Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (1997)

A recap of the first 24 episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion, followed by a 30-minute continuation of the plot that would later form the first third of The End of Evangelion.

Directors:

Hideaki Anno, Masayuki

Writers:

Hideaki Anno (screenplay), Akio Satsukawa (screenplay)

Stars:

Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yûko Miyamura

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Megumi Ogata	...	Shinji Ikari (voice)
Megumi Hayashibara	...	Rei Ayanami / Yui Ikari / Pen Pen (voice)
Yûko Miyamura	...	Asuka Langley Sôryû (voice)
Kotono Mitsuishi	...	Misato Katsuragi (voice)
Fumihiko Tachiki	...	Gendô Ikari (voice)
Yuriko Yamaguchi	...	Ritsuko Akagi (voice)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	Ryôji Kaji (voice)
Tomokazu Seki	...	Tôji Suzuhara (voice)
Motomu Kiyokawa	...	Kôzô Fuyutsuki (voice)
Miki Nagasawa	...	Maya Ibuki (voice)
Hiro Yûki	...	Makoto Hyûga (voice)
Takehito Koyasu	...	Shigeru Aoba (voice)
Tetsuya Iwanaga	...	Kensuke Aida (voice)
Junko Iwao	...	Hikari Horaki (voice)
Spike Spencer	...	Shinji Ikari (voice)

Storyline

The Evangelion saga from TV is artfully recounted, with some additional scenes, in part one see: "Shin Seiki Evangelion" (1995) Part two starts immediately afterward, where the NERV organization has outlived its usefulness. The shadowy covenant of SEELE launches an all-out commando assault against the ill-defended headquarters. Asuka, semi-comatose, is placed in her EVA for safety, while Misato and company struggle to find Shinji and Rei before they're assasinated by SEELE's forces.

---

Plot Keywords:

older actors younger roles | giant robot | alternate timeline | 21st century | surrealism | 

---

Taglines:

Welcome to the Apocalypse

---

Genres:

Animation | Action | Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

15 March 1997 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gainax, Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., Production I.G.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Death and Rebirth is divided into 2 segments. Death consists of clips from the main series while Rebirth is the first half hour of The End of Evangelion.

---

Quotes

Misato Katsuragi: Shinji, this is your home now.

---

Crazy Credits

After the credits for "Death", there is a short scene of Shinji walking silently out of the recital room with his cello followed by a loud slamming sound as the Japanese text "zoku-geki" ("the movie continues") appears on the screen. A four-and-a-half-minute intermission follows, preceding the "Rebirth" segment.

---

Alternate Versions

A line of dialogue was added in the English version near the end of the film, during a shot showing a soldier firing a flamethrower into a room. Between the two bursts of flame, a soldier's voice can be heard saying "Hit 'em again!"

---

Connections

Followed by Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)

---

Soundtracks

Tamashii no Rufuran
(The Soul's Refrain)
Ending theme ("Rebirth" segment)
Performed by Youko Takahashi
Music and arrangement by Toshiyuki Oomori
Lyrics by Neko Oikawa

User Reviews

What a promotional package!

"Evangelion - Death & Rebirth" is, obviously, a film of two parts. "Death" is a futile attempt to stuff the content of the first 24 episodes of the "Evangelion" TV series into a running time of just under an hour. It succeeds in getting the very bare-bones of the plot in, but leaves out all of the subtler moments, the moments of psychological drama, and the fully-realized character developments that helped to make the TV series so popular to begin with. The few minutes of animation made help fill up this immense loss fails miserably.

But it does its job. And its job is to promote "The End of Evangelion". It is virtually impossible to watch "EoE" without some significant background knowledge of the TV series, and that is exactly what "Death" does.

"Rebirth" is, essentially, the first few minutes of "EoE", there for the sole purpose of whetting the appetites of audiences all over Japan for the initial release of "EoE". But since "EoE" has since been released, what's the point of keeping "Rebirth" around, anyway?

As far as promotional packages go, this is one brilliant piece of marketing. But viewers expecting to be thoroughly blown away by "Evangelion" are best off watching the TV series and then "EoE" (all in one sitting is NOT recommended, due to the sheer length of it all). "Death & Rebirth" has served its purpose, and now is no longer needed.