"Zweite Existenz"

Creator: Requeitt
Audio: Muse "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist"
Grade: A
Comments: Zweite Existenz, meaning "Second Existence" in German, is one of those AMVs that I stumbled across by accident, and was simply blown away by what I found. The video explores a hypothetical relationship between Shinji, Misato, and a deceased Asuka. The editing of the video is aggressive and fits the music very well. The use of effects may be viewed as excessive to some, but it creates new and interesting visuals which are more than welcome when so many people are creating plain and uninteresting AMVs in windows movie maker. Visually and rhythmically accomplished, Zweite Existenz is a video that can be re-watched many times, for new epiphanous moments as more and more of its narrative and visual devices become apparent. I was particularly struck by the elements of montage and parallelism that seemed to create visual collisions, as if the characters were forces with momentum colliding with each other in violent and beautiful ways. I can't recommend this video highly enough. Watch, re watch, and enjoy what unfolds.

"A Beautiful Failure of a Film"

Creator: Studio Echo
Audio: Guster "Airport Song"
Grade: A
Comments: A Beautiful Failure of a Film is a video that exudes confidence. The overall theme of the video, the use of lip-sync, pans and tracking shots, clip selection, and even the manner in which various sources of footage are altered and combined for interesting results is simply dead on. Minus a few craft issues, this video skillfully conveys the raw emotion and position of Shinji's character in a way that not many editors have achieved. The usage of "Airport Song", a song that is subtly disturbing and abstract, was an excellent choice, and works well. The ambiguity of the song allowed the editor to re-contextualize the song's lyrics in order to create an effective Shinji theme, and the overall feel of the song meshes quite well with the mixed bag of emotions that is Evangelion.

"I Can Feel You"

Creator: Digitalex
Audio: Lustral "Everytime" (Mike Koglin Remix)
Grade: A
Comments: I Can Feel You explores the relationship between Shinji and Yui's soul in Unit 01, as well as the relationship between Asuka and Kyouko's soul in Unit 02. It is in a number of ways in the same vein as HurQlez03's Faithless. Albeit a much more upbeat video, I Can Feel You is very similar in its construction and focus, which is surprising considering that Faithless wasn't in any way the inspiration for this video. Digitalex plays with some very interesting single frame construction, as well as quite a lot of compositing which works quite well with the audio, and also works quite well visually. Technically sound, and an excellent video for all the Asuka and Shinji shippers. A video that I would highly recommend.

"Engel"

Creator: Kevin Caldwell
Audio: Rammstein "Engel"
Grade: A
Comments: Kevin Caldwell's Engel can be considered one of the all time greatest Evangelion AMVs, and the definitive AMV chronicling the ass kicking that is Asuka and her Unit 02. This video has been a fan favorite for some time, and rightfully so. Aside from the lip sync, there is nothing terribly complicated or technical about this video. Nor does it have a narrative structure woven into it. But what it does have is confidence, energy, and charm. Engel is just a fun AMV, and it doesn't get old. You will find this at the top of the list for many Evangelion fans, myself included. If you haven't seen it, then you're overdue.

"Nightmare"

Creator: Black Sun Productions
Audio: A Perfect Circle "Counting Bodies Lke Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums"
Grade: A
Comments: On a purely visual and technical level, this video is a work of art. It takes time and patience to produce an AMV of this complexity, and that effort alone deserves praise. I was in shear awe of this video when I first saw it at Otakon 2005, where it took the prize for the Serious/Dramatic category, and I am still in awe to this day. Nightmare exhibits style and creativity in its editing that can make even experienced editors envious. While not possessing strong narrative structure, the video's theme is obvious. The editing highlights Evangelion's violence, turmoil, and chaos in a flow of visual imagery that is accomplished with skill and confidence. Nightmare is one of few Evangelion AMVs that I would recommend to fans without the slightest of hesitation.

"Faithless"

Creator: HurQlez03
Audio: Linkin Park "Numb"
Grade: A
Comments: Before I saw this video at Otakon 2004, I thought Numb was a decent song, but not nearly as poignant or powerful as a closing track for Meteora in the way that Pushing Me Away was for Hybrid Theory. HurQlez03's Faithless made me reevaluate my opinion of the song, as his AMV showed me the song in a new light, and to some degree, the song will forever be entwined in the characters of Shinji and Asuka for me. I had never really thought about the commonality between Shinji's relationship with Gendo and Asuka's relationship with Kyouko, and that is the avenue that this video explores. The video is slightly more aligned to Shinji, which is understandable, given that he is the protagonist of the story, but I'm impressed that the relationship between Asuka and Kyouko is still very strong despite the limited amount of source material. Technically the AMV is quite good, it maintains a consistent thematic flow, and syncs with the audio quite competently as well. Faithless is a well crafted and creative AMV that is an example of excellence to other aspiring AMV creators.