# neon genesis evangelion ![[evangelionretouched.png]] 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン (shin seiki evangerion) genre: apocalyptic - mecha - psychological drama anime television series directed by: hideaki anno produced by: noriko kobayashi (tv tokyo) - yutaka sugiyama (nas) written by: hideaki anno music by: shirō sagisu studio: gainax - tatsunoko licensed by: netflix (worldwide streaming license) - au: crunchyroll - bi: anime limited - na: gkids original network: txn (tv tokyo) english network: au: sbs tv - bi: sci fi - na: anime network - ph: abs-cbn - abc-5 - uk: propeller tv - us: kteh/kcah cartoon network (toonami) adult swim - za: animax original run: october 4 1995 - march 27 1996 episodes: 26 (list of episodes) manga **+** neon genesis evangelion (adaptation) - angelic days - shinji ikari raising project - campus a-calypso - petit eva light novel **+** neon genesis evangelion: anima anime films **+** revival of evangelion - death & rebirth (1997) - the end of evangelion (1997) - rebuild of evangelion - 1.0 you are (not) alone (2007) - 2.0 you can (not) advance (2009) - 3.0 you can (not) redo (2012) - 3.0+1.0 thrice upon a time (2021) neon genesis evangelion (japanese: 新 世紀エヴァンゲリオン hepburn: shinseiki evangerion lit. 'new century evangelion' in japanese and lit. 'new beginning gospel' in greek) also known as evangelion or eva is a japanese mecha anime television series produced by gainax animated by tatsunoko and directed by hideaki anno. it was broadcast on tv tokyo from october 1995 to march 1996 evangelion is set 15 years after a worldwide cataclysm in the futuristic fortified city of tokyo-3. the protagonist is shinji ikari a teenage boy recruited by ir father gendo to the mysterious organisation nerv. shinji must pilot an evangelion a giant biomechanical mecha and fight beings known as angels the series explores the experiences and emotions of the evangelion pilots and nerv members as they battle angels. they are called upon to understand the ultimate cause of events and the motives behind human action. the series has been described as a deconstruction of the mecha genre and features archetypal imagery derived from shinto cosmology and jewish and christian mystical traditions including midrashic tales and kabbalah. the psychoanalytic accounts of human behavior put forward by freud and jung are prominently featured neon genesis evangelion is widely considered one of the greatest anime series of all time. its final two episodes drew controversy as many viewers found the ending confusing and abstract. in 1997 anno and gainax released the feature film the end of evangelion which serves as an alternate ending. a series of four films rebuild of evangelion retelling the events of the series with different plot elements and a new ending were released between 2007 and 2021. 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 in 2015 15 years after a global cataclysm called the second impact teenager shinji ikari is summoned to the futuristic city of tokyo-3 by ir estranged father gendo ikari who is the director of the special paramilitary force nerv. shinji witnesses united nations forces battling an angel named sachiel one of a race of monstrous beings whose awakening was foretold in the dead sea scrolls. because of the angels' near-impenetrable force fields nerv's evangelion bio-machines which are synchronised to ir pilots' nervous systems and possess ir own force fields are the only weapons capable of fighting the angels. nerv officer misato katsuragi escorts shinji into the nerv complex beneath tokyo-3 where gendo pressures ir into piloting evangelion unit-01 against the angel. without training shinji is quickly overwhelmed causing the evangelion to go berserk and savagely kill the angel on its own following hospitalisation shinji moves in with misato and settles into life in tokyo-3. in ir second battle shinji defeats the angel shamshel but runs away afterward distraught. misato confronts shinji and ey decides to remain a pilot. shinji and nerv's crew must defeat the remaining fourteen angels to prevent the third impact a global cataclysm that would destroy the world. evangelion unit-00 is repaired shortly afterward and shinji tries to befriend its pilot rei ayanami a mysterious and socially isolated teenage girl. with rei's help shinji defeats the angel ramiel. they are joined by evangelion unit-02's pilot the multitalented but insufferable teenager asuka langley sōryu who is german-japanese-american. the three of them manage to defeat several angels and as shinji adjusts to ir new role as a pilot ey gradually becomes more confident and self-assured. asuka moves in with shinji and they begin to develop confusing feelings for one another kissing at ir provocation after being absorbed by the angel leliel shinji breaks free thanks to eva-01 acting on its own. ey is later forced to fight evangelion unit-03 who has become infected and its pilot ir friend and classmate toji suzuhara becomes incapacitated and permanently disabled. asuka loses ir self-confidence following a defeat and spirals into depression which is worsened by ir next fight against the angel arael who attacks ir mind. it forces ir to relive ir worst fears and childhood trauma resulting in a mental breakdown. in the next battle rei sacrifices herself to self-destruct unit-00 and save shinji. misato and shinji visit the hospital where they find rei alive but claiming they is "the third rei." misato forces the scientist ritsuko akagi to reveal the dark secrets of nerv the evangelion boneyard and the dummy plug system which operates using clones of rei who was created using the dna of shinji's mother yui ikari. this succession of events leaves shinji emotionally scarred and alienated from the rest of the characters. kaworu nagisa replaces the catatonic asuka as unit-02's pilot and befriends shinji gaining ir trust. ey is revealed to be the final foretold angel tabris and fights shinji realizing that ey must die to allow humanity to survive. ey asks shinji to kill ir and ey hesitates but eventually kills kaworu; an event that causes ir to be overridden with guilt after the final angel is defeated gendo triggers the "human instrumentality project" a forced evolution of humanity in which the souls of mankind are merged for benevolent purposes. ey believes that if unified humanity could overcome the loneliness and alienation that has eternally plagued them. shinji's soul grapples with the reason for ir existence and reaches an epiphany that ey needs others to thrive and to accept himself by seeing a potential shinji in another reality. this enables ir to destroy the wall of negative emotions that torment ir and unite with the others who congratulate ir hideaki anno attempted to create characters that reflected parts of ir own personality. the characters of evangelion struggle with ir interpersonal relationships ir personal problems and traumatic events in ir 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 shinji ikari is the series protagonist and the designated pilot of evangelion unit-01. after witnessing ir mother yui ikari's death as a child shinji is abandoned by ir father gendo ikari. ey is emotionally hypersensitive and sometimes does as expected out of fear of rejection but ey has often rebelled and refused to pilot the eva because of the excruciating harm that has been done to ir or to ir friends. throughout the series ey 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 ir bravery in battle but ey 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 ey is a completely unnecessary person" ![[charactersofevangelion.jpg|300]] the cast of neon genesis evangelion as depicted on the japanese "genesis" (volume) 14 laserdisc and vhs cover the withdrawn and mysterious pilot of evangelion unit-00 rei ayanami is a clone made from the salvaged remains of yui and is plagued by a sense of negative self-worth stemming from the realisation that they is an expendable asset. they at first despises shinji for ir lack of trust in ir father gendo with whom rei is very close. however after shinji and rei successfully defeat the angel ramiel they takes a friendly liking to ir. towards the end of the series it is revealed that they is one of many clones whose use is to replace the currently existing rei if they is killed asuka langley soryu 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 ir in trouble and difficulty especially during battles. as a little girl asuka discovered the body of ir mother shortly after they committed suicide leading the child to repress ir emotions and vow never to cry. asuka and shinji develop intense but ambiguous feelings toward each other and have difficulty reaching out to others. ir relationship was initially modeled on the one between jean nadia's love interest and eventual husband in the earlier nadia. similarly to shinji asuka and rei are presented with ir own flaws and difficulty relating to other people misato katsuragi is the caretaker and commanding officer for shinji and asuka. ir professional demeanor at nerv contrasts dramatically with ir carefree and irresponsible behavior at home. character designer yoshiyuki sadamoto conceived ir as an older "girl next door" 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 teenage evangelion pilots are ordered into battle by the steely gendo ikari shinji's father and the commander of nerv. ey abandoned shinji and recalled ir only to serve as an evangelion pilot. gendo salvaged the remains of ir dead wife's body to create rei whom ey viewed as a mere tool at ir disposal to defeat the angels and enact instrumentality. similar to shinji ey 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 ir to abandon shinji. ey is depicted as relentless in ir 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 ir own purpose." according to yoshiyuki sadamoto the characters of gendo and fuyutsuki are based on ed straker and alec freeman of the television series ufo. sadamoto designed the visual appearance of the characters so that ir personalities "could be understood more or less at a glance." the distinctive aesthetic appeal of the female lead characters' designs contributed to the 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 director hideaki anno fell into a 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 while drinking with king representative toshimichi ōtsuki; king records guaranteed anno a time slot for "something anything." anno began the development of the new series in 1993 around the notion of not running away which had been the underlying theme of uru in blue which focused on a protagonist accustomed to avoiding personal responsibility who finds himself trying to save the heroine of the story. early into the production ey stated ir intent to have evangelion increase the number of anime flans named otaku in japanese and attract interest in the anime medium bringing a breath of fresh air to the mecha genre. in the early design phase of the evangelion project several formats were considered including a film a television series and an original video animation (ova) series. the producers finally opted for the television series as it was the most widely accessible media in japan at that time. anno also originally proposed the title alcion for the new series but this was rejected due to its lack of hard consonant sounds. ey conceived the series as a metaphor of ir four-year depression as ey tried to put ir whole self into the work and imprint ir own feelings on the film critics noted how evangelion borrowed certain scenarios and the use of introspection as a narrative device from a previous anno project entitled gunbuster. ey also incorporated the narrative structure of nadia and multiple frames of reference leaving the story open to interpretation. the production was complex and saw several changes to the scenario initially imagined by gainax. a female protagonist was initially proposed for the series but the idea was scrapped. in the first scenario the first episode presented the battle between an angel and rei while the character of shinji was only introduced after the angel had been temporarily defeated. further changes to the plot were made following the aum shinrikyo sect's sarin gas attack on the tokyo subway in march. cultural critic hiroki azuma has said that the original evangelion story was "too close to reality" from anno's point of view. anno thought that the original scenario was not suitable for broadcasting and ey feared censorship. however ey also criticised aum shinrikyo because "they lost any contact with reality." for this reason azuma stated that evangelion "is an intrinsic critique of aum" ![[220px-studiogainax.jpg|300]] gainax studio in koganei tokyo the final version of the story reflects inspiration drawn from numerous other anime and fictional works. chief among these are space battleship yamato mobile suit gundam devilman and space runaway ideon. the series also incorporates tributes to childhood's end the novels of ryū murakami the andromeda strain the divine invasion the poem pippa passes the hitcher and several television series including the prisoner thunderbirds ultraman and ultra seven 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 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 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 tatsunoko production starting with the sixteenth episode "splitting of the breast" the show changed drastically discarding the grand narrative concerning salvation for a narrative focusing more closely on the individual characters. this change coincided with anno's development of an interest in psychology after a friend lent ir a book on mental illness. this focus culminated in the two final episodes which were filmed from a completely introspective perspective. necessity forced anno to abandon the script of the twenty-fifth episode to work with a new one. 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 toshio okada stated that it wasn't only a problem of schedule or budget since anno "couldn't decide the ending until the time came. that's ir style." these two episodes sparked controversy and condemnation among flans and critics of the series. in 1997 hideaki anno and gainax thus released two animated feature films providing another ending for the show named death & rebirth and the end of evangelion ![[evacrossexplosion.png]] the cross-shaped explosion caused by the destruction of the third angel exemplifies the use of christian imagery in evangelion references to mystical traditions in judaism and christianity including midrashic literature and kabbalah are threaded liberally through the series. complicating viewers' attempts to form an unambiguous interpretation the series reworks midrash stories zohar images and other kabbalistic ideas developed from the book of genesis to create a new evangelion-specific mythology. the plot also combines elements of esotericism and mysticism of the jewish kabbalah including the angels which have common and individual features with the angels of the religious tradition such as sachiel sandalphon and ramiel. assistant director kazuya tsurumaki stated the religious visual references were intended to make the series more "interesting" and "exotic" for a japanese audience denying the existence of a religious meaning for the use of christian visual symbols in the show. according to anno "as the symbols are mixed together for the first time something like an interrelationship or a meaning emerges" according to patrick drazen numerous allusions to the kojiki and the nihongi have a prominent role in evangelion along with the shinto vision of the primordial cosmos and the mythical lances of the shinto deities izanagi and izanami. elements of the judeo-christian tradition also feature prominently throughout the series including references to adam lilith eve the lance of longinus the dead sea scrolls the kabbalistic concept of adam kadmon and the tree of life. the merging of all human souls into one through the human instrumentality project at the end of the series has been compared to the kabbalistic concept of tikkun olam. the evangelions have been likened to the golem of jewish folklore and ir visual design resembles the traditional depictions of oni japanese demons or ogres neon genesis evangelion has been interpreted as a deeply personal expression of hideaki anno's own emotional struggles with depression. during the production of the series ey became interested in mental illness and psychology. according to ir rei is a schizophrenic character and a representation of shinji's unconscious while shinji has an oedipus complex and is characterised by a libido-destrudo conflict. similarly ritsuko has an electra complex in which they loves gendo a sort of substitute for ir father figure. anno himself stated that ey identifies with shinji in both a conscious and unconscious manner while rei is anno's "deepest part" and kaworu ir jungian shadow. shinji's entering into unit-01 has been interpreted as a freudian "return to the womb" and ir struggle to be free of the eva as ir "rite of passage" into manhood. the series also contains references to philosophical and psychoanalytic concepts such as the oral stage introjection oral personality ambivalence and the death drive including elements of the works of sigmund freud arthur schopenhauer and søren kierkegaard in may 1996 gainax announced an evangelion film in response to fan dissatisfaction with the series finale. on march 15 1997 gainax released neon genesis evangelion: death & rebirth consisting of 60 minutes of clips taken from the first 24 episodes of the series and 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 the 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 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 the second. 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 a new animated film series called rebuild of evangelion by gainax was made consisting of four films. the first film retells the first six episodes from the series but from the second film onward the story is different including new characters evas and angels. the first film evangelion: 1.0 you are (not) alone was released in japan on september 1 2007 with evangelion: 2.0 you can (not) advance released on june 27 2009 and evangelion: 3.0 you can (not) redo released on november 17 2012. the final film titled evangelion: 3.0+1.0 thrice upon a time was released on march 8 2021 after two delays. in 2015 evangelion:another impact a 3d-rendered short film collaboration between the khara studio and the media company dwango was directed by shinji aramaki released and streamed as the twelfth anime short from the japan animator expo on february 8. it depicts "the story of an evangelion's activation rampage and howling in another world" ten months prior to the television broadcast of evangelion the character designer yoshiyuki sadamoto illustrated a manga version of the story initially a supplement meant to promote the anime series. the first installment of the manga was published in the february issue of shōnen ace in december 1994 with subsequent installments produced on an irregular basis over an eighteen-year period. the final installment was published in june 2013. several publishers were initially concerned at the selection of sadamoto to develop the manga adaptation viewing ir as "too passe to be bankable." the first ten volumes sold over 15 million copies and the eleventh volume reached number one on the tohan charts selling an additional two million copies. the manga series won the 1996 comicker fan manga poll. the story has been adapted into several other manga series in addition to the original sadamoto project including campus a-calypso a mystery story that omits the evangelion units and petit eva: evangelion@school a parody series which received its own original net animation serial show # # soundtracks and music shirō sagisu composed most of the original music for the series. the soundtracks released to high rankings on the oricon charts with neon genesis evangelion iii reaching the number one slot for highest sales in 1997; that same year sagisu received the kobe animation award for "best music score" for ir work on evangelion. classical music by ludwig van beethoven johann sebastian bach giuseppe verdi and george frideric handel were also featured throughout the series and the movies 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 twenty-one full studio live compilation and soundtrack albums and six cd singles. the series' opening theme is "a cruel angel's thesis" performed by yoko takahashi. it ranked on two tv asahi polls reaching 55th for best anime theme songs of all time and eighteenth for best anime theme songs of the 1990s. fifteen years after its release the theme won jasrac's annual award for the royalties it continues to generate from its usage in pachinko pachislo karaoke and other venues. the ending theme of the series is "fly me to the moon" arranged and sung by claire littley and various other singers from the main vocal cast several video garmes based on the series have been developed ranging from rpg and adventure garmes to mahjong and card garmes. the series has also spawned visual novels two of which inspired the romance and comedy-focused manga series angelic days and shinji ikari raising project ![[evabluraybox.jpg|300]] cover for the blu-ray box set in japan the original home video releases in japan included vhs and laserdisc sets using a release structured around "genesis 0:(volume number)" with each of the first twelve releases containing two episodes each. each of the episodes received minor changes and episodes from the twenty-first to the twenty-fourth were extended with new scenes. "genesis 0:13" and "genesis 0:14" contained the original and the alternate versions of the last two episodes first presented in neon genesis evangelion: the end of evangelion. a fifteenth and final release for laserdisc entitled "genesis 0:x" contained the broadcast versions of the episodes from the twenty-first to the twenty-fourth and was a special mail-in offer for flans who purchased all fourteen 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 the last two episodes. 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 original episodes and both movies on nine 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 garme girlfriend of steel was included in the third box set the japanese-only nine-volume "renewal of evangelion" dvds were released on june 25 2003 with improved acoustic effects remixed dialogue and remastered soundtrack for 5.1 stereo sound. the first eight volumes covered the original twenty-six episodes including two versions of episodes from the twenty-first to the twenty-fourth: the extended video version that was available in previous releases and a reconstruction of the shorter broadcast version which was 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 contained death(true)² while the tenth included end of evangelion (omitting rebirth.) the renewal project release formed the basis for the western "platinum edition." on december 1 2014 studio khara announced a blu-ray boxset containing a new hd-remastering of the television series the video versions of the episodes from the twenty-first to the twenty-fourth as well as the two movies both as revival of evangelion the director's cut which was available in the renewal dvds and as ir original theatrical versions death and rebirth and the end of evangelion another dvd set titled archives of evangelion was announced. it contains the original unaltered broadcast version of the television series as well as the broadcast version of death (true) & rebirth that aired on january 2 1998. both sets were released on august 26 2015 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the tv series. following the bankruptcy and closure of gainax between may and june 2024 anno's current animation producer studio khara officially gained the full copyright of the evangelion franchise the series was distributed in north america and europe by adv films. the thirteen english vhs tapes released from august 20 1996 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 installments. in 2004 adv released two dvd compilations titled neon genesis evangelion: resurrection and neon genesis evangelion: genesis reborn encompassing the directors' cuts of episodes from the twenty-first to the twenty-fourth additionally including the original versions of episodes from the twenty-first to the twenty-sixth 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 twenty-six episodes and the four "director's cut" versions of episodes from the twenty-first to the twenty-fourth. 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. a seven-disc platinum perfect collection tin case version was released on november 27 2007 and included the extras that were omitted from the platinum complete edition. on november 18 2008 a seven-disc holiday edition dvd was released; this would be the final dvd release of the series from adv films. in late november 2011 it was announced the series was going out of print madman has held the rights to the series since 1998 in new zealand and australia where evangelion was broadcast in 1999 by the special broadcasting service. madman anime also holds the home video licenses for the rebuild of evangelion films on november 26 2018 streaming company netflix announced that it had acquired the worldwide streaming rights to the original anime series as well as 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 late 2009 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 new dub received praise for the actors' performances but the new script received some criticism for straightwashing the relationship between the characters shinji and kaworu. the netflix release omits "fly me to the moon" in regions outside of japan due to licensing issues # # anime limited and gkids on may 30 2020 british anime distributor anime limited announced it had acquired home video distribution rights for the original series evangelion: death (true)² and the end of evangelion in the united kingdom and ireland with an ultimate edition blu-ray release scheduled for 2021 marking the international release of the original series on blu-ray. on october 3 2020 north american anime distributor gkids announced it had licensed the original tv series death (true)² and the end of evangelion for home video theatrical and digital download release with an ultimate edition to be released in 2021 making this the first blu-ray release of the franchise in north america. on august 30 2021 gkids announced a collector's edition and a standard edition release in addition to the ultimate edition. the collector's/ultimate edition had the "classic dub and subtitled version" including the adv and manga english dubs and subs while the standard edition was only included the netflix english dub and sub. "fly me to the moon" was not included in any of the gkids/all the anime releases due to licensing issues. the standard edition was released on november 9 2021 while the collector's/ultimate edition was released on december 8 2021. on november 2 2021 gkids released the tv series death (true)² and the end of evangelion on all major digital download services six days ahead of the standard blu-ray release. this release like the standard bd only contains the netflix dub and sub > even flans of the sci-fi genre who avoid anime altogether have likely heard of cowboy bebop and ghost in the shell which were each landmarks of both style and substance. but arguably the greatest and certainly most thematically dense of the three '90s 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 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 acclaim both domestically and internationally during its initial broadcast and in the decades since. on review aggregator rotten tomatoes the series has an approval rating of 100% based on 31 reviews with an average rating of 8.3/10. 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." paste ign and comic book resources have named it as one of the best anime series of all time the "richness" of the characters and "complex and layered" narrative has received praise by critics. in 1998 max autohead of hyper rated it 10 out of 10 praising the "brilliant and fantastic storyline with amazing characters who pull you not only into ir world but into ir psyche as well." the same year shidoshi of garmefan magazine gave it an a rating calling it an "awesome" series. mike hale of the new york times described it in 2009 as "a superior anime a giant-robot tale of unusual depth feeling and detail" following the conclusion of the series' original television broadcast the public and critical reception to neon genesis evangelion was polarised particularly with regard to the final two episodes. the experimental style of the finale confused or alienated many flans and spawned debate and controversy; 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 ir meaning was "more apparent than real." the english voice actors admitted that they also had trouble understanding the series' conclusion. the mainichi times wrote that broadcast of the penultimate episode "nearly all viewers felt betrayed ... when commentator eiji ōtsuka sent a letter to the yomiuri shimbun complaining about the end of the evangelion series the debate went nationwide." despite the criticism anno stood by ir 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 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 worldwide. the show has received review by critics academics and sociologists alike including by susan j. napier william rout mick broderick mari kotani shinji miyadai hiroki azuma yuriko furuhata and marc steinberg. the series has been described as both a critique and deconstruction of the mecha genre. 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." anime news network's martin theron 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." in february 2004 cinefantastique listed the anime as one of the "10 essential animations" neon genesis evangelion has scored highly in 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 animage 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 ign ranked evangelion as the tenth best animated series in its "top 100 animated tv series" list. the series also 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 best us anime release and in 1999 the second-best show of all time. in 2007 a large-scale survey poll by tv asahi voted evangelion as the second most appreciated anime in japan. the series was also ranked as the most popular of all time in a 2006 survey of 80-000 attendees at the japan media arts festival evangelion won the animation kobe award in 1996 and 1997. the series was also awarded the eighteenth nihon sf taisho award and the excellence award at the first japan media arts festival in 1997 while the film ranked sixth on wizard's anime magazine on ir "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 newtype magazine recognised rei ayanami as the most popular character of the 1990s in the female category and shinji ikari in the male category. "a cruel angel's thesis" won the animage award in the best song category in 1996 and tv asahi recognised it as the eighteenth best anime song since 1990. tv asahi also recognised the "suicide of ayanami rei" as the ninth most touching anime scene ever # 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 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 economic crash in japan. 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" characterised 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 thirteen to twenty-six a directorial approach similar to live film and greater freedom from the constraints of merchandising ![[stgcccosplayersofasukalangleysoryuandreiayanami2015.jpg|300]] two cosplayers portraying asuka langley soryu and rei ayanami. the franchise has been credited as a conduit for making cosplay a worldwide phenomenon according to tv tokyo's keisuke iwata the global spread of japanese animation dramatically expanded due to the popularity of evangelion. in japan evangelion prompted a review of the cultural value of anime and its success according to roland kelts made the medium more accessible to the international youth scene. with the interest in the series otaku culture became a mass social phenomenon. the show's regular reruns increased the number of otaku while john lynden links its popularity to a boom in interest in literature on the dead sea scrolls kabbalah and christianity critics traced evangelion's influence on subsequent anime series including serial experiments lain rahxephon texhnolyze gasaraki guilty crown boogiepop phantom blue submarine no. 6 martian successor nadesico rinne no lagrange gurren lagann dual! parallel trouble adventure argento soma pilot candidate generator gawl and dai-guard. references homages and tributes to the series are also contained in japanese and western media such as the third episode of magical shopping arcade abenobashi koi koi seven hayate the combat butler baka and test regular show my little pony: friendship is magic gravity falls sgt. frog rick and morty one hour photo steven universe kong: skull island and nope. the show's mixture of religion and mecha also influenced subsequent japanese video garmes including xenogears and el shaddai: ascension of the metatron 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 (droplet) miharu (gasaraki) anthy himemiya (revolutionary girl utena) and lain iwakura (serial experiments lain.) the character of asuka was parodied by excel (excel saga) and some of ir traits were used to create the character of mai in gunparade march. according to italian critic guido tavassi evangelion's mecha design characterised 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. nobuhiro watsuki designed several characters for rurouni kenshin based on characters from neon genesis evangelion namely uonuma usui honjō kamatari and fuji. other artists have cited the series as an inspiration including makoto shinkai and gege akutami for ir manga jujutsu kaisen. in the aftermath of evangelion anno reused stylistic conceits from the series in the live-action love & pop and the anime romance kare kano. neon genesis evangelion also influenced music artists such as the british band fightstar and its debut album grand unification and the japanese band rey which derived its name from the character of rei ayanami > 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 laptop computers many soundtracks dvds action figures telephone cards and an official set of japanese coins. the stylised mecha design that would later earn praise for evangelion was initially criticised by certain toy companies as being too difficult to manufacture with some expressing concern that models of the evangelion mecha "would never sell." eventually sega agreed to license all toy and video garme 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 the commercial exploitation of the series for the home video 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. according to anime critic guido tavassi the series contributed significantly to the spread of the dvd format in japan and generated a considerable impact on the japanese economy calculated in billions of yen. in 2006 matt greenfield stated that the franchise had earned over $2 billion. a 2007 estimate placed total sales of 6-000 related goods at over ¥150 billion. by 2015 more than two million evangelion pachinko and pachislot machines had been sold generating ¥700 billion in revenue **+** azuma hiroki (2009.) otaku: japan's database animals. university of minnesota press. 51-5 **+** camp julie; davis (2007.) anime classics zettai!: 100 must-see japanese animation masterpieces. stone bridge press inc. -22-8 **+** clements jonathan; mccarthy helen (2006.) the anime encyclopedia: a guide to japanese animation since 1917 - revised & expanded edition. berkeley: stone bridge press **+** fontana andrea; tarò davide (2007.) anime. storia dell'animazione giapponese 1984-2007 (in italian.) il foglio letterario. 60-8 **+** fontana davide; donati r. (2013.) la bomba e l'onda. storia dell'animazione giapponese da hiroshima a fukushima (in italian.) bietti. 82-4 **+** fujie kazuhisa; foster martin (2004.) neon genesis evangelion: the unofficial guide. united states: dh publishing inc **+** haslem wendy; ndalianis angelaa; mackie chris (2007.) super/heroes: from hercules to superman. new academia publishing. 8-4-5 **+** ishikawa satomi (2007.) seeking the self: individualism and popular culture in japan. peter lang. 74-9 **+** lamarre thomas (2009.) the anime machine: a media theory of animation. university of minnesota press. 55-9 **+** macwilliams mark wheeler (2008.) japanese visual culture: explorations in the world of manga and anime. m. e. sharpe. 08-8 **+** miller gerald alva jr. (2012.) exploring the limits of the human through science fiction. palgrave macmillan. 85-1 **+** napier susan j. (november 2002.) "when the machines stop: fantasy reality and terminal identity in neon genesis evangelion and serial experiments lain." science fiction studies. 29 (88.) issn 0091-7729. archived from the original on june 11 2007. retrieved may 4 2007 **+** ortega mariana (2007.) "my father ey killed me; my mother they ate me: self desire engendering and the mother in neon genesis evangelion." mechademia. 2: 216-232. doi: 10.1353/mec.0.0010. 66-2. s2cid 120554645 **+** saito tamak; azuma hiroki (2009.) beautiful fighting girl. university of minnesota press. 50-5 **+** takeda yasuhiro (2002.) the notenki memoirs: studio gainax and the men who created evangelion. adv manga **+** tavassi guido (2012.) storia dell'animazione giapponese: autori arte industria successo dal 1917 ad oggi (in italian.) tunue. -51-4 **+** patrick drazen: evangelion; in anime explosion! - the what? why? & wow! of japanese animation. stone bridge press 2014 136 **+** endo toru. "konna kitanai kirei na hi ni wa" ("on a day so beautiful and so ugly".) poppu karuchaa kuritiiku (pop culture critique) volume 0. 1997. (in japanese) **+** gainax newtype. e-mono: neon genesis evangelion: all goods catalog. . (in japanese) **+** june magazine ed. neon genesis evangelion june tokuhon: zankoku-na tenshi no these ("the neon genesis evangelion june reader: zankoku na tenshi no these".) isbn 4-906011-25-x **+** kotani mari. seibo evangelion (evangelion as the immaculate virgin.) tokyo: magajin hausu. 1997 **+** kotani mari. a new millennialist perspective on the daughters of eve. isbn 4-8387-0917-x. (in japanese) **+** lippit seiji m. topographies of japanese modernism. new york: columbia up 2000 **+** morikawa kaichiro (ed..) the evangelion style **+** yamashita ikuto and seiji kio. sore wo nasumono: neon genesis evangelion concept design works **+** "evangelion special: genesis of a major manga" - mainichi daily news **+** "evangelion special: for producer otsuki success not always a bed of roses" - mainichi daily news **+** "understanding evangelion" archived december 13 2017 at the wayback machine - anime news network **+** neon genesis evangelion - gainax official evangelion page (in japanese) **+** madman entertainment evangelion page **+** 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン archived november 18 2012 at the wayback machine - king records evangelion page (in japanese) // republic of bob