Thirty Days of PRIDE

While pride is important every month, June is the month we single out for the biggest gay pride events to commemorate the world-changing Stonewall Riots on June 28th, 1969, which began the modern Gay Rights Movement as we know it. Similar to my 31 Days of Halloween, I wanted to put together some special TV programming for a great LGBT Pride Month.

Blue represents hour long dramas, green represents half-hour sitcoms and dramas, purple represents reality shows and red is used for special programming slots.


Weekday Lineup
---------------------

5am: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
6: Dawson's Creek
7: Dawson's Creek
8: Glee
9: Glee
10: Will & Grace
10.30: Ellen
11: Ellen
11.30: The Ellen Degeneres Show (talk show)

Noon: - Movie Slot C - "Related"
2pm: The L Word
3: The L Word
4: The L Word
5: Degrassi
5.30: Degrassi
6: - Documentary Slot -
8: - Movie Slot A - "Premium"
10: Queer As Folk (US)
11: Queer As Folk (US)

Midnight: Chozen
12.30am: Chozen
1: - Movie Slot B - "General"
3: - Music Slot -


Weekend Lineup
---------------------

2.30am: Exes & Ohs

3: Smash

4: Work Out in the Zone

5: Xena Warrior Princess

6: - Movie Slot B - "General"

8: - Documentary Slot - 

10: Lip Service

11: In The Flesh

Noon: Coming Out Stories

12.30: Vicious

1pm: - Movie Slot B - "General"

3: South of Nowhere

3.30: South of Nowhere

4: Sugar Rush

4.30: Sugar Rush

5: - Movie Slot C - "Related"

7: - TV Slot - "Special Episodes"

8: Hit & Miss (Sat) / Orange is the New Black (Sun)

9: Pretty Little Liars (Sat) / Tipping the Velvet (Sun)

10: - Movie Slot A - "Premium"

Saturday Only:

Midnight: Hot Gay Comics

1am: DTLA

1.30: Rick and Steve

2: Big Gay Sketch Show

Sunday Only:

Midnight: - Musical Theater Slot - (2 & 1/2 hrs) 

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Documentary Slot 

----------------------

- 2 hour slot -

-30 entries necessary -

Short-lengthed programs have been paired to better fill the slot, signified with an /+/

--

I Am Divine

Let's Get Frank

Fish Out of Water

Outrage

Live Free or Die

Small Town Gay Bar

For The Bible Tells Me So

Out Late

Blood on the Flat Trac

Celluloid Closet

Fabulous: The Story of Queer Cinema

I Can't Marry You /+/ Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement

Jihad For Love

Lavender Limelight Lesbians in Film /+/ Sole Journey

The Mormon Proposition

Out in the Open

Stonewall Uprising

Training Rules + Fatherhood Dreams

Inspired: Voices Against Prop 8

(A) Sexual

Brother Outsider: Life of Bayard Rustin

Saint of 9/11

Before Stonewall

After Stonewall

Call Me Kuchu

Family Values: An American Tragedy /+/ Mr. Angel

Bridegroom + Dangerous Living

Off and Running

Making Grace

We Were Here

Music Slot 

----------------------

- two hour slot -

- 21 entries necessary -

Entries accumulating less than 120 minutes are to be embellished with music videos from the wide world of LGBT performers.

Tegan & Sara: Get Along

Tegan & Sara: It's Not Fun, Don't Do It!

Wish Me Away: Chely Wright

Adam Lambert: Glam Nation Live

To Russia... With Elton

Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras

K.D. Lang: Live in London with the BBC Orchestra

Queen Rock Montreal & Live Aid

Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live in Budapest

Queen: Live at Wembley Stadium

Backstreet Boys: Homecoming Live in Orlando

A Night Out with the Backstreet Boys

Hit So Hard

Rise Above: The Tribe 8 Documentary

Left Lane: On The Road with Folk Poet Alix Olson

Radical Harmonies

Glee: The Movie

Lady Gaga Presents The Monster Ball Tour at Madison Square Garden

Indigo Girls: Live at the Roxxy

Indigo Girls:: Live at te Fillmore

Indigo Girls: Live at the Uptown Lounge

Movie Slot A "Premium"

----------------------

- 2 hour slot -

-10 entries necessary -

These ten exemplary films are to be featured three times each of the course of the month, for this year.

Gods and Monsters

The Normal Heart

We Are The Best

Fucking Amal 

Brokeback Mountain

Cloudburst

Hannah Free

Boys Don't Cry

If These Walls Could Talk 2

Whip It

Movie Slot B "General"

----------------------

- 2 hour slot -

-39 entries necessary -

Reaching For the Moon

A Marine Story

Circumstance

Personal Best

All Over Me

Geography Club

My Summer Of Love

The Truth About Jane

Kissing Jessica Stein

All Over Me

But I'm a Cheerleader

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Fabulous Stains

Weekend

Pariah

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love

A Perfect Family

Longhorns

North Sea Texas

Jack & Diane

Imagine Me & You

Blue is the Warmest Color

The Kids are Alright

Concussion

Keep The Lights On

Kiss Me

Mosquito y Mari

Water Lilies

Heavenly Creatures

Lost & Delirious

The Guest House

Bloomington

Cracks

The World Unseen

Molly's Girl

The Gymnast

She-Monkeys

Jamie and Jesse Are Not Together

Flowers for Bobby

Girls' View

Movie Slot C "Related"

----------------------

- 2 hour slot -

-30 entries necessary -

These films feature one or more of the following: gay directors, gay actors, gay supporting characters, or subtle LGBT themes.

American Beauty

The Night Listener

Pitch Perfect

The Runaways

Nell

The Accused

The Brave One

V for Vendetta
X-Men

X2: X-Men United

X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men: First Class

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Emile

Asylum

Neverwas

Apt Pupil

Juno

Mouth to Mouth

Hard Candy

An American Crime

Ghost Cat

Mean Girls

Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed

Scream

Kinsey

Poison Ivy

Frozen

Divergent

ParaNorman

TV Slot "Special Episodes"

------------------------

- 1 hour slot -

- 9 entries necessary -

These are episodes of classic TV shows which feature LGBT characters or themes. Half-hour programs have been paired up to fill the slot.

- The Simpsons s8e15 "Homer's Phobia" /// All in the Family s1e5 "Judging Books by Covers" 

- Married With Children s7e15 "Heels on Wheels" /// Two and a Half Men s11e1 "Nangnagnangnang"

- Roseanne s9e10 "Home is Where the Afghan Is" /// Roseanne s9e11 "Mothers and Other Strangers"

- Shake It Up s2e7 "Double Pegasus It Up" /// Good Luck Charlie s4e19 "Down a Tree"

- Fraiser s11e3 "The Doctor is Out" /// Frasier s2e3 "The Matchmaker"

- South Park s11e2 "Cartman Sucks" /// The Boondocks s2e13 "The Story of Gangstalicious Part 2"

- American Dad s3e4 "Lincoln Lover" /// American Dad s4e7 "Surro-Gate"

- House of Cards s1e8 "Chapter Eight"

- Seinfeld s4e17 "The Outing" /// Seinfeld s6e16 "The Beard"

Musical Theater Slot

----------------------

- 2 & 1/2 hour slot -

- 4 entries necessary -

Avenue Q

Les Miserables: The 25th Anniversary Concert

Rent: Live on Broadway

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

A Long-Belated Review: Sleeps With Angels

After a period of bizarre experiments in the 1980s, Neil Young had a veritable renaissance in the 1990s. He found himself on the very cutting edge of the grunge explosion, and became the honorary guru of the alternative rock era. He achieved this, largely, by getting back to his roots and courting the styles he had become famous for in the 70s: lucid hard rock albums like Ragged Glory (1990), and sentimental folk such as Harvest Moon (1992). For his next disc, Neil attempted to channel a different style: the grim mentality of his "ditch trilogy," which ruminated on the heroin overdose of original Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten in 1970. With the untimely death of Kurt Cobain halfway through the creation of Sleeps With Angels, the project became imbued with unfortunate new resonance.

There has never been a more archetypal late-night record made, than Neil Young & Crazy Horse's 1994 album: the dark, ponderous Sleeps With Angels. It's the epitome of cool, the very essence of a midnight drive or a glass of wine on the porch at 4am. A full moon beach seance. A huddled mass of close friends waxing philosophic as dawn breaks. It's such a relentlessly shadowy album that it actually seems pretty ridiculous to listen to it during the day -- unless, of course, you're obsessively lost in yearning for those late nights long past.

The Crazy Horse format of rancorous guitars is subdued here into an almost neo-jazz sloppy precision. Vocals are given strictly in hushed tones and ominous background chants. The guitars become fuzz-ridden laments, as if slowly disseminating from a small amp in the far corner of an after-hours dive bar while the architect of said sound, a man in a trenchcoat and a top hot, is bent over his instrument with his face obscured, coming down off some long-stale high -- and he's the only person in the bar but you. It's an album seeping with shards of reality, but still firmly ensconced in the dewey gleam of preternatural warmth. Like an LSD hangover.

Like Neil's other 90s records, the lyrics present the worldview of a contented, happily wisened middle-aged man. But Sleeps With Angels is additionally haunted by the spectres of those who could not be saved. Neil's seen his share of destruction in his time, and on this record his ascension to maturity is made bittersweet by what could have been, had his fallen friends been able to achieve the same peace of mind.

It's not a wholly flawless record. There's some major filler. And a small studio performance called The Complex Sessions which Neil and the Horse did shortly after releasing the album, captures all the same hushed aesthetics while actually improving upon some of the initial arrangements.

But where it autonomously excels, is in sheer atmosphere. There's a lot of atmospheric music out there, and a lot of music that invokes the feeling of nighttime adventure. But there's no album that transports me so decisively into that world than Sleeps With Angels. It's a genuine marvel and, to me, an invaluable resource. It's one of Neil Young's greatest accomplishments, even if it's not one of his top 5 greatest records, when judged song for song.

Switched at Birth

As a kid I enjoyed the golden age of The WB, with the incomparable Dawson's Creek, the eternally endearing Gilmore Girls, and occasionally, when it wasn't too imposing, a little 7th Heaven. You could call it 'family entertainment' but it was aimed primarily at moody teenagers, and to a pre-teen like me, it seemed astoundingly mature. The height of adulthood. I was enthralled.

Today, The WB is gone. Its formal successor is The CW, but the programming on that network errs almost exclusively towards the supernatural end of the WB/UPN spectrum. Shows such as The Vampire Diaries and The Originals are quite good, but you don't see the same down to Earth, daily life sensibilities that informed the WB's best work.

Another channel has stepped in to pick up where the WB left off, a channel that for years subsisted on syndicating programs including Dawson's Creek and Gilmore Girls. It's almost strange to imagine a TV network operating with such a clear logical, linear progression (since market turmoil tends to necessitate more haphazard evolutions), but all those years spent accentuating the WB's best must have given them a rather keen understanding of the classic WB mentality.

ABC Family has become the true, irrevocable heir to the WB aesthetic. They're hit and miss like every network is, but if you're looking for the quirky homeliness and the warm-hearted sentimentality of old WB, ABC Family is your destination. And so far their best show is Switched at Birth, the story of two girls and their two families, who didn't discover that a baby switch had occurred until 16 years after the fact. It is an astoundingly well done show, that never ceases to yield at a very high quality. It has to be the best family drama since Gilmore Girls.

Genuinely Unique

I'm about to go on a minor rant, but the best way to explain Switched at Birth's strengths is to contrast it with one of ABC Family's lesser shows. You have no idea how much I was looking forward to the debut of The Fosters. Adoption AND LGBT themes? These are specifically my two most sought-after story aspects for family dramas.

But the show didn't turn out so great. The Fosters tries *so damn hard* to be diverse and innovative. But unfortunately what you get with The Fosters is most of the same characters and plots you've already watched on other TV shows. Trust me, there's absolutely nothing I am more desperate for than a great LGBT show on ABC Family. But The Fosters panders more so than emotes, and the barriers it purports to break have largely been breached before. If it opens even one set of eyes to the validity of gay adoption then that's a service rendered to the whole human race. But is it a good, well-written drama show, on an entertainment level? No, it's merely decent.

Switched at Birth, on the other hand, makes being unique in a sea of TV copycats appear virtually effortless. Sure we've dealt with certain themes before, like class warfare and student protest. But we're treated to these themes in new ways thanks to this nuanced premise. The titular switched at birth angle gives us a far more innately introspective and intimately conflicted look at the discrepancy between social classes than similar family drama treatments.

Allow me to elaborate. Our two girls from opposite socioeconomic backgrounds struggle not just with their understanding of conflicting social ideologies and the revelation of class warfare, as many coming of age stories address; they also struggle with how these two opposed ideologies are simultaneously inherent to who they are, due to the girls' dual nature between their birth parents and the parents who raised them. This issue is usually dealt with as a simple arc, from ignorance to understanding. But for Switched at Birth, our protagonists are adamant about retaining both aspects of their self.

Furthermore, the recurring emphasis on deaf culture and deaf issues gives a voice to a group that has almost no representation in mainstream media. And the framing of the classic 'student sit-in' plotline through the lens of deaf students trying to save their one haven from the world of the hearing majority, allows the show to raise awareness about a defining moment in deaf history which most viewers are not going to be familiar with (the Deaf President Now protests at Gallaudet University), as well as bringing in a bit of new depth to the old formula.

Keeps Me Guessing

Yes, I'd certainly be lying if I said Switch at Birth doesn't tread on *any* ground we haven't seen plenty of times before. Like nearly all works in television and film, it rests on some old standards when need be. But the special thing about Switched at Birth is that even when they're redoing a classic standard, they still keep me on my toes.

For example in one storyline, one daughter befriends a political activist who is opposed to her father's work as a state Senator. And of course, she accidentally reveals sensitive information the senator hiding from the public. We know how this goes, right? The boyfriend is going to release the information, after a fight or a breakup, or because the political stakes are too high. But, no, Switched at Birth doesn't go that route. They actually don't make that into a plot thread at all, the Senator himself makes the information public later in that same episode, under no duress or conflict.

Not every trope is subverted here, but there are just enough subversions to make sure the audience can't confidently predict the plotlines, because you don't know when they're going to go the traditional route, and when they're not.

Switched at Birth has impressed me virtually with every new episode. I'd say it's definitively proven itself as the third best family-drama, behind Dawson's Creek and Gilmore Girls. But Switched at Birth isn't over yet, could it get even better? I wouldn't be surprised.

Best episode so far? The alternate reality episode where they had found out about the switch much sooner. Daphne the altruist became a spoiled socialite growing up rich instead of seeing poverty up close, while wild child Bay became a shy bookworm, internalizing her artistic side after having to live in Daphne's shadow. It was heartbreaking, it was illuminating, it was clever as hell and it was fucking awesome. What's next?

The Avengers and The Marvel Cinematic Universe

As a teen in the 00s, I thought I was growing up in the era of superhero films. But this trend has no apparent ceiling, and in 2014 we're still at the era's utter peak. It hasn't plateaued yet, it may even have a little higher to climb. Me, I'm perfectly thrilled about that; I like superhero films and I have no problem picking and choosing one or two out of the ten that come out each year now.

But to be honest, by the time the Marvel Cinematic Universe began in the summer of 2008, my eagerness to gobble up new superhero films had already begun to waver. They came too late to cause a stir. I enjoyed Iron Man well enough, but I had no interest in Thor or The Incredible Hulk. Not only was my interest in the trend waning, but The Avengers are a B-grade superhero outfit to me.

So I was highly skeptical of The Avengers film, even after hearing from pretty much everybody on Earth that it was amazing. In fact, the first time I tried to watch The Avengers, I turned it off after one scene. Could that first scene have been any more generic? Ooh there's this super-powerful object and a bunch of pseudo-science. Uh oh, the evil guy steals the super-powerful object. I was just like "Ugh, seen it before," and turned it off.

Avengers Reassemble

But people keep gushing about the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) films. And after X-Men: Days of Future Past, I'm in the mood for some superheroes right about now. So I gave The Avengers another try.

And to my surprise, this movie actually fucking rocks. Despite frequent misgivings, it really won me over. The action was sick, the CGI looked good, it even had me genuinely invested in these characters. It pulled on my heartstrings a couple times. The story kept my interest and lacked any especially jarring foibles. They fit all these different characters into the film without ever feeling overburdened with content or leaving any characters noticeably underused. And most surprising of all, Loki waxes philosophic a couple times and it was actually pretty clever stuff. It didn't come off as cheesy.

Best of all was ScarJo. Black Widow, a SHIELD Agency assassin played by Scarlet Johansson, completely stole the film. In a movie featuring several of history's most beloved superheroes, Black Widow was more interesting than any of them. Here's a character with wit and strength, who doesn't have superpowers, and leaves me grappling for who she is, what her backstory is. Where's her stand alone movie? Now that's an MCU film that I'd actually go see. Maybe even in theaters.

So, I'm officially won over. The Avengers make a great ensemble and this film definitely ranks among the top 10 best superhero movies. But I can't say I'm completely sold on the MCU just yet. The MCU is much more of a comic-styled film series, with aliens and gratuitous action. I am and always will be more a disciple of the superhero approach that is grounded closer to reality (even if it's merely relative), with darker, more adult content, like what has been done with the Batman and X-Men films.

Marvel Takeover

A lot of people want Disney-Marvel to regain the rights to X-Men and The Fantastic Four, currently held by Fox. To that I say no no no no no no, no no no no no. We already have continuing franchises for Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers, quite possibly The Hulk as well, plus new films for Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and any number of other additions. Do you really want to see X-Men and the Fantastic Four placed on the MCU assembly line as well? The MCU has roundly proven their style to be stagnant and consistent between all their products. All we would be getting from MCU-made X-Men and Fantastic Four movies is exactly what we've already gotten from the dozen other MCU movies. To people who have an insatiable appetite for the MCU, this would be a good thing. For those of us who want variety and nuance, this would be an unbearable Marvelopoly.

The problem with the MCU is that it's the assembly line of superhero movies, they keep coming out, but they're too similar to each other. It's a lighter, more kid-friendly approach to superhero films, exactly what you'd expect from Disney. And I frickin' love Disney, but there's no reason that all great comic characters should be bowdlerized to fit this mold. What we have now is pretty much perfect, Fox doing more serious movies with the best Marvel franchise, and Disney doing lighter, but still high quality, films with a lesser set of characters.

The biggest problem with The Avengers film is this: Too many one-liners. And don't get me wrong, this is Joss Whedon, a lot of these one-liners are really frickin' funny. But when you have enough one-liners to end every fucking scene, you have to really start to wonder whether this movie is action/adventure, or a comedy. This tactic seems designed primarily to diminish the tension as often as possible, and makes it patently impossible to deny that the Marvel Cinematic Universe takes itself less seriously than the X-Men, Batman, or even Spider-Man franchises.

What we really need isn't to Disney-ify all the great comic-film franchises. What we need is for studios to wake the fuck up to the money train and start cooperating on flicks that can include characters from more than one franchise. We don't need a Marvelopoly in order to see The Hulk, Spider-Man and Wolverine in the same film, all we need is for these studios to be a little less antisocial and a little more ambitious. As the superhero trend continues to soar uninhibited, these collaborations may inch closer to fruition.

The End(s) of Evangelion

When the original ending to the popular TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion failed to satiate its public, a major motion picture was tapped to fill the gaps (Well, two motion pictures to be exact). While the TV ending was highly impressionistic and dealt solely with the show's psychological underpinnings, The End of Evangelion film depicted physical events that concluded the story's primary plotlines.

As a kid I couldn't really follow EoE. I certainly enjoyed it, but more for the atmosphere and extremity. At that age I didn't have the mind power to put two and two together. It didn't help that I was watching, on a tiny TV, a letterboxed fansub whose subtitles were almost impossible to read, even while they may not be halfway accurate to begin with.

It cost me $40 to get a crappy used copy of Manga Entertainment's mediocre DVD release of EoE, but it was worth every penny (it was also a pretty good deal considering I was outbid on an identical item which went for $50).

And now that I actually understand it.... good God, it's fucking brilliant. It's not only the best part of Neon Genesis Evangelion (which is saying something!), it also easily ranks among my favorite films of all-time. But more importantly than that, it's a truly perfect conclusion to Neon Genesis Evangelion.

I greatly enjoy the TV ending of Evangelion, and it has some especially worthwhile content, which I'll get into shortly. But The End of Evangelion is the true ending to Neon Genesis Evangelion. All the essential plot threads are miraculously wrapped up, in an incredibly satisfying way, and it even manages to do a better job with the philosophical aspect than EoTV did. It's a perfect bloody film, it really is.

Information...

It's amazing once you know what to look for. The information is there, period. While smaller mysteries are certainly left ambiguous in the peripherals, there isn't a single thing that's necessary to the story of Evangelion which isn't made clear through the canon. Now one thing that I'm very curious about, which I'll never truly be able to understand, is the extent to which fans can be reasonably expected to understand Neon Genesis Evangelion from just the canon alone, without outside help.

I had all the secrets of Evangelion explained to me when I was a tween. Often piece by piece, with copious screen caps, by some of the biggest Eva geeks in the US (they went on to found www.evageeks.org). So it's difficult for me to say how well EoE necessarily handles its reveals. It may be a mixed bag. That Rei has Lilith's soul is made pretty clear by the "I'm home"/"Welcome home" exchange she has with Lilith's body. That Kaworu has Adam's soul, however, and was inside Lilith with Rei, was hard for me to grasp even WITH people explaining it to me. The fact that Nerv has the ability to salvage the souls out of dead bodies, that was hard for me to wrap my head around.

And all the crazy shit that goes on during Instrumentality, it can be pretty hard to decipher. But, repeated viewings help. The Eva Series forming the Tree of Life used to strike me as kind of superfluous, but from what Maya says, that must be how they're creating their anti-AT Field. It's actually quite a marvel. Anno took the content from EoTV, about eliminating the borders between people, and then reforging the same borders, and all these absolutely metaphysical concepts.... and they managed to show them, on screen, as physical phenomena. It's really fucking clever.

EoTV...

As a child I was partial to the TV ending because it presents a more uplifting conclusion and a stronger resolution. I used to find The End of Evangelion oppressively dreary, obliteratingly grim. The thing about EoE is, it tears you apart, with Asuka's brutal disembowelment. And then it never picks you up again. The message of the film is positive, but after the disembowelment, a mildly upbeat message isn't enough to balance you. To do that it would need to bring in a positive image that is equal and opposite to seeing Asuka get eaten alive.

And as luck would have it, that equal and opposite scene exists. But it's in the TV ending. I speak of course of the famous alternate reality sequence where our protagonists exist in a happy little normal world free from their crippling hardships. It's adorable, and having gone through so much pain with these characters, it's really uplifting to finally see them win some peace. And perhaps even more crucial, it's followed by a scene of Shinji finally breaking free of his depression.

This is the sole thing that EoTV accomplishes better than EoE: the mood control, the pure unadulterated aesthetics. EoE has the content and the information down pat, but you have to stare pretty hard to get the uplifting message out of it. EoTV runs you through the ringer but then it gives you this big release at the end, to free you from the darkness.

All that being said... The End of Evangelion still tends to leave me slightly melancholy, but as an adult I find the TV ending to be scarier. As a kid, wallowing in the darkness of the mind was par for the course. As an adult, I've learned how to mold my own reality, much like Evangelion instructs us to. And having to be faced with that kind of neurosis again, that kind of throbbing, pecking instability: it's even scarier than being eaten alive by monster Evas. The constant doubt, the constant berating; EoTV is depression itself.

Ultimately, EoE and EoTV are meant to be viewed together. The amount of coordination between them is no minor coincidence. The secrets become much more clear when they're working in tandem. Together they tell a much richer story. I have more than half a mind to combine them myself, so that I can see the truest and best Evangelion ending possible. It should be a pretty easy project in this day and age. The only possible issue would be the screen ratio, presumably EoE would be widescreen and EoTV would be fullscreen. But I can work around that.

Rebuild of Evangelion 2.22 "You Can (Not) Advance" Review

Warning: This review contains spoilers for the Evangelion TV series and Rebuild film series.

Rebuild 2.22 is much more of a mixed bag than 1.11 was. 1.11 was pretty standard practice, solid all the way through. 2.22 has its good, its bad, its great, and its awful.

While 1.11 was very faithful to the original, 2.22 makes many, many deviations: some good, some bad. But ultimately, the interesting thing is that all these deviations lead to the exact same destination, in most cases. Everything is made much more overt, much more obvious, which you could consider to be a good thing or a bad thing. Subtle nuances in the TV show become broad strokes in the film.


The Good

You could very easily accuse 2.22 of being hamfisted or contrived in its approach to character development. But I wouldn't say that. I think for the more limited format of film, the more gaudy proclamations of character are appropriate and more or less necessary. They've condensed 12 episodes of Evangelion into less than 2 hours, exactly doubling the pace of the first film. So concessions must be made. Furthermore, as a big ole' sentimental shmuck, I find some of these highly overt bits of character development incredibly endearing. And even if Rebuild 2.22 only offers tiny glimpses of truly great content, any new quality time spent with these beloved characters is deeply appreciated.

To explain the changes more directly, I'll start with Asuka. Asuka starts out as even more of a huge dick than she does in the TV series. Like, she was a little irate in the TV series. In Rebuild she's downright berserk. But her soft side shines through in equal measure. They actually removed my favorite bit of Asuka's character -- how she repeatedly insists on attempting to befriend Rei despite Rei's refusal. Considering Rei is a potential rival not only to Asuka's crucial identity as an Eva pilot, but also as a highly notable rival for Shinji's attention, Asuka's insistence on being kind to Rei really shows her warm nature, deep down.

But that's a very subtle thing, so instead, in the film, Asuka volunteers to activate Eva 03 so that Shinji and Rei can have their meal with Gendo -- which is basically tantamount to stepping aside and letting Rei have Shinji (not only is she letting them spend quality time together, but she's enabling Rei to unestrange Shinji and Gendo, ingratiating Shinji to her for the rest of his life!). See what I mean? Same warm heart in Asuka, it's just being expressed differently between the TV and the film versions.

The Great

There's another scene I quite enjoyed. I was heartbroken that they took Rei's joke out of 1.11. But she did something in 2.22 that was just as telling -- she totally played Gendo for a chump. Remember that scene in the TV series where Gendo tells Rei it's time for lunch? We actually see them go to lunch this time. And Rei plays it up all smooth, see. She pretends like she doesn't know what's going on, and asks Gendo if eating is enjoyable, and if it's enjoyable to eat with people.

Gendo, believing Rei's just being ignorant since he raised her in a leaky basement, gives her the typical affirmative answers. So Rei says, "Well, gee, if it's enjoyable to have meals with people.... you should have a meal with Shinji!" PWNED! Okay, so it's not exactly a joke. But it does show that Rei is capable of more than stoicism, she understands more of what's going on than she allows herself to show. Not only that, but Rei & Shinji's relationship in general has been increased, and that's a very promising development.


The Bad

Now onto the bad... Rebuild 2.22 adapts the two greatest moments in the Evangelion TV series, episodes 18 and 19. These are iconic, mind-blowing moments, decisively some of the best episodes in TV history. But 2.22 adapts them.... pretty poorly. They're just not all that effective. The cutesy pop song they used while Evangelion 01 ripped apart the errant unit -- I completely understand the concept. But all it did was muddle the brutality of the scene, for the contrast to have been effective they'd have to ramp up the brutality as well. And Shinji not being able to actually see what's happening? That greatly diminishes the effect.

There was also a subplot of Asuka and Rei competing to cook for Shinji. This struck me as incredibly cheesy and old-fashioned. I mean, ehhh, let's be honest, that's literally a Sailor Moon plot. Sailor Moon's a spectacular show but it's not an appropriate parallel for Eva. I think they could have come up with something better -- especially when Anno said Rebuild was supposed to be more relevant to the current generation.


The Awful

Rebuild 2.22 adds a new Eva pilot to the mix. And she's.... pretty atrocious. I'm trying my best not to hate her, so bare with me. She may actually be an important character in the future. She may actually have a great backstory, she may provide a key piece in Rebuild's endgame. She may ultimately prove to be some kind of trope inversion or her role in the higher concept may be to denounce this type of fluff rather than endorse it.

But we Lilim are doomed to live in the present, and as it stands: Mari Makinami is the worst fucking character in Evangelion history. I'd rather they have included Jet Alone... or even that darn recap episode, formerly Evangelion's lowest point. Thus far there exists no evidence to suggest Mari has any worth or purpose what-so-ever beyond the utmost laziest of fanservice. We can only hope that Anno is fully aware of this, her awfulness is intentional, and he has a higher purpose in mind.

Deja Vu

Yet again, at the end of this film, Kaworu appears to confirm that Rebuild is in fact a continuation of the original series in some sense, and that these events have (mostly) occured before. Some people take this too far and imagine that Rebuild is a direct sequel to EoE: as in, the Asuka & Shinji we see at the end of EoE are somehow the same Asuka and Shinji we see in Rebuild. That's nearly impossible and would require quite a strange reveal.

It's not that Rebuild necessarily happens in the same 'universe' as EoE. It's that this exists in the same multiverse or possibly the same multi-history timeline, where certain characters (Rei and Kaworu), are aware of other universes or previous iterations. This is clearly what we're supposed to think, at least for Kaworu, at this point in the story. What Anno ultimately has planned we'll have to wait and see.

But I think this aspect may pan out as we expect. The fact that Rei appears outside of the logic of space and time both in the original TV series (episode 1), in Rebuild, and in EoE, seems to suggest that not only is Rebuild a continuation of the original series, but that the original itself was not the first time these events have occured either. It seems like a kind of reincarnation loop where the world is reborn a little better each time. Some hardcore fans aren't fond of this idea and write it off as "Oh, well Lilith can do anything, that's the only reason Rei appears" but that's an excruciatingly thin explanation when we have a much more substantive one that is not only available but is now being heavily implied in Rebuild.

Rebuild of Evangelion 1.11 "You Are (Not) Alone" Review

Warning: This review may contain spoilers for the film Evangelion 1.11 and some spoilers for the Evangelion TV series.

Apparently dead set on repeating himself, Hideaki Anno was already planning The Rebuild of Evangelion in 2002. But the Rebuild project verges on ludicrously unnecessary. Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most perfect television programs of all-time, and you cannot improve on perfection. Everything that needed redone, was accomplished by The End of Evangelion. Imagine if HBO announced they were going to remake The Sopranos, or if Pink Floyd decided in the 80s "Well, Darkside of the Moon isn't relevant to modern audiences. We're going to turn it into a dance album."

But if you give me a thousand ways to watch Evangelion, I'll watch Evangelion a thousand ways, and be happy for it. I'll resist the urge to compare Rebuild in a 1:1 ratio with the original series. For starters, a film series just isn't equipped to tell a long-range story as well as a tv series, so it's inherently unfair. And we already have the original Evangelion. Nothing that Rebuild could ever do, has any potential to deprive or diminish anything about the original series, which will always be the one true version of Evangelion. I'm content to judge Rebuild on its own merits.

From Angel Attack to Rei II

The first Rebuild film is an exceedingly faithful adaption of Evangelion's first six episodes. In many cases, the dialogue and scenarios are completely identical to the TV version. Hell, if they had made the film little longer, they could have fit everything in. An Eva episode is about 20 minutes, the first six episodes would take about two hours to watch. Evangelion 1.11 is one hour and forty minutes long. So approximately one episode is lost in the conversion.

The animation is crisp and clean. The voice acting is spectacular (unless you're watching the dub), and it's great to hear it in enhanced audio quality. Shiro Sagisu is back behind the helm an incredible soundtrack, with much of the classic BGM retained. Also back, of course, are Anno behind  the curtain and Sadamoto as the artistic designer, as well as most if not all of the original voice talent.

The pace is brisk. Certain segues from one scene to another are really botched. With the necessity to carry the story along quickly, it can seem really awkward the way they try to squeeze everything in. But that's coming from someone who's well acquainted with the natural pace of the TV series. Perhaps to new viewers, the film segues feel less forced.

The only real misstep in Evangelion 1.11 is that character moments are taken out, little things like Kensuke and Shinji bonding when he runs away from Nerv. Taking that out not only weakens Shinji's arc, it also makes his return to Nerv seem awfully abrupt. And I feel it's those little moments of bonding which make Evangelion so powerful -- you care about these characters in the dire circumstances because you also see them in the casual circumstances. Isn't that why the alternate reality sequence in episode 26 is so powerful?

But these are exactly the kind of omissions you find in any adaption where you have a limited amount of time to use. It's a little extra jarring in Evangelion 1.11 because everything else about it is so darn faithful. But at the same time, because everything else is so faithful, it's not hard to let the little things go.

Exposition and Excellent Positioning

The one thing I found really refreshing about the film, even if it did come off as a tiny bit forced, was the blatant exposition. Things that were ambiguous or slow to dawn in the original series, are explained outright in Evangelion 1.11. Even some major secrets, like the nature of Lilith. This shows me that the Rebuild project is dedicated to telling their own story, and giving new viewers everything they need in order to genuinely appreciate what's going on.

If there's even one single thing that the original series didn't do 100% well, it has to be that certain bits of information were very obscured and never overtly revealed, even at the end. That's absolutely fine for smaller issues like whose soul is in Evangelion 00. But that's not okay for larger issues like whose soul is in Ayanami Rei. I plan, in another post, to explore the extent to which certain information is revealed in the original series. Suffice to say, if Rebuild continues on its current path, there will be no need for such a discussion once Rebuild is over. (That's a pretty huge IF though!)

Final Act

While the earlier parts of the movie left me a bit skeptical, the film's final 1/3rd was sincerely spectacular. The fifth angel, Ramiel, is fucking awesome! The way it moves was really well designed -- despite being completely bizarre to the laws of physics, its movements felt natural and it had personality. I don't mind how weird it's getting, as the angels are supposed to seem diametrically opposed to humanity to begin with. This is also the first time when it actually seems like it's been 15+ years since the original Evangelion was animated; the animation finally impressed me during the fights with Ramiel.

Even better, Rei's character is handled really well. The bastards took out her fucking joke! You know, the one I made such a big deal about in my Rei Dissertation. But other than that, they handled her character sublimely. In this incarnation, Anno has emphasized Rei's inner emotion in some small, new ways. And she looks even more pissed after the bedroom incident than she did in the original. Her solemn strength and dedication to defend Shinji is more or less the same as it is in the show, but never the less it comes across very well in the film. Cutting the joke may be a table flip moment, but I'll give them mad props anyway for choosing Rei's two episodes as the ones they want to adapt faithfully. Spoiler alert: Asuka doesn't get equal treatment in Evangelion 2.22. They split her time up with a really, really shitty, ill-advised fanservice character.

They also handled Shinji's character really well. It was a bit rocky at first, but by the end of the film I was really starting to feel for him and I think they may have written the monologue of his internal whining better, because it seems to make more sense to me now. 'Course that may have more to do with the ADV script than with the original Evangelion script... sometimes I wonder if those DVDs are even translated at all, or if they just put the dub script up in the subtitles. #conspiracytheories

Evangelion 1.11 no doubt holds subtle clues as to what grand scheme Anno has in mind for this film series. The brief scene at the end with Kaworu seems to imply that this is, as has been speculated both for Rebuild and for the original Evangelion series, a new iteration of a reality or history that has already occurred, and perhaps people such as Kaworu and Rei exist outside of this continuity. But we won't know for sure what these small deviations will mean until we reach further into the story. So we've no choice but to carry on. As a stand alone film, Evangelion 1.11 "You Are (Not) Alone" is a beautiful homage to the greatness of Evangelion, and it is well done on all accounts.