Hikaru Utada’s ‘One Last Kiss’ MV was directed by Evangelion creator

Photo credit: Image Courtesy of Sony Music 

Calling all weebs, J-POP fans, and Neon Genesis Evangelion stans! It’s time to channel Shinji Ikari and get back in the robot while simmering in our emotions as we listen to Hikaru Utada’s latest single. “One Last Kiss” will serve as the theme song for Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time, the latest installment in the Rebuild of Evangelion film series. This isn’t her first time working on the Eva soundtrack since “Beautiful World” was already used as the theme song for Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone back in 2007. (Yes, it’s been more than a decade since the first movie.) Watch it below. 

But what makes her latest single even more hype-worthy? First off, the gorgeous artwork on both the vinyl and CD versions featuring everyone’s favorite clone waifu Rei Ayanami (unless you’re an Asuka fan) and main emo boy Shinji Ikari. 

Photo credit: Neon Genesis Evangelion Twitter page 

And there’s Hideaki Anno, A.K.A. the creator/ grandaddy of the Eva franchise, who directed the music video for “One Last Kiss.” 

By Hikaru Utada’s request, Anno readily agreed to work on the video, saying “Under the present circumstances (observing safety measures due to COVID-19) a possible way to create the music video without actually directing a video shoot would be for Utada to film herself and other footage from her end, then sending them to me [Anno] to cut and edit into the final video.” Anno sent specific instructions via email including some requests for eye focus and lip sync. With minimal staff help and implementation of the necessary COVID precautions, the artist filmed the music videos in the outskirts of London. The video footage gathered during the shoot was then sent to Anno and his team in Japan for finishing touches. 

In the first 30 minutes of the MV’s release, the video received more than 200,000 views on YouTube. The view count is currently in the millions. To witness and weep at the beauty of the final product, watch the full MV below.