Neon Genesis Evangelion

The Neon Genesis Evangelion anime is written and directed by Hideaki Anno, consisting of 26 episodes and a number of reworked and remastered specials.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is set in Tokyo-3, a militarised city in Japan, 15 years after the global disaster, Second Impact, a shadowy incident that was broadcast as a meteorite impact in Antarctica that led to the destruction of half the world population, a permanent catastrophic shift in global climate and a domino effect of civil unrest, nuclear war and economic downfall. The World is under attack by monstrous aliens known as angels and it’s down to the special United Nations Agency NERV to locate and destroy these beings. The Angels are invulnerable to every day weapons, so NERV employ the use of biomecha weaponised robots known as Evangelions, or EVA’s, piloted by selected young children and developed by the secret research agency GEHIM.

Neon Genesis Evangelion follows the main protagonist, 14 year old Shinji Ikari, a complex child with self acceptance and depression issues, Shinji struggles with every day social contact, a trait common throughout many characters within the series, who suffer from similar psychological issues. Shinji has been called to Tokyo-3 by his distant father, Commander Gendo Ikari, head of NERV, to pilot Evangelion unit 01 and to do battle with the Angels descending on Earth. What follows is an exciting story of action and secret agendas as the three shadowy organisations lay their cards on the table with shocking outcomes and revelations, while our main protagonists must come to terms with self acceptance and overcome their psychological flaws while they battle to save the world.

A complex story that sometimes lacks depth in certain areas leaving the viewer confused, but none the less a thoroughly entertaining and popular series, drawing on elements of religion and psychology that feed directly from Anno’s own experiences with mental illness and his journey to overcome them. A great series that contains action, intrigue and emotion that can be analysed at a much deeper level if one so wishes.