“The End of Evangelion” / 「新世紀エヴァンゲリオン劇場版 Air／まごころを、君に」, Original Japanese UCC Promotional Tie-In Poster 1997, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) U43

This is an original Japanese B2 promotional tie-in poster issued for UCC’s 1997 collaboration with The End of Evangelion, combining the film’s principal characters with the instantly recognisable packaging of UCC canned coffee.

Promoting the film’s 19 July 1997 Japanese theatrical release, this design brings together Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Soryu, Kaworu Nagisa, Misato Katsuragi, and Shinji Ikari, each holding a UCC coffee can.

The result is a distinctive crossover between Japanese animation, film advertising, and consumer branding, capturing the beginning of UCC’s longstanding association with Evangelion.

Film background

The End of Evangelion provides a feature-length conclusion to the original Neon Genesis Evangelion television series, bringing its psychological drama and apocalyptic science fiction to the cinema.

With Shinji Ikari struggling in the aftermath of the television story, NERV comes under attack as the Human Instrumentality Project approaches its culmination. The film combines large-scale action with an intense exploration of isolation, identity, and the difficulty of connecting with others.

Its Japanese release title identifies its two parts:

「Air／まごころを、君に」

The poster belongs to the original 1997 film campaign, preceding the later Rebuild of Evangelion films.

The UCC collaboration

UCC’s connection with Evangelion began after a coffee can resembling its milk coffee appeared in the television series. The first official character-can collaboration followed in 1997, accompanied by the UCC Evangelion Project promotional campaign.

This poster incorporates the product directly into the character illustration: the cans become props held by the familiar cast, making the commercial partnership central to the design.

Its most memorable advertising device is the enormous headline:

「人類補缶計画 始動。」

This playfully adapts the series’ “Human Instrumentality Project” terminology. The usual character 完 is replaced by the identically pronounced 缶, meaning “can”—turning one of Evangelion’s central concepts into a canned-coffee advertising slogan.

Poster design

The composition places a brightly coloured group of characters against a dense black background, surrounded by fragments of Japanese text and familiar terms from the series.

Rei Ayanami stands at the top in her white plugsuit, holding a can beside her face. Below her, Asuka appears in red, while Kaworu occupies the right side in a white shirt. Misato, wearing her red jacket and cross necklace, and Shinji, in his pale plugsuit, complete the lower group.

A vivid yellow glow outlines the figures, separating them from the surrounding typography.

The red UCC logo appears at the upper left, with “UCC・EVANGELION・Project” printed further down the left side.

Across the lower section, enormous gold serif lettering announces:

“THE END OF EVANGELION”

Beneath it, the Japanese film title is paired with the red release announcement:

「7/19公開」

“In cinemas 19 July.”

The bottom margin carries the 1997 GAINAX / EVA Production Committee copyright credit and the name of UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd.

The combination of dramatic typography, familiar characters, and everyday coffee cans gives the poster a particularly memorable identity within the film’s promotional campaign.

Condition

Excellent+

Reference: U43

Please review the photographs carefully, as they show the exact poster for sale.

This is an original Japanese UCC promotional tie-in poster from the 1997 The End of Evangelion campaign.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

It is now over 29 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.