Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo

Rebuild of Evangelion
Title 1: ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:Q Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Q Evangelion New Theatrical Edition: Quickening Title 2: Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo
Written By	Hideaki Anno
Directed By	Masayuki, Mahiro Maeda, Kazuya Tsurumaki
Theatrical Release	November 17, 2012
Streaming Release	August 13, 2021 (Amazon Prime Video)
Video Release Date	3.33: April 24, 2013 3.333: August 25, 2021
Angel Appearances	12th, 13th
Eva Sorties	Eva-02, Eva-08, Mark.09, Eva-13
Movie chronology
← Previous	Next →
"Evangelion 2.0"	"Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon a Time"

Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (ヱヴァンゲリオン新劇場版：Q) is the third film in the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series, released to Japanese cinemas on November 17, 2012. Initial press releases for the new film series announced that the third and fourth installments would be half-length and shown together. On January 1st 2012, the official Evangelion website revealed the movies would be released separately.

The storyline departs markedly from where Evangelion 2.0 had ended, and is the first film in the Rebuild series to comprise of entirely new work. Its position in the telling of the story appears to correspond to the End of Evangelion segment of the original series. Very few of the story elements hinted at in the original preview from 2.0 remain in the final work. However, it is under speculation as to whether or not some of these events actually occurred prior to the story in 3.0.

Theatrical Poster

Plot

Operation US, Wille, and the AAA Wunder

Operation US Captain Misato Eva-08 Sorties Shinji wearing DSS Choker AAA Wunder in flight Asuka's glowing eyepatch

The story begins 14 years after the events of the previous film. Most of Nerv's original adult staff, sans Gendo and Fuyutsuki, now belong to an organization called Wille (German for "will"), led by Captain Misato Katsuragi, and including Eva pilots Asuka (in Eva-02) and Mari (in the new Eva-08), Toji's sister Sakura, and several new characters. Shinji has been absorbed inside Eva-01 all this time, which is now orbiting earth inside a giant cuboidal cross-shaped satellite.

Wille uses its Evas, equipped with special rocket booster equipment, in Operation US, an attempt to retrieve Eva-01 from its low earth orbit. Asuka pilots Eva-02 through several Evangelion Mark.04 units, a collection of autonomous orbital drones, and with Eva-08's support, successfully manages to grapple onto the satellite. Eva-02 uses its boosters to decelerate the cross satellite, changing its orbit so that it will fall back to earth. Following this, a Mark.04 B unit, camouflaged inside the satellite, reveals itself and begins to attack Eva-02. With no measures against it, and with Eva-08 too far away to support, Asuka pleas for "stupid" Shinji to do something. At this Eva-01 rouses briefly, destroying the Mark.04 unit with a beam of light through a crack in its container as a stunned Asuka looks on. Eva-02 and the satellite fall to Earth, as Kaworu watches and says, "Welcome home, Ikari Shinji-kun. I've been waiting for you."

Events skip ahead to the AAA Wunder (Wille's giant battleship) and her fleet of warships and aircraft carriers, currently positioned in polar waters. The crew salvages Shinji from Eva-01, labeling him BM-03, and equipping him with the DSS Choker, a collar device meant to monitor his activities and prevent him from piloting an Evangelion, specifically by terminating him if anything goes amiss. Once his identity and memories are confirmed, he is brought before Misato, Ritsuko, and the bridge crew of Wunder. Shinji is distraught over both the cold treatment he receives from everyone except Sakura, and the strange device on his neck.

Before he can be debriefed any further, the Nemesis Series attack the Wille fleet from all sides. Misato launches an initiative to activate the Wunder's main engine -- with Eva-01 serving as the power core -- that is carried out through via a cooperative effort between Eva-02, who prepares the engine and manually ignites it, and the bridge crew. The Wunder becomes airborne, and its main weapons destroy the Nemesis Series' four core blocks.

After the battle, Shinji is given a formal debriefing, behind quarantine glass. He is informed that his synchronisation rate with Eva-01 is now zero, and told the purpose of the DSS Choker. Sakura introduces herself as Toji's younger sister, and finally Asuka arrives to reveal that 14 years have passed since he merged with Eva-01. Asuka throws a punch at Shinji from behind the glass, cracking it. Shinji asks why Asuka's face hasn't changed, which she attributes to the "Curse of Eva". Shinji demands repeatedly to know Rei's whereabouts, firm in his conviction that he saved her, but Ritsuko claims that Eva-01 yielded no trace of her, and only produced Shinji and the SDAT player. Ritsuko returns the player to Shinji at this time.

Soon after, Evangelion Mark.09 breaks through the hull of Shinji's cell in an attempt to retrieve him. Believing the Eva is the destroyed Eva-00, Shinji hears Rei's voice over its loudspeakers, telling him to come with her. Brandishing the DSS detonator, Misato commands Shinji to stay, guaranteeing his safety if he remains. Confronting her, Shinji learns that he is not at Nerv, and that Wille and Nerv are at war. When Misato insists that Rei is dead, Shinji is incredulous and resolves to leave with "Rei" in Mark.09. As he moves to leave, Sakura tells him to do as he wants, but begs him not to pilot an Eva to "give us a break".

As Mark.09 moves to escape, Wille sorties Mari in Evangelion Unit-08. Eva-08 manages to decapitate Mark.09 it with gunfire, but the unit is unhindered and escapes with Shinji. Despite Ritsuko's warnings not let Nerv recapture him, Misato cannot bring herself to detonate the DSS Choker, as it and Shinji pass out of range. Observing his departure, Asuka dubs Shinji a "brat", her eyepatch shown glowing blue.

New Nerv Headquarters

Arrival with Rei Gendo's new glasses Piano lessons with Kaworu Kaworu at his Piano An unresponsive Rei Kaworu takes Shinji outside

Shinji wakes up in a hospital bed with Rei standing by silently. She takes him to New Nerv HQ, and Shinji catches a brief glimpse of the ruined pyramid. HQ itself appears abandoned, with large parts of the base in ruin. They walk for a time, passing familiar landmarks, including an Eva cage (apparently Eva-01's) now open to the sky. On the floor of the cage, Shinji sees Kaworu Nagisa playing on a Yamaha piano, and is seen in turn when Kaworu looks up.

Eventually, Rei leads Shinji a huge area housing a biomechanical "womb" containing the under-construction Evangelion 13. Gendo appears, wearing an unusual visor instead of glasses, bluntly orders Shinji to pilot the Eva with Kaworu when the time comes, and just as quickly vanishes. Shinji calls after his father, but is ignored.

Shinji is given quarters at New Nerv HQ and is left to freely bide his time. Processed food substances and clothes are provided by an automated system through a portal in the wall. He wanders the grounds looking for Rei, finding no traces of human life, although there are abundant signs of past conflict and evidence that Evangelions are being mass-produced at the facility. Eventually, he happens upon Rei's special LCL-immersion facility, where she lives in a makeshift room containing little more than a sleeping bag and a lamp. Shinji attempts to engage Rei in conversation, but finds her unusually unresponsive, similarly ignorant of what is occurring at the base and having no memory of her past life. She does nothing but wait for orders.

Gendo and Fuyutsuki are shown observing the Seele monoliths, which are now silent. Fuyutsuki says that he will continue to follow Gendo's plans.

Shinji attempts to use the SDAT, but discovers that it's broken. He ruminates upon words he's recently heard from others -- Misato, Asuka, Sakura, Gendo, Rei -- which produces visible distress, due to his current state of ignorance and alienation. Hoping to assist Rei's memory, Shinji tries to encourage her to do something Rei once enjoyed: read. He selects books from Nerv's disheveled library and stacks them neatly outside Rei's room. But with nothing else to do, he loiters around the Eva-01 cage.

Here, Kaworu invites him for a chat at the piano and encourages Shinji to attempt playing piano, because trying new things is an important part of living. Despite initial hesitations, Shinji quickly shows talent, and he and Kaworu play a duet. Afterwards, the two exchange names for the first time. Shinji checks in on Rei with more books, but finds that she is absent from the facility, and the original pile of books remains untouched. He then returns to the Eva cage for more piano training with Kaworu. Over the course of a montage, Kaworu shares various kernels of wisdom, and Shinji learns to play piano duet with him.

The next time they talk, Shinji asks Kaworu if he can fix the SDAT player, to which Kaworu obliges. The two end up staying at the cage until nightfall and watching the stars. Here, Shinji shares that he finds the starry sky reassuring because it's the only thing in his world that's remained constant, from which Kaworu deduces Shinji's fear of change. Kaworu eventually tells Shinji, "I really was born to meet you." The day after, the automatic dispenser gives Shinji a shirt that he notices is too large, only to find Toji's nametag sewn to the inside; this comes as an enormous shock.

That morning, Kaworu returns the now working SDAT, but notices that Shinji looks sullen. Shinji reveals that he is worried about what has happened to Tokyo-3 and his friends who lived there. Kaworu asks if Shinji wants to know, and Shinji accepts. The two travel down a precarious stairway outside of New Nerv HQ, with Shinji wearing an environment suit. They eventually reach a platform, and the clouds around HQ part to reveal the landscape.

The Post Third Impact World

Shinji observes the post Third Impact world: The moon now appears enormous, orbiting far closer to the earth and spinning rapidly about itself. Its surface is covered in new bloodstains and a strange pulsing red grid. The landscape itself fares even worse, having been turned completely red (into core material), the ground covered with crevices, one of which has somehow morphed into a colossal mouth complete with teeth. Enormous red crosses are scattered all over the landscape, as far as the eye can see. Nerv HQ itself now sits at cloud level, thousands of metres above the ground atop its old main shaft, emerging from the center of what looks like a giant blue iris. Headless red creatures resembling Eva-01 stand frozen among the core-ified ruins of the town below.

Gendo's ruined office A memory of Yui Shinji breaks down Shinji meets Fuyutsuki The ruined Command Center Kaworu takes the DSS Choker

Kaworu explains that this is the result of the Nerv's Human Instrumentality Project, and tells Shinji that he began the process when he rescued Rei from Zeruel 14 years ago. Shinji is stunned, expressing disbelief and denying any involvement, and that he only wanted to save Rei. Kaworu says that the rest of humanity thinks otherwise, as evidenced by the DSS Choker, but that no sin is beyond forgiveness.

(Assumed identity) Rei-II's silent appearance

In the ruins of Gendo's office, Fuyutsuki comments on the situation developing between Shinji and Kaworu, and expresses his disapproval over how Gendo keeps his son in the dark. Here, we also see that Gendo still has the case -- presumably still containing the Key of Nebuchadnezzar -- with him. At night, Shinji is shown trying to sleep, wondering how everything has become so wrong, but convincing himself that at least he did save Rei. Rei is shown waking in her LCL tank, and she briefly sees another Rei standing outside the tank, wearing an old school uniform. A moment later, the other Rei is gone.

After Shinji find Rei's books again unread, he encounters Fuyutsuki in a corridor. After a brief bow to the old man from Shinji, Fuyutsuki proposes that the two play a game of shogi. As they play, Fuyutsuki reveals that the game was a pretense; his real purpose is to tell Shinji about even more truths from which he's been shielded. He explains that Shinji's mother, whose maiden name was Yui Ayanami, conducted a "direct entry" experiment on Eva-01's core and is now the unit's control system; that an Ayanami Series was based on Yui's genetic information; and that the Rei that Shinji knew is being preserved within Eva-01 like Yui; and that all is part of Gendo's plan. A stunned Shinji exits with a bow and silently walks away.

We then see Gendo in the ruins of the Command Center, the Key of Nebuchadnezzar's case by his side, vowing upon a giant Rei-shaped head surrounded by red Evas, "The time of the final contract is upon us. We will soon meet again, Yui."

Shinji confronts Rei at her quarters, asking why she has not read any of the books, knocking the accumulated books over in rage at her terse reply that she "had not been ordered to". He finally asks whether he really did save her from Zeruel, and Rei replies that she does not know. It finally sinks in that this is not "his" Rei, and Shinji storms off. He ambles down a catwalk and in a daze, spinning about and hearing himself bombarded by voices. Back at his quarters, he flings his SDAT across the room.

Gendo and Fuyutsuki watch as the completed Eva-13 is extracted from its "womb". Fuyutsuki calls it "the final executor". As if in response, Kaworu plays an ominous chord on the piano and says, "The time has come. This is it, Ikari Shinji-kun."

Kaworu visits Shinji in his quarters, apparently having brought him the news that Eva-13 is finished and, as per Gendo's earlier orders, they're both to pilot it. Shinji ardently resists the idea: last time he piloted, only bad things happened, and if tries to do it again, the DSS Choker will kill him besides. Kaworu mysteriously removes the device from Shinji and puts it on himself, leaving Shinji both shocked and relieved. At this point, Kaworu offers Shinji redemption through a plan to retrieve two Spears from Central Dogma and use them to restore the world. Shinji is eventually persuaded to agree. The two boys begin to go on a first name basis.

Eva-13; Showdown

Plug-Suiting Up Eva-02' vs Eva-13 Eva Mark.06 reactivates Lilith's Chamber Eva-13 removes the spears The 12th angel becomes a huge core

Shinji and Kaworu board Evangelion 13 and activate it using the Double Entry System and begin the descent to Central Dogma, accompanied by a scythe-equipped, headless Eva Mark.09. Eventually the walls of the Main Shaft yield to a mass of red Evas, which Kaworu calls "Failures of Infinity", that look like they've been cut through to permit passage. Working in unison, the two pilots harness Eva-13's innate power to destroy the giant seal that has blocked access to Lilith's chamber for the past fourteen years.

Within, they find Lilith's giant, headless corpse merged at the neck with Evangelion Mark.06, each skewered by a Spear of Longinus. The chamber's floor is covered in countless human-shaped, but Eva sized skulls. According to Kaworu, they should have found one Spear of Longinus and one Spear of Cassius, and the two Longinus types indicates that something is amiss. Before he can get to the bottom of things, however, Eva-02' piloted by Asuka attacks from above.

Eva-13's RS Hopper drones emerge from containers on the Eva's pylons and deploy four separate A.T. Fields, preventing Eva-02' from touching its opponent. Eva Mark.09 attempts to intervene further, but is soon kept in check by Eva-08, sharp-shooting from a large crevice in the ceiling. Asuka soon manages to destroy two of the drones, and as she struggles with the remaining two, Shinji divulges his hopes for redemption and shows dismay that Asuka is trying to stop him; but to her, he is just a naïve brat. She keeps asking Shinji if he is trying to start another Impact. Kaworu does not help in the fight, lost in thought over how the two Spears could be the same.

Asuka at last destroys the final drones and splits her weapon into two blades, which Eva-13 grips in its hands. Before Eva-02' can break through, it runs low on power and goes into energy conservation mode, enabling Shinji to easily cast the unit aside with a backhand. Seeing this as an opening, Shinji resolves to retrieve the Spears, and Eva-13 begins to ascend Lilith's corpse. Kaworu shares his unease, but Shinji is fixated on using the spears to repair the world -- and Misato's opinion of him. Somehow, he cuts Kaworu out of Eva-13's controls and, deploying Eva-13's second set of arms, pulls the Spears out as both Kaworu and Asuka (helpless as Eva-02' recharges its power) beg him to stop.

Both Lilith and the giant Rei head at the command center -- in fact, Lilith's missing head -- explode into LCL, and Gendo says that it's begun. Mark.06 begins to revolve in midair over the pool of Lilith's remains, as if possessed, and the 12th Angel's presence is detected inside. Mark.09 quickly decapitates the unit, with Rei saying it was done on orders, and two dark, serpentine clusters begin to form out of Mark.06's neck stub and head. They join in midair and wrap around the levitating Eva-13, creating a massive sphere. When Eva-02' attacks the sphere with its gun-arm, the dark appearance yields to a gigantic, almost fluid core, completely impervious to the bullets.

The Twelfth Angel swells in size until it breaches the pool of Lilith's LCL and, possibly influenced by it, it begins to take on Rei's form -- giggling and morphing into a massive, eyeless Rei head. Kaworu begins to manifest as the Thirteenth Angel (despite originally being the First Angel), putting the DSS Choker on alert. Eva-13 becomes unresponsive to its controls, its pylons bursting off so that red, crystalline wings can grow. Both Kaworu and Mari attribute this turn of events to Gendo, whom Kaworu calls "King of the Lilin". As Asuka feared, Fourth Impact is starting. The scene cuts over to Gendo delivering a farewell speech to the Seele monoliths, who are ritualistically being terminated as preparation for the Human Instrumentality they believe will soon come.

Gendo deactivates Seele Fourth Impact begins Mark.09 tries to seize the Wunder Fourth Impact Averted Eva-13 Awakens The AAA Wunder tries to stop Eva-13 Kaworu's last words Shinji, Asuka, and Ayanami

The Twelfth Angel as next seen is a gigantic red fetus, which quickly compresses into a core within Eva-13's open mouth. The Eva bites down, killing the Angel and apparently absorbing its power. Mari says that one of the surviving Adams has awakened, as Eva-13 begins to glow white, its wings lengthening dramatically, and two halos appearing over it. The Eva begins to ascend up the Main Shaft, destroying it as it goes, and emerges out of the top of New Nerv HQ with a haloed Eva Mark.09 in quick pursuit. Fourth Impact begins. The Door of Guf opens above the Eva, turning the skies red, and the Black Moon is pulled out of the ground. Countless Failures of Infinity are vented out of the Black Moon and spiral through the sky.

The AAA Wunder appears, with Misato in command, and attempts to attack Eva-13 in the hopes of keeping the Impact in check. Mark.09 intervenes, bombarding the Wunder with explosive attacks, causing the ships wing to crash into the ground. Mark.09 regenerates a head, as Ritsuko declares that the Eva, as the Vessel of the Adams, is the Wunder's true master and will try to take control of the ship. Wille's two Evas reach the surface, and Asuka assigns them separate duties: Eva-02' will assist the Wunder, and Mari in Eva-08 will go after Eva-13. Still inside Mark.09, Rei's control link has not been restored, as the now autonomous Vessel of the Adams descends on Wunder's starboard side and takes root, sending blue tendrils out of its legs and into the main engine holding Eva-01, infecting the ship with Seele's control program and wresting control from Wille.

Eva-02' boards the Wunder via its grounded wing, and fires at the Vessel of the Adams to no effect, narrowly avoiding a devastating counter shot. Asuka quickly activates Beast Mode with "Code 777", causing Eva-02' to metamorphose into a feline form, allowing it to deflect the Vessel's blasts. Eva-02' manages to re-behead the Vessel, rebooting its program, which allows Rei, after Asuka's cue, to eject from the Eva unit. Asuka uses the empty slot to target the Eva's core, but Mark.09 regenerates almost instantaneously, from which Asuka deduces that the whole thing is a core. Low on power and time, she regretfully ejects, with Eva-02' set to detonate. Mark.09 is destroyed in the blast, and Wille's control of the Wunder restored. Misato orders the ship to pursue Eva-13, but Ritsuko says that the engine must be allowed to recover.

Eva-13 opens the Door of Guf

Within Eva-13, the DSS Choker has deployed gemstone-like charges that revolve around Kaworu's neck. As Kaworu delivers his final words to Shinji, he has Eva-13 impale itself with both of the Spears. He claims that they will meet again. The choker then detonates, killing Kaworu instantly in a wash of blood, leaving Shinji raw shock. Eva-13's bottom set of eyes close and the unit begins to fall, but the Door of Guf remains open. Pursuing in Eva-08, Mari says that Shinji must have been Seele's backup to keep the doors open. Eva-08 jumps after Eva-13 as it plummets down the side of the Black Moon. As it catches the still glowing Eva-13, Eva-08's hands start to corrode into core, but Mari successfully manages to eject Shinji's entry plug, and Shinji glimpses a vision of Kaworu as he exits. Deprived of both its pilots, Eva-13 fades back to its regular color and crashes to the ground. The Door of Guf starts to close, and the Black Moon and the floating Failures of Infinity all fall to the earth.

Gendo and Fuyutsuki, situated in an area resembling the Wunder's bridge, briefly comment on the situation. Fuyutsuki says that almost everything went as Seele intended, but Gendo says that Seele's boy has been eliminated and Eva-13 awakened. On the AAA Wunder, both Eva-02's remains and Eva-08 are secured, and Ritsuko and Misato share a couple of words as well.

Shinji's entry plug has landed somewhere, and he is curled up silently in the darkness. The hatch opens, revealing an exhausted Asuka. Asuka berates Shinji for acting like a baby and running away from his responsibilities, then, disgruntled by his lack of responses, motions to leave, but she doesn't get far before she sighs and returns to more forcefully extract him. Once the two are outside the plug, Asuka spots Rei approaching, and recognizes her as the pilot from the earlier conflict with Mark.09. After taking some measurements, Asuka concludes that they won't be rescued due to "L barrier density", and they have to travel somewhere where "Lilin" can pick them up. Pulling Shinji along, Asuka takes off over the endless red waste, and Rei follows.

New Evangelion Theatrical Edition: || Preview

Eva-Unit 8+2

The preview shows a composite Eva 8+2 fighting multiple gray-green copies of Mark.06 in red city ruins, wielding a Magorox sword. In the last two cuts, the Eva dashes past an entourage of the enemy Evas and jumps over a precipice, revealing a vast sea of the Mark.06 copies generating compound A.T. Fields, and the fallen Black Moon lying beyond them.

Preview Summaries

Kaworu appears in a kind of ritual.

Asuka in the TV Preview.

Misato announces the following for the Next Time Preview of Evangelion Q/Quickening: "Eva-01 is frozen with Shinji and Rei still trapped inside. The fortress city is abandoned. Nerv personnel are held in confinement. Eva-06 is dropped into Dogma. The quickening Eva-08 and its pilot. And finally, the children fated to meet are gathered at last. Where will this story of people wishing to live lead?" Along with a promise of more fan service next time. However, none of the scenes from the next time preview made it into the final cut of Evangelion 3.0 that was released.

The TV edition of Eva 2.0, which aired in Japan on August 26th 2011, revealed an updated Next Time Preview for Q, which gave a tentative theatrical release for Fall 2012. The updated (16 second) Next Time Preview included images of a bandaged and eye patch wearing Asuka flying through space in her slightly altered Eva-02. During this preview, Misato says: "Shinji Ikari awakens. Beside him stands a mysterious boy. And then, a new world waits for him."

Evangelion 3.333

On December 23, 2020, it was announced that Evangelion 3.333 would be screened at IMAX theaters on January 8, 2020. This is a full 2K version of Evangelion 3.0 that includes numerous small changes to the lighting and coloring of various scenes, and some alteration of the plugsuit colors for Asuka and Mari.

Evangelion 3.0 (-120 min)

Evangelion 3.0 (-120 min.) is a prequel manga to Evangelion 3.0 that tells the story of what happened before the start of the movie. Before launch, Asuka is convinced by Mari to wear her old plugsuit, improvising a repair, and to lead the operation instead of her as originally intended. This is in an attempt to make it easier for Shinji to recognize them, though they're unsure of being able to recover him.

Notes

• The working Japanese title was ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:急 (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Kyū, Evangelion New Theatrical Edition: Rush). With the preview included in Eva 2.0, the Kyū was replaced with the identically-pronounced letter "Q" followed by the subtitle "Quickening", which has the same basic meaning as "Rush" with the added nuance of an unborn child's first movements. (Additionally, in Japan, the stylistic choice to substitute "Q" for the kanji 急 is not uncommon.) The full international title You Can (Not) Redo was announced on January 1st 2012
  • The Japanese title, literally translated, is: Evangelion New Theatrical Edition: Q   Quickening)

Guides

Guides: Evangelion 3.33 FAQ

Theory and Analysis:Kaworu in Eva 3.0

References

Episodes & Films
Television Series	Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05 | Episode 06 Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 Episode 14 | Episode 15 | Episode 16 | Episode 17 | Episode 18 | Episode 19 | Episode 20 Episode 21 | Episode 22 | Episode 23 | Episode 24 | Episode 25 | Episode 26
Movies	Death | Rebirth The End of Evangelion: Episode 25' | Episode 26'
Rebuild of Evangelion	Evangelion 1.0 | Evangelion 2.0 | Evangelion 3.0 | (-46h) | (-120min) | Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0