Source: FUNimation Entertainment, NTV (Nippon Television Network)
Official Movie Site: Evangelion 1.0 (US), evangelion.co.jp (Japan)
Special Thanks to Jackie Smith

On October 4, 1995, the animated TV series NEON GENESIS EVANGELION (Shin Seiki Evangelion) premiered on the Japanese station TV Tokyo. Produced by the animation studio Gainax Co., Ltd., EVANGELION started slowly in the ratings but soon became a international hit that spun off successful videos, books, and toys as well as two feature films; EVANGELION: DEATH AND REBIRTH (Shin Seiki Evangelion Gekiji-ban: Shito Shinsei, 1997) and THE END OF EVANGELION (Shin Seiki Evangelion Gekijo-ban: Air/Magokoro wo, Kimi ni, 1997).

A decade later, the franchise returned to theaters with EVANGELION: 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Jo), the first of four new movies labeled the “Rebuild of Evangelion” (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban) series. The movie immediately shot to the top of the Japanese box office, as did the second chapter, EVANGELION: 2.0 YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE (Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Ha), this past summer. The third and fourth “Rebuild of Evangelion” movies are tentatively planned to open together, but the release date has not yet been announced.

International sales agent NTV (Nippon Television Network) began promoting EVANGELION: 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE to foreign buyers, and the first US screenings took place in 2008. FUNimation Entertainment acquired the North American rights to the film. The English dubbed version premiered July 3, 2009 at Anime Expo in Los Angeles. EVANGELION: 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE is currently playing in US and Canadian cinemas (check the FUNimation Films website for a list of theaters and dates) with the Region 1 DVD scheduled for November 17, 2009.

The following press notes were provided by FUNimation and are supplemented with additional information courtesy of NTV…

EVANGELION: 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE

The blockbuster Japanese animation EVANGELION has come back to the big screen! Created with the latest digital art technique 3D CG, the new animation and story will bring you a storm of excitement!

Synopsis

There was no foreseeable warning before it happened— a catastrophe of unparalleled scale and magnitude overwhelmed the entire globe. This event, recorded in history as “The Second Impact,” caused half the population of the Earth to perish and devastated the world. All that remains of Japan is Tokyo-3, a vast city that is now under attack from the terrifying Angels, creatures of an unknown origin bent on laying waste to anything they find.

Fourteen year old schoolboy Shinji Ikari is called to Tokyo-3 by his estranged father Gendo Ikari, who he hasn’t seen in more than eight years. The tearful reunion he was hoping for does not materialize as his father has a far more nefarious reason for wanting his son by his side again. Led down into the underground labyrinth of NERV headquarters by agent Misato Katsuragi, Shinji is shown a gigantic humanoid weapons system that the special governmental agency has secretly developed to fight their monstrous enemies Angels. Gendo reveals that Shinji is one of only a few children that can control one of these enormous Evangelions against the Angels, and orders his son to pilot Evangelion Unit-01.

Shinji initially refuses to be the pilot of Evangelion. But when he sees his replacement— a severely injured girl named Rei Ayanami— still has a strong will to fight against the Angels, the boy changes his mind.

With the fate of the world resting on his shoulders, how will Shinji fight? What is the truth behind “The Human Instrumentality Project,” an operation somehow related to the “Second Impact”? And who is the true enemy? The Angels, NERV, the mysterious SEELE, or the demons held within the hearts of all involved?

Gendo Ikari, a man who holds many answers to these questions, watches silently and attentively as his son fights a desperate battle…

The Unprecedented Eva Experience Returns

■ EVANGELION: 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE is the film follow up to the sci-fi animated series blockbuster NEON GENESIS EVANGELION (also written and directed by Hideaki Anno) which aired on Japanese television in the mid 1990’s.

■ NEON GENESIS EVANGELION has earned a gross revenue of over 150 billion yen (approximately $1.4 billion US) and continues to remain popular 12 years after its initial launch.

■ EVANGELION: 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE is the first chapter in a four part movie arc entitled “Rebuild of Evangelion”. The staff is the same as the TV series.

■ “Rebuild of Evangelion” is neither a remake nor a sequel of the TV series. The story— which seems to be the same as NEON GENESIS EVANGELION at the beginning— has been changed. New characters will be shown, and the characters from the TV series will see their different fates…

■ EVANGELION: 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE does not use any footage from the TV series. Director in Chief Hideaki Anno and the creative staff of this film made a complete rebuild of the design and visuals rather than magnifying the original 16 mm film from the series.

■ Since it became possible to alter numerous aspects of the narrative from its original form, the Eva’s themselves went through a make over. Numerous new details in their designs were added, new weapon systems were created, and the coloring was altered significantly.

■ The team was also able to employ 3D computer graphics to enrich the depth and breadth of the EVANGELION world as well as digital photography and composite nonlinear editing.

■ EVANGELION: 1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE opened in Japan on September 1, 2007. It was the top film at the box office.

■ The first international screening of the film was in October 2007 as the closing feature of the 2007 Pusan International Film Festival.

Character descriptions

Shinji Ikari
An introspective 14 year old boy and central protagonist in this work. Shinji becomes pilot to Evangelion Unit One and hopes to be valued by those around him through his efforts at fighting the Angels.

Rei Ayanami
A young girl who rarely shows her emotions. She has undergone extensive training as the pilot for the Eva Unit Zero. But why have all records of her past been erased?

Misato Katsuragi
The operations chief of NERV, the special government agency that has built the humanoid weapons system known as Evangelions or Evas. To a certain degree, Misato plays the part of Shinji’s parental guardian. While she usually puts on an optimist persona, it is a small part of her personality.

Ritsuko Akagi
The director of Eva development and maintenance.

Gendo Ikari
The supreme commander of NERV. Gendo is in fact Shinji’s father, but the extremes to which he places importance on accomplishing the mission causes him to come across as being cruel and distant.

Kozou Fuyutsuski
Deputy commander of Nerv. As Gendō’s confidant, Fuyutsuki’s relationship to Gendo is on equal terms.

Toji Suzuhara
Shinji’s classmate in Tokyo 3′s Junior High School No.1. They both are in Class A, 8th Grade. A boy with a strong sense of right and wrong that initially steered him to despise Shinji, over the course of time of watching Shinji fight desperate battles against the Angels, Toji comes to see Shinji as a true friend.

Kensuke Aihara
Shinji’s classmate in school. Toji’s best friend and tech geek. He knows a lot of what happens at NERV thanks to the fact that his father is employed there.

Hikari Horaki
The president of Shinji’s class. A girl forthright and honest to a fault, her stickler personality leads her to often chide upon Toji and his friends.

SELEE
The secret organization that administers and commands over NERV behind the scenes. The group clandestinely manipulates the world’s economic system as well as its political institutions, including the United Nations.

Tokyo 3
The main backdrop in the world of EVANGELION, this city— busy with continual construction and expansion— is located on the shores of Lake Ashinoko. While the city is touted as being the future capital of Japan, in reality this is a façade maintained for a city whose real purpose is to be a fortified metropolis that would act as the vanguard against the assaulting Angels. NERV headquarters is located in an underground cavern located below Tokyo 3.

Angels
Hostile life forms that attack NERV headquarters. Their fighting capabilities and origins are all shrouded in mystery. Angels are equipped with a unique defense mechanism called the AT Field, a force field like barrier that cannot be penetrated by conventional ordnance. Only the Evangelions can neutralize the Angels’ AT Field and effectively strike against them.

Director Bio

Original concept, screenplay, director: Hideaki Anno

A Japanese animation and film director, Hideaki Anno (born May 22, 1960) is best known for his work on the hugely popular anime television series NEON GENESIS EVANGELION which ran on TV Tokyo in 1995-96. Anno has been involved in the production of amateur films from his days in high school. He began his film career as an animator in numerous commercial projects such as Hayao Miyazaki’s 1984 film NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND. Later that year he helped found the animation production studio Gainax— a group that rose from the independent film group Daicon Film— with others he had met while enrolled in Osaka University of Arts. In 2006, he established the film development and production company Studio Khara. Anno is currently involved in the production of a new series of Evangelion films including EVANGELION 1.0: YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE and EVANGELION 2.0: YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE.

Animation and Live Action Filmography:
■ GUNBUSTER (1988: Video Animation / Director)
■ NADIA: THE SECRET OF BLUE WATER (1990: TV Animation / Chief Director)
■ NEON GENESIS EVANGELION (1995: TV Animation / Director)
■ EVANGELION: DEATH AND REBIRTH (1997: Animation Film / Chief Director)
■ THE END OF EVANGELION (1997: Animation Film / Director)
■ HIS AND HER CIRCUMSTANCES (1998: TV Animation / Director)
■ LOVE & POP (1998: Film / Director)
■ SHIKI-JITSU (2000: Film / Screenplay, Director)
■ RYUSEI-KACHO (2002: Short Video / Director)
■ THE INVENTION OF DESTRUCTION IN THE IMAGINARY MACHINES (2002: Short Animation shown in Ghibli Museum Theater / Director)
■ CUTIE HONEY (2004: Film / Director)
■ RE: CUTIE HONEY (2004: Animation / Chief Director)
■ EVANGELION 1.0: YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE (2007: Animation Film / Chief Director)
■ EVANGELION 2.0: YOU CAN (NOT) ADVANCE (2009: Animation Film / Chief Director)

EVANGELION 1.0: YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE Credits

98 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Japanese Theatrical Release: September 1st, 2007

Japanese Voice Cast
Shinji Ikari: Megumi Ogata
Rei Ayanami: Megumi Hayashibara
Misato Katsuragi: Kotono Mitsuishi
Ritsuko Akagi: Yuriko Yamaguchi
Gendo Ikari: Fumihiko Tachiki
Kozou Fuyutsuski: Motomu Kiyokawa
Toji Suzuhara: Tomokazu Seki
Kensuke Aihara: Tetsuya Iwanaga
Hikari Horaki: Jyunko Iwao
Maya Ibuki: Miki Nagasawa
Makoto Hyuga: Hiro Yuki
Shigeru Aoba: Takahito Koyasu
Kiel Lorenz: Mugihito
Kaworu Nagisa: Akira Ishida
Yui Ikari: Megumi Hayashibara

English Voice Cast
Shinji Ikari: Spike Spencer
Rei Ayanami: Brina Palencia
Misato Katsuragi: Allison Keith-Shipp
Ritsuko Akagi: Colleen Clinkenbeard
Gendo Ikari:John Swasey
Kozou Fuyutsuski: Kent Williams
Toji Suzuhara: Justin Cook
Kensuke Aihara: Greg Ayres
Hikari Horaki: Leah Clark
Maya Ibuki: Caitlin Glass
Makoto Hyuga: Mike McFarland
Shigeru Aoba: Phil Parsons
Kiel Lorenz: Bill Jenkins
Kaworu Nagisa: Jerry Jewell
Yui Ikari: Stephanie Young
Eva: Mike McFarland

Production
Production: Khara Inc.
Production Company: Studio Khara
Japanese Distribution: KlockWorx and Khara
International Sales: NTV

Original Story / Screenplay / Chief Director: Hideaki Anno
Directors: Masayuki / Kazuya Tsurumaki
Main Character Design: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
Main Mechanic Design: Ikuto Yamashita
New Storyboard: Shinji Higuchi / Tomoki Kyoda
Animation Director: Hiroshi Haraguchi
Chief Key Animation Supervisor: Shunji Suzuki
Key Animation Supervisors: Hidenori Matsubara / Kazuchika Kise (Production I.G) / Atsushi Okuda / Yuji Moriyama
Mechanic Key Animation Supervisor: Takeshi Honda
Special Effects Director: Shoichi Masuo
Production Designers: Hiroshi Kato / Tatsuya Kushida (BIHOU, Inc.)
Supervising Color Designer: Kazuko Kikuchi (Wish)
Cinematography: Tohru Fukushi (T2 Studio)
CGI Directors: Daisuke Onizuka / Hiroyasu Kobayashi
Editor: Hiroshi Okuda
Sound Production: Rakuonsha
Effects: Tohru Noguchi (Anime Sound)
Music: Shiro Sagisu
Theme Song: Beautiful World by Hikaru Utada (EMI Music Japan Inc.)

About FUNimation Entertainment

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