In 1995, a teenage boy named Shinji Ikari was summoned to a futuristic city to pilot a giant robot, but he did not want to be there. He had been abandoned by his father and was terrified of the pain that came with piloting the machine. This was not a story about a hero saving the world; it was a story about a boy who wanted to run away. The series, known as Neon Genesis Evangelion, began broadcasting on TV Tokyo on the 27th of October 1995, and it would change the landscape of animation forever. The show was set in 2015, fifteen years after a global cataclysm known as the Second Impact had wiped out half of humanity. The remaining survivors lived in the fortified city of Tokyo-3, a place built to protect them from monstrous beings called Angels. These Angels were not just monsters; they were ancient, powerful entities with force fields that could not be pierced by conventional weapons. The only way to fight them was to use giant biomechanical mechas called Evangelions, which were synchronized to the nervous systems of their pilots. Shinji, a fourteen-year-old boy, was the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit-01, but he was emotionally hypersensitive and often paralyzed by fear. He would say to himself, I must not run away, as a way to encourage himself to face the threat, yet he frequently withdrew in response to traumatic events. The series was a deconstruction of the mecha genre, focusing on the mental health and emotional struggles of the pilots rather than the glory of battle. It was a story about depression, loneliness, and the difficulty of human connection, all wrapped in a package of giant robots and religious symbolism.
The Depression Behind The Screen
The creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Hideaki Anno, was suffering from a severe depression during the production of the series. He had just completed 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. After the failure of Uru in Blue, Anno agreed to a collaboration between King Records and Gainax as he drank with King representative Toshimichi Otsuki. King Records guaranteed Anno a time slot for something, anything. He began the development of the new series in 1993 around the notion of not running away, the underlying theme of Uru in Blue, focusing on a protagonist accustomed to avoiding personal responsibility who finds himself trying to save the heroine of the story. The series was conceived as a metaphor of his four-year depression, as he tried to put his whole self and imprint his own feelings into the work. Anno stated that he identified with Shinji in both a conscious and unconscious manner, while Rei was his deepest part and Kaworu his Jungian shadow. The production was complex and saw several changes to the scenario initially conceived by Gainax. 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 from 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. 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 most of the series' production was outsourced to Tatsunoko Production. Starting with the sixteenth episode, Splitting of the Breast, the show undergoes a drastic change, discarding the grand narrative concerning salvation for an intricate exploration of the lead characters' psyches. This change coincided with Anno's development of an interest in psychology after a friend lent him a book on mental illness. These episodes feature heavy use of abstract animation, flashbacks, simple line drawings, photographs, and still image scenes with voice-over dialogue. Some critics speculated that these unconventional animation choices resulted from budget cuts, but Toshio Okada stated that it was not only a problem of schedule or budget, since Anno couldn't decide the ending until the time came. That's his style. These two episodes sparked controversy and criticism among fans and critics of the series alike. 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, the latter being a more traditional, narrative-based ending.
Rei Ayanami, the withdrawn and mysterious pilot of Evangelion Unit-00, was a clone made from the salvaged remains of Yui Ikari, Shinji's mother. She was plagued by a sense of negative self-worth stemming from the realization that she was an expendable asset. At first, she despised Shinji for his lack of trust in his father Gendo, with whom Rei was very close. However, after Shinji and Rei successfully defeated the Angel Ramiel, she took a friendly liking to him. Towards the end of the series, it is revealed that she is one of many clones, whose use is to replace the currently existing Rei if she is killed. The series also features Asuka Langley Soryu, a child prodigy who pilots Evangelion Unit-02 and possesses a fiery temper and an overabundance of pride and self-confidence, which often gets her in trouble and difficulty, especially during battles. As a little girl, Asuka discovered the body of her mother shortly after she committed suicide, leading the child to repress her emotions and vow never to cry. Asuka and Shinji develop intense but ambiguous feelings toward each other and have difficulty reaching out to others. Their relationship was initially modeled on the one between Jean, Nadia's love interest and eventual husband in the earlier anime series Nadia. Similarly to Shinji, Asuka and Rei are presented with their own flaws and difficulty relating to other people. Misato Katsuragi is the caretaker and commanding officer for Shinji and Asuka. Her professional demeanor at Nerv contrasts dramatically with her carefree and irresponsible behavior at home. Character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto conceived her 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. He abandoned Shinji and recalled him only to serve as an Evangelion pilot. Gendo salvaged the remains of his dead wife's body to create Rei, whom he viewed as a mere tool at his disposal to defeat the Angels and enact Instrumentality. Similar to Shinji, he 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 him to abandon Shinji. He is depicted as relentless in his 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 his own purpose. According to character designer 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 their 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.
The Religious Symbols And The Psychology
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 writer Patrick Drazen, numerous allusions to the Kojiki and the Nihongi play 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 their 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, he became interested in mental illness and psychology. According to him, Rei is a schizophrenic character and a representation of Shinji's unconscious, while Shinji has an Oedipus complex and is characterized by a libido-destrudo conflict. Similarly, Ritsuko has an Electra complex, in which she loves Gendo, a sort of substitute for her father figure. Anno himself stated that he identifies with Shinji in both a conscious and unconscious manner, while Rei is Anno's deepest part and Kaworu his Jungian shadow. Shinji's entering into Unit-01 has been interpreted as a Freudian return to the womb, and his struggle to be free of the Eva as his 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.
The Controversial Ending And The Films
Following the conclusion of the series' original television broadcast, the public and critical reception to Neon Genesis Evangelion was polarized, particularly with regard to the final two episodes. The experimental style of the finale confused or alienated many fans and spawned debate and controversy; the criticism was largely directed toward the lack of storyline resolution in the final two episodes. As such, opinion on the finale was deeply mixed, with the audience broadly divided between those who considered the episodes successfully introspective and those who felt their 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 after the broadcast of the penultimate episode, nearly all viewers felt betrayed. When commentator Eiji Otsuka 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 his 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. In May 1996, Gainax announced an Evangelion film in response to fan dissatisfaction with the series finale. On the 15th of March 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 the 19th of July 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 ranked 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 also made, consisting of four films. The first film retells the first six episodes from the series, but from the second film onward, the story changes, introducing new characters, Evas and Angels. The first film, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are Not Alone, was released in Japan on the 1st of September 2007, with Evangelion: 2.0 You Can Not Advance released on the 27th of June 2009, and Evangelion: 3.0 You Can Not Redo released on the 17th of November 2012. The final film, titled Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, was released on the 8th of March 2021, after two delays.
The Cultural Phenomenon And The Legacy
Evangelion has had a profound and lasting impact on the anime industry and Japanese popular culture. The series, airing at a time when the anime industry and its televised series were in a slump period, is credited with revitalizing the industry and raising the standard for high-quality Japanese animation. 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 backdrop, Evangelion imposed new standards for the animated series, ushering in the era of the new Japanese animation serial, characterized by innovations that allowed a technical and artistic revival of the industry. The production of anime serials began to reflect greater artistic 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. According to TV Tokyo's Keisuke Iwata, the global spread of Japanese animation expanded dramatically 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 have noted Evangelions influence on subsequent anime series, such as 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 featured in Japanese and Western media such as 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 Japanese video games, including Xenogears and El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. The design and personality traits of the character Rei Ayanami were emulated for many anime and manga characters of the late 1990s, such as Ruri Hoshino 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 her traits were used to create the character of Mai in Gunparade March. According to Italian critic Guido Tavassi, Evangelions mecha design, characterized 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 in 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 film director Makoto Shinkai and manga artist Gege Akutami on the Jujutsu Kaisen manga series. In the aftermath of Evangelion, Anno reused stylistic conceits from the series in the live-action film Love & Pop and the anime romance series 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 Rei Ayanami.
The Merchandise And The Sales
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 consumers of various age groups, such as cell phones, laptops, soundtracks, DVDs, action figures, telephone cards and an official set of Japanese coins. The coins can be viewed close-up at the Japan Mint site. However, its stylized mecha designs were initially criticized by certain toy companies as being too difficult to manufacture, with some expressing concern that models of the Evangelions would never sell. Eventually, Sega agreed to license all toy and video game sales. At the time of the release of the films 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 and 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 had a considerable impact on the Japanese economy, calculated in billions of yen. In 2006, Matt Greenfield stated that the franchise had earned over $1.5 billion. A 2007 estimate placed total sales of 6,000 related goods at over $300 million. By 2015, more than two million Evangelion pachinko and pachislot machines had been sold, generating $1.5 billion in revenue. The series has been distributed in North America and Europe by ADV Films. The thirteen English VHS tapes, released from the 20th of August 1996, to the 7th of July 1998, contained two episodes each and were released using the same Genesis 0:(volume number) naming 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, and 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 the 27th of July 2004, and the 19th of April 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 the 22nd of November 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 the 27th of November 2007, and included the extras that were omitted from the Platinum Complete Edition. On the 18th of November 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. On the 26th of November 2018, streaming company Netflix announced that it had acquired the worldwide streaming rights to the original anime series, as well as Evangelion: Death True² and The End of Evangelion, for release in Q2 2019. On the 22nd of March 2019, Netflix announced a the 21st of June 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. On the 30th of May 2020, British anime distributor Anime Limited announced it had acquired home video distribution rights for the original series, Evangelion: Death True² 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 the 3rd of October 2020, North American anime distributor GKIDS announced it had licensed the original TV series, Death True² 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 the 30th of August 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 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 the 9th of November 2021, while the Collector's/Ultimate edition was released on the 8th of December 2021. On the 2nd of November 2021, GKIDS released the TV series, Death True² 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. Following the bankruptcy and closure of Gainax between May and June 2024, Anno's current animation company, Studio Khara, officially gained the full copyright of the Evangelion franchise.