Rebuild of Evangelion

Part of a series of articles on the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

Rebuild of Evangelion (ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版 Evangelion Shin Gekijōban?, lit. "Evangelion New Theatrical Version") is a series of four movies by the creators of Neon Genesis Evangelion, which form an alternate retelling of the original TV series. "Rebuild of Evangelion" constitutes a separate continuity from the continuity of the original TV series and associated movies, Evangelion: Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion. The first film in the series was released in Japan on September 1st, 2007; the second will be released on June 27, 2009; and the remaining two have unfixed released dates.

The Rebuild movie series is intended to be more accessible and understandable to non-fans of the original series, even if new viewers have never seen the original series at all, while at the same time satisfying fans of the original series.

"Rebuild of Evangelion" (or "Rebuild" for short) is commonly used as a synonym for "Evangelion New Theatrical Version" by foreign fans, although it is technically a promotional term for the project. Foreign fans probably use it instead of the films' official moniker because the actual title is such a mouthful, and the shorthand version (ヱヴァ, "Eva" with an alternate character used for "E") is meaningless to those who don't write in Japanese.

Production History

On February 17, 2007 series creator Hideaki Anno released an official statement [1] in a form of a movie poster that was shown in 50 cinemas in Japan, providing an explanation for his motivations in creating a new version of the franchise, and stating that the release date for the first film in Japanese theaters was September 1st, 2007.

Many who worked on the original Evangelion production team returned to work on Rebuild. Hideaki Anno has written the script for the first movie and will be the general director and manager for the entire project. Kazuya Tsurumaki and Masayuki directed the movies while Yoshiyuki Sadamoto provides character designs and Ikuto Yamashita provides mechanical designs. Shinji Higuchi and Tomoki Kyoda provided storyboards for the first movie.

Films

There are four films in the Rebuild of Evangelion series. The first is titled “Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone”. Working titles for the remaining three films are “Evangelion 2.0”, “Evangelion 3.0”, and “Evangelion: Final”

Episode	Japanese Title	English Translations	Release date
Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone	ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:序 (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Jo)	Evangelion New Theater Edition: Preface	September 1, 2007 (Japan)
Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance	ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:破 (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Ha)	Evangelion New Theater Edition: Breaking Up	June 27, 2009 (Japan)
Evangelion 3.0:	ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:急 (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Kyū)	Evangelion New Theater Edition: Rush	Not Fixed Shown with "Final"
Evangelion: Final	ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:? (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: ?)	Evangelion New Theater Edition: ?	Not Fixed Shown with "3.0"

Storyline

“Rebuild of Evangelion” is an alternate retelling of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion: the first three movies are intended to be an “alternate retelling” of the series, while the fourth and final film is promised to be an entirely new, alternate ending to the series.

Major differences include that while Kaworu Nagisa was originally introduced very late in the series in Episode 24, in Rebuild of Evangelion he was present in the first film. In addition, a new girl named Mari appears starting from the second film.

The plot of the first Rebuild film ends with “Operation Yashima”, the battle against the Angel Ramiel in Episode 06 which concluded the introductory story arc.