What is known about the production of Neon Genesis Evangelion The End of Evangelion?

"Neon Genesis Evangelion The End of Evangelion," a animation released in 1997, was directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, Hideaki Anno and stars Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara. The production budget has not been publicly disclosed, though GAINAX, movic, Star Child Recording produced the film, making it a notable entry in the animation landscape whose financial details remain private.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for a animation production like this include:

Development: After the series concluded, Anno fell into a difficult psychological state and his friend and anime director Hayao Miyazaki advised him to take a break, to which Anno followed Miyazaki's advice and rested for a few months.
Writing: Due to time constraints, the original script for "Do you love me?", the twenty-fifth episode of the series, went unused.
Filming & Locations: For the realization of the segment "Sincerely Yours", it was decided to include some live-action sequences to represent Shinji's inner universe; these include footage of street lamps, trains, graffiti, and the three main female voice actors of the series, Megumi Hayashibara, Kotono Mitsuishi and Yuko Miyamura.
Music & Score: The soundtrack of The End of Evangelion was composed by Shiro Sagisu, who also wrote the music for the original series.

What were the major cost factors in Neon Genesis Evangelion The End of Evangelion?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Neon Genesis Evangelion The End of Evangelion."

Development: Development is one of the primary cost drivers in animation productions of this scale.
Writing: Writing is one of the primary cost drivers in animation productions of this scale.
Filming: Filming & Locations is one of the primary cost drivers in animation productions of this scale.

Neon Genesis Evangelion The End of Evangelion Box Office Performance

"Neon Genesis Evangelion The End of Evangelion" earned $1,302,300 domestically and $20,563,523 worldwide at the box office.

Neon Genesis Evangelion The End of Evangelion Production History

After the series concluded, Anno fell into a difficult psychological state and his friend and anime director Hayao Miyazaki advised him to take a break, to which Anno followed Miyazaki's advice and rested for a few months. Production for the film version of Neon Genesis Evangelion officially began on November 8, 1996. The directing of "Air" was entrusted to Kazuya Tsurumaki, who had worked as an assistant director on the television series.

Due to time constraints, the original script for "Do you love me?", the twenty-fifth episode of the series, went unused. When it was decided to resume Neon Genesis Evangelion, Anno wrote the script of the "Air" segment based on the unused script. The episode was structured to be as close as possible to the ending the authors originally intended.

For the realization of the segment "Sincerely Yours", it was decided to include some live-action sequences to represent Shinji's inner universe; these include footage of street lamps, trains, graffiti, and the three main female voice actors of the series, Megumi Hayashibara, Kotono Mitsuishi and Yuko Miyamura. The sequences were filmed by a crew called the "Special Production Team" and were optically distorted. Anno was in charge of the script and was assisted by Shinji Higuchi as the special effects director, with whom he discussed ideas and compared his opinions about every single frame of the sequences.

Awards and Recognition

2 wins total

Critical Reception

The End of Evangelion received mostly positive reviews from critics upon release and has been frequently listed as one of the greatest anime films. Paste listed it in 46th place in its list of the best anime movies, praising its surrealism and experimentalism, while the Japanese film magazine Cut named it third. Writer Patrick Macias named it one of ten best films, describing it as the most important anime film of the 1990s, while Slant Magazine ranked it the 42nd-best science-fiction film.