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Evangelion Franchise Gets New 13-Minute Anime Short to Commemorate 30th Anniversary
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
The "Evangelion:30+; 30th Anniversary of Evangelion" festival, the first festival event for the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise, will screen the world premiere of a new anime short for the franchise titled "Evangelion Hōsō 30 Shūnen Kinen Tokubetsu Kōgyō" ("Evangelion Broadcast 30th Anniversary Special Screening").
Hideaki Anno is the planner, scriptwriter, and chief supervisor of the work. Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time animation director Naoyuki Asano is directing the short. Supervisors also include Kazuya Tsurumaki (Evangelion 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 3.0+1.0 director), Shinji Higuchi (Evangelion 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 storyboard artist), and Ikki Todoroki (Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time assistant chief director).
The event will take place at the Yokohama Arena from February 21 through 23, and the short will screen one time each day on the arena's 18 meter x 15 meter (about 59 feet x 49 feet) giant LED screen.
Khara and Shochiku are also collaborating for the Kabuki Kōkyōkyoku Dai Kyū-ban Evangelion (Kabuki Symphony No. 9 Evangelion) kabuki project. The performance will also be held at the "Evangelion:30+; 30th Anniversary of Evangelion" festival.
The event will feature an exhibition area, a stage area, merchandise, and other content, and the creators at Studio Khara are directing the event's spatial and layout design. Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno himself created the festival's title icon visual, pictured above.
Also as part of the 30th anniversary, the staff are hosting the "Monthly Eva: Evangelion 30th Movie Fest. 2025-2026," which features monthly revival screenings of the franchise's six films in theaters throughout Japan. The event is running from October to February.
Anno speculated last year in May "there may be plans" for more in the Evangelion anime franchise, but possibly with "someone other than [himself]" at the helm.
Sources: Evangelion:30+; 30th Anniversary of Evangelion event's website, Comic Natalie
