Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance is the second Rebuild of Evangelion film and the direct follow-up to 1.0. Hideaki Anno wrote the script and directed alongside Masayuki and Kazuya Tsurumaki, while khara inc. produced the film and shared distribution duties with THE KLOCKWORX. It reached Japanese screens on 27 June 2009 after several postponements from an originally announced January 2008 window. Anno confirmed during production that fresh characters and new Evangelion units would start arriving with this installment, and the plot diverges sharply from the original series as a result. Shirō Sagisu scored the film; Hikaru Utada's Beautiful World -PLANiTb Acoustica Mix- serves as the ending theme.

At NERV's Arctic Bethany Base, new pilot Mari Makinami Illustrious destroys the reawakened skeletal Third Angel by blowing up Provisional Unit-05 around it, ejecting at the last second. In Japan, the Seventh Angel interrupts Shinji and Gendo's visit to Yui's grave, only to be cut down by the airdropped Unit-02 and its proud pilot Asuka Shikinami Langley. Arriving with them, Ryoji Kaji hands Gendo a case holding the so-called Nebuchadnezzar's Key.

The three Evas dispatch the Eighth Angel with newfound coordination, though SEELE decides only the damaged Unit-01 merits repair. On the Moon, Gendo and Fuyutsuki inspect the secretive Mark.06 project and glimpse Kaworu Nagisa perched on the Eva's finger. When a catastrophic engine test wipes out Unit-04 and NERV's American branch, the United States ships Unit-03 to Japan; treaty limits force Unit-02 into storage, and Asuka takes the activation test in Rei's place so Rei can host a dinner meant to reconcile Shinji with his father. The test goes horribly wrong: the Ninth Angel seizes Unit-03. Unable to fight knowing Asuka is trapped inside, Shinji freezes, so Gendo switches Unit-01 to the autonomous Dummy System, which mangles the possessed Eva and crushes Asuka's entry plug. She survives, badly hurt; Shinji, sickened, quits NERV.

As he leaves town, the Tenth Angel strikes. Mari commandeers Unit-02 and unleashes its berserker mode without success, and Rei's N2 missile strike ends with Unit-00 swallowed whole. Witnessing this, Shinji returns to Unit-01 and, when its power runs dry, wills the Eva into an awakened state. He tears Rei free from inside the Angel, fusing Eva, pilot, and core into a radiant figure resembling a giant Rei. Ritsuko announces the onset of Third Impact, exactly the outcome Gendo has been working toward. In a post-credits scene, the Mark.06 descends from the Moon and pins Unit-01 with the Spear of Cassius, freezing the cataclysm; its pilot Kaworu promises that this time he will show Shinji happiness.

The film opened at number one in Japan, earning the equivalent of 5.37 million dollars across 120 screens on its debut weekend and passing 40 million dollars overall. Japanese audiences rated it warmly, with a 4.48 out of 5 on Yahoo! Movies Japan. English-language critics split: Rotten Tomatoes lists 82 percent Fresh from 11 reviews with a 6.4/10 average, while Metacritic's 45 from four reviews indicates mixed or average notices.

The reworked home video edition, Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance, reached Blu-ray and DVD on 26 May 2010, retouching hundreds of cuts and adding one fresh scene shared by Kaji and Shinji without altering the story. A television edit aired on Nippon TV in August 2011, streaming followed on Amazon in August 2021, and the 2025 anniversary Blu-ray boxes bundled the film with the full tetralogy.