History YMMV / RebuildofEvangelion

** Not to mention Asuka was traumatized by her mother treating Asuka's doll as her daughter, ignoring the real child to the point of neglect. This was an important reason she disliked Rei's passive personality. To see Asuka's clone taking the original's place feels like a betrayal of her character.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** 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 the Ninth Angel 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]].
** The ''Rebuild'' movies do a lot to sand off the more abrasive aspects of the main trio's dysfunctions, leaving them still clearly troubled but quicker to recognize their flaws and try to do something about them rather than just wallowing in misery.
** A major criticism of Sakura is that she has little resemblance with Toji, making her design rather disappointing considering one of the most well-liked points of ''Evangelion'''s art direction is the subtle resemblances between family members and subtle differences among everyone else. The next movie introduces another family character, [[spoiler:Ryoji]], who has a subtle resemblance to his parents.
** After some backlash regarding the English dub of the original series being re-recorded for its Netflix release, it was announced that Amazon Prime Video's own re-recordings for the films would have [[TheOriginalDarrin even more previous actors reprising their roles]] than in the Funimation dubs.

** Not to mention Asuka was traumatized by her mother treating Asuka's doll as her daughter, ignorind the real child to the point of neglect. This was an important reason she disliked Rei's passive personality. To see Asuka's clone taking the original's place feels like a betrayal of her character.

* 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,]], Allison Keith, and John Swasey reprising their roles for the Amazon Prime dub of the ''Rebuild'' series. According to ADR director Joe Fria, this was due to the controversy the Netflix redub of the original series received for using new voice actors.

* 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. According to ADR director Joe Fria, this was due to the controversy the Netflix redub of the original series received for using new voice actors.

* ContestedSequel: ''3.0'' is the most controversial of the four films. It is either seen as an EvenBetterSequel to the first two films that drastically ramps up the stakes, brings back the bleak tone ''Evangelion'' is famous for, and takes the franchise to all-new uncharted territory; or it is a [[TooBleakStoppedCaring needlessly dark]] sequel (even for ''Evangelion'' standards) that focuses too much on subverting expectations and making [[TheWoobie poor Shinji]] suffer even more after [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds unwittingly committing mass genocide on the entire planet twice]], [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl first in an attempt to save Rei]], and the second [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong to try to correct things]]. It is perhaps for this reason why ''3.0'' is often considered "''Film/TheLastJedi'' of ''Evangelion''"".

* IdiotPlot: Some reviewers believe the third film to have this, especially in regards to [[spoiler:WILLE's]] actions: while they have a good reason to hate Shinji, they should have either just shot him dead or taken more time to explain to him thoroughly how things [[spoiler:have changed in the time between him being absorbed into the Eva and him getting out]] (and if they hate Shinji ''that'' much, then surely they would get a kick out of seeing his distress) rather than just applying liberal amounts of YouKnowWhatYouDid and then acting surprised when he runs away with Rei Q in his desire to find out ''what the hell was going on'' (and thus decides to make things right, [[spoiler:unwillingly triggering ''yet another Impact'').]] It gets worse when the real Rei's fate is finally revealed in the final film: [[spoiler:Shinji ''did'' save her from Zeruel, and her soul was stuck inside Unit 01 the entire time. Which means even as WILLE was pulling Shinji out of Unit 01 and refitting it into the ''Wunder'', ''no one bothered to check for her''.]] Reviewer's bias or no, it's hard to argue that [[spoiler:WILLE]] did a better job of pushing Shinji's buttons than ''Gendo'' did.

* UncertainAudience: It's unclear whether the ''Rebuild'' movies are intended for the [[ShonenDemographic shonen demographic]] or for the {{seinen}} demographic. While the original ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' was a shonen show with some seinen elements, its mature tone and newfound seinen-esque audience came as a surprise at the time. With ''Rebuild'', [[ItWasHisSled everyone was more or less expecting that there would be mature content and themes]] and that adult fans would be the most profitable demographic. Magazine-wise, the movies were mostly promoted in ''Young Ace'', a seinen magazine that carried the ''NGE'' manga. That said, the tone is lighter and more action-based than the original show until ''3.0'', and no official statement has been found on whether the movies are shonen or seinen.

** ''3.33.'' pretty much takes this UpToEleven, given how much time is given to show Shinji and Kaworu's relation. The entire piano scene sounds like they're making love, not discussing how much better duets make a song, and Kaworu [[http://moarpowah.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Kaworu.jpg getting this pose in]] while the two go stargazing. "I was really born to meet you," indeed.

* {{Applicability}}: Transitioning from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' to ''Rebuild'' has many parallels with curing one's self of depression, much like Anno himself did between his work on the two versions of his FlagshipFranchise; it can even be seen as Anno wanting to give his world and characters a new lease on life after he himself was given one. While ''NGE'' is highly existential, bizarre and bleak, ''Rebuild'' is much more stable, with a general tone of "hey, the world might seem screwed-up but it's not so bad after all now that you know yourself" in the first two movies. While ''3.33'' relapses into the cynical existentialism of the original show, such relapses are not unheard of for people getting out of depression, who occasionally go through episodes of losing hope and questioning themselves just as they did before. Come ''3.0 + 1.0'' and if feels like a therapy session along with meds set to animation, with the characters going through familiar existencial introspection and coming out stronger, wiser and more mature with a bright future in front of them.

* CatharsisFactor: If one has been following the franchise since its beginning and commiserated over its portrait of how utterly hopeless things could get in life, then the last ~20 minutes of ''3.0 + 1.01'' can elicit a massive feeling of relief. After so many years of emotional misery, miscommunication and alienation, [[spoiler:Shinji, Gendo, Asuka, Rei and Kaworu all manage to deal with their issues for good. Shinji and Gendo finally sit down and come to terms with each other, Gendo reunites with Yui, Shinji and Asuka get honest with their old romantic feelings, Rei finds her identity, Kaworu reconciles with his troubled existence, and Shinji closes it all entering a stable adulthood as a fresh, mature person in the happy new world created by all their efforts.]] It provides such a stark contrast to the existentialist void of ''End of Evangelion'' that it’s practically night and day, like a cycle that had ended after two decades, and if one ever held the franchise close as the portrait of human struggle that Anno made it to be, it is possible to come near to tears of happiness with this new conclusion about how things ''can'' work out.

* {{Narm}}: The supposedly cool introduction of [[TheNameIsBondJamesBond Kaji... Ryoji Kaji]] in ''2.22'' is turned into a hysterical laugh-fest when his [[Creator/KoichiYamadera Japanese voice actor]] attempts to recite some English lines that are well out of his grasp. The effect is only compounded by the "What the hell?" face made by the person whom Kaji addresses, leaving one with the lingering suspicion that this was intentional on the creators' part.

** After many delays,''3.0 + 1.0'' ended up being released in 2021, fourteen years after the Rebuild continuity started. Entirely by coincidence, [[spoiler:that's also exactly how much time passes across the four movies in-universe, due to the TimeSkip between ''2.0'' and ''3.0'']].

* AdaptationDisplacement: After the introduction of [[MsFanservice Mari]] as the Fourth Child, she became ''way'' more popular in official merch and fanart than Touji ever was, who was unfortunately always forgotten in favor of Shinji, Rei, Asuka and Kaworu.

** The appearance of [[spoiler:a CGI Giant Naked Rei]] in ''3.0 + 1.0'' has been met with perhaps the most polarized reception in this area, with some viewers being of the opinion that the effect is supposed to look weird in order to invoke the UncannyValley, while others argue that the effect just looks plain or even [[{{Narm}} laughably bad]] and that the effect was likely wholly unintentional on behalf of the CGI team.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: ''3.33'' was met with the most criticism from professional reviewers due to its much more cynical, depressing presentation, with many likable characters [[TookALevelInJerkass becoming bitter and distant from Shinji]] and the state of the world being miserable. It's likely for this reason (alongside Anno recovering from his depression while working on ''3.33'') that a good portion of ''3.0+1.01'' is focused on being more hopeful, and helping Shinji and the world-weary characters that treated him harshly recover emotionally before the plot actually moves forward.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: ''3.33'' was met with the most criticism from professional reviewers due to its much more cynical, depressing presentation, with many likable characters [[TookALevelInJerkass becoming bitter and distant from Shinji]] and the state of the world being miserable. It's likely for this reason that a good portion of ''3.0+1.01'' is focused on being more hopeful, and helping Shinji and the world-weary characters that treated him harshly recover emotionally before the plot actually moves forward.
* ToughActToFollow: ''2.22'' was so beloved by many viewers that expectations were sky-high for ''3.33'', so when it came out, while it did score loads of money, it left many feeling disappointed. In the west, anyway.

* DieForOurShip: [[spoiler:Mari]] has immediately become a target of this from ''all'' the Shinji shippers thanks to the ending of ''3.0 + 1.01'', which [[spoiler:implies the two became an OfficialCouple]].

** The appearance of [[spoiler:a CGI Giant Naked Rei]] in ''3.0 + 1.0'' has been met with perhaps the most polarized reception in this area, with some viewers being of the opinion that the effect is supposed to look weird in order to invoke the UncannyValley, while others argue that the effect just looks plain or even [[{{Narm}} laughably bad]] and that the Uncanny Valley effect was likely wholly unintentional on behalf of the CGI team.

* UncannyValley: In spite of the character being more sympathetic overall, ''Rebuild of Evangelion'' manages to have Rei be even further in the UncannyValley. The ominous BGM that always plays in her presence (at least in the beginning) made it quite clear that Shinji definitely senses something ''very'' unsettling in her.
** [[spoiler:Zeruel after it absorbed Rei definitely qualifies. The bottom of a woman body topped with an angel? Augh.]]
** [[spoiler:The crowning achievement in uncanniness comes to us in ''3.0 + 1.0'', with CGI Giant Naked Rei being one of the most unsettling things to come out of the film series.]]

* FanFicFuel: The ending of ''3.0 + 1.0'', and how it changes everything. [[spoiler: In a world with no Angels and Evangelions, where it shows that its closer to real-life, and the kids were allowed to grow and be normal and probably better-adjusted, there's an infinite possibilities for a million more new stories]].

** 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 StrangledByTheRedString]].

*** [[spoiler: Even before that, right after Shinji starts to fight Zeruel, Unit-01 [[DiabolusExMachina runs out of power]]. It had only just launched, so there was no explination for how this happened.]]

** In ''3.33'', are [[spoiler:Misato and Asuka]] really as cold as they appear to be and are barely restraining themselves from executing Shinji, or are they just too hardened by [[spoiler:the 14 years after Near-Third Impact to properly show Shinji their affection]]? The movie certainly offers evidence for both with their actions.[[spoiler:3.0+1.0 confirms that it's the latter for both of them.]]

** A major criticism of Sakura is that she has little resemblance with Toji, making her design rather disappointing considering one of them well-liked points of ''Evangelion'''s art is the subtle resemblances between family members and subtle differences among everyone else. The next movie introduces another family character, [[spoiler:Ryoji]], who has a subtle resemblance to his parents.