Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion

新世紀エヴァンゲリオン
1995 –1996 Gainax / Tatsunoko Production TV Tokyo 26 episodes Completed
Action Mecha Psychological Drama
Details & Synopsis
The year is 2015. Fifteen years after a cataclysm that killed half the human race, the city of Tokyo-3 is under attack from beings called Angels — massive, incomprehensible, and apparently unkillable by conventional means. The only things that can stop them are the Evangelions: giant biomechanical units that can only be piloted by children born in the aftermath of the disaster. Shinji Ikari is fourteen years old. His father, commander of the paramilitary organization NERV, has not spoken to him in years. He is asked to climb inside the Eva and save the world. He does not want to.

Produced by Gainax and directed by Hideaki Anno — who made the series as a working through of his own four-year clinical depression — Neon Genesis Evangelion aired on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. It begins as a mecha action series and becomes, by its end, something else entirely: a deconstruction of heroism, identity, and the terror of human connection so thorough it broke the genre it was working in.

26 episodes. The last two will make you feel insane. Watch The End of Evangelion immediately after. Then sit quietly for a while.

Gainax went bankrupt in 2024. The series endures.
Alt Title 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン
Studio Gainax / Tatsunoko Production
Network TV Tokyo
Aired 1995 – 1996
Episodes 26
Genre Action, Mecha, Psychological, Drama
Status Completed
Episode List
Prologue Arc (6) Action Arc (7) Descent Arc (8) Climax Arc (3) Instrumentality (2)
001 Angel Attack Oct 4, 1995 canon ►
In the year 2015, half of humanity is dead. 14-year-old Shinji Ikari is summoned to the fortress city of Tokyo-3 by his estranged father, only to be thrown into the cockpit of a massive biomechanical weapon, Evangelion Unit-01, to fight a monstrous entity known as an Angel.
002 The Beast Oct 11, 1995 canon ►
Shinji awakens in a hospital with fragmented memories of his first battle. Through a horrifying flashback, the terrifying truth of the Evangelion is revealed as Unit-01 goes berserk, regenerating its own flesh and savagely tearing the Angel apart.
003 A Transfer Oct 18, 1995 canon ►
Shinji tries to adjust to normal school life while living with his commanding officer, Misato Katsuragi. His secret identity as an Eva pilot is exposed, earning him the wrath of his classmate Toji Suzuhara, whose sister was injured during the Angel attack.
004 Hedgehog's Dilemma Oct 25, 1995 canon ►
Overwhelmed by the crushing pressure and isolation of his duty, Shinji runs away from NERV. He wanders the desolate, lonely outskirts of Tokyo-3, forcing him to confront whether he pilots the Eva to save humanity or simply to earn his father's approval.
005 Rei I Nov 1, 1995 canon ►
Shinji tries to understand Rei Ayanami, the enigmatic, emotionless pilot of Unit-00. He discovers her disturbing lack of self-preservation and her unusually close, almost unnatural bond with his father, Gendo.
006 Rei II Nov 8, 1995 canon ►
The geometric, heavily armed Angel Ramiel drills into NERV headquarters. Shinji and Rei are forced to execute Operation Yashima, a massive, high-stakes sniper mission that requires the entire electrical grid of Japan to power a single, desperate shot.
007 A Human Work Nov 15, 1995 canon ►
To secure a massive budget, a private defense contractor unveils the Jet Alone, a nuclear-powered, unmanned alternative to the Evangelions. When the machine goes rogue and threatens a nuclear meltdown, Misato must risk her life to manually shut it down.
008 Asuka Strikes! Nov 22, 1995 canon ►
Misato and Shinji travel to a UN Pacific fleet escorting Eva Unit-02 to Japan. They are introduced to the fiery, arrogant prodigy Asuka Langley Soryu. When an aquatic Angel attacks the fleet, Asuka forces Shinji into her cockpit for a chaotic underwater battle.
009 Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win! Nov 29, 1995 canon ►
The Angel Israfel splits into two identical entities, effortlessly defeating Shinji and Asuka. To beat it, the two fiercely independent pilots are forced to undergo humiliating, synchronized dance training to execute a perfectly timed, dual-strike combination.
010 Magmadiver Dec 6, 1995 canon ►
A dormant Angel is discovered deep within the magma of an active volcano. Asuka is sent down in a specialized heat-resistant suit to capture it alive, but the mission goes critically wrong when the Angel rapidly matures and attacks her in the crushing depths.
011 The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still Dec 13, 1995 canon ►
A massive, unexplained blackout completely disables Tokyo-3 and NERV headquarters. As a spider-like Angel begins dissolving the base's armor, the three pilots must manually navigate the labyrinthine air ducts to reach their Evas without power.
012 She said, "Don't make others suffer for your personal hatred." Dec 20, 1995 canon ►
The massive Angel Sahaquiel threatens to drop from orbit like a biological nuke. Misato orchestrates a desperate, three-pronged sprint to catch the falling Angel with the Evas' bare hands, reflecting on her own tragic past during the Second Impact.
013 Lilliputian Hitcher Dec 27, 1995 canon ►
A microscopic, rapidly evolving Angel infiltrates NERV's MAGI supercomputer system. Dr. Ritsuko Akagi must engage in a frantic, high-speed hacking war to stop the Angel from initiating a self-destruct sequence, revealing the dark history of the MAGI's creator—her mother.
014 Weaving a Story Jan 3, 1996 mixed ►
SEELE convenes to review NERV's progress, leading into a mid-season recap. In the second half, a bizarre, deeply unsettling cross-synchronization experiment causes Unit-00 to go violently berserk, targeting Rei and Gendo.
015 Those women longed for the touch of others' lips, and thus invited their kisses. Jan 10, 1996 canon ►
Shinji and Gendo visit Yui Ikari's grave. Misato, Ritsuko, and Kaji attend a wedding, exposing the complex, painful romantic entanglements between the adults. Kaji's espionage work begins to unravel NERV's deepest, darkest secrets.
016 Splitting of the Breast Jan 17, 1996 canon ►
Shinji's overconfidence leads him directly into the shadow of the Angel Leliel, trapping Unit-01 in a bizarre, mathematically impossible pocket dimension. As life support fails, Shinji experiences a terrifying psychological breakdown before the Eva erupts from the Angel in a shower of blood.
017 Fourth Child Jan 24, 1996 canon ►
NERV's American branch is annihilated in a mysterious accident involving Unit-04. Unit-03 is shipped to Japan, and the Marduk Institute shockingly selects Shinji's classmate, Toji Suzuhara, as the Fourth Child to pilot it.
018 Ambivalence Jan 31, 1996 canon ►
Unit-03 is hijacked by an Angel during its activation test. Refusing to harm the trapped pilot inside, Shinji disobeys direct orders. Gendo coldly overrides Shinji's controls, forcing Unit-01's Dummy Plug to brutally and methodically dismember Unit-03 while Shinji watches in horror.
019 Introjection Feb 7, 1996 canon ►
Traumatized by what he was forced to do to Toji, Shinji quits NERV. The devastating Angel Zeruel effortlessly breaches the GeoFront, crippling Asuka and Rei. Shinji returns at the last second, leading to a desperate fight where Unit-01 achieves a terrifying, god-like synchronization.
020 Weaving a Story 2: oral stage Feb 14, 1996 canon ►
Having achieved a 400% sync ratio, Shinji's physical body has dissolved into the LCL inside the entry plug. Over the course of a month, Ritsuko frantically attempts to salvage his soul while Shinji floats in a surreal, Freudian dreamscape confronting his deepest fears.
021 He was aware that he was still a child. Feb 21, 1996 canon ►
The dark, bloody history of NERV, SEELE, and the Katsuragi Expedition is revealed through a series of fragmented flashbacks. Fuyutsuki is kidnapped and interrogated, while Kaji makes a fatal decision to uncover the absolute truth behind the Evangelions.
022 Don't Be. Feb 28, 1996 canon ►
Asuka's synchronization rates plummet as her psychological trauma catches up with her. The Angel Arael attacks from orbit, using a telepathic beam to forcefully violate Asuka's mind, dragging her repressed childhood horrors to the surface and breaking her spirit completely.
023 Rei III Mar 6, 1996 canon ►
The Angel Armisael merges with Unit-00, attempting to fuse with Rei. In a deeply uncharacteristic move, Rei sacrifices herself to destroy the Angel and save Shinji. The horrifying truth behind the Evangelions and Rei's true nature is finally laid bare to a shattered Misato.
024 The Beginning and the End, or "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" Mar 13, 1996 canon ►
A boy named Kaworu Nagisa arrives as the Fifth Child. He offers Shinji the unconditional love and acceptance he has always craved. The tragedy reaches its peak when Kaworu is revealed to be the final Angel, forcing Shinji to execute the only person who truly loved him.
025 Do you love me? Mar 20, 1996 canon ►
The Human Instrumentality Project begins. The narrative completely abandons the physical world, plunging into a deeply abstract, avant-garde psychological examination of Shinji, Asuka, Misato, and Rei as their souls are forcefully merged into a single collective consciousness.
026 Take care of yourself. Mar 27, 1996 canon ►
In the final, highly controversial conclusion to the series, Shinji confronts the core of his self-hatred within the void of Instrumentality. Through a profound existential realization, he chooses to reject the collective and accept the pain of individual existence. Congratulations.