History Awesome / RebuildofEvangelion

!! ''3.0: You Can (Not) Redo''

!! ''1.0: You Are (Not) Alone''

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!! ''2.0: You Can (Not) Advance''

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!! ''3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time''

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!! ''Meta''

!! ''3.0+1.0''

** Those who watched the series first probably assumed Shinji [[spoiler:had lost consciousness]] as he did in the original--and for good reason, since the EVA has gone berserk and it's wiping the floor with the Angel's ass. Then [[spoiler:the camera shows the entry plug...and we can see Shinji is both still conscious and still ''piloting the EVA''. On top of that, he delivers probably the most epic BadassBoast in the entire series: "''I don't care what happens to me! I don't even care what happens to ''the world''! I am bringing Rei back--'''even if it's the last thing I ever do!'''''"]] At that point, the HolyShitQuotient ''went off the charts''.

* Granted, they still got their butts kicked, but it was ''this'' version of Shinji, Asuka, and Rei that took on Godzilla in ''Ride/GodzillaVsEvangelionTheReal4D''--and survive. Granted, they didn't win, and that's mostly because Godzilla was really after King Ghidorah, but they survived with little, if at all any, damage to them or the [=EVAs=] and managed to put up a decent fight. This is especially impressive given the Godzilla they fought is the one from ''Film/ShinGodzilla'', one of the more scary incarnations of the creature. More to the point, though, while they didn't stop Godzilla, they did team up with him to stop Ghidorah, with Shinji even managing to stab the Golden Demise.

* Granted, they still got their butts kicked, but it was ''this'' version of Shinji, Asuka, and Rei that took on Godzilla in ''Ride/GodzillaVsEvangelionTheReal4D''--and survive. Granted, they didn't win, and that's mostly because Godzilla was really after King Ghidorah, but they survived with little, if at all any, damage to them or the [=EVAs=] and managed to put up a decent fight. This is especially impressive given the Godzilla they fought is the one from ''Film/ShinGodzilla'', one of the more scary incarnations of the creature.

* Granted, they still got their butts kicked, but it was ''this'' version of Shinji, Asuka, and Rei that took on Godzilla in ''Ride/GodzillaVsEvangelionTheReal4D''--and survive. Granted, they didn't win, and that's mostly because Godzilla was really after King Ghidorah, but they survived with little, if at all any, damage to them or the [=EVAs=]. This is specially impressive given the Godzilla they fought is the one from ''Film/ShinGodzilla'', one of the more scary incarnations of the creature.

* Creator/FUNimation earns theirs for bringing back many of the major ''Evangelion'' dub [=VAs=] to reprise their iconic roles. Creator/SpikeSpencer was still doing voice work before ''Rebuild'', but worked out of Los Angeles, so no one could've expected him to reprise his role, let alone improve upon it with years of experience gained after his work on the series and ''End of Evangelion''. The most impressive return was Allison Keith, the voice of Misato: She hadn't done any voice acting in a long time, having taken on a job as a teacher, but her ''Rebuild'' work is as great as--if not greater than--her ''Evangelion'' days.

** Mari goes full-on OneManArmy against a swarm of [[AttackDrone Evangelion 44As]] as WILLE attempts to restore Paris while being protected by [[CoolBoat literal flying battleships]]. When she seems to have won, [[spoiler:the [[EldritchAbomination Evangelion]] [[FourIsDeath 4444C]] appears and near-completely wrecks WILLE's shit. How is it defeated? The Wunder throws a downed battleship towards the 4444C for a distraction, while Mari finishes it off with ''the upper half of the [[MonumentalDamage Eiffel Tower'']].]]

* The first 10 minutes of footage are sorts of kickass.
** Mari goes full-on OneManArmy against an swarm of [[AttackDrone Evangelion 44As]] as WILLE attempts to restore Paris while being protected by [[CoolBoat literal flying battleships]]. When she seems to have won, [[spoiler:the [[EldritchAbomination Evangelion]] [[FourIsDeath 4444C]] appears and near-completely wrecks WILLE's shit. How is it defeated? The Wunder throws a downed battleship towards the 4444C for a distraction, while Mari finishes it off with ''the upper half of the [[MonumentalDamage Eiffel Tower'']].]]

** Mari goes full-on OneManArmy against an swarm of [[FutureCopter Evangelion 44As]] as WILLE attempts to restore Paris while being protected by [[CoolBoat literal flying battleships]]. When she seems to have won, [[spoiler:the [[EldritchAbomination Evangelion]] [[FourIsDeath 4444C]] appears and near-completely wrecks WILLE's shit. How is it defeated? The Wunder throws a downed battleship towards the 4444C for a distraction, while Mari finishes it off with ''the upper half of the [[MonumentalDamage Eiffel Tower'']].

* WILLE [[spoiler:restoring Paris and its old NERV branch to retrieve Evangelion parts and munitions. Features gorgeous amounts of SceneryPorn as the red core is removed.]] Also doubles as a SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoment.

** Mari goes full-on OneManArmy against an swarm of [[FutureCopter Evangelion 44As]] as WILLE attempts to restore Paris while being protected by [[CoolBoat literal flying battleships]]. When she seems to have won, [[spoiler:the [[EldritchAbomination Evangelion]] [[FourIsDeath 4444C]] appears and near-completely wrecks WILLE's shit. How is it defeated? [[spoiler:The Wunder throws a downed battleship towards the 4444C for a distraction, while Mari finishes it off with ''the upper half of the [[MonumentalDamage Eiffel Tower]]'']].
* WILLE [[spoiler:restoring Paris and its old NERV branch to retrieve Evangelion parts and munitions. Features gorgeous amounts of SceneryPorn as the red core is removed.]] Also doubles as a HeartwarmingMoment.

*** And this all leads to the CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming when Shinji rescues her from the smoldering wreckage of Unit-00.

* With the fight against Sahaquiel, you can truly feel the power of the Evangelions when you see them destroying highways ''by simply running over them'' and jumping over two power lines ''in a single leap''. And when you think this can't get better, the Angel changes course and Unit-01 has to use some kind of elevated bend ''to change direction''. By now, the whole scene and [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome music]] has reduced you to tears...and then Shinji uses his AT field--his rarefied sense of self in physical form--to cancel out his EVA's wind resistance. ''A giant robot the size of Godzilla breaks the sound barrier.''

** Despite the ''Rebuild'' moniker, some things don't change: Rei is still perfectly happy to put herself on the line and protect Shinji (and everyone in general), this time with a damn ''space shuttle'' as a shield. She's a DeathSeeker, sure, but she's still a BadAss.

** In all honesty...[[MemeticMutation Shinji is like a panda in this world]]. What do pandas do? They look sad--right up until [[BewareTheNiceOnes you piss them off]]. Shinji isn't ''just'' a {{Badass}} [[MemeticMutation sad panda]], though--he became ''so'' badass that he [[spoiler:''turned his EVA into a god '''by willing it to happen'''''.]] There is a reason [[FanNickname some fans call him]] [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Simonji]] now, and this scene is that reason.

* [[strike:Gainax]] Khara earns one for [[JustForPun rebuilding]] Shinji into less of a wuss (and kind of a BadAss) compared to his series counterpart.

Shinji, sitting in Unit-13 for the first time (and otherwise being more or less a complete rookie), [[spoiler:goes up against Asuka in her Unit-0'. Asuka has over a decade-and-a-half of piloting experience...and Shinji still {{No Sell}}s everything she throws at him until she runs out of power]]. Even then, Asuka seems more pissed over [[WouldHitAGirl him actually hitting her]] than about him completely kicking her ass.\\

* New-to-the-franchise EVA pilot [[BaseBreaker Mari]] gets a few of her own:

** In all honesty...[[MemeticMutation Shinji is like a panda in this world]]. What do pandas do? They look sad--right up until [[BewareTheNiceOnes you piss them off]]. Shinji isn't ''just'' a {{Badass}} [[MemeticMutation sad panda]], though--he became ''so'' badass that he [[spoiler:''turned his EVA into a god '''by willing it to happen'''''.]] There is a reason [[FanNickname some fans call him]] [[TengenToppaGurrenLagann Simonji]] now, and this scene is that reason.

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* ''1.0'' took one of the most boring fights from the original series--Operation Yashima--and made it so awesome that numerous ''Eva'' fans consider the entire movie worth watching for ''this scene alone''.
** Some things don't change: Rei's still perfectly happy to put herself on the line and protect Shinji, and everyone in general. She's a DeathSeeker, sure, but she's still BadAss, see below.

* In her introductory fight, Asuka single-handedly destroys an Angel by dropping out of a plane, then kicking through the Angel's core before she hits the ground.

** "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8TKtgnYyJs You want the other arm?]] Then take it! Just... FUCKING... DIIIIEEE!"
** After an enthusiastic and futile solo assault, Mari manages to revive a mangled Unit-2 long enough to help Rei and Unit-0 get through Zeruel's AT Field.

** For that matter, pretty much her entire fight with Zeruel, summed up in one line "'''POINT BLANK, SHITHEAD!'''"
** "Modo hanten! Ura codo: '''[[PreAssKickingOneliner ZA BEASTO!]]'''" (In the dub: "Invert Controls! Backdoor code: '''THE BEAST'''!")
** During the fight with Zeruel, Mari finds Shinji and all but tells him to stop feeling sorry for himself. What makes this moment awesome? '''It works'''.
* The fight against Sahaquiel in Rebuild of Evangelion: you get to feel the power of the Evangelions when you see them destroying highways ''by simply running over it'' and jumping over two power lines ''in a single leap''. And just when you thought this couldn't get better, the Angel changes course and Eva-01 has to use some kind of elevated bend ''just to change direction''. By now, the whole scene and [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome music]] reduced you to tears. And then Shinji uses his AT field--his rarefied sense of self in physical form--to cancel out his EVA's wind resistance... ''and a giant robot the size of Godzilla breaks the sound barrier.''

* In the anime, Shinji crushes [[spoiler:and cripples Toji]], then threatens to destroy NERV Headquarters after getting locked in the loading bay. In the manga, he tries to start his job at the docking bay before Gendo raises Unit-01's LCL compression. In ''Rebuild'', [[{{FridgeBrilliance}} Shinji manages to level a good chunk of NERV Headquarters]], set the fields around NERV headquarters on fire, and start ''stomping on the pyramid'' (as he points out that he has at least four minutes on the clock--enough time to destroy half of NERV Headquarters) until Gendo raises Unit-01's LCL compression.
* "Give Ayanami... '''back to me'''!" At this point, the fandom officially '''stopped''' making fun of Shinji.
** The dub gives Shinji an even better line in a creepier voice: "I want Rei... '''give her back!'''"

** Those who watched the TV series first probably assumed that, after this point, Shinji [[spoiler:had lost consciousness]] like in the original. And for good reason, since the EVA has gone berserk and it's wiping the floor with the angel's ass. However, [[spoiler:the camera shows the entry plug and we can see that Shinji, not only is still conscious, but he's still '''piloting'''! And on top of that, he delivers probably the most epic BadassBoast in the entire series: "''I don't care what happens to me... I don't care what happens to the world... I will save Ayanami, EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!!''"]] By that point, the HolyShitQuotient is ''off the charts''!
** If you believe Shinji still controls Unit-01 at this point (and he hasn't driven it into berserk mode through sheer force of will), then you can consider what he accomplishes in this scene as nothing short of remarkable: Acting purely on instinct, Shinji becomes the first person to [[spoiler:wield the full power of an Evangelion '''at will'''. He uses Unit-01's AT Field to create a replacement limb for the one Zeruel blasted off, then unleashes EyeBeams that only the Angels had used up until this point. Those beams annihilate Zeruel's multi-layered AT Field '''in one shot'''.]] If you ever wanted to see what the Evangelions can do beyond hitting, knifing, or shooting things, Shinji answers all of your prayers.
** In all honesty... [[MemeticMutation Shinji is like a panda in this brave new world]]. What do pandas do? They look sad--right up until [[BewareTheNiceOnes you piss them off]], and they start [[spoiler:shooting FrickinLaserBeams out of their eyes, and ''rip you apart with '''their bare hands!''''']] Do '''not''' make Shinji a sad panda. [[OhCrap You wouldn't like him when he's a sad panda]].
*** To summarize the above entries, Shinji isn't ''just'' a {{Badass}} [[MemeticMutation sad panda]]--he's ''so'' badass, he [[spoiler:turned his EVA into a god '''by sheer force of will'''.]] There is a reason that [[FanNickname some fans call him]] [[TengenToppaGurrenLagann Simonji]] now.

** The moment just before Unit-01's [[spoiler:ascension to godhood]], this exchange happens between Shinji and Rei:
--->'''Rei:''' "It's fine, Ikari-kun. Even if I disappear, [[SendInTheClones I'll be replaced.]] I'll be replaced."
--->'''Shinji:''' "You're wrong! There's no other Ayanami but you! That's why I'll definitely save you!"
*** The dubbed line further enforces just how few shits Shinji gives about any obstacle standing between Rei and himself:
---->'''Shinji:''' "You're wrong! You're the only Rei there is! And I'm saving you! ''Right now!''"
*** Shinji reaffirmed Rei's worth as a person and declared that he would save her even if he has no idea '''how''' to save her. For all intents and purposes, he told the outlook of [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion the television series]] ''to suck it''.
* [[TheStinger Kaworu]] appears at the end of the film with Unit-06 and the (Not) Lance of Longinus to '''save the world'''; given his role in the original series, this act becomes beautifully ironic.
** And why is Shinji doing all this? Because just like first time round Rei makes a big HeroicSacrifice attempt to stop the Angel, not with a N2 mine but a huge ass missile. And her reason, if she kills them all that means Shinji will never have to pilot again, is pretty damn heroic. Then she thanks Mari for her help and orders her to retreat. All in that super calm voice of hers, but being [[TheStoic Rei]] she's ''growling'' in comparison.

* The second teaser for 3.0. [[spoiler:[=EVAs=] IN SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!!!]]

* The final battle outdoes absolutely EVERYTHING seen so far in the series: [[spoiler:Unit-02 and Unit-08]] versus [[spoiler:a godlike Unit-13 assisted by the Mark.09]].
** Shinji, sitting in Unit-13 for the first time and otherwise being more or less a complete rookie, [[spoiler:solos Asuka in her Unit-0' with literally over a decade and a half of piloting experience... and {{No Sell}}s everything she throws at him until she runs out of power]]. Even then, Asuka seems more pissed at the fact that he WouldHitAGirl than getting her ass handed to her.
** [[spoiler:Unit-13 eats the Twelfth Angel and immediately goes into the [[SuperMode same state]] Unit-01 was in during Shinji's UnstoppableRage against Zeruel: It turns completely white, grows a pair of wing-like protrusions from its VerticalMechaFins and not one but two halos]]. Even better, you can clearly see the [[OhCrap fear]] on Asuka's face when it happens; Mari's reaction is more along the lines of ThisIsGonnaSuck. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxgY_gP7IuU The music during the scene]] [[{{AwesomeMusic/NeonGenesisEvangelion}} doesn't help either]].
** As Shinji [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizes the true magnitude of his actions]], [[spoiler:the Wunder RAMS INTO THE EVA and fires a point-blank barrage that fails to cause any damage. At this point, the Mark.09 flies in with its own halos, {{Eye Beam}}ing the ship several times before the Mark.09 latches on and almost manages to hijack it from its own crew until Asuka rejoins the fray. After an ineffective ranged attack, the Mark.09 retaliates with an EyeBeam that Asuka not only dodges but uses the blast wave of to proper herself at her opponent and ''engage Beast Mode in mid-air''. She then proceeds to catch another Eye Beam with Unit-02's mouth, slap aside a third one then ''rip out the enemy Eva's throat with her Eva's teeth''; the Mark.09 however immediately regenerates and tries to do the same with Unit-02... only for Asuka to apologize to her Eva and arm the self-destruct before ejecting.]] Oh, and the music during this entire sequence? [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI82vaqdVyI The Wrath of God in All Its Glory]].
** And before she does that, she's able to get [[spoiler: Rei-Q]] out of her identity crisis, in the ''middle of the fight''.
-->[[spoiler:'''Rei-Q''': [[LossOfIdentity What would Rei Ayanami do?]]]]
-->'''Asuka''': Like I'd know, [[BeYourself what would ''you'' do]]?
-->[[spoiler:''Cut to Rei-Q ejecting from the Mark-09'']]
** Even better, Asuka does not [[spoiler: sacrifice Unit 02 because she's worried about losing to the Mark.09, but because she just doesn't have the time to kill it the normal way.]]
** Kaworu [[spoiler:snapping out of his HeroicBSOD by stabbing Unit-13 (and by extension, Shinji and himself) with both spears then [[HeroicSacrifice allowing the]] [[ExplosiveLeash DSS Choker]] [[YourHeadAsplode to decapitate him]]]]. When that doesn't do the trick, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t3H6Y73G9w God's Gift]] kicks in as [[spoiler:Unit-08 '''leaps off of the Geofront after the falling Eva into a sixteen-plus kilometers drop and proceeds to physically tear Shinji's entry plug out of Unit-13, singlehandedly stopping Fourth Impact''']] just as the song gets to the choral part about the world's creation. A more subtle CMOA comes from Mari's words - she doesn't get mad at Shinji for anything more than not standing up for himself. Not about Third Impact, not about his abandoning the Wunder, not even getting mad about him re-entering Eva. And she doesn't kill him - something probably no other character in the movie would have done. Even better, the action is immediately followed by [[spoiler:the Geofront crashing back down onto the Earth, overshadowing Mount Fuji by several orders of magnitude]]. Epic cannot even '''''begin''''' to describe it.

!! ''Miscellaneous''

* Ramiel. Just... Ramiel. It deserves an award for the simple fact that until Shinji shoots it, it's absolutely blowing through anything and everything without effort. It predicts Unit-01's arrival and shoots it in the chest. When a shield comes up, it simply shifts over to another, even more powerful beam, and blasts the shield apart effortlessly. In an odd way, it almost seems to have a twisted sense of humor with its action. Until it gets shot, snaps, and proceeds to ''melt his way through a God-damn '''mountain''' '' to get at Shinji.
** The particle cannon he was shot with deserves a mention too. It's a weapon that harnesses the power output of an entire nation to contain a great lump of antimatter that blasts through an AT field--one that's powerful enough to bend visible light--in a single hit! In the original NGE it also one-shots Ramiel. In Rebuild he took two hits, which again warrants another Crowning Moment of Awesome. He gets hit with the power output of an entire nation and lived! Course then it gets subverted and the second hit kills him.
** Rebuild!Ramiel really shows how far Evangelion as a franchise has come, as in the original it was just a [[{{MemeticMutation}} cool square]] but as of Rebuild, it was a force to be reckoned with.
* Shinji: He gets one at the end of the movie, where [[spoiler:despite being fried by Ramiel and being in intense pain, he gets back up. This, after Shinji spent most of the movie running away and crying / being depressed, had [[{{Guessmyname}} this editor]] cheering.]] Misato's speech of confidence (to ''Gendo'') also deserves a mention.
** And Rei gets a Crowning Moment when she jumps in front of one of Ramiel's blasts to protect Shinji, using a fricking '''space shuttle''' as a shield. Which leads to a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming when Shinji rescues her from the smoldering wreckage of Unit-00.
*** Let's just face it, the entire Ramiel battle (both original and Rebuild versions) is MadeOfWin.
* Rebuild is the gift that keeps on giving. In Rebuild 2.0, [[AwesomeMcCoolname Mari Illustrious Makinami's]] [[Creator/MaayaSakamoto VA]] was an entire CrowningMomentOfAwesome for [[GXNext this troper]], the fact that she almost casually destroys the 5th Angel while singing a little tune [[FridgeBrilliance (about finding your own Happiness no less)]], is shown having a phone conversation in ''Surprisingly Good English'' [[RuleofThree and]] was able to go from creepy to cool without missing a beat was so awesome that it made me shed [[{{Squee}} Manly Tears]].
** Mari never fought the Fifth Angel, I presume you're talking about her debut fight against the Third. They changed around the order a bit, taking a lot of 'em out while adding a couple more. But yes, Mari is truly amazing in both of her fights. Total shame that Interim Unit-05 [[spoiler: was destroyed ([[EpilepticTrees apparently sabotaged]]) in its first sortee]]. That thing was ''damn'' cool, even for an Eva.
* Asuka's entrance and brief fight with "[[FanNickname Clockiel]]". After harpoon shots are blocked by the Angel's AT Field, her Eva performs a kick, complete with her trademark battle cry, using the harpoons to break through the AT Field and ''pierce clean through the Angel's head'', spearing the core in the process.
* Remember when Shinji threatened to attack NERV headquarters, after the whole thing with Toji and Unit 03/the thirteenth Angel? In Rebuild Shinji takes this to its logical conclusion by actually attempting to tear down the headquarters when Asuka is the one stuck in Unit 03 while he's being forced to [[DisneyDeath "Murder"]] her. HolyShitQuotient be damned.
** Not only that, [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge he actually would've succeeded]], if not for Gendo ordering that the plug pressure be ramped up until Shinji passed out.
* Zeruel. In Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion it was a torso with toilet paper arms. In Rebuild, Zeruel lives up to the title of "Angel of Might", being wrapped in flattened tentacles, using an AT-Field with DOZENS of layers, [[spoiler: surviving an N2 bomb at point blank range without its AT-Field, and actually -eating- Rei and Unit 00 to transform into a [[HumanoidAbomination new and disturbing form]].]]
** Zeruel approaches Tokyo-3; like all the other Angels, he's bombarded by gunfire and missiles but they don't have any effect. But unlike the other Angels, it takes just one attack from Zeruel to pierce through all 24 layers of armor below the city. That's right, Zeruel completely breaches the Geofront's strongest shields ''with just '''one''' attack''. Even the original series' Zeruel wasn't that powerful.
* Early in the battle with Zeruel, [[BloodKnight Mari Makinami]], in command of Unit [[spoiler: 02]] (it's a long story) and gets it to go into its berserker state (which looks disturbingly similar to the Mass-Production Eva's from ''End of Evangelion'' (or [[Spider-Man {{Carnage}}]]) first smashing the multiple AT-Fields of her opponent with appalling ease then to tear down the same with her Eva's maw to let Rei get a shot at it with a nuke. Of course, as in the original series, it doesn't work, but it's still pretty awesome to watch, and is practically a [=CMOA=] for the animation team as well. She then goes on to give Shinji the RousingSpeech leading to his-and (at of this writing) arguably Rebuild’s greatest Crowning Moment.
** Say it with me: [[spoiler: Invert Mode! Code: THE BEAST!]]
** Shinji/Unit 01 versus Zeruel, which has consumed Rei/Unit 00 and can now access Terminal Dogma without triggering the self-destruction of the base. [[BigDamnHero Shinji saves Misato and everyone else at HQ with a punch to Zeruel.]] Fights inside NERV HQ and out despite losing an arm. Fights until his EVA loses power, as it did in the original. And then, instead of the Eva going berserk and fighting on its own a la 400% synch rate, manages to start the Eva up again with the power of his own will, and controls it the whole time.
** Three very terse words: "Give Ayanami back!". Cue a beatdown of divine proportions and a "TakeMyHand" scene that is as badass as it is touching.
** [[PunctuatedForEmphasis He. Became.]] ''[[AGodAmI GOD]]''. I don't really think I need to extrapolate on this, but... words just can't do it justice. It's... His halo (did I mention the halo of raw energy? Because there's a halo of raw energy) turns into a ''tear in the fabric of reality''. This scene is epic in every sense of the word. It's really a testament to a series when we can look at the protagonist and go from "Well, at least the world isn't -technically- dead" to " ''I can see forever in his EYES!''".
** It has been neglected to mention that Shinji and 01, in Rebuild 2.0, basically [[RocketPunch Rocket Punches]] Zeruel (with an energy arm, no less). As the Rocket Punch-esque attack starts up, Zeruel almost looks like it's in shock that the puny imitation-angel, that it had nearly fatally wounded seconds ago, is now doing things only Angels could do, such as having the power to become either [[Anime/MazingerZ a God or a Devil]].
** IT has also been neglected to mention that, in Rebuild, Unit-01's [[BeehiveBarrier A.T. Field]] takes a full-powered blast from Zeruel's [[WaveMotionGun optic]] [[EyeBeams blast]] ''[[UpToEleven at point-blank range]]'', and makes it look like a kiddie light show. Then, after the aforementioned RocketPunch, Shinji and Unit-01 let loose with an EyeBeam of their own, which ''[[CurbStompBattle completely trashes Zeruel's A.T. Field]]'' instantly, and nearly slices [[TheJuggernaut said Angel]] in ''two''.
** And then Shinji decides to [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl tear out Rei's soul]] while simultaneously delivering a OneHitKill to finish his opponent off.
** To put it simply, [[http://www.absoluteanime.com/neon_genesis_evangelion/shinji.jpg this]] is Shinji normally. [[http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/13820130/images/1297141586265.jpg THIS]] is Shinji on [[TengenToppaGurrenLagann spiral power]].
*** Heck, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwSm9uVauyo just watch the damn thing]].
* Hell, this time around Shinji's not as much of a wuss and kind of BadAss. That's a CrowningMomentOfAwesome on the part of [[strike:Gainax]] Khara. Truly a CrowningMomentOfAwesome that will be forever etched in this Troper's mind.
* Am I the only one who thought that Shinji declaring he was he pilot of Eva-01 to Gendo in the second movie was awesome? More so in the dub, Spike Spencer's voice acting in the original series during this scene sounded like Shinji was unsure, but this time around, it's a full out declaration that sounds filled with determination. Spike really improved significantly. Here's the exchange":
-->'''Shinji:''' "LET ME PILOT IT!" *panting since he just ran all the way to the cage* "Please, please, you have to let me pilot Unit 01."
-->'''Gendo:'''"What are you doing here?"
-->'''Shinji:''' *clenches fist* "FATHER! IT'S ME! THE PILOT OF EVANGELION UNIT 01, SHINJI IKARI!"
* In a meta sense, many people showed a dislike for [[spoiler: Rei-Q]] due to [[spoiler: her being a replacement for the [[CharacterDevelopment more likeable]] Rei of ''2.22'']], which is '''exactly''' the same reaction that Shinji had by the end of ''3.33''; Anno was really able to make an IntendedAudienceReaction this time around.
* Perhaps most awesome of all, in a meta sense, is how Creator/FUNimation managed to bring on most of the original voice actors of the main characters to reprise their iconic roles. Creator/SpikeSpencer was still doing voice work before ''Rebuild'', but worked out of LA, so no one could've expected him to not only reprise his role, but improve upon it with years of experience gained in the time since dubbing ''End of Evangelion''. Even moreso is Allison Keith, the voice of Misato: she hadn't done any voice acting in a long time, having taken on a job as a teacher. Yet, her Misato is still as great, if not greater, than before!

And just think, there's a fourth one coming. It can only go up.

** It has been neglected to mention that Shinji and 01, in Rebuild 2.0, basically [[RocketPunch Rocket Punches]] Zeruel (with an energy arm, no less). As the Rocket Punch-esque attack starts up, Zeruel almost looks like it's in shock that the puny imitation-angel, that it had nearly fatally wounded seconds ago, is now doing things only Angels could do, such as having the power to become either [[MazingerZ a God or a Devil]].

** If you [[WMG/NeonGenesisEvangelion believe that theory about every incarnation of Evangelion (both in series and in]] ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'') [[WMG/NeonGenesisEvangelion to be canon]] and just [[GroundhogDayLoop further attempts to get it right]], then all that time hanging about with [[Manga/GetterRobo Ryoma Nagare]], [[MazingerZ Koji Kabuto]], [[MobileSuitGundam Amuro Ray]] and other known badass mecha pilots must have paid off.

* The entire fight with Sahaquiel. The change in Sahaquiel's design and upgraded animation with amazing music makes this fight scene absolutely amazing.

* The fight against Sahaquiel in Rebuild of Evangelion: you get to feel the power of the Evangelions when you see them destroying highways ''by simply running over it'' and jumping over two power lines ''in a single leap''. And just when you thought this couldn't get better, the Angel changes course and Eva-01 has to use some kind of elevated bend ''just to change direction''. By now, the whole scene and [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome music]] reduced you to tears. And then Shinji uses his AT field--his rarefied sense of self in physical form--to cancel out his EVA's wind resistance... ''and a giant robot the size of Godzilla breaks the sound barrier.''

* The entire fight with Sahaquiel. The change in Sahaquiel's design and upgraded animation with amazing music makes this fight scene absolutely amazing.

** Some things don't change: Rei's still perfectly happy to put her tits on the line and protect Shinji, or our asses in general. She's a DeathSeeker, sure, but she's still BadAss, see below.