Last year, American fans missed their chance to see Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time in theaters. It was instead placed directly on Amazon Prime. However, this December, the movie is finally making its American theatrical debut.
That said, it’s been well over a year since the movie was released, and those who have already streamed it may feel hard-pressed to watch it again. However, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Evangelion fans. The Rebuild series was made with the mindset that they would be seen on the big screen.
What Makes Rebuild of Evangelion a Theatergoing Experience?
One of the things that make the Evangelion movies so good in theaters is their sense of scale. These movies know how to make things feel big; the giant robots, the giant Angels, the explosions they cause, and the backgrounds they fight across. The Eva units are
, but they almost end up looking small compared to everything around them. That’s the kind of scale that can’t be properly experienced on a screen smaller than the person watching it.
The scale is further complemented by the amount of detail in each shot. Whether it’s the technology, the vast cityscapes, and landscapes, or the disastrous results of the Near Third Impact, every shot is packed with visual information that tells the audience more than they could possibly get out in one viewing. The presence of this level of detail in nearly every shot makes the world of Evangelion feel that much bigger and more alive. One could technically catch all the details by pausing on a small screen, but they’re really meant to be viewed vis-à-vis the ongoing story and action.
The other thing that makes Rebuild of Evangelion worth seeing in theaters is the sound design. As with the visual details, the amount of audio information is vast and varied; it can be difficult to fully appreciate all of it on a home screen where one has to be mindful of others and lower the volume. More importantly, the explosions, impacts, and other sound effects are as loud as they should be. This is all to say nothing of how Shirō Sagisu’s soundtrack makes everything feel more grandiose and epic. Not only that, but the way all of these things shake the floor in surround sound is an experience that is best felt at a movie theater.
These are the kinds of things that make seeing Rebuild of Evangelion on the big screen not just a worthwhile experience, but a necessary one. The ways it’s meant to stimulate the audience’s sense of sight, sound, and even touch can only be fully appreciated in a theater. Those who have the chance to see Thrice Upon a Time, even if they’ve already streamed it, should. This film series is a prime example of the theatergoing experience.
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