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is a 2007 Japanese
animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
science fiction action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as ...
, written and chiefly directed by
Hideaki Anno is a Anime, Japanese animator, filmmaker, Film producer, producer, and voice actor. His most celebrated creation, the Neon Genesis Evangelion (franchise), ''Evangelion'' franchise, has had a significant influence on the anime television industr ...
. It is the first installment of the ''
Rebuild of Evangelion ''Rebuild of Evangelion'', known in Japan and on Amazon Prime Video as , is a Japanese animated film series and a reboot of the original ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' anime television series, produced by Studio Khara. Hideaki Anno serves as the ...
'' tetralogy, based on the anime television series ''
Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and directed by Hideaki Anno. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from October 1995 to March 1 ...
''. The story, which is set in the futuristic city of Tokyo-3 fifteen years after a planetary catastrophe known as the Second Impact, focuses on
Shinji Ikari is a fictional character from the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion (franchise), Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise created by Gainax. He is the franchise's poster boy and protagonist. In the Neon Genesis Evangelion, anime series of the same name, Sh ...
, a boy who is recruited by the special agency Nerv to pilot a giant mecha known as an Eva unit and fight, along with fellow pilot
Rei Ayanami is a fictional character from the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise created by Gainax. In the anime series of the same name, Rei is an introverted girl chosen as the enigmatic pilot of a giant mecha named Evangelion Unit 00. At the begi ...
, against a mysterious species named
Angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
. The film features the same cast of voice actors from the original series, including
Megumi Ogata is a Japanese actress and singer from the Greater Tokyo Area. As a singer, she goes by the name em:óu. She is best known for voicing Shinji Ikari in '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', Yugi Mutou and Dark Yugi in the Toei version of ''Yu-Gi-Oh ...
as Shinji,
Megumi Hayashibara is a Japanese voice actress, singer, lyricist and radio personality from Kita ward in Tokyo and is affiliated with self-founded Woodpark Office. One of the most prominent Japanese voice actresses since the 1990s, Hayashibara is best known for ...
as Rei, and
Kotono Mitsuishi is a Japanese actress and narrator. She was affiliated with Arts Vision and Lasley Arrow, but is now freelance. Mitsuishi lived in Nagareyama, Chiba. She graduated from high school and entered the Katsuta Voice Actor's Academy in 1986. She is ...
as
Misato Katsuragi is a fictional character from the Gainax-created media franchise ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''. In the eponymous anime television series, Misato is head of the operations department of the special agency Nerv, and is in charge of directing an ...
. ''Evangelion: 1.0'' was planned to be the first installment of a three-part remake of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' with about one hundred fifty new cuts; during the production, however, the staff could not reuse the original drawings from the series and had to begin production from scratch. As production went on, the project began to deviate from the original series, introducing differences in plot and characterization. Hideaki Anno was joined in the direction by
Kazuya Tsurumaki Kazuya Tsurumaki (鶴巻 和哉 ''Tsurumaki Kazuya'') is a Japanese anime director. He was born on February 2, 1966, in the city of Gosen, located in Niigata Prefecture. He is the protégé of Hideaki Anno, and a longtime animator at Gainax. T ...
and Masayuki, both of whom were assistant directors of the original series. The storyboards were handled by
Shinji Higuchi is a Japanese filmmaker. Known for his ''tokusatsu'' blockbusters, Higuchi is considered one of Japan's leading filmmakers of the 21st century. Higuchi became known for his work on '' Gamera: Guardian of the Universe'', for which he won the Spe ...
and
Tomoki Kyoda (born 1970) is a Japanese animation director and animator born in Osaka, Japan. Formerly a graphic designer, he nurtured the dream of becoming an animator from childhood. After doing various works supervising drawing continuity, he joined the B ...
. The film, which retraces the plot of the first six episodes of the series, enjoyed a positive reception in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, grossing about ¥2 billion and generating considerable revenue for the home video market. Abroad, ''Evangelion: 1.0'' received a more polarized reception, although generally positive; critics described it as too derivative of the classic series and claimed that it cut important details, while others praised its direction, soundtrack, and plot, with particular attention to its use of CGI graphics. The feature film also won accolades, receiving awards at, among others, the
Animation Kobe Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
and
Tokyo International Anime Fair The Tokyo International Anime Fair also known as was one of the largest anime trade fairs in the world, held annually in Tokyo, Japan. The first event was held in 2002 as "Tokyo International Anime Fair 21". The event was held at Tokyo Big Sigh ...
.


Plot

In 2015, fifteen years after a global cataclysm known as the Second Impact, fourteen-year-old
Shinji Ikari is a fictional character from the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion (franchise), Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise created by Gainax. He is the franchise's poster boy and protagonist. In the Neon Genesis Evangelion, anime series of the same name, Sh ...
is summoned to Tokyo-3 by his estranged father Gendo, the commander of the paramilitary organization Nerv. Shinji gets caught in the crossfire between UN forces and a mysterious being called an
Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
, but is rescued by Captain
Misato Katsuragi is a fictional character from the Gainax-created media franchise ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''. In the eponymous anime television series, Misato is head of the operations department of the special agency Nerv, and is in charge of directing an ...
, who brings him to Nerv headquarters. There, Gendo demands Shinji pilot Evangelion Unit 01, a giant, humanoid bio-machine, against the Angel. Shinji concedes when Gendo has
Rei Ayanami is a fictional character from the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise created by Gainax. In the anime series of the same name, Rei is an introverted girl chosen as the enigmatic pilot of a giant mecha named Evangelion Unit 00. At the begi ...
, a wounded Evangelion pilot, prepared to be sent out instead. Shinji loses consciousness during the fight due to injuries inflicted by the Angel on Unit 01, as Evangelion units sympathetically reflect the pain of injuries they sustain onto their pilots. Unit 01 autonomously reactivates and wins the fight, destroying the Angel. After the battle, Misato becomes Shinji's guardian and he is enrolled in a local junior high school. When another Angel arrives, Shinji's classmates
Toji Suzuhara The Japanese anime television series ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' has an extensive cast of characters that were created by Gainax. The show's protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy whose father Gendo recruits to the shadowy organization N ...
and
Kensuke Aida The Japanese anime television series ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' has an extensive cast of characters that were created by Gainax. The show's protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy whose father Gendo Ikari, Gendo recruits to the shadowy org ...
sneak out of their emergency shelter to watch the battle, but the Angel throws Unit 01 onto a mountainside, nearly crushing them. Misato has the two take cover in Unit 01's cockpit and orders Shinji to retreat, but he ignores the orders and destroys the enemy with Unit 01's knife. After Misato scolds him for insubordination, Shinji wanders off and is recovered by Nerv agents before being brought back to her. The Sixth Angel appears, but when Shinji is sent out to attack it in Unit 01, the Angel fires a powerful laser, critically injuring him, before beginning to drill into Tokyo-3 to reach Nerv headquarters. He wakes up from a coma several hours later, and Rei tells him that she will take his place for the operation to stop the Angel, and leaves to do it alone. Misato shows Shinji what the Angels are trying to reach: a white anthropomorphic giant kept at the bottom of Nerv headquarters, the Second Angel, Lilith, which, upon contact with one of the attacking Angels, will result in the deaths of all life on Earth. Shinji agrees to pilot Unit 01 alongside Rei in Unit 00, wielding an experimental
positron The positron or antielectron is the particle with an electric charge of +1''elementary charge, e'', a Spin (physics), spin of 1/2 (the same as the electron), and the same Electron rest mass, mass as an electron. It is the antiparticle (antimatt ...
cannon, which requires the entire electrical power output of Japan to power, like a
sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include high accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment, and optics, for anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel, anti-materiel rifle, anti-materiel and sur ...
, and successfully destroys the Angel. Rei is nearly killed defending Shinji from the Angel's return fire, but he saves her by cooling Unit 00 in water and prying open its cockpit using Unit 01's knife. Rei, normally cold and emotionless, shares a smile with him. On the surface of the Moon, a boy named
Kaworu Nagisa , real name , is a fictional character from the '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise created by Gainax. In the original television series, he is the pilot of a giant mecha named Evangelion Unit 02 for the special agency Nerv, as well as the ...
awakens from one of nine coffin-like containers arranged on the ground. In a pit in front of him, surrounded by construction equipment and scaffolding, is an unidentified giant wearing a purple seven-eyed mask and wrapped in white bandages. A black monolith appears through which he and Seele 01 engage in a cryptic conversation. Looking towards Earth, Kaworu says that "the third one" has not changed and that he looks forward to meeting Shinji.


Voice cast


Production


Pre-production

After his film ''
Cutie Honey is a Japanese Shōnen manga, shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. First appearing in ''Weekly Shōnen Champion''s 41st issue of 1973, the series ran until April 1974. It follows an android girl named Honey Kisara ...
'' (2004), ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' director Hideaki Anno began to plan another live-action project; however, a script for this film could not be drafted and the director decided to refocus on animation. Anno had planned to work on the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise again since the release of the DVD box set of his series '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water''. He officially began working on a ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''-related project in November 2005, considering it a suitable franchise he could work on without rights issues or interference. Anno was inspired by the ''
Gundam is a Japanese military science fiction media franchise. Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise (now Bandai Namco Filmworks), the franchise features giant robots, or mecha, with the name "Gundam". The franchise began on April 7, 1979, with ...
'' franchise, which had been created years before by
Yoshiyuki Tomino is a Japanese anime director, screenwriter, songwriter and novelist best known for creating the ''Gundam'' anime franchise. Early life and family Tomino was born on November 5, 1941, in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, to an old family of regio ...
and was still running through television series, video games, and comics. He gave himself the purpose of ''Gundamizing'' ''Evangelion'', expanding the franchise, possibly with the contribution of new and young authors; initially having in mind a title in the wake of ''G Evangelion'', he tried to create a work capable of completely overturning the entire concept of ''Evangelion'', similar to what ''
G Gundam ''Mobile Fighter G Gundam'', also known in Japan as (and commonly referred to as simply ''G Gundam''), is a 1994 Japanese animated television series produced by Sunrise and the fifth installment in the long-running ''Gundam'' franchis ...
'' did for Tomino's franchise. He believed that animation was at a standstill, perceiving the need to produce "a work that would appeal to middle and high school-aged men, who quickly grow away from anime", and raise the general level of animated productions. In children's animation, Anno found a wide range of content available, such as
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...
's and
Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...
's films, but for the older age groups he only noted ''Gundam''; as Tomino's franchise had reached popularity beyond the boundaries of the
otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, such as anime, manga, video games, computers or other highly enthusiastic hobbies. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. ...
fanbase, Anno set himself the goal of doing something similar. Anno did not rely on
Gainax Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; , Hepburn: ) was a Japanese anime studio famous for original productions such as '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', '' Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise'', '' Gunbuster'', '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue ...
, the studio that produced ''Evangelion'' ten years earlier, to make the film. He wanted to create something new and felt he could not do so at Gainax, thinking that the studio would make him stick to "the same framework and the same tracks". He also said that he intended to respect the spirit of the original series in this way: "Without looking back, without admiration for the circumstances, we aim to walk towards the future". Anno contacted King Records' Toshimichi Ōtsuki, producer of the ''Evangelion'' television series, and, after initial hesitations, he agreed to help produce the new project. Ōtsuki proposed the deal to different companies; however, according to him, there were not many studios willing to work on an ''Evangelion'' continuation. He found a number of candidate studios, but none decided to join the project. Although the movie '' End of Evangelion'' (1997) was produced by Gainax and
Production I.G is a Japanese animation studio. Headquartered in Musashino, Tokyo, Production I.G was founded on December 15, 1987, by producer Mitsuhisa Ishikawa and character designer Takayuki Goto as I.G Tatsunoko, a branch studio of the animation giant Ta ...
, Anno decided to hold all the legal rights to the ''Evangelion'' continuation project, saying the efforts of the staff of the original series were not adequately rewarded, and the creation of a new company would allow for a fairer distribution of profits. The introduction of ''Evangelion'' branded
pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Gambling in Japan, Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of l ...
machines into Japanese markets also helped the project, increasing DVD sales of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''. Munenori Ogasawara eventually suggested the creation of a new studio, and Anno agreed. The Khara Office was founded that year, quickly outgrowing its space along the
Chūō rapid line may refer to: Places *Chūō-ku (disambiguation), city wards named Chūō **Chūō, Tokyo, a special ward in Tokyo *Chūō, Yamanashi, a city in Yamanashi Prefecture * Chūō, Kumamoto, a former town in Kumamoto Prefecture * Chūō, Okayama, a ...
. In 2006, after moving to a larger office in Nishi-Shinjuku that February,
Khara Khara may refer to: Places * Khara, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran * Khara-Khoto, the ruins of a medieval city in western Mongolia * Khara, Pakistan, a town in Punjab, Pakistan * Khara, Nepal, a village in Nepal * Khara, Raebareli, a vi ...
was officially founded. This allowed new personnel who did not work on the original series to be hired for the new project. Anno would not resign from Gainax, however, until October 2007.


Development

Hideaki Anno was assisted in the direction of ''You Are (Not) Alone'' by Masayuki and
Kazuya Tsurumaki Kazuya Tsurumaki (鶴巻 和哉 ''Tsurumaki Kazuya'') is a Japanese anime director. He was born on February 2, 1966, in the city of Gosen, located in Niigata Prefecture. He is the protégé of Hideaki Anno, and a longtime animator at Gainax. T ...
, who were assistant directors on ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''. At the beginning of production, Anno asked Tsurumaki what he would like to do after finishing ''
Diebuster ''DieBuster'', also known as and ''GunBuster 2'', is a Japanese original video animation (OVA) series directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, written by Yōji Enokido and animated by Gainax. It was created to commemorate the studio's 20th anni ...
'' between working on an ''Evangelion''-related project, or on a new project about a famous anime. While confused by the question, he instinctively answered ''Evangelion''. If Tsurumaki had refused, Anno was prepared to offer the role of assistant director to someone else, but Tsurumaki eventually accepted, albeit with reservations. Tsurumaki had regrets about the sixth episode of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', "
Rei II "Rei II", also known by the Japanese title is the sixth episode of the anime ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', which was created by Gainax. "Rei II" was written by Hideaki Anno and Akio Satsukawa and directed by Hiroyuki Ishido. The series is set fift ...
", which after the storyboard "was ordered by another company, and Gainax had no control over it", and felt he could address the issues he had with the episode. Meanwhile, Ōtsuki contacted Masayuki in February 2006. Like with the theatrical release of 1997, Masayuki was originally working on just the layout and helping with animation; however, Khara quickly promoted him to assistant director, since Tsurumaki alone could not do all the work within the production schedule. Anno originally planned a simple graphic remake of the series with the addition of about one hundred fifty cuts and the use of more advanced animation techniques. Tsurumaki claimed Anno's original plans were not to make a "pure sequel", but a "compilation that wasn't really a compilation", similarly to what ''
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed is an anime series developed by Sunrise and directed by Mitsuo Fukuda. The ninth installment in the ''Gundam'' franchise, ''Gundam SEED'' takes place in a future calendar era, in this case the Cosmic Era. In this era, mankind has devel ...
'' did for the ''Gundam'' franchise. According to Tsurumaki, the director planned something similar to the forty-fifth episode of ''
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam , is a 1993 Japanese science fiction anime television series. It consists of 51 episodes, and was directed by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino. The series was first broadcast on TV Asahi (and its ANN stations). It is the fourth TV anime in ...
'', a recap episode that reveals more about the plot, or like the fourteenth episode of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''. The initial project also called for a film to be released every six months, though the films would be a quick, easily produced year and a half time commitment. According to Tsurumaki, Anno himself probably had no intention of officially directing the film, instead completely outsourcing the project, and the plans changed only during the production of ''Evangelion: 1.0''. At the beginning of production, Hiroshi Haraguchi and other crew members began the process of banking, an operation consisting of recovering the sheets containing the original drawings from ''Evangelion''. Because of the importance of the process, Haraguchi started early, before storyboards were even in place. Anno joined them midway through the process. The banking process was long and complex. At first, an attempt was made to simply convert the original film of the episodes to digital by doing tests at Imagica, a company specializing in film post-production. The film was converted from the original
16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, ...
format to a full
35mm 35 mm may refer to: Film * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM, a "musical exhibition" by Ryan Scott Oliver that features music ...
format; however, the images were of lower quality than expected, especially in terms of color and definition. Considering the low quality of the process, and the calculated costs of the entire procedure, Khara decided to start directly in digital and redo everything from scratch. The initial idea of a simple remake was abandoned, and the project moved away from the track established by the series. The production became more frantic, undergoing crises and changes up to the last minute; moreover, production of ''Evangelion: 1.0'' took place at the same time as the second film, '' Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance''. In the final film, only a part of the drawings came from the banking process; a third of the first half and almost the entirety of the second half was made of new material. Tsurumaki made sure that everything went smoothly, since Anno's policy was to harmonize the new parts as much as possible with the old parts. Staff described the work for ''Evangelion: 1.0'' as a live, flexible and at worst disorganized performance; Khara also did many things on the spot, and was frequently forced to redo aspects of the production due to sudden changes in schedule. Moreover, Tsurumaki claimed that even the slightest mistake could bring the production out of balance; as each department worked independently, it was hard to know if they were on the right track until the last moment. According to Haraguchi, the production had to be flexible so everything could be adjusted and changed during the process, given the constant thinking of main staff. Even the title changed during the process; when ''Evangelion: 1.0'' was announced, the film should have been titled ''Rebuild of Evangelion: 01''.


Writing

Shinji Higuchi is a Japanese filmmaker. Known for his ''tokusatsu'' blockbusters, Higuchi is considered one of Japan's leading filmmakers of the 21st century. Higuchi became known for his work on '' Gamera: Guardian of the Universe'', for which he won the Spe ...
, who was an animator in the original anime, and
Tomoki Kyoda (born 1970) is a Japanese animation director and animator born in Osaka, Japan. Formerly a graphic designer, he nurtured the dream of becoming an animator from childhood. After doing various works supervising drawing continuity, he joined the B ...
joined Anno in the storyboarding process. Anno called Higuchi since it was established that the climax of the film would revolve around Operation Yashima, the battle against the Angel Ramiel at the center of the plot. During this time, Higuchi spoke with
Kenji Kamiyama is a Japanese director and writer, best known for '' Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex''. Career After working as a background artist for productions such as '' Akira'' and ''Kiki's Delivery Service'', Kamiyama joined Production I.G, co ...
, director of '' Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex''. During the production, Higuchi drew heavily from Kamiyama's work, inspired by the camera tricks and directorial style Kamiyama used in digital animation. Higuchi found difficulties in the writing process, in particular during scenes meant to evoke a sense of surprise, such as when Rei suddenly protects Shinji with her shield from an Angel. Meanwhile, Munenori Ogasawara called Kyoda, an old colleague, because of his work on ''
Eureka Seven ''Eureka Seven'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime television series created and produced by Bones. The series was directed by Tomoki Kyoda, with series composition by Dai Satō, character designs by Kenichi Yoshida and ...
''. At first, Kyoda wanted to refuse the proposal, but accepted the job after Anno spoke with him about the state of Japanese animation and what he considered to be its imbalances. Kyoda worked with no significant direction, instead of drawing off what he heard in his first meeting at Khara; when he saw the final storyboard corrected by Tsurumaki, however, the atmosphere of the film was completely different from what he had written. Although ''Evangelion: 1.0'' is based on an extant, finished series, the storyboarding process went through several changes. Both Higuchi and Kyoda wrote storyboards that were initially much different from the television series, receiving complaints from the staff; the crew said the final result did not feel like ''Evangelion''. Anno enjoyed Kyoda's work, but found it too far from the style of the original series, so he decided to take the best parts of Kyoda's storyboard and rewrite it again. For example, Kyoda proposed a scenario during Operation Yashima in which the Eva-00 and Eva-01 join forces to hit Ramiel, like ''
Kyodai Ken Byclosser is a tokusatsu television series made by Ishinomori Productions and Toei Company, Toei. The series consisted of 34 episodes and was produced with Nippon Television. It aired in Japan from January 10, 1985 until August 29, 1985. Media Byclosser ...
'', but the result was found to be too unrealistic. Ultimately, the staff watched DVDs of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' to recover the spirit of the original series and not stray too far from the plot. Tsurumaki initially set a length of ninety minutes, but in the storyboarding process the film was almost one hundred ten, so cuts were made in the first rough editing phase. Tsurumaki also had problems understanding Higuchi's storyboards because the drawings were made spontaneously and because the notes added to the storyboards were too generic. He attempted to make the story more serious than ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', which was originally supposed to be a robotic version of ''
Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...
''. As elements from this original vision could be seen in the episodes of the series which were centered in the film, Tsurumaki elected to not write those elements back in. It was particularly difficult to introduce elements of surprise, as '' Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth'' (1997) already served as a recap film of the series. Instead, he had to devise ways to make the audience understand that ''Evangelion: 1.0'' and the ''Rebuild'' tetralogy set out to tell a different story. He and Anno also made it their goal to correctly represent Shinji and Misato's story, as well as Misato and Ritsuko's generation. During the writing process, staff introduced more changes. For example, the Angels are not named; Masayuki stated that their names were excluded from the script because they simply were not used by the staff, which had a hard time remembering them. To Tsurumaki, ''Evangelion: 1.0'' was a story of growth, so he painted in the storyboard a clear picture of Shinji's evolution, adding a happy ending to the story. However, Anno changed the plot again, adding nuance because he thought Tsurumaki's idea went too far. In its first half, ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' maintained a normal mecha story setting and then became mature and serious in the second half; to balance this, Anno added an adult and serious tone by introducing mature conversations between Ritsuko and Misato during all parts of the tetralogy. The scene in which Shinji escapes and gets on a train, introduced in the fourth episode of the series, was initially cut from the script; however, Tsurumaki pushed to introduce it again to better represent Tokyo-3. Instead of the sequence in which Shinji meets his friend
Kensuke Aida The Japanese anime television series ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' has an extensive cast of characters that were created by Gainax. The show's protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy whose father Gendo Ikari, Gendo recruits to the shadowy org ...
in the middle of the fields, also present in the fourth episode, a sequence in which Shinji wanders on a deserted highway at night was inserted, conceived by Kyoda.


Design and scenography

Hiroshi Kato, who had previously worked on ''Evangelion'', returned to work on the franchise as an art director in ''Evangelion: 1.0''. Katō also worked as production designer alongside Tatsuya Kushida of Bishou Inc. According to Kato, ideas set aside during the production of the television series due to lack of time were revived for the film. Anno also had a particular eye on pylons, telephone poles, and traffic lights. Khara called in Takeshi Takakura for design work; when he joined the staff, the content or structure of the work had not yet been decided, and Anno and the others did not know who to assign what to at first. Takakura tried to recapture the spirit of the original product while maintaining the setting Anno wanted. During the production of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion,'' for example, the details of the Eva cage were eventually omitted, due to lack of time and resources. He also participated in special excursions with the other staff members. In March, Takakura and the others visited Tepco's Keiyo power substation as well as the Miyagase Dam. The excursions proved particularly fruitful, as the dam featured a tunnel with a 45-degree slope and a walkway similar to a secret base, details that were later reflected in the Nerv base setting. Anno, a long-time railway enthusiast, also gave special attention to trains. Designer Nahohiro Washio drew the rough draft of the Eva transport train, and Takakura finished it with CG, improving the details. Kyoda also helped in the design process, conceiving the new Seele logo. Ikuto Yamashita returned to work on mecha design. He decided not to change the mecha designs too much: the Positron Rifle and Unit-01, for example, kept the same pose and position even in the ''Rebuild''. The artist also resumed some ideas discarded during the production of the series, published at the time in an artbook named ''Sore o Nasumono''. During the production of ''Evangelion'', Yamashita designed the Eva units with completely dark livery, simple orange and green luminescent inserts shining through the darkness. For the ''Rebuild'', he was able to recover the original idea from twelve years earlier and added the luminous inserts to Eva-01. Anno was particularly inspired by
Ultraman The , also known as ''Ultraman'', is a Japanese science fiction media franchise owned and produced by Tsuburaya Productions, which began with the television series '' Ultra Q'' in 1966. The franchise has expanded into many television shows, fi ...
and the Shocker members from ''
Kamen Rider The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until ''Kamen Rider Decade, Decade'' and except Thailand), is a Japanese superhero fiction, superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by ...
''. He wanted to replicate the sense of fear communicated by ''
tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...
'' products, where dark giants would suddenly find themselves in bloody night battles, with the only thing visually emerging from the darkness were their frightening glowing eyes. Anno himself helped with the design of the Eva simulator visible during Shinji's training, which Higuchi compared to the God Warrior from '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (1984) and the Destroid Monster from '' Superdimensional Fortress Macross'', two productions that Anno had participated in.
Takeshi Honda is a former Japanese competitive figure skater. He is a two-time World bronze medalist (2002, 2003), two-time Four Continents champion (1999, 2003), and six-time Japanese national champion. Personal life Takeshi Honda was born on 23 March 1 ...
was called to Khara while he was working on another production. He was in charge of the design of the Eva units, the Positron Rifle, and other mechanical equipment; he also wanted to work on special effects, but due to lack of time he left the task to others. Honda also did not make original drawings, limiting himself mostly to correcting those that already exist. At first, he thought to give the Eva units a thin body, but to give a sense of heaviness and meet the needs of the director he thickened the humanoids. He also had regrets about the television series: given the limited resources, Honda had to limit the lines used in the mecha design on ''Evangelion''. For the ''Rebuild'', he was able to draw all the mechanical details properly. The artist also changed the proportions of the mechas, while not changing anything substantial in terms of performance. He received no special requests from Anno, feeling freedom in the process.
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto is a Japanese character designer, manga artist, and one of the founding members of the Gainax anime studio. Career When Gainax was originally founded as Daicon Film, Sadamoto served as animator on the second animated project, the Daicon IV op ...
, the character designer of the original series, returned to his role for ''Evangelion: 1.0'' and the other ''Rebuild'' films. At first, he tried to work on the character color specs by simply replacing those in the series with digital equivalents. However, Sadamoto felt the digital colors looked unnatural, and the skin colors tended towards orange. Anno gave particular importance to color, controlling it in every cut. The color was especially important in the case of information-dense layouts or layouts rich in mechanical elements. The director wanted to use flashy, dense colors without lowering the quality of the image, so he joined color designer Kazuko Kikuchi and worked tirelessly on color specifications. Kikuchi also had difficulties during the process; in the end, Khara decided to adjust the color scheme according to the character's personality, thinking long and hard about what to do and taking months to do it. Hidenori Matsubara designed the clothes of Misato, Ritsuko, the Nerv workers, and some details of the pilots' suits, taking inspiration in particular from some choices introduced in Sadamoto's manga. Haraguchi was also involved in the design choice, as the drawing style was a constant topic of discussion among the directors. In the end, the production opted for a style that was neither too realistic nor overly cartoony. In the original first episode, for example, Misato makes cartoonish expressions of surprise, which were eventually removed from the film. In the original anime, the city of Tokyo-3 was portrayed as a fictional half-uninhabited capital due to the large amount of work required to animate the background characters, while Nerv workers and random inhabitants were drawn for the film. File:1 Chome Nishisakawa, Odawara-shi, Kanagawa-ken 256-0817, Japan - panoramio.jpg, City of
Odawara is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in ...
, where the angel Sachiel first appears File:箱根大観山 - panoramio (1).jpg, Panorama of the Daikanzan area, near Hakone, near which Shamshiel is intercepted File:Ōwakudani, May 31, 2018 02.jpg, The Ōwakudani, where Shinji goes after escaping from the Nerv File:湯沢市役所.jpg, Yukawa, visible during preparations for Operation Yashima File:Muramatsu park Sakura.JPG, Maramatsu, also visible during preparations for the Operation


Animation

After the banking process, backgrounds and sets were completely recreated, and the drawings were redone from scratch trying to maintain the basic atmosphere. The team could not use the old backgrounds from the series, as although they managed to recover about half the material, after twelve years in storage much was physically deteriorated and unusable. The backgrounds were still important for the animators for reference, as in some scenes the color palette used in ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' was recreated to evoke a sense of nostalgia. In other scenes, they simply copied the backgrounds over, increasing detail to an amount that was not possible with old technology. In the first scene of the film, for example, more weeds were added to the backgrounds while still maintaining the same impression. Anno also gave the animators the goal of evoking the idea of a live-action film with special effects. Shunji Suzuki, who had already been the animation director for the first episode of the series, was called to supervise the key animations, or
key frame In animation and filmmaking, a key frame (or keyframe) is a drawing or shot that defines the starting and ending points of a smooth transition. These are called ''frames'' because their position in time is measured in frames on a strip of f ...
s. He was also in charge of correcting the animation layout, with Yuji Moriyama and Kazuya Kise eventually joining him as supervisors. Suzuki tried to give a sense of unity to the animation, as different parts of the film were worked on simultaneously by different directors. The overall workload increased exponentially during the process, and he found himself struggling in a state of chaos, always working on three or four things at once. Sadamoto helped with animation, mainly for Kaworu's last scene on the Moon, while Hidenori Matsubara was chosen as the animation director for the second part of the film. At first, when the project's vision was to remake the anime with one hundred fifty new cuts, they only asked Matsubara to help with the new designs, but during production he asked to work on only the new drawings so as to not ruin the original atmosphere of the show. Matsubara also helped in the first part and the layouts. Anno also did not ask him for anything in particular, as there was no clear idea of what to do, and no rigid titles or defined agreements were assigned within the creative staff. Tatsuya Takana, on the other hand, specialized in poles. Anno explicitly requested that they, along with distributors and payphones, be treated for all intents and purposes as characters. The director took photos of poles to be depicted in the film, which were combined into a layout by Ikki Todoroki, then drawn in clean lines so that the finishers could paint them. The pylons were primarily drawn in 3D, but Tanaka added the wires, going so far as to draw almost every pole in the film. He also drew the Shōnan-Shinjuku line at the beginning of the film, details in the layout, and fighter planes drawn by Anno. He initially proposed using 3D for the poles, outlining them directly from photographs to save money, but the production preferred to do otherwise. Takana also designed most of the traffic lights, conceiving the design himself. The reference photos he had were not entirely clear, so he integrated the parts that were not visible, working and making changes until the last minute. Even the poles and buildings were drawn in celluloid. Anno paid special attention to the colors, working with the color designer, Kikuchi, step by step. Anno worked with him on the train cuts, checking the smallest details every time. Sometimes he and Anno spent more than half an hour on a cut of a few frames, and, thanks to the benefits of digital technology, Kikuchi was able to change the color with ease. The Angels were partly made in 3D CGI and partly hand-drawn, as in the case of Shamshiel's whips. Other sequences, such as the one in which the Eva units are transported by trains, required precision in the movements and were instead made in 3D.. Other staff members also intervened in the process. Honda was responsible for the cut in which the Eva-01 is framed seizing the Positron Rifle, and had trouble drawing it. The framing was eventually done by hand; according to Honda 3D would have been boring, while hand-drawing, by nature less accurate, allowed to give "some unexpected false information". The Gatling gun was made by Kazuya Kise; Tomoko Masuda, on the other hand, was assigned to oversee the 2D digital work. Masuda, who had previously been in charge of
matte painting A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that is not present at the filming location. Historically, matte painters and film technicia ...
the live-action films and had worked with Higuchi on ''
Sinking of Japan is a 2006 Japanese ''tokusatsu'' disaster film directed by Shinji Higuchi. It is an adaptation of the novel '' Japan Sinks'' and a remake of its earlier film adaptation '' Submersion of Japan'', both released in the year 1973. It stars Tsuyoshi ...
'' (2006), was tasked with producing the logos and legible lettering on signs, drinks and other visible objects in the film; he produced imaginary company logos mixed with some existing ones, along with barcodes and car license plates. He used
Adobe Illustrator Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and Computer-aided design, design software developed and marketed by Adobe Inc., Adobe. Originally designed for the Apple Inc., Apple Mac (computer), Macintosh, development of Adobe Illustrator began ...
for outlining and output, then used
Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe for Windows and macOS. It was created in 1987 by Thomas and John Knoll. It is the most used tool for professional digital art, especially in raster graphics editin ...
and
After Effects Adobe After Effects is a digital visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing application developed by Adobe Inc.; it is used for animation and in the post-production process of film making, video games and television production. Among oth ...
for corrections in the process. At the end of July 2006, during the final stages of production, the staff observed and corrected any errors in the animations, with whoever pointed out the error then having to take responsibility, fixing the wrong drawings themselves. The work of the digital department was delivered at the end, after everyone else had finished. File:Alpine A310, 1981 (4).jpg, A Renault
Alpine A310 The Alpine A310 is a sports car built by French manufacturer Alpine (automobile), Alpine from 1971 to 1984. It was the last Alpine model conceived by founder Jean Rédélé. __TOC__ History Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, Dieppe-based Alpine (car), Alpi ...
, a type of car owned by Misato Katsuragi File:Leopard 2 A7.JPG, A Leopard 2 A7, a type of tank used in the Sachiel attack sequence File:M551 Sheridan, Joint Readiness Training Center.JPEG, A
M551 The M551 "Sheridan" AR/AAV (Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle) was a light tank developed by the United States and named after General Philip Sheridan, of American Civil War fame. It was designed to be landed by parachute and to swi ...
, a tank similar to those used in the Sachiel attack sequence File:JNR DD51 1027 20071003.jpg, A Diesel DD51 train car used during Operation Yashima File:JGSDF Light Armored vehicle 20120429-01.JPG, A Light Armoured Vehicle similar to those visible during Operation Yashima


CGI

Anno stated that he was not a CGI technology expert, did not know how to use Photoshop well, and had an unpleasant experience with digital effects while making ''Cutie Honey''. Due to this, he preferred to direct the CGI team as little as possible, having an overview of the entire production system. It was difficult to understand the flow and volume of the film for him, which was a product primarily intended for cinemas, because of the use of small PC screens to watch everything. At first, the staff did not know where CG would be best suited. Daisuke Onizuka, who had worked on ''Diebuster'' with Tsurumaki, and Hiroyasu Kobayashi were chosen as CGI directors. While CG is usually required to resemble a live-action film, Onizuka and Kobayashi were asked to recreate the world of miniature sets, typical of live-action films with special effects. Anno often added new cuts just to show off these new details, trains, and other mechanical details in CGI. Kobayashi did the modeling and Onizuka did the animation, making changes and additions well after the storyboarding phase was over. This was due to constant changes in the storyboarding process, the addition of new cuts, and layout revisions. In addition, the buildings in Tokyo-3 were initially supposed to be simple, but Anno kept coming up with new ideas and it was difficult to meet the director's demands under such tight deadlines. As the work progressed, Anno's guidelines became clearer and clearer, and special effects works such as ''Ultraman'' served as a guide in the process. Eiji Inomoto and Ryūta Undo assisted with CGI and visual effects. Undo was in charge of the scene in which Sachiel appears, while Inomoto was in charge of supervising the work of all the CG animators. Undo was responsible for the individual cuts without knowing the overall flow of the film. CG cuts took longer than originally planned, as they also worked on the launch of Eva-01, the ejection of Unit 00's Entry Plug, and the scenes where VTOLs appeared. Most of the cars were also done in CG, and Anno valued precision in the models' details. For the cuts featuring trains, they had Anno come to Orange company so they could work on the layout in real-time; eventually, they also had to make further adjustments at Khara. Undo also became responsible for the frames with the transformers and wagons visible during Operation Yashima. Furthermore, they made last-minute adjustments to control the lighting and shadows in the sequences. The Prog-Knife of the Eva-01 was also rendered in CGI. Atsuki Satō and Hibiki Watabe also worked on Operation Yashima. At first, the two artists worked ''Evangelion: 1.0'' alongside layouts for the next ''Rebuild'' films. Satō designed, among other things, the Khara logo, which was requested by Anno to be done in the style of ''
Ultraman Taro is the fifth entry (sixth overall) in the Ultra Series. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions, the series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from April 6, 1973, to April 5, 1974, with a total of 53 episodes. Plot Kotaro Higashi is a wanderer who jo ...
''. The Angel Ramiel was particularly difficult to realize, as in the film it changes size and shape in a wide variety of appearances. Ramiel's original shape was inspired in part by ''
The Andromeda Strain ''The Andromeda Strain'' is a 1969 novel by American writer Michael Crichton, his first novel under his own name and his sixth novel overall. It documents the outbreak of a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism in Arizona and the team of scie ...
'' (1971) and in part by an image depicting a four-dimensional object in a three-dimensional world, drawn by Takashi Watabe during the production of '' The Wings of Honnêamise'' (1987). However, his initial idea turned out to be impossible to realize. Meanwhile, Higuchi's storyboards only indicated that Ramiel would transform into a form impossible for people to understand. This led to problems for the animators. Due to how difficult portraying the Angel was, Tsurumaki drew a rough sketch of the shape and movement the Angel would have. The finished product was different from this sketch, as the process of creating the Angel was flexible and unconventional. The images were completed in early August 2007. The final schedule proved tight, and it was difficult to ensure that the final layout, finished in July, was consistent. The artists also stated that they did not have to worry too much about the consistency of the product as much as they did about its communicative effectiveness. While working on Ramiel, for example, there was a rendering error, as the reflections of the lower and upper faces of the Angel were reversed. Tsurumaki, however, said to leave it that way because Anno would like it better. They superimposed different images of the reflected background on Ramiel, layering different types of lighting; however, Satō and the others had to wait until the backgrounds were ready as they tended to arrive later than expected. Another difficult image to achieve in CGI was the lights of the Japanese archipelago going out. There was detailed direction on this from the beginning, taking into account the power companies and stations in each area. Main lines and sections within each power company were calculated, making the system turn off accordingly.


Special effects

Shōichi Masuo was appointed as the special effects director. Masuo was called while he was still working on ''
Demonbane is a Japanese visual novel series by Nitroplus with mecha and Cthulhu Mythos elements. Beginning as an eroge visual novel for the PC, it was ported into a PlayStation 2 non-eroge remake, and spawned a sequel visual novel, a prequel nove ...
'', so he was unable to join the team until October 2006. ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' utilized graphical gimmicks made with the means available during the production, so for ''Evangelion: 1.0'' Masuo tried to recreate the feel of the anime, but in digital form. He also utilized new gimmicks that were impossible to use during the production of the series. In the process, he mainly used Adobe After Effects. The CG was supplemented with hand drawings: wave splashes, for example, are usually done in CG, but according to Masuo the process does not do them justice and is graphically unsatisfactory. He received requests for texture changes for these details, thus creating the material in analog; the paper drawing was then scanned, transferred to software, processed, and then digitally retouched. At first, Anno gave the special effects team creative freedom, waiting until the last few months of production to give more precise and crisp instructions. A lot of CG was used for parts that looked the same as the old ones; the goal was to give the impression of
cel-shading Cel shading or toon shading is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make 3D computer graphics appear to be flat by using less shading color instead of a Color gradient, shade gradient or tints and shades. A cel shader is often us ...
, so everything computer-generated looked like it was drawn by hand. The mobile buildings of Tokyo-3 were particularly complicated, as they were treated as if they were mecha. Masuo compared the buildings to the mobile constructions of ''Stingray'' by
Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist, who is known for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s production ...
, to the buildings of the
Mothra is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's '' 1961 film of the same name'', produced and distributed by Toho. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, often as a recur ...
kaijū is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju ...
films, and to the turrets that come out during the interception of the monsters of ''
Destroy All Monsters is a 1968 Japanese epic ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects directed by Sadamasa Arikawa and supervised by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the ''G ...
'' (1968). The buildings and poles were in fact drawn as characters. Digital did not always turn out to be faster than traditional, as it was particularly difficult to render the muzzle flash of the Eva units' bullets, which would have taken five minutes to draw in analog.


Voice acting

The dubbing for ''Evangelion: 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone'' officially began on July 31, 2007. The dubbing took place at Tokyo TV Center Studios, while the final sound mix was done at MA Studio. The character voices, music, and sound effects, which were recorded and processed separately, were merged for the first time during the mixing process. The final stages of dubbing began on August 22. Masayuki and Anno attended the recordings; however, Masayuki only reported errors in the audio synchronization due to Anno's strong presence. *
Megumi Ogata is a Japanese actress and singer from the Greater Tokyo Area. As a singer, she goes by the name em:óu. She is best known for voicing Shinji Ikari in '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', Yugi Mutou and Dark Yugi in the Toei version of ''Yu-Gi-Oh ...
returned to play the main character, Shinji Ikari. The voice actress noted that by the end of the film, her character had already taken a different direction from ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''. Although ten years had passed since the film ''The End of Evangelion'', Ogata had continued to play the character in other media, such as video games. Given Shinji's characterization as a passive boy who simply reacts to the information or actions of other characters, Ogata found it difficult to act without the other performers in the other incarnations; however, she found it easier during the production of the ''Rebuild'' tetralogy as other voice actors returned to the room. Unlike the other performers, Anno did not give her instructions, instead telling her to act how she pleased. The performance was not easy, and it took time for the voice actress to get into the spirit of the film. The first day in particular was tiring, and by the end she felt exhausted. In the scene where Shinji is attacked by the sixth Angel and is burned by the enemy, for example, she recorded a scream which caused a slight burn in her windpipe. *
Akira Ishida is a Japanese actor who specializes in voice acting. For his portrayal of Saki Abdusha in '' Sakura Wars'', and Athrun Zala in '' Mobile Suit Gundam SEED'', '' Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny'' and '' Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom'' and M ...
reprised the character of Kaworu Nagisa. In the original series, Kaworu appeared only in the twenty-fourth episode, so his early presence served to make people understand that the ''Rebuild'' did not correspond to the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''. During the recordings Anno gave him an explanation about Shinji and Kaworu's roles in the new tetralogy, so he based his interpretation on what he understood from the information he received from the director. *
Megumi Hayashibara is a Japanese voice actress, singer, lyricist and radio personality from Kita ward in Tokyo and is affiliated with self-founded Woodpark Office. One of the most prominent Japanese voice actresses since the 1990s, Hayashibara is best known for ...
reprised the character of Rei Ayanami. The order of recording did not follow the order of events, but was done according to a very precise arrangement of scenes. Hayashibara had continued to dub Rei in the years between the classic series and the ''Rebuild'', but only for limited readings. The voice actress was therefore indifferent to the announcement of the ''Rebuild'' tetralogy, and only afterward did she enter the project. After an initial embarrassment, she was able to record quietly, without any hiccups or disturbances whatsoever. Anno gave her no specific instructions, exchanging only a few words with him during lunch breaks. *
Kotono Mitsuishi is a Japanese actress and narrator. She was affiliated with Arts Vision and Lasley Arrow, but is now freelance. Mitsuishi lived in Nagareyama, Chiba. She graduated from high school and entered the Katsuta Voice Actor's Academy in 1986. She is ...
returned to play Misato Katsuragi. Misato's character is twenty-nine years old, and due to the passage of time between recording lines for ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' and the ''Rebuild'' tetralogy was instructed to adopt a more youthful tone than in the series. Mitsuishi had also continued to voice her character, who died in the feature film ''The End of Evangelion,'' in video games''.'' According to Mitsuishi, this created another Misato in her mind, one that was far from the director's vision of the characters. Given the time that elapsed between the two interpretations of Misato, the actress initially tried to avoid a simple copy of the original version of the character, trying to recreate the spirit of the original one. In the end, despite the differences and different nuances, there were no major changes in terms of acting. *
Fumihiko Tachiki is a Japanese voice actor, live-action actor, and narrator. Career Tachiki is known for his low voice. He serves as the narrator for ''Pride Fighting Championships'' and Dream. He and Toshiyuki Morikawa formed the band "2HEARTS" in 2003. Their s ...
returned to play Gendo Ikari. At the time of recording lines for ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', Tachiki had difficulty getting in touch with his character. With ''Evangelion: 1.0'', however, since his age was closer to Gendo's, he found things easier than before. The voice actor compared the feeling he experienced to a feeling of happiness, a happiness "that only parents can feel for their children".
Sayaka Ōhara is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Haikyō. Her major roles include Alicia Florence in ''Aria'', Milly Ashford in ''Code Geass'', Erza Scarlet in ''Fairy Tail'', Irisviel in the '' Fate/Zero'' and '' Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya' ...
also participated in the film voicing background ads by unnamed operators, and would later continue acting in the ''Rebuild'' tetralogy by playing Sumire Nagara in '' Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo'' (2012).


Photography and sound

T2 Studio's Toru Fukushi was chosen as the director of photography. He had difficulties during the photography process, feeling that despite his efforts much of the atmosphere and flavor of the original anime was lost as if there was "an impassable wall". According to Fukushi, digital technology has the advantage of controlling all the elements, while eliminating chance, which he said was an important component of the process. The digital format allowed for easier implementation of drawings, joining them to the backgrounds and superimposing the camera work done by the director. The characters and mecha processed through CG also went through a compositional stage with materials similar in type to rhodium-glass. In the compositing stage, the staff made use of various types of effects, mostly filters and lighting effects such as blurring, wave glass (or irregular distortion), and multiple exposures. Other effects that were used were transmitted light, which strikes a subject from the top, para, and flare: with para, a portion of the surface appears to be coated with kerosene, while flare involves the insertion of diffused light. The director did not initially give any particular guidelines on photography. For particular cuts, however, Fukushi went to Khara, where Anno and Tsurumaki sat next to him and made adjustments cut-by-cut without any clear policy. Anno's tastes eventually emerged, and in the end, Fukushi spent most of his time in the director's presence adjusting paras and flares. Fukushi had to pay particular attention to the luminescent parts of the Eva-01, as they required a photographic effect inserted as a digital mask, with transmitted light and multiple exposures. The upper part of the screen in the night battles was made darker, to emphasize the sense of immensity. Anno asked for the cityscape to be drawn with a bright sky at first, so as not to lose detail, and then asked to have the scene darkened later. The sound effects were handled by Tōru Noguchi, a member of Anime Sound. Noguchi had already worked on '' Renewal of Evangelion'', which entailed remastering the audio of the original series to
5.1 surround sound 5.1 surround sound ("five-point one") is the common name for surround sound audio systems. 5.1 is the most commonly used layout in home theatres. It uses five full-bandwidth channels and one low-frequency effects channel (the "point one"). Dolb ...
. For the ''Renewal'' tetralogy, however, there were difficulties due to Anno's typical style of overlapping dialogue and sound information. At the beginning, Noguchi tried to subtract some sound information for ''Evangelion: 1.0'' to make the sound more understandable for viewers. He also fielded different requests from Anno, so he worked and edited until the last minute. At first, Noguchi thought he would simply copy the sounds of the TV series and extend them for a film release, but his plans lead to a much different result. The process was not easy, and since he had to work on an already existing product, he found many difficulties up to the end of the production. Noguchi thought about quitting, but hesitated because of the impact his departure would have on King Records and the rest of the team. When he received the storyboard, Noguchi only had vague information about the sound direction. He based much of the material off of the sounds already present in ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''; for example, he gave the Angel Ramiel feminine vocals. During its transformation scenes, he also inserted metallic noises, though Anno said nothing in particular about it. Noguchi was able to take departures from the sound design of the original series, for example, superimposing various sounds including a vocal element and a ray-like sound for the Angel's shield. He found difficulty creating the modulation of the Eva-01's machine gun, as Masayuki had many requests and Noguchi had difficulty finding a balance between his and Masayuki's ideas. He kept the sound of the Positron Rifle as similar to the original one as possible. Anno also gave him specifications on the types of trains used in the film, making a detailed plan of how the sounds would change accordingly. For the train visible during a vision of Shinji, they asked him to use the sound recorded for ''
Shiki-Jitsu , also known as ''Ritual'', is a 2000 Japanese psychological drama film written and directed by Hideaki Anno. It is based on the novella ''Tōhimu'' by Ayako Fujitani, who also stars alongside Shunji Iwai. Like Anno's previous film '' Love & ...
'', a 2000 film also directed by Anno.


Post-production

Hiroshi Okuda was brought in to edit the film, taking over from assistant director Ikki Torodoki. He had previously worked with Anno on ''Nadia'', the live-action segment of ''The End of Evangelion'', '' Love & Pop'' (1998) and ''
Cutie Honey is a Japanese Shōnen manga, shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. First appearing in ''Weekly Shōnen Champion''s 41st issue of 1973, the series ran until April 1974. It follows an android girl named Honey Kisara ...
'' (2004). Okuda used
Avid Technology Avid Technology, Inc. is a global technology company headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, and was founded in August 1987 by Bill Warner. It develops software, SaaS, and hardware products used in media and entertainment. History Avid wa ...
and worked to edit the film well into the dubbing process, after the recording program had passed its deadline. When he put together the film, it was two and a half hours long; however, Toshimichi Ōtsuki requested that the film be finished around ninety minutes, so Okuda cut the first half down. It was difficult for Okuda to decide where to put Rei's activation test scene, but due to the film being shot on digital, tests could be completed and he could experiment with scene placement. This gave him more versatility than in his previous works.


Music

The soundtrack for ''Evangelion: 1.0'' was composed by
Shirō Sagisu is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer. With a career spanning over 40 years (beginning in the late 1970s), he is best known for his works as a record producer for acts including various choir members Mike Wyzgowski, Misia, Satosh ...
, who had previously composed the music for the original television series. Sagisu, who was accustomed to not looking for too much information on the films he worked on, chose instead to carefully read the storyboards of ''Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone''. First, he went to King Records to retrieve and copy the original scores, re-watching ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' on DVD. He first went to Khara to discuss the score on March 16, 2007, seeking advice from Anno, who told him that the music should have "depth". Sagisu wrote the music in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and recorded demos at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, following Anno's precise direction about the use of music, timing, and lengths of music used in the scores during the most important stages of recording. The soundtrack was then mastered in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. It took five weeks for Sagisu to write the songs and record the demos, then another ten weeks to record the final soundtrack. Old songs were re-arranged and re-recorded; given the advancement of technology, the work was simplified compared to his earlier work with Anno, and the crew could see, hear, and control the soundtrack even in the intermediate stages of production. This allowed for more possibility for experimentation compared to the production on ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', where the music was recorded and edited on analog. On May 11, the composer sent a demo of the column from London to the Khara studio. The recording sessions in London ended in early July, then Sagisu moved to Tokyo where the music was then completed. Sagisu chose to record in London because he found English studios more advanced and reliable than Japanese studios, with availability for 5.1 channels and the option to use screens to synchronize his music with video. Some tracks were given titles in French, others in English, depending on where he was working at the time. Japanese singer
Hikaru Utada , also known mononymously as Utada, is a Japanese and American singer, songwriter, and producer. She is considered to be one of the most influential and best-selling musical artists in Japan. She is best known by international audiences for w ...
performed on two tracks, namely " Beautiful World", the film's end credits music, and "
Fly Me to the Moon "Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apo ...
", her rendition of a jazz standard which was used as both the ending theme of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' and the music for the first trailer of ''Evangelion: 1.0''. Both tracks were later included in Utada's single "Beautiful World/Kiss & Cry", which was released in Japan on August 29, 2007. The entire soundtrack of the film was released on two albums, along with songs featured in the film by Hikaru Utada and Kotono Mitsuishi. The first, ''Shiro Sagisu: Music from "Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone"'', was released by King Records on September 26, 2007; the second, , contains tracks that appear in the film but were not included in the previous album and was released on May 21, 2008.


Release


Marketing

The film was announced in ''
Newtype is a monthly magazine originating from Japan covering anime and, to a lesser extent, manga, voice actors, science fiction, , and video games. It was launched by publishing company Kadokawa Shoten on March 8, 1985, and has since been released in ...
'' magazine on September 10, 2006, and was originally scheduled to be released in early summer 2007. In preparation for the release, Anno published a letter with mission statements for both ''Evangelion: 1.0'' and the rest of the ''Rebuild'' tetralogy, which was then displayed in poster format in fifty Japanese cinemas. On February 17, 2007, a special was released online which announced the film would be released on September 1, 2007. Three more ''Rebuild'' specials were released afterward, one in late February, one in March, and one in April. Pre-sale tickets were first made available on April 28, though the official pre-sale began on June 9. The first trailer for ''Evangelion: 1.0,'' featuring Hikaru Utada's "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)", was released on July 17. A second trailer, which included images portraying Kaworu Nagisa and featured the song "Beautiful World", was released on August 11. Before the release of ''Evangelion: 1.0'', Khara collaborated with companies such as ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine,
Pizza Hut Pizza Hut, LLC is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, by brothers Dan and Frank Carney. The chain, headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates 19,866 restaurants worldw ...
,
Doritos Doritos () is an American brand of flavored tortilla chips produced by Frito-Lay, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo. The concept for Doritos originated at Disneyland at a restaurant managed by Frito-Lay. In 1966, Doritos became the first ...
, Ueshima Coffee and
Frito-Lay Frito-Lay, Inc. (; ) is an American food company that manufactures, markets, and sells snack foods. It began in the early 1930s as two companies, Fritos, the Frito Company and Lay's, H.W. Lay & Company, that merged in 1961. Frito-Lay itself merg ...
in order to promote the film's theatrical release. Many of these brands were later added in scenes of the film. For the release of ''Evangelion: 1.0'', three hundred thousand cases of ''Evangelion'' UCC Coffee character-themed coffee cans were put on the market, corresponding to about nine million cans. According to Toshimichi Ōtsuki, no major advertising deals were made in order to give the customer a sense of exclusivity, as if they had to fight to see the film or buy the official brochures. A wide range of ''Evangelion''-themed merchandising products was distributed, such as posters, keychains, pins, stickers, pens, wallets, mugs, and action figures. An official pamphlet about the film was also distributed during the theatrical screening, selling about 290,000 copies. In March 2008,
Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...
released an ''Evangelion: 1.0'' card game entitled . A collection of interviews, illustrations, drawings, and preparatory sketches of the film was also released in the same year in a publication named . On June 4, 2009, an official video game about the film was released for PSP and
PS2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 November, in Australia on 30 November, ...
; for the game, the battles were recreated in 3D, giving the player the possibility to choose between the atmosphere of the ''Rebuild'' and that of the original series. Elements from the film were later picked up for pachinko games, such as and .


Japanese release

The film was initially scheduled to be screened at the Tokyo Square Cinema within the Tokyo Milano Cinema complex in
Shinjuku , officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropol ...
; however, the theater's seating capacity of 224 was insufficient to accommodate the large audience. The screening was moved to the Milano 1, which had a capacity of 1,046 seats. On the day of the premiere, seven consecutive screenings were held from the morning until the theater closed, during which the film received an enthusiastic response from the audience. The film was then released in eighty-four theaters on September 1, 2007. On April 26, 2008, ''Evangelion: 1.01'', the home video version of the film, was shown in some theaters, and then released on DVD on May 16. Furthermore, on New Year's Eve 2013, ''Evangelion 1.0'' was screened along with ''Evangelion: 2.0'' and ''Evangelion: 3.0'' in a special marathon in forty-four Japanese cinemas. An edited-for-television version of ''Evangelion: 1.01'' was broadcast during NTV's Friday Roadshow segment on July 3, 2009, and the password for a special puzzle game about the ''Rebuild'' tetralogy was made available during the broadcast. ''Evangelion: 1.0'' was released on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
in 2020 and was made available for free between April 20 and 30 on the official Khara YouTube channel. The film was also made available between April 18 and 30 on the official Eva Extra app. An official live broadcast of the film on
Google Meet Google Meet is a video communication service developed by Google. It is one of two apps that constitute the replacement for Google Hangouts, the other being Google Chat. It replaced the consumer-facing Google Duo on November 1, 2022, with ...
with Japanese singer
Yōko Takahashi is a Japanese singer, who is best known for her work throughout the 1990s, most particularly for her singles which were performed for and featured in anime, most notably the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion (franchise), Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franch ...
as a guest was held on April 25 and 26. On May 14, the film was then broadcast on the Line Live platform. ''Evangelion: 1.0'' was later re-released in eighty-two Japanese cinemas in 4DX and MX4D technology on December 4, 2020, to promote the release of '' Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time'', the fourth and final film of the ''Rebuild'' tetralogy, followed by screenings of the next two films in the tetralogy in the following days; explanatory booklets of each ''Rebuild'' installment, which were released at the time of the films' debut, were re-distributed for the screening. In the same month, all three films of the saga were released on Japan's
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
. On March 5, 2021, ''1.0'' was broadcast in its entirety on Prime Video Japan's YouTube channel.


Home-video release

''Evangelion: 1.01'', the first home video edition of the film, was released on DVD by King Records on April 25, 2008. To improve the visual experience of the film, Anno made 266 changes to the video and audio of ''Evangelion: 1.0,'' none of which substantially altered the plot of the feature film. The staff used an HD
telecine Telecine ( or ), or TK, is the process of transferring film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in this post-production process. Telecine enables a motion picture, captured origi ...
system made from a new print of the film's 35mm print and, under the director's supervision, the music and images for ''Evangelion: 1.01'' were recalibrated. This home video edition was released in a special limited run of three hundred thousand copies, with a bonus disc containing ''Explanation of Evangelion: 1.01'', a subtitled version of the film with technical information, information about the characters, and a promotional video of Operation Yashima set to the track "Angel of Doom". This video was later released on King Records' YouTube channel. The edition also included a reel containing five random stills from the feature film, extra content, and promotional videos. A standard edition of ''Evangelion: 1.01'' was released on DVD on May 21, 2008. When the final release date of ''Evangelion: 2.0'' was officially announced on February 20, 2009, King Records announced a new version of ''Evangelion: 1.0'' for the home video market, ''Evangelion: 1.11''. This new version was released on May 27, 2009, in
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
and DVD formats. The Blu-ray featured Super Bit Mapping for Video (SBMV), a new mixing system developed for
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
. ''Evangelion: 1.11'' is 101 minutes long, three minutes longer than the ''Evangelion: 1.01''. The bonus video ''Rebuild of Evangelion: 1.01'', which was already present in the special edition of ''Evangelion: 1.01'', as well as unreleased footage from ''Evangelion: 2.0,'' was included in both the DVD and Blu-Ray editions.


English-language release

''Evangelion: 1.0'' was screened at various English-language festivals between July 2008 and March 2009, including the
Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...
,
Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
, the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema and the
AFI Dallas International Film Festival The Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Dallas, Texas. The 2025 edition will be held April 25-May 1, 2025. DIFF 2024 was held April 25-May 1, 2024. DIFF 2023 was held April 28-May 5, 2023. Th ...
. In November 2008,
Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
issued a
cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the oth ...
order to
fansub A fansub (short for fan-subtitled) is a version of a foreign film or foreign television program, typically anime or dorama which has been translated by fans (as opposed to an officially licensed translation done by paid professionals) and subti ...
bers of ''Evangelion: 1.0'' on behalf of
Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...
, along with several other anime properties. Then, on December 31, 2008, Funimation announced that it had acquired the rights to the first ''Rebuild of Evangelion'' film. On May 23, 2009, the cast for the film's English dub was announced at Anime Boston, with
Spike Spencer Charles Forrest "Spike" Spencer (born December 21, 1968) is an American voice actor and columnist best known for dubbing Japanese anime films. He is known for his roles in ADV Films dubs of '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'' as Shinji Ikari, '' Mart ...
and
Allison Keith Allison Keith-Shipp is an American voice actress who is best known for her English-dubbing work with ADV Films on anime movies and television series as ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', in which she voiced the character Misato Katsuragi. Keith was in ...
reprising their respective roles as Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi. The film was shown at limited engagements in theaters in the United States before premiering in Canada on September 30. The film is rated PG-13 in the United States for action, violence, and some nudity. ''You Are (Not) Alone'' was screened in at least 77 film theaters across North America, 60 of which are in Canada. Funimation released ''Evangelion: 1.01'' on DVD in North America on November 17, 2009, and later released ''1.11'' on Blu-ray and DVD on March 9, 2010. The film was first released on DVD in Australia by Red Ant Enterprises on November 12, 2008. As Red Ant Enterprises went into receivership in January 2009, that release is no longer available for sale. The Australian rights to ''Evangelion: 1.0'' have since been sub-licensed to
Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, stylized as MADMAN, is an Australian film and television production, distribution, entertainment, and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising ...
, who have a special relationship with
Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
and have the rights to various TV series and films from
Manga Entertainment Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1991, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyr ...
and
ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gr ...
. Madman Entertainment released the film in Australia on November 30, 2009. In 2021,
Amazon Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...
acquired the streaming rights to all of the ''Rebuild of Evangelion'' films. The ''1.11'' version of the film became available on the streaming service on August 13, 2021. It featured full re-dubbings of all ''Rebuild'' films, including several voice actors from the
A.D. Vision A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gr ...
and
Manga Entertainment Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1991, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyr ...
localizations of the original series and films, in place of the mostly new cast used in the
Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
adaptations of the ''Rebuild'' series and
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
's adaptation of the series. Like Netflix's release, it also included a full re-translation by Khara's in-house translator, Dan Kanemitsu.


Reception


Box office and public response

''Evangelion: 1.0'' grossed 280 million yen within the first two days of its theatrical run, ranking first in the box office that week with 236,158 admissions. The press described the film's opening weekend as a great success; it was also the first film to open in the first place while also screening in less than a hundred theaters throughout Japan since the national weekly box office charts began circulating in December 2003. From the opening numbers, ''Evangelion: 1.0'' was predicted to gross one and a half to two billion yen during its theatrical run. The following weekend, the film continued to perform high at the box office, though it fell to second place with the release of the Japanese film ''Hero''. By the third week, the film had already grossed one billion yen, maintaining its second-place position at the box office behind ''Hero''. At the end of its fourth week, it reached one million ticket sales, but dropped to fourth place after ''Hero'', '' Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'', and ''
Arthur and the Invisibles ''Arthur and the Minimoys'' () is a 2006 English-language French live-action/animated fantasy film directed and co-written by French filmmaker Luc Besson. It is based on the first two books of the ''Arthur'' children's books series, ''Arthur and ...
''. ''Evangelion: 1.0'' then dropped to eighth place, where it remained for two more consecutive weeks before dropping to ninth and tenth place in the following weeks. By the end of 2007, the film had grossed two billion yen, making it the fifteenth highest-grossing film in Japan in 2008 and fourth highest-grossing animated film in Japan, behind '' Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai'', '' Doraemon: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld'' and '' Detective Conan: Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure''. The popularity of ''Evangelion: 1.0'' caused increased sales and rentals of home video releases of ''Neon Genesis Evangelion, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Rebirth,'' and ''End of Evangelion''. According to ''Evangelion Chronicle'', the franchise's official magazine, one hundred five Japanese theaters screened the film, attracting 1.5 million filmgoers.
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
reported that the ''Evangelion: 1.0'' home video releases were a success, with the ''Evangelion: 1.1'' special edition DVD selling 219,000 copies in its first week of release. This made it the highest-grossing film of the week and best-selling release of the ''Evangelion'' franchise's home media. At the end of 2008, 297,927 copies of the special edition DVD were sold, making it the third best-selling DVD of the year, behind only ''Transformers'' and '' Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'', and Amazon Japan's best-selling DVD of the year. A GfK Japan pole declared it the best DVD release of 2008. Vinyl reels of stills from the film distributed as part of the special edition copies were sold at high prices in online auctions, receiving attention from Japanese media. "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Beautiful World" were downloaded 276,000 and 881,000 times respectively as early as October 2007, one month after the film's release. The franchise and its characters returned to ''Newtype'' magazine's monthly popularity charts, taking the top ten spots for months. In January 2009, the magazine compiled a ranking of the most popular anime of 2008, with the ''Rebuild'' ranking seventh. Rei Ayanami ranked ninth among a ranking of the most popular female characters published in the same issue. The home video releases ranked second on Amazon.co.jp, behind ''
The Garden of Sinners ''The Garden of Sinners'', known in Japan as sometimes referred to as , is a Japanese light novel series, written by Kinoko Nasu and illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi. Originally released as a series of chapters released independently onl ...
''. The ''Evangelion: 1.0'' video game and ''Evangelion: 1.11'' Blu-ray and DVD release were also successful, with ''Evangelion: 1.11'' selling 49,000 copies in its first week, breaking the record previously set by
Christopher Nolan Sir Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmma ...
's ''
The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, from a screenplay co-written with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005), and the second inst ...
'', making it the single best-selling debuting Blu-Ray in Japanese history. Three weeks later, it had surpassed 63,000 sales, beating the lifetime sales record held by ''The Dark Knight''. The record remained unbeaten until February 2009, when sales were surpassed by ''
Michael Jackson's This Is It ''Michael Jackson's This Is It'' is a 2009 American documentary film about Michael Jackson's preparation for This Is It, a planned concert residency that was cancelled due to his death in 2009. It includes behind-the-scenes footage such as d ...
''. The ''Evangelion 1.11'' Blu-Ray remained among the best-selling anime releases into mid-2010. ''Evangelion: 1.01'' was then broadcast on NTV's Friday Road Show on July 3, 2009, attracting 12.7% of the share of television viewers that night. The official website of the Friday Road Show also had the highest number of hits in its history. When the film was released on Khara's YouTube channel on April 20, 2020, it exceeded one million views in about fifteen hours had been seen by two million people in a single day, attracting enthusiastic comments and reaching almost eight million views in two weeks. The same year, it was broadcast by NHK at 11:45 p.m., and despite the time, the
hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...
#エヴァ序 became the second most trending hashtag on the Japanese version of
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
; terms related to the film also appeared in the same ranking, such as Operation Yashima, Shinji, Misato, Kaworu, and "Beautiful World". The limited 4D screening on December 4 was also a success, managing to take seventh place in the box office that weekend.


Outside Japan

''Evangelion: 1.0'' was shown in theaters throughout Asia. In South Korea the film was released in 2008 and had a seven-week theatrical run. It grossed $36,603 in its opening week and took in $517,159 in total, attracting over forty thousand viewers in five days. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the film ran for four weeks, grossing $139,527, $62,114 of which was made in the first weekend. It reached sixth place in the Hong Kong box office. In Taiwan, ''Evangelion 1.0'' made $1,557,417 during its four-week run. In Malaysia, the film ran for three weeks, making $5,796 in total. Europe and North America also saw limited runs of the film. ''Evangelion 1.0'' ran for two weeks in both Spain and France, grossing $8,834 and $11,592 in total respectively. In
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, ''Evangelion 1.0'' was screened alongside ''Evangelion 2.0'' in a marathon event named Evangelion Night, attracting 25,000 viewers on September 4, 2013. It was the highest-grossing film which ran that day, grossing €250,000. The film also ran for nineteen weeks in the United States, grossing $107,797.


Japanese critical response

''Newtype'', a Japanese pop culture magazine, claimed that ''Evangelion 1.0'' "was greeted with the highest praise and acclaim of 2007". Matthew Roe of
Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...
reported that the film received considerable positive feedback from fans and critics, eventually becoming one of the most praised and highest-grossing Japanese animated films of that year. The magazine
Excite Excitation, excite, exciting, or excitement may refer to: * Excitation (magnetic), provided with an electrical generator or alternator * ''Exite'', a series of racing video games published by Nintendo starting with '' Excitebike'' * Excite (web por ...
praised the changes to Shinji's character, mentioning the fact that he does not run away like in the series, how he is generally less depressed than his original counterpart, and his new bonds. Another positive note for Excite would lie in the fact that during the ''Rebuild'' tetralogy, the bonds between the protagonist and his friends would be strengthened, making his strides and growing more as a character than ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''. The scene in the film where Misato and Shinji hold hands before Operation Yashima was also met with praise.


English-language critical response

The reception from English-speaking critics has been generally positive. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, ''Evangelion: 1.0'' has a critical score of 71%. On Metacritic, the film has a 66 out of 100 based on four reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". After its release, almost all reviewers praised the technical aspects of the film with emphasis on the graphics. Critic Paul M. Malone, for example, writing for the academic journal ''
Mechademia ''Mechademia: Second Arc'' is a biannual (formerly annual) peer-reviewed academic journal in English about Japanese popular culture products and fan practices. It is published by the University of Minnesota Press and the editor-in-chief is Fr ...
'', praised the animation for being "beautifully upgraded" from its 1995 equivalent, expanded for widescreen, and enhanced by well-integrated CGI. Writer Thomas Lamarre particularly praised the special effects used during Operation Yashima and on the Angel Ramiel, while Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network praised "the excellent fight scenes", giving the animation an A, the art department an A−, and Sagisu's sound department a B score. Critics particularly praised the battles and the action element.
Screen Anarchy ScreenAnarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...
's Peter Martin, for example, praised ''Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone'''s good snappy pace, action scenes, and plot, saying "I left the theater feeling satisfied from the combination of entertainment and somber contemplation of the future". In 2009, ''
Northwest Asian Weekly The ''Northwest Asian Weekly'' is an Asian American newspaper based in Seattle, Washington's International District. It was founded in 1983 by Assunta Ng, publisher of the '' Seattle Chinese Post'', and published free weekly editions until Ja ...
'' ranked it among the best Asian films released that year in American theaters, while ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' reviewer Charles Solomon listed it first among the best home video releases the following year. ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'''s Michael Peterson judged it "a fascinating entity",
Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...
's Allegra Frank called it a "beautiful" film, and Rehan Fontes of
Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...
described it as a good summary and "a solid remake" of the classic series. For ''Los Angeles Times'''s Kevin Tomas, the story "possesses a true of character". ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'' described it as an "entrancing" film, especially during Shinji's fight sequences. Other reviewers greeted the film negatively. For ''Slant Magazine'', the plot is a simple summary of the first episodes of the classic series, as complicated as the original, and a "very attractive but fundamentally pointless" film. Angelo Delo Trinos of Comic Book Resources described it as "a rushed and truncated summary of ''Evangelion'' for newcomers". Carlo Santos of Anime News Network reviewed the film giving a C to the plot and closing the review by asking, "Isn't this the same thing as the TV series but with more rainbows?".
ComicsAlliance ComicsAlliance is an American website dedicated to covering the comic book industry as well as comic-related media, and is owned by Townsquare Media. The site has been nominated for multiple awards including a 2015 Eisner Award win in the categ ...
complained of inconsistency and poor pacing, aggravated by the presence of scenes without emotional impact. ''
Escapist Magazine ''The Escapist'' (formerly known as ''Escapist Magazine'') is an American video game website and online magazine. First published as a weekly online magazine by Themis Media on July 12, 2005, ''The Escapist'' eventually pivoted to a traditiona ...
'' was also critical of this aspect, believing that "every subtle development is conveniently thrown onto the viewer's lap with little pacing". For Madeline Ashby of ''Mechademia'', the plot of ''Evangelion: 1.0'', despite the cuts to the source material, could still be cryptic and off-putting to viewers looking for answers. Mike Hale's review for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' was particularly critical; for Hale, the material is overly condensed, losing everything he said distinguished the first part of the original series. He cited the removal of thoughtful pacing, humor, and the changes to the characterization of the protagonists. Hale then concluded the review by writing, "''Evangelion'' becomes just another giant-robot story. The original series is available and represents a much better investment". Other critics instead appreciated the characterization of the protagonists. For
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
the Shinji of the film is a slightly better character than his counterpart in terms of emotion, while for ''
Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...
'' ''Evangelion: 1.0'' is visually better, has a better pacing, and explores the physical and emotional struggles of the protagonist better than ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''.


Accolades


Sequel

The next film in the ''Rebuild'' tetralogy, ''Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance'', was previewed in a post-credits trailer. The sequel continues the story with the introduction of Asuka Langley Shikinami, redesigned Eva units, new characters, and hints of a storyline that further departs from ''Neon Genesis Evangelion''. The sequel was released in Japan on June 27, 2009, with a Blu-ray and DVD release titled ''Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance'' released on May 26, 2010.


References


Sources

* * * * * * *


External links

*
''Funimation's Evangelion 1.0 Website''
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