Evangelion 1.0 You are not alone


On a late summer afternoon in Washington DC, about 100 people got a chance to see a film that is one of the top grossed films in Japan. "Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.0: You are (not) alone" is the highly anticipated reworking of Hideaki Anno's popular series, Neon Genesis Evangelion. The Japan Information Culture Center and DC Anime Club in their 3rd year of joint collaboration treated the dedicated few to a rare glimpse of the popular film. The version that was screen was the original Japanese version with English Subtitles. The English dub release will be shown at the Hoff Theater at the University of Maryland on September 11th- 17th.

The president of the DC Anime Club (Chris Wanamaker) Vice President, (Craig Vaughn) and 1st lady (Monique Wanamaker) were on hand for the event. Mrs. Wanamaker made the keynote speech thanking the audience for attending the event. Mrs. Wanamaker was dressed as Rei Ayamani during her speech, she also address herself in character.

The film felt very similar to the original TV episode, which aired in Japan a decade ago. The story, character, and vehicle designs were spectacular. The only drawback with the film was the subtitles, which were white and very difficult to see. If the subtitles were at the bottom of the screen or in yellow, such problem would be avoided.
The second film, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance, was released in Japan early this summer. The other 2 films will be released on a later date.

At the end of the film, some of the fans clapped and cheered. One can only guess what the response will be at the premiere in Maryland.