This December, the blockbuster film from Japan, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, will be receiving a limited theatrical release in the United States. The film title is long and complicated, as is the Evangelion franchise. It originally was a beloved (if controversial) anime whose first episode aired in 1995. Later, Evangelion would include a movie continuation, a manga series, and a “Rebuild” theatrical series. Thrice Upon a Time is the final film of the “Rebuilds,” acting as a permanent conclusion for a franchise that has had many indefinite endings. Though it all seems overwhelming, Evangelion is genuinely one of the best pieces of media I’ve ever experienced, and every minute spent watching or reading it is worth it.

Remakes, live actions, and book adaptations seem to be the only current renditions of originality circulating within the film industry. Arguably, book adaptations are the most regurgitated platform of resources, making it less respectable to book lovers like I. Whether the film should adhere to the needs of book fanatics seeking verbatims or enter a new realm of novel-based ideas seems to be the question at hand. Childhood films like the Harry Potter series and The Chronicles of Narnia franchise hold influential stances on bibliophiles and the alike, which tend to cloud the current perception of book adaptations. Mind my saying, but they merely prance around the denotation without much-needed refinement. Some films that attempt both ends of audience demands but miss the mark by a single hair are American Psycho, Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightly version, obviously), and The Shining.