If you can believe it, Neon Genesis Evangelion is nearing its 30th anniversary. To celebrate, Studio Khara has announced a return of sorts for the seminal “get in the robot” series in the form of a short film that’ll be folded into a three-day “mega fest” special event in Japan.
The event, titled Evangelion:30+; 30th Anniversary of Evangelion, is slated to take place at Yokohama Arena starting on February 21. The big to-do about the event, however, is a new short animation made especially for the occasion. The animation, which will be approximately 13 minutes long, was written by Hideaki Anno and directed by Naoyuki Asano, who previously worked as an animator and animation director on the first and fourth Evangelion rebuild films. Unfortunately for the rest of us who didn’t spawn in Japan, the world premiere of the special anniversary animation will be exclusive to the venue, so we’ll have to wish upon a star for it to officially hit the interwebs so we can all join in on celebrating the series turning 30 without folks getting arrested for leaking it.
【『エヴァンゲリオン』シリーズ初となる3日間に渡る一大フェス『EVANGELION:30+； 30th ANNIVERSARY OF EVANGELION』】
展示周遊エリア「EVA EXTRA 30」内、
「MATERIAL of EVA」の展示ゲネプロの様子を公開！アニメ特撮アーカイブ機構（ATAC）により… https://t.co/CVAZGM4xA0pic.twitter.com/IbUIbkVwUU
— エヴァンゲリオン公式 (@evangelion_co) December 12, 2025
While much of the pomp and circumstance the official event X/Twitter account has showcased is a huge polygonal stage dressed up with neon lights and giant LED screens evoking the show’s shadowy organization, Seele, and a cool key visual of its core cast beaming smiles as they wear event merch. The three-day event will feature a fashion show, a kabuki performance, live music performances by “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” artist Yoko Tanahashi, and the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, a Battle Cats game presentation (home of multiple wonderful cat-based Evangelion collabs), and special talks by Anno.
All of this comes in the wake of Gainax, the original Evangelion studio, officially shutting down after a series of financial troubles, leading the company to file for bankruptcy last year. There was also a string of legal issues, like indecent acts by its former CEO, Tomohiro Maki, unpaid debts, financial mismanagement, and the arrest of said former CEO, which only added further blemishes to the company as it was on the outs. Much of this was retreaded and detailed in a statement by Gainax’s co-founder, Hideaki Anno, in a bittersweet farewell to the studio, where he remarked on its “truly disappointing end.” Obviously, things are sunnier now, with Anno serving as head of Studio Khara, one of the two production houses spun off from Gainax (the other being Studio Trigger), which carried on Evangelion‘s legacy through the rebuild films.
Having this serve as the chaser to the shot of Gainax going bye-bye is basically how it felt to move from The End of Evangelion to Khara’s more hopeful rebuild films. Here’s to more years of final goodbyes to Evangelion to come.
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