Anime Review: Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

Studio: Khara

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Psychological

Streaming: Amazon

It’s here. It’s finally here after nine years since the last film, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, was released and over 25 years since the genre-breaking anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion, first aired. It’s the end of an era, the end of a franchise that has been incredibly influential and still incredibly popular to this day. I remember watching this anime with my friend back in university, more as a rite of passage then for any other reason – I knew it was popular but went in mostly blind otherwise. Within the first episode we were both sucked into the story, the vast world building and the surprisingly relatable experiences with anxiety and trauma that the main protagonist goes through. Perhaps that is why this series, despite how much time has passed, is still relevant in this day and age and this finale to the Rebuild films created by Hideako Anno has been so widely anticipated. Surely after all that time however, is it even possible to live up to the hype?

I can tell you, as a big fan of the series myself, it does. This final movie feels like the perfect send off to the series – embodying all the best parts of what the series did so well: the emotional complexities, the outstanding visuals, mind-blowingly amazing mech battles, and the… well, the weirdness. It has all of this in spades. Picking directly up from where the previous movie ended, we have a surprisingly quiet and low key start with the first part of the film set primarily in a small village cut off from the horrors of the war outside it’s walls. Shinji, broken and heavily traumatised after the events of the previous film essentially shuts off from everyone and everything and we’re left to view things through the eyes of a confused “Rei”, Asuka and Shinji’s old friends who have all grown up without him.  Growing up and moving on is one of the main themes of this film, fittingly so given this is the finale of such a long-running franchise.

It isn’t long however before events outside the walls of the peaceful village bring Shinji back into the world of the Evangelions, and to a final confrontation with his father, which has been long overdue. It’s a delight to have these quieter moments at the start of the film to reintroduce old characters, and show the beauty of the world struggling to survive despite the devastation of the Third Impact. It echoes back to the words of Kaworu from the previous film: “There is Hope. There is always Hope.” – and this film really does bring that message home. From the standout animation (it’s honestly jaw-droppingly beautiful at times) to the diverse and gorgeous soundtrack throughout, watching Evangelion is an experience in itself. It wobbles a little in it’s middle half when things get a little too technical during the main mission but eventually narrows back down to what this series has always done best – the visceral Eva fights and the emotional turmoil that the character’s struggle with. The ending is likely to be something of a divider for fans of the series – but for me, personally, I felt it was a surprisingly optimistic and sweet ending, and one that gave a real pay off for having watched Shinji all this time.

As the movie posters say: Bye Bye, All of Evangelion.