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Bridging the gap between man and God didn’t work so well for Victor Frankenstein, but that won’t stop the folks at NERV in GAINAX’s Shinseiki Evangelion (or here in the US, Neon Genesis Evangelion) from trying their hand at it.

Story Intro

Commander Ikari and his defense-department corporation NERV lead a battle against invading aliens with large robots controlled by fourteen year olds, children born the last time the aliens attacked. Rei (quiet and unemotional), Shinji (Ikari’s shy son), and Asuka (spoiled rotten) pilot these huge “Eva” bio-mechanical robots, at the command and care of Misato and Ritsuko, among others. While the show has plenty of action in each episode, the relationships between the various characters and the feelings brought out by battle and unknown forces really takes the center stage.

The show follows Shinji Ikari as he arrives in Tokyo-3, the third incarnation of Tokyo since the “Angel” aliens had started their attacks and destroyed the previous two. Misato narrowly saves him during an attack and rushes him to NERV, where his father has suddenly called him to pilot an “Eva” after years without contact.

Rather than let an obviously-wounded Rei take control of a new Eva, Shinji reluctantly agrees to pilot it against an Angel, though he hasn’t any training yet. When the Angel nearly wins the battle while Shinji appears to balk at fighting, the Eva surges forward and finishes off the alien. But who was in control, Shinji or someone — or something — else?

That’s just the first of twenty-six episodes and multiple movies.

Other Notes

Two movies, Death and Rebirth and End of Evangelion, replacements for the final two episodes and an extended ending, were released theatrically. Many fans deride the final episodes in favor of the movies, and many others prefer the originals. Ten years later, GAINAX is renewing the series with a series of theatrical retellings, Rebuild of Evangelion.

Annual character model figures of the main female teens Rei and Asuka continue to be a big draw for collectors, ranging from their school and work uniforms to bikinis and other risque poses, with more than most series from the same years.

Many generations of video games have been released as well, from new-animation plots in a Sega Saturn game (featuring a girlfriend for Shinji) to the latest Nintendo DS “petit” super-deformed school mini-game set (of which an OVA version is in production as well).

Neon Genesis Evangelion (26-episode TV, 1995-96)
Evangelion: Death and Rebirth (Movie compilation, 1997)
End of Evangelion (Movie, 1997)
Rebuild of Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone (Movie, 2007)
Rebuild of Evangelion: 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance (Movie, 2009)
Rebuild of Evangelion: 3.0 (Movie, in production)
Rebuild of Evangelion: Final (Movie, in production)

The “Neon Genesis Evangelion” images in the collage used in this post are used with permission of GAINAX Co., Ltd. Copying, distribution or usage in other webpages is prohibited. Please visit GAINAX for samples and usage permissions.