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

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

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

Released on Blu-ray disc by Shout Factory in collaboration with GKids, Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1 widescreen. The presentation quality on the release is a step above what one will find with any streaming video option (such as Amazon Video) but a notch behind the quality provided to fans with the 4K UHD release (released concurrently). The presentation quality still provides excellent colors and fans should find the transfer appeasing with a robust art style. If one is not 4K UHD equipped yet, this disc will make due until one can jump on the 4K bandwagon to get the ultimate presentation of the film.

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

For more information on the Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time supplemental package, please refer to the notes included on the 4K UHD disc page reviewed here – which include notations on the Blu-ray extras for the standard edition as well as the collectors edition (exclusive to the 4K UHD collector's edition).

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

The conclusion of Evangelion has arrived with Evangelion: 3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time. The fourth and final installment in the rebuild of Evangelion concludes the remake of the original anime with these sprawling and ambitious theatrical productions. The animation is breathtaking and the production values enormous. The Blu-ray release provides a solid high-definition presentation alongside lossless, theater quality sound, and a selection of bonus features. 4K fans and the most ardent videophiles will want to spring for the deluxe 4K package but those without equipment for 4K playback will find the Blu-ray edition offers impressive merits, too. Highly recommended.