Evangelion is a franchise that began as an original 26 episode anime series titled Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was produced by GAINAX and directed by Hideaki Anno and was originally aired from October 1995 to March 1996. Music for the series was composed by Shiro Sagisu. “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” was used as the opening theme while the ending theme used several variations of “Fly Me to the Moon”. The Evangelion series is widely known for its psychological and often existential style of storytelling. It has gained popularity through the years and spawned countless forms of other media and merchandise. The original series and the first two movies are currently available for streaming through Netflix.
Plot Summary
While there are numerous different universes and continuities within the Evangelion universe, most of them share a few key points with one another. The world of this franchise is usually set in a version of Earth in the “future” (2015, but the series was originally released in 1995) where a significant portion of humanity was wiped out in an event called the “Second Impact”. The protagonist of this story is Shinji Ikari, a timid and self-doubting teenager that is called to Tokyo-3 by his father - the commander of a special agency named NERV - to pilot a biological robot called an Evangelion Unit. These Evangelion Units are the only weapons that are effective when it comes to destroying Angels - strange, otherworldly beings that often have unbelievably destructive power. Risking his own life to protect humanity proves to be incredibly stressful for the young boy, and his struggles become the main focus for many entries in the franchise.
Characters
Shinji Ikari: The protagonist of the series. He is suddenly thrown into a harsh world where everyone expects him to pilot Eva-01 even though he doesn’t want to. Shinji often thinks that he doesn’t have any choice but to pilot Eva-01, as he keeps being told that he is the only one who can and, without him, many people will be hurt or killed.
Rei Ayanami: The pilot of the prototype unit Eva-00. She is often portrayed as having a very deadpan personality that will agree to anything that is asked of her, but she does have her own desires and opinions, even if she doesn’t want to state them.
Asuka Langley Soryu/Shikinami: The hot-headed pilot from Germany that is in charge of Eva-02. She often likes to show off to others to make herself seem superior.
Misato Katsuragi: The leader of the tactical division of NERV and the effective guardian of both Shinji and Asuka, as she lets them stay at her apartment. Although she is seen as a strict commander, Misato has a goofy and sloppy side that she shows when at home.
Kaworu Nagisa: A young boy designated as the “Fifth Children” (“Children” being the term used to refer to an Eva pilot). He only shows up toward the end of the series, but quickly develops a friendship with Shinji. Unfortunately, he is also an Angel, which leaves Shinji feeling betrayed and confused.
Movies
First Series of Movies
Death & Rebirth: A movie that includes a condensed, re-edited version of the first 24 episodes of the original series (referred to as “Death”) plus a retelling of episode 25 (referred to as “Rebirth”). A complete retelling of the ending was planned, but was split into two movies due to time constraints.
The End of Evangelion: The complete retelling of the ending of the original series. It reuses the last 25 minutes of Death & Rebirth, but includes the second half that was previously absent from the first movie.
Revival of Evangelion: A release that compiles the previous two movies into one.
The Rebuild Movies Series
This series is comprised of four movies and act as a recreation of the Evangelion story on a fundamental level. Many characters and locations develop in significantly different ways when compared to their original counterparts. Although these movies are still directed by Anno, they are produced by Studio Khara, which was founded by Anno in 2006.
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone: This movie acts much like a retelling of the beginning of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Very little is changed in terms of story until the very end, where Kaworu is seen on the moon with a white giant that resembles Lilith.
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance: 2.0 is where the stories between the original series and the Rebuild movies begin to truly diverge. A new character named Mari Illustrious Makinami is introduced. It is also revealed that Asuka’s family name was changed from Soryu to Shikinami for the movie series.
Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo: 3.0 takes place 14 years after the second film, leading to a story that is completely unique when compared to Neon Genesis Evangelion. During this time, Misato, Ritsuko, and many other members of NERV rebelled and are now a part of an organization called Wille.
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: The final movie in the Rebuild series. It is currently unreleased (as of January 2020), but its first screening is scheduled for June 27th, 2020.
Other Media
Video Games
A variety of video games have been released since Neon Genesis Evangelion began airing in 1995. The genres of these games can range from cute point-and-click games, to arcade-style fighters, to visual novels with original stories. The following list highlights a few particularly notable Evangelion games that have been released.
Neon Genesis Evangelion: 1st Impression: An FMV game developed for the Sega Saturn. Its story is set right after Asuka arrives in Japan. An Angel designed specifically for this game appears and steals Shinji’s memories. A sequel titled Neon Genesis Evangelion: 2nd Impression was also released later.
Girlfriend of Steel/Iron Maiden: A visual novel that introduces a new character named Mana Kirishima, who becomes the main romantic interest for Shinji.
Neon Genesis Evangelion 2: A game developed for PS2 and PSP that focuses much more on interacting with characters rather than battling Angels. Hideaki Anno was also extensively interviewed during the development of the game, which resulted in unlockable “Classified Information” files that explained various aspects of the Evangelion universe that were previously unknown.
Manga
The franchise has also spawned several published manga series. The official manga was created by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and contains 97 chapters over 14 volumes. While the series starts out much like the original anime, many differences began to pile up as the publication continued, leading it to be considered a separate continuity. Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days is another manga created by Fumino Hayashi and based on the video game Girlfriend of Steel 2nd/Iron Maiden the 2nd. An original spin-off manga titled Petit Eva: Evangelion@School was also written by Ryusuke Hamamoto. It is drawn in a chibi-style and has a lighthearted, slapstick tone.
Merchandise and Collaborations
Since the Evangelion series became such a hit, an incredible variety of collaborations and merchandise were created and are still in development today. Many kinds of figures, model kits, clothes, and art books can be found both online and in anime merchandise stores. On the other hand, Evangelion collaborated with other well-known franchises like Godzilla and New Balance to create special events and products. A number of other video games like Valkyrie Connect and Phantasy Star Online 2 have also collaborated with Evangelion to have characters from the series appear in their respective games.
Table of Contents
Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo is the third of four movies in the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series. This series acts as a recreation of the Neon Genesis Evangelion story on a fundamental level and has major differences when compared to the original in both story, characters...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 is the fourth and final entry the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series. This series acts as a recreation of the Neon Genesis Evangelion story on a fundamental level and has major differences when compared to the original in both story, characters, and developmen...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Hideaki Anno (born May 22, 1960) is one of Japan’s leading animators who was born in Ube, in Yamaguchi Prefecture. He is famous around the world for being the creator of the Evangelion series and franchise that was a huge hit domestically and globally. In addition to animation he...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
GAINAX is a Japanese anime production company co-founded by Hideaki Anno and successful in the release of anime works such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Gunbuster, FLCL, Gurren Lagann and more. Most widely-known as the anime studio that started the ...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Tatsunoko Productions is a Japanese animation company located in Tokyo Japan, founded in 1962 by Tatsuo Yoshida and his brothers Kenji and Ippei (also known as Ippei Kuru). The studio has a long history and is said to be one of the anime pioneers with works including Japanese hou...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Shiro Sagisu (born August 29, 1957) is a famous Japanese music producer, composer and orchestrator. He is from Setagaya in Tokyo. Sagisu is currently the president of P Productions an anime and special effects production company that was founded in the late 1960’s by his father, ...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Khara, Inc, is the Japanese animation studio known for the Rebuild of Evangelion film franchise. The studio was founded by the creator of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series, Hideaki Anno in May of 2006, and was made public when the studio posted job openings for th...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (born January 29, 1962) is a Japanese illustrator and manga artist born in Tokushima city, Yamaguchi prefecture. He has a number of members in his family that work in the anime industry. His wife is the manga artist, Takaha Mako. His cousin is Tomoshi Sadamoto,...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Fumino Hayashi (born January 23, year unknown) is a Japanese manga artist from Fukui prefecture. She is especially known for the manga, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days. In 1995, she won the first “ENIX 21st century Manga Encouragement Grand Prize”. Then she made her major m...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Maki Ozora is a graphical artist that currently works on video games published by Spike-Chunsoft. She is also a self-published manga artist and illustrator. Most notably, she is an artist that worked on part of the Evangelion spin-off manga series Petit Eva: Evangelion@School. Se...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Ming Ming is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator that has worked on things from original manga to illustrations for written books. Although Ming Ming used to be active, the last noted work was published in 2015. Their most notable work is likely Neon Genesis Evangelion: Campu...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Since the release of Neon Genesis Evangelion, numerous video games based on the series have been developed and released on many different platforms including the Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64 PS2, PSP, Windows PC, and more. Similarly, the genre of these games can range anywhere from c...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Neon Genesis Evangelion 1st Impression is the first Evangelion video game ever released. It was originally developed for the Sega Saturn and launched on March 1st, 1996, but was later remade into an interactive DVD in 2004.
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Neon Genesis Evangelion: 2nd Impression is a video game based on the Neon Genesis Evangelion series. This game is a sequel to Neon Genesis Evangelion: 1st Impression and was developed for the Sega Saturn and released on March 7th, 1997. Like its predecessor, the game mainly uses ...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel is a video game created by GAINAX following the Neon Genesis Evangelion timeline also known to Evangelion fans as ‘Iron Maiden’. The original game was released officially only in Japan for Windows PC in 1997. It was also released on Se...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Neon Genesis Evangelion 64 is a video game released in 1999 only in Japan for the Nintendo 64 console created by Bandai. The game is a single player action game based on the Evangelion TV anime series and the animated film The End of Evangelion. The game plays through the story t...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 is a single player role-playing game with elements of a dating and raising sim for the PlayStation 2 console based on the Evangelion TV anime series. Developed by Alfa System and published by Bandai in 2003. The game allows users to experience the Evange...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Raising Project is a dating and raising type game based on the Evangelion anime series produced by GAINAX for the PC in 2004. A manga with the same name based on the game was released in 2005. The plot of the game is set as the expansion of t...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel 2 (Iron Maiden the 2nd) is a video game released in 2003, the sequel to the first of the series, Girlfriend of Steel/Iron Maiden. Developed by GAINAX and published by Broccoli. A similar visual novel style of gameplay, and despite bein...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Secret of Evangelion is a video game that was developed by Cyber Front and released for PlayStation 2 in December 2006, then later ported to PlayStation Portable and Windows on June 28th, 2007. The PSP version of the game also had a limited edition release that sold for a suggest...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Detective Evangelion is a PS2 video game that was developed by game studio Broccoli and released exclusively in Japan on January 18th, 2007. Three versions of the game were released: a standard version (sold for 7,140 yen), a premium edition (sold for 8,190 yen), and a “premium b...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Evangelion: Battle Orchestra is a fighting game that was developed by the game studio Broccoli based on the Evangelion anime series. The game was originally released for the PlayStation 2 on June 28th, 2007. It would later be adapted and released again on the PlayStation Portable...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Puchi Eva: Evangelion @ Game is a video game that is based on the spin-off 4-koma manga, Petit Eva: Evangelion @ School written by Maki Ozora. Another similar manga was created by Ryusuke Hamamoto. Much like the manga it is based on, many of the characters from the original serie...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Evangelion: Jo is a 3D Mecha-style action game that was produced by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was originally released for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable on June 4th, 2009 and sold at a suggested retail price of 6,090 yen. It shares the Japanese title of the first Reb...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
“A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” is a J-Pop song that was used as the opening theme for the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. Together with the anime series, this opening theme become an iconic song within the anime and otaku community in the 90’s and is still popular today.
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
“Fly Me to the Moon” is a song that was originally written by Bart Howard in 1954 and was selected to be the ending theme for the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. One particular noteworthy trait of this ending theme is that each episode used a different variation of ...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
The original music for the soundtrack of Neon Genesis Evangelion was composed mainly by Shiro Sagisu, who has also worked on other popular anime series like Bleach, Magi, and SSSS.Gridman. For his work on the Neon Genesis Evangelion, he received an award for “Best Music Score” in...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
The Neon Genesis Evangelion manga is a series illustrated and written by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto based on the original anime series of the same name. Published by Kadokawa Shoten, the manga series initially started from Shonen Ace in December 1994 and concluded in November 2014. The m...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days is a Japanese manga created by Fumino Hayashi based on the original Evangelion anime and is a spin-off of the video game Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel 2nd. Serialization of the Manga is by Kadokawa Shoten in Monthly Asuka from ...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Petit Eva: Evangelion@School is a super cute deformed parody-style manga based on the Evangelion anime series. The manga was illustrated by Ryusuke Hamamoto and Maki Ozora and first published by Kadokawa Shoten in Shonen Ace. Petit Eva consisted of 3 volumes and ran from May 26, ...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
The Evangelion franchise has grossed more than ¥150 billion by 2007 in the Japanese and global markets just with merchandise and goods. Fans of the Evangelion series have been blessed with a variety of merchandise, from Evangelion model kits to character action figures. In additi...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Neon Genesis Evangelion was one of the most popular mecha robot anime series of the 1990s. The human-like Evangelion Units became iconic robots in a time flooded with robot-based animes. To celebrate the release of the Evangelion movies that followed the TV anime series, Ikuto Ya...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Like with other popular mecha series, Evangelion has merchandise that closely resemble “Gunpla” from the Gundam series. These models look like a standard character figure when completed, but they require an intense amount of assembly and, in some cases, painting and decal applica...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Revoltech is a line of Japanese action figures that utilizes a special ‘Revolver Joint’ in the frame. This unique joint enables an action figure to have a wide range of motion and stability. Providing the action figure owner the ability to create a variety of dynamic poses. Revol...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
The Evangelion franchise has a wide range of merchandise. From fully detailed action figures to cute character toys. Here are a variety of different Evangelion toys that would be popular for all ages and fans.
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
The Evangelion franchise has made millions through Evangelion merchandise, toys and related goods on a global scale. The famous mecha Evangelion Units and pilots Shinji, Asuka and Rei are iconic in the global anime community.
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a Japanese anime TV series first aired in 1995 which received worldwide recognition and fame. The Evangelion Unit mecha robots mainly designed by Ikuto Yamashita became classic figures in the anime mecha scene. Also, the main characters designed by Yosh...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
The rise in the popularity of Neon Genesis Evangelion led to an incredible amount of merchandise and other goods being produced and sold all throughout Japan. Of course, this included figures and DVD sets like any other popular series, but the merchandise market Evangelion took a...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
The success of the Evangelion from the anime, manga, and merchandise made a significant impact on the Japanese popular culture. The series had a strong influence on the anime industry when it aired, which made a difference not only in the production for Japanese animation but als...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
The Evangelion franchise has a wide range of novelty merchandise available on the market. From interior design goods such as wallpaper, door mats, cushions to handheld daily goods such as pocket watches, mugs and iphone cases. Here are a variety of different Evangelion novelty me...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Like with many popular anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion released its original soundtrack composed by Shiro Sagisu on CD. As more entries into the series were released, like The End of Evangelion or the Rebuild series, more CD releases would follow. Various other compilation ...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
From the time that the Evangelion anime series aired on Japanese television in 1995 up until the newest Evangelion movie Evangelion Rebuild 3.0+1.0 in 2020 more than two decades have passed. Within this time Evangelion fans have been able to enjoy their favorite anime series at h...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
On October 12 2018, the Evangelion franchise teamed up with the world famous shoe brand New Balance and released a limited edition line of Evangelion ‘Fresh Foam Cruz’ design sneakers. The line consisted of 3 different designs, each based on characters and places significant to t...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D is an amusement park attraction that created the world’s first collaboration between two major Japanese production franchises, Godzilla and Evangelion. This Godzilla vs Evangelion ride is an interactive 4D attraction released only at the Univ...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
The Evangelion Bar named ‘Evangelion Sakaba’ is an Evangelion themed bar restaurant that is open for limited periods of time as a campaign. This campaign is in collaboration with the official Evangelion goods store in Tokyo called ‘EVANGELION STORE TOKYO-01’.
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
The [Neon Genesis Evangelion] (/otapedia/anime/neon_genesis_evangelion/) 500-series bullet train made its debut in November 2015 and made its last trip in May 2018. The train was a themed rendition of the popular 500-series bullet train. It’s Evangelion theming was prevalent thro...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
Evangelion has a significantly large fan base all around the world, and many die-hard fans enjoy creating their own version of Evangelion using through doujinshi, fanart and fanfiction. These creations are unofficial works but provide the creator, writer and fans place to explore...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
When Evangelion fans are looking to completely immerse themselves in to the Evangelion world and want to surround themselves with Evangelion goods, many visit the official Evangelion stores. These official stores are located all around Japan. The main store is based in Ikebukuro ...
Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021
