Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance continues the story of a humanity under attack by the Angels, colossal beings of unknown origin. The special agency NERV defends the underground city of Tokyo-3 with its Evangelion units, giant biomechanical machines that only a handful of young pilots can synchronize with. As the assaults grow more intense, two new pilots enter the fight: the mysterious Mari Makinami Illustrious and the fierce Asuka Shikinami Langley, joining Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami. While the pilots face increasingly dangerous enemies, Shinji struggles under the weight of his role and his strained relationship with his father, Commander Gendo Ikari, who is quietly pursuing an agenda of his own involving both Shinji and Rei.

The film is the second entry in the Rebuild of Evangelion series, a reimagining of the original television story. It was directed by Hideaki Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki, who share writing and directing duties with Masayuki. It followed Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone and preceded Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo. The voice cast returns Megumi Ogata as Shinji, Megumi Hayashibara as Rei, and Yuko Miyamura as Asuka, with Maaya Sakamoto joining as Mari.

Produced by khara and Dynamo Pictures on a budget of around 10 million dollars, the film earned roughly 41 million dollars worldwide, a strong return. On IMDb it holds 7.9/10 from about 28,000 votes, while TMDB users give it 7.8/10 from just over a thousand votes, both indicating a generally favorable audience response.