Neon Genesis Evangelion has been around for a while and ending a few times before. The mecha anime about life in a post-apocalyptic Earth began in 1994 in Magna. The drawings became animated with a TV show in the Fall of 1995. The original TV series wasn’t an immediate hit, but the audience grew during the season. The 26 episodes quickly became a sensation. The VHS tapes and DVDs sold well. Instead of making more TV shows, the producers went to movies. In 2007, a new movie series was begun as part of Rebuild of Evangelion. The first two movies were a big budget remake of the TV series. New characters and creations were part of the movies, so it wasn’t just a note-by-note condensation of the story. The third movie Evangelion 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo was a whole new story. Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon A Time wraps up the series once more.
The Wille organization has a plan to revive Paris from what the Nerv forces have done to the City of Lights. Their mission gets complicated when Nerv forces come out of hiding and attack. This turns into a rather exciting battle scene with modified flying battleships and Mari Illustrious Makinami attacking in her odd fighting craft. As things finally become calm and humanity begins to restore itself, a few of the Willie fighters find themselves in a village. Can the get used to a normal life including working on a farm? Can Shinji get back to be a normal kid after controlling Evangelion for much of his teenage years? Although the bigger question is if Nerv has truly been defeated. I don’t want to give too much away since this is the final installment of the Evangelion movie series.
Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon A Time became a massive hit in Japan upon release. It had the second largest box office of any movie in 2021. This was more than just a cinematic rehash of the original series. There is plenty of new elements along with the upgrade in animation. The battles are a bit more dynamic than the original series. More importantly are the emotional range on the characters’ faces capture more detailed. You can feel what they’re going through in the midst of all the changes as we get to the end. This is part of why ending movie is so successful. Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon A Time wraps up the Rebuild of Evangelion as good as the original ending. This Collector’s Edition has all the goodness a fan would want from the movie.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 4K UHD version looks so sharp on the screen. The Audio is English and Japanese in 5.1 DTS-HD MA. The subtitles are in English, Spanish and French.
Two Blu-ray Discs include the movie and all the bonus features
Art Cards are five pictures of characters.
EVANGELION:3.0(-46h) (10:42) is a new story about Midori and a Valley of Wanders. The Japanese audio is in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0.
EVANGELION:3.0(-120min.) (6:59) adapts a comic book’s graphics to animation. This came out this year. The Japanese audio is in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0.
Rebuild Of EVANGELION:3.0+1.11 (16:02) shows off the various stages to make the animation look so good on the screen.
[Current EVANGELION] (1:34) is clips from the film.
Message For Kinro (1:32) has them announce they are delaying the movie opening because of COVID outbreak.
Message For ANN (29:41) is for people attending an all-night marathon. They talk about the new character in the film.
Stage Greetings (17:30) has the crew talking to the audience with plexiglass between them. They thank people or the time. Director points out that he’s doing well since there must have been a health scare associated with him. They series had earned over a billion Yen at this point. We learn that one of the crew is associated with Shin Godzilla.
Promotional Reel for SNS (2:27) includes the catchy theme song.
Character Promotion Reel (2:06) features six characters.
Trailers has 5 teaser trailers (2:53), four versions of the trailer (6:04), 2 additional trailers (2:56) and 3 of the Trailer Updated (1:41). Has the promise “Fan Service Till The Very End!” This was shown in IMAX/4D. There are also trailer (0:31) for the 1.11, 2.22 & 3.33 for 4D release.
TV Spots has 7 trailer spots. There’s also a 3.0+1.11 TV Spot (0:17) for the Blu-ray release.
3.0+1.11 Promotion Reel (2:47) has highlights for home video release in Japan.
Booklet has character art and explanation of the bonus features.
Poster is a mini version that’s suitable for framing.
GKIDS and Shout! Factory present Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon A Time (Collector’s Edition). Directed by Mahiro Maeda, Katsuichi Nakayama & Kazuya Tsurumaki. Screenplay by Hideaki Anno. Starring Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yûko Miyamura, Akira Ishida, Fumihiko Tachiki, Kotono Mitsuishi & Maaya Sakamoto. Rating: Unrated. Running Time: 156 minutes. Release Date: October 17, 2023.
