Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time
2021 · Directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, Mahiro Maeda, Katsuichi Nakayama, Hideaki Anno
Original language: Japanese
- animation
- action
- science fiction
- drama
The story
In the aftermath of the Fourth Impact, stranded without their Evangelions, Shinji, Asuka and Rei find refuge in one of the rare pockets of humanity that still exist on the ruined planet Earth. There, each lives a life far different from their days as an Evangelion pilot. However, the danger to the world is far from over. A new impact is looming on the horizon—one that will prove to be the true end of Evangelion.
What it’s like
Post-apocalyptic light arrives in washed, bleached tones: pale grey skies, rust-orange ruins, and the sickly green-gold of a ruined world under a dimming sun, with the sharp digital sheen of late-2000s anime giving way to dense, hand-drawn chaos in its battle sequences. Its frames are built from tight, deliberate cuts, abrupt silences broken by stark noise, and long held shots of empty rooms and wind-stirred landscapes, while the score moves from mournful strings to surging, industrial percussion. The mood is bleak and melancholy, shaded with unease and quiet tenderness, the kind of film to watch alone late at night or on a deliberate, uninterrupted evening when you can sit with its weight. Its intensity is high: frequent mecha combat with brutal, bloody violence, grim body horror, and a sustained atmosphere of dread and despair. Its people are frayed and wounded, slowly circling toward a painful reckoning with their own damage. It is for viewers who want an apocalypse that is more emotionally exhausting than spectacular, and who can tolerate a story that refuses easy comfort.
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