Over 25 years since it first graced theaters in Japan, GKIDS will finally bring The End of Evangelion, the feature follow-up to Hideaki Anno’s influential anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, to North American theaters for the first time. The film will be screened in its original Japanese language with English subtitles, bowing in select theaters nationwide on March 17th and 20th.
Created by Hideaki Anno, the Neon Genesis Evangelion television series is one of the most influential animated series of all time. Originally released in 1997, this final movie version was created as an alternative ending to the 26-episode anime series released in 1995. As a whole, Neon Genesis Evangelion tells the tale of reluctant pilot Shinji Ikari who is brought in by the organization NERV to man Evangelion Unit 01, a massive bio-mechanical robot used by humanity to defend against the onslaught of otherworldly beings known as Angels. In between massive clashes for the fate of Tokyo-3, As Shinji grapples with his complex relationships with his distant father, Gendo, and his enigmatic fellow pilots, Rei and Asuka, he is forced to confront his own fears, insecurities, and the existential questions raised by the apocalyptic battles he faces.
In 2022, GKIDS released the original twenty-six episode television series, Neon Genesis Evangelion, as well as the films Evangelion:Death (True)2 and The End of Evangelion on Blu-ray and digital download-to-own for the first time in North America. In 2022, GKIDS released the fourth and final installment of the new theatrical “Rebuild” editions of the Evangelion franchise, Evangelion:3.0+1.11 Thrice Upon a Time, in theaters and on Blu-ray and digital download-to-own. GKIDS also handles North American distribution for Anno’s prior series NADIA: The Secret of Blue Water.
So far, GKIDS has earned a total of 13 Animated Feature Oscar nominations since its founding in 2008, most recently doing so just this year with Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron. In addition to Anno’s series and related projects, the company handles North American distribution for the famed Studio Ghibli library and runs the annual L.A.-based film festival Animation Is Film.