#Studio Khara to Premiere 1st 12 Minutes of Evangelion 3.0+1.0 on YouTube March 8

For many of us, waiting for the “final” Evangelion film has been a long time coming, and for those outside Japan, the wait will have to be a little longer while those in Japan will get to watch Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time get to see it in theaters on March 8 (State of Emergencies permitting). To tide audiences over until they can watch the anime film, Khara will be releasing the first 12 minutes, 10 seconds, and 10 frames of the film on March 8 at Midnight on their YouTube channel.

Premiere embed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFuWWr3481w

This will be an extended version of the preview shown around the world in 2019, including Japan Expo, Anime Expo, and more.

The preview is part of a campaign with Amazon Prime Video in Japan, where the streaming service is hosting watch-a-longs of the first three films on March 5, 6, and 7, culminating on the evening of March 7 where at midnight crossing into March 8, the opening minutes of Evangelion 3.0+1.0 will be shown. On the official website, Khara is calling the preview the “World’s Fastest Release.” That title was going to be used for the midnight release of the film back in January until it was delayed due to the current State of Emergency.

While the State of Emergency across most of Japan has been lifted, it persists in Greater Tokyo due to the current infectious rate in the capital region, serious cases, and death rate. The measures are set to expire on March 7 (the day before Evangelion 3.0+1.0 releases), but the governors of the four prefectures and Prime Minister Suga have discussed the very high likelihood of it being extended for at least two weeks, with Suga saying it is “necessary.” 

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time is still scheduled to be released in Japanese cinemas on January 23 with the anime film already 100% complete. It was originally scheduled to be released in summer 2020 but was delayed due to the first State of Emergency. It will release in Japan on March 8.

Source: Evangelion on Twitter

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Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.