Author: Jonathan Clements
Source: Anime Invasion
Dated: Summer 2002
Everything you wanted to know about Neon Genesis Evangelion, the greatest anime series that no one can understand.
Sometimes, heaven isn't on your side.
Earth is under attack from divine super-beings called Angels. They will kill us for the chance to be us. Our last hope is a team of suicidal bioweapons called EVAs, piloted by traumatized 14-year-old kids, supervised by a government organization called NERV... run by a madman. And it's all been prophesied by God.
Neon Genesis Evangelion was a huge hit on Japanese TV in 1995 with its incredible story of a war between man and Angels, but its that same religious storyline that's kept it from American airwaves. "Evangelion has all the makings of a hit," says John Ledford of ADV Films, whose videos and DVDs have created legions of fans. "But it could be much bigger if American TV networks weren't so 'touchy' about religious themes."
"Few anime titles in the last decade have had such immense impact," agrees Manga Entertainment's Marvin Gleicher. "With a highly personal story that resonates on a deeply emotional level, Evangelion breathed new life into the 'Giant Robot' formula."
But Evangelion, with its highly complicated plot and symbolic story-telling style, has left many fans confused and some new anime fans scared. But it's so good everyone wants to know what the heck it all means! Now, Anime Invasion answers all the questions and solves all the mysteries to one of the greatest anime series of all time. Ready? There's no turning back...
Angels? They fight Angels in this show?
The Angels are lifeforms with the same potential as humanity–meaning any of them could have inherited the Earth instead of us–sent to wipe the Earth clean by an unknown source. This is what gives Evangelion its monster-of-the-week angle, as NERV sends out the EVAs to stop the attacking Angels. There are 18 Angels in all, with Angel Sachiel attacking in Evangelion's first episode. Angels can be vaguely humanoid or etheral spirits; the weirder ones include the giant spider-thing Matariel, who drips acid from his eyes; the huge floating octahedron Ramiel, who attacks with a giant drill; and the zebra-striped sphere Leliel, which is really a "shadow" of an Angel in a completely different dimension. And they've all been hell-bent on killing us since the Second Impact on September 13, 2000.
The Secong Impact? What's that?
The Dead Sea Scrolls prophesied that mankind would be destroyed in a Second Impact (the First Impact is never identified). In Evangelion, we're told–like humanity is–that the Second Impact was a catastrophic meteorite strike on Antarctica, resulting in the melting of the polar ice cap, the drowning of much low-lying land, and the deaths of more than half the world's population. Later on, this turns out to be a cover-up. The Second Impact was actually set off by humans in Antarctica–but in order to prevent the worldwide massacre of mankind. Since the Angels were prophesied to come and destroy mankind, we forced Adam (the First Angel) to manifest prematurely, and thus were able to reduce the damage of the Second Impact. It may have been the worst cataclysm to strike the Earth in 4 billion years, but it was the lesser of two evils. Adam was reduced to embryonic form and taken to be studied, but the leaders of mankind knew that other Angels would soon be on their way, as prophesied by the Scrolls. If any one of them made contact with Lilith (the Second Angel, hidden in a cavern in Japan), the Angels would win and mankind would be destroyed.
Well, shoot. How can we stop them?
An agency was formed to combat the Angels, NERV, led by scientists Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki, who began to work on the Evangelion project. Using research gleaned from Adam and the Second Impact, NERV created biomechanical defenses against the upcoming Angel attacks–namely, the EVAs. Gendo's wife Yui, lost her life during the project, and her soul actually ended up merging with EVA Unit 01. Since the EVAs were made from Angels–like Eve was made from Adam (get it?)–only they had the powers to fight the Angels and win. However, if left uncontrolled, the EVAs might try to destroy mankind themselves, since in effect they were part Angel. Luckily, NERV found a way to enslave them totally, but that meant the EVAs needed pilots in order to function and fight.
Who are the pilots?
Oh right, yes. Only those born in the Aftermath of the Second Impact seem to have what it takes, meaning they have to be 14 years old. These include Gendo and Yui's shy son Shinji (who pilots the EVA with his mom in it!), and the arrogant Asuka, who's three-quarters German and whose mom committed suicide while working on the Eva project.
The first, and weirdest, pilot is Rei Ayanami, a blue-haired, red-eyed girl who is quiet and solitary, and seems to exist for no other reason but to pilot her EVA. In fact, she is a creature cloned in part from Yui, and is thus Shinji's kind-of mother-sister; although he doesn't know it! Though Rei is a clone of Yui, her soul is that of Lilith, The Second Angel–but this is only discovered by Kaoru, the 17th Angel, shortly before Shinji pops off his head like a Pez dispenser. This allows Rei to develop Angelic powers, and gives her considerate influence over the final outcome of the series.
Okay, so if we stop the Angels, is humanity saved?
That's the real trick, isn't it? Sadly, no. Humanity is doomed one way or another; and preventing the Angels from winning is just one phase of averting the ultimate disaster. See, humanity has reached the limits of evolution and is going to end anyway, even if the Angels don't do it. But NERV (and its former boss, the super-secret SEELE organization) has been secretly working on a new stage of evolution, through the Human Instrumentality Project. If the other Angels are successfully fought off, and the 18th Angel (Humanity) is able to unify Adam and Lilith, humanity has the chance to meld into one massive Group Mind called the Instrumentality. And other than SEELE and the top few in NERV, no one knows a thing about it...
But SEELE and NERV disagree over how to achieve the Instrumentality–violently. SEELE wants to kill everyone first and hopes it'll all work out in the afterlife.
NERV, led by Gendo, has another idea, using Rei (who has Lilith's soul) and the embryonic form of Adam. Gendo Ikari has picked option two because it will get his dead wife back... he hopes.
Good lord, so how's it end?
That's a long story. See, the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series had 26 episodes and ended. In episode 24, after a massive fight set to the tune of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (the famous "Ode to Joy"), Shinji destroys the 17th Angel.
Whether they ran out of money, time or just had a crazy ending planned from the first, the last two episodes–25 and 26–stopped the regular plot, and followed the very surreal adventures of Shinji in the Human Instrumentality Project. The scenes went from animation, to re-used animation, to production sketches... even some live-action stuff was used.
Very few people understood it, and many fans clamored for an ending that answered all the questions about the plot and what happened to the characters.
So theatrically released movies were made. Death was a summary of the first 24 TV episodes (a common practice in Japan). Rebirth, released with Death, was a new episode 25, and the first 45 minutes of the new finale. Then, finally, The End of Evangelion was released, wrapping up the series as it was supposedly intended.
And it still didn't make sense. Director Hideaki Anno's ultimate answer was "Evangelion is a puzzle... find your own answers."
Which was no help at all. Which is why we've explained both endings for you in the sidebar.
but if you want your own answers, Death and Rebirth and End of Evangelion are finally released in the USA this July and September; respectively, courtesy of Manga Entertainment. And ADV Films is kindly re-releasing the entire TV series in a super-duper boxed DVD set.
Co-author of The Anime Encyclopedia, freelance writer Jonathon Clements knows everything about Evangelion. Except for why Misato drinks Yebisu beer instead of delicious Asahi Super Dry. It's super dry! Thanks to Paul Corrigan, Marvin Gleicher, John Ledford, Danny Payne and Matt Perrier.
Cross Your Heart
A guide to religious icons in Evangelion
Lost gospels
The Dead Sea Scrolls are lost manuscripts of early Christian and Jewish sects, discovered in 1948 in a cave in Israel. In Evangelion, thay predict the Angel attacks and the death of humanity.
Ex-wife from hell
In Jewish folklore, Lilith was Adam's first wife, divorced due to "irreconcilable differences". God had to jury-rig a new wife out of Adam's rib. Later found in a giant underground cavern beneath Japan. Bad news.
Roman holy day
Longinus was the half-blind Roman legionary whose job was to ensure Jesus Christ died on the Cross. When his eyes were healed when some of Christ's blood landed on him, he recognized that this was the Son of God after all, and became a preacher. His lance, which killed Jesus, became a magical relic that was rediscovered by agents of SEELE in 2002.
Tree of life
The Jewish Kabbalist Tree can be seen on the openeing credit montage and Gendo Ikari's office floor. Based on the writings of the 16th century Jewish mystics, Kabbalist mythology includes the concept of the waning of the divine light in all of us, followed by the destruction of humanity in a single catastrophic event.
The Big Finish
The two endings of Evangelion
Whatever happened behind the scenes, the last two episodes of Evangelion TV series were controversially abstract. The movie that remade them wasn't abstract, but equally bizarre. Feel free to pick the ending of your own choice.
The TV Version
The TV version shows us what the Instrumentality of Man looks like from the inside, as we witness the disintegration of one individual in particular into the Group Mind of Instrumentality. What do you know, the individual in question is Shinji.
Since the focus of Evangelion was always more on characters and the human dilemma of the necessity of others, the TV show gives more of a psychological answer. Shinji, always too afraid of being hurt to open up to others, or of failing others and being rejected, resists joining the Instrumentality.
But by the end, Shinji realizes that it's okay to be himself and he is welcomed into the fold by his fellow souls. We know they're souls, because the dead and mutilated characters all seem to be whole again. Hooray. We're all together. We're all one big... happy... family...
The Movie Version
The movie version is supposed to take place at the same time–we see what's really going on during the whole internal Shinji-stuff of the TV version. SEELE is determined to take control, and sends in their troops, who kill everyone they can find at NERV headquarters. They also send in nine pilotless mass production EVAs, which defeat Asuka. When Shinji tries to rescue her, the Third Impact occurs.
Gendo brings Adam and the original Lilith together, hoping to control the Impact. But he needs Rei to get to Lilith, and Rei refuses–instead, merging with Lilith herself and becoming the giant, planet-sized Angel of Death. Everyone dies, and Mankind merges into one single Group Mind in Rei–each of them seeing their heart's desire at the moment of immersion.
But Shinji, the last to be absorbed, decides that this Instrumentality stuff is a load of bull and that it's a false paradise. He chooses real life as an individual, with all the pain that it could entail, over the Instrumentality. The glowing crosses of the dead fly up into space, while other souls collapse back to Earth. Shinji rematerializes amid the ruins and starts strangling Asuka (or is it...?), angry that she always rejected him. But then she caresses his check like his long-dead mother, and he stops. Alone on the desolate, empty Earth, she says, "This feels weird". The End.