When did Neon Genesis Evangelion originally air?
The series broadcast on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from October 1995 to March 1996.
Questions about Neon Genesis Evangelion
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Why were the final two episodes so controversial?
The final episodes abandoned conventional narrative in favor of abstract animation, still images, and interior monologue. Many viewers felt betrayed by the lack of storyline resolution. When commentator Eiji Otsuka wrote to the Yomiuri Shimbun criticizing the ending, the debate spread nationwide. Director Hideaki Anno stood by his choices; he later said he could not decide the ending until it was time to produce it.
What is The End of Evangelion?
The End of Evangelion is a feature film released on the 19th of July 1997 that provides an alternate, more conventional action-based ending to the television series. It grossed 1.45 billion yen within six months of release and won multiple awards.
What do the religious symbols in Evangelion mean?
Assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki said the Christian and Judaic imagery was intended to make the series more interesting and exotic for a Japanese audience, and denied any deeper religious meaning. Anno described the approach as one of layering: meaning emerges when the symbols are mixed together. Scholars have identified references to Midrashic literature, Kabbalistic concepts including the Tree of Life and tikkun olam, Shinto cosmology, and psychoanalytic frameworks from Freud and Jung.
How did the production difficulties shape the series?
Production ran close to deadlines throughout. Only three Gainax staff members worked on the series at any time; most work was outsourced to Tatsunoko Production. By episode thirteen the original story plan was abandoned. The number of Angels was reduced from twenty-eight to seventeen. Anno had to abandon the script for episode twenty-five and write a new one, contributing directly to the abstract, introspective style of the final episodes.
How commercially successful was Evangelion?
Merchandise revenue exceeded 400 million dollars within two years of release. The first ten volumes of the manga adaptation sold over 15 million copies. By 2015, more than two million pachinko and pachislot machines based on the series had been sold. The opening theme continued generating royalties significant enough to win JASRAC's annual award fifteen years after the series aired.