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Ghibli's 'Giant God Warrior' Short Extended, Shown With Evangelion 3.0

An extended theatrical edition of "Kyōshinhei Tokyo ni Arawaru" (Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo), the live-action tokusatsu (special-effects) short developed by Evangelion director Hideaki Anno and produced by Studio Ghibli, will be shown with Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo film this month. The announcement was made during NTV's Friday Road Show! showing of Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone on Friday. NTV aired a teaser of the short's original version in May:

The short draws inspiration from the Giant God Warriors in Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind manga and anime film. Anno was a key animator on the Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind film, and he later drew inspiration from the film's Giant God Warriors (and childhood memories of the tokusatsu franchise Ultraman) to create Evangelion.

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo presented the original version of the short as part of its "Kanchō Anno Hideaki Tokusatsu Hakubutsukan" (Curator Hideaki Anno's Special Effects Museum) exhibition. The exhibition "spotlight[s] the special craftsmanship such as seen in 'miniatures,' and will present on an unprecedented scale its entrancing world that is distinct from VFX or CG." The "deputy curator," Shinji Higuchi, is also the director of the new short, The Floating Castle, and Japan Sinks! He served as the storyboard artist for the Evangelion television series and films.

According to Anno, the short does not use use computer graphics, but relies on traditional filmmaking techniques like miniatures to make the "definitive tokusatsu work." The original version was 9 minutes and 3 seconds long, while the upcoming theatrical version will be 10 minutes and 7 seconds long with revised footage and sound.

Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo and "Kyōshinhei Tokyo ni Arawaru" will begin playing in theaters throughout Japan on November 17.

Source: MyNavi News via Ryusuke Hikawa, Murasaki no Buta