Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time | |
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![]() Japanese theatrical release poster | |
Directed by |
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Screenplay by | Hideaki Anno |
Based on | Neon Genesis Evangelion by Hideaki Anno |
Starring | Megumi Ogata Megumi Hayashibara Yuko Miyamura Maaya Sakamoto Akira Ishida Kotono Mitsuishi |
Cinematography | Toru Fukushi |
Edited by | Emi Tsujita |
Music by | Shirō Sagisu |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Toho Toei Company Ltd. |
Release date |
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Running time | 155 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版𝄇, Shin Evangerion Gekijōban) is a 2021 Japanese animated science fiction film written and co-directed by Hideaki Anno and produced by Studio Khara. It is the fourth and final film in the Rebuild of Evangelion series, based on the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was released on March 8, 2021.[1]
Plot
In Paris, a team from the Wille organization, led by Maya Ibuki, descends from the ship Wunder and lands on top of a black pillar. As they work on a system designed to restore the city to its previous state, they are attacked by Nerv forces consisting of EVA series. They are defended by the Wunder fleet and Mari Illustrious Makinami in Unit-08. At the cost of Unit-08's legs, Mari is able to defeat the attacking forces. The Wille team is able to successfully activate the device and recover a large cache of resources. Meanwhile, Asuka Shikinami Langley, Rei Ayanami and Shinji Ikari, still despondent, are walking across the outskirts of Tokyo-3.
They eventually arrive at a settlement composed of survivors, and encounter Toji Suzuhara, Hikari Horaki and Kensuke Aida, now adults. Toji is a doctor and has a child with Hikari, while Kensuke is a technician, and are all friendly to Shinji. Asuka expresses frustration at Shinji's lack of reaction to her body and force-feeds him. As Shinji slowly recovers, Rei explores the village and settles down, going to school and working as a farmer. Shinji meets Ryoji Kaji, the son of Misato Katsuragi and the late Ryoji Kaji. Rei requires constant exposure to LCL and cannot maintain herself, decomposing in Shinji's presence.
Wunder arrives to pick up Asuka, and Shinji decides to go with her, despite protests. Shinji is placed in isolation. Asuka complains about Shinji's immaturity to Mari, while the Wunder crew discusses their situation and how to thwart Nerv's plans. Meanwhile, Kozo Fuyutsuki, distressed over Shinji's treatment by Gendo Ikari in forcing him to experience the same loss as him, helps Gendo restart Unit-13. In response, Wunder heads to Antarctica. Before the mission, Asuka expresses her former feelings for Shinji, recognizing he is growing up.
Upon arrival, Wunder is attacked by three Nerv ships and a swarm of EVA units. Asuka and Mari sortie in their repaired EVAs and defend the Wunder. Unit-13 appears and forms an A.T. Field. Asuka removes her eyepatch, revealing the Ninth Angel contained within, converting Unit-02 to a new state. Unit-13 overpowers and destroys Unit-02. Moments before she dies, Asuka is approached by her "original", revealing her as a clone of the Shikinami series. Meanwhile, the Wunder is attacked by a new EVA, Unit-07.
In the Nerv vessel restraining the Wunder, Misato and Ritsuko Akagi confront Gendo, and Ritsuko shoots him to no effect as Gendo has used the Key of Nebuchadnezzar to transcend humanity, becoming the Final Angel. Gendo reveals the purpose of the Human Instrumentality Project and enters Unit-13. Shinji is now determined to stop Gendo and asks Misato to let him pilot Unit-01. Sakura and Midori Kitakami try to kill Shinji, but Misato takes the bullet instead. Misato apologizes to Shinji, saying that she was wrong for blaming him and will take responsibility for his actions, asking him to take care of her son. Mari takes Unit-08 and merges it with Units 09 through 12. Inside Unit-01, the original Ayanami clone appears before Shinji, apologizing for not being able to spare him from having to get into an EVA, but Shinji thanks her, saying that he will take care of the rest.
Gendo and Shinji fight in a surreal "minus space", and Gendo shows Shinji an "imaginary Evangelion", a "Black Lilith". Misato prepares to attack a giant naked Rei using the Wunder, while Mari battles the Nerv EVAs. Wunder is destroyed attempting to prevent Gendo's "Additional Impact". Shinji meets Gendo, seeing a vision of his past experiences, including how Yui's loss traumatized him. Shinji talks with and provides closure to Gendo; to Asuka, returning her feelings; and to Kaworu Nagisa, who is revealed to be trapped in an endless loop cycle, forever trying to make Shinji happy every time he is reborn. Kaworu also talks with the elder Kaji, who addresses him as Commander Nagisa. Kaji helps him understand that his own happinness should not be tied to Shinji's, thus setting him free from the loop cycle. Kaworu thanks Kaji and agrees to become a farmer at the settlement. Shinji says farewell to Rei, deciding upon a complete reset of the world, a "Neon Genesis", namely a world without Evangelions. Shinji returns all Evangelions and Failures of Infinity back into their original forms, restoring the world. The Children are all present as adults at a train station, Mari leads Shinji away from the station, and the film ends with real world footage.
Cast
^ New character
Production
The film was announced alongside Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo for release in 2008 as the final part of the Rebuild series under the working title Evangelion: Final. After delays of the first three films, Evangelion: Final was expected for release in 2015.[2] Following the troubled production of the third film, director and producer Hideaki Anno became depressed and stated publicly in 2015 that he could not work on another film.[3] However, Toho (which co-distributes the film in Japan with Toei) approached him in an offer to direct a reboot of its Godzilla film series, Shin Godzilla, which Anno has cited as the reason work was delayed on 3.0+1.0.[4]
Production on Evangelion resumed after the production of Shin Godzilla ended in late 2016.[5][6] After a formal apology, animation director Takeshi Honda stated that the last film had resumed development.[7] Studio Khara tweeted on April 5, 2017, that development was going smoothly.[8] In May 2018, the studio put out a job listing for animation staff to work on 3DCG, VFX, and 2D animation starting on June 30, 2018.[9] Dialogue recording wrapped on November 19, 2020.[10] On December 16, 2020, Studio Khara announced that compositing and editing work had finished.[11]
Music
On December 9, 2020, it was announced that the theme song will be "One Last Kiss". The song, performed by Hikaru Utada and produced by A.G. Cook, was scheduled to be released for digital download on January 24, 2021, and as an extended play CD and LP record featuring remastered versions of the previous Rebuild of Evangelion theme songs on January 27, 2021.[12] However, it was later announced that these release dates are postponed "until further notice" due to the delayed of the film itself. [13]
A soundtrack album, titled Shiro Sagisu Music from "Shin Evangelion", was scheduled be released on February 10, 2021,[14] but was also delayed due to the delay of the film.[15]
Release
On July 6, 2019, Khara screened the first ten minutes of the film on Japan Expo in Paris, Anime Expo in Los Angeles and CCG Expo 2019 in Shanghai.[16] The film was originally scheduled for release on June 27, 2020.[17]
In April 2020, it was announced that the film has been removed from the schedule due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, later being rescheduled for January 23, 2021.[18][19] The theatrical release poster was revealed shortly afterwards with the tagline "Bye-bye, all of EVANGELION.", indicating that this would likely be Anno's final Evangelion-related project.[20] Anno released a statement via Studio Khara's Twitter in October apologizing for the delay while confirming the film was near completion. Khara suggested the run time of the finished film could be over two hours, with the "D-part" clocking in at 41 minutes. They also reported that as of October 2 the film was undergoing a "rush check", a final check of the animation before editing.[21] On January 14, 2021, the film was removed from the release calendar again.[15] On February 16, 2021, it was reported that the film would be 154 minutes long, making it the longest film in the tetralogy and one of the longest animated feature films ever (behind the films In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World, Final Yamato, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, and Revival of Evangelion).[22] [23]
On February 26, Utada Hikaru's staff account on Twitter reported that the film's feature song "One Last Kiss" would be released on March 8, 2021, with a link to her website with more information confirming a new release date for the film of March 8, 2021.[24] This was also confirmed on Studio Khara's website, along with a runtime of 155 minutes.[25][1]
Reception
Japanese reception to the film has been extremely positive, outdoing competitors such as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train on Japanese aggregator site eiga.com[26] However, Japanese reviewer Akihiro Koyama considered that Anno failed to reach the same depth as The End of Evangelion and its message to the audience was self-serving and insufficiently developed, as well as Mari's character.[27] In contrast to the negative receptions of its predecessor Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, American reception has also been positive. Richard Eisenbeis of Anime News Network noted the film's close connections with End of Evangelion on a thematic and narrative level and praised its characterization, while also noting its different themes, but criticised its worldbuilding, and also the lack of development given to Mari to justify her role in the plot.[28]
Box office
The film was released in Japan on March 8, 2021 earning ¥802,774,200 ($7,387,198) on its first day, outdoing its predecessor by 23.8%[29] and breaking the IMAX opening day record in Japan.[30] The film won ¥3,338,422,400 ($30,596,851) in its first week,[31] ranking #1 in Japan in its opening week.[32]
References
Text was copied/adapted from Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time at EvaGeeks wiki, which is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA 3.0) license.
- ^ a b c "Final Evangelion Film Rescheduled to March 8 After 2 COVID-19 Delays". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "Magazine: Final Evangelion Film Slated for Fall-Winter 2015 With Utada Song". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ^ "Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno opens up about his latest bout with depression, movie delays". Rocketnews. April 2, 2015. Archived from the original on June 29, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- ^ "Hideaki Anno Blames Work On "Shin Godzilla" for "Evangelion: 3.0+1.0" Delay". Crunchyroll. September 29, 2016. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- ^ "Hideaki Anno Apologizes for Delay on Final Evangelion Film". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 29, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
- ^ "Evangelion Studio Khara Confirms Next Shin Evangelion Is in Production". Anime News Network. April 5, 2017. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
- ^ "Evangelion Animator: Final Evangelion Remake Film is in Progress". Anime News Network. November 17, 2016. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- ^ "『シン・エヴァ』の打ち合わせ。鋭意制作中です!". Twitter. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- ^ Dennison, Kara (May 24, 2018). "Studio Khara Puts out Call for "Eva" Animators". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
- ^ Mateo, Alex. "Evangelion's Final Film Finishes Dialogue Recording". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio. "Final Evangelion Film Wraps Compositing, Editing Work". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ "宇多田ヒカル 新曲「One Last Kiss」が『シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版』テーマソングに決定/本日より iTunesプレオーダー開始". Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ "Hikaru Utada Official Website | NEWS". Hikaru Utada Official Website. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
- ^ "劇中使用楽曲を収録した音楽集CD 「Shiro SAGISU Music from "SHIN EVANGELION"」 2021年2月10日発売決定!". Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (January 14, 2021). "Final Evangelion Film Delayed Again Due to COVID-19". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
- ^ "The First 10 Mins of the Final 'Rebuild of Evangelion' Film Will Screen at Anime Expo & Japan Expo". HYPEBEAST. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
- ^ Crystalyn Hodgkins (December 26, 2019). "Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Anime Film Opens in Japan on June 27". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ Rafael Antonio Pineda (October 15, 2020). "Evangelion's Final Film Opens on January 23". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
- ^ "Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Film Delayed Due to COVID-19 Concerns (Updated)". Anime News Network. April 17, 2020. Archived from the original on April 25, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ "公式サイトTOPページ、スタッフクレジットを更新しました". Twitter. April 17, 2020. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ Dominguez, Noah. "Evangelion Director Opens Up Regarding Final Film's Delay". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
- ^ "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Blu-Ray + DVD - Review". Anime News Network. December 6, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "Final Evangelion Film Briefly Listed as 154 Minutes Long With G Rating". Anime News Network. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "Hikaru Utada Official Website | NEWS". Hikaru Utada Official Website. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "エヴァンゲリオン公式サイト News". www.evangelion.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "【朗報】シン・エヴァさん、評価で鬼滅やパラサイトを超える!!". yaraon-blog.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Koyama, Akihiro (March 10, 2021). "「キモチワルイ」 シン・エヴァンゲリオン感想・考察|小山晃弘|note". note(ノート) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-03-12.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Eisenbeis, Richard (March 9, 2021). "Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 9, 2021). "Final Evangelion Film's 1st Day Sells Over 530,000 Tickets for Over 800 Million Yen". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 10, 2021). "Final Evangelion Film Breaks IMAX Opening Day Record in Japan". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 15, 2021). "Final Evangelion Film Earns 3.3 Billion Yen in 1st Week". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio. "Final Evangelion Film Opens at #1 in Japan". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time at IMDb
- 2021 films
- Anime films composed by Shirō Sagisu
- Films directed by Hideaki Anno
- Films directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki
- Japanese films
- Japanese-language films
- Mecha anime and manga
- Neon Genesis Evangelion films
- Toho animated films
- Upcoming sequel films
- Anime postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2021 anime films
- 2021 science fiction films