Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil)
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Summer Meets God
(Rick Meets Evil)
| italic_title = no
| image =
| caption =
| director = Takashi Sano
| writer = Takashi Sano
| based_on = {{Plainlist|
- {{based on|Rick and Morty|Justin Roiland|{{quad}}Dan Harmon}}
- {{based on|Neon Genesis Evangelion|Hideaki Anno}}}}
| producer = Takashi Sano
| editing = Takashi Sano
| starring = Yōhei Tadano
Keisuke Chiba
| music =
| studio = Sola Entertainment
Telecom Animation Film
| distributor = Adult Swim{{efn|Sentai Studios commission to produce the English sub.}}
YouTube
| released = {{Film date|2021|8|2}}
| runtime = 15 minutes
| country = Japan
United States
| language = Japanese
| budget =
}}{{DISPLAYTITLE:Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil)}}
Rick and Morty: ~SUMMER meets GOD~ (Rick meets Evil), also known simply as Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil), Summer Meets God, and Rick Meets Evil, is a Japanese anime short film based on the American television series/franchise Rick and Morty, and parodying Neon Genesis Evangelion, produced by Sola Entertainment and Telecom Animation Film, and released unannounced to Adult Swim's YouTube channel on August 2, 2021, as a continuation of the fifth season episode "Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion", which first aired the previous day.{{efn|name=Gotron|"Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion" was accidentally released on Amazon Prime Video in Canada on July 13, 2021, before being removed ahead of its intended Adult Swim airdate of August 1, 2021.{{Cite web|date=2021-07-13|first=Morgan|last=Altland|title=Rick & Morty Season 5 Episode 7 Leaks Early In Canada|url=https://screenrant.com/rick-morty-season-5-episode-7-leak-details/|access-date=2021-09-11|website=Screen Rant}}}} Written and directed by Takashi Sano, set in its own continuity, the film received positive reviews from critics, leading to the production of a 10-episode spin-off series from Sano, Rick and Morty: The Anime, in 2024.
Production and release
Produced by Sola Entertainment and Telecom Animation Film, written and directed by Takashi Sano, in response to the critical and commercial success of the 2020 short film Rick and Morty vs. Genocider, the stand-alone Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil), and parodying Neon Genesis Evangelion, was released unannounced to Adult Swim's YouTube channel on August 2, 2021, as a continuation of the fifth season episode "Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion", which first aired the previous day.{{efn|name=Gotron}}{{Cite web|last=Cobb|first=Kayla|date=August 2, 2021|title=Did You Catch {{‘}}Rick and Morty{{’}}'s Bonus Anime Episode?|url=https://decider.com/2021/08/02/rick-and-morty-summer-meets-god-anime-short|access-date=August 2, 2021|website=Decider|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Milligan|first=Mercedes|date=August 3, 2021|title=Watch: {{‘}}Rick and Morty{{’}} Gets an Existential Anime Twist in New Short from {{‘}}Tower of God{{’}} Director|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2021/08/watch-rick-and-morty-gets-an-existential-anime-twist-in-new-short-from-tower-of-god-director|access-date=August 3, 2021|website=Animation Magazine|language=en-US}} The English subtitles were produced by Sentai Studios.
Cast
{{main|List of Rick and Morty characters}}
- Yōhei Tadano as Rick Sanchez
- Keisuke Chiba as Morty Smith
- Manabu Muraji as Jerry Smith and Delta
- Akiha Matsui as Summer Smith
- Jun Irie as Beth Smith
- Uncredited Voice Actress as Dr. Wong
- Hinata Tadokoro, Daiki Kobayashi, Hodaka Mieno, Nanami Yamashita, and Kazuya Saji as Future Beings
Reception
Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil) received a generally positive critical reception.{{Cite web|last=Weiss|first=Josh|date=August 3, 2021|title={{'}}Rick and Morty{{'}} Gets More Existential Than Usual In Anime Short Inspired By {{'}}Neon Genesis Evangelion{{'}}|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/rick-and-morty-summer-meets-god-anime|access-date=August 3, 2021|website=Syfy|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Walsh|first=Michael|date=August 3, 2021|title=Rick and Morty Gets Real Weird In New Anime Short|url=https://nerdist.com/article/rick-and-morty-anime-short-tower-of-god-takashi-sano|access-date=August 3, 2021|website=Nerdist|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Oddo|first=Marco Vito|date=August 2, 2021|title=New {{‘}}Rick and Morty{{’}} Short Delivers a Better Anime Homage Than Actual Episode of the Show|url=https://collider.com/rick-and-morty-anime-short|access-date=August 2, 2021|website=Collider|language=en-US}}
Sequel and spin-off series
Following the release of Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil), another anime short film was commissioned by Adult Swim, The Great Yokai Battle of Akihabara, airing as a Halloween special in October 2021, written by Naohiro Fukushima and directed by Masaru Matsumoto,{{Cite web|last=Flook|first=Ray|date=October 11, 2021|title=Rick and Morty Drops New Short "The Great Yokai Battle of Akihabara"|url=https://bleedingcool.com/tv/rick-and-morty-drops-new-short-the-great-yokai-battle-of-akihabara|access-date=October 11, 2021|website=Bleeding Cool|language=en-US}} followed by a 10-episode spin-off series again written and directed by Sano, Rick and Morty: The Anime, in 2024.{{Cite web|last=Xavier|first=Kyle|date=August 19, 2024|title=Rick and Morty: How the Anime Shorts Sparked the Creation of a Full Series|url=https://gamerant.com/rick-and-morty-anime-shorts-sparked-full-series|access-date=August 19, 2024|website=Game Rant|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Valdez|first=Nick|date=July 30, 2024|title=SDCC 2024: Adult Swim Exec Teases Possibility of More Anime Spinoffs Following Rick and Morty|url=https://comicbook.com/anime/news/rick-and-morty-anime-adult-swim-spinoffs-comic-con-sdcc-2024|access-date=July 30, 2024|website=ComicBook.com|language=en-US}}
See also
- Rick and Morty: The Manga, a Rick and Morty manga series also parodying Neon Genesis Evangelion
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15168922 Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil)] at IMDb
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtgFmpkWA10 Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil)] on YouTube
- [https://www.adultswim.com/videos/rick-and-morty/summer-meets-god-rick-meets-evil Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil)] on Adult Swim
- [https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8n6r75 Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil)] on Dailymotion
{{Rick and Morty}}
{{Sola Digital Arts}}
{{Neon Genesis Evangelion}}
Category:Rick and Morty short films
Category:2021 animated short films
Category:2020s Japanese-language films