Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone. is a 2007 American animated science fiction action film, written and chiefly directed by TBA. It is the first installment of the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy, based on the animated television series Neon Genesis Evangelion. The story, which is set in the futuristic city of Tokyo-3 fifteen years after a planetary catastrophe known as the Second Impact, focuses on Shinji Ikari, a boy who is recruited by the special agency Nerv to pilot a giant mecha known as an Eva unit and fight, along with fellow pilot Rei Ayanami, against mysterious beings named Angels. The film features the same cast of voice actors from the original series, including Cam Clarke as Shinji Ikari, Sherry Lynn as Rei Ayanami, and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Misato Katsuragi.

Evangelion: 1.0 was planned to be the first installment of a three-part remake of Neon Genesis Evangelion with about one hundred fifty new cuts; during the production, however, the staff could not reuse the original drawings from the series and had to begin production from scratch. As production went on, the project began to deviate from the original series, introducing differences to the plot and characterization of the characters.

The film, which retraces the plot of the first six episodes of the series, enjoyed a positive reception in United States, grossing about two billion and generating considerable revenue for the home video market. Abroad, Evangelion: 1.0 received a more polarized reception, although generally positive; critics described it as too derivative of the classic series and claimed that it cut important details, while others praised its direction, soundtrack and plot, with particular attention to its use of CGI graphics. The feature film also won accolades, receiving awards at, among others, the Academy Awards.

Plot
In 2015, fifteen years after a global cataclysm is known as the Second Impact, fourteen-year-old Shinji Ikari is summoned to Tokyo-3 by his estranged father Gendo, the commander of the paramilitary organization Nerv. Shinji gets caught in the crossfire between UN forces and a mysterious being called an Angel but is rescued by Captain Misato Katsuragi, who brings him to Nerv headquarters. There, Gendo demands Shinji to pilot Evangelion Unit 01, a giant, humanoid bio-machine, against the Angel. Shinji concedes when Gendo has Rei Ayanami, a wounded Evangelion pilot, prepared to be sent out instead. Shinji loses consciousness during the fight due to injuries inflicted by the Angel on Unit 01, as Evangelion units sympathetically reflect the pain of injuries they sustain onto their pilots. Unit 01 autonomously reactivates and wins the fight, destroying the Angel. After the battle, Misato becomes Shinji's guardian and he is enrolled in a local middle school. When another Angel arrives, Shinji's classmates Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida sneak out of their emergency shelter to watch the battle. Still, the Angel throws Unit 01 onto a mountainside, nearly crushing them. Misato has the two take cover in Unit 01's cockpit and orders Shinji to retreat, but he ignores the orders and destroys the enemy with Unit 01's knife. After Misato scolds him for insubordination, Shinji wanders off and is recovered by Nerv agents before being brought back to her.

The Sixth Angel appears, but when Shinji is sent out to attack it in Unit 01, the Angel fires a powerful laser, critically injuring him, before beginning to drill into Tokyo-3 to reach Nerv headquarters. He wakes up from a coma several hours later, and Rei tells him that she will take his place for the operation to stop the Angel, and leaves to do it alone. Misato shows Shinji what the Angels are trying to reach: a white anthropomorphic giant kept at the bottom of Nerv headquarters, the Second Angel, Lilith, which upon contact with one of the attacking Angels will result in the deaths of all of the life on Earth. Shinji agrees to pilot Unit 01 alongside Rei in Unit 00, wielding an experimental positron cannon, which requires the entire electrical power output of Japan to power, like a sniper rifle, and successfully destroys the Angel. Rei is nearly killed defending Shinji from Angel's return fire, but he saves her by cooling Unit 00 in water and prying open its cockpit using Unit 01's knife. Rei, normally cold and emotionless, shares a smile with him.

On the surface of the Moon, a boy named Kaworu Nagisa awakens from one of nine coffin-like containers arranged on the ground. In a pit in front of him, surrounded by construction equipment and scaffolding is an unidentified giant wearing a purple seven-eyed mask and wrapped in white bandages. A black monolith appears through which he and Seele 01 engage in a cryptic conversation. Looking towards Earth, Kaworu says that "the third one" has not changed and that he looks forward to meeting Shinji.

Voice cast
Main article: List of Neon Genesis Evangelion characters

Production
TBA did not rely on Bear Bones, the studio that produced Evangelion ten years earlier, to produce the film. He wanted to create something new and felt he could not do so at Bear Bones, thinking that the studio would make him stick to "the same framework and the same tracks". He also said that he intended to respect the spirit of the original series in this way: "Without looking back, without admiration for the circumstances, we aim to walk towards the future". Ōtsuki proposed the deal to different companies; however, according to him, there were not many studios willing to work on an Evangelion continuation. He found a number of candidate studios, but none decided to join the project. Although the movie End of Evangelion (1997) was produced by Bear Bones Productions and Bear Bones Australia, Anno decided to hold all the legal rights to the Evangelion continuation project, saying the efforts of the staff of the original series were not adequately rewarded, and the creation of a new company would allow for a fairer distribution of profits.