GKIDS announced on Thursday that it will host the EVANGELION 30th Movie Fest and screen the films Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (Evangelion: Death (True)² & Rebirth) and The End of Evangelion on July 21 and 22.
Tickets for the film are now on sale on GKIDS’ website. Evangelion: Death (True)² & Rebirth will screen on July 21 and The End of Evangelion on July 22.
GKIDS describes Evangelion: Death (True)² & Rebirth:
Opening March 15, 1997, this is the original film adaptation of the TV anime NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, helmed by Director Hideaki Anno and airing from 1995-1996. It is composed of EVANGELION:DEATH, a compilation of episodes 1-24 out of the original 26 episode series, as well as EVANGELION:REBIRTH, a portion of the alternative ending of episode 25, “Air.” Further airings evolved into the version known as EVANGELION:DEATH (TRUE)² & REBIRTH, which is now being screened outside Japan in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the series.
GKIDS describes The End of Evangelion:
This final movie version was created as an alternative ending to the NEON GENESIS EVANGELION TV series, remaking the final two episodes from the series. SEELE plans an attack on NERV after failing to create a man-made Third Impact. After reaffirming both her own and her mother’s existence in a state of despair, Asuka returns and begins the counterattack. However, new enemies descend from the heavens. Meanwhile, Shinji witnesses the horrifying wreckage of Asuka’s EVA-02 while piloting EVA-01. Mass production models surround EVA-01 and perform a solemn ceremony. What does it mean to complete a human heart?
The original anime and films are some of the most influential and critically acclaimed works in the history of the medium, but had long remained out of print and unavailable in North America. ADV Films’ last release of the anime was the “Platinum Edition” DVDs in 2004 and 2005. The company shut down in 2009.
GKIDS licensed the original television series and the two above-mentioned films in 2020.
The franchise has inspired numerous spinoffs, merchandise, and collaborations. Hideaki Anno, the director of the anime, founded Studio Khara in 2006. He and the studio began producing a new tetralogy of films titled Rebuild of Evangelion, which reinterprets the events in the series. The tetralogy began with Evangelion 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone in 2007, followed by Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance and Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo in 2009 and 2012, respectively.
Evangelion: 3.0+1.01: Thrice Upon A Time (Shin Evangelion Gekijō-ban :||), the final film of Hideaki Anno’s Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy, opened in Japan on March 8, 2021, and ranked #1 in its opening weekend. The film surpassed 10 billion yen (about US$74 million) in the Japanese box office. The film’s new Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 version began playing in June 2021 for the film’s “last run.” The new version contains “minor revisions” to some animation sequences, but does not change the film’s story. The film debuted on the Amazon Prime Video service worldwide in August 2021. GKIDS and Fathom Events screened the film in Japanese with English subtitles in U.S. theaters in December 2022.
Source: Press release
