![]() ![]() Inside this Anti-Universe, Gendo reveals he wants to use the Spear of Longinus together with the Spear of Cassius and "Evangelion Imaginary," or Black Lilith, in order to meld the world of imagination inside the Anti-Universe with the real world to rewrite reality. A much-maligned shot from the trailer showing two Evas fighting on the streets of Tokyo-3 very clearly becomes an homage to the tokusatsu movies and TV shows that have long influenced Anno, with Tokyo-3 quickly turning into a miniature set that Shinji destroys. Shinji and Gendo fight across an "Anti-Universe," recreating scenes from the movies and original show, but now the animation feels different. After spending some time in a village full of survivors from the previous Impact events, and learning from grown-up versions of his former classmates (including a very much alive Toji) about letting go of the past and focusing on rebuilding for the future, Shinji stops beating himself up over the events of the previous movies and stands up to the reason for his insecurities: his father.Īnd so Shinji gets in the robot one last time to face Gendo Ikari, who had disposed of his humanity in order to transcend. Unlike End of Evangelion, where Shinji was a pretty inactive character until the very end, Thrice Upon a Time makes Shinji an active participant in the climax of the story and the final fight. How Does Shinji Stop the Additional Impact? He's finally grown up and taken responsibility for his actions, allowing Karowu to realize that he can stop neglecting his own happiness in favor of Shinji's and focus on his own wellbeing. Kaworu flies down to Earth, tries to make Shinji happy, is forced to reveal himself as an angel, and gets killed by Shinji. When Kaworu shows up to say goodbye to Shinji, we flash-back to when he first appeared on the surface of the moon in Evangelion 1.0, and he explains that the line of coffins on the moon indeed contained different Kaworus, and his existence is tied to a cycle that repeats over and over for all eternity. This leads to a sort of reversal of the last two episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion, this time with Shinji being the one giving his friends a therapy session to give them closure. Rather than dooming the entire planet to die so he cannot be hurt anymore, Shinji decides to help out his friends. ![]() In what is essentially a new retelling and a commentary on End of Evangelion, Shinji (voiced by Megumi Ogata in the Japanese version and Spike Spencer in the English) once again activates the end of times, and has to make a choice about the fate of mankind (think Mass Effect 3, but it actually pays off). ![]() Though Kaworu was always a bit of an enigmatic character, the Rebuild series doubles down on this by having him constantly refer to having met Shinji in the past several times, saying he never changes, or claiming that "this time" things will be different.īack when the Evangelion movies were announced, Hideaki Anno shared a statement comparing the story of Eva to a story that repeats itself, and Thrice Upon a Time confirms that he meant that literally. Then there's Kaworu, Shinji's never-to-be boyfriend and also an Angel turned into a human. Though the Rebuild movies started as a retelling of the show, in the story there are signs left around the globe of previous catastrophes in the series (like a bloodstain on the moon that looks like the one caused by Rei/Lilith in End of Evangelion). (And be sure to also read our review of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time from the film's Japan release last spring, or dig in on why Gendo Ikari is really what Neon Genesis Evangelion is all about.)įrom the moment the Rebuild of Evangelion movies started being released, fans have noted references to the original series, as if that story had already happened by the time the Rebuild movies began. So let's dig into the ending of this saga and what it means for Evangelion as a whole. With reveal on top of reveal and an ending that completely rewrites the franchise, some viewers may be left scratching their heads. So you'd be forgiven for reaching the end of this journey only to still feel confused as to what the hell just happened. Hideaki Anno's work is usually filled with symbolism and layer upon layer of story, and Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time may be his most dense movie yet. But much as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was the culmination of The Skywalker Saga, this movie is more than just the final chapter in the Rebuild tetralogy, but the conclusion of Neon Genesis Evangelion as we know it. Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time is finally available outside Japan (thanks Amazon Prime!) to finish the Rebuild of Evangelion story that started all the way back in 2007. ![]()
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