shoreline. Shinji catches a glimpse of an ethereal Rei before being startled by Asuka. Shinji begins to strangle her, but when she caresses his face, he stops. Shinji breaks down in tears, while Asuka voices disgust. Cast Production Pre-production After the first broadcast of the animated series Neon Genesis Evangelion, some viewers felt unsatisfied. According to official information and staff statements, problems with the schedule, delays in production, and some personal indecision on the part of the director Hideaki Anno led to the abandonment of the original script of the penultimate episode. In the case of the last episode, "Take care of yourself", Anno stated in an interview he had roughly followed the original plan instead. The two final episodes, which focus on psychological introspection and long inner monologues of the protagonists, met the expectations of Gainax studio's staff but became a source of discussion for fans; although the finale concluded the most important psychological themes of the series, it abandoned the main plot, giving rise to controversy. The issue was debated throughout Japan, fueling the series' already-high popularity. Fans demanded a new ending or, at least, a conclusion that answered the open questions. Anno also fell into a difficult psychological state. He perceived a lot of criticism towards his work, and felt he was accused of being sloppy and negligent. He also read online discussions in which some people argued about the best way to kill him; Anno thus no longer wanted to work in animation and attempted to commit suicide. On April 26, 1996, about a month after the final episode of the series was aired, the magazine Monthly Shōnen Ace announced a remake of the final two episodes and a feature-length film would be produced. The first feature film, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth (1997), was intended to conclude the story of the original series and the second installment would have been a new story with a completely different setting. The project was intended to be released as an original video animation (OVA) for the home-video market, but due to the series' success a Japanese consortium financed the project with a fund so high they chose to release it as a film. The consortium included Imagica, a film post-production company, and fashion companies such as Fiorucci, Americanino, and Edwin. At the suggestion of Neon Genesis Evangelion character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the unreleased film was to be