Evangelion's Accidental Leak Forces Studio to Release 30th Anniversary Anime Free

Studio Khara's attempt to contain bootleg recordings of its Evangelion 30th-anniversary short film backfired in spectacular fashion when the studio accidentally emailed high-quality footage of the full anime to the accounts it was trying to shut down, ultimately forcing an official free release on YouTube.

The 14-minute, 26-second short, written by Hideaki Anno and directed by Naoyuki Asano, had been screened exclusively for attendees of a special three-day Evangelion celebration in late February 2026. When unauthorized camrip recordings began circulating online afterward, Khara submitted copyright takedown requests to X. The platform's reporting system then disclosed the studio's own demonstrative material, which included the full high-quality footage, directly to the account that had posted the unauthorized recording. Chibi Reviews on X was among the accounts that received such a takedown email. The footage spread further across social media from there.

"During the process of submitting takedown requests to X, information included in our report to demonstrate ownership of the video's copyright was disclosed to the account that had posted the unauthorized recording due to the platform's reporting system," Khara wrote in a statement on its official website. The studio added: "We sincerely apologize to all parties involved and to everyone who has supported the Evangelion series for the concern and inconvenience this incident has caused. We are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness and are currently confirming the facts and conducting a thorough investigation."

Rather than continue fighting a leak it had inadvertently amplified, Khara announced an official YouTube release timed to March 8, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. JST, which is March 7 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Khara framed the date as meaningful: March 8 marks the fifth anniversary of the theatrical release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, the final film in the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy.

The short centers on Asuka Langley Soryu alongside her Rebuild counterpart, Asuka Shikinami Langley, as the two characters discuss their respective experiences across Evangelion's different adaptations. Asuka voices her frustration at dying in End of Evangelion only to return to life while Shinji is strangling her. The film then unfolds through a series of "what if" sequences, including scenarios where Asuka accidentally harms Shinji, an endless multiplication of Asukas, and a single mech-sized Asuka. Some sequences draw on the visual style of the original Gainax adaptation while at least one adopts the more polished aesthetic of the Rebuild films. A particular moment involving Shinji and Asuka drew significant debate among fans online after the short became widely viewable.

The 30th-anniversary event also served as the public unveiling of a separate new Evangelion anime series, with Yoko Taro, the writer and game director behind NieR: Automata, leading the project. A trailer for that series has already hinted at storylines potentially set after the classic 1990s anime or within the Rebuild timeline, though full details remain undisclosed. The accidental leak that turned into a free streaming premiere may have muddied the rollout, but it guaranteed the short reached far more viewers than any anniversary screening ever could have.