Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Hideaki Anno/Masayuki/Kazuya TsurumakiRelease Date(s)
2007 (October 21, 2025)Studio(s)
Studio Khara (Shout! Studios/GKIDS)- Film/Program Grade: A-
- Video Grade: A-
- Audio Grade: A-
- Extras Grade: C-
Review
Are you sitting comfortably? Then let us begin discussing Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Ah, but where to begin? And which Neon Genesis Evangelion are we talking about anyway? Also, which revision of which version are we talking about? Creator Hideaki Anno is one of those artists who is never satisfied with what he’s already done, so he’s repeatedly gone back and tinkered with things along the way. He eventually made the unusual step of starting over from scratch and rebuilding the original material into something completely different, but Anno being Anno, he’s even tweaked and revised the rebuilds. Woody Allen once joked that a relationship is like a shark: it has to constantly keep moving forward or it dies. If that’s true, then Anno’s relationship with Evangelion will never die, at least until he does. This relationship has been in constant motion for more than a quarter century now.
Neon Genesis Evangelion began life as a television series consisting of 26 episodes that were originally broadcast in Japan from 1995-1996. It was followed by two different theatrical features, Evangelion: Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion, both of them released in 1997. The former provided a recap of the events of the series, incorporating some new material along the way, while the latter offered a drastically revised version of the events of the final two episodes. Much of the footage added to Rebirth was later incorporated into director’s cut versions of episodes 21-24 of the series, and the film was revised into the simplified Evangelion: Death (True), which was itself revised yet again into its final(?) form Evangelion: Death (True)². Surprisingly enough, The End of Evangelion has remained relatively static, although it’s still a shock to the system to anyone familiar with episodes 25 and 26 of the series.
Despite the perpetually mutating nature of this material (and arguably because of the fact that it never seems to stay still), Neon Genesis Evangelion remains one of the most influential and popular franchises in the history of Japanese animation. Evangelion revitalized the giant robot genre by not really being about mecha at all. Many of the tropes are still there, and on the surface, the basic concept does appear to be about giant robots battling kaiju from space. Yet neither the robots nor the monsters are what they appear to be. Instead, the show is a meditation on the nature of humanity, steeped in metaphysical speculation.
Evangelion takes place in the years following a global cataclysm called the Second Impact. The agency NERV has been tasked with using giant creations called Evas to protect humanity from the incursion of creatures called Angels, and to prevent the possibility of a Third Impact. The Evas require synchronization with human pilots, and three children are initially chosen for the task: Rei, Asuka, and Shinji, the latter of whom happens to be the estranged son of NERV’s director Gendo Ikari. Yet everything in service of a far darker goal for mankind: the Human Instrumentality Project.
That basic concept provided a framework for Anno to explore the psychology of these children, and by extension, his own mental difficulties as well; the entire production became therapy for him after suffering from depression. He put different aspects of himself into each of the children, with Shinji as the primary focus. Shinji wants to run away from everything because he struggles to find acceptance; his issues with others is a reflection of his inability to accept himself. As another character explains later, Shinji suffers from the Hedgehog’s Dilemma: the closer that he gets to other people, the more that they hurt each other. He doesn’t know how to express his feelings, and has to deal with social awkwardness as well as his burgeoning adolescent sexual awkwardness. The universal nature of all of that is one reason why Evangelion has had such longevity.
Still sitting comfortably? Because this is all far from over. Beginning in 2007, Anno launched a series of four films known collectively as Rebuild of Evangelion. His original intention was to introduce the world of Evangelion to new audiences, reworking most of the material from the original series and films while eventually taking things into new directions for the finale. Needless to say, nothing ended up being quite that simple, including the process of making the films. It proved to be a tumultuous period for Anno, with his focus divided between this project and others like Shin Gojira, so the final film didn’t reach the screens until 2021. His overall plan also changed during that time, and while the first installment does mirror the events of the series, everything shifted dramatically after that. The Rebuild of Evangelion isn’t so much a rebuild as it is a complete reimagination of the entire concept.
The initial film Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone was released in 2007, and for the most part it does provide a condensed recap of the first six episodes of the series. The overall narrative generally follows the same events, although it advances some of the mythology a little more quickly, and it takes a major jump near the end by introducing a character who didn’t appear until much later during the series. Considering the significance of this character, it was a bold way to warn audiences to be ready for anything. Interestingly enough, some of the changes that were to come were as much the results of practical considerations as anything else. The series had been shot on 16mm film, so the original animation couldn’t be reused alongside new material without having it stand out like a sore thumb, and the original assets like the cels and other artwork weren’t always available or in adequate condition. As a result, all of the animation was recreated from scratch following the original designs, but once everything had to be reanimated anyway, that opened the door for reimagining all of it as well. The changes began as baby steps, but as the series of films progressed, it would eventually result in some quantum leaps.
Oh, and the shark still kept moving forward: the theatrical release Evangelion: 1.0 was revised for DVD as Evangelion: 1.01, and revised again into version 1.11 for Blu-ray. Most of the changes were cosmetic, although a few minor scenes were added as well. You didn’t think that this was going to be easy, did you?
Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone was animated digitally using a combination of hand-drawn 2D elements and full 3D elements, with the final results rendered as a 2K Digital Intermediate (although like some Japanese animation from the era, it may have been rendered at 1080p instead). Evangelion: 1.11 was matted at 1.85:1 for its theatrical release, but it’s been opened up to full-frame 1.78:1 here. Presumably this is the same 1080p master that Funimation used for their 2007 Blu-ray, which is more than adequate because it’s a fine rendering of a film that was produced using digital animation that’s not quite up to today’s standards. It generally retains a 2D look throughout (although there are telltale signs of 3D animation in some of the hardware and architecture on display), but where the 3D animation really shines is in rendering the revised Angels, which are more visually complex than they were in the original series. There’s some light aliasing and/or jaggies visible at the edges of some objects and text, but I didn’t observe any banding or other artifacts like that (although to be fair, projectors are less prone to banding than flat panels). It’s not the sharpest or cleanest animation available on the format, but most of that is result of the dated technology that was used, so there’s nothing significant to complain about here.
Audio is offered in Japanese 6.1 Dolby TrueHD and English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, with optional English SDH subtitles for the English dialogue (i.e., dubtitles), plus English and Spanish subtitles for the Japanese dialogue. The Funimation release offered 6.1 for the English audio as well, and the reason for the downgrade to 5.1 is that this version uses the more recent Amazon English dub—which has been pretty controversial among fans, so caveat emptor. Personally, I can’t imagine watching Evangelion without the original Japanese voice actors, so I’m pleased to announce that unlike Funimation’s disc, this one defaults to Japanese with English subtitles. (There are probably differences with the subtitles as well, but those are less egregious than the differences with the English dialogue.)
In any event, it’s a lively mix that takes full advantage of all available channels—in the scenes set at NERV headquarters, staff members can be heard speaking from all around the room, surrounding the listener in the chaotic environments. That extends to the action scenes as well, where the mass destruction expands all across the soundstage. There’s plenty of bass extension as well, and some powerful dynamics that sell the impact of giant monsters and robots wreaking havoc around Neo Tokyo. The dialogue integrates well into the soundstage (in the Japanese version, anyway) and Shirō Sagisu’s iconic score sounds wonderful. It’s a great mix.
The GKIDS/Shout! Studios Blu-ray release of Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone) comes with a striking embossed silver slipcover and a 16-page booklet that appears to be a reconfigured version of the one that was included with the Funimation set, with most of the same information (although it does include a chapter list and an edited/additional shot list that wasn’t in the Funimation booklet). The following extras are included:
- Rebuild of Evangelion: 1.01 (Shiro Sagisu Version) (Upscaled SD – 15:44)
- Rebuild of Evangelion: 1.01 (Joseph-Maurice Ravel Version) (Upscaled SD – 15:44)
- Angel of Doom Promotional Music Video (Upscaled SD – 2:19)
- Theatrical Teaser 1 (HD – :18)
- Theatrical Teaser 2 (HD – :35)
- Beautiful World Trailer (HD – 1:35)
- Beautiful World Trailer A (HD – 1:35)
- Beautiful World Trailer B (HD – 1:35)
- TV Spots:
- Theatrical TV Spot A (Upscaled SD – :16)
- Theatrical TV Spot B (Upscaled SD – :16)
- Theatrical TV Spot A (Upscaled SD – :31)
- Theatrical TV Spot B (Upscaled SD – :31)
- Special Edition DVD TV Spot A (Upscaled SD – :16)
- Special Edition DVD TV Spot B (Upscaled SD – :16)
- Special Edition DVD TV Spot A (Upscaled SD – :31)
- Special Edition DVD TV Spot B (Upscaled SD – :31)
- Standard Edition DVD TV Spot A (Upscaled SD – :16)
- Standard Edition DVD TV Spot B (Upscaled SD – :16)
- Standard Edition DVD TV Spot A (Upscaled SD – :31)
- Standard Edition DVD TV Spot B (Upscaled SD – :31)
- Rental DVD TV Spot (Upscaled SD – :16)
- Rental DVD TV Spot (Upscaled SD – :31)
So... that’s a lot of trailers. The only other extras are the music video and the two Rebuild of Evangelion 1.01, both of which are identical except for the music. The first one uses Shirō Sagisu’s familiar score, while the second one substitutes Ravel’s Bolero instead. Regardless, they’re animation breakdowns that compare layouts, pencil sketches, and rough animation to the final versions. The only thing missing here from Funimation’s Blu-ray is a set of unrelated trailers for other titles from their catalogue, but Funimation also didn’t include the various TV spots on this release, so GKIDS definitely has the edge there. The only other thing that’s missing from previous versions is the Explanation of Evangelion extra that appeared on a few overseas releases, but to the best of my knowledge it has never been included on a North American release. It’s an alternate version of the film that adds large white explanatory captions over establishing shots.
It’s great to have Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone back in print, and while from my perspective this GKIDS release has a slight edge over the Funimation version, your own mileage may vary. If you hate the new Amazon English dub, this may not be the Evangelion: 1.11 for you. But if you prefer the Japanese voice actors like I do, then this is a no-brainer for anyone who never picked up the out-of-print Funimation disc. The entire Rebuild of Evangelion has been controversial enough among fans due to all the changes that it makes, but 1.11 follows the events from the television series closely enough that it’s easy to recommend for any fan of the saga, in any of its iterations.
-Stephen Bjork
(You can follow Stephen on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd).