The Second Impact struck the Earth, spreading its wings of destruction over the Antarctic, melting the polar ice caps and changing the fate of mankind. Fifteen years later, the Angels return and threaten a possible Third Impact. During this hiatus an organization known as Nerv was assembled to prevent another catastrophe. They have built a dubious savior in the form of a giant robot named Evangelion. It is the only answer to combating the Angels and thus the only hope for man. Three 'children' were selected as the only beings that can pilot the Evangelion. Shinji Ikari, a tortured soul who has a deep personal vendetta against his father, who happens to also be the head of Nerv operations. Rei Ayanami, a detached individual who believes that her only purpose in life is to fight the Angels. And Asuka Langley Soryou, an outspoken teenage girl that makes piloting her way to prove that she is better than everyone else. These 'Children of Evangelion' have to fulfill their duty to destroy the Angels, no matter cost to their body or psyche. Everyone will walk the path to revelation.

The prophecy of the Angels was fulfilled and now mankind faces a new enemy, himself. Prophecy turns into conspiracy, as Man seeks to destroy Nerv and take the Evangelion to use for his own fallible purposes. The invasion of Nerv headquarters has spawned a new duty to fulfill: to destroy the Eva series before Man uses it towards his own will. Tribulation unfolds, revealing what will prove to be Man's own undoing.

The final chapters of the Neon Genesis Evangelion series starts with Death and Rebirth. The first part is Death, which are the first 24 episodes abridged into one full-length movie. Gainax does an uncanny job of collecting all the important scenes from the TV series and weaving them into a fine tapestry of chaos. Nothing is lost, as they analyze and delve into the mind of each character, one at a time. But before each character's perspective is analyzed, Death introduces each 'child' of Evangelion as a piece to an orchestra. The intro includes Shinji playing Sebastian Bach's "Vorspier" on the cello, by himself. And as the movie goes on, a complementary piece to the string symphony is added. This brings about an interesting contrast. We have Shinji in the beginning by himself, playing the cello; similarly, in the beginning of the TV series the 3rd Angel appears and Shinji was the only Evangelion pilot dispatched to fight and destroy it. Rei and Asuka show up later, joining the team to fight off the Angels. The main metaphor of the orchestra is that each character has a role in making the classical piece sound alluring; likewise each has a role to fulfill prophecy.

The second part of the prophecy is Rebirth. Disappointing endings to the Evangelion TV series, that left many unsettled, forced Gainax to release a true episode that encompasses all the apocalyptic predictions foreshadowed in all the episodes of the TV series. Even in the opening minutes, Gainax covers up its tracks by letting us know that Death and Rebirth is the way Evangelion "was meant to be done." Perhaps episodes 25 and 26 of the TV series were used as decoys to build anticipation to this piece of work (makes you think, huh?). Rebirth, picks up where Death left of, after the 17th Angel is destroyed, man reveals itself as the only being that is capable of annihilating themselves. There are certain scenes that emphasize the brutality and pain that men can inflict on each another, namely the killing of Nerv personnel. Divulgence of human nature, gives an unexpected twist to the apocalypse, which leads up to The End of Evangelion.

Neon Genesis Evangelion has helped create a new genre of science fiction. Though it is definitely not the first to feature gigantic robots fighting alien enemies, it does feature the human soul. It is hard to grasp the intangibles that linger in our mind, Death and Rebirth, captures those intangibles in a jar and puts it on the screen. Every event is shown from all perspectives: from the control terminal, to inside the robot, to the psyche of the pilot. This trait tends to capture viewers, which creates an unusual bond to the characters. Death and Rebirth, has redefined science fiction and will mesmerize audiences to come.