About Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion, usually shortened to Evangelion, Eva or NGE, is a Japanese anime television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production and directed by Hideaki Anno. Its 26 episodes were broadcast on TV Tokyo from 4 October 1995 to 27 March 1996. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto designed the characters and also drew a manga version, which began in Shōnen Ace in December 1994 and ran, on and off, until June 2013; Shirō Sagisu composed most of the music. The opening theme, "A Cruel Angel's Thesis", is sung by Yoko Takahashi, and the ending theme is "Fly Me to the Moon", recorded by Claire Littley and by members of the voice cast. After Gainax closed in 2024, Anno's own company, Studio Khara, took over the full copyright.
The story begins in 2015, fifteen years after the Second Impact, a catastrophe in Antarctica that killed half of humanity. In the fortified city of Tokyo-3, the agency NERV defends the world against the Angels, giant beings shielded by force fields called AT Fields. Its only effective weapons are the Evangelions, huge biomechanical giants linked to the nervous systems of their teenage pilots. Fourteen-year-old Shinji Ikari is summoned by his estranged father, Gendo, NERV's commander, and pushed into Evangelion Unit-01. He moves in with his superior officer, Misato Katsuragi, and fights alongside the withdrawn Rei Ayanami and, from episode 8, the brash Asuka Langley Soryu, who arrives from Germany with Unit-02. The early episodes bring a new Angel and a new plan nearly every time: a sniper shot powered by all of Japan's electricity, a battle timed to a dance routine, a dive into a volcano.
From episode 16 the series turns inward, following the pilots' fears and the secrets behind NERV, its shadowy overseers SEELE and the Human Instrumentality Project. The production ran far behind schedule, and the last two episodes take place almost entirely inside the characters' minds. Their abstract style split viewers, and in 1997 Anno and Gainax released The End of Evangelion, a film that retells the final two episodes as a more conventional ending. Rebuild of Evangelion, a series of four films released between 2007 and 2021, retells the story again with new characters and a new conclusion. The original is widely described as a deconstruction of the giant-robot genre, draws heavily on Judeo-Christian imagery and on Freud and Jung, and is regarded as one of the greatest animated series ever made.
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What the Neon Genesis Evangelion Quiz Tests
Our Neon Genesis Evangelion quiz covers the 26 TV episodes. Two hard questions are about The End of Evangelion and say so in the question; nothing comes from the manga or the Rebuild films. Easy levels cover the basics: who made it, Tokyo-3 and NERV, the Angels and the Second Impact, which pilot flies which Eva, Pen Pen and the theme song. The middle levels move through the series in order — Toji's grudge, Shinji running away in "Hedgehog's Dilemma", Operation Yashima, Jet Alone, Kaji's delivery, the battles with Gaghiel, Israfel, Sandalphon and Matarael, the attack on the Magi, Leliel's shadow, Unit-03 and the Dummy Plug, Zeruel and the Lance of Longinus — along with Misato's past and promotion. The hard levels go to the details Eva fans know: which Angel is which number, who Kaworu really is and what he hums, Gendo's old surname, where Tokyo-3 stands, how many Angels the story first planned, the date of the Second Impact, and the warships behind the characters' names.
Key Characters
Shinji Ikari is a deliberately unheroic lead: a lonely fourteen-year-old who was left with a guardian after his mother's death and is called back only because his father needs a pilot. He keeps telling himself he mustn't run away, and keeps wanting to. Around him the cast is built on the same wound. Rei Ayanami, the pilot of Unit-00, is quiet to the point of blankness and open only with Gendo, though her friendship with Shinji slowly changes her. Asuka Langley Soryu, the Unit-02 pilot, is a gifted, proud and competitive girl who needs to be the best and hates being outdone. Misato Katsuragi, the only survivor of the Antarctic expedition at the Second Impact, is sharp in command and chaotic at home, and joined NERV to take revenge on the Angels. Gendo Ikari, cold and calculating, keeps his own plans even from SEELE. Ryoji Kaji, an easygoing spy with three employers, quietly mentors Shinji, and Kaworu Nagisa, who arrives in episode 24, befriends him with an open, unconditional warmth.
Available Quizzes
Neon Genesis Evangelion Trivia
50 hand-crafted questions across 5 categories. 10 levels of increasing difficulty.
Which Evangelion Character Are You?
Answer 10 questions to discover which Neon Genesis Evangelion pilot or NERV officer matches your personality!
Random Mix
Questions from all 47 anime including Neon Genesis Evangelion. The ultimate challenge.
Characters
Shinji Ikari
Rei Ayanami
Asuka Langley Soryu
Misato Katsuragi
Ryoji Kaji
Neon Genesis Evangelion Fun Facts
- Hideaki Anno's first proposed title for the series was Alcion. It was turned down because it lacked hard consonant sounds.
- Gainax first planned 28 Angels. Under constant time pressure the original outline was abandoned around the thirteenth episode, and the number was cut to 17.
- Anno named most of the characters after ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy: Hyuga after a battleship, Maya, Ibuki and Aoba after cruisers, Fuyutsuki after a destroyer. Hikari Horaki's sisters, Kodama and Nozomi, are named after bullet trains on the Tokaido Shinkansen line.
- Pen Pen was nearly a monkey. Because the show is set in Hakone, a town famous for its hot springs, the mascot was first planned as a monkey; the idea was dropped as unattractive, and he became a "hot spring penguin" instead.
- The Japanese word used for the Angels, shito, means "apostles". Gainax's only American member, Michael House, objected to pairing it with the English word "Angel", but Anno kept both names.
- Fifteen years after its release, "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" won an annual award from JASRAC, the Japanese music copyright society, for the royalties it still earns from pachinko machines, karaoke and other uses.
Neon Genesis Evangelion Quiz — Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion are there?
Twenty-six, broadcast on TV Tokyo from 4 October 1995 to 27 March 1996. For home video, episodes 21 to 24 were also released in longer director's cuts with added scenes. The 1997 film The End of Evangelion retells the last two episodes as two 45-minute parts, numbered 25' and 26', but it is not counted as part of the TV series.
Is Neon Genesis Evangelion finished?
Yes. The TV series ended in March 1996, and The End of Evangelion gave it a complete theatrical ending in July 1997. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's manga published its final installment in June 2013. The Rebuild of Evangelion film series, a separate retelling, ended with Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time on 8 March 2021.
What order should I watch Evangelion in?
Watch the 26 TV episodes, then The End of Evangelion, which was made as an alternative ending to episodes 25 and 26. Death & Rebirth (1997) is mostly an hour of clips from the first 24 episodes plus an unfinished early cut of the opening of The End of Evangelion, so it can be skipped. The Rebuild of Evangelion films are a separate retelling to watch afterwards, in release order: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007), 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009), 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012) and 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021).
Where can I watch Neon Genesis Evangelion?
Netflix bought the worldwide streaming rights to the series, Death (True)² and The End of Evangelion, and released them on 21 June 2019 with a new translation and English dub; outside Japan that release leaves out the "Fly Me to the Moon" ending song for licensing reasons. GKIDS in North America and Anime Limited in the UK and Ireland have released the series on Blu-ray, and The Criterion Channel added the series and both films from 1 September 2026. The Rebuild films stream on Prime Video, which released them outside Japan in August 2021. Availability differs by country and changes over time, so check your local services.
What is Neon Genesis Evangelion about?
In 2015, fifteen years after a catastrophe called the Second Impact, the agency NERV defends the city of Tokyo-3 against giant beings called Angels using Evangelions, huge biomechanical giants piloted by fourteen-year-olds. Shinji Ikari is summoned by his estranged father, NERV's commander, to pilot one. What starts as a giant-robot series becomes a study of loneliness, family and the fear of getting close to other people, and of the secret plans of the people giving the orders.
