The End of Evangelion

“One of the most beautiful, inventive, and poignant works in anime” (Anime News Network), this legendary 1997 feature has never been released to North American theatres before. It was conceived as a do-over, an alternate ending on the grandest scale, after Japanese fans of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series voiced their disappointment at the low-key, ambiguous resolution of that popular show. By contrast, End of Evangelion offers a spectacular, even bombastic dystopian apocalypse — full of sound and fury, signifying plenty.

Tokyo-3 is under attack from Eldtrich alien monsters, “Angels”, and defended by giant mechs — Evas — piloted by humans like teenager Shinji Ikari. The film begins with him at rock bottom, and things only get worse…

SEELE plans an attack on NERV after failing to create a man-made Third Impact. After reaffirming both her own and her mother’s existence in a state of despair, Asuka returns and begins the counterattack. However, new enemies descend from the heavens.

The End of Evangelion is reputed as a depressing and fatalistic film – but it’s far from it. Its emotional breakthrough is given vivid, thrilling form, told with more optimism than is often credited, even as the imagery becomes more and more hellish and macabre. It’s also simply incredible to look at, with bold splashes of colour in every frame, with nuanced movements from the humans and humanoid robots alike, with weight and detail in both its action and its quieter moments of drama.That being said, this is still a film filled with plenty of action, and is among the finest Anno has ever directed.

Kambole Campbell, Little White Lies

Perhaps one of the most nihilistic, avant-garde and devastating endings to an anime series ever conceived… It is the best and worst of everything that is Evangelion combined to create a film that is unlike anything that had come before it.

Toussaint Egan, Paste Magazine

This may be, if not the greatest, certainly one of the most harrowing anime experiences ever made.

John G Nettles, Pop Matters