Short answers, pulled from the story.
In 2015, fifteen years after a global cataclysm known as the Second Impact, teenager Shinji Ikari is summoned to Tokyo-3 by his father Gendo Ikari. He joins United Nations forces in battling giant creatures named Angels using bio-mechanical mechas called Evangelions.
Director Hideaki Anno conceived the series following a four-year depression and released it during the mid-1990s. The original television broadcast concluded with two final episodes that premiered on the 19th of July 1997.
The series incorporates references to Judaism and Christianity including Midrashic literature, Kabbalah, Adam, Lilith, Eve, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki stated these visual symbols were intended to make the show more interesting for a Japanese audience rather than to convey specific religious meaning.
Starting with the sixteenth episode Splitting of the Breast, the show discards its grand narrative for an intricate exploration of the lead characters psyches. The final two episodes feature abstract animation and flashbacks which confused many fans and led to nationwide debate regarding the lack of storyline resolution.
The first film Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone was released in Japan on the 1st of September 2007. The final film titled Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time was released on the 8th of March 2021 after two delays.