# Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン)
**Neon Genesis Evangelion** (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン), often shortened to Evangelion or Eva, is a 26-episode Japanese television anime directed by [Hideaki Anno](https://www.edgepedia.org/hideaki-anno) and produced by GAINAX, broadcast on the [TV Tokyo](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-tokyo) network from October 4, 1995 to March 27, 1996.[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) On its surface a giant-robot science fiction story, it centers on the psychological lives of teenage pilots and became a social phenomenon in 1990s Japan, later expanding into theatrical films, a manga, and a four-film remake series.[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) • [2](https://kci.go.kr/kciportal/landing/article.kci?arti_id=ART002994103)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original run | 26 episodes, TV Tokyo network, October 4, 1995 to March 27, 1996[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) |
| Director | Hideaki Anno (original concept, screenplay, direction); animation by GAINAX[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) |
| Setting | Year 2015, Tokyo-3 at the foot of Mount Fuji, attacked by beings called Angels (使徒)[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) • [3](https://www.disneyplus.com/ja-jp/browse/entity-999ab7f8-212e-4ff7-95e1-bb8e97e29d16?msockid=3d627b218e3b600e17316dab8f406102) |
| Main characters | 14-year-old pilots Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, and Asuka Langley, with Misato Katsuragi; voiced by Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yuko Miyamura, and Kotono Mitsuishi[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) • [4](https://www.ktv.jp/evangelion/) |
| Theatrical films | Two films released in 1997, including *The End of Evangelion*[5](https://30th.evangelion.jp/our_gratitude) • [6](https://movie.hojiroblog.com/movies/the-end-of-evangelion/) |
| Manga | Serialized by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto; cumulative circulation passed 23 million copies by 2012[7](https://group.kadokawa.co.jp/documents/topics/20121030.pdf) |
| Rebuild series | Four remake films from 2007; the concluding *Evangelion: 3.0+1.0* opened March 8, 2021[8](https://www.tfm.co.jp/company/pdf/news_9999fae315500bbe1b6684864087e8d26989c89f5400a.pdf) |
| Anniversary | The series marked 30 years since its October 4, 1995 premiere in 2025, with a festival event in February 2026[9](https://www.evangelion.jp/news/250411-2/) |
## Premise and structure
The story is set in 2015, when beings called Angels (使徒, ANGEL), each named for an angel of the [Old Testament](https://www.edgepedia.org/old-testament), attack the fortified city of Tokyo-3 at intervals.[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) • [3](https://www.disneyplus.com/ja-jp/browse/entity-999ab7f8-212e-4ff7-95e1-bb8e97e29d16?msockid=3d627b218e3b600e17316dab8f406102) The Angels take varied forms, from giant creatures to floating objects, computer viruses, and fields of light, and their nature and intentions remain unclear for much of the series.[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) The only known countermeasure is the Evangelion, a humanoid bio-weapon that exceeds human technology and sometimes acts on its own; its robot-like outer armor exists to restrain the unit from moving independently.[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) • [10](https://fukujo.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/2000199.1/files/jinbun028013.pdf)
Three 14-year-olds, [Shinji Ikari](https://www.edgepedia.org/shinji-ikari), Rei Ayanami, and [Asuka Langley Soryu](https://www.edgepedia.org/asuka-langley-soryu), are chosen as the dedicated pilots, and the narrative follows these three together with [Misato Katsuragi](https://www.edgepedia.org/misato-katsuragi), their 29-year-old guardian and officer.[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) Shinji is ordered to pilot by his cold, commanding father Gendo, and the question of why he fights is treated as an internal problem rather than a matter of saving humanity in the abstract.[3](https://www.disneyplus.com/ja-jp/browse/entity-999ab7f8-212e-4ff7-95e1-bb8e97e29d16?msockid=3d627b218e3b600e17316dab8f406102) • [1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html)
## The turn inward
The first half plays largely as a well-made science fiction series, gradually revealing a world setting steeped in [Judeo-Christian](https://www.edgepedia.org/judeo-christian) mysticism and depicting the characters' psychological wounds in a hopeful register.[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) From around episode 16 the story turns inward: episodes grow grimmer, the characters lose the ability to communicate and are killed or wounded, and the mysteries of the setting multiply faster than they are resolved.[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) Episode 24 ends with the isolated Shinji forced to kill a boy he has grown close to, after learning the boy is the seventeenth Angel.[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html)
The final two episodes abandon the plot entirely for abstract imagery, an interior portrait of Shinji, and a self-consciously metafictional close in which he affirms himself after prolonged self-questioning.[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) • [11](https://reviewne.jp/contents/802) This abrupt abandonment of the story's mysteries caused a large stir among anime fans, and the ending was later supplemented by theatrical releases.[1](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html) The 1997 film *The End of Evangelion* revealed that the televised final episode was only part of the true conclusion.[11](https://reviewne.jp/contents/802)
## Reception and cultural impact
The broadcast began with low ratings, as had earlier landmark robot series such as *Space Battleship Yamato* and *Mobile Suit Gundam*, but the situation changed within about three months as late-night reruns spread across many regions and a special preview video was released ahead of the home-video volumes.[10](https://fukujo.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/2000199.1/files/jinbun028013.pdf) The series is credited with setting off a third anime boom in Japan and producing large numbers of devoted fans.[2](https://kci.go.kr/kciportal/landing/article.kci?arti_id=ART002994103)
Critics have connected the work to the mid-1990s mood in Japan. A Korean academic study describes it as directly confronting the problems of 1990s Japanese youth, including loneliness, isolation, anxiety, and growing up.[2](https://kci.go.kr/kciportal/landing/article.kci?arti_id=ART002994103) Another analysis notes that the mid-1990s saw the collapse of earlier worldviews and values in Japan, with 1995 as a peak of that disorientation, and that the series resonated with a period marked by major disasters and incidents.[10](https://fukujo.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/2000199.1/files/jinbun028013.pdf) • [12](https://ssbdb.doshisha.ac.jp/thesis/thesis_detail.php?id=3289) Its characters were read as withdrawn figures unable to communicate or keep proper distance from others, in a decade when no one could say what was right.[13](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART003297644)
The series also shaped genre vocabulary. Scholars discussing sekai-kei, a line of Japanese subculture works in which a small personal relationship is directly linked to a world-scale catastrophe without an intervening social layer, treat *Evangelion* as the reference point of the mode, and the phrase "post-Evangelion syndrome" entered critical discussion.[14](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jasi/26/0/26_0_77/_pdf/-char/ja)
## Franchise and later works
The property expanded quickly beyond television. Two theatrical films appeared in 1997, and the manga adaptation drawn by character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto ran in Kadokawa's magazines; by 2012 its cumulative circulation had passed 23 million copies, and volume 13 was released simultaneously in 14 countries and regions.[5](https://30th.evangelion.jp/our_gratitude) • [7](https://group.kadokawa.co.jp/documents/topics/20121030.pdf) [Home video](https://www.edgepedia.org/home-video) has been reissued repeatedly, including a 2019 Blu-ray Box Standard Edition containing the 26-episode HD-remastered series plus the video-format versions of episodes 21 through 24.[15](https://www.evangelion.jp/ng.html)
A complete remake, the *Rebuild of Evangelion* film series produced by Anno's studio Khara, began in 2007 and concluded with *Evangelion: 3.0+1.0*, released on March 8, 2021.[8](https://www.tfm.co.jp/company/pdf/news_9999fae315500bbe1b6684864087e8d26989c89f5400a.pdf) The original series has remained in circulation on streaming services, where the TV series and the 1997 films are available alongside the Rebuild films.[16](https://www.evangelion.jp/od.html)
The 30th anniversary of the October 4, 1995 premiere fell in 2025. The anniversary year brought a commemorative logo drawn by mechanical designer Ikuto Yamashita, a monthly revival screening of all six theatrical films from October 2025 to February 2026, a Blu-ray movie collection released December 10, 2025, and the festival event EVANGELION:30+; 30th ANNIVERSARY OF EVANGELION at Yokohama Arena from February 21 to 23, 2026, where a completely new anime series was announced.[9](https://www.evangelion.jp/news/250411-2/) • [17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR-tAu87wD8) • [18](https://www.evangelion.jp/news/260223-1/)
## Legacy
Thirty years on, the series is still described as a turning point in Japanese animation, praised for its psychological depiction and experimental direction, and it continues to receive high marks from both critics and general viewers.[19](https://yomiani.com/article/evangelion-review) Its theme song "[A Cruel Angel's Thesis](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-cruel-angels-thesis)" (残酷な天使のテーゼ), sung by Yoko Takahashi, remains closely identified with the franchise; the 30th-anniversary radio program FM EVA 30.0 opened with Takahashi as its first guest, and the anniversary year included a vinyl release of her Evangelion songs with jacket art by Ikuto Yamashita.[20](https://30th.evangelion.jp/) The TV series itself has been rebroadcast repeatedly since 1995, including HD-remastered airings on three Kanto-area stations in 2020 and anniversary reruns on regional stations in 2026.[21](https://www.evangelion.jp/news/neongenesis_tv/) • [22](https://www.evangelion.jp/news/260318-1/)
## References
1. [Higashi, Hiroki. Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion, ICC (NTT InterCommunicationCenter)](https://www.ntticc.or.jp/pub/ic_mag/ic018/intercity/higashi_J.html)
2. [Kim, article on Neon Genesis Evangelion and the dissolution of the modern family, KCI](https://kci.go.kr/kciportal/landing/article.kci?arti_id=ART002994103)
3. [Neon Genesis Evangelion, Disney+ (Japan) program page](https://www.disneyplus.com/ja-jp/browse/entity-999ab7f8-212e-4ff7-95e1-bb8e97e29d16?msockid=3d627b218e3b600e17316dab8f406102)
4. [Neon Genesis Evangelion, Kansai TV program page](https://www.ktv.jp/evangelion/)
5. [EVANGELION 30th Anniversary special site, 30th anniversary greeting](https://30th.evangelion.jp/our_gratitude)
6. [Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion, Movie Criticism Library](https://movie.hojiroblog.com/movies/the-end-of-evangelion/)
7. [Kadokawa Group news release, October 30, 2012](https://group.kadokawa.co.jp/documents/topics/20121030.pdf)
8. [TOKYO FM news release on the Evangelion 30th anniversary](https://www.tfm.co.jp/company/pdf/news_9999fae315500bbe1b6684864087e8d26989c89f5400a.pdf)
9. [EVANGELION:30+; 30th ANNIVERSARY OF EVANGELION event announcement, evangelion.jp](https://www.evangelion.jp/news/250411-2/)
10. [Fumiya Bunya, Changes in social consciousness in giant robot anime](https://fukujo.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/2000199.1/files/jinbun028013.pdf)
11. [Neon Genesis Evangelion synopsis and review, Reviewne Manga](https://reviewne.jp/contents/802)
12. [Doshisha University graduate thesis detail on Evangelion's enduring appeal](https://ssbdb.doshisha.ac.jp/thesis/thesis_detail.php?id=3289)
13. [Article on otaku representation in Shin Godzilla compared with Evangelion, KCI](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART003297644)
14. [Kenji Nakao, On a world experience of sekai-kei, Journal of Anime Studies](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jasi/26/0/26_0_77/_pdf/-char/ja)
15. [Neon Genesis Evangelion Blu-ray product page, evangelion.jp](https://www.evangelion.jp/ng.html)
16. [Evangelion official site, streaming page](https://www.evangelion.jp/od.html)
17. [EVANGELION 30th MOVIE Fest. 2025-2026 trailer, official YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR-tAu87wD8)
18. [Announcement of a completely new Evangelion series, evangelion.jp](https://www.evangelion.jp/news/260223-1/)
19. [Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Yomiani](https://yomiani.com/article/evangelion-review)
20. [EVANGELION 30th Anniversary special site](https://30th.evangelion.jp/)
21. [TV anime Neon Genesis Evangelion HD-remaster broadcast announcement, evangelion.jp](https://www.evangelion.jp/news/neongenesis_tv/)
22. [TV Aichi anniversary rebroadcast announcement, evangelion.jp](https://www.evangelion.jp/news/260318-1/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Anime and manga › Anime series, episodes, and franchises › Mecha and robot franchise anime*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license