Neon Genesis Evangelion (anime)

Neon Genesis Evangelion (anime)

Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, Shin Seiki Evangerion?, literally "Gospel of a New Era"), commonly referred to as Evangelion or Eva, is a Japanese science-fiction animation series that first aired from October 1995 to March 1996. It was created by the anime studio Gainax and was both directed and written by Hideaki Anno. The series was received well by many critics and won several awards. It has had record numbers of sales in Japan, and its franchise has made over two billion dollars.

Evangelion is an apocalyptic anime in the mecha genre. It focuses on a teenage boy recruited by an organization named NERV to control a giant cyborg called an Evangelion to fight monstrous beings known as Angels. The show takes place largely in a futuristic Tokyo years after a worldwide catastrophe. It also centers around other Evangelion pilots and members of NERV as they try to prevent another catastrophe.

Depth and richness have been often credited to Evangelion. Throughout the series, many Christian religious symbols and terms are used, such as the Christian cross. Later episodes deconstruct the mecha genre and shift focus to psychoanalysis of the main characters.