all over - rather than being able to understand it while it happens in the rebuilds. This just comes down to individual taste. While the original stays elusive, complex and dark - a mirror image of Shinji - the rebuilds are instead, straightforward, progressive, and bold.

Overall, I cannot do without the rebuilds in my collection - they are another great success for Anno. 2.22 had me glued to the tv, amazed at the changes and listening closely to pick up things I now understand better than what I did when watching the original. I love the crystal quality of the animation and the consistent pace of the story, as well as the fresh wonderful character development. But, I can't sell my old collection, ever. It has the blunt and raw power in its thematics, depth, and musical score, not to mention an intrigue the rebuilds will never match. I do think it is worth spending money to buy the rebuilds even if you own the original, just to enjoy Evangelion all over again - just be aware it lacks some of the haunting intrigue and darkness of the original. Read more ›

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Profound and Moving Anime March 31, 2011

By Godfrey Carmichael

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you loved the first incarnation of Evangelion, you will love this one even more. Hideaki Anno is re-envisioning the story. It reminds me more of The End of Evangelion. What does it mean? Hell, who cares. One gets the feeling that Anno is continuing to explore his own psycho-sexual depths. Beautiful. Can't wait for the next one.