Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

The film was based on the scripts Gainax originally intended to use for episode 25 of the TV series, but were unable to due to budget and production problems, and TV Tokyo's refusal to allow the episode to be produced for television broadcast. The second half of the film builds upon the script to create an ending concurrent to the one shown in the TV series.

The credits are shown at the halfway point of the movie instead of at the end. Also, they rise in a helix pattern instead of rising straight up.

Manga Entertainment's 2002 DVD release of the movie contains some noticeable changes from the original film. In the English dub for instance, "splat" sound effects were dubbed into the scene of Misato shooting a trooper in the head and the scene in which the mass-produced Evas explode. Additionally in the dub, a shot in which a trooper attacks a NERV member with a flamethrower now has the added line "Hit 'im again!". Finally, a set of translated credits set to the song "THANATOS ~ If I Can't Be Yours" is shown after the film's conclusion, but unlike the credits appearing halfway through the movie, these credits are shown in the standard "scrolling" fashion. (The original Japanese version of the film has no credits at the end.) These and other alterations are explained by Amanda Winn Lee, the writer, producer and director of the English version, in the DVD's commentary track. However, many fans of the series carry animosities toward Winn Lee for authorizing such changes, and the DVD was criticized for its poor picture quality and errors in the subtitle translation.

Edited from Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Beginning and the End, or 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' (1996)