¡°Thrice Upon a Time¡± is the subtitle, and time is foremost on the mind. This is the fourth and final film in a retelling of the series ¡°Neon Genesis Evangelion,¡± which kicked off back in 2007 ¡ª meaning more time has passed between ¡°1.0¡± and ¡°3.0+1.0¡± than between ¡°1.0¡± and the original series it set out to remake.
The original ¡°Neon Genesis Evangelion¡± aired between 1995 and 1996, and has been a fixture of Japanese pop culture ever since. In shaping the series, creator Hideaki Anno took inspiration from his favorite giant robot franchises, like ¡°Ultraman¡± and ¡°Mobile Suit Gundam.¡± But his key innovation is characters with serious emotional depth and deep psychological issues. Anno¡¯s avatar is protagonist Shinji Ikari (Megumi Ogata), a young man who suffers from feelings of alienation and inadequacy.
¡°3.0+1.0¡± is Anno¡¯s third go at providing ¡°Evangelion¡± with a conclusion. The first was the final two episodes of the TV series, which resulted in the director getting death threats for its rushed animation and a refusal to provide easy answers. The second was ¡°The End of Evangelion¡± (1997), a big-screen reimagining of those two episodes that was better animated but no less mind-warping.
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