Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time is the epic conclusion to the rebuild of Evangelion. The fourth installment in the anime franchise, Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time arrived in Japanese cinemas in 2021 after a myriad of production delays. Created by Hideaki Anno, Anno wrote and co-directed the feature-film as the big swan song to the anime film series. Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time was massively successful at the Japanese box-office and it became the highest grossing installment in the rebuild film series and knocked out all of the competition. GKids licensed the film for North America, distributing in in North American movie theaters following a streaming debut on Amazon Prime Video. The film features a theme song performance by beloved pop idol Hikaru Utada.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time features animation produced by Khara (Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo). The original character designs are by Takeshi Honda (The Boy and the Heron) and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (FLCL, Neon Genesis Evangelion). From executive producers Hideaki Anno (Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo) and Tomoyuki Ogata (Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo), Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time is a must-see action epic with a beautiful story and great callbacks for the cast of characters. Featuring the voices of Megumi Hayashibara, Megumi Ogata, and Yūko Miyamura, Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time is the anime event of a lifetime for some, making it an extraordinary adventure.

Shinji Ikari (Megumi Ogata), Rei Ayanami (Megumi Hayashibara), and Asuka Langley Shikinami (Yūko Miyamura) are back for one last epic journey. The Evangelion pilots find themselves traversing the outdoors – walking across the Tokyo-3. The trio of heroes find themselves residing at a quiet, peaceful settlement in Japan and encounter people never met before.

As the heroes have their own distractions as each travels Japan, an anti-NERV group also enters into the equation. The anti-NERV group is in Paris and events are building towards new and epic confrontations. The city landscape is dire and needs to be restored but at what cost?

The Evangelion units are back for more adventures as the EVA units (ala NERV) find more missions to deal with this time around. The Eva units face off against the Wunder. What will be the outcome of these epic battles and will the Evangelion be able to emerge as victorious with the fate of the world hanging in the balance? Can the future exist with the Eva? Join Shinji, Rei, and Asuka for the finale of Evangelion.

The final chapter of the Evangelion rebuild is the most visually sumptuous of the entire film series. There are so many breathtaking visuals on display. The animation is one of the finest qualities of the film and there is a lot of great work on display because of the team of animators involved with the production. There was a great degree of attention to detail in the animation and this gives the film a more robust visual style.

The animation on Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time is ushered in by art director Tatsuya Kushida (Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo) alongside chief animation director Atsushi Nishigori (Petite Princess Yucie). The animation team also brings to life the exceptional storyboards crafted by Hideaki Anno (Gunbuster, Neon Genesis Evangelion), Kazuya Tsurumaki (His and Her Circumstances, Neon Genesis Evangelion), and Mahiro Maeda (Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, Brave Story). Without a doubt, Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time is the most artistic installment in the film franchise and there is so much to appreciate about the style – it oozes style throughout every frame (picture-perfect).

Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time features excellent anime character designs by Atsushi Nishigori (Gurren Lagann), Hidenori Matsubara (In This Corner of the World), Moyoco Anno (Cutie Honey, Yoiko no Rekishi Anime: Ōkina Kabu), and Shigeto Koyama (Promare), Syūichi Iseki (Cutie Honey Universe). These designs feel faithful to the original anime series and to the other installments in the feature-film anime series. The character personalities are true to the fiber on their being and the artwork reflects this in spades.

The film also beautifully showcases mecha designs by Se Jun Kim (Mobile Suit Gundam Twilight AXIS), Takashi Watabe (Cyber City Oedo 808), Takeshi Takakura (Martian Successor Nadesico), Tomoyuki Hirao (Metallic Rouge), and Toshiaki Ihara (Full Metal Panic!, Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory). These designs add so much to the film – the mecha element is one of the main reasons fans continue to love the Eva units as each giant mecha is so wonderfully animated by the production team.

The score composed by Shirō Sagisu (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo) is one of the highlights of the filmmaking. Sagisu is a brilliant composer and there is a sense of wonder apparent through the film. Sagisu provides a bold and ambitious score that heightens the emotion, gravitas, and depth of the filmmaking. The score builds and provides an adrenaline rush for the big action set-pieces (especially during the concluding sequences of the film). The music always feels creative and lush. A great score for the film and a testament to the legacy of Evangelion.

The cinematography by Toru Fukushi (Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance) is sublime from frame-to-frame. The visual style is enormously majestic and there is so much worth celebrating about the film and its painterly cinematography. The cinematography helps highlight the animation in spades and the end result is something as ambitious as any other essential element in the epic.

Hideaki Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo) penned the script and co-directed the feature alongside co-directors Katsuichi Nakayama (The Good Witch of the West, Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory), Kazuya Tsurumaki (FLCL, Gunbuster), and Mahiro Maeda (Blue Submarine No.6, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo). Anno has spent a greater portion of his life invested in telling these stories (with both the original anime series and the rebuild film series). To say that Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time is a labor of love is an understatement.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time is one of the most ambitious anime productions ever surmounted in the history of the medium – one of the reasons why the film was a mammoth success both critically and commercially in Japan. Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time is sophisticated filmmaking and one of the most essential anime productions undertaken to date. Fans of the original anime and fans who have been following the rebuild film series will find the extended wait time was well worth the wait. Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time checks off so many sweet boxes of what fans wanted out of the finale, providing resolution to the franchise with something new and invigorating at the same time. In my estimation, a grand triumph and a film that far surpasses the original concluding film (as made to go alongside the original anime series).

The final act of Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time brings the epic action-packed adventure to a close with some of the best moments in the entire rebuild of the franchise. The last installment has plenty of swan song moments for Evangelion fans. Some viewers might be moved to tears. The journey is one that has taken many years to get to with the film going through plenty of big production delays along the way, leading to plenty of creative tinkering by Anno. The good news is that the long time spent making the film was well worth the wait for fans.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on 4K UHD by Shout Factory in collaboration with GKids, Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time is presented in 2160p HEVC / H.265 in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1 widescreen. Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time has received an upscaled 4K UHD presentation. This is an impressive looking 4K UHD disc with a lot of wonderful qualities to the encoding on the release. Outstanding clarity and detail are present on the disc. The disc often resembles that of a native presentation, with surprisingly close detail reproduction to a native 4K disc. The color reproduction appears excellent on the release as well.

The film is a high-octane action epic at times and these big action beats are perfectly reproduced with the encoding on the release – there is no issues with the transfer having any egregious encoding anomalies to deter from enjoying the presentation. Though the presentation is nearly flawless, I did notice a few slight moments of banding, though these were fleeting and barely visible on the presentation – this is one of the best- looking anime 4K UHD discs I have seen to date and any miniscule issues like this are only pressing to the most ardent of videophiles. There is little doubt in my mind that viewers will be enormously pleased with the presentation quality – it borders on perfection for most of the transfer. The color reproduction on the release is a highlight with the deep colors looking excellent on the disc. A quality presentation and one that GKids and Shout Factory have admirably provided to fans.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio quality on the release is excellent sounding and there is great clarity and detail present during the audio presentation. Dialogue is well reproduced. The action beats of the soundtrack have great clarity and detail – there is so much to appreciate about the sound- staging and the amount of detail present during the audio track. The music is similarly well reproduced. There is plenty to enjoy with the audio soundstage and LFE has admirable depth and immersion. The intense action scenes have crisp vitality and the surrounds are actively used throughout these big battle scenes. An intense and engaging lossless audio mix that will leave fans pleased.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes packaged in a deluxe collectors set with a Digipack style design with a fold out tray for the three-disc collection (including the 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray bonus disc). The white style package design has a debossed logo on the front of the set. The package includes a fold out leaf theatrical reproduction poster (suitable for hanging on the wall or getting framed).

The set includes a 24-page booklet featuring a breakdown of some of the disc contents, production notes, illustrations, and additional art work. The Archive section is the most admirable part of the entire package with some nice production sketches that can be flipped through to see the design process. The set also includes 5 collectible art cards, featuring character art work with the lead characters of the film. These bonus pack ins add some nice value to the set as a collector's edition – making the release all the more enticing to the collector's market. Fans will be thrilled to own and treasure a physical copy for their collection.

Disc 1 includes the feature on 4K UHD. Disc 2 provides the feature on standard Blu-ray. The bonus features are provided on a separate Blu-ray disc.

Disc 3 – Bonus Disc:

Special 01 –

Teaser (HD, 2:53)

Teaser 1

Teaser 2

Teaser 2.5

Teaser 2'

Teaser 3

Trailer –

Trailer (HD, 6:04)

Trailer Updated

Trailer Updated 2

Trailer Updated 3

Additional Trailer – (HD, 2:56)

Additional Trailer A

Additional Trailer B

TV Spot – (HD, 1:59)

15sec A

15sec A Updated

15sec A Updated – Kinro :2.22

15sec A Updated – Kinro :3.33

15sec A Updated 2

15sec A Now Showing

15sec B

:3.333 – Trailer Updated – (HD, 00:37)

:3.333 – Trailer Updated

:3.333 – Trailer Updated 2

:3.333 – Trailer Updated 3

Promotional Reel for SNS (HD, 2:27)

Special 02 –

Character Promotion Reel: (HD, 2:06)

Shinji Ikari

Rei Ayanami / tentative name: Rei Ayanami

Asuka Shikinami Langley

Mari Makinami Illustrious

Kaworu Nagisa

Misato Katsuragi

[Current Evangelion] (HD, 1:34)

Message for Kinro – (HD, 1:32)

Megumi Ogata Ver.

Megumi Hayashibara Ver.

Kotono Mitsuishi Ver.

Message for ANN – (HD, 29:41)

Maaya Sakamoto

Kotono Mitsuishi

Yuriko Yamaguchi

Fumihiko Tachiki

Motomu Kiyokawa

Tomokazu Seki

Tetsuya Iwanaga

Junko Iwao

Miyuki Sawashiro

Koichi Yamadera

Special 03 –

Stage Greetings (HD, 17:30)

:1.11, :2.22, :3.33 – Trailer for 4D (HD, 00:31)

Rebuild of Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 (HD, 16:02)

Evangelion: 3.0 (-46h) 5.1ch (HD, 10:42)

Evangelion: 3.0 (-46h) 2.0ch (HD, 10:42)

Evangelion: 3.0 (-120min) 5.1 ch (HD, 6:59)

Evangelion: 3.0 (-120min) 2.0ch (HD, 6:59)

:3.0+1.11 – TV Spot (HD, 00:17)

:3.0+1.11 – Promotional Reel (HD, 2:47)

Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time is the best of the entire rebuild, bringing together a sense of nostalgia for the original anime series while creating something new. Having seen Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time during its limited engagement theatrical run in North American movie theaters, it is wonderful to now have the film available on home media at last. The 4K release has a top-notch audio/video presentation and an assortment of bonus features (both on disc and physically). The package is tremendous. Evangelion fans won't want to miss owning the film on 4K UHD. Highly recommended.