The Rebuild of Evangelion saga has always been met with mixed reception from fans of Hideki Anno’s original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime, however, judging from box office performance one would think 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time managed to shift that opinion, but it turns out some fans are dangerously mad over an anime movie.
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time already endured a long difficult path just to actually get to theaters, being held captive in development hell for almost a decade due to a mixture of personal problems and creative blocks affecting Anno during that time. As if that wasn’t enough, the pandemic forced the final Rebuild of Evangelion chapter to be pushed back even further into 2021, although at least it appeared to be well worth the wait.
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Despite all the hype and positive early reviews Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 has going for it, a recently released statement from Studio Khara disclosed that some of the production staff that worked on the film had been the target of “acts of slander, threats, and suggestions of crimes” due to the film’s content and artistic choices. The letter posted on the official Evangelion website vehemently condemned such actions warning that the studio will pursue all necessary legal actions against the people who committed these reprehensible acts.
These measures include seeking potential financial compensation in cases where it is applicable as well as reporting these threats, acts of defamation and crimes to Japanese authorities, and also to any competent in jurisdictions abroad for cases in which that would apply. To make matters worse this isn’t even the first time these kinds of threats have reached Studio Khara employees, as Anno himself discussed this hateful conduct started targeting Evangelion staff around the time the first three movies were being made.
No matter the number of threats received by Studio Khara’s staff, it’s clear a single hateful email would already be one too many to deal with for people that have worked tirelessly for so long to bring forward at least a small part of one of the greatest anime productions of all-time. Luckily, a few bad apples haven’t stopped Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 from conquering Asian markets in a way that’s recently only been surpassed by Demon Slayer.
While the internet may have made Evangelion more popular than ever, it also enables such cowardice from those who dare call themselves “fans” and opt to engage in criminal forms of speech towards the very same people that created the franchises they claim to love. Perhaps someone did not inform them that the hard work that goes into a movie lasts forever, on the other hand, email threats most often end up in the trash or worst-case scenario in the evidence room.
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Sources: Anime News Network; evangelion.co.jp