Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, Shin Seiki Evangerion; IPA: [ɕin seː.ki e.βaŋ.ge.ɾi.oɴ]) is a Japanese media franchise created by Hideaki Anno, originally owned by Gainax and currently owned by Khara. Most of the franchise features an apocalyptic mecha action story, which revolves around the paramilitary organization NERV and their efforts in fighting hostile beings called Angels, using giant humanoids called Evangelions (or EVAs for short) that are piloted by select teenagers. Subsequent works deviate from this theme to varying degrees, focusing more on romantic interactions between the characters, plotlines not present in the original works, and reimaginings of the conflicts from the original works. The Neon Genesis Evangelion manga debuted in Shōnen Ace in December 1994, to generate interest in the upcoming anime release. The Neon Genesis Evangelion anime was written and directed by Hideaki Anno, originally airing from October 1995 until March 1996. The anime is widely considered to have been groundbreaking in its exploration of religious, psychological, and philosophical themes, while initially appearing to be a standard mecha series. The ending of the series was controversial; in response to this controversy, two films offered an alternate ending for the show: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth, released in March 1997, and The End of Evangelion released in July 1997. Death is a 60-minute compilation of parts from the first 24 episodes of the TV series, with some new footage added in order to prepare for Rebirth, which contains the last two episodes and the first 30 minutes of End of Evangelion. The popularity of the show spawned numerous additional media, including video games, radio dramas, audio books, a light novel series, pachinko machines, and a tetralogy of films titled Rebuild of Evangelion. Other derivative works include Angelic Days, Petit Eva: Evangelion@School and Shinji Ikari Raising Project.
Setting Works within the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise typically have the same setting, characters, and themes, but can vary in their portrayal of the different storylines with alternate re-tellings of the original anime. Many later works, such as Death & Rebirth and The Rebuild of Evangelion, diverge greatly from the original anime. Evangelion's fictional setting takes place after the Second Impact, a cataclysmic explosion in Antarctica in the year 2000, which killed billions of people and threw the Earth off its axis. Fifteen years after the Second Impact, a group of mysterious beings referred to as "Angels" begin appearing and pose a worldwide and existential threat to what remains of mankind. The NERV organization, a paramilitary special agency recruited and controlled by the UN, is tasked with defeating the Angels, with the use of giant mechanical warriors known as "Evangelions". A select group of children pilot the Evangelions, with focus put on Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu. As the story progresses, it delves into philosophical and psychological themes such as identity, trauma, and the nature of existence. The relationships between the characters are also explored, particularly between Shinji, Asuka, and Rei, as they navigate their complex and sometimes contentious dynamics. The backdrop of Neon Genesis Evangelion slowly reveals the true nature of Rei Ayanami, the Evangelions, the Angels, the NERV organization and a group known as SEELE. The series incorporates religious themes, including Christianity and Kabbalah and Adam, Lilith and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The series is well known for its psychoanalysis of the characters and features the theories of famous psychologists like Jung and Freud. This is most heavily covered in the implementation of the Human Instrumentality Project, the secret goal of NERV and SEELE, whose result varies across different media, including the original anime, films, manga and video games.
Anime
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion, also known simply as Evangelion or Eva, is a Japanese mecha anime television series animated by Tatsunoko, produced by Gainax, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. It was the first installation in the franchise, and also the second of Gainax's works to reach such acclaim, the earlier being Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. Evangelion is set fifteen years after a worldwide cataclysm named Second Impact, particularly in the futuristic fortified city of Tokyo-3. The protagonist is Shinji Ikari, a teenage boy who is recruited by his father Gendo to the shadowy organization NERV to pilot a giant bio-machine mecha named Evangelion into combat against beings known as Angels. The series explores the experiences and emotions of Evangelion pilots and members of Nerv as they try to prevent Angels from causing more cataclysms. In the process, they are called upon to understand the ultimate causes of events and the motives for human action. The series has been described as a deconstruction of the mecha genre and it features archetypal imagery derived from Shinto cosmology as well as Jewish and Christian mystical traditions, including Midrashic tales and Kabbalah. The psychoanalytic accounts of human behavior put forward by Freud and Jung are also prominently featured. Neon Genesis Evangelion was awarded The Excellence Award at the Japan Media Arts-festival in 1997. The word "controversial" shows up almost continuously in reviews of the series, together with "complex". Critics saw Evangelion very positively, with its stylised and thematic characteristics.
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth
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