RelatedThe premise of Evangelion, which fans typically refer to simply as Eva (pronounced ay-VUH), sounds straightforward on its face. The year is 2015 — 20 years in the future from the series’ 1995 debut — and Earth has been irrevocably damaged by an event called the Second Impact. The United Nations is working with a special military organization, Nerv, to protect survivors from the fallout: the arrival of several extraterrestrial killer mechs, known as Angels, that are hell-bent on taking out what remains of the human race.Only Nerv’s manned robots are strong enough to take on and defeat the Angels. These robots are called Eva Units; there are only four of them, and they require a special physical and mental connection with their pilots. Enter Shinji Ikari, a depressed teenager who happens to be the son of the mastermind behind the Eva Units’ software; thanks to some good ol’ fatherly emotional manipulation pushing him to help out his dad, Shinji travels to Nerv’s base in the dystopian city of Tokyo-3 to become an Eva pilot.Robot battles ensue, with increasingly mortal consequences. But Eva has little in common with its forebears, like the globally recognized Transformers or the fan-favorite franchise Mobile Suit Gundam, both anime about humans and their big, sentient, rock ’em, sock ’em robots. Dofus touch map.

You probably weren’t expecting Neon Genesis Evangelion to also throw themes of love, depression and a whole buffet of various other mental hang-ups while dribbling a sauce of dwarf-star dense biblical themes and human evolution conspiracy theories on top of that, did you? A masterpiece that redefined anime more than twenty years ago, the original run of Neon Genesis Evangelion still holds.

Because Evangelion also tackles headier concepts: What does it mean to be fighting a battle you don’t believe in? When your body becomes a war machine, what will your purpose be when the war is over? If there’s a God, why would that God be so cruel to their supposedly beloved creation, humanity?All of these stories and the questions they raise coalesce to become one of the most powerful, visually stunning, intellectually probing anime in the medium’s history. Eva’s not exactly the most fun watch out there, but it’s always a compelling one.

2) Eva’s controversial ending remains famously polarizingEvangelion fans have often characterized it as two shows in one. The first half of the series is relatively formulaic: Shinji doesn’t want to pilot the big robot because he doesn’t want to get hurt in a fight against an Angel. Shinji’s dad makes him pilot the big robot. Shinji gets hurt in a fight against an Angel.

(Sub out Shinji for one of the other teenage pilots; rinse, repeat.)And then rolls around.Episode 14 recaps the previous 13 episodes’ storyline for about half of its runtime. The rest of the episode then shifts gears and tweaks the anime’s tone from that point on. What was previously an action-oriented, even comedic cartoon — there’s plenty of awkward teen romance and high school hijinks amid the self-reflective stuff — suddenly becomes an existential text slathered in religious symbolism and shocking character revelations.Eva’s next 12 episodes then lean into its percolating nihilism; they culminate in a two-part conclusion that left Japanese viewers dissatisfied upon its initial premiere in 1996. Much of that dissatisfaction was due to on how to end the show, resulting in a finale that excises all the fighting robots and turns inward for 40 minutes of an introspective back-and-forth between the characters.

We won’t spoil any of the details, but suffice to say that Evangelion’s ultimate treatise on the nature of existence overwhelms any of the action that viewers may have been drawn in by at first. RelatedBut the animation studio Gainax sought redemption from the fans who derided the anime’s heavily philosophical finale. Its efforts took the form of End of Evangelion, a feature film that came out in theaters in 1997 and that shirked the constraints of basic cable TV and 22-minute runtimes. The movie offers a gruesome, violent, relentlessly cruel take on the original ending, a horror film to the TV show’s psychological drama, and on fans’ critical response of the original ending. End of Evangelion is something of an expansion on the series, then; while it’s a must-watch for any Eva viewer, it’s more like the opposite, bloodier side of the TV ending’s coin than a separate coin of its own. 3) Eva remains artistically influentialWhen Evangelion debuted in Japan in October 1995, the “mecha” genre of anime — in which characters pilot their own personal giant robots to fight other giant robots — was already well-known to Japanese anime fans. Mobile Suit Gundam, which kicked off another hugely influential mecha anime franchise, had been around since 1979, and one of the genre’s most popular series, Gundam Wing, had debuted earlier that year.

Eva could have slotted right next to Mobile Suit Gundam and Gundam Wing as more of the same: an action series full of fun moments and ever-intensifying battles, but little else.But then Eva deconstructed the entire genre of mecha anime, and in a sense all anime, in that it was only nominally about fighting robots; at its core, it was a deeply philosophical exploration of humanity and what being “human” even is. Its characters deal with past trauma; experience sexual awakenings; explore death, rebirth, and eternity; and struggle to find personal meaning in a time of apocalypse.Not only was the series hugely existential, it was also extremely religious, full of references to Judaism and styled as a sci-fi retelling of the biblical Book of Genesis. Most significantly, while working on the show, and funneling all that anxiety into its storytelling. The whole series doubles as a metaphor for uneasy artistic creation, for depression, and for life itself.Eva wasn’t the first anime to marry fun action tropes with deeper religious symbolism and an overarching metaphysical tone. But it was the first anime to combine those elements so successfully, and to such high critical and popular acclaim.

And, crucially, this type of project had very rarely been shown on television before.Prior to Eva, anime series tended to run for hundreds of episodes, be based on either preexisting manga (Japanese comics) or English-language literature, and have a much broader, more mainstream appeal. Eva, by contrast, was a wholly original series conceived as a limited series of only 26 episodes, and far from trying to attract a wide audience, toward the end, it even seemed to be attempting to alienate what niche viewership it had. (It was through Eva that Gainax ultimately for producing wild endings.)But its deliberate subversion of anime conventions and audience expectations was what made it so popular.

In Japan, Evangelion spawned countless anime tropes, and moreover provided a template for integrating stylish genre tropes with serious themes, high artistic aspirations, and deep characterization. It also opened the floodgates for original anime series, as well as anime series that deconstructed their own genres, anime aimed exclusively at adults, and anime that was just plain weird.

Other influential anime series like Revolutionary Girl Utena and Serial Experiments Lain feel directly influenced by Eva, while many others, like Cowboy Bebop, feel like evolutionary steps forward in the sandbox that Eva built for creators to play in.Essentially, Eva instigated a scramble to create original Japanese series that did what Eva did. Suddenly, Japanese TV was full of anime that more overtly flaunted its artistic and literary aspirations, risked seriously dark themes, winked knowingly at viewers, and didn’t cater to the widest audience possible. This proliferation of smart and serious anime is commonplace today. But just how American animation evolved with the advent of The Simpsons, these anime arguably needed a landmark forerunner to push producers into putting them on the air. That landmark was Evangelion.

4) Eva’s pop cultural impact extends far beyond Japanese anime fandomFor all of Evangelion’s divisive quirks and experimental indulgences, the series’ import was immediately undeniable. At a time when the Japanese entertainment industry viewed anime as lowbrow and pandering, Evangelion challenged the medium’s boundaries and its audiences’ expectations.Eva’s release was also well-timed.

Its premiere followed an especially tumultuous year for a Japanese population already struggling to pull itself out of an economic downturn. In 1995, in Kobe and in Tokyo happened within two months of each other. The country was devastated, culturally speaking, its citizens left with a strong sense of malaise.But in anime and manga, many people found hope again, as comparative literature scholar Gabriel F.Y.

Tsang explained in a 2016 paper on Eva’s societal parallels.“Anime and manga’s boom, especially based on a shift of marketing target from children to adults, significantly revealed a social phenomenon,”; “the general public in Japan had begun to merge their everyday life with cartoon culture, which enabled them to alleviate their daily stress through consuming virtual images and messages that were encouraging, funny, satirical, hilarious or bold.”It also got them spending money. And with Evangelion already tapping into a renewed nationwide interest in anime, it was also able to capitalize on myriad other marketing opportunities. It remains common to see characters like Shinji, Rei, and Asuka appear in advertisements or pachinko parlors throughout Japan, and the series’ iconography remains widely recognizable in the country., often to comedic effect. Even its theme song is still a huge mainstay at karaoke bars, which makes perfect sense, because “Cruel Angel’s Thesis” is good as hell, whether you’ve seen the show or not. Outside Japan, Evangelion’s characters are well-known, beloved and memed by anime fans. (More on that in a second.) Rei and Asuka cosplay are anime convention mainstays. And many have paid homage to the show.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never seen the show — if you’re into anime, you know at least something from it, or about it. 5) Eva was one of the first anime to break big on the internetIn the late ’90s and early aughts, the state of exported anime was pretty abysmal: Official English-language releases were often hard to find, and when they were available, fans were often dissatisfied with the translations or dubbing quality. But because Evangelion was so popular in Japan, it was one of the few anime series to get an official English-language release fairly quickly, starting in 1997.The DVD release of all 26 episodes, as well as End of Evangelion, hit the shelves in 2002, right in the middle of the internet’s early anime fandom boom. Fan sites, including some that are today, began to pop up. That same year, the Los Angeles Times as an international phenomenon, noting, “More than 800 Web sites in 12 languages are devoted to ‘Evangelion’.”Many of those websites were dedicated to rehashing the series’ extremely divisive ending. As anime fandom grew online, Eva became one of the watershed must-see series for newcomers. Fans watched Eva for the storyline, to understand much of what came after it, and so they’d know what the big deal was with That Ending.

And as anime fandom grew, so did the memes, the (anime fan vids), and the fan works. The oldest of the 9,000 Eva fanfics available on Fanfiction.net appeared in 1999.4chan, known in that still-early internet era mainly for its thriving anime fan community, spawned multiple Eva memes, including the now-famous cry used to mock the series’ brooding main character, Shinji: “” (geek shorthand for “stop whining and grow up”). Throughout 2015, in which Evangelion’s apocalyptic “Third Impact” was supposed to happen in real time, fans the and then their survival.Fans have also had a field day with Eva’s opening theme, the aforementioned “Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” churning out endless and, turning it into an, painstakingly constructing Minecraft to play it, and, uh, making this. Finally, in the earliest days of anime fandom, otaku culture, or anime fan culture, was a widely derided and controversial thing in Japan. Fans there, were and continue to be mocked and for their levels of obsession and zealotry for the medium, as well as frequently criticized and stereotyped as obsessed with sex.Eva’s creator, Hideaki Anno, often defended otaku culture in the early days of anime on the internet.

“I take offense when otaku are criticized by non-otaku,” he in a 2003 interview. “Stupid idiots, I think, criticizing though you don’t understand anything.” Anno’s view of fandom, while it was often mixed, went a long way toward legitimizing acceptance of otaku culture in Japan and online, and encouraged international anime fans who were just getting to know the medium to embrace his work. 6) The Netflix release is cause for celebration — but it doesn’t come without controversyEvangelion’s Netflix debut marks the first time since 2005 that an official English-language release has been issued. The series hasn’t been legally available to purchase or stream in years, so even though its cultural influence has been well established, many newer anime fans have never seen it. Additionally, its arrival on Netflix will likely introduce it to many people who’ve never watched any kind of anime before.

— RΛZΞR Xian #TPM2019 (@XianMSG)This would be a big deal for any beloved TV series that’d been effectively impossible to watch for more than a decade, let alone one that many consider to be the. And it’s significant for any well-loved anime to be given a major rerelease in the streaming era. But Eva isn’t just debuting on some small, niche streaming service without many subscribers; it’s being championed by Netflix, one of the biggest streaming services of all. It’s a huge sign that anime is not only culturally significant but worthy to receive a red-carpet rollout and be heralded like the artistic achievement it is.However, as one might expect with a series this highly esteemed, some controversy has arisen surrounding the Netflix release. Shortly after news of the rerelease broke in November 2018, that Netflix was producing an entirely new dub, with an all-new English-language voice cast.

(Some of the original actors that they were invited to audition for the show’s new dub after the social media backlash.) Many fans were upset that the original voice cast would likely not be involved, and that the original dub would not be available to stream alongside the Netflix release. Some anime fan sites called it a “” situation that could entirely alienate Netflix’s anime fan base, though plenty of fans seemed to be to the redub.Meanwhile, Gen Fukunaga, the ex-CEO of, which had previously tried to license Evangelion, in 2018 that he felt a Netflix release was bad for the Eva franchise and for anime in general, because on Netflix, Eva would get lost among a sea of other lower-quality titles. In essence, Fukunaga predicted, Eva will be “just another brand on the platform.”But even so, there’s plenty of indication that Netflix’s attention could be a major game changer for anime as a whole.

7) Evangelion’s hotly anticipated streaming debut proves just how big anime has become worldwideFor the past half-decade — specifically since its distribution in 2014 of the popular anime series Sword Art Online — Netflix has proven to be something of an anime fan itself; at least, it’s realized that there’s money to be made in bringing anime to wider audiences. The platform has picked up several exciting, well-acclaimed series, and even launched some original entries of its own. And, for example, are two series that can only be seen on Netflix in the West and have big-name talent behind them in and Sanrio, respectively.Hooking up with the visionary behind cult faves like Ping-Pong: The Animation and the makers of Hello Kitty, respectively, is one thing. Spending an undisclosed but presumably huge amount of money to get anime’s Holy Grail behind its paywall is another. And the cost of its big licensing deals, so we don’t know how much the company paid for Evangelion.

But as Fukunaga, Netflix wasn’t thrifty with the purchase.That Netflix is competing with Western anime distribution stalwarts like Funimation is also telling. Funimation has the rights to properties like Dragon Ball, Fullmetal Alchemist, and My Hero Academia — all hugely popular, mainstream series on both sides of the globe. These series used to be available on platforms like Netflix and Hulu, but when Funimation changed corporate hands, they left for the company’s own premium, anime-specific streaming service, Funimation Now. And with Funimation Now — as well as increased mainstream marketing pushes — Funimation is positioning itself as a competitor to Netflix’s growing anime catalog.Consider, for example, earlier this year. The film had record-setting for an anime, and reflected growing efforts to market anime to a wider audience. With Evangelion, Netflix is essentially participating in the same trend.

Its dedicated sci-fi and anime social media accounts, and their countdown posts elicited thousands of likes and hundreds of retweets. Neon Genesis Countdown: two days. — NX (@NXOnNetflix)Becoming Eva’s exclusive home is a huge get for Netflix if it wants to establish itself as a legitimate, credible anime powerhouse.

It’s one of the hugest gets there is. 8) If you’ve never seen an anime, should you start with Eva? There’s little reason not to.If you replace the word “anime” in the heading above with “television,” you’ll immediately see why this is a misleading question. Like television, cinema, or any other art form, anime is a medium, not a genre. Sure, it has its specific traits; in particular, anime’s can sometimes be disorienting or confusing to newcomers.

Additionally, many people prefer watching subtitled anime (“subbed”) over dubbed anime (with translated voiceovers, and vice versa). But anime itself is simply another mode of storytelling. So choosing a series to start with should depend on what kind of story you think you might like.That said, if you’re into a really good story for its own sake, and don’t mind going down some unexpected and dark pathways with a philosophical bent, you probably can’t pick a better anime to start with than Eva.

DemographicMaleImprintMagazineOriginal runJanuary 2008 – April 2013Volumes5Manga. (companion adaptation).Anime films. Revival of Evangelion.

(March 1997). (July 1997). (2007). (2009). (2012).

(2020)Neon Genesis Evangelion (: 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン,: Shinseiki Evangerion, lit. 'New Century ') is a Japanese television series produced by and, directed by and broadcast on from October 1995 to March 1996. The cast included as, as, as, and as. Was composed by.Evangelion is set fifteen years after a worldwide cataclysm, particularly in the futuristic fortified city of Tokyo-3. The is Shinji, a teenage boy who was recruited by his father to the shadowy organization Nerv to pilot a giant bio-machine called an ' into combat with alien beings called '. The series explores the experiences and emotions of Evangelion pilots and members of Nerv as they try to prevent Angels from causing more cataclysms.

In the process they are called upon to understand the ultimate causes of events and the motives for human action. The series features derived from as well as and traditions, including tales,.

The of and also feature prominently.Neon Genesis Evangelion received critical acclaim but also garnered controversy. Particularly controversial were the last two episodes of the show, leading the team behind the series to produce the original intended version of the ending in the 1997 film.

Regarded as a deconstruction of the genre, the original TV series led to a rebirth of the anime industry and has become a cultural icon. Film, home video, and other products in the have achieved record sales in Japanese markets and strong sales in overseas markets, with related goods selling over ¥150 billion by 2007 and Evangelion machines selling ¥700 billion by 2015. See also:In 2015, fifteen years after a global cataclysm known as the Second Impact, teenager is summoned to the futuristic city of Tokyo-3 by his estranged father, director of the special paramilitary force Nerv. Shinji witnesses forces battling an Angel, one of a race of giant monstrous beings whose awakening was foretold by the. Because of the Angels' near-impenetrable force-fields, Nerv's giant Evangelion bio-machines, synchronized to the nervous systems of their pilots and possessing their own force-fields, are the only weapons capable of keeping the Angels from annihilating humanity.

Nerv officer escorts Shinji into the Nerv complex beneath the city, where his father pressures him into piloting the Evangelion Unit-01 against the Angel. Without training, Shinji is quickly overwhelmed in the battle, causing the Evangelion to go berserk and savagely kill the Angel on its own.Following hospitalization, Shinji moves in with Misato and settles into life in Tokyo-3. In his second battle, Shinji destroys an Angel but runs away afterwards, distraught. Misato confronts Shinji and he decides to remain a pilot. The Nerv crew and Shinji must then battle and defeat the remaining 14 Angels in order to prevent the Third Impact, a global cataclysm that would destroy the world. Evangelion Unit-00 is repaired shortly afterwards.

Shinji tries to befriend its pilot, the mysterious, socially isolated teenage girl. With Rei's help, Shinji defeats another Angel. They are then joined by the pilot of Evangelion Unit-02, the multitalented, but insufferable teenager, who is German-Japanese-American. Together, the three of them manage to defeat several Angels. As Shinji adjusts to his new role as a pilot, he gradually becomes more confident and self-assured.

Asuka moves in with Shinji, and they begin to develop confused feelings for one another, kissing at her provocation.After being absorbed by an Angel, Shinji breaks free thanks to the Eva acting on its own. He is later forced to fight an infected Evangelion Unit-03 and watches its pilot, his friend and classmate, incapacitated and presumably permanently disabled. Asuka loses her self-confidence following a defeat and spirals into depression. This is worsened by her next fight, against an which attacks her mind and forces her to relive her worst fears and childhood trauma, resulting in a mental breakdown.

In the next battle, Rei self-destructs Unit-00 and dies to save Shinji's life. Misato and Shinji visit the hospital where they find Rei alive but claiming she is 'the third Rei'. Misato forces scientist to reveal the dark secrets of Nerv, the Evangelion boneyard and the dummy plug system which operates using clones of Rei, who was herself created with the DNA of his mother,. This succession of events leaves Shinji emotionally scarred and alienated from the rest of the characters. Replaces the catatonic Asuka as pilot of Unit-02.

Kaworu, who initially befriends Shinji and gains his trust, is in truth the final foretold Angel, Tabris. Kaworu fights Shinji, then realizes that he must die if humanity is to survive and asks Shinji to kill him. Shinji hesitates but eventually kills Kaworu, causing Shinji to be overridden with guilt.After the final Angel is defeated, Seele, the mysterious cabal overseeing the events of the series, triggers the 'Human Instrumentality Project', a forced evolution of humanity in which the souls of all mankind are merged for benevolent purposes, believing that if unified, humanity could finally overcome the loneliness and alienation that has eternally plagued mankind.

Shinji's soul grapples with the reason for his existence and reaches an epiphany that he needs others to thrive, enabling him to destroy the wall of negative emotions that torment him and reunite with the others, who congratulate him.Characters. The cast of Neon Genesis Evangelion as depicted on the Japanese 'Genesis' (volume) 14 and coverHideaki Anno attempted to create characters that reflected parts of his own personality. The characters of Evangelion struggle with their interpersonal relationships, their personal problems, and traumatic events in their past.

The human qualities of the characters have enabled some viewers of the show to identify with the characters on a personal level, while others interpret them as historical, religious, or philosophical symbols. Is the series protagonist and the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-01. After witnessing his mother Yui Ikari's death as a child, Shinji was abandoned by his father, Gendo Ikari. He is emotionally hypersensitive and sometimes does as expected out of fear of rejection, but he has often rebelled and refused to pilot the Eva because of the extremely excruciating harm that has been done to him or to his friends. Throughout the series, he says to himself 'I mustn't run away' as a means of encouraging himself to face the threats of the day, and this sometimes actually gives him bravery in battle, but he has a lingering habit of withdrawing in response to traumatic events.

Anno has described Shinji as a boy who 'shrinks from human contact' and has 'convinced himself that he is a completely unnecessary person'.The withdrawn and mysterious pilot of Evangelion Unit-00, is a clone made from the salvaged remains of Yui and is plagued by a sense of negative self-worth stemming from the realization that she is an expendable asset. She at one time despised Shinji for his lack of trust in his father Gendo, with whom Rei is very close. However, after Shinji and Rei successfully defeat the Angel Ramiel, she takes a friendly liking to him. Towards the end of the series, it is revealed that she is one of many clones, whose use is to replace the currently existing Rei if she is killed.is a child prodigy who pilots Evangelion Unit-02 and possesses a fiery temper and an overabundance of pride and self-confidence, which often gets her in trouble and difficulty, especially during battles. As a little girl, Asuka discovered the body of her mother shortly after she committed suicide, leading the child to repress her emotions and vow never to cry.

Asuka and Shinji develop intense but ambiguous feelings towards each other having difficulty to reach out to others, as their relationship was initially modeled on the one between Jean, Nadia's love interest and eventual husband in the earlier. Compared to Shinji, Asuka and Rei are presented with their own flaws and difficulty relating to other people. Is the caretaker and commanding officer for Shinji and Asuka.

Her professional demeanor at Nerv contrasts dramatically with her carefree and irresponsible behavior at home. Character designer conceived her as an older ' and promiscuous loser who failed to take life seriously. Hideaki Anno described Shinji and Misato as 'afraid of being hurt' and 'unsuitable—lacking the positive attitude—for what people call heroes of an adventure.'

The teenaged Evangelion pilots are ordered into battle by the steely Gendo Ikari, Shinji's father and the commander of Nerv. He abandoned Shinji and recalled him only to serve as an Evangelion pilot. Gendo salvaged the remains of his dead wife's body to create Rei, whom he viewed as a mere tool at his disposal to defeat the Angels and enact Instrumentality. Similar to Shinji, he is somewhat asocial and is afraid of being insulted by others and often runs away from such, often committing immoralities in the process. This fear is also what drove him to abandon Shinji. He is depicted as relentless in his drive to win, a man who 'takes drastic and extreme measures, by fair means or foul, or by hook or by crook, in order to accomplish his own purpose.' According to Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the characters of Gendo and Fuyutsuki are based on Ed Straker and Alec Freeman of the television series.

Sadamoto designed the visual appearance of the characters so that their personalities 'could be understood more or less at a glance'. The distinctive aesthetic appeal of the female lead characters' designs contributed to high sales of Neon Genesis Evangelion merchandise. The design of Rei in particular became so popular that the media referred to the character as 'Premium Girl' due to the high sales of books with Rei on the cover. Production Director Hideaki Anno fell into a deep depression following completion of work on and the 1992 failure of the sequel project. According to, Anno agreed to a collaboration between and Gainax while drinking with King representative Toshimichi Ōtsuki; King Records guaranteed Anno a time slot for 'something, anything'. Anno began development of the new series in 1993 around the notion of not running away, which had been the underlying theme of Aoki Uru, an earlier Anno project that had failed to move into production.

Early into the production, Anno stated his intent to have Evangelion increase the number of (anime fans) by attracting interest in the medium. According to him, the plot of the series reflects his four-year depression.

In the early design phase of the Evangelion project several formats were considered, including a film, a television series and an (OVA) series. The producers finally opted for the television series as it was the most widely accessible media in Japan at that time. The proposed title Alcion was rejected due to its lack of hard consonant sounds.Evangelion borrowed certain scenarios and the use of introspection as a narrative device from a previous Anno project entitled.

He incorporated the narrative structure of Nadia and multiple frames of reference to leave the story open to interpretation. Over the course of the writing process, elements of the Evangelion storyline evolved from the original concept. A female protagonist was initially proposed for the series, but the idea was scrapped. Originally, the first episode presented the battle between an Angel and Rei, while the character of Shinji was only introduced after the Angel had been defeated. Further changes to the plot were made following the sect's in March. Has said that the original Evangelion story was 'too close to reality' from Anno's point of view.

Basically, Anno thought that the original scenario was not suitable for broadcasting, and he feared censorship. However he also criticized Aum Shinrikyo, because 'they lost any contact with reality'. For this reason Azuma stated that Evangelion 'is an intrinsic critique of Aum'.

The final version of the story reflects inspiration drawn from numerous other anime and fictional works. Chief among these are,. The series also incorporates tributes to, the novels of, the poem, and several television series including,. Gainax studio in,The development of the Neon Genesis Evangelion series ran close to deadlines throughout its production run. The initial cuts of the first two episodes were screened at the second Gainax festival in July 1995, only three months before they were aired on television. By episode 13 the series began to deviate significantly from the original story, and the initial script was abandoned. The number of Angels was reduced to 17 instead of the original 28, and the writers changed the story's ending, which had originally described the failure of the Human Instrumentality Project after an Angel attack from the moon.

Not only did the series suffer from scheduling issues, but according to Anno, despite Gainax being the lead studio for the series, the company itself had inadequate materials and staff for the full production of the series. Only three staff members from Gainax were working on the series at any given time, and the majority of the series' production was outsourced to.Starting with episode 16, the show changed drastically, discarding the grand narrative concerning salvation for a narrative focusing on the individual characters. This change coincided with Anno's development of an interest in psychology after a friend lent him a book on mental illness. This focus culminated in a psychoanalysis of the characters in the two final episodes. The production ran so close to the airing deadline that the completed scenes used in the preview of the twenty-fifth episode had to be redesigned to work with the new ending.

These episodes feature heavy use of abstract animation, flashbacks, simple line drawings, photographs and fixed image scenes with voice-over dialogue. Some critics speculated that these unconventional animation choices resulted from budget cuts, but stated that while it wasn't only a problem of schedule or budget, Anno 'couldn't decide the ending until the time came, that's his style'. These two episodes sparked controversy and condemnation among fans and critics of the series, including significant vitriol directed at Anno himself.

In 1997, Hideaki Anno and Gainax released two animated feature films, providing an alternative ending for the show:. The -shaped explosion caused by the destruction of the exemplifies the use of Christian imagery in Evangelion.According to Patrick Drazen, the series contains numerous allusions to the and the, the Shinto vision of the primordial cosmos and the mythical lances of the Shinto deities.

Elements of the Judeo-Christian tradition also feature prominently throughout the series, including references to, the, the, the Kabbalistic concept of, the, among many others. The merging of all human souls into one through the Human Instrumentality Project at the end of the series is similar to the Kabbalistic concept of. The Evangelions have been likened to the of, and their visual design resembles the traditional depictions of (Japanese demons or ogres).References to traditions in and, including, and are threaded liberally through the series. Complicating viewers' attempts to form an unambiguous interpretation, the series reworks stories, images and other Kabbalistic ideas developed from the to create a new Evangelion-specific mythology.

Assistant director said the religious visual references were intended to make the series more 'interesting' and 'exotic', and denied the existence of a 'Christian meaning' for the use of Christian visual symbols in the show. However, according to Anno, 'as the symbols are mixed together, for the first time something like an interrelationship or a meaning emerges'. The plot combines elements of and of the Jewish Kabbalah, including the Angels, which have many common features with the Angels of the religious tradition, such as, and.Evangelion has been interpreted as a deeply personal expression of Hideaki Anno's own emotional struggles with depression. During the production of the series, he became interested in mental illness and psychology. According to him, Rei is a character and she represents the of Shinji. Shinji has an, and is characterized by a - conflict. Similarly, Ritsuko has an, in which she loves Gendo, a sort of substitute for her father figure.

Anno himself stated that he identifies with Shinji, Asuka and Misato in a conscious manner, whereas Rei and Kaworu are part of his subconscious, with Kaworu as his. It has even been suggested that Shinji's entering into Unit-01 is a Freudian 'return to the womb', and that his struggle to be free of the Eva is his 'rite of passage' into manhood. The series contains many references to philosophical and psychoanalytic concepts, such as the, oral personality, and the, including some elements of the works of, and others. Related media. Main articles:, andIn May 1996, Gainax announced an Evangelion film in response to fan dissatisfaction with the series finale. On March 15, 1997, Gainax released Evangelion: Death & Rebirth, consisting of 60 minutes of clips taken from the first 24 episodes of the series and only the first 30 minutes of the new ending due to production issues. The second film, The End of Evangelion, which premiered on July 19, 1997, provided the complete new ending as a retelling of the final two episodes of the television series.

Rather than depicting series' climax within the characters' minds, the film provides a more conventional, action-based resolution to the series' plot lines. The film won numerous awards and grossed 1.45 billion yen within six months of its release.

EX.org ranked the film in 1999 as the fifth best 'All-Time Show', with the television series at #2. And in 2009 CUT Magazine ranked it the third greatest anime film of all time.

In July 1998 the films were re-released as Revival of Evangelion which combined Death(true)² (the director's cut of Death) with The End of Evangelion.On September 9, 2006, Gainax confirmed a new animated film series called, consisting of four movies. The first film retells the first five episodes from the series but from the second film onward the story is completely different, including new characters, EVAs and Angels.

The first film, was released in Japan on September 1, 2007, with released on June 27, 2009 and released on November 17, 2012. The final film, titled, was originally scheduled for release in June 2020 but has been delayed due to the. On February 8, 2015, Evangelion:Another Impact, a short film collaboration between the Khara studio and the media company Dwango is was directed by, was released and streamed as number 12 anime short from the. It depicts 'the story of an Evangelion's activation, rampage and howling in another world'.

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Manga and books. Main article:composed most of the original music for the series. The soundtracks released to high rankings on the charts, with Neon Genesis Evangelion III reaching the number one slot for highest sales in 1997; that same year, Sagisu received the award for 'Best Music Score' for his work on Evangelion.

Classical music by, and were also featured throughout the series. Additional classical works and original symphonic compositions were used to score later movies produced within the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise.

In total, the series' discography includes 21 full studio, live, compilation and soundtrack albums and six CD singles. The series' opening theme is ', performed. It ranked on two polls, reaching #55 for best anime theme songs of all time, and #18 for best anime theme songs of the 1990s. Fifteen years after its release, the theme won 's annual award for the royalties it continues to generate from its usage in, and other venues. The end theme of the series was a version of ' arranged and sung by Claire Littley (credited only as CLAIRE). Video games. See also:Several have been developed, ranging from and to.

The series has also spawned, two of them inspired the romance and comedy-focused manga series and.Releases The original home video releases in Japan included VHS and sets using a release structured around 'Genesis 0:(volume number)', with each of the first 12 releases containing two episodes each. Each of the episodes received minor changes and Episodes 21–24 were extended with new scenes.

'Genesis 0:13' and 'Genesis 0:14' contained the original and the alternate versions of episodes 25 and 26 first presented in. A fifteenth and final release for Laserdisc, entitled 'Genesis 0:X', contained the broadcast versions of episodes 21 to 24 and was a special mail-in offer for fans who purchased all 14 discs. The first Japanese DVD release was spread across seven volumes; all contained four episodes with the seventh volume containing both the original and alternate versions of episodes 25 and 26. This version was identical to the previous laserdisc and VHS release. The Movies were also released as a special set, just like before.

In 2000 and 2001, three box sets were released to commemorate the fictional Second Impact which occurred in the year 2000 in the series. The Second Impact Box contained the 26 original episodes and both movies on 9 DVDs—three per Box. The versions were the original broadcast and theatrical versions respectively and therefore different from the previous DVD release.

In addition, the video game Girlfriend of Steel was included in the third box set. Cover for the box set in JapanIn 2003, the Japanese-only, nine volume 'Renewal of Evangelion' DVDs were released on June 25, with improved acoustic effects, remixed dialogue and remastered soundtrack for 5.1 stereo sound. The first eight volumes covered the original 26 episodes, including two versions of episodes 21 to 24: the (extended) video version (that was available in previous releases) and a reconstruction of the shorter broadcast version, which was now made available for the first time since the Genesis 0:X laserdisc and also wasn't censored like in the original broadcast. The ninth volume was named Evangelion: The Feature Film and Revival of Evangelion and contained Death(true)² and End of Evangelion (omitting Rebirth) on two discs. The Renewal Project release formed the basis for the western 'Platinum Edition'.

On December 1, 2014, announced a boxset that will contain a new HD-remastering of the television series, the video versions of Episodes 21–24, as well as the two movies, both as Revival of Evangelion, the director's cut, which was available in the Renewal DVDs, and as their original theatrical versions Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion. In addition, another DVD set, titled Archives of Evangelion, was announced that contains the original unaltered broadcast version of the television series as well as the broadcast version of Death (True) & Rebirth that aired in January 1998. Both sets were released on August 26, 2015, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the TV series.The series was distributed in North America and Europe. The 13 English VHS tapes, released from August 4, 1997 to July 7, 1998, contained two episodes each and were released using the same 'Genesis 0:(volume number)' titling convention as the first Japanese home video release. Two laserdisc collections were released as Collection 1 Deluxe Edition and Collection 2 Deluxe Edition, containing episodes one to four and five to eight, respectively. The first DVD release by ADV Films was the eight disk Perfect Collection in 2002, containing the original 26 installments. In 2004, ADV released two DVD compilations titled Neon Genesis Evangelion: Resurrection and Neon Genesis: Reborn, encompassing the directors' cuts of Episodes 21 through 24.

In the same year, the Platinum Edition release was announced by ADV in 2004, consisting of seven DVDs released between July 27, 2004 and April 19, 2005. The Platinum Edition contained the original 26 episodes and the four 'Director's cut' versions of episodes 21 to 24. A six-disc version of the Platinum Edition, the Platinum Complete Edition, was released on November 22, 2005, and omitted several extras included in other versions, including commentary and trailers.On November 26, 2018, streaming company announced that it had acquired the worldwide streaming rights to the original anime series, as well as Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death (true)² and The End of Evangelion, for release in Q2 2019. On March 22, 2019, Netflix announced a June 21, 2019 premiere date for the titles.

Following the dissolution of ADV Films in 2008, the Netflix release includes a re-translated script from Studio Khara's in-house translator Dan Kanemitsu and a new English-language cast chosen by Khara. The Netflix release omits 'Fly Me to the Moon' in certain regions due to licensing issues. Reception. Even fans of the sci-fi genre who avoid anime altogether have likely heard of and, which were each landmarks of both style and substance. But arguably the greatest and certainly most thematically dense of the three 90's sci-fi anime masterpieces is Neon Genesis Evangelion. It has one of the most enduring worldwide cult franchises and passionate fanbases in all of geekdom.

the most celebrated cast in anime. And poster boy/protagonist Shinji is one of the most nuanced, popular, and relatable characters in anime history.— Nick Verboon, Unreality Mag (June 13, 2013)Neon Genesis Evangelion received critical acclaim both domestically and internationally during its initial broadcast and in the decades since its release. On, the series has an approval rating of 100% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 8.29/10.

The website's critical consensus reads, 'Neon Genesis Evangelion, both a cultural touchstone for Japan and an uncompromising auteurist vision by creator Hideaki Anno, doubles as an enthralling apex for the mecha anime genre and as a harrowing exploration of depression – making for a wholly singular epic about angels and inner demons.' Following the conclusion of the series' original television broadcast, the public and critical reception to Neon Genesis Evangelion was polarized, particularly with regard to the final two episodes. The experimental style of the finale confused or alienated many fans and spawned debate and controversy; Hideaki Anno received anonymous online death threats, as well as a number of letters, which would later be shown in End of Evangelion, expressing both support and criticism. The criticism was largely directed toward the lack of storyline resolution in the final two episodes. Opinion on the finale was mixed, with the audience broadly divided between those who considered the episodes 'deep', and those who felt their meaning was 'more apparent than real'.

The English voice actors admitted that they also had trouble understanding the series' conclusion. The wrote that after episode 25, 'nearly all viewers felt betrayed. When commentator sent a letter to the, complaining about the end of the Evangelion series, the debate went nationwide.' Despite the criticism, Anno stood by his artistic choices for the series' conclusion.

Critic Zac Bertschy remarked in 2003 that 'Most of the backlash against Evangelion existed because people don't like to think'. The initial controversy surrounding the end of Evangelion has had no lasting negative influence on the popularity of the series.The 'richness' of the characters and 'complex and layered' narrative have received praise by critics, with Mike Hale of describing it in 2009 as 'a superior anime, a giant-robot tale of unusual depth, feeling and detail.' Evangelion has developed into a social phenomenon beyond its primary fan base, generating national discussion in Japan. The series has also been the subject of numerous media reports, debates, and research studies world-wide. Evangelion has received review by critics, academics and sociologists alike, including by, William Rout, Mick Broderick, Hiroki Azuma, Yuriko Furuhata, and Marc Steinberg. The series has been described as both a critique and deconstruction of the mecha genre. Theron Martin described the character design as 'distinctive, designed to be sexy rather than cutesy', and the mecha designs as 'among the most distinctive ever produced for an anime series, with sleek, lithe appearances that look monstrous, fearsome, and nimble rather than boxy and knight-like'.

Mike Crandol stated 'It no longer seems contrite to say that Evangelion is surely one of the all-time great works of animation'. Japanese critic Manabu Tsuribe considered that Evangelion was 'extremely interior and is lacking in sociality, so that it seems to reflect pathology of the times.' In February 2004, listed the anime as one of the '10 Essential Animations'. Awards Neon Genesis Evangelion has scored highly in numerous popularity polls. In 1996, the series won first place in the 'Best Loved Series' category of the Anime Grand Prix, a reader-polled award series published in magazine. The show was again awarded this prize in 1997 by a large margin. The End of Evangelion won first place in 1998, making Neon Genesis Evangelion the first anime franchise to win three consecutive first place awards.

The website ranked Evangelion as the 10th best animated series in its 'Top 100 Animated TV Series' list. The series placed third in Animage 's 'anime that should be remembered in the 21st Century'. In 1998, EX.org's readers voted Neon Genesis Evangelion the #1 US anime release and in 1999, the #2 show of all time. In 2007, a large-scale poll by found Evangelion was the second most appreciated anime in Japan. The series was ranked as the most popular of all time in a 2006 survey of 80,000 attendees at the.Evangelion won the award in 1996, and 1997. The series was awarded the and the Excellence Award Japan Media Arts Festival in 1997. The film ranked #6 on Wizard's Anime Magazine on their 'Top 50 Anime released in North America'.

In the August 1996 issue of Animage, Evangelion characters placed high in the rankings of best characters with Rei ranked first, Asuka third, Kaworu fourth and Shinji sixth. Rei Ayanami won in the Female Character category in 1995 and 1996 and Shinji Ikari won the Male Character category in 1996 and 1997. In 2010, magazine recognized Rei Ayanami as the most popular character of the 1990s in the female category, and Shinji Ikari in the male category. TV Asahi recognized the 'suicide of Ayanami Rei' as the ninth most touching anime scene ever.

' won the Animage award in the Best Song category in 1996, and TV Asahi recognized it as the 18th best anime song since 1990. Influence and legacy Evangelion has had a significant impact on Japanese popular culture. The series also had a strong influence on anime, at a time when the anime industry and televised anime series in particular were in a slump period. CNET reviewer Tim Hornyak credits the series with revitalizing and transforming the giant mecha genre. In the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese animation saw decreased production following the. This was followed by a crisis of ideas in the years to come. Against this background, Evangelion imposed new standards for the animated serial, ushering in the era of the 'new Japanese animation serial', characterized by innovations that allowed a technical and artistic revival of the industry.

The production of anime serials began to reflect greater author control, the concentration of resources in fewer but higher quality episodes (typically ranging from 13 to 26), a directorial approach similar to live film, and greater freedom from the constraints of merchandising. Two portraying Asuka Langley Soryu and Rei Ayanami. After the great success of the animated series, cosplay interest had spread worldwideEvangelion has influenced numerous subsequent anime series, including,. References, homages and tributes to the series are also contained in the third episode of,. The show's mixture of religion and mecha influenced several Japanese, including, and.The design and personality traits of the character Rei Ayanami were reused for many anime and manga characters of the late 1990s, such as Ruri Hoshino of Nadesico, Ruriko Tsukushima ( The Droplet), Miharu ( Gasaraki), Anthy Himemiya ( ), and Lain Iwakura ( Serial Experiments Lain).

The character of Asuka was parodied by Excel ( ), and some of her traits were used to create the character of Mai in. According to Italian critic Guido Tavassi, Evangelion's mecha design, characterized by a greater resemblance to the human figure, and the abstract designs of the Angels, also had a significant impact on the designs of future anime productions. Designed several characters for based on characters from Neon Genesis Evangelion, namely, and.According to Keisuke Iwata, the global spread of Japanese animation dramatically expanded due to the popularity of Evangelion. After the success of the show, otaku culture gained wide attention. In Japan, Evangelion prompted a review of the cultural value of anime, and with its success, anime reached a new point of maturity.

With the interest in the series, otaku culture became a mass social phenomenon. The show's regular reruns increased the number of otaku, which John Lynden links to a boom in interest in literature on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Kabbalah and Christianity.

Anime director declared that the genre of anime owes a cinematographic debt to Evangelion. In the aftermath of Evangelion, Anno reused many of its stylistic conceits in the live-action and the anime romance. Neon Genesis Evangelion also influenced some music artists, such as the UK band and its debut album, and the Japanese band, which derived its name from the character of Rei Ayanami. Merchandising.

In Japan, Evangelion is an enormous content and merchandise industry with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Images of its biomechanical Eva robots are on everything from coffee mugs to smartphones and even airplane wraps.— Tim Hornyak, CNET (July 16, 2013)The popularity of Neon Genesis Evangelion extends to its merchandising which exceeded $400 million within two years of its release.

The series has established itself greatly on the Japanese market, developing a varied range of products for adult consumers, such as cell phones (including a special Nerv and MAGI-themed smartphone released in 2012), laptop computers, many soundtracks, DVDs,. The stylized mecha design that would later earn praise for Evangelion was initially criticized by certain toy companies as being too difficult to manufacture, with some expressing concern that models of the Evangelions 'would never sell.' Eventually, agreed to license all toy and video game sales. At the time of the release of the Japanese film Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion, estimated sales of Evangelion merchandise topped $300 million, of which 70% derived from sales of video and laser discs, soundtrack CDs, single CDs, computer software and the three-volume manga. Multiple merchandising products were released during the Renewal Project, such as CDs, cel-art illustrations and collectible models.The commercial exploitation of the series for the market achieved record sales and remained strong over a decade later.

The fame of the show has grown through home video sales, which exceeded two or three times the sales of other contemporary anime series and films. The series contributed significantly to the spread of the format in Japan and generated a considerable impact on the Japanese economy, calculated in billions of yen. In 2006, stated that the franchise had earned over $2 billion.

A 2007 estimate placed total sales of 6,000 related goods at over ¥150 billion. In 2015, manufacturer Fields Corporation revealed that Evangelion pachinko and machines sold over 2 million units, generating a revenue of ¥700 billion. References Citations.