Hideaki Anno – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today. Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:01:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/en_rocket_1024.png?w=32 Hideaki Anno – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com 32 32 176746664 Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki is still drawing…and walking in his Vans https://soranews24.com/2026/03/19/studio-ghibli-director-hayao-miyazaki-is-still-drawing-and-walking-in-his-vans/ https://soranews24.com/2026/03/19/studio-ghibli-director-hayao-miyazaki-is-still-drawing-and-walking-in-his-vans/#comments Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:00:58 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=728989 
Evangelion director Hideaki Anno shares heartwarming photos of recent meeting with Miyazaki in his Tokyo atelier.
If you’ve been thinking about Studio Ghibli director and co-founder Hayao Miyazaki and wondering how he’s been since he turned 85 in January, then you’ll be pleased to know he’s had a famous visitor check in on him recently, in the form of Hideaki Anno.
Anno needs no introduction to anime fans and film buffs, who know him as the creator and director of the hugely popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Today, the 65-year-old has a long list of directorial and writing credits to his name, including that of 2016’s Shin Godzilla, but he got his first big break in his early 20s, when he applied for a job on the 1984 film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and was hired by Miyazaki on the merit of his drawing talent.
The two have stayed in touch over the years, maintaining the respectful kohai (“junior“) and senpai (“senior“) relationship formed in their Japanese workplace environment, but in a slightly more relaxed style, due to their shared artistic interests. Anno even visited his former boss in his Tokyo atelier, Nibariki, last March, sharing a photo of the two of them outside the building.
写真は二馬力の玄関前にて。
帰り間際、ナウシカからの歴戦のスタッフさんに撮ってもらいました。
宮さんの髭が無い姿が新鮮です。手入れが面倒になったから全部剃った、と話してました。コメント #庵野秀明 pic.twitter.com/OIyoCFvtuF
— (株)カラー 2号機 (@khara_inc2) March 19, 2025
Anno’s message accompanying the image reads:
“A photo taken in front of the entrance to Nibariki.
Just before heading home, a veteran staff member from the days of Nausicaä took the photo for us.
Miya-san’s beard-less look feels fresh. He said he shaved it all off because it became too much of a hassle to maintain.”
Anno also shared a photo from inside the atelier during that visit, saying:
“I recently met with Miya-san #Hayao Miyazaki for the first time in about six years.
I was so glad to see that he’s still in good health.
It had been about eight years since I last visited Nibariki, but as always, part of the room felt like time had stopped. As you can see in the photo, a Sony VHS player is still sitting on the TV stand. It was great to catch up with Miya-san and have a fun chat about various things after so long.
Incidentally, the topic of ‘Nausicaä’ didn’t come up at all (lol). However, I was saddened by the growing number of memorial portraits on the wall at Nibaraki and at the main entrance of Studio Ghibli.”
先日、６年ぶりくらいに宮さん（#宮﨑駿 氏）と会いました。
まだまだお元気そうで、何よりでした。
二馬力を訪ねたのは８年ぶりくらいですが、相変わらず部屋の一部は時間が止まっている空間でした。写真のようにSONYのVHSデッキがテレビ台に置かれたままです。… pic.twitter.com/VJ8U6J6wln— (株)カラー 2号機 (@khara_inc2) March 19, 2025
It was heartening to receive the update on “Miya-san”, as he’s known to close friends and senior colleagues, but also concerning to hear about the increasing number of “memorial portraits”, or photos of the deceased, appearing on the walls. These photos are a sad inevitability, though, as it’s been roughly 40 years since Ghibli was founded in 1985, so more and more people associated with the studio are leaving this world, a fact that wouldn’t have been lost on Anno, who made a point of visiting Miyazaki again this March.
News of this latest visit was revealed just a few days ago, when Anno posted a series of photos on the official Twitter account of his production company, Khara, Inc. Accompanying the photos was this message:
“The other day, I visited Nibariki for the first time in a year.
Miya-san (Hayao Miyazaki) is still going strong and drawing whatever ‘pictures’ he likes. He’s an amazing person.The veteran staff member who worked on Nausicaä took photos for us this time too.
The last photo was taken when Miya-san, who was seeing me off part of the way, said “Let’s shake hands”. He’s become so calm.”
先日、１年ぶりに二馬力を訪ねました。
宮さん（宮﨑駿氏）は今も元気に好きな「絵」を自由に書いてました。凄い人です。今回も写真はナウシカからの歴戦のスタッフさんに撮ってもらいました。… pic.twitter.com/GyiJ3hVzVr
— (株)カラー 2号機 (@khara_inc2) March 13, 2026
After a life of drawing illustrations on a deadline, the now-retired Miyazaki appears to be enjoying a slower approach to his art, with no tight schedules or studio execs to hinder his creative process. The laid-back lifestyle has clearly had a calming effect on the director, whose suggestion of a handshake was a sign of affection that Anno deeply appreciated, especially coming from a person so hardworking he’s been known as the “Never-ending Man“.
Comparing the two photos in front of Nibariki, which translates to “Two Horsepower” or “2CV”, in honour of the director’s beloved Citroën 2CV, not much has changed over a year. Anno still has the same shoes, jacket and zip-up pullover as last year, while Miyazaki, still beardless, continues to wear the same style of apron he’s worn to work for many years. One noticeable difference, though, is the shoes on Miyazaki’s feet – a pair of comfortable Vans.
People online were thrilled to see the two directors together, leaving comments like:
“It’s reassuring to know that Miyazaki is still drawing.”
“The photos of Anno and Miyazaki together are so precious! The comment about him being calmer is also heartwarming.”
“A meeting of two masters. Thank you for these photographs, they will surely go down in the history of anime.”
“I really want them to fully animate the manga version of Nausicaä. It’s a masterpiece that completely surpasses Dune.”
“It’s so heartwarming that Miya-san was the one to say, ‘Let’s shake hands’. It really shows the bond between master and disciple.”
“Miyazaki’s simple “Let’s shake hands” brings tears to my eyes, as it conveys a warm bond that transcends years of strict mentor-student relationships.”
While the meeting between Anno and Miyazaki is heartwarming to see, it’s also touching that Anno chose to share his visit to Nibariki with fans, who are always keen for news on the famously reclusive Ghibli director. While the director’s beloved car can no longer be seen outside Nibariki, as Miyazaki donated it to Ghibli Park when he gave up his license in 2023, it’s nice to know that he’s still inside drawing, and occasionally strolling the nearby streets in his well-worn Vans.
Source: Twitter/@khara_inc2
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2026/03/19/studio-ghibli-director-hayao-miyazaki-is-still-drawing-and-walking-in-his-vans/feed/ 0 728989 Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki now Hideaki Anno photos Twitter Tokyo Mitaka atelier Nibaraki Evangelion anime movie film news New Evangelion short anime, written by Hideaki Anno, to have world premiere early next year https://soranews24.com/2025/12/20/new-evangelion-short-anime-written-by-hideaki-anno-to-have-world-premiere-early-next-year/ https://soranews24.com/2025/12/20/new-evangelion-short-anime-written-by-hideaki-anno-to-have-world-premiere-early-next-year/#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2025 16:00:04 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=722797 
Impactful announcement made for Evangelion 30th anniversary fan event.
Late last month, we found out that there’s going to be a live-action Evangelion kabuki stage play, which will be performed at the upcoming Evangelion:30+ ; 30th Anniversary of Evangelion event. It turns out, though, that even that’s not the most surprising part of the festivities, because now comes word that a brand-new Evangelion anime short will screen at the event as well.
The announcement was made on the event’s official website, which clearly states that this will be a “new short animation,” so it’s not just going to be a montage of memorable scenes spliced together from the Eva TV anime and movies. Nor is it going to be a quickie “Hi, welcome to Evangelion:30+ ; 30th Anniversary of Evangelion!” greeting or music video, as the announcement says it will be approximately 13 minutes in length.
Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno himself is credited as the new short anime’s planner, scriptwriter, and chief supervisor. Listed as director is Naoyuki Asano, animation director for Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time, the final installment in the Rebuild of Evangelion theatrical anime series. Also involved, as supervisors, are Kazuya Tsurumaki (co-director on all four Rebuild of Evangelion movies), Shinji Higuchi (who worked on all four Rebuild of Evangelion movies’ storyboards), and Ikki Todoroki (assistant director for the final two Rebuild of Evangelion movies). So while it’s not currently known if the new Eva short anime will be a sequel, retrospective, or something else, it’s clearly something the staff feels is important enough to warrant the combined efforts of the franchise’s head honchos. No mention of voice talent has been made, but with every single main member of the Evangelion voice cast scheduled to attend the event, it would be surprising if none of them contributed their talents to the project.
The new short anime will be shown only once per day, and with Evangelion:30+ ; 30th Anniversary of Evangelion scheduled for February 21 to 23 at Yokohama Arena in the city of Yokohama, that means a total of just three screenings. However, the announcement says that the new short anime will “have its world-premiere as an exclusive screening at the event,” so it sounds like everyone outside the Yokohama Arena walls will get to see it too, eventually.
Related: Evangelion:30+ ; 30th Anniversary of Evangelion official website
Source: Evangelion:30+ ; 30th Anniversary of Evangelion official website
Top image: Evangelion:30+ ; 30th Anniversary of Evangelion official website
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2025/12/20/new-evangelion-short-anime-written-by-hideaki-anno-to-have-world-premiere-early-next-year/feed/ 0 722797 ev 1 Evangelion original anime studio Gainax is now completely dissolved, Eva’s creator mourns ruined friendships https://soranews24.com/2025/12/11/evangelion-original-anime-studio-gainax-is-now-completely-dissolved-evas-creator-feels-sad/ https://soranews24.com/2025/12/11/evangelion-original-anime-studio-gainax-is-now-completely-dissolved-evas-creator-feels-sad/#comments Thu, 11 Dec 2025 13:00:49 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=722291 
Gainax goes out in a very Gainax-like way.
Anime studio Gainax is a great example of how you don’t necessarily have to be prolific in order to be prodigious. Best known for the original Evangelion TV anime and its earlier associated theatrical features, Gainax would sometimes go years between high-profile projects, but with works such as Eva, Royal Space Force/The Wings of Honneamise, Gunbuster, and Gurren Lagann, it’s ratio of landmark hits is enviably high.
And yet, all has not been well with Gainax, and now it’s all over, as revealed in a statement by one of the studio’s original founders, Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno.
Anno posted about the development on December 11 on the official website of Khara, the studio he established in 2006 after leaving Gainax. According to the statement, as of December 10 Gainax no longer exists as a corporation, having been completely dissolved and liquidated.
It’s a sad, but not shocking, end to Gainax, which was formally founded in Christmas Eve in 1984, meaning it just barely missed making it to its 41st birthday. Over the years, instability was one of the few near-constants for Gainax. Established by college-age amateur artists who produced the fabled Daicon festival opening animation student films, most of the Gainax staff was always clearly more interested in the artistry of making anime than managing the economic realities and responsibilities of operating on a professional scale. Shady accounting and tax evasion, whether to prop up the company’s perennially shaky financial foundation or simply for personal greed, got Gainax’s then-president Yasuhiro Takeda and the company’s tax accountant arrested in 1999, at a time when Evangelion was a huge hit and had revenue pouring into the company.
▼ Gainax’s 1990 TV series, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, was inspired by the works of Jules Verne and has a top-notch opening theme from singer Miho Morikawa.
In 2016, 10 years after Anno had formed Khara, his company sued Gainax over unpaid royalties from Gainax properties Anno had been involved in, resulting in a messy courtroom dispute that ended in Khara’s favor. Three years later, in 2019, Gainax’s then-president Tomohiro Maki, who was 50 years old at the time, was arrested on charges of taking nude photographs of a teenage girl who had entered into a contract with Gainax in hopes of becoming an anime voice actress. This sunk Gainax’s reputation to an even lower level, with a subsequent restructuring including the creation of a new board of directors with the goal of rebuilding the company. Anno, who was a Gainax shareholder, and Khara also lent support, but even these combined efforts have proven to be not enough to save Gainax.
“I am genuinely saddened, but quietly accepting of the situation,” said Anno in his statement regarding Gainax’s final fate. “I wish to express our gratitude and respect to all of the individuals and organizations who have been working without compensation for nearly six years, since the arrest of former representative director and president Tomohiro Maki in 2019.”
With Gainax filing for bankruptcy in 2024, it appears that most of the company’s final months were devoted to figuring out where its assets, including intellectual property rights, would go. Without offering specifics, Anno says that “Thanks to the cooperation of all parties, the transfer of rights, deliverables, and production materials has been successfully carried out, following proper procedures, to their respective rights holders and creators.” The “following proper procedures” part is especially important, seeing as how Gainax, having been formed in a time of far less organized operations within the anime industry, wasn’t always the best at understanding/recognizing exactly who owned what.
▼ The production of 1988’s Gunbuster/Aim for the Top (which streams on Hulu in Japan) has been described by former Gainax employees as especially chaotic, though that did result in its unique blend of both comedic and dramatic sports, mecha, and space opera elements.
In his statement, Anno says “Regarding the Gainax of the past, I have already made public almost all of the stories that I can share, but there is something that once again feels regrettable, and I will take this opportunity to speak on it.” He then goes on to mention a civil lawsuit filed by Khara against Gainax regarding improper handling of rights and deliverables transfers by Gainax’s previous managers, saying that the matter was only finally settled in January of 2023, with an acknowledgement by the defendants of Khara’s claims and an apology made.
Anno asserts that during the lawsuit, which involved an examination of Gainax emails and internal documents, it became clear that Gainax had behaved dishonestly regarding its ability or intent to repay Khara for emergency funding it had provided to Gainax in a time of need, and that communications between Gainax managers showed a lack of respect for the Gainax’s staff and the importance of preserving production materials. Anno then calls out, by name, Yoshinobu Asao, Hiroyuki Yamaga, and Yasuhiro for false statements and dishonesty, all three of whom were, along with Anno, co-founders of Gainax. “I had considered them friends since our university days,” Anno wistfully says, later adding that “when I learned about what they had done, my feelings went beyond anger and into sadness. Realizing once again that I would never be able to return to the relationship I previously had with them is profoundly sorrowful.”
Anno’s final thoughts on Gainax aren’t all about bitterly lost friendships, however. “Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to Yasuhiro Kamimura, a friend since my university days and the last president and representative director of Gainax. While the former management team of Gainax abandoned the studio’s legacy and failed to take responsibility for its actions or fulfill its obligations towards its creditors, Kamimura devoted himself to earning the cooperation and understanding of all involved parties to preserve the studio’s intellectual rights and materials while dealing honestly with creditors, watching over Gainax until its demise. For all of your hard work, thank you, Kamimura.”
Sifting through all that Anno had to say, and taking it at face value, it would seem that Gainax’s end probably won’t have much of an effect on the anime landscape going forward. As Gainax struggled financially over the years, Khara acquired an increasing ownership stake in the Evangelion franchise. Starting with the first Rebuild of Evangelion theatrical anime in 2007, it’s Khara, not Gainax, who’s produced the anime. Khara has also been handling distribution and international licensing of Eva for more than a decade at this point, and following Gainax’s bankruptcy filing last year, Khara acquired complete control of the Evangelion franchise copyright.
One can also make the argument that Gainax had already become one of the anime industry’s Ships of Theseus, with its brightest creative stars having moved on some time ago. Aside from Anno leaving to form Khara in 2006, in 2011 more Gainax employees broke away to create Studio Trigger, whose growing list of hits include Kill la Kjill, Little Witch Academia, Delicious in Dungeon, and New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. The last of those, incidentally, is a sequel series to a Gainax TV series that aired in 2010, showing that even if Gainax is no longer around, that doesn’t mean that all of the franchises that began there have to come to a halt too, especially if, as Anno says, all of its intellectual property rights have been sent off to appropriate new homes.
▼ New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
So in the end, it’s hard to say whether Gainax closing down for good is something that should be met with fond remembrance of its glory days, sadness for how it all fell apart, bitterness at the friendships lost along the way, pride at the careers it launched, or just a shrug of the shoulders at how, maybe, the company coming to an end doesn’t really matter. Given the number of Gainax anime series that finished on a complex, emotionally messy, inconclusive note where just about the only clearly discernable message seemed to be that you’ll have to figure out how you feel about it for yourself, this is probably the most Gainax-like way Gainax itself could have ended.
Source: Studio Khara, Famitsu
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2025/12/11/evangelion-original-anime-studio-gainax-is-now-completely-dissolved-evas-creator-feels-sad/feed/ 0 722291 sg 1 Hayao Miyazaki and Evangelion creator get together for a photo and a talk about beards https://soranews24.com/2025/03/20/hayao-miyazaki-and-evangelion-creator-get-together-for-a-photo-and-a-talk-about-beards/ https://soranews24.com/2025/03/20/hayao-miyazaki-and-evangelion-creator-get-together-for-a-photo-and-a-talk-about-beards/#comments Thu, 20 Mar 2025 13:00:43 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=694089 
And maybe, fans hope, a long-awaited sequel to a Studio Ghibli masterpiece.
For all of his immense movie-making talent, Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki doesn’t have a reputation as an outgoing, gregarious sort of fellow. Similarly, Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno often comes across as a guy who’s more comfortable expressing himself through his art than in direct face-to-face conversation.
The two famed anime directors have a strong friendship with each other, though, originally forged when Anno was still in the early stages of his career and serving as an animator on the Miyazaki-directed Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. The two would work together again on Ghibli’s The Wind Rises, in which Anno provided the voice of the protagonist, and Studio Ghibli even let Anno’s Studio Khara use some of its rare animation-making equipment for the production of the final Evangelion movie. And as further proof that Anno and Miyazaki are good friends, the two recently posed for a photo together, which was then shared by the Studio Khara Twitter account.
写真は二馬力の玄関前にて。
帰り間際、ナウシカからの歴戦のスタッフさんに撮ってもらいました。
宮さんの髭が無い姿が新鮮です。手入れが面倒になったから全部剃った、と話してました。コメント #庵野秀明 pic.twitter.com/OIyoCFvtuF
— (株)カラー 2号機 (@khara_inc2) March 19, 2025
The picture was taken at the entrance to Nibariki, Miyazaki’s private studio which he maintains separately from the Studio Ghibli office. With Anno having released three major movies since 2021 (Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, Shin Ultraman, and Shin Kamen Rider) and Miyazaki’s latest anime, The Boy and the Heron, being released in 2023, this was the pair’s first time seeing each other in six years…which meant it was also the first time for Anno to see Miyazaki in the flesh but without the beard.
Though he was smooth faced throughout the 1980s, for most of Miyazaki’s time since becoming the world’s most famous anime creator he sported a stately white beard. Fans were startled to see him without it during an acceptance speech video for an award in 2023, and Anno said that Miyazaki being beardless gave him a “fresh” aura.
But with Miyazaki being such an accomplished artist, a master at using subtle visual cues to send a message and create a mood, is there some deep meaning behind him removing his facial hair? Nope. As Anno reports:
“Miyazaki said that his beard was a pain to trim and groom, and that’s why he shaved it all off.”
Anno also shared a snapshot taken inside Miyazaki’s studio. Though it had been eight years since his last visit there, Anno was impressed by how time appears to be standing still in one part of the room where Miyazaki still has a VHS player hooked up.
先日、６年ぶりくらいに宮さん（#宮﨑駿 氏）と会いました。
まだまだお元気そうで、何よりでした。
二馬力を訪ねたのは８年ぶりくらいですが、相変わらず部屋の一部は時間が止まっている空間でした。写真のようにSONYのVHSデッキがテレビ台に置かれたままです。… pic.twitter.com/VJ8U6J6wln— (株)カラー 2号機 (@khara_inc2) March 19, 2025
Getting back to the shot of the two directors outside the studio, commenters couldn’t help noticing that while Miyazaki no longer has his beard, Anno’s facial hair is looking thicker than ever.
“With his white hair and beard, Anno is looking more Miyazaki-like than even Miyazaki these days.”
“It almost looks like Anno is Miyazaki’s little brother or something.”
“Looking like a dad and his son in that shot.”
“I love how Miyazaki still wears an apron. Makes me feel like he’s still an active artist”
“It’s great to see Miyazaki looking so energetic.”
As for who took the photo of the two of them, Anno doesn’t name names, but says that “a veteran staff member since Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” snapped the shutter. That in turn has commenters buzzing hopefully that this may be a sign that Anno might have been meeting with Miyazaki to discuss handing off the reigns to Nausicaa so that Anno can adapt the rest of the story from Miyazaki’s manga source material, something Anno has been expressing a desire to do for years, but currently there’s no official statement that they talked about anything other than beards.
Source: Twitter/@khara_inc2 via Otakomu
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2025/03/20/hayao-miyazaki-and-evangelion-creator-get-together-for-a-photo-and-a-talk-about-beards/feed/ 0 694089 HM 1 Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno is writing for the new Gundam anime TV series【Vido】 https://soranews24.com/2024/12/04/evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno-is-writing-for-the-new-gundam-anime-tv-series%e3%80%90vido%e3%80%91/ https://soranews24.com/2024/12/04/evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno-is-writing-for-the-new-gundam-anime-tv-series%e3%80%90vido%e3%80%91/#comments Wed, 04 Dec 2024 13:00:31 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=685329 
Anno working with other key members of the Evangelion and FLCL staff on a brand-new Gundam series full of teenage girl angst and robot team battles.
When there’s a new Gundam series coming out, it’s pretty much a given that Sunrise, also known as Bandai Namco Filmworks, is going to be the studio animating it. Predictably, the announcement for the newest Gundam anime TV series opens with the Bandai Namco logo, followed immediately by Sunrise’s.
What comes next, though, isn’t something anyone was expecting: the logo for Khara, the animation studio founded and run by Hideaki Anno, the creator of Evangelion.
Anno has been a busy guy since putting a presumably permanent period on the Evangelion franchise with 2021’s Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, making Shin Ultraman in 2022 and Shin Kamen Rider in 2023. He also recently revealed that he’s helming a new Space Battleship Yamato anime project. He’s still got the time and energy to be part of Japan’s biggest mecha franchise of all, though, as he’s listed as a writer for the upcoming Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX anime TV series, whose reveal/preview video can be seen above.
▼ The GQuuuuuuX part of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is transcribed phonetically in Japanese as “Jiikuakusu,” and is most likely meant to be pronounced in English similarly to “gee quacks.”
Anno isn’t the only Khara luminary involved with GQuuuuuuX, either. In fact, a number of key roles are being filled by Khara staff, who also worked together at Gainax, Evangelion’s original corporate parent on Eva, FLCL, and Gunbuster 2: Diebuster. Directing GQuuuuuuX will be Kazuya Tsurumaki (director of the Rebuild of Evangelion movies, the 2000 FLCL OVA series, Gunbuster 2, and certain episodes of the Evangleion TV series and its compilation movies). Yoji Enokido (writer of the second, third, and fourth Rebuild movies, FLCL, Gunbuster 2, and select episodes of Evangelion and Sailor Moon S and SuperS) is also listed as a writer for GQuuuuuuX, with his name preceding Anno’s in the dual credit. Finally, the mecha designer for the new Gundam series is Ikuto Yamashita, who also handled the Evangelion mecha designs.
▼ GQuuuuuuX is also the name of the new series’ hero Gundam.
The producers describe the story with:
Amate Yuzuriha is a high-school student living peacefully in a space colony floating in outer space. When she meets a war refugee named Nyaan, Amate is drawn into the illegal mobile suit dueling sport known as Clan Battle. Under the entry name “Machu,” she throws herself into fierce battle day after day, piloting the GQuuuuuuX. Then an unidentified Gundam mobile suit pursued by both the space force and the police appears before her, along with its pilot, a boy named Shuji. Now their world is about to enter a new era.
GQuuuuuuX will be the second consecutive Gundam TV anime with a teenage girl as its protagonist, following Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. It’s also the second Gundam TV series in a row to eschew the regular military, rebel force, and mercenary band scenarios that make up the bulk of the franchise’s narratives, and considering the past work of the GQuuuuuuX directing and writing crew, it’s not a shock to see the preview video adopting a moody, contemplative atmosphere of youthful unease and identity crisis.
There will, though, of course also be model kits, with one already being previewed.
No premiere date has been announced yet for Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, but a “theatrical version using re-edited episodes,” to be titled Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- is scheduled for release in Japanese theaters on January 17, so it’s probably a safe bet that the series will begin airing on Japanese TV sometime in 2025.
Source: Gundam official website
Top image: YouTube/GundamInfo
Insert images: Gundam official website (1, 2), YouTube/GundamInfo
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2024/12/04/evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno-is-writing-for-the-new-gundam-anime-tv-series%e3%80%90vido%e3%80%91/feed/ 0 685329 AG 1 Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno returning to anime with new project for 50-year-old franchise https://soranews24.com/2024/10/07/evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno-returning-to-anime-with-new-project-for-50-year-old-franchise/ https://soranews24.com/2024/10/07/evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno-returning-to-anime-with-new-project-for-50-year-old-franchise/#comments Mon, 07 Oct 2024 13:00:35 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=680675 
After a three-year absence from animation, Hideaki Anno is coming back to help a new project for one of Japan’s most beloved science fiction series.
There aren’t many anime directors more famous than Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno, but it’s been a while now since Anno made any anime. His most recent anime work is 2021’s Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, which completed the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series and, as of this point in time, the Eva anime franchise. Following Thrice Upon a Time’s release, Anno wrote and produced 2022’s Shin Ultraman and wrote and directed 2023’s Shin Kamen Rider, which, along with the Anno-written-and-directed Shin Godzilla, round out his modern re-imaginings of Japan’s holy triumvirate of live-action tokusatsu special effects series.
But Anno is finally ready to come back to the anime world, with a project that’s still in keeping with his enduring love for iconic franchises from his childhood, as he’s announced that he’s making a new Space Battleship Yamato anime.
Anno himself broke the news on Sunday at a special screening in Tokyo of the first episode of the original Space Battleship Yamato, which Anno himself personally planned and presented on the exact date and time of the 50th anniversary of its original airing at 7:30 p.m. on October 6, 1974. “I would like to take this opportunity to say that Khara [Anno’s anime studio] has been granted the rights to produce a new anime based on Space Battleship Yamato by Voyager Holdings and its representative director Shoji Nishizaki,” said Anno. “At the same time, we have also been granted permission to use the Space Battleship Yamato copyright by Tohoku Shinsha.” Realizing that might be a little too much legal-ise, Anno went on to summarize, “To put it more directly, I can now make new Space Battleship Yamato works.”
▼ A special 50th anniversary retrospective video for Space Battleship Yamato
Space Battleship Yamato is one of the most influential anime of all time, preceding not only Evangelion but other landmark science fiction anime series such as Macross, Gundam, and Galaxy Express 999. A pathos-packed tale of the World War II battleship Yamato being converted into a spaceship and sent on a perilous voyage to obtain ways for humanity to fight off alien invaders and cleanse the radiation the attackers’ weapons have contaminated the earth with, Space Battleship Yamato was Japan’s first space opera to become a major hit, and came at a time when it could leave a deep impression on many young viewers who’d go on to make anime of their own, such as Anno. It also played a key role in helping anime as a medium establish a fan base in the U.S., where a heavily localized version, titled Star Blazers, was among the first anime to air on American TV.
The Studio Khara official website has confirmed that the project will be a theatrical anime, and that it will be a different continuity than 2012’s Space Battleship Yamato 2199 remake of Space Battleship Yamato and its subsequent sequels, including Be Forever Yamato: REBEL 3199. However, Anno revealed that Space Battleship Yamato 2199’s director Yutaka Izubuchi (who’s also a renowned mecha designer with creations such as Patlabor’s Ingram on his resume) will be involved in Khara’s Yamato project, which is scheduled to enter production in 2025.
▼ Anno making the announcement in his customary soft-spoken way
“If I’d never watched across Space Battleship Yamato, I wouldn’t have the life I have today,” says Anno in Khara’s statement, and considering how much respect and passion he put into Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, and Shin Kamen Rider, we can probably expect him to do the same with yet another beloved landmark series from this youth.
Source: Oricon News, Studio Khara
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2024/10/07/evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno-returning-to-anime-with-new-project-for-50-year-old-franchise/feed/ 0 680675 AY 1 Evangelion creator says there might be more Eva anime to come https://soranews24.com/2024/05/15/evangelion-creator-says-there-might-be-more-eva-anime-to-come/ https://soranews24.com/2024/05/15/evangelion-creator-says-there-might-be-more-eva-anime-to-come/#comments Wed, 15 May 2024 05:00:35 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=667450 
But Hideaki Anno isn’t sure he wants to be the one to direct it.
Evangelion has “ended” at least three times. The first time came in 1996, when the final episode of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series aired. This was followed, though, by a trio of theatrical features a year later, culminating with the unambiguously, but in hindsight very inaccurately, titled The End of Evangelion. Then, after a decade-long break came the start of the four-part Rebuild of Evangelion movie series, which itself took 14 years to reach its conclusion with 2021’s Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time.
And yet, even with all those endings, there’s a chance that Evangelion still isn’t really over. Series creator Hideaki Anno spoke with Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun in an interview published earlier this week. While the impetus for the interview was the Hideaki Anno Exhibition that’s currently being held at the Kanayama Minami Building Art Museum in Nagoya, Evangelion inevitably came up during the conversation, as Anno was asked if he had any ideas for a continuation of the Eva series, or of letting someone else take the helm for the franchise, to which he responded:
“Hmm…there probably are some ideas like that. And I think it’d be an option for someone other than me to be the person to make it. There’s the question of whether or not there’s a business case for such content, or whether it’d be interesting or not. It’s not like I’ve decided ‘We will never make Eva anime again!’”
Within the same interview, the 63-year-old Anno also mentions that he’s “thoroughly exhausted” from his workload over the past three years, in which he wrote and directed Thrice Upon a Time, wrote and produced Shin Ultraman, and wrote and directed Shin Kamen Rider. “I think I’m OK with not directing anything for a while” he muses.
The prospect of a new Eva anime with someone other than Anno in charge is a massive question mark. While the franchise has an iconic visual aesthetic and a uniquely constructed world, many fans would argue what really makes Evangelion so compelling is its focus on the internal turmoil and desperate search for identity and purpose that consumes its characters, much of which stemmed from Anno himself going through such personal struggles. Rebuild of Evangelion is often seen as a fascinating reevaluation of those questions by an older, wiser, and much more professionally successful Anno, and with their sky’s-the-limit budgets and luxuriously long production and run times, it’s hard to think of much, visually or narratively, they were unable to do What’s more, and as a spoiler to the end of Thrice Upon a Time, the current finale to the Evangelion anime ends on a happy, peaceful note, one that feels like all of the series’ conflicts have been resolved.
Altogether, that would suggest that any new Evangelion anime would have to either undo the current ending or focus on a different storyline (and perhaps characters), and without Anno’s hands-on involvement and personal philosophical probing, there’s the question of whether a continuation to Evangelion would really feel true to the series. Still, if Anno does decide to hand Eva off to someone else, that would help keep his schedule clear to direct the long-hoped-for continuation to Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
Source: Jin, Asahi Shimbun
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2024/05/15/evangelion-creator-says-there-might-be-more-eva-anime-to-come/feed/ 0 667450 1_aba07a Major Japanese gas station apologizes after employee doxes Hideaki Anno https://soranews24.com/2023/06/08/major-japanese-gas-station-apologizes-after-employee-doxes-hideaki-anno/ https://soranews24.com/2023/06/08/major-japanese-gas-station-apologizes-after-employee-doxes-hideaki-anno/#comments Wed, 07 Jun 2023 15:00:20 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=625783 
You can (not) post people’s personal information.
Gas stations can be rather uneventful places most of the time, so when a legend of anime walks into one, you can usually forgive the staff for getting worked up. But that’s still no excuse for them to forget the most important parts of their job, such as not revealing a customer’s personal information to the entire world.
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened late in the evening of 5 June when the creator of Evangelion and recent string of tokusatsu reboots, Hideaki Anno, went to fill up his tank. The clerk working behind the counter spotted who he thought was Anno at the pump. His suspicions were apparently confirmed when the customer signed his credit card receipt as “Hideaki Anno.”
▼ Although he often works off-camera, Anno is a fairly recognizable guy
The clerk was so jazzed up by this encounter that he immediately took a photo of the receipt with Anno’s signature and posted it to Twitter along with the caption to the effect of “OMG! Hideaki Anno came to my part-time job!” The clerk also explained the make of the car he was driving.
This was especially problematic because in addition to the signature, the receipt also detailed how much Anno paid during the visit, the type of credit card he used, the last four digits of his card, the payment approval code, and even the number of T-points awarded for this purchase along with Anno’s total number of points – which, according to some people who saw the photo, is quite staggering.
▼ T-points are a widely used reward point program supported by scores of businesses in Japan
Image: Wikipedia/Culture Convenience Club
Oddly enough, the one piece of information missing from the photo was the name of the gas station. However, people were able to deduce that it was the major chain Eneos because it was the only one that offers T-points.
Eneos issued a public apology for allowing a customer’s personal info to be leaked and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to protecting privacy with a promise that measures will be taken to prevent it from happening again.
After his initial post, the clerk followed up by insisting that he wasn’t lying or mistaken about meeting Anno. In response, many other Twitter users advised him to delete the post containing private information, regardless of who it belonged to. At about 2:00 p.m. on 6 June, the clerk appeared to have complied and not only deleted the tweet but his entire account.
In the aftermath, Twitter users continued to discuss the incident, and while pretty much everyone condemned it, many were sympathetic to the clerk.
“Working at a gas station is really hazardous. I’m not sure someone so careless should be there.”
“Anno’s got an impressive number of T-points.”
“This is why we need more personal information security education.”
“Honestly, I noticed the ridiculous number of T-points before I even saw the signature.”
“I understand feeling excited but you just can’t do that.”
“I know how the guy feels, but he really needs to quit after this.”
“I remember someone did that with Masaharu Fukuyama a while back.”
“Sounds like the clerk was Itsuki Takeuchi from Initial D*.”*
“It’s a funny story, but also really scary.”
Not everyone was sympathetic, though, and some comments went as far as calling the clerk a “baito terrorist” a term that predates the currently prevalent “sushi terrorism” term for disgusting or otherwise wrongful acts committed on publicly accessible items in a restaurant. However, “baito” is the Japanese word for “part-time” explaining that baito terrorism is committed by staff rather than customers.
But based on the evidence at hand, it does seem like the clerk was just a really big fan who was simply too excited to think things through properly. Unfortunately, these kinds of over-reactions still make it harder for high-profile people like Anno to do even basic things like get gas.
This is a lot like that time I met Kanna Hashimoto while working at an optical store a couple years ago. I tell you, she was so star-struck when she saw me, but luckily had the self-control to not post my receipt on social media when I bought some computer glasses from her. Thanks Kanna!
Source: Twitter/@livedoornews, Josei Jishin, Netlab
Photos ©SoraNews24 (Unless otherwise noted)
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2023/06/08/major-japanese-gas-station-apologizes-after-employee-doxes-hideaki-anno/feed/ 0 625783 Godzilla, Evangelion, Ultraman, and Kamen Rider have formed a giant robot in tokusatsu clip【Vid】 https://soranews24.com/2023/05/20/godzilla-evangelion-ultraman-and-kamen-rider-have-formed-a-giant-robot-in-tokusatsu-clip%e3%80%90vid%e3%80%91/ https://soranews24.com/2023/05/20/godzilla-evangelion-ultraman-and-kamen-rider-have-formed-a-giant-robot-in-tokusatsu-clip%e3%80%90vid%e3%80%91/#comments Sat, 20 May 2023 01:00:39 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=624074 
Witness the birth of Shin Universe Robo!
What do Godzilla, Ultraman, and Kamen Rider all have in common? The most obvious thing is that they’re all pioneers of the tokusatsu special-effects genre who remain titans in the field even decades after their debut. But another thing the characters/franchises share is that they had a major influence on Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno.
Anno grew up an unabashed fan of all three, so much so that Evangelion’s fight choreography and soundtrack often more closely resemble the style of a tokusatsu series than a conventional mecha anime. It almost felt like things had come full circle with the release of the Shin Kamen Rider movie this March, which Anno wrote and directed after writing/producing 2022’s Shin Ultraman and writing/directing 2016’s Shin Godzilla. But really, that circle would only be full with the creation of a tokusatsu video featuring the three Shin stars and Eva Unit-01. That’s finally happened, and not only do the four characters team-up, then combing into a giant robot!
We start off with the quartet all inhabiting their own individual bodies (and Godzilla somehow managing to keep up with his much speedier teammates without even breaking his customarily plodding stride). But with evil entities attacking the city, it’s time for them to pool their powers and fuse forms as Shin Universe Robo!
▼ Feel free to shout “Gattai!” as this happens.
As the physically largest member, Godzilla takes on torso duties, with his head sticking straight out of the chest with an Eva AT field as a protective collar. A second AT field becomes a shield for the robot’s left hand, while in its right it holds a sword created by solidifying one of Ultraman’s beams.
▼ By retaining Godzilla’s head in a forward-facing position, the robot can also fire his trademark atomic fire breath.
The short, part of the S.J.H.U. Project (Shin Japan Heroes, a crossover between Eva and the three Shin movies), isn’t shy about using CG embellishments, which holds true for modern tokusatsu series in general. But there are also plenty of practical effects on display as Shin Universe Robo strides confidently into battle and explosions go off around it, where it’s pretty clearly an actor in a suit.
Accompanying the action is a vocal performance by Yoko Takahashi, best known as the singer of “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” the opening theme of the Evangelion TV anime. Surprisingly, Anno himself doesn’t seem to have been personally involved in the creation of the short, which was directed by Hiroshi Butsuda, a special effects director on the Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, and live-action Sailor Moon TV series.
If you’re thinking that in certain other shots Shin Universe Robo looks like a scale model, and wishing you could have one of our own, you’re in luck, since there’s also a Shin Universe Robo figure coming from Bandai.
What’s especially cool is rather than one already-fused figure, you actually get a set of all four that you then combine yourself. The tallest individual figure of the four, Godzilla, stands 16.4 centimeters (6.5 inches) tall.
▼ Come to think of it, this version of Godzilla, from Shin Godzilla, has never been canonically shown doing anything to help humans, so maybe the rest of the team shouldn’t fully trust him just yet.
The Shin Universe Robo figure set is priced at 23,100 yen (US$170) and can be pre-ordered through Premium Bandai and the Evangelion store (here and here), with delivery scheduled for January.
Source: YouTube/バンダイ公式チャンネル BANDAI OFFICIAL via Hachima Kiko
Top image: YouTube/バンダイ公式チャンネル BANDAI OFFICIAL
Insert images: YouTube/バンダイ公式チャンネル BANDAI OFFICIAL, Evangelion Store
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2023/05/20/godzilla-evangelion-ultraman-and-kamen-rider-have-formed-a-giant-robot-in-tokusatsu-clip%e3%80%90vid%e3%80%91/feed/ 0 624074 SH 0 The new Shin Ultraman movie is out, and here’s what both an Ultraman fan and nonfan think of it https://soranews24.com/2022/05/19/the-new-shin-ultraman-movie-is-out-and-heres-what-both-an-ultraman-fan-and-nonfan-think-of-it/ https://soranews24.com/2022/05/19/the-new-shin-ultraman-movie-is-out-and-heres-what-both-an-ultraman-fan-and-nonfan-think-of-it/#comments Wed, 18 May 2022 17:30:15 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=588516 
Is the new film something only for fans, or can anyone enjoy it?
Ultraman is a tokusatsu franchise that has been around for almost sixty years now. Ranking among the likes of Godzilla, Super Sentai (also known as Power Rangers abroad), and Kamen Rider in terms of popularity in the genre, this “giant superhero” has won the hearts of children and adults alike for generations. So of course, that means the franchise continues to this day!
The newest addition to the Ultraman universe is Shin Ultraman, which just hit theaters on May 13. Directed by Shinji Higuchi and written and planned by Hideaki Anno, this film is intended to be in the same spirit as the latest Godzilla movie, Shin Godzilla, which was also created by the same duo. Two of our Japanese language reporters went to see it: K. Masami, a huge Ultraman fan, and P.K. Sanjun, who has no attachment to the franchise whatsoever. Both came back with the same reaction: the Shin Ultraman movie is awesome.
This film is a reboot of the original series, which aired from 1966 to 1974. At this point, the show has undergone 56 years’ worth of reboots and remakes, probably leaving fans and non-fans alike with reboot exhaustion, but Shin Ultraman has its own twist on the franchise that makes it worth watching. We won’t specify how it set itself apart, as then we’d be spoiling the movie, but suffice it to say it does so in a sufficiently entertaining way.
Initially, Ultraman fan Masami worried that Hideaki Anno, whose work on Evangelion has been so iconic that expectations for his other productions have been high, was not actually directing Shin Ultraman but merely planning and writing the script, but the more of the film Masami saw, the more she agreed that it was the right choice. Anno was clearly able to do exactly what he wanted with the film through his role, and what’s more, the love he has for Ultraman was completely evident in its production. When the film ended and the credits rolled, Masami couldn’t help but think, “Mr. Anno, you really love Ultraman, don’t you?”
That love for the iconic franchise wasn’t limited to Anno, either. You can tell that director Higuchi and the cast all put this film together with the utmost respect. They worked hard to bring the intentions of the original creators into a modern context and execute it in a film that’s full of passion as well as entertainment. The film is neither too old-fashioned nor too new, and Masami can’t say enough praise about the way the crew as a whole brought this film together.
Since it’s a full reboot that starts from the beginning, you don’t have to have any knowledge of Ultraman to enjoy it, and that, Masami says, is a core part of the film’s charm. Fans who have seen every episode of every series and each movie will obviously have a greater appreciation and understanding of the story, but there’s plenty to enjoy about the film even if you’re not a fan. Her enthusiastic praise is actually what encouraged P.K. Sanjun, a member of the “Ultraman lost generation”, as he puts it, who grew up in an era devoid of new Ultraman series, to see the film.
Despite his lack of attachment to the franchise, P.K. does not regret seeing it one bit. He came back from the theater marveling about how incredible it was. “I’d give it a 110-percent satisfaction rate,” he said. “I really enjoyed it.” He enjoyed it both as a film and for its comedic moments, which actually had him bursting out laughing in the theater.
But what he might have liked most about it was the sense it provided of grasping a whole new worldview. The acting somehow maintained the old-school style of the original and the production didn’t feel like it was on the brink of new technology, despite being a modern movie. And even P.K., with his lack of knowledge or previous interest in Ultraman, could feel the love imbued into the film. All those factors combined made this film possibly one of the best Japanese films P.K. has ever seen.
So if you’re someone who doesn’t know much about Ultraman and has been wondering if it’s worth seeing the new film, don’t hesitate. Just go! Both P.K. and Masami guarantee you won’t regret it. And while you’re getting into the Ultraman spirit, don’t forget to pick up an Ultraman chicken burger before visiting the 1:1 scale Ultraman building art in Tokyo!
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2022/05/19/the-new-shin-ultraman-movie-is-out-and-heres-what-both-an-ultraman-fan-and-nonfan-think-of-it/feed/ 0 588516 shin ultraman1 Would Hideaki Anno get in the damn robot if someone told him to? Eva creator holds Q and A https://soranews24.com/2022/03/09/would-hideaki-anno-get-in-the-damn-robot-if-someone-told-him-to-eva-creator-holds-q-and-a/ https://soranews24.com/2022/03/09/would-hideaki-anno-get-in-the-damn-robot-if-someone-told-him-to-eva-creator-holds-q-and-a/#comments Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:00:11 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=580000 
Also says that Rei is not his favorite character.
March 8 marked one full year since the release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, which finally brought the groundbreaking anime franchise to a close 26 years after the original TV series premiered in Japan. That doesn’t mean fans have stopped thinking or talking about Eva, though, and series creator Hideaki Anno joined the conversation on Tuesday by way of a series of fan-submitted questions and Anno’s responses sent out by the official Evangelion Twitter account.
As fans already know, part of what makes Eva so unique is how willing it is to grapple with the psychological toil piloting the titular mecha takes on protagonist Shinji, and how that works as a metaphor for the emotional turmoil those of us in the real world can experience while looking for a sense of purpose, belonging, and fulfillment in our lives.
Those are issues Anno himself has dealt with for much of his career, so it’s easy to imagine him sympathizing with Shinji not wanting to “get in the damn robot,” as some viewers have harshly demanded. However, the popular opinion is that Anno is in a much more confident and stable frame of mind now than he was when he first started making Eva, which is probably what prompted one fan to ask “Mr. Anno, if someone actually commanded you to pilot Evangelion Unit-01, would you?”
Anno’s answer:
"
“I would not.”
" "
Q：庵野さんは、実際初号機に乗れと言われたら乗りますか？
A：乗りません。#シンエヴァ1周年生特番 #シンエヴァ1周年質問集 pic.twitter.com/XqSiQv9qqp
— エヴァンゲリオン公式 (@evangelion_co) March 8, 2022"
Not a moment’s hesitation from Anno on that, though it might have something to do with the fact that, as the series creator, he knows full well just how much pain and suffering comes with piloting an Eva.
Not that he doesn’t have a special fondness for Unit-01, though.
"
“Question: Which are your favorite Evangelion and character?”
“Anno: Evangelion Unit-01. For charters, I like Misato, Asuka, and Ritsuko.”
"
Anno also talked about the creative process for his works, saying that he gets his best ideas right before going to sleep and just after waking up. With his anime owing so much to his personal vision, Anno tend to handle several different roles for his projects, and when asked which he likes best out of concept planning, screenplay writing, art production, and directing, he replied:
"
“I don’t really have one that I particularly like. I just involve myself in as much as I can to make the work its best, or better.”
"
There was a nine-year gap between the release of Thrice Upon a Time and the previous film in the Rebuild of Evngelion series, as Anno continued tinkering with the story and visuals to achieve the exact ending punctuation he wanted to give the series. Now that it’s all done, how does he feel about it?
"
“Question: How many points would you give Thrice Upon a Time?”
“Anno: It’d be somewhere between zero and infinity. It’s hard to convert a movie evaluation into a numerical score.”
"
On the other hand, there was another question that Anno could easily give an exact number for.
"
“Question: Up until now, how many times have you watched Rebuild of Evangelion?”
“Anno: After finishing the sound recording, zero times.”
"
Speaking of finishing, Evangelion was originally supposed to be over at the end of the 26-episode TV series in 1996, and then again with the 1997 movie The End of Evangelion, which now ironically comes more than a decade before even the midpoint of the franchise’s 26 years of activity. So you really can’t blame someone for asking…
"
“Question: Mr. Anno, are you truly finished with Evangelion?”
“Anno: This it the third time I’ve finished it, so I think that’s enough.”
"
And finally, someone asked what many would say is really the most important question of all:
"
“Question: Is Shinji happy now?”
“Anno: I’ll leave those interpretations of the characters up to the sensibilities and imagination of the viewers.”
"
Maybe it’s not the definite answer that some fans would like, but the idea that no one can tell someone else that they’re happy, and that a sense of fulfillment would ultimately be something Shinji could realize for himself, seems like a very fitting way to bring Eva to a close.
Source: Twitter/@evangelion_co (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
Images: SoraNews24
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2022/03/09/would-hideaki-anno-get-in-the-damn-robot-if-someone-told-him-to-eva-creator-holds-q-and-a/feed/ 0 580000 AQ 1 Hideaki Anno’s Shin Ultraman gets May 2022 release date, new preview video https://soranews24.com/2021/12/14/hideaki-annos-shin-ultraman-gets-may-2022-release-date-new-preview-video/ https://soranews24.com/2021/12/14/hideaki-annos-shin-ultraman-gets-may-2022-release-date-new-preview-video/#comments Tue, 14 Dec 2021 13:00:32 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=569328 
That’s only 72,086 Ultraman fights away!
At the beginning of 2021, we reported on the upcoming Shin Ultraman film, based on the classic tokusatsu Ultra series. At the time, we mentioned that it was due to hit theaters in the summer, but little did we know how bad this year was going to suck too.
Production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but now appears to have gotten back on track and finally has a firm release date of 13 May, 2022.
This movie is helmed by Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno as writer and planner and Shinji Higuchi as director, and is the spiritual successor to 2016’s Shin Godzilla. Much like that film, Shin Ultraman looks to be retaining much of the aesthetic of the originals while also adding Anno’s unmistakably Eva-esque touches to create a whole new style.
There’s still little known about the production aside from the cast Masami Nagasawa, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Daiki Arioka, Akari Hayama, Tetsushi Tanaka, and starring Takumi Saito who is still simply being billed as “the guy who becomes Ultraman.”
However, the trailer did reveal one glaring difference between this new Ultraman and those of days past. There is no glowing “color timer” on his chest. In each episode of the series a transformation to the giant super-powered warrior could only last three minutes or so as indicated by a series of color changing lights on his torso.
▼ The lack of a timer can be better seen in this close up look at Shin Ultraman’s design which was revealed in 2019
Not all Ultraman designs have had color timers, but they did make for an interesting plot device, both providing the hero with a core weakness and driving suspense with a ticking clock. However, it is admittedly contrived, so not everyone loved the idea among both fans and producers. Anno appears to be in the no-timer camp, so we’ll see how that plays out in the film.
Nevertheless, there is a very welcome timer on the release of the film now, and fans couldn’t be happier according to online comments.
"
“That trailer is too short!”
“Finally, they decided!”
“Ultraman in May? I’ll be waiting.”
“I’m glad they kept the Spacium Beam sound intact.”
“When he’s standing still it’s creepy, but when he starts to move I’m like ‘ULTRAMAN!'”
“That’s actually a really short postponement by Anno standards.”
“I’m glad there’s no color timer.”
“This looks really fun.”
"
Speaking of fun, Shin Godzilla was clearly a metaphor for the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster as a critique on the government’s handling of them. This is quite a departure from the campy films the franchise is largely known for, but took it right back to the nuclear bomb metaphor that the original 1954 Godzilla film was intended to be.
Ultraman, on the other hand, was originally pure childhood fantasy of becoming an giant superhero and tapping into mysterious alien forces to save the world from an array of bizarre monsters. So in that way we might expect Shin Ultraman to either stay true to its roots and be a fun adventure for kids of all ages, or possibly adapt the more modern and gritty atmosphere that helped make Shin Godzilla as well-received as it was.
▼ Even looking at the other, longer trailer it seems like the general atmosphere could go either way
Or to put it another way: Shin Ultraman has even odds of becoming either a Richard Donner Superman or Zack Snyder Superman.
Source: Cinema Today, My Game News Flash, Otaku.com
Top image: YouTube/ウルトラマン公式 ULTRAMAN OFFICIAL by TSUBURAYA PROD.
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2021/12/14/hideaki-annos-shin-ultraman-gets-may-2022-release-date-new-preview-video/feed/ 0 569328 SF 21 Final Evangelion movie streams on Amazon Prime in over 240 countries, subbed and dubbed, in August https://soranews24.com/2021/07/02/final-evangelion-movie-stream-on-amazon-prime-in-over-240-countries-subbed-and-dubbed-in-august/ https://soranews24.com/2021/07/02/final-evangelion-movie-stream-on-amazon-prime-in-over-240-countries-subbed-and-dubbed-in-august/#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2021 02:57:54 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=547776 
Creator Hideaki Anno thanks “every Eva fan in the world,” asks them to watch it on a big TV.
The premiere of an anime movie is always an exciting time for fans, and that was especially true in March when Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, the conclusion for the entire Evangelion franchise, finally made it to Japanese theaters after multiple delays.
However, a Japanese theater premiere is really just the start the start of a different kind of waiting for overseas fans, since they can’t just hop on over to a cineplex in Tokyo or Osaka and catch a matinee. Add in Evangelion rights holder Studio Khara’s reputation for taking a long time in approving its works for international release, and it would have been an understandable choice for Eva fans outside Japan to not get their hopes up about seeing Thrice Upon a Time anytime soon…but thankfully, as it turns out, an unnecessary one.
“Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time on Prime Video on August 13,” announced the official Evangelion website on Friday, and this treat is strictly for overseas fans, as the movie will be available to users of Amazon’s video service in over 240 countries and territories, but not in Japan, where Thrice Upon a Time is still playing int theaters. While a complete list of the 240-plus countries has not been made available, the news on Amazon’s side was broken by the company’s U.K. division, which adds that Thrice Upon a Time will offer subtitles in 28 different languages and also optional dubbed dialogue in English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and four other languages.
The subtly different title of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 seemingly implies that the Amazon Prime version will incorporate the retouched animation of the enhanced version that began showing in Japanese theaters some time after the original Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 release. Amazon Prime will also be streaming the three previous Rebuild of Evangelion movies, for anyone who wants to revisit the earlier installments of the tetralogy.
The announcement was accompanied by a message from Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno:
"
“I’d like to thank every Eva fan in the world for your continued support. We were looking for the best way to offer the movie to fans overseas as early as possible in a challenging situation with movie theatres during COVID-19, and are happy to have found Prime Video as a partner to stream it globally. We highly recommend watching it on a big TV screen for the best viewing experience.”
"
Considering that the previous Rebuild of Evangelion film, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, had more than a three-year between its Japanese and overseas release, the five-month wait for Thrice Upon a Time is a major improvement, and soon people all over the world will get to know what’s up with rice farmer Rei.
Source: Evangelion official website, Amazon U.K.
Top image: Evangelion official website
Insert images:
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2021/07/02/final-evangelion-movie-stream-on-amazon-prime-in-over-240-countries-subbed-and-dubbed-in-august/feed/ 0 547776 EA 1 Studio Ghibli helped create final Evangelion movie, since no one else had the right machine【Vid】 https://soranews24.com/2021/05/13/studio-ghibli-helped-create-final-evangelion-movie-since-no-one-else-had-the-right-machine%e3%80%90vid%e3%80%91/ https://soranews24.com/2021/05/13/studio-ghibli-helped-create-final-evangelion-movie-since-no-one-else-had-the-right-machine%e3%80%90vid%e3%80%91/#comments Wed, 12 May 2021 16:00:37 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=542057 
When you want to make anime the old-fashioned way, there’s no better place to go for help than Hayao Miyazaki’s studio.
We realize that Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, the fourth and final Rebuild of Evangelion film that caps the entire Evangelion franchise, isn’t available outside of Japan yet. That’s why we kept our review of the movie spoiler-free, and we’ll be doing the same today with this behind-the-scenes clip from the making of Thrice Upon a Time.
Without giving any narrative secrets away, we can say that at some point in the movie, creator Hideaki Anno and his staff at Studio Khara wanted to animate a sequence the old-fashioned way. Instead of using digital drawing pads, they decided to produce physical drawings, then photograph the cels frame-by-frame using an animation shooting table.
One problem: Studio Khara doesn’t have a shooting table, since they were founded in 2006, well after the industry as a whole switched over to digital. But you know who does still have one? The old-school, old-guard artists at Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, so Khara took their artwork and timing notes over to Ghibli and borrowed the machine to help make Thrice Upon a Time.
"
#シンエヴァ 上映中
【制作こぼれ話】
VOYAGERが流れる中、映像がアニメの制作過程を遡っていくシーンでの表現では、アナログセル時代の「動撮」も描かれていました。
忠実な当時の「動撮」の再現を目指し、スタジオジブリさんが１台だけ遺している撮影台で経験者の手により撮影されています。 pic.twitter.com/5IZ0vuKuD7
— (株)カラー 2号機 (@khara_inc2) May 11, 2021"
The video shows the technician first laying down the background art, then layering the various cels for protagonist Shinji. And yes, that’s cels, plural, as his face/hair and body/clothing are separate pieces of art, since they move independently of each other.
Between each layer, the technician cleans off the artwork with a soft glove and duster, ensuring that not a speck of dirt or other debris is left behind to screw up the shot.
The meticulous attention to detail is in keeping with both Anno’s and Miyazaki’s reputations as anime creators with unparalleled levels of dedication to their craft, and the video has elicited comments such as:
"
“Keeping one of these machines around and in working order – I’d expect no less from Ghibli.”
“That’s Old Man Miyazaki’s studio for you. They take care of their tools.”
“When I saw Thrice Upon a Time in the theater, I felt like there was something nostalgic about the animation in that scene. So this was the reason!”
“Shooting animation like this is pretty much a lost art nowadays.”
"
Studio Khara’s tweet mentions that this shooting table is the one and only one that Ghibli has left, hammering home how animation production has pretty much moved on from these techniques. Still, they haven’t completely vanished just yet, and who knows, maybe if Anno ever gets to direct that live-action Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind movie he wants to, he’ll find a place in the script for an animated sequence and get to use Ghibli’s shooting table once again.
Source: Twitter/@khara_inc2 via Hachima Kiko
Images: Twitter/@khara_inc2
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2021/05/13/studio-ghibli-helped-create-final-evangelion-movie-since-no-one-else-had-the-right-machine%e3%80%90vid%e3%80%91/feed/ 0 542057 EG 1 Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno wants to make a live-action Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind https://soranews24.com/2021/04/27/evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno-wants-to-make-a-live-action-nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind/ https://soranews24.com/2021/04/27/evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno-wants-to-make-a-live-action-nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind/#comments Tue, 27 Apr 2021 05:00:02 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=540594 
After helping to animate the Hayao Miyazaki classic, veteran Studio Ghibli producer says Anno wants to make it without animation.
His career hasn’t always been an easy one, but right now Hideaki Anno is living the dream. With the release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time last month, he was able to bring the Eva franchise to a conclusion on his exact terms. Anno has also been riding high in the world of his other great passion, tokusatsu special effects productions. His live-action follow-up to directing 2016’s Shin Godzilla is writing and producing the upcoming Shin Ultraman theatrical feature, and after that he’ll be writing and directing the Shin Kamen Rider movie.
So after helming one of the most influential anime of all time and big-budget films for the holy triumvirate of kaiju/tokusatsu series, will Anno have any creative ambitions left to fulfil? Yes, at least one, according to Toshio Suzuki, one of the founding members of Studio Ghibli.
While Suzuki was appearing on last Sunday’s episode of broadcaster Fuji TV’s Bokura no Jidai talk show, the subject of the conversation turned to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, largely considered the first Ghibli anime (though its theatrical release came before the formal founding of the studio). One of the guests mentioned to Suzuki that Takashi Yamazaki, director of the highly acclaimed Always Sanchome no Yuhi (Always: Sunset on Third Street), has been saying for years that he’d love to direct a live-action film adaptation of Nausicaä.
This, however, wasn’t news to Suzuki. “I’ve heard that many times from Yamazaki personally,” he replied, “but the answer has always been no.” The Ghibli veteran then made a revelation of his own, though, adding “Hideaki Anno is saying he would like to make [a live-action Nausicaä] too.”
Rumors have been floating around for years that Anno, who worked as an animator on Nausicaä, would like to make an anime version of the remaining parts of the source-material manga that weren’t covered in the 1984 animated film. This appears to be the first time, however, that anyone has said anything about Anno wanting to transfer the story of the warrior princess to the medium of live-action.
That doesn’t mean that it’s time to start reserving tickets for a screening of Shin Nausicaä quite yet, though. Suzuki’s delicately phrasing of “but the answer has always been no” implies that a live-action Nausicaä isn’t happening without creator Hayao Miyazaki’s approval, which is going to be very hard to come by. “Everyone really wants to make a live-action Nausicaä, don’t they?” said one of the Bokura no Jidai guests, only for Suzuki to smile ruefully and politely correct her with “Well, the one person who doesn’t want to make it is Hayao Miyazaki, so…”
Suzuki has spoken before about Miyazaki repeatedly shooting down offers for a Hollywood live-action Nausicaä remake, but apparently his aversion isn’t any less when it’s a Japanese filmmaker trying to put their spin on the story. Still, Miyazaki did give his blessing to the recent Nausicaä kabuki stage play, on the condition that he not be asked to help with it in any way, so it’s likely that if a live-action Nausicaä movie ever happens, Miyazaki will again want to be completely uninvolved, and it’s doubtful there’s anyone other than Anno that he’d feel comfortable handing over the reins to, if he ever hands them over at all (and Miyazaki does sort of owe Anno, after breaking his Walkman).
Source: Entame RBB via Jin
Images: Studio Ghibli
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2021/04/27/evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno-wants-to-make-a-live-action-nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind/feed/ 0 540594 NL 1 J-pop megastar Utada Hikaru releases new music video directed by Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno https://soranews24.com/2021/03/09/j-pop-megastar-utada-hikaru-releases-new-music-video-directed-by-evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno/ https://soranews24.com/2021/03/09/j-pop-megastar-utada-hikaru-releases-new-music-video-directed-by-evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2021 17:30:02 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=535329 
”One Last Kiss” serves as theme song for Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time.
On Monday, after years of waiting and months of coronavirus-caused delays, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time premiered in theaters in Japan. As has been the case for each of the Rebuild of Evangelion movies, supplying the theme song is J-pop megastar Utada Hikaru, in the form of the brand-new “One More Kiss.”
To commemorate Thrice Upon a Time’s debut, Utada has also released a full-length video for the song, and just like the movie the theme is heard in, the music video is directed by Evangelion’s creator, Hideaki Anno.
Though the vast majority of his work has been in animation, Anno does have a handful of live-action directing credits, most recently with Shin Godzilla and the currently in production Shin Ultraman. For the “One Last Kiss” video, he keeps the focus on Utada herself, as we see her lounge around her home, wander through an amusement park, and relax in a park. In keeping with her unmistakably plaintive and haunting voice, though, these ordinarily fun and cozy locales seem wrapped in a hazy chill, and while we can spot a few scattered passersby in the far-off background, Utada is almost entirely alone as she sings lines like:
"
I pretended I wasn’t lonely. We both did.
Wanting something from someone is, in other words, to continue hurting them.
"
And yet, the atmosphere isn’t one of total melancholy. Utada spends much of the video singing directly to the camera, making efforts at emotional connections as direct as:
"
Can you give me one last kiss?
Let’s kiss like we’re on fire
So that it’ll be so much that I couldn’t forget it, even if I wanted to
"
The result is a swirling mix of fond reembraces, lonely yearning, and an open desire to show, and be shown, affection, even if it might not go on forever. The lyrics don’t try to deny that the risk of loss is an inherent part of loving someone, nor do they ignore that the sadness that comes from loss could not occur without something as beautiful as love having been present in the first place.
That all sounds like it’s very much in keeping with learning that because human interaction, and life itself, is neither all good nor all bad, it’s important to reach out your hand towards the connections that are good, and recognize and appreciate when someone is doing the same towards you, which in turn feels like a very fitting accompaniment for the end of Evngelion.
Source: YouTube/Hikaru Utada via Otakomu
Images: YouTube/Hikaru Utada
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2021/03/09/j-pop-megastar-utada-hikaru-releases-new-music-video-directed-by-evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno/feed/ 0 535329 LK 0 Here it is: the first look at the new Ultraman movie from Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno【Video】 https://soranews24.com/2021/01/29/here-it-is-the-first-look-at-the-new-ultraman-movie-from-evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/ https://soranews24.com/2021/01/29/here-it-is-the-first-look-at-the-new-ultraman-movie-from-evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2021 06:00:55 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=530613 
First came Shin Godzilla, and now comes Shin Ultraman!
Watching Evangelion, you might notice that its fights feel different from other giant robot anime. That’s because Eva draws most heavily not from other anime sci-fi fights, but from the rumbles between the costumed heroes and rubber-suit monsters of classic live-action kaiju and tokusatsu productions.
Eva creator Hideaki Anno has always worn his love for both on his sleeve, culminating in his directing 2016’s Shin Godzilla. Now, Anno is helming another prestige production, the upcoming Shin Ultraman, and the movie’s first trailer has just been released.
In and of themselves, theatrical features in the Ultraman franchise aren’t anything new, with close to three dozen released since 1967, including one each for the past six years. But while Ultraman is never a straight-up comedy, it’s always been first and foremost for kids, with even its in-universe dramatic moments feeling sort of hammy to grown-up audiences. Shin Ultraman, however, looks like it’s going for the same serious, mature tone that Shin Godzilla pulled off so well, making it the most critically acclaimed outing for the kaiju king in decades.
The dialogue-free teaser trailer doesn’t give us any concrete plot details, but it’s apparent that Neronga and Gabora, two Ultraman adversaries who debuted back in the original 1966 TV series, are up to no good, and also looking more unnerving than ever (in contrast, Anno seems committed to keeping Ultraman himself close to the hero’s original visual design).
Several fans also see similarities to the monstrous Aliens from Evangelion.
"
These kaiju (monsters) are Neronga and Gabora from the original Ultraman.
Arranged like the Angels of Evangelion.
Kaiju have come alive in this day 2021
pic.twitter.com/AI96Qm3wfY
— otakujp (@otakucalendarjp) January 29, 2021" "
シン・ウルトラマンに出てくるガボラ
使徒感があって庵野監督っぽい雰囲気が出てるなーって感じ(良い
)#シンウルトラマン pic.twitter.com/IKHqHL2naC
— HANABI
(@vader0627) January 28, 2021"
Anno is credited with planning and scriptwriting for Shin Ultraman, with longtime creative partner Shinji Higuchi listed as director. The two worked as co-directors for Shin Godzilla, and Higuchi also directed both live-action Attack on Titan movies (though some people may still be trying to block their existence from their memories).
The trailer also gives us a glimpse at a document titled “Investigative Report on Giant Humanoid Organism Ultraman (Code Name),” implying that this will be an origin story, set in its own timeline independent from the rest of the franchise.
Shin Ultraman should be arriving in theaters sometime this summer, the trailer promises, by which time we may or may not have been able to finally watch the last Evangelion movie.
Source: YouTube/東宝MOVIEチャンネル via Otakomu
Images: YouTube/東宝MOVIEチャンネル
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2021/01/29/here-it-is-the-first-look-at-the-new-ultraman-movie-from-evangelion-creator-hideaki-anno%e3%80%90video%e3%80%91/feed/ 0 530613 SU 0 Final Evangelion movie is finally finished, because Hideaki Anno says it is https://soranews24.com/2020/12/17/final-evangelion-movie-is-finally-finished-because-hideaki-anno-says-so/ https://soranews24.com/2020/12/17/final-evangelion-movie-is-finally-finished-because-hideaki-anno-says-so/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2020 05:15:12 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=526292 
Nearly decade-long production work is finally over for Studio Khara.
Delays aren’t unusual in the hurried and harried world of anime production, but the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series is an extreme example. The first film hit Japanese theaters in 2007, the second in 2009, the third in 2012, and the fourth…well, we’re still waiting on the fourth, and it’s an even more difficult test of patience since the upcoming film, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, is supposed to end the legendary anime franchise once and for all.
▼ Trailer for Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time
Usually, an eight-year gap between films in a series simply isn’t possible. Somewhere along the line, investors, distributors, and even key staff members get tired of waiting, and either apply pressure to speed the production process up or take their money and talents elsewhere, effectively killing off the project for good. Evangelion can get away with this, though, for two reasons: One, the franchise is so popular that the final film is all but guaranteed to be a massive box-office hit, and two, Eva is, and always has been, an extremely personal artistic expression of creator/director Hideaki Anno’s emotional outlook, and so Thrice Upon a Time isn’t done until he says it’s done.
And now, Anno says it’s done.
"
#シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版
2020年12月17日午前8時10分
スタジオ内での全ての撮影・編集作業が終了！
社内で待機していた全セクションへ庵野監督が直接、終了の報告と労いに周り、しばし無事に終わった喜びに沸きました
— (株)カラー 2号機 (@khara_inc2) December 16, 2020"
Studio Khara’s second official Twitter account (of course the anime studio that produces Eva has two official accounts) has sent out an announcement that fans have been waiting close to a decade to hear, which says:
"
“#Rebuild of Evangelion
December 17, 2020, 8:10 a.m.
All in-studio recording and editing work has been completed!
Director Anno has made the rounds to directly inform all sections in the company that work on the movie has been completed, and we have been feeling steeped in the joy of having reached the end of the project.”
"
Fans, predictably yet appropriately, have largely responded to the news with GIFs of the Evangelion TV series’ famous “Congratulations” scene.
https://twitter.com/e1020303010/status/1339357850284507137
The protracted production for Thrice Upon a Time was no picnic for Anno either, but he’s apparently now satisfied with the conclusion to the series, or at least satisfied enough that he’s ready for the public to see it when Thrice Upon a Time premieres in Japanese theaters on January 23.
Now if we could just get a preview of that new Utada Hikaru theme song…
Source: Twitter/@khara_inc2 via IT Media
Top image: YouTube/株式会社カラー khara inc.official
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2020/12/17/final-evangelion-movie-is-finally-finished-because-hideaki-anno-says-so/feed/ 0 526292 E 1 All Rebuild of Evangelion movies now free to watch on online as creator sends message of hope https://soranews24.com/2020/04/23/all-rebuild-of-evangelion-movies-now-free-to-watch-on-youtube-as-creator-sends-message-of-hope/ https://soranews24.com/2020/04/23/all-rebuild-of-evangelion-movies-now-free-to-watch-on-youtube-as-creator-sends-message-of-hope/#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2020 13:00:55 +0000 http://soranews24.com/?p=498555 
Hideaki Anno, who created some of anime’s most depressed characters of all time, encourages humanity to show its indomitable spirit.
With the coronavirus pandemic ongoing, spending the whole day at home watching anime has gone from “missing out on all the wonders of the great big world out there” to “noble effort to save humanity.” Even better, recently we’ve seen two of the most popular Japanese animation franchises of all time aid the cause as Sailor Moon and Pokémon have pledged to make hundreds of their episodes free to watch online.
But just like candy is awesome in small doses but can mess up your stomach if you eat a whole bag, there’s a limit to how much sweet kid-friendly animation you can consume. Perhaps having so much time at home has you craving something meatier in terms of theme and plotting, in which case you’ll be happy to know that all three Rebuild of Evangelion movies are now free to watch on YouTube. Even better, the run times for the first and second indicate that they’re the uncut-length versions, which are slightly longer than the version shown in theaters.
▼ Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
Series creator Hideaki Anno himself wrote a handwritten note announcing the decision, which was tweeted and retweeted through the official account of his Studio Khara production company, along with the hashtag #StayHome.
"
お待たせしました！YouTubeにて『ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版：序、：破、：Ｑ』公開しました。https://t.co/mrx5ZtclKY
テレビに出力してご家族で見ることもできるので、ぜひお家時間に使ってください。大変な状況ですが共に頑張りましょう！#StayHome#エヴァンゲリオン https://t.co/mq0Yegvdoa
— 株式会社カラー (@khara_inc) April 20, 2020"
Anno’s note reads:
"
“To all those suffering from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), my heart goes out to you,
I would also like to offer my gratitude and respect to medical personnel and all others working towards relief efforts.
I also apologize for this unprecedented situation delaying the release of the new Evangelion movie, which we have kept fans waiting for for nearly eight years.
This is a difficult time all over the world, but with a an indomitable spirit, I, and all of us, will keep doing our best.
Thank you.”
"
▼ Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
Anno’s mention of “the new Evangelion movie” is in reference to the upcoming fourth Rebuild of Evangelion theatrical installment. Titled Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 it’s the follow-up to Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, which came out in Japanese theaters all the way back in 2012. 3.0+1.0’s premiere was initially scheduled for June 27, but has since been postponed indefinitely due to the health risks and business disruptions caused by the coronavirus.
▼ Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo
While they may not be the animated equivalent of comfort or snack food, Evangelion’s penchant for dense yet obtuse storytelling, coupled with Anno having essentially an unlimited budget and amount of time to make the movies look exactly how he wants them to, mean the franchise’s number/(not) films are perfect candidates for multiple viewings and rewinds to their most provocative or breathtaking scenes, plus they’ll leave you with plenty to think about after the credits roll.
Top image: YouTube/株式会社カラー khara inc.official
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2020/04/23/all-rebuild-of-evangelion-movies-now-free-to-watch-on-youtube-as-creator-sends-message-of-hope/feed/ 0 498555 EF 0 New Evangelion anime movie’s voice recording officially starts, fans remain patiently ecstatic https://soranews24.com/2019/03/22/new-evangelion-anime-movies-voice-recording-officially-starts-fans-remain-patiently-ecstatic/ https://soranews24.com/2019/03/22/new-evangelion-anime-movies-voice-recording-officially-starts-fans-remain-patiently-ecstatic/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2019 15:00:34 +0000 http://soranews24.com/?p=446376 Photo of creator Hideaki Anno’s personal script is a sign that the long-awaited film is finally moving towards completion.
This week, something very special happened in Japan. Sure, we all knew it was going to happen eventually, but that didn’t make the anticipation any more intense, or the waiting any less painful.
But now, we’ve got beautiful photographs showing that it’s finally happening…What’s that? Cherry blossoms, you say? Oh, yeah, those started blooming, but this is about Evangelion.
Evangelion is the most influential anime of the modern era, and that status means that creator Hideaki Anno can pretty much take as much time as he wants between installments. 10 years later, after The End of Evangelion movie was supposed to be the franchise’s finishing flourish, Anno decided to start the Rebuild of Evangelion reboot/sequel movie series, with films that came out in 2007, 2009, and 2012. Rebuild isn’t a trilogy, though. It’s a four-parter, and fans have been waiting eight years for its finale.
This January, Studio Khara (Eva’s current rights holder) held a gala dinner to celebrate the fourth Rebuild movie officially starting in-earnest production, and this week comes a much more concrete milestone, as the official Evangelion Twitter account has announced that voice acting recording for the film has begun.
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『シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版』アフレコも始まりました。
(写真は庵野監督の台本です)#EVANGELION2020 pic.twitter.com/oNZBvFd56l
— エヴァンゲリオン公式 (@evangelion_co) March 20, 2019"
Posted with the announcement is a photo of the movie’s script. You might also be wondering why the booklet seemingly has “HAND” written on its cover, but that’s actually “H. Anno,” as in “Hideaki Anno,” since this is the director’s personal copy.
It’s worth keeping in mind that Eva’s production doesn’t always move forward in straight lines. For example, the original trailer for the third Rebuild film ended up having nothing to do with the actual movie, suggesting that Anno changed his mind about the initial work for Part 3 and tossed it. Still, it’s encouraging to see tangible signs of life in the production, even if the wait for the finished film isn’t over yet, as online comments acknowledge:
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“Wait…it’s not April Fool’s Day, is it?”
“Even if it’s just the start or recording, I’m still so happy.”
“Wow! So it’ll be in theaters 10 years from now, right?”
“No, you’ve got it all wrong. It’s gonna debut 14 years from now.”
“[It’s been so long that] I’ve gotta review what happened in the last one!”
“Glad to hear it wasn’t an announcement about Ultraman.”
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Then there was the fan who’s got mixed emotions, since the fourth Rebuild is ostensibly going to end Evangelion once and for all, prompting him to say “I want to keep looking forward to the next Eva installment forever, so I hope this doesn’t come out until 2050.”
He’s unlikely to get that wish, since Studio Khara, as per its lavish teaser trailer for the film, is promising a 2020 release. Then again, this is Evangelion, so an indefinite delay is entirely possible, as is Anno coming back a decade after the movie finally does come out and saying “You know what? I want to make more Eva.”
Source, featured image: Twitter/@evangelion_co
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