Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 劇場版 DEATH & REBIRTH シト新生, Shin seiki Evangerion Gekijō-ban: Shi to Shinsei), romanized in Japan as Evangelion: Death & Rebirth, is a 1997 Japanese animated psychological science fiction film. It is the first installment of the Neon Genesis Evangelion film series and consists of two parts, Evangelion: Death and Evangelion: Rebirth. It was released, along with the follow-up, The End of Evangelion, in response to the success of the TV series and a strong demand by fans for another ending. It has since been re-edited and re-released several times.

Neon Genesis Evangelion:
Death & Rebirth
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHideaki Anno
Masayuki
Kazuya Tsurumaki
Produced byMitsuhisa Ishikawa
Written byHideaki Anno
StarringMegumi Ogata
Megumi Hayashibara
Yūko Miyamura
Kotono Mitsuishi
Music byShirō Sagisu
CinematographyHisao Shirai
Yōichi Kuroda
Edited bySachiko Miki
Production
company
Gainax
Tatsunoko ("Death")
Production I.G. ("Rebirth")
Distributed byToei Company
Release date
  • March 15, 1997 (1997-03-15)
Running time
72 minutes ("Death")
28 minutes ("Rebirth")

68 minutes ["Death(True)"]
68 minutes ["Death(True)²",
excluding intermission]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office¥1.87 billion[1]

Plot

Death
See also: Neon Genesis Evangelion

This first part, Evangelion: Death, is a 're-cap' editing together scenes from the first 24 episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion in the form of a clip show, along with additional animation created after the show's original broadcast. This includes scenes from the original show re-drawn shot-for-shot, entirely new shots augmenting existing sequences, and linking segments based around the premise of the four main characters playing Pachelbel's Canon as a string quartet. Some of the additional shots and re-drawn animation would later be re-edited into the new extended cuts of Episodes 21-24 included on the Japanese Laserdisc and American and European Platinum Collection releases of the TV series, commonly known as the "Director's Cut" versions in the West. The part ends with credits accompanied by a double string quartet arrangement of Pachelbel's Canon.

Rebirth
See also: The End of Evangelion

The second part, Evangelion: Rebirth, consists of approximately 24 minutes of entirely new animation that would eventually form the first third of the film The End of Evangelion, released four months later. Serving as a preview while the film was still in production, Rebirth only covers the initial preparations of the Human Instrumentality Project and the invasion of the Geofront by the JSSDF, ending with the arrival of the Mass Production Evas. Because of its unfinished state, there are differences between Rebirth and the portion it covers of the finished Episode 25' that makes up the first half of The End Of Evangelion. These differences include editing, shots that were later re-drawn entirely, and soundtrack cues that were replaced or further edited. The part ends with credits accompanied by the song Tamashii No Refrain by Yoko Takahashi.

Cast
Character Japanese English (Gaijin Productions/Manga, 2002) English (VSI/Netflix, 2019)
Shinji IkariMegumi OgataSpike SpencerCasey Mongillo
Misato KatsuragiKotono MitsuishiAllison KeithCarrie Keranen
Rei AyanamiMegumi HayashibaraAmanda Winn-LeeRyan Bartley
Asuka Langley SoryuYūko MiyamuraTiffany GrantStephanie McKeon
Kaworu NagisaAkira IshidaAaron KrohnClifford Chapin
Gendo IkariFumihiko TachikiTristan MacAveryRay Chase
Ryoji KajiKōichi YamaderaAaron KrohnGreg Chun
Ritsuko AkagiYuriko YamaguchiSue UluErica Lindbeck
Kozo FuyutsukiMotomu KiyokawaMichael RossJP Karliak
Toji SuzuharaTomokazu SekiBrett WeaverJohnny Yong Bosch
Kensuke AidaTetsuya IwanagaKurt StollBen Diskin
Makoto HyugaHiro YūkiKeith BurgessDaniel MK Cohen
Shigeru AobaTakehito KoyasuJason C. LeeBilly Kametz
Maya IbukiMiki NagasawaAmy SeeleyChristine Marie Cabanos
Keel LorentzMugihitoTom BookerD.C. Douglas
Naoko AkagiMika DoiLaura ChapmanMagdalena Helmig
Hikari HorakiJunko IwaoKimberly YatesAbby Trott
Yui IkariMegumi HayashibaraAmanda Winn-LeeRyan Bartley
Kyoko Zeppelin SoryuMaria KawamuraKimberly YatesKimberly Yates
Pen PenMegumi HayashibaraAmanda Winn-LeeCherami Leigh

Production and release

Death and Rebirth was co-produced by Kadokawa Shoten, Gainax, TV Tokyo, Sega, and Toei Company.

Between March and October 1997, Death and Rebirth grossed ¥1.1 billion.[2] The film had a final lifetime gross of ¥1.87 billion.[1]

On July 30, 2002, Manga Entertainment released Death and Rebirth on VHS and DVD in both dub and sub.

On July 26, 2005, Manga Entertainment released Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion together in the United States as a two-disc set.

The English production made similar creative changes in the dubbing of the film, as had been made to The End of Evangelion. One notable change was the alteration of the sound effect between the scene featuring Kaji to one of Shinji informing Asuka of his death. According to the DVD commentary, English ADR director Amanda Winn-Lee, also the voice of Rei in the dub, felt the sound was not a proper "gunshot" and replaced it with a more overt effect. However, the Japanese screenplay mentions that the sound effect is not a gunshot at all, but rather the sound of a slap (the following scene implies Asuka has slapped Shinji's face).

Versions

Evangelion: Death(True) screened on January 2, 1998 on the Japanese satellite TV channel WOWOW; this version of Evangelion: Death was personally re-edited by Masayuki, removing some of the extra footage new to the feature. This was released on home video for the first time as part of the Archives of Evangelion DVD box set in 2015.[3]

The promotional poster of Revival of Evangelion

Another theatrical presentation titled Revival of Evangelion was released on March 8, 1998, consisting of Death(True)2 (a further edit of Death(True), with a few removed shots edited back in) followed by a 4 minute intermission and then the finished The End of Evangelion. Revival and End were released on the ninth and tenth discs of the Renewal of Evangelion box set with the latter titled Evangelion – The Feature Film. Revival of Evangelion and the original theatrical cut of Death and Rebirth were both released on Blu-Ray alongside other materials as part of the 2015 Neon Genesis Evangelion box set.[3] Death(True)2 is also the version most widely released in the West, having been opted by Netflix for its distribution service.

Reception

Chris Beveridge from Mania gave it an overall "A−" score.[4] Robert Nelson of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews gave it a 3 out of 5.[5] Japan Cinema gave the film a C+.[6] Adam Arnold from Animefringe gave the film an overall score of 72%.[7]

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See also

References
  1. "アニメが映画界をけん引!?最近のアニメ映画事情". Merumo (in Japanese). GMO Internet Group. June 19, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  2. December 1997 Newtype, p.90
  3. "Neon Genesis Evangelion's New Japanese Blu-ray & DVD Sets Outlined". Anime News Network.
  4. "Neon Genesis Evangelion Death and Rebirth". Mania. Archived from the original on September 21, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  5. "Neon Genesis Evangelion Death and Rebirth". T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  6. "Neon Genesis Evangelion Death and Rebirth – Review". Japan Cinema. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  7. "Neon Genesis Evangelion Death and Rebirth DVD". animefringe. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
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