Evangelion
Register
Advertisement
Evangelion

Rebuild of Evangelion (ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版, Evangerion Shin Gekijōban?, officially Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition) is a series of four anime films by the creators of Neon Genesis Evangelion which form an alternate retelling of the original TV series. Rebuild of Evangelion constitutes a separate continuity from the one of the original TV series and its associated films Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion. The first film in the series was released in Japan on September 01, 2007; the second on June 27, 2009; the third on November 17, 2012, and the fourth and final on March 08, 2021.

Production History[]

Evangelion New Theatrical Movie Letter

Theatrical letter from Evangelion 1.0.

Work on the Rebuild series began in late 2002. On February 17, 2007 series creator Hideaki Anno released an official statement in a form of a poster that was shown in 50 cinemas in Japan, providing an explanation for his motivations in creating a new version of the franchise, and stating that the release date for the first film in Japanese theaters was September 1, 2007. The English name of the film series was Rebuild of Evangelion (tentative name), which would be later dropped in favor of Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone and Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.

English translation of the poster

Many different desires are motivating us to create the new "Evangelion" film.

The desire to portray my sincere feelings on film.

The desire to share, with an audience, the embodiment of image, the diversity of expressions, and the detailed portrayal of emotions that animation offers.

The desire to connect today's exhausted Japanese animation [industry] to the future.

The desire to fight the continuing trend of stagnation in anime.

The desire to support the strength of heart that exists in the world.

Finally, the desire to have these wishes be realized.

For these purposes, we used the best methods available to us to make another film. Many times we wondered, "It's a title that's more than 10 years old. Why now?" "Eva is too old", we felt. However, over the past 12 years, there has been no anime newer than Eva.

Specifically, among the stagnant mood of the present day, it is the portrayal of will - not technology - that is most important.

To support the fans that support animation, we felt that a work that would appeal to middle and high school-aged men, who quickly grow away from Anime, was necessary.

When we decided that we wanted to something to support the anime [industry] of today, the determination to return to this title was strong.

As the creator of this project, [I assure you that] a very new-feeling world has been constructed.

For this purpose, we are not returning to our roots at. I have set up a production company and studio, and it is in this new setting that we will start again.

Without looking back, without admiration for the circumstances, we aim to walk towards the future.

Thankfully, we have gathered staff from the old series, new staff, and many other fantastic staff to work on this series.

We realize that we are creating something that will be better than the last series.

”Eva" is a story that repeats.

It is a story where the main character witnesses many horrors with his own eyes, but still tries to stand up again.

It is a story of will; a story of moving forward, if only just a little.

It is a story of fear, where someone who must face indefinite solitude fears reaching out to others, but still wants to try.

We hope that you look forward to the 4 new retellings of this story.

In closing, it is also our job to provide a service to our customers.

Although it seems obvious, we aim to create a form of entertainment that anyone can look forward to; one that people who have never seen  can easily adjust to, one that can engage audiences as a movie for theaters, and one that produces a new understanding of the world.

This fall, we hope you can join us.

Creator/General Director, Hideaki Anno

[1]

Many who worked on the original Evangelion production team returned to work on Rebuild. Hideaki Anno has written the script for the first film and has been the general director and manager for the entire project. Kazuya Tsurumaki and Masayuki have been working on directing the films while Yoshiyuki Sadamoto provided character designs and Ikuto Yamashita provided mechanical designs. Shinji Higuchi and Tomoki Kyoda provided storyboards for the first film.

Titles[]

There are four main films in the Rebuild of Evangelion series. The first is titled Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, the second Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, and the third Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo. The fourth and final film is titled Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time. There is also a one-shot manga prequel, EVANGELION 3.0 (-120 min.) that was later re-released in an OVA version, as well as another OVA prequel, EVANGELION: 3.0 (-46h).

Titles Japanese title English translations Release date
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone  (ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:序, Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Jo?) Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition: Introduction September 01, 2007 Flag of Japan
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance  (ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:破, Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Ha?) Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition: Break June 27, 2009 Flag of Japan
Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo  (ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:Q, Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Kyu?) Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition: Quickening November 17, 2012 Flag of Japan
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time  (シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版:||, Shin Evangelion Gekijōban: ||?) Evangelion: New/True Theatrical Edition: || March 08, 2021 Flag of Japan
EVANGELION: 3.0 (-120 min.) EVANGELION 3.0 (-120 min.) EVANGELION 3.0 (-120 min.) March 08, 2023 Flag of Japan
EVANGELION: 3.0 (-46h) EVANGELION 3.0 (-46h) EVANGELION 3.0 (-46h) March 08, 2023 Flag of Japan

Storyline[]

Rebuild of Evangelion was originally presented as an alternate retelling of the original TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion: the first three films were intended to be an “alternate retelling” of the original TV series, while the fourth and final film was promised to be an entirely new alternate ending to the original TV series.

Major differences include that, while Kaworu Nagisa was originally introduced very late in the original TV series in Episode 24, in Rebuild of Evangelion he was present from the beginning in the first film. In addition, a new girl named Mari appears beginning in the second film.

The plot of the first film ends with “Operation Yashima”, the battle against the 14th Angel Ramiel in Episode 06, which concluded the introductory story arc. The plotline of the second film ends in the battle against Zeruel in Episode 19, but the story greatly differs from that of the original TV series.

Trivia[]

  • The titles of the first three films do not use the normal spelling of Evangelion (エヴァンゲリオン, Evangerion?) but rather use the we (ヱ?) and wo (ヲ?) characters in place of the e (エ?) and o (オ?) characters, respectively. There is no change in pronunciation, though.
  • The fourth and final film reverts to the original katakana spelling, but adds "Shin" (シン) to the title; as it is written in katakana and not kanji, the meaning of "shin" is ambiguous and it can be alternatively translated as either "new" (新, Shin) (as in the previous three Rebuild films), "true" (真, Shin), or even something else entirely.
  • The 0 in the titles of the first three films (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0) is stylized as , which symbolizes the empty set in mathematics. It is also the symbol used by the ancient Romans to mark dead gladiators on mosaics.

See Also[]

External Links[]

References[]

Advertisement