“I don't feel like "Eva" is over.” Interview with Megumi Ogata as Shinji Ikari in EVANGELION:3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME.
May 21, 2021, 17:00
"EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME" is now in theaters. We talked to Megumi Ogata, who plays the character Shinji Ikari, about this film, which is the final part of the series, and about the Evangelion series.
"EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME" has finally been released. How did you feel when the first day of the movie was released?
On the first day, I felt like it was a normal start.
On the first day of the release of "3.0", the fastest screening was held at midnight on the same day, and we were in an excited mood.
But the first day of EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME didn't have the fastest screening, and it was a weekday (Monday), so when I woke up in the morning, I was like, "What? Was it today? Oh, it's today!" (laughs)
The competition for the opening day tickets was more exciting.
Around midnight, my friend Makoto Uezu, a screenwriter, was making a big fuss about not being able to get tickets.
I happened to see it on social media, so I joined him in the Clubhouse room where he was buying the tickets.
It was nothing, he was just saying "I can't get a ticket" and "I think I can get a ticket here."(laughs)
I noticed that a lot of Eva-related people were listening to the Clubhouse feed, and I felt a strange kind of enthusiasm.
That's why, for me personally, the day the tickets went on sale was probably more impressive than the first day of the release.
It's true that right after the tickets went on sale, the ticket sales websites of theaters in Tokyo were all over the place, disconnected and with people having to wait their turn.
But from about 10:30 in the morning of the first day of the film's release, I started receiving a flood of messages on my phone from people who were involved in the film, or rather people who were working with me on other films, all reporting that they had just watched it.
I thought, "Why is everyone watching the first show at seven in the morning? What's up with work⁉" (laughs).
I felt like I was in a festival after that happened.
I wondered if they had gone to the cinema without sleeping, or if they had tried their best to rush in before work to watch the fist show.
I felt happy.
It was this feeling that finally made me realize that the end of "Eva" had just begun.
I'd like to ask you about the postrecording of "EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME," but I heard that the cast members had to re-record a lot.
How was the recording for you?
Well, I'm not sure.
I'm sorry to not meet your expectations, but I didn't have many retakes in my recording this time.
The first recording was done with Kensuke (Tetsuya Iwanaga) and Asuka (Yuko Miyamura), but after that I was mostly on my own, recording each scene little by little.
It was a very long recording, so my memory is not clear, but there were many times when I was told after the first take, "The current one is fine," or "The current one is fine, but let's try one more time." I don't think I did too many takes.
No, but there was one line that had multiple takes!
The line, "Goodbye, all Evangelions."
That line was not in the original script, and was suddenly added at the end.
I was instructed to say this line as Ogata's words.
So I was asked to try various things.
We recorded many different takes.
Some of them were shouting, but I think the first take was used in the film.
Maybe not (laughs).
The line "Goodbye, all Evangelions" can be heard not only in the trailer but also in the film. When did you feel that "Evangelion" was over?
I don't really feel that (laughs).
Well, I'm sorry, but I'm actually writing about my feelings after finishing all of Shinji on the last page of my book, which was published by the publisher.
So I'm not sure if I should talk about it here.
Is it okay? I guess not (laughs).
Anyway, I hope that the audience thinks it's over.
However, Evangelion is a work of art, and each person has his or her own Evangelion.
There is no such thing as "this is right" or "this is wrong," and I believe that each "Evangelion" is right and good in its own way.
Once we have created a work, it is natural to leave the rest to the audience, so if some of them think that it is settled, that is fine, and if some think that it is not settled, that is fine too.
Your book "Rebirth (tentative)" is an autobiography, but you also wrote about "EVANGELION:3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME".
Yes. I had written about it in the closing of the book, so I decided to release it after the release of "EVANGELION:3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME".
Yoko Takahashi's song book ("Yoko Takahashi's Vocal Lesson: The Book That Will Make You Sing 'Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis' and 'Tamashii no Fururan' Better Than Anyone Else") was released, followed by Megumi Hayashibara's book ("Megumi Hayashibara's Power to Survive Now, as Taught by All the Characters"), and then my book.
I hope that those who are interested in Eva will read each of them.
Going back to the story, you said that "I don't feel like "Eva" is over". How did you feel when you saw the word "End of the Story" at the end of "EVANGELION:3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME"?
Well, I first saw "EVANGELION:3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME" at the first preview.
At the screening, I had a chance to talk with Kazuya Tsurumaki, and he and I were talking about whether or not it would have been better if the word "End of Story" hadn't been included (laughs).
We talked about the possibility of having a different world from the current one, and that there are many more possibilities.
Oh, but please don't get me wrong, please don't expect anything (laughs).
I had work to do later and left that time, but it would have been nice to have a party to celebrate the success of the film and talk about various things, but I don't know if it would be possible under the current circumstances.
We talked about how sad it is that we don't have a party after 26 years of work.
Now that the production of "Eva" is over, I just hope that you can have a party to celebrate the release someday.
Yeah, I think so. But I don't know. Hideaki Anno, the general director, is probably already working on his next project, and I'm sure the staff is too. Even if it takes a long time, I hope to have an opportunity to meet everyone in some way.
<Original JP site: https://webnewtype.com/report/article/1033811/>