Fifteen years after the Antarctic blast known as the Second Impact, the world once again faces the threat of the Angels--super-powered entities with the capacity to bring about a Third Impact capable of destroying all human life. Summoned by his estranged father, 14-year-old Shinji Ikari reluctantly embraces his destiny as the pilot of the bio-engineered vessel known as "Evangelion Unit-01." Alongside fellow Eva pilots Asuka Langley and Rei Ayunami, Shinji battles against the host of invading Angels. But all is not as it seems. Amidst layers of subterfuge, and the competing agendas of secret government organizations each seeking to manipulate the children and their Evas for their own ends, Shinji, Rei and Asuka must each come to terms with their past and unearth their own identities. Told from the various perspectives of the tale's primary characters, Death & Rebirth is a composition of epic proportions. The first half of the film is an orchestrated retelling of episodes 1 through 24 of the original groundbreaking Neon Genesis Evangelion saga. Supplemented with startling new animated sequences, Death offers a unique insight into the personal worlds of the characters as conceived of by the series' director Hideki Anno. In Rebirth, the second half of the film, we see an alternate vision of episode 25 of the original series. Seele, the secret international organization behind the development of both the Evangelion project and the Human Complementation project, is concerned about the way the projects' director, Ikari Gendo, is proceeding. Convinced that Gendo is implementing his own plans, they set out to wrest control of the projects and capture Eva Unit-01. Using the nine-production model Evangelions under their command, and a force of conventional troops, Seele undertakes a full-scale invasion of Central Dogma - the operation control center beneath Tokyo-3.

Scarred by Second Impact, the Fourth Angel attacks Tokyo III and the fate of humanity is left in the hands of the NERV Special Government Agency.  Young Shinji Ikari is forced to pilot EVA-01.  He and EVA-00 pilot Rei Ayanami are tasked with fighting, but EVA-01 is damaged by the Sixth Angel.  Misato Katsuragi devises a plan to focus all of Japan's electricity into EVA-01's positron cannon to defeat the Angel.