The most intriguing mystery hovering over January’s screenings of Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo at the Doris Duke Theatre has been solved.
A brief recap: As I noted in my last post, online ticket sales for Eva 3.0 went on sale in the past few days, but with one notable gap — the screening scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30 (one of three to be in Japanese with English subtitles, one of five overall) had already sold out. To thicken the plot, when I posted a link to that post in my usual social media circles, I got a response from Brady Evans, who works at the Honolulu Museum of Art. He told me that the screening was sold out before he even posted the ticket page on the museum’s website.
Question is, who would buy out the entire theater like that? Industry staff, looking for a Hawaii vacation? Overeager fanboys, with their shrines to Asuka, Rei and Mari? Overeager fangirls, hoping for more story shreds to fuel their Shinji x Kaworu boys’ love fanfics? And were some combination of all those factions camped out in front of the theater box office, waiting for the second someone hung out an “ON SALE NOW” sign?
Turns out the explanation is a lot simpler: Kawaii Kon bought out that particular showing. And as their just-released December newsletter points out, they’re opening the doors and letting in any three-day badge holders from Kawaii Kon 2013 and/or already preregistered for the anime con’s 10th anniversary edition next year at no additional cost. (First come, first served, of course.) Here’s how attendees can claim their tickets:
- Email KawaiiKon.Evangelion.03@kawaiikon.com; include your full name and a picture/scan of your 2013 badge or 2014 registration confirmation.
- Bring your ID and badge/confirmation to the theater on Jan. 30 — again, for the 7:30 p.m. screening only.
That’s it! Easy peasy. I should note that the Doris Duke Theatre has a listed seating capacity of 280, so you’ll want to get on that sooner rather than later.
Not registered yet for 2014? Current three-day pass rates are $52 general admission (ages 13 and up), $42 children ages 5-12. If you really want to splurge, VIP packages for singles and couples, including a three-night stay at the Ala Moana Hotel, T-shirts, special 1oth-anniversary lanyards and priority in seating and various queues, also remain available ($655 singles, $752 couples). There also will be opportunities to win tickets at the various Madoka Magica: Rebellion screenings later this month and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii’s Ohana Festival on Jan. 19.
For all things Kawaii Kon, keep watching this space or visit www.kawaii-kon.org.
Otaku Ohana 
There is no gentle way to put “that was a dick move on Kawaii Kon’s part”. OTOH, the only inconvenience to those lacking 2013 badge or 2014 registration (and not wanting to buy one) is the convenient time of the screening.
Eventually Eva 3.3 would show up on Netflix. Of course, that does not help those lacking the account. If (they) wait, they would be paying about the same cost for a 1-month Netflix account as for 1 ticket. (Or, get a free 1-month access through periodic promotion, or possibly as a new member.)
In any case, some entity did paid for the tickets, and absolutely can do whatever it likes with those tickets, even excluding those who otherwise would have been able to watch the screening.
(Cheer up! Go watch the work of English speaking actors instead.)