Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth

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Neon Genesis Evangelion:
Death & Rebirth
Edrposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHideaki Anno
Masayuki
Kazuya Tsurumaki
Written byHideaki Anno
Produced byMitsuhisa Ishikawa
StarringMegumi Ogata
Megumi Hayashibara
Yūko Miyamura
Kotono Mitsuishi
CinematographyHisao Shirai
Yōichi Kuroda
Edited bySachiko Miki
Music byShirō Sagisu
Production
companies
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]

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.

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) VSI/Netflix (2019)
Shinji Ikari Megumi Ogata Spike Spencer Casey Mongillo
Misato Katsuragi Kotono Mitsuishi Allison Keith Carrie Keranen
Rei Ayanami Megumi Hayashibara Amanda Winn-Lee Ryan Bartley
Asuka Langley Soryu Yūko Miyamura Tiffany Grant Stephanie McKeon
Kaworu Nagisa Akira Ishida Aaron Krohn Clifford Chapin
Gendo Ikari Fumihiko Tachiki Tristan MacAvery Ray Chase
Ryoji Kaji Kōichi Yamadera Aaron Krohn Greg Chun
Ritsuko Akagi Yuriko Yamaguchi Sue Ulu Erica Lindbeck
Kozo Fuyutsuki Motomu Kiyokawa Michael Ross JP Karliak
Toji Suzuhara Tomokazu Seki Brett Weaver Johnny Yong Bosch
Kensuke Aida Tetsuya Iwanaga Kurt Stoll Ben Diskin
Makoto Hyuga Hiro Yūki Keith Burgess Daniel MK Cohen
Shigeru Aoba Takehito Koyasu Jason C. Lee Billy Kametz
Maya Ibuki Miki Nagasawa Amy Seeley Christine Marie Cabanos
Keel Lorentz Mugihito Tom Booker D.C. Douglas
Hikari Horaki Junko Iwao Kimberly Yates Abby Trott
Pen Pen Megumi Hayashibara Amanda Winn-Lee Cherami Leigh
Naoko Akagi Mika Doi Laura Chapman
Yui Ikari Megumi Hayashibara Amanda Winn-Lee
Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu Maria Kawamura Kimberly Yates

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]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "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. ^ Jump up to: a b "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.

External links[]

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