Neon Genesis EvangelionMankind's greatest fear is mankind itself.
At the turn of the century, the Angels returned to Earth, seeking to wipe out humanity in an apocalyptic fury. Devastated, mankind's last remnants moved underground to wait for the day when the Angels would come back to finish the job. Fifteen years later, that day has come... but this time, humanity is ready to fight back with terrifying bio-mechanical weapons known as the Evangelions. Watch as Shinji, Rei, Asuka and the rest of the mysterious shadow agency Nerv battle to save earth from total annihilation.
WriterHideaki Anno
Angel Attack
Oct 4, 1995
Shinji Ikari is summoned to Tokyo-3 by his estranged father Gendo, commander of the special agency NERV, to defend the city from a giant Angel by piloting the only weapon capable of battling the monster: Evangelion Unit-01.
The Beast
Oct 11, 1995
Shinji wakes up in the hospital, with no memory of defeating the Angel the night before. Rejected by his father, Misato decides to take Shinji with her to live in her apartment. Later that night, memories of the battle against the Angel come flooding back to Shinji.
A Transfer
Oct 18, 1995
Shinji begins attending his new school in Tokyo-3, and has a difficult time dealing with the fame of being an Evangelion pilot. Touji Suzuhara, who's little sister was injured in Shinji's fight against the Angel, is angry at Shinji. A new Angel appears, and Shinji must once again pilot EVA-01 to defeat it.
Hedgehog's Dilemma
Oct 25, 1995
Misato is upset with Shinji for ignoring her orders in the last Angel battle, and he is so overcome by the stress of being an EVA pilot that he runs away. After wandering around Tokyo-3 for several days, Shinji is faced with the choice of quitting or staying in his new home.
Rei I
Nov 1, 1995
EVA-00 is finally repaired, and Shinji tries to get to know its enigmatic pilot, Rei Ayanami, better. However, he is confounded because she is extremely insular, has no friends at all, and the entire record of her past has been erased. In the midst of this, a very powerful Angel, the floating monolith Ramiel, attacks Tokyo-3.
Rei II
Nov 8, 1995
Continuing from the previous episode, the Angel Ramiel is drilling down into the GeoFront to attack NERV HQ directly. After Shinji barely survived a direct confrontation with it, Misato devises a plan to have EVA-00 and EVA-01 defeat the Angel by sniping it from a distance using a positronic rifle which requires the total electric output of Japan to power up.
A Human Work
Nov 15, 1995
Ritsuko briefs Shinji on the real nature of Second Impact, the Angels, and the Evangelions' mission to defeat them. Misato and Ritsuko attend the public demonstration of a new Angel-fighting robot, Jet Alone, built by a rival defense contractor to NERV. However, the nuclear-powered robot quickly runs out of control, and Shinji must use EVA Unit 01 to load Misato onto Jet Alone so she can she can enter in its automatic shutdown code, before it melts down in a nuclear explosion.
Asuka Strikes!
Nov 22, 1995
Misato brings Shinji, along with Touji and Kensuke, to a massive UN naval convoy transporting Evangelion Unit-02 and its fiery German pilot, Asuka Langley Souryuu, to Japan. Escorting Asuka is Misato's old boyfriend, Ryouji Kaji. After some awkward introductions and reunions, the fleet is attacked by a massive aquatic Angel. Asuka powers up Eva-02, and decides that she will defeat the Angel by playing "hopscotch"...
Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!
Nov 29, 1995
Asuka joins Shinji’s class at school, and moves in with Misato and him in their apartment. As Asuka adjusts to Japan (or rather, everyone else adapts to her...), a new Angel attacks which is capable of splitting itself into two identical copies. EVA-01 and EVA-02 are defeated, and NERV is publicly humiliated. With the Angel in a week-long regeneration period after an N² Mine attack by the JSSDF, Asuka and Shinji must learn to "synchronize" with each others movements combat, in order to defeat it once and for all.
Magma Diver
Dec 6, 1995
The EVA pilots are disappointed to find out that they are not allowed to go on their class trip to Okinawa, because they have to stay at Tokyo-3 to stay on-call in case of an Angel attack. Meanwhile, a new Angel is discovered in a chrysalis-like developmental stage deep within the magma of the volcano Mount Asama.
The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still
Dec 13, 1995
Tokyo-3 comes to a standstill when sabotage knocks out all power, and the personnel must scramble to launch the EVAs manually when an Angel appears in the middle of the blackout.
She said, 'Don't make others suffer for your personal hatred.'
Dec 20, 1995
Misato has been promoted to Major, but the celebration does not last long. A monstrous Angel appears in Earth orbit right when Gendo and Fuyutsuki are away, leaving her and the children to deal with a colossal kamikaze threatening to drop itself right on top of Tokyo-3.
Lilliputian Hitcher
Dec 27, 1995
A routine test involving the EVA pilots turns into a struggle for survival when a wholly new type of Angel appears and spreads inside NERV HQ. This new, computer-like angel threatens to set off the self-destruct for the entire facility, leaving Dr. Ritsuko Akagi in a race against time to save the GeoFront and destroy the Angel.
Weaving a Story (1)
Jan 3, 1996
In the first half of the episode, a clip show is presented to the Human Instrumentality Committee of Seele, reviewing the attacks of all Angels up to this point. The second part includes a poem in which Rei contemplates her own existence, and a cross-compatibility test between Rei's and Shinji's EVAs.
Those Women Longed for the Touch of Others' Lips, and Thus Invited Their Kisses.
Jan 10, 1996
It seems like it's an important day for nearly everyone at NERV. Misato and Ritsuko are going to a wedding; Shinji and Gendo are visiting Yui's grave; Asuka has a date. However, important things will spring from these seemingly mundane events.
Splitting of the Breast
Jan 17, 1996
Shinji beats Asuka in a synch test, much to her annoyance. Not too long after, the EVAs are dispatched to deal with a mysterious apparition, and EVA-01 is sucked into a shadowlike blackness that materializes out of nothingness from under it. While an emergency operation to rescue the captured EVA is concocted, Shinji goes on a trip into the depths of his own consciousness...
Fourth Children
Jan 24, 1996
A NERV branch in Nevada is obliterated in a catastrophic accident, and NERV headquarters prepares to station a new Evangelion in Japan. The Fourth Child is selected, unbeknownst to Shinji.
Ambivalence
Jan 31, 1996
Evangelion Unit-03 arrives from the United States. However, its activation experiment brings out NERV's worst nightmare when it turns out to have been infected by the Thirteenth Angel. The other EVAs are dispatched to battle the Angel-infected abomination... even at the risk of killing its helpless pilot.
Introjection
Feb 7, 1996
Enraged over Touji's near-death at the hands of his own EVA, Shinji refuses to pilot an Evangelion again and prepares to leave Tokyo-3 for good. He is forced to reconsider that decision when an immensely destructive new Angel attacks just as he is about to leave...
Weaving a Story (2): Oral Stage
Feb 14, 1996
Shinji achieved an unprecedented 400% synchronization ratio with EVA-01 during the battle with Zeruel, to horrible effect. With the EVA having ascended to the status of a living God and Shinji absorbed inside it, Ritsuko unsuccessfully attempts to recover him.
He Was Aware that He Was Still a Child.
Feb 21, 1996
Kouzou Fuyutsuki is kidnapped and interrogated by Seele, who are horrified over the results of the last encounter with an Angel. He recounts his past, providing flashbacks into the creation of Nerv. The pasts of Misato Katsuragi, Ritsuko Akagi, Rei Ayanami and Yui Ikari are also revealed. Ryouji Kaji, meanwhile, decides to find out the truth, no matter the cost.
Don't Be.
Feb 28, 1996
Asuka's synch rate is on a downward spiral after her defeat at the hands of the Fourteenth Angel, Zeruel, and her frustration with Rei, Shinji, Misato and Ryouji is on the rise. Angrier and more disturbed than ever, she is forced to relive her dark, traumatic past during the encounter with the Fifteenth Angel, Arael.
Rei III
Mar 6, 1996
Asuka sinks into deep depression after Arael's mental probing, and is unable to pilot when the new Angel Armisael arrives. Armisael begins physically fusing with EVA-00 and threatens to do the same to EVA-01, prompting Rei to sacrifice herself to save Shinji, only to appear alive soon afterwards.
The Beginning and the End, or 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door'
Mar 13, 1996
Too frightened to face Misato or Rei, Shinji runs away yet again, only to meet and strike a friendship with Kaworu Nagisa, the replacement pilot for EVA-02. Kaworu's openness and friendliness provide much-needed comfort for the disturbed Shinji. However, suspicions abound over Kaworu's incredible synchronization abilities.
Do You Love Me?
Mar 20, 1996
Instrumentality has begun, and now its inner process, the joining of all souls into one, will be depicted. The episode is primarily driven by dialogue, the background usually complete darkness. White text often appears on a black screen, an omniscient voice questioning the characters.
Take Care of Yourself.
Mar 27, 1996
Instrumentality continues. The focus is primarily on Shinji now, as he learns to accept the individual’s ability to shape their world, and how the self cannot exist without others to define it.
sirdorius
@sirdorius
The series starts out with some usual anime tropes: a monomyth, insufferable high school protagonists, mechs vs. kaijus, and hypersexualized 14 year old girls. It tries to be "deep" by mixing some religious mythology and existential questions that keep teens up at night, like "Why am I here?" repeated a million times. Towards the end, the main story is such unsalvageable nonsense that the writers just give up on it completely and try to turn it into some pseudo-intellectual freudian/jungian analysis of a depressed teen. It's been quite a few years since I was a clinically depressed young adult, so I can't really relate now; but the theme is way too complex to fit in between shots of naked schoolgirls and incredibly poor dialogue. If you want a real exploration of the topic, check out Bojack Horseman instead. Against my better judgement, I watched it to the end because a lot of anime reviewers seem to praise Evangelion's story. That doesn't speak favorably to the quality of the show, but more about the embarrassingly low bar for story writing in animes.
