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Studio Khara, which is known for its legendary animation Evangelion, announced on Friday, February 26 that Evangelion 3.0+1.0, the fourth Rebuild of Evangelion movie, is coming out on March 8, after several postponements. The studio also released two new trailers for the film on the same day for what the company says will be the last film of the Evangelion saga.
Finally, Fans Can Witness The End of Legendary Saga.
The beginning of the Evangelion saga was in 1995 as a TV animation series. There have been sequels since then spanning more than 25 years, but this time it appears there will be no sequels.
Featuring the theme song of the film, One Last Kiss, which is newly written by Hikaru Utada, one trailer shows many interesting cuts from the film.
The other trailer also shows many new cuts, and Misato Katsuragi, one of the main characters says:
To put an end to it all, Misato and the staff of WILLE are going to launch.
To put an end to it all, Asuka and Mari are going to drive an EVA covered with bruises.
To put an end to it all, Shinji Ikari is going to stand face to face with his father Gendou.
And then, He is going to make a decision. Goodbye, all Evangelion.
*WILLE is an organization on the protagonist’s side.
**Asuka and Mari are a main character and the heroine.
***Shinji Ikari is the hero of Evangelion.
Misato’s narration makes the fans understand that this movie really is the last film, and the Evangelion saga is going to end. Many fans have tweeted their mixed feeling of joy and sadness.
Origin of the Evangelion Story.
Evangelion is one of the most famous, successful, and fascinating animations in Japan. Originally, the story was a TV animation series by Hideaki Anno, broadcast in Japan under the title “Neon Genesis Evangelion”. It ran in 26 installments from October 1995 to May 1996.
The hero, Shinji Ikari, 14 years old, is suddenly forced to pilot one of the gigantic decisive humanoid weapons called Evangelion to defeat the unknown creatures called Angels in order to save humans.
Not only the story, but also it’s innovative visual expression, dramatic production and collaboration projects have attracted not only anime watchers and subculture aficionados, but also ordinary people.
It is also fair to say that Evangelion was the first and biggest social phenomenon from Animations. People who know this phenomenon say that it was bigger than Demon Slayer, which broke box office records in Japan at the end of 2020.
RELATED: With New Evangelion Movie, So Many Ways the Legend Comes Alive
Repeated Postponements
Although we will soon be able to watch this movie, it has been a long time in coming. It was first supposed to be released in 2011.
The original TV animation series “Neon Genesis Evangelion” finished in 1996. The ending, however, was really difficult to understand. Many fans argued about it and asked the creators to give them an alternative.
In 1997, the creator responded to the fans by releasing a sequel, entitled “The End of Evangelion”. This movie, however, ended up with a devastating and catastrophic climax. It was even more difficult to understand than the TV animation version.
In 2006, the director, Anno, announced a plan to make a “Rebuild of Evangelion” series composed of four movies including the upcoming film. He promised these movies would be entertaining and easy to understand, unlike the previous two stories.
The first three of the four movies were supposed to be released in 2007 and 2008. The first movie was released as planned. However, the second movie was released a year late, and the third movie was released four years late in 2012, due to production delays.
Further, the third movie devastated fans with its unmerciful and catastrophic story, much as “The End of Evangelion” had done in 1997. Nonetheless, the fans did not give up hope. They believed they would see a happy ending of Evangelion in the fourth movie.
After the third film, however, due to mental health issues suffered by the director, the final film in the series was postponed indefinitely.
That changed again in 2020, with the official announcement that production of the last film was underway. The announcement anticipated the last installment’s release on June 26, 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Japanese government’s declaration of emergency, the film was postponed again indefinitely.
The saga did not end there. At the end of 2020, the company again announced a new release dateーJanuary 17, 2021. However, as the number of the cases of COVID-19 rapidly increased to record levels from the end of 2020 into the beginning of 2021, another postponement was inevitable.
See how fans reacted to the last delay in this related article: ‘Evangelion: 3.0+1.0’ Movie Opening Delayed Due to State of Emergency in Japan
Finally, Everything is Ready
Fans have been avidly anticipating this movie for years, but they are becoming impatient. After many postponements, the film is now set to be released on March 8, the day after the Tokyo region’s second state of emergency is scheduled to end on March 7. After 25 years, the wish of the fans will finally come true.
This is also an historical moment for Japanese otaku subculture. It is not just an end of an animation series, but it is also the end of the era called “Evangelion,” which has been at the forefront of Japan’s otaku subculture for more than 25 years.
It is an event not to be missed. As a fan, I sincerely hope there will not be yet another postponement.
Author: Simon Kagaya
