Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth(Tân thế kỷ エヴァンゲリオン kịch tràng bản シト tân sinh,Shin Seiki Evangerion Gekijō-ban: Shi to Shinsei),also romanized in Japan asEvangelion: Death and Evangelion: Rebirth,is a 1997 Japanesescience fictionmechaanime.It is the first installment of theNeon Genesis Evangelionfeature film project and consists of two parts. The project, whose overarching title translates literally toNew Era Evangelion: The Movie,was released in response to the success of theTV seriesand a strong demand by fans for an alternate ending. Its components have since been re-edited and re-released several times.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Hideaki Anno Masayuki Kazuya Tsurumaki
Written by	Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa
Produced by	Mitsuhisa Ishikawa
Starring	Megumi Ogata Megumi Hayashibara Yūko Miyamura Kotono Mitsuishi
Cinematography	Hisao Shirai Yōichi Kuroda
Edited by	Sachiko Miki
Music by	Shirō Sagisu
Production companies	Gainax Tatsunoko("Death") Production I.G.("Rebirth")
Distributed by	Toei 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)
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	¥1.87 billion

Plot

Evangelion:Death

See also:Neon Genesis Evangelion

The first section,Evangelion:Death,is a 're-cap' editing together scenes from the first 24 episodes ofNeon Genesis Evangelionin the form of aclip 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 playingPachelbel's Canonas a string quartet. Some of the additional shots and re-drawn animation would later be re-edited into the extended, 'Home Video Versions' of episodes 21-24 included on the Japanese VHS/Laserdiscand American and EuropeanPlatinum Collectionreleases of the TV series, commonly known in the west as the "Director's Cut" versions though there is no clear substantiation of director Hideaki Anno's role in these.Deathends with credits accompanied by a double string quartet arrangement of Pachelbel's Canon.

Evangelion:Death(True)screened on the Japanese satellite TV channelWOWOW;this second cut ofEvangelion:Deathwas re-edited byMasayuki,who held multiple creative roles throughout the franchise's production, removing some of the extra footage new to the feature. This was released on home video for the first time as part of theArchives of EvangelionDVD box set on August 26, 2015.

Evangelion:Rebirth

See also:The End of Evangelion

The second section,Evangelion: Rebirth,consists of approximately 24 minutes of entirely new animation that would eventually form the first third of the alternate ending filmThe End of Evangelion,released four months later as the second stage in theNeon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirthproject. Serving as a preview whileEndwas still in production,Rebirthonly covers the initial preparations of the Human Instrumentality Project and the invasion of the Geofront by the JSSDF, ending with the arrival of theMass Production Evas.Because of its unfinished state, there are differences betweenRebirthand the portion of the finishedThe End of Evangelionit covers. These differences include editing, shots that were later re-drawn entirely, and soundtrack cues that were replaced or further edited. The section ends with credits accompanied by the song “Tamashii No Refrain”byYoko 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

DeathandRebirthwere co-produced byKadokawa Shoten,Gainax,TV Tokyo,Sega,andToei Company.

The film opened in second place at the Japanese box office, just behind the opening of101 Dalmatians.Between March and October 1997,DeathandRebirthearned adistributor rentalincome of¥1.1 billion.The feature had a total gross of¥1.87 billion.

On July 30, 2002,Manga EntertainmentreleasedDeathandRebirthonVHSandDVDin both dub and sub under the titleNeon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth.

On July 26, 2005, Manga Entertainment releasedDeath & RebirthandThe End of Evangeliontogether 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 toThe End of Evangelion.One notable change was the alteration of the sound effect between the scene featuringKajito one ofShinjiinformingAsukaof his death. According to the DVD commentary, EnglishADRdirectorAmanda Winn-Lee,also voiced 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).

Revival of Evangelion

The final stage of theNew Era Evangelion: The Movieproject, a theatrical revival with the romanized titleRevival of Evangelionwas released on March 8, 1998, consisting ofDeath (True)²(a third, further edit ofDeath(True),with a few removed shots crucial to the plot edited back in) followed by a four-minute intermission and then the finishedThe End of Evangelion.Some home video releases ofRevivalfrom the mid-2000s were given the titleNeon Genesis Evangelion: The Feature Film.In 2015,Revivalwas released on the JapaneseRenewal of EvangelionBlu-ray box set along withEndand the original theatrical cuts ofDeathandRebirth.Death (True)²is also the version most widely released in the West, having been opted byNetflixandGKIDSfor its distribution service and Blu-ray box set respectively.Death (True)²andEndare separated in these releases, removing the intermission.

Reception

Chris Beveridge fromManiagave it an overall "A−" score.Robert Nelson ofT.H.E.M. Anime Reviewsgave it a 3 out of 5.Japan Cinemagave the film a C+.Adam Arnold fromAnimefringegave the film an overall score of 72%.

See also

• The End of Evangelion

External links

• Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & RebirthatIMDb
• Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & RebirthatMusicBrainz(list of releases)
• Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth(film) atAnime News Network's encyclopedia
• Anime Jump!review