Evangelion: 2.22 - You Can (Not) Advance - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Evangelion: 2.22 - You Can (Not) Advance



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
Filmed just two years after Evangelion 1.11 (which was actually originally Evangelion 1.0, but Anno tweaked and altered things a bit from the original film, dubbing it “1.11”, and subsequently did the same with 2.0, turning it into “2.22”), Evangelion: 2.22 – You Can (Not) Advance does the polar opposite of what Evangelion: 1.11 did with the story. While the first film had 95% of the same storyline as the 1995 TV show with just a few twists here and there, 2.22 takes the source material and goes a COMPLETELY different direction with things, to the point where 2.22 through the end of the series only resembles the TV show in name only. Anno was not kidding that he wanted to completely re-imagine the show in a different direction, as he wasn’t happy with what he did back then (and re-did with the two movies that were released decades ago), as the new stuff is drastically altered from the 90s.

As much as I’d like to grovel at the feet of Anno and his works, I will admit that even though Evangelion 1.11 + 2.22 are supposedly “new” works, they really are simply older anime tropes and narratives that Anno has repurposed through his very unique lens. I’m not in any way trying to diminish how great the series is, but long-time fans of Anime will notice the age-old tropes under the surface of Anno’s heavily religiously based show/movies. We have the age-old dystopian future, mechs, teen romance, and, of course, Alien invaders who require team-ups of young adults to defeat. BUT, that does not in any way diminish just how well Anno handles everything.

Shinji is still the de facto headliner of the show, like usual, but this time we get a more fleshed-out team of characters, with Rei and Asuka fully getting integrated into the Eva lineup. Both characters are obviously another avatar for the problems that Anno was dealing with back in the day, with Rei being the colt and emotionally cut off one, with Asuka being the fan favorite hot head (ugg, fans of Asuka are in for a “fun” time, and it’s never a pleasant feeling waiting around for that inevitable twist). But that aside, the film opens up with an entirely new Eva pilot in the form of Mari Makinami, a spicy and adorable character that seems to be a blend of Asuka’s energy and a more mature and balanced Rei, yet neither of them at the same time. Either way, she adds some flavor to the team, inserting some much-needed humor to the film, once again deviating from the original 90s show even more.

While we have some fairly large reveals in the battle between humanity and the Angels (which I won’t spoil, this show NEEDS to be seen rather than spoiled), the second film focuses mainly on character development rather than furthering the plot massively. And in that vein, the film succeeds on all fronts. We get to dig into Rei, Asuka, Mari, and Shinji with scalpel-like efficiency, cutting back all of the abrasive and neurotic trimmings to reveal what makes them tick and WHY they’re doing what they’re doing. As usual, that requires some peeling back of Shinji’s father and his reasoning, as well as all of the damage that Shinji suffers from that makes him so a pathetic ball of neurosis (for now). And magically seems to do so without all of the fake “angst” of most anime. Sure, angst is there in spades (Evangelion has always thrived on it), but it's very BELIEVABLE angst, and the movie handles it amazingly well. If I had to complain a little, it’s that Mari is a bit TOO much like Asuka for my liking, and while she’s a great character, it feels like they doubled up on her in a weird way.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for action violence and some nudity





Video:

Similar to Evangelion: 1.11, 2.22 comes to Blu-ray with a sparkling 1080p transfer in its original 1.85:1 framing (unlike the slightly opened up 1.78:1 framing on the Funimation release). This disc looks simply SUPERB, with great colors, wonderful animation (that pre-2015 animation style is peak Anime in my opinion), and amazing details. The artwork is a combination of traditional CEL-based animation and modern CGI, blending the two styles seamlessly in a way that doesn’t look awkward or obvious. Colors are vibrant with AMAZING saturation levels, and black levels are great as well. My only complaint is that there is some mild banding in the opening sequence with Mari when you’re looking at her arms. It’s not obvious or egregious, but I did notice it pretty easily.









Audio:

As I mentioned with the previous film, I’m pretty sure that Gkids/Shout! Studios is working with the original Japanese track from the Funimation days, and the 5.1 mix for the English track is just a slight downmixing of the 6.1 track that we had from the Funi disc. But either way, no matter the language track chosen, it’s going to be wildly bombastic and exciting to say the least. Eva/Angel battles are still the highlight of the track, with insane action and surround usage coupled with devastating LFE. The English language dub is OOOOK, but not that great compared to more modern dubs, leaving me to relegate it to the “dub’s only” crowd, as the Japanese voice acting is just a huge step above.









Extras:

• Rebuild of EVANGELION: 2.02
• Omitted Scene
• C-0188A ~ C-0201
• Omitted Scene
• C-0711 ~ C-0720
• Omitted Scene
• C-0740 ~ C-0745
• Omitted Scene
• C-0821 ~ C-0823
• "I Would Give You Anything" Scene NOGUCHI ver.
• Trailer
• Train Channel Spot
• Trailer for Yahoo! Japan
• Blu-ray/DVD TV Commercial A (15 sec)
• Bluray/DVD TV Commercial B (15 sec)
• Promotional Reel
• TV Spot A (15 sec)
• TV Spot B (15 sec)
• TV Spot C (15 sec)
• TV Spot D (15 sec)
• TV Spot A (30 sec)
• TV Spot B (30 sec)
• TV Spot (12 sec)

Final Score:

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Evangelion has always been one of those anime that have lived up to the hype surrounding them, and has stood the test of time for 30 freaking years. Evangelion: 2.22 acts as The Empire Strikes Back of the 4 film series, focusing heavily on character development and setup for what would come to fruition in the next two films. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great flick that showcases some wild deviations from the source material and gives us one of the best films in the series. The Blu-ray looks and sounds great (as was expected), with the same mediocre extras that we’ve had for years (grumble, moan, whine, kick the dog). Once more, highly recommended and a great buy for anime fans desperately looking to complete the franchise after Funimation lost the rights.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Kotono Mitsuishi, Yuriko Yamaguchi
Directed by: Hideaki Anno, Masayuki, Kazuya Tsurumaki
Written by: Hideaki Anno
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Japanese Dolby TrueHD 6.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Studio: Shout! Studios
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 112 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 21st, 2025

Recommendation: Great Buy

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[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will check it out.