History YMMV / RebuildofEvangelion

* FanPreferredCouple: While the first two movies push for Rei to be Shinji’s ImpliedLoveInterest, many fans have interpreted their relationship (with or without evidence) as familial and prefer the idea of him ending up with Asuka or [[HoYay Kaworu]]. The fact that those two have overtaken Shinji/Rei in terms of popularity has added to this new desired endgame. [[spoiler:All three pairings officially became this when the final movie heavily implied that Shinji and Mari get into a romantic relationship after the conflict is finally resolved.]]

** A lot of fans were disappointed by the new dub track produced by Amazon for the streaming release, in spite of [[RoleReprisal retaining many of the same actors from the]] Creator/{{Funimation}} release (and even getting some actors from the ADV/Manga release of the original series and movies.) While the role reprisals ''themselves'' were widely praised by fans, they also raised the question of why the first three movies needed to be redubbed in the first place given that the Funimation dubs were already widely praised and serviceable, with quite a few fans finding the Amazon dubs to be inferior. The ADR director of the Amazon dubs, Joe Fria, later mentioned that the films were redubbed due to legal issues involving Funimation's dubs.

** In particular, the Amazon Prime dubs vs. the Funimation dubs for ''1.0'' through ''3.0'' are this. Some people praise how the Amazon dubs were able to bring back ''even more'' English voice actors from the TV series, and continue to praise them as very good TruerToTheText English-language translations. Others criticize how they feel "drier" and more awkward, removing iconic lines such as Mari's "Point blank, shithead!" while largely being redundant as they use many of the same voice actors as the Funimation dubs.

* WinBackTheCrowd: After the divisive reception to the 2019 Netflix Dub of the original series (in no small part due to [[TheOtherDarrin abundant recastings]]), many fans were relieved and excited by Spike Spencer, Tiffany Grant, [[TheOriginalDarrin Amanda Winn-Lee,]] and Allison Keith reprising their roles for the Amazon Prime Dub of the ''Rebuild'' series.

* WhatAnIdiot: While it's somewhat understandable that Misato wouldn't want to kill Shinji (because deep down she ''does'' still care for him and is still processing her feelings about her role in the whole mess), not sending someone to keep tabs on him while he's off on his own (like Asuka or Mari) was a serious lapse in judgment.

** When Kaji meets Shinji in ''2.22'' and [[EstablishingCharacterMoment by telling him that gender's got nothing to do with love]], it makes all the more funnier since his current English voice actor, J. Michael Tatum, is gay.

** In the case of [[spoiler:Misato, there's plenty of evidence hinting that she is in fact a WellIntentionedExtremist. Also, despite having a cold tone with Shinji, Misato never actually disparages him or treats him with the same kind of contempt that most members of WILLE do. She also notably still refers to him as "Shinji-kun" in the Japanese version, hinting that her feelings for him have actually not changed at all.[[note]]Misato's use of this particular honorific in regards to Shinji has always been to show a much closer relationship than "Ikari-kun" would[[/note]] Misato also never has a chance to talk with Shinji by herself, so it could be that she is only putting on an act in order to save face with the rest of the crew.]] It's also strongly implied that [[spoiler:the bomb collar was insisted upon by Ritsuko, and that Misato holds the switch to keep the rest of WILLE from killing him in revenge for Near-Third Impact. And as for why she doesn't tell Shinji about what happened to Rei? It's also implied that she's [[YouDoNotWantToKnow preventing him from freaking out over the fact that he didn't actually save her after all]]. We all know what happened later in the film, and it's NOT pretty]].

** In the case of [[spoiler:Misato, there's plenty of evidence hinting that she is in fact a WellIntentionedExtremist. Also, despite having a cold tone with Shinji, Misato never actually disparages him or treats him with the same kind of contempt that most members of WILLE do. She also notably still refers to him as "Shinji-kun" in the Japanese version, hinting that her feelings for him have actually not changed at all.[[note]]Misato's use of this particular honorific in regards to Shinji has always been to show a much closer relationship than "Ikari-kun" would[[/note]] Misato also never has a chance to talk with Shinji by herself, so it could be that she is only putting on an act in order to save face with the rest of the crew.]] It's also strongly implied that [[spoiler:the bomb collar was insisted upon by Ritsuko, and that Misato holds the switch to keep the rest of WILLE from killing him in revenge for Near-Third Impact]].

%% Please do not add any Broken Base, The Scrappy or Base Breaking Character entries regarding "Thrice Upon A Time" until at least six months after the release date, meaning October 8th, 2021. Remember that Broken Base is for prolonged conflicts and that any entries right now are kneejerk reactions.

** [[AdaptationalBadass Professor Kozo Fuyutsuki]] is the BeleagueredAssistant to Gendo Ikari, one of the heads of NERV, and one of the most composed and brilliant characters in the entire cast. Before the Second Impact, Fuyutsuki was the professor to Gendo, Yui, and Mari, and after Yui's soul was absorbed by the Entry Plug System she devised, Fuyutsuki joined Gendo in attempting to enact the Human Instrumentality Project in order to see her again. As cunning as Gendo but more principled and far less obsessive, Fuyutsuki calmly shatters young hero Shinji's mind over a game of ''shogi'' with the AwfulTruth of Rei and his mother, thus manipulating the boy into kickstarting the Third Impact for the purpose of his and Gendo's plans. By the finale, Fuyutsuki is singlehandedly manning NERV's mass-produced Eva military, and proves himself a master strategist and combatant by engaging WILLE's entire army on his own and nearly managing to come out on top. Even when beaten, Fuyutsuki comes to terms with his loss, happily leaving Mari with the means to help stop Instrumentality, and surrenders to degeneration with nothing but dignity.
** [[CuteAndPsycho Mari Makinami Illustrious]] is a confident, flirtatious Evangelion pilot. Introduced tricking NERV into allowing her to pilot the experimental Unit-05, Mari manages to [[AcePilot use the flawed prototype's self-destruct mechanism]] to destroy an Angel. Casually ready to accept death during Near-Third Impact, when she survives Mari joins WILLE to help stop Gendo and NERV, fighting [[PragmaticHero brutally but effectively]] to reclaim land "purified" with L Contamination for humanity to live on once again. Confronting her old mentor Fuyutsuki and having her true name "Mary/Maria (of) Iscariot" revealed, she creates and sacrifices her combined Evangelion to allow Shinji a chance to reset and right the world.

* ReplacementScrappy: Some fans of the original ''NGE'' aren't too happy that merchandise and marketing for the original series was eventually phased out in favor of ''only'' marketing the ''Rebuild'' movies, despite the fact that the original show still completely dwarfs ''Rebuild'' in terms of merchandise due to its age.

** While the film series has received acclaim from critics, fans are more divided over the series. Some enjoyed ''1.11'' for being a visually-improved version of the series, while others were quick to call it a rehash for not deviating enough from the original work. ''2.22'' was liked for changing things up while still featuring what made the original series enjoyable, but detractors felt that it deviated ''too much'' from the source material. ''3.33'' quickly became this upon release. Some like it for returning to the series' plot with a different spin, while others hate it for changing so brutally almost all of the setting and not continuing on the threads ''2.0'' left.

** A lot of fans were disappointed by the new dub track produced by Amazon for the streaming release, in spite of [[RoleReprisal retaining many of the same actors from the]] Creator/{{Funimation}} release (and even getting some actors from the ADV/Manga release of the original series and movies.) While the role reprisals ''themselves'' were widely praised by fans, they also raised the question of why the first three movies needed to be redubbed in the first place given that the Funimation dubs were already widely praised and serviceable, with quite a few fans finding the Amazon dubs to be inferior.

** Asuka, specifically in ''2.22''. While Shinji and Rei keep a lot of the development and backstory they had in the original series, Asuka's role has been stripped down drastically. Her backstory is completely absent, as are some of her quirks such as speaking German and obsessing over Kaji, resulting in a more typical {{tsundere}} character as opposed to the original Asuka's {{deconstruction}} of the concept. Additionally, the infamous MindRape part of her story is reduced to her replacing Toji in the Bardiel incident, which ultimately results in her being absent from the rest of the movie and replaced by Mari as Unit-02's pilot. However, this is one of ''many'' things disputed by the fandom, as some people feel that Asuka's character arc in ''2.0'' is easier to follow and more compelling than in the original series, making her a more sympathetic character.

** Asuka Langley Shikinami. Reactions to her characterization falls into two camps -- she is either hated by people that loved Asuka Langley ''Soryu'', who consider Shikinami a toned down, cookie-cutter version who is more stereotypically {{Tsundere}} and lacks the backstory that made Soryu so compelling, or loved by people that hated the original version of the character, who view Shikinami as more sympathetic and likeable and less of a histrionic wreck, and find that her character development is better-executed than in the original series. There is absolutely a middle ground, but the two stances are so pronounced in the fandom that it's hard to notice. The issue becomes even more complicated with Asuka's ''3.0'' incarnation, where she's much rougher and more of a {{jerkass}} than she ever was before in either continuity but is also a more important and powerful character than in ''2.0''. ''3.0 + 1.0'', to many people, rectified all the aforementioned issues by giving her an even more increased role in the plot while retaining and building on her strengths in the previous two movies, rounding her out both as having TookALevelInBadass from ''2.0'' and as being an AdaptationalBadass compared to the original Soryu. However, this wasn't enough for other fans, who continued to complain about her role being too marginal and her development being less important than in the original show.

** Asuka Langley Shikinami. Reactions to her characterization falls into two camps -- she is either hated by people that loved Asuka Langley ''Soryu'', who consider Shikinami a toned down, cookie-cutter version who is more stereotypically {{Tsundere}} and lacks the backstory that made Soryu so compelling, or loved by people that hated the original version of the character, who view Shikinami as more sympathetic and likeable and less of a histrionic wreck, and find that her character development is better-executed than in the original series. There is absolutely a middle ground, but the two stances are so pronounced in the fandom that it's hard to notice. The issue becomes even more complicated with Asuka's ''3.0'' incarnation, where she's much rougher and more of a {{jerkass}} than she ever was before in either continuity but is also a more important and powerful character than in ''2.0''. ''3.0 + 1.0'', to many people, rectified all the aforementioned issues by giving her an even more increased role in the plot while retaining and building on her strengths in the previous two movies; however, this wasn't enough for other fans, who continued to complain about her role being too marginal and her development being less important than in the original show.

** A lot of fans were disappointed by the new dub track produced by Amazon for the streaming release, in spite of [[RoleReprisal retaining many of the same actors from the]] Creator/{{Funimation}} release (and even getting some actors from the ADV/Manga release of the original series and movies.) While the role reprisals ''themselves'' were widely praised by fans, it also raised the question of why the first three movies needed to be redubbed in the first place given that the Funimation dubs were already widely praised and serviceable, with quite a few fans finding the Amazon dubs to be inferior.

** A lot of fans were disappointed by the new dub track produced by Amazon for the streaming release, in spite of [[RoleReprisal retaining many of the same actors from the]] Creator/{{Funimation}} release (and even getting some actors from the ADV/Manga release of the original series and movies.)

** One criticism of the original encounter between Unit 01 and Bardiel in the series was that Shinji didn't even attempt to ''defend himself'' from the possessed Unit 03, apparently preferring SuicidalPacifism to even raising his arms. In ''2.0/2.22'' he actually tries to force his opponent's hands off his throat, [[spoiler:but Bardiel sprouts an extra pair of arms from Unit 03's shoulders to overpower him, meaning he'd have to go all-out to win, a line he wouldn't cross]]. The fact that [[spoiler:he ''knows'' it's Asuka inside rather than some unknown kid (he didn't know it was Touji in the anime, although he did in the manga) further justifies his hesitance to fight]].

** On the villainous side, Zeruel, Ramiel and Sachiel remain astoundingly popular enemies. Arguably more so for the former two, since both of got overhauled designs (Ramiel's shapeshifting comes to mind) and TookALevelInBadass.

** Mari. To some she's awesome, badass, and hot. Others dislike her for being a flat, unrealistic, and underdeveloped character only there for {{Fanservice}} with little effect on the plot and would rather have Asuka get more screentime, which is ironic as Anno have singled her out as the only character that is not "a part of him". While her lack of character development is somewhat justified because she's a supporting character in a movie-format continuity, some detractors point to the fact that Asuka was given ''new'' character development despite the format and her reduced role, and that doing the same to Mari could have made her more interesting. In fact, Mari was originally going to have a much smaller role in ''2.0'', but got an expanded role due to her popularity in ''1.0''[='s=] post-credits teaser. Like with Asuka, ''3.0 + 1.0'' rounded out her character more with additional screentime as well as major revelations about her character and backstory, and having her play a ''very'' significant part in helping Shinji during the final battle, which helped win over many of her previous detractors but also worsened some complaints about her, particularly playing a bigger role in the final battle than Rei ''or'' Asuka and especially [[spoiler:ending up with Shinji in the end, which was seen as quite a few viewers as a clear cut example of StrangedByTheRedString]].

** Mari. To some she's awesome, badass, and hot. Others dislike her for being a flat, unrealistic, and underdeveloped character only there for {{Fanservice}} with little effect on the plot and would rather have Asuka get more screentime, which is ironic as Anno have singled her out as the only character that is not "a part of him". While her lack of character development is somewhat justified because she's a supporting character in a movie-format continuity, some detractors point to the fact that Asuka was given ''new'' character development despite the format and her reduced role, and that doing the same to Mari could have made her more interesting. In fact, Mari was originally going to have a much smaller role in ''2.0'', but got an expanded role due to her popularity in ''1.0''[='s=] post-credits teaser. Like with Asuka, ''3.0 + 1.0'' rounded out her character more with additional screentime as well as major revelations about her character and backstory, and having her play a ''very'' significant part in helping Shinji during the final battle, which helped win over many of her previous detractors but also worsened some complaints about her, particularly playing a bigger role in the final battle than Rei ''or'' Asuka and especially [[spoiler:ending up with Shinji in the end]].

** Asuka Langley Shikinami, mostly prior to ''3.0 + 1.0''. Reactions to her characterization falls into two camps -- she is either hated by people that loved Asuka Langley ''Soryu'', who consider Shikinami a toned down, cookie-cutter version who is more stereotypically {{Tsundere}} and lacks the backstory that made Soryu so compelling, or loved by people that hated the original version of the character, who view Shikinami as more sympathetic and likeable and less of a histrionic wreck, and find that her character development is better-executed than in the original series. There is absolutely a middle ground, but the two stances are so pronounced in the fandom that it's hard to notice. The issue becomes even more complicated with Asuka's ''3.0'' incarnation, where she's much rougher and more of a {{jerkass}} than she ever was before in either continuity but is also a more important and powerful character than in ''2.0''. ''3.0 + 1.0'', to many people, rectified all the aforementioned issues by giving her an even more increased role in the plot while retaining and building on her strengths in the previous two movies.
** Mari, again mostly prior to ''3.0 + 1.0''. To some she's awesome, badass, and hot. Others dislike her for being a flat, unrealistic, and underdeveloped character only there for {{Fanservice}} with little effect on the plot and would rather have Asuka get more screentime, which is ironic as Anno have singled her out as the only character that is not "a part of him". While her lack of character development is somewhat justified because she's a supporting character in a movie-format continuity, some detractors point to the fact that Asuka was given ''new'' character development despite the format and her reduced role, and that doing the same to Mari could have made her more interesting. In fact, Mari was originally going to have a much smaller role in ''2.0'', but got an expanded role due to her popularity in ''1.0''[='s=] post-credits teaser. Like with Asuka, ''3.0 + 1.0'' rounded out her character more with additional screentime as well as major revelations about her character and backstory, and having her play a ''very'' significant part in helping Shinji during the final battle.

** Mythra, a white-clad HumanoidAbomination from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', is cited as one of Asuka's many [[FountainOfExpies expies]] across various media. In ''3.0 + 1.0'', not only does Asuka get a white plugsuit that vaguely resembles [[spoiler:Pyra and Mythra's shared SuperMode of Pneuma]], but [[spoiler:she gives ''herself'' a SuperMode that turns her into a godlike HumanoidAbomination halfway through the movie.]] She even does this by [[spoiler:taking off her eyepatch and activating a glowing blue power sealed in her left eye, similar to Zeke's "Eye of Shining Justice" from that same game.]]

** ''3.0 + 1.0'' is this even moreso giving most of the main characters defining SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments and further development, pulling out all the stops in terms of emotion, spectacle and worldbuilding, and having a more hopeful tone throughout despite the bleakness that pays off by [[spoiler:''finally'' giving the cast their [[EarnYourHappyEnding much-deserved happy ending]]]]. As a testament to this, it has a Website/RottenTomatoes rating of '''100%''' with an audience rating of '''93%''', making it the best-reviewed work in the entire franchise and giving it a ''significantly'' higher score than any of the previous ''Rebuild'' movies.[[note]]Only [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion the original series]] comes close, having more critic reviews and a slightly lower audience score.[[/note]]

** ''3.0 + 1.0'' is this even moreso giving most of the main characters defining SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments and further development, pulling out all the stops in terms of emotion, spectacle and worldbuilding, and having a more hopeful tone throughout despite the bleakness that pays off by [[spoiler:''finally'' giving the cast their [[EarnYourHappyEnding much-deserved happy ending]]]]. As a testament to this, it has a Website/RottenTomatoes rating of '''100%''' with an audience rating of '''93%''', making it the best-reviewed work in the entire franchise.[[note]]Only [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion the original series]] comes close, having more critic reviews and a slightly lower audience score.[[/note]]

** Mari, again mostly prior to ''3.0 + 1.0''. To some she's awesome, badass, and hot. Others dislike her for being a flat, unrealistic, and underdeveloped character only there for {{Fanservice}} with little effect on the plot and would rather have Asuka get more screentime, which is ironic as Anno have singled her out as the only character that is not "a part of him". While her lack of character development is somewhat justified because she's a supporting character in a movie-format continuity, some detractors point to the fact that Asuka was given ''new'' character development despite the format and her reduced role, and that doing the same to Mari could have made her more interesting. In fact, Mari was originally going to have a much smaller role in ''2.0'', but got an expanded role due to her popularity in ''1.0''[='s=] post-credits teaser.