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Hideaki Anno answers fans' questions abo ...

Hideaki Anno answers fans' questions about "Shin-Eva"! What scenes would you like to add?

Jul 17, 2021

Hideaki Anno answers fans' questions about "Shin-Eva"! What scenes would you like to add? "EVANGELION:3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME" Finale Stage Speech! with EN subs

Hideaki Anno's "Eva" comes to an end! Bowing deeply to the audience

July 11, 2021, 7:18 PM

Hideaki Anno, the general director of "EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME", attended the finale stage greeting of the film at Shinjuku Wald 9 with voice actors Emi Ogata, Kotono Mitsuishi, Yuriko Yamaguchi, and Fumihiko Tachiki. As it was the last stage speech, he bowed three times to the audience, saying "I want to thank you all again," and talked about his thoughts on the work.

This film is the conclusion of the "Rebuild of Evangelion" series, which restarted the TV anime "Neon Genesis Evangelion" that caused a social phenomenon. It was announced recently that the film's end date has been set for July 21. On this day, the last stage speech for "EVANGELION:3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME" was held.

With a bright and cheerful look on her face, Ogata said, "I heard that the members on stage today are the first people Shinji meets at the beginning of the first episode (of the TV version). Before Ayanami (Rei) joined, it was these four. I'm deeply moved to give my final speech with all of you." General Director Anno also said, "As Ogata said, the first recording was with this team. It brings back memories. I've been on stage once before, but today is the last time, so I wanted to thank you again." The audience applauded loudly.

The film, which released on March 8, has attracted 6.47 million viewers and grossed over 9.88 billion yen(about US$ 8M) by July 10. The film is now just one step away from Anno's goal of grossing over 10 billion yen(about US$ 9M). Upon hearing this figure, Ogata said, "I'm surprised. I'm so grateful that so many people have seen it."

After finishing this film, Anno said, "I feel like I've done almost everything I can do in anime now." With a proud expression on his face, he said, "I couldn't do this or that in 'Jo', 'Ha', and 'Q', but I think I've done most of it this time."

In response to the question, "Are there any scenes you wish you had added?" He replied, "At first, I was trying to make it within two hours, so I tried my best to cut this and that, but when I realized that I couldn't make it in two hours, I ended up making it two and a half hours. I added what I thought I had to add, so as far as "Shin Eva" is concerned, I haven't." Anno said clearly. However, he added, "The production staff may be frightened to hear this, but it's not happening now. Please don't worry," he told them, which made the audience laugh.

Ogata said about the role of Shinji Ikari, "When I played the TV series, I thought I was the complete opposite. I thought I was strong, and that I didn't have this kind of personality, but now, 26 years later, I think I am Shinji." For Ogata, "Evangelion" is "another record of being 14 years old.

When asked what "Evangelion" means to him, General Director Anno said, "It's hard to put it in one word, if I were to put it in a simple way, I would say that it's my latest work, but that's not the point." "In fact, I've been working on this project since 1992, so it's been almost 30 years. There were times when I was working on other things, but in total, I spent half of my life on this project, so I'm very emotional to have finished it."

After that, the speakers continued to talk about their overflowing feelings for "Evangelion". There was even a moment when Mitsuishi and Yamaguchi were so overwhelmed with emotion that they couldn't help but burst into tears. When asked to make a final comment, General Director Anno said, "I came here today just to say thank you to everyone. Thank you very much." Anno thanked the audience three times before leaving.

(Interview and text by Tomohiro Mibu)

<Original JP site: https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N012459>

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