Evangelion 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time (Review)

Rebuild of Evangelion is one of those rare series of movies that will be known for how hard it tries to stick its landing. The final movie of the series, Evangelion 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time, is where the series takes the plunge and tries to stick the landing from a thousand-foot skydive. Evangelion 3.33 tried something different with its psychological assault against Shinji and ended on a cliffhanger that wouldn’t be resolved for almost a decade.

It was a movie that left many polarized, as 2.22 ended on a badass, glorious note that left everyone wanting more. 3.33 wanted to try something different by tapping into what made the original series famous: good old-fashioned emotional trauma. It made for a film that felt darker, confusing, and very hopeless until the end, where there’s a speck of hope for the cast’s troubles; this shift in tone from the previous film, which had a more hopeful and proactive story arc for the protagonist Shinji Ikari, left many confused and even put off from 3.33.

For ages, we’ve been waiting to see how this series is going to turn out with its final film. Hideaki Anno and his team at Studio Khara have worked themselves endlessly to provide the most anticipated finales to a long-running series. Have they succeeded? There’s only one way to find out.

It’s time to get back into the robot.

ONE MORE FINAL: for real this time.

The eiffel tower, as depicted in Evangelion 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time.
Not so romantic these days, unfortunately.
Credit: Studio Khara

The premise of Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time is simple; coming hot off the ending of Evangelion 3.33, where Shinji makes a bad decision and almost leads the world to ruin, Thrice Upon a Time introduces us to a world in an apocalyptic struggle.

Misato Katsuragi’s organization “Wille” is trying to undo some of the damage brought upon from the events of the last movie while Shinji and company are traversing the ruined landscape in search of other humans (called Lilim in the series). All the while, NERV is making plans in the background for the grand finale involving Evangelion Unit 13.

Thrice Upon a Time takes its time to set up its stunning finale; the pacing is incredibly slow at the beginning, as time is taken to immerse us into this new world post-3.33. We see some returning characters, are introduced to this new society that has arisen in the face of the apocalypse and we are reminded that Shinji is very sad. The world we are given is different from what we’re used to, as the people that inhabit it are much more down to earth than anyone else in the series.

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It’s in this contrast that we get different layers to Shinji, Rei, and Asuka, as they navigate a world that feels similar to ours but completely dissimilar to them. These characters never got a sense of true community or family, and as such these interactions are completely foreign to them.

For the first time in this series of movies, none of these Eva pilots have to worry about dealing with Angels (giant monsters that rampage in the city) for these moments. Each of them is made to interact with the world outside of the cockpit of an Eva; Shinji in particular is made to confront the consequences of the previous movie, and his struggle becomes the driving force behind the ultimate fate of the world.

Rei Ayanami wearing a straw hat.
Eva fans have been waiting for something like this for a while. Rei in a hat.
Credit: Studio Khara

Shinji’s struggle, in particular, contains echoes of the original series, where the suffering of the cast then leads to a chaotic and ambiguous ending that left many unsatisfied. While the story of Neon Genesis Evangelion served to tell a tale that resonated with the dark and dreary aspects of existence and living, Thrice Upon a Time uses its own casts’ suffering to amount to a much more cohesive and uplifting ending when compared to the original series.

The quieter moments of Thrice Upon a Time when contrasted to the quieter moments of the original series aren’t used to disturb or horrify the characters, but instead, bring them to some sense of peace. Every character that is struggling internally is able to put their hang-ups to rest and push through to try and save the world.

Seeing characters that previously ended up more broken because of their attempts at redemption or heroism become true blue heroes in their own right is satisfying and uplifting. Neon Genesis Evangelion has its own appeal, but Thrice Upon a Time does a great job at using themes of the original series and branching away from them in its own way.

When things aren’t quiet, the action is bombastic and fun; there are so many moments in the movie where we get some of the most kinetic and fun sequences in all of Evangelion. Studio Khara pulled out every single stop possible to give us some truly dazzling visuals with this last movie, as you’ve never seen action like this in all of Evangelion. Every punch thrown, every leap of faith and every single moment where characters just let loose is exquisitely animated and beautifully framed.

Asuka piloting an Eva unit.
An iconic look for one of the series’ most iconic characters.
Credit: Studio Khara

You could take almost any major scene from this film and make it into a framed portrait, the film as a whole just looks THAT good.

However, even a movie as good as this can’t be absolutely perfect, as there’s a couple of things that did bother me a bit towards the end. While I appreciate the slow-paced beginning of the film, I do feel that the slow-paced exposition dumps towards the end went on a bit too long.

They don’t absolutely ruin the film but they do stick out in the last half where everything feels like it’s building rather quickly; all of a sudden you’re just getting a ton of information dropped on you out of nowhere.

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Another actual gripe I have is just with Mari Illustrious Makinami, the newest member of the cast who was introduced in 2.22. Since her introduction, her character felt simultaneously important and completely irrelevant; her role in the story seems to only be the quirky character who is also mysterious for some reason. Things haven’t changed too much for her in Thrice Upon a Time, and as such her relationships with the rest of the cast don’t really feel all too earned.

I’m not saying we needed an entire movie dedicated to her, but there should’ve been some better moments between her and everyone else. All we’ve mainly gotten is just a character who acts quirky around Shinji and everyone else while also somehow has a significant role to play in the overarching story in the Rebuild series.

I wish she was used better and got some moments that were on par with everyone else’s. She does have some good scenes but they just didn’t hit as hard as anyone else’s; if she got some better character moments and we built to her defining moments in this film better, then she’d be better for it in the end.

Goodbye, Evangelion…

The entire cast of Evangelion, in promotional artwork for Evangelion 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time.
Here they all are, for one more final.
Credit: Studio Khara

Thrice Upon a Time is an incredible send-off to a franchise that has become one of anime’s most defining pillars. It’s simultaneously the ending that everyone actually wanted for Evangelion while also being the end of Hideaki Anno’s long relationship with the series. When asked about his feelings about the final movie’s release, he said in an interview with Collider:

This is speaking for myself, but for me, the story of Evangelion ended. I am not going to continue on, but now that it’s ended, it’s actually very peaceful for me.

It’s clear that ending Evangelion with Thrice Upon a Time was quite the journey for Anno and his team, and his next endeavors will be something completely different. We already got the live-action film Shin Godzilla a couple of years ago and Anno is set to work on a new live-action Ultraman film pretty soon.

Evangelion 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time will be one of those endings that people will talk about for years to come. When the credits finally rolled, it really hit me that I’d never see Shinji and friends ever again (presumably anyway). The sadness was pretty heavy, but in it, I see the memories of the past decade of Evangelion reflected towards me. At the end of this long journey, this actual final movie, I can confidently say, with my entire chest:

Goodbye, Evangelion.

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