Here's a strange statistic from anime culture to ponder. The original Neon Genesis Evangelion series premiered on Japanese television in 1995 and the first installment of the Rebuild of Evangelion project premiered in 2007. With only three of the four planned movies released, that means the gap between the The beginning and end of Rebuild is even longer than the time between the premiere of the original series and the premiere of the film project.
The main reason for this is the eight years (and counting, after a delay due to COVID-19) that have passed since the third Rebuild of Evangelion film hit Japanese theaters. During these eight years, the creator and director of the franchise, Hideaki Anno, scratched his soul to find out what kind of work he wanted to do in the final project. With all this anticipation suppressed, fans are sure to be in awe of the latest movie in the project ... as long as their bladders hold out, which could be a real problem if this statement from Evangelion's producer at Studio Khara implies what several users are already theorizing.
#エヴァ25周年 に寄せて、庵野秀明より皆様へ。
— 株式会社カラー (@khara_inc) October 4, 2020
画像は『新世紀エヴァンゲリオン』最初（最古）の企画書の表紙1993年9月20日版。と、
『シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版』Dパート（最終ブロック）の最新ラッシュの画面2020年10月2日版。#エヴァンゲリオン #エヴァ pic.twitter.com/92zgiRcWlk
The publication was made last Sunday, during the celebrations of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the original transmission of the first episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The image on the left is a message from Hideaki Anno thanking the fans for their support and patience. At the top right is the cover of the original submission proposal for the 1995 animated series, and at the bottom right is a title card for internal use for test footage from the fourth Rebuild of Evangelion film, featuring the text indicating that it is for "Part D", which refers to the ending sequence of the film up to the beginning of the credits.
This is a great visual representation of the beginning and end of the franchise, but what caught fans' attention were the top two lines of text in the Rebuild title card image, which reads “SIN_Dpart 2020/10/02 05: 59: 50: 00 ". That "05: 59: 50: 00" is, without a doubt, a timer, which some have interpreted as five hours, fifty-nine minutes and fifty seconds, or rounded, six hours.
Twitter users who noticed these numbers were quick to comment on their interpretation of this:
- "Five hours and fifty-nine minutes… Well, there's no way they can end the story in a two-hour movie, so it makes sense."
- "Six hours sounds like a long time, but when you remember that it is the final chapter of Evangelion, it still seems little."
- "I think I remember someone saying that there was a possibility that this fourth Rebuild movie was actually split in two ... but this even made three!"
- "Include multiple bathroom breaks!"
No it won't be six hours
However, Studio Khara explained earlier today that film productions often divide the parts of a film into reels (or reels). The leading digits in the time code signify the roll number, so the beginning "05" in the time code in the screenshot does not indicate the fifth hour, but rather the fifth of the movie.
以下簡単な説明ですが『シン・エヴァ』6時間とか絶対あり得ませんのでご安心を！
— 株式会社カラー (@khara_inc) October 7, 2020
映画制作の通例として各パートはロール分け(後述)されます。1時間ごとのタイムコード(TC)に各パートを振分ける、つまり最初の1時間(01:00:00:00)ロール1、02:00:00:00がロール2。各パートが1時間あるという意味ではなく pic.twitter.com/qZMFcoeTdb
The study added that this time code numbering system is a relic of the past, when parts of film were divided into actual physical film reel bins. Now is the digital age, but long run times are difficult to work with and keep track of, so movie productions still break run times into reels even now.
Source: Otakomu
© カ ラ ー ／ Project Eva.
© カ ラ ー ／ EVA 製作 委員会
