Rebuild of Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

Name(s): Rebuild of Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone / Evangelion Movie 1: Jo / Evangelion Shin Gekijouban: Jo / Evangelion: 1.01 You Are (Not) Alone / Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone / ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:序
Director(s): Hideaki Anno / Masayuki / Kazuya Tsurumaki
Format(s): Movie (98 minutes)
Genre(s): Action / Drama / Mecha / Psychological / Sci-Fi
Studio(s): Khara
Release Date(s): September 1, 2007
Related: Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996) / Rebuild of Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009)

Rebuild of Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone Review

To my surprise, I found myself looking back on Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE) more fondly than I thought I would. Remembering my favorite parts made me want to approach them again, and because the Rebuild movies have been on my “to watch” list ever since finishing the series, I had a perfect excuse to start them and return to the franchise. I had heard the Rebuilds started off following the series then branched off in its own direction, and that the first one held the most in common with the series, but I still wasn’t expecting it to be 99% the same.

So naturally, I found this disapponting. Neon Genesis Evangelion is the perfect example of a series that gets better as it goes along, and the heavy and obvious (yet necessary) exposition that starts the series off is in similar swing here. Whether good or bad, the aspects of NGE I knew before are simply back with higher animation quality. For better and worse, most scene compositions are also exactly the same, but since this was a strong suit of NGE this was probably the best choice to make.

To my surprise, the most discernible aspect of the series’s transition to a higher budget are the Angels themselves. All featured have more movement and slightly alter some of the original scenes with them. Everything else is virtually identical, though of course it’s been polished up quite nicely.

There’s not a whole lot to say about the first Rebuild. It was cool seeing some classic scenes from the original series in higher quality, but that isn’t too exciting, and despite coming in at a reasonable 100 minutes there apparently wasn’t enough time to offer new scenes or expand upon the originals in any interesting ways.

While the preview makes it clear that the next Rebuild will offer new material, this odd duck will probably have little rewatch value for me. If I want the original series, I’ll probably watch the whole thing. If I want the new content, I imagine I’ll just be starting with Rebuild 2 from then on. Just decent, much like how the series itself would’ve only been if this were somehow all we got.

I like the ending theme, even if it sounds like Kingdom Hearts music and has just as little to do with what its attached to.

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Beautiful World

Name(s): Beautiful World / ビューティフル・ワールド
Format(s): Music video (2 minutes)
Studio(s): Khara

Originally Published: Unknown
Edited: October 17, 2025

This Rebuild of Evangelion music video features the work of legendary vocalist Hikaru Utada and is proof that I am too thorough in exploring franchises.

Speaking of the ending theme, this bland anime music video was created to promote the first Rebuild of Evangelion movie. The song is Beautiful World, performed by industry giant Hikaru Utada. Westerners might recognize her for her work within the Kingdom Hearts series of video games.

I have seen this video exactly one time, and the chorus still gets stuck in my head now and then. I could sing it right now. Spare yourself that nightmare. Though having learned Utada was behind it as I imported this review, I am tempted to return to it… Help me…

I used to have this review as its own page, but deleted it when I was unable to find a satisfying cover image for the page…