Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, Shin Seiki Evangerion) is a Japanese multi-media anime franchise created by Japanese animator and filmmaker Hideaki Anno in 1994. Since 1997, there have been 7 theatrical films based on the franchise including the original trilogy produced by Gainax, directly following the original TV series, and later the Rebuild of Evangelion, a four-movie series made as a retelling of the Neon Genesis Evangelion series, made by Anno's own studio, Khara.
Films English Title Japanese Title Original release date Director(s) Writers(s) Production Companies Distributed By Neon Genesis Evangelion Theatrical Edition Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 劇場版 シト新生Shin Seiki Evangerion Gekijō-ban Shi to Shinsei Hideaki AnnoMasayukiKazuya Tsurumaki Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa GainaxTatsunoko Production ("Death")Production I.G. ("Rebirth")Toei Company The End of Evangelion新世紀エヴァンゲリオン劇場版 Air/まごころを、君にShin Seiki Evangerion Gekijō-ban Eā/Magokoro wo, Kimi ni Hideaki Anno ("Sincerely Yours")Kazuya Tsurumaki ("Air") Hideaki Anno GainaxProduction I.G. Rebuild of Evangelion Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Aloneヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版: 序Evangerion Shin Gekijō-ban: Jo Hideaki AnnoMasayukiKazuya Tsurumaki Hideaki Anno Studio Khara The KlockWorx Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advanceヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版: 破Evangerion Shin Gekijō-ban: Ha Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redoヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版: QEvangerion Shin Gekijō-ban: KyūHideaki AnnoMahiro MaedaKazuya TsurumakiMasayukiToei Company Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Timeシン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版: 𝄂Shin Evangerion Gekijō-ban: 𝄂Hideaki AnnoKazuya TsurumakiKatsuichi NakayamaMahiro MaedaTohoToei Company
Neon Genesis Evangelion Theatrical Edition The Theatrical Edition films of Neon Genesis Evangelion consist of summary versions of episodes 1 to 24, and has two installments that create a different ending from the original Neon Genesis Evangelion.
The film duology consists of "Death" from Episode 1 to 24, and Episode 25 "Air" ("Rebirth" is only the first half of this), Episode 26 "Sincerity, Kimi ni".
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth, is a 1997 Japanese animated science fiction psychological drama film and the first installment of the Neon Genesis Evangelion feature film project and consists of two parts. The project, whose overarching title translates literally to New Century Gospel: The Movie, was released in response to the success of the TV series and a strong demand by fans for an alternate ending. Its components have since been re-edited and re-released several times.
The first section, Evangelion:Death, is a recap, editing together scenes from the first 24 episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion in the form of a clip show, along with additional animation created after the show's original broadcast. This includes scenes from the original show re-drawn shot-for-shot, entirely new shots augmenting existing sequences, and linking segments based around the premise of the four main characters playing Pachelbel's Canon as a string quartet.
In 2004, ADV films released Neon Genesis Evangelion - Director's Cut: Genesis Reborn for episodes 24-26 which included experimental animation similar to End of Evangelion. In 2005, Some of the additional shots and re-drawn animation would later be re-edited into the extended, 'Home Video Versions' of episodes 21–24 included on the Japanese VHS/Laserdisc and American and European Platinum Collection releases of the TV series.
Death(True)2 Evangelion: Death (True)2 screened on the Japanese satellite TV channel WOWOW; this second cut of Evangelion:Death was re-edited by Masayuki, who held multiple creative roles throughout the franchise's production, removing some of the extra footage new to the feature. This was released on home video for the first time as part of the Archives of Evangelion DVD box set on August 26, 2015.
The second section, Evangelion: Rebirth, consists of approximately 24 minutes of entirely new animation that would eventually form the first third of the alternate ending film The End of Evangelion, released four months later as the second stage in the Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth project. Serving as a preview while End was still in production, Rebirth only covers the initial preparations of the Human Instrumentality Project and the invasion of the Geofront by the JSSDF, ending with the arrival of the Mass Production Evas. Because of its unfinished state, there are differences between Rebirth and the portion of the finished The End of Evangelion it covers. These differences include editing, shots that were later re-drawn entirely, and soundtrack cues that were replaced or further edited. The section ends with credits accompanied by the song "Soul's Refrain" by Yoko Takahashi.
Death and Rebirth were co-produced by Kadokawa Shoten, Gainax, TV Tokyo, Sega, and Toei Company.
Reception The film opened in second place at the Japanese box office, just behind the opening of 101 Dalmatians."Japan Top 15". Screen International. March 28, 1997. p. 51. Between March and October 1997, Death and Rebirth earned a distributor rental income of ¥1.1 billion.December 1997 Newtype, p.90 The feature had a total gross of ¥1.87 billion."アニメが映画界をけん引!?最近のアニメ映画事情". Merumo (in Japanese). GMO Internet Group. June 19, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
Chris Beveridge from Mania gave it an overall "A−" score. Robert Nelson of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews gave it a 3 out of 5. Adam Arnold from Animefringe gave the film an overall score of 72%.
Home media On July 30, 2002, Manga Entertainment released Death and Rebirth on VHS and DVD in both dub and sub under the title Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth.
On July 26, 2005, Manga Entertainment released Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion together in the United States as a two-disc set.
The English production made similar creative changes in dubbing as had been made to The End of Evangelion. One notable change was the alteration of the sound effect between the scene featuring Kaji to one of Shinji informing Asuka of his death. According to the DVD commentary, English ADR director Amanda Winn-Lee, also the voice of Rei in the dub, felt the sound was not a proper "gunshot" and replaced it with a more overt effect. However, the Japanese screenplay mentions that the sound effect is not a gunshot at all, but rather the sound of a slap (the following scene implies Asuka has slapped Shinji).
The End of Evangelion
The End of Evangelion is a 1997 Japanese anime science fiction film written by Hideaki Anno, directed by Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki, and animated by Gainax and Production I.G. It serves as an alternate ending to the original series, in quite a similar way to the first movies.
The story follows teenagers Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu, who pilot mechas called Evangelion to defeat enemies who threaten humanity named Angels. Shinji is subjected to the Human Instrumentality Project, a process in which human souls are merged into a single divine entity. The film features the voice actors of the original series, including Megumi Ogata as Shinji, Yuko Miyamura as Asuka, and Megumi Hayashibara as Rei.
Production Shortly before The End of Evangelion's release, Anno and Gainax released Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth. Like Death & Rebirth, the creators conceived The End of Evangelion as a duology comprising "Episode 25: Love Is Destructive" and "Episode 26: I Need You", remakes of the last two episodes of the original television series. In 1998, the overlapping films were edited together and reissued as Revival of Evangelion.
Reception The End of Evangelion was a box-office success, grossing ¥2.47 billion. It was honoured at the Awards of the Japanese Academy, the Animation Kobe, and the 1997 Animage Anime Grand Prix, and was praised for its violence, direction, editing, emotional power, and script, though some reviewers criticized its oblique religious symbolism and abstraction.
The End of Evangelion was released in Japanese theaters on July 19, 1997. Pre-sales began on May 17; customers with unused tickets for Death and Rebirth were permitted to use them for the movie. Viewers were given copies of the official poster. A preview was held on July 17 at Yomiuri Hall Cinema. In 1998, the feature films Death & Rebirth (1997) and The End of Evangelion (1997), partially overlapping, were merged by removing the part in common and re-released as Revival of Evangelion, which was released in theaters on March 7, attracting 300,000 people. In 2006, The End of Evangelion was screened as part of the Tokyo International Film Festival in Akihabara. In 2014, the Revival of Evangelion version was screened at Toho Cinemas in Nihonbashi during the 27th edition of the same festival.
Home media On August 28 and 29, 2015, to celebrate the release of the Blu-ray box set of the series, the film was played along with the first episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion ("Angel Attack") at Toho Cinema in Shinjuku, Tokyo. On December 4, 2020, it was announced a new run for Revival of Evangelion in special screenings across Japan between January 8 and 22, 2021.
Legacy In 1997 Japan, Neon Genesis Evangelion was at the center of national debates and became a social phenomenon. It thus attracted to theaters a large number of people intrigued by the controversy surrounding the original ending. The film version also drew the attention of journalists, as well as people who were not normally interested in animation. The End of Evangelion's audience exceeded that of Death and Rebirth, drawing 400,000 viewers in the first three days. The film earned about ¥1.5 billion in Japanese distributor rentals (equivalent to about US$12 million at the time), becoming the fourth-highest-grossing Japanese feature film of 1997. Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, also featuring mature and violent themes, was theatrically released at the same time as The End of Evangelion; Japanese media were attracted by the contrast between the two films' posters, one of which said "Live!" and The End of Evangelion which reported the line "Wouldn't it be nice if everyone would just die?"
Like the original series, which includes cultural references to philosophy and psychology, a great deal of information was added in The End of Evangelion, in a style called "pedantic" in official materials. Anno inserted terms to create atmosphere and make it seem as though there is something deeper behind it so, in his own words, he could sound "intelligent". Throughout the film, religious elements of Judaism and Christianity are mentioned, such as the number of the Beast from the sea 666,Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 17. Sony Magazines. pp. 23–24.Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 50. Sony Magazines. p. 5. the tree of life,Evangelion Chronicle (in Japanese). Vol. 12. Sony Magazines. p. 21. the Tree of the Sephiroth, the Catholic stigmata, the universal flood, Noah's Ark, the Genesis creation narrative,Gainax, ed. (1997). "Note". The End of Evangelion Program Book (in Japanese). and the Book of Revelation.Gainax, ed. (1997). "用語集". The End of Evangelion Program Book (in Japanese).
Revival of Evangelion