Evangelion Thrice Upon A Time – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Evangelion Thrice Upon A Time

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie2021

82%

WISE Score

100

Avg. Tomatometer

The legendary, brain-melting conclusion to a decades-long saga that finally gives its traumatized teens (and the audience) the therapy they deserve.

100%

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Evangelion Thrice Upon A Time

movie

2021

82%

WISE Score

100

Avg. Tomatometer

The legendary, brain-melting conclusion to a decades-long saga that finally gives its traumatized teens (and the audience) the therapy they deserve.

100%

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Screenwise Verdict

This is the 'The End' fans waited decades for. It’s a massive, visual-heavy therapy session disguised as a sci-fi epic. If your kid has already been down the Evangelion rabbit hole, this is the essential, cathartic finish line.

It isn't just a movie; it's an event. It manages to be both a spectacular action film and a deeply personal apology/love letter from the creator to the fans. Just be prepared: it is long, it is weird, and it expects you to have done the homework of watching the previous three Rebuild movies.

Age Fit

Best for 14 and up. While younger kids might like the giant robots, the plot is a dense thicket of psychological trauma and meta-commentary that will fly right over their heads—and the intensity is a lot to process.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

While it ends on a profoundly healing and mature note, the journey there is paved with existential dread, deep-seated trauma, and characters in various states of psychological collapse.

Imaginative

Hideaki Anno’s visual language is peerless. It blends hand-drawn animation, CGI, and meta-textual live-action elements into a surreal, brain-bending landscape that looks like nothing else.

Safe

Expect intense 'mecha-gore' (giant robots bleeding and screaming), disturbing body horror, and brief, non-sexual nudity in abstract/metaphysical contexts. The psychological intensity is the real hurdle.

Enriching

It is a masterclass in providing emotional closure. It tackles father-son reconciliation, the necessity of saying goodbye, and the choice to live in reality rather than escapism.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Emotional payoff that actually sticks the landing after 25 years of buildup.
Stunning animation that pushes the boundaries of the medium, especially in the surreal final act.
Mature themes about taking responsibility for your own life and moving past old wounds.
Quiet world-building in the first hour provides a rare, beautiful look at humanity surviving after a disaster.

⚠

What to Watch For

The 155-minute runtime is a massive commitment; this isn't a casual Friday night watch.
Existential horror and abstract imagery can be genuinely unsettling or confusing for younger teens.
The violence involves biological mechs that bleed, scream, and lose limbs in ways that feel more 'fleshy' than mechanical.

Conversation Starters

"Why do you think Gendo was so afraid of being a father to Shinji?"
"In the first part of the movie, why was the simple village life so important for the characters to experience?"
"What does it mean to 'say goodbye to all of Evangelion'—is it just about the robots, or something else?"
"How did Shinji's way of handling conflict change from the beginning of the series to the end of this movie?"

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