Neon Genesis Evangelion
Revolutionary mecha anime series that redefined the industry and became a cultural phenomenon.
Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, Shinseiki Evangerion, literally “New Century Evangelion”), also known as Evangelion or Eva, is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and directed by Hideaki Anno. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from 4 October 1995 to 27 March 1996.
The series is set fifteen years after a worldwide cataclysm called Second Impact in the futuristic fortified city of Tokyo-3. The protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy recruited by his father Gendo to the mysterious organisation Nerv. Shinji must pilot an Evangelion, a giant biomechanical mecha, to fight beings known as Angels. The series explores the experiences and emotions of the Evangelion pilots and Nerv members as they battle Angels whilst examining the ultimate cause of events and the motives behind human action.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is widely considered one of the greatest anime series of all time. Regarded as a deconstruction of the mecha genre, the series led to a rebirth of the anime industry and has become a cultural icon. Film, manga, home video, and other products in the Evangelion franchise have achieved record sales in Japanese markets and strong sales in overseas markets, with related goods selling over ¥150 billion by 2007 and Evangelion pachinko machines generating ¥700 billion by 2015.
Synopsis
In 2015, fifteen years after a global cataclysm called the Second Impact, teenager Shinji Ikari is summoned to the futuristic city of Tokyo-3 by his estranged father Gendo Ikari, who is the director of the special paramilitary force Nerv. Shinji witnesses the battle between the Third Angel Sachiel and the United Nations forces, and is recruited to pilot the biomechanical mecha Evangelion Unit-01 to stop the Angel.
Shinji reluctantly agrees and successfully defeats Sachiel, but suffers psychological trauma from the experience. He moves in with Major Misato Katsuragi, the operations director at Nerv, and begins attending school whilst training as an Eva pilot. At Nerv, he meets the enigmatic pilot Rei Ayanami, who pilots Evangelion Unit-00, and later the fiery German pilot Asuka Langley Soryu, who pilots Unit-02.
As more Angels attack Tokyo-3, Shinji and the other pilots are forced into increasingly dangerous battles. The series gradually reveals the conspiracy surrounding the Angels, the true nature of the Evangelions, and the mysterious Human Instrumentality Project. The narrative becomes progressively more psychological and introspective, exploring themes of depression, isolation, identity, and what it means to be human.
The controversial final two episodes abandon conventional narrative in favour of an experimental examination of Shinji’s psyche, leading to the creation of the alternate ending film The End of Evangelion in 1997.
Development
Conception
Director Hideaki Anno fell into a deep depression following the completion of work on Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water and the 1992 failure of the Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise sequel project, Uru in Blue. According to Yasuhiro Takeda, after the failure of Uru in Blue, Anno agreed to a collaboration between King Records and Gainax when he was drinking with King representative Toshimichi Ōtsuki; King Records guaranteed Anno a time slot for “something, anything”.
Anno’s original concept for the series was much darker, with Amuro dying halfway through and the crew of the White Base allying with Char. This idea was later expressed in Anno’s novels and elements were used in subsequent works. Anno wanted to create a story about war and expose its tragic realities, starting with Japan’s aggression in Manchuria in 1939.
Anno has stated that he “packed his frustrations” when making Evangelion and refused to discuss its message, expecting viewers to make their own conclusions. The series incorporated Anno’s personal struggle with depression, which became the main source for the psychological aspects of the characters.
Production
The development of Neon Genesis Evangelion 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.
According to Anno, despite Gainax being the lead studio for the series, the company itself had inadequate materials and staff for the full production. Only three staff members from Gainax were working on the series at any given time, and most of the series’ production was outsourced to Tatsunoko Production.
By the thirteenth episode, “Lilliputian Hitcher”, the series began to deviate significantly from the original story, and the initial project was abandoned. The number of Angels was reduced to seventeen instead of the original twenty-eight. The writers also changed the story’s ending, originally describing the failure of the Human Instrumentality Project after an Angel attack from the Moon.
Production troubles intensified towards the end of the series. Budget constraints and time limitations forced the creative team to abandon their original plans for the final episodes. The final two episodes were created using limited animation, still images, and psychological introspection rather than conventional narrative resolution.