Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance Review

Right then, the big one, Evangelion 2.22, this is my personal favorite of the rebuild series, why? Well it manages to introduce new elements while still maintaining the familiar feeling of Evangelion. Are these new introductions good? That's debatable, but for now lets look at Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance and see what is does right.

We open with a action scene taking place outside of Japan for once, this is Bethany Base, a joint Russian, American NERV facility this is where the third angel is being kept for study but predictably it gets loose. This means a whole new Evangelion, Provisional Unit 05 is deployed to deal with the angel, Unit 05 is totally different from any other Eva unit we've seen, it looks far more mechanical, its arms end in a pincer and a lance rather than hands, it has four spindly limbs which end in wheels like joints to help it move, its pilot is also new to us, and yet this feels very comforting, why because they also reintroduce us to Ryoji Kaji, a character from the original series to add some familiarity to this otherwise alien scene. The new pilot is sort of a sticking point for fans, she has very little to do in this film so she's quite forgettable all for except for one scene which comes later on.

Anyway she manages to defeat the third angel and we go back to Shinji, he and Gendo are visiting Yui's grave when Gendo tells Shinji that he got rid of everything to do with his wife, any picture, video anything, gone. He tells Shinji that all he needs to remember her by is in his heart before leaving. Misato picks Shinji up and drives him back.

On the way back though the next angel attacks, Misato and Shinji both scramble to get to NERV HQ but this is unnecessary as the newest model Evangelion is being deployed, Evangelion Production Model 02 is deployed from the air and takes down the angel with relative ease.

This introduces us to both Unit 02 and its pilot Asuka Langley Shikinami, yeah her names been changed. My first criticism of this film is that Unit 02's introduction is nowhere near as cool as it was in the TV series, there's something about a giant mecha jumping from aircraft carrier to aircraft carrier that's just badass. We also got to see Asuka and Shinji interact in that battle too whereas in this version she fights on her own before belittling Shinji for not being there to help. Asuka moves in with Misato and Shinji, much to her dismay, and Kaji settles back in at NERV Japan.

We then get some world building where Kaji takes Shinji and his classmates to a scientific center at sea dedicated to preserving sea life that was wiped out during the second impact, so we finally learn more about the second impact and what it actually meant for Earth.

Meanwhile Gendo and Fuyutsuki visit NERV's lunar compound, Tabgha base, to see the construction of Evangelion Mark 6, they are denied permission to land but on their way back they see Kawrou Nagisa sat without a spacesuit on the surface of the moon. While Gendo is absent from NERV the 8th angel attacks but is defeated by Misato's hastily put together plan, this attack however used Unit 00, 01 and 02 and while both Units 00 and 01 were damaged in the fight SEELE only allows the repair of Unit 01.

We later learn that there was an American NERV facility in Nevada that contained both Evangelion Units 03 and 04 has been destroyed during a test of Eva Unit 04, this prompts the US government to send Eva Unit 03 to Tokyo-3 however due to an international treaty stating that no country can have more than three active Evangelion Units at one time NERV decide to seal Unit 02 away and schedules a test of Eva Unit 03 with Asuka as its test pilot. However when Asuka activates Unit 03 the 9th angel infects Unit 03 and starts controlling it. Unit 01 is sent out to deal with it but Shinji refuses to attack fearing that he may hurt Asuka so Gendo orders the activation of the dummy plug system, a device that makes Unit 01 autonomous, under its own power it brutally tears Unit 03 apart in what may be Evangelion's most disturbing moment. Unit 01 tears out 03's entry plug and crushes it in its teeth. With Unit 03 savaged Shinji returns to NERV and leaves due to his fathers cold decision.

Asuka survives but is grievously injured, she is placed in quarantine in fear of mental contamination from the angel. Shinji is about to leave Tokyo-3 when the 10th angel attacks, so he flees to an emergency shelter, Gendo fails to activate Unit 01 with the dummy system so the pilot from the start, now named Mari, hijacks Unit 02 to attack the angel, she removes the internal inhibitors of the Eva and allows it to enter 'Beast Mode' a primal form where the Eva reverts to a more animalistic behavior and appearance. However even this is not enough to defeat the angel and Unit 02 suffers heavy damage, Rei launches the already damaged Unit 00 and charges at the angel with a missile in a final attack, Mari and the injured Unit 02 help to take layers off the angels AT field but even this fails and the angel devours Unit 00 and integrates it into its own body which allows it to bypass the NERV security systems.

After seeing Rei and Unit 00 being consumed by the angel, Shinji rushes back to NERV and asks Gendo if he can pilot Unit 01 again, he allows him to and Shinji fends off the angel, but before he can kill it Unit 01 runs out of power and shuts down. However it enters berserk mode as a response to Shinji's rage at losing Rei. Unit 01 easily takes down the angel and Shinji takes uses the Eva to reach inside the core of the angel to save Rei, Unit 01 starts to transcend physical boundaries in order to grant Shinji's wish. The moment Shinji retrieves Rei, Unit 01 pulls Unit 00's core out of the Angel. The Angel explodes and its remains, along with Unit 00's core, are absorbed into Unit 01, fusing them all into one being. Unit 01 then sprouts giant wings of light, and Misato, who has been watching the battle, sees that they are identical to the ones she saw during Second Impact. Ritsuko realizes that the Eva has become a divine being, triggering Third Impact and declares this to be the end of the world.

In a post credits sequence a spear shoots down from the Moon and impales Unit-01 in the middle of its apotheosis, neutralizing it and stopping Third Impact. Kaworu then descends from the Moon in Mark.06, saying that this time, he will show Shinji true happiness.

And that was Evangelion 2.22 You can (Not) Advance, and honestly I love it, if you can only watch one of the rebuilds make it this one, its definitely the strongest of the rebuilds in terms of new content, ideas and characters while still maintaining its identity as Evangelion. The next film we'll be looking at Evangelion 3.33 is far more controversial due to its split from the known continuity. But for now we'll end on the high note that was this film.