Tetsuya Iwanaga, who plays Kensuke Aida, was also moved! The "Third Village Miniature Set" from "Shin Evangelion: The Movie" is on display for a limited time at the miniature theme park "SMALL WORLDS TOKYO!

In commemoration of the blockbuster success of "Shin Evangelion the Movie," currently in theaters, "SMALL WORLDS TOKYO," one of the world's largest miniature theme parks, will begin exhibiting miniature sets of the "Third Village" that appears in the movie.

Shin Evangelion the Movie" is the latest film in the "Neon Genesis Evangelion" TV anime series, which began airing in 1995, and the "Evangelion the Movie" movie series, which began in 2007.

In the 30 days since its release on March 8, 2021, it has surpassed 7 billion yen at the box office, setting a new record for the highest grossing film in the series. With the Eva fever still lingering, SMALL WORLDS Co., Ltd. will exhibit the "3rd Village Miniature Set" (for scene setting and screen composition verification) at the world's largest miniature theme park "SMALL WORLDS TOKYO" from April 10 (Sat.) to September 8 (Wed.).

In "Shin Evangelion the Movie," miniature and full-scale sets are prepared to explore the best camera angles for the movie screen, and pre-visualizations (a moving blueprint that replaces storyboards) are created based on these images and photographs. The "Third Village Miniature Set" on display this time is a 1/45 scale wooden miniature of the central part of the third village that appears in the first half of the film, and is huge, measuring approximately 9 meters wide by 4 meters deep. The Shin Eva production staff actually photographed this miniature to find the best camera angles.

Yasuhiro Kamimura, representative director of Groundworks Inc., which manages the copyrights for the "Evangelion" series, and Hiroshi Miyoshi, curator in charge of cultural projects at Color Co. Mr. Yasuhiro Kamimura, President of Groundworks, Inc.

Hiroshi Miyoshi (left) and Yasuhiro Kamimura

According to Mr. Miyoshi, the miniature set itself was first created in the spring of 2017, first as a 1/450 scale miniature set of the third village, and then again in the fall of 2017 as a 1/45 scale miniature set, which is now on display. The filming then took place until May 2018, he said.

Miyoshi said, "When we thought about how to depict people's lives with a realistic feel, we decided to make miniatures. You can't lie about what you see. We do location scouting when making animation, but I think this is the first time we went to the trouble of making miniatures like this," he said.

Mr. Kamimura said, "In a way, special effects films are a matter of course. Director Anno is a person who can handle both animation and live-action (so he must have come up with this idea). There are limits to constructing camera angles in the human mind, but there are discoveries to be made by actually making and shooting miniatures," said Mr. Miyoshi. "I was able to shoot from impossibly high places and from low places," he said, describing the advantages of actually shooting with miniatures.

Also according to Mr. Kamimura, the village was modeled after the Tenryu Futamata Station area in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. He said that the design was precisely a combination of elements from various station towns, but he created the idea for the town by thoroughly interviewing various towns. The layout of the village was then determined by arranging miniatures, and from there, the functions of each facility were determined to build a sense of reality.

Tetsuya Iwanaga

Tetsuya Iwanaga, the voice actor who plays the role of Kensuke Aida, also joined in the middle of the talk.

Mr. Iwanaga wore items that were used as props in the play, such as a costume and a video camera. When he appeared on stage fully transformed into "KENKEN," he said, "When I think that everyone here was holding on to life, my imagination expands many times over. It's so moving," he said.

When asked about his impressions of the miniatures, he commented, "I liked to imagine them by looking at dollhouses, so I was able to visualize them more realistically in my mind. When asked about the content of the movie, he replied, "Most of the fans believed in the theory that Kensuke died in "Breaking Bad," so I wanted my character to be alive. If he was alive, I wanted him to say one of his lines, and I didn't expect him to survive the next 14 years with his survival nerd knowledge. Thank you for being alive. That's the best thing," he said, expressing his feelings toward the character.

Incidentally, Mr. Miyoshi is also the executive director of the "Anime Special Effects Archive Organization" established by director Hideaki Anno, which means that he was tasked with the mission of storing the "3rd Village Miniature Set. He was told that it was good that they had created the miniatures, but that they were having trouble finding a place to store such a vast miniature. which was preparing to open at the time, as the most important confidential project.

Mr. Miyoshi expressed his gratitude, saying, "By leaving it there, we were able to bring it to this day.

Mr. Kamimura added, "It may not matter to the viewers (that we made miniatures and filmed them). However, I want people to know that I used such a method to make them," he said, reiterating the significance of the exhibition.

■Miniature Gallery

Miniatures so vast that, according to Mr. Iwanaga, "they are larger than the room I live in.

The impressive turntable. The black-roofed building in the foreground is the house of Touji Suzuhara, where Shinji and Rei Ayanami (tentative name) stayed. Attached to the garage is a medical clinic. People are lined up at the distribution center in the back.

The vehicle in which the public bathhouses "Shinsei-yu" (women's bath) and "Kinenyu" (men's bath) were built.

The library vehicle where Ayanami Rei (tentative name) came to look for books

The ruins where Shinji, who ran away from home, crouched for a long time (the ruins of Nerf Branch 2 building N109)

Confirmation of Shinji's depressed appearance!

Kenken's home, where Asuka and Shinji stayed

Kenken found!

Asuka's figure on top of the tower

The miniatures were made to verify the layout and camera angles, so the details are not as detailed as they could be ......, but the layout and shapes of the buildings are very realistic.

The third village seen from the hill

Alleys full of life

When the camera is placed just above the ground, you can feel as if you have stepped into the 3rd Village.

Facility Information

Small Worlds Tokyo

Address: Ariake Logistics Center, 1-3-33 Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo

Opening hours: OPEN 9:30 CLOSE 20:00 (last admission 19:30)

<Movie Release Commemorative Privilege

Bring your "Shin Evangelion the Movie" theater pamphlet and show it at the ticket counter on the 1st floor to receive a 1,000 yen admission passport for the regular price of 2,700 yen.

Price: Adults and medium-aged people: 1,000 yen, children: 500 yen

Period: Monday, March 8 - Friday, May 7

Discount applies to up to one accompanying person.

Discount applies to same-day tickets only. Cannot be used in conjunction with other discounts.