When I was in fifth grade, I didn’t think very highly of anime. A bunch of kids who clearly had it out for me bullied my friend, who openly enjoyed it, about ten times worse than they bullied me, so I began to assume that anime was all terribly written slop that nobody could possibly enjoy. But eventually, my opinion changed.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is said to be one of anime’s most influential productions of all time. It has managed to stay relevant for over 30 years and has had huge events all over Japan to celebrate its anniversary. Produced by Gainax and Hideaki Anno, the series’ first episode aired on October fourth, 1995 and quickly rose to fame in Japan. Its first movie, The End of Evangelion, made its debut in 1997 and grossed an estimate of 18-20 million dollars at the time of its release.
But why Evangelion? There were so many other anime about giant robots fighting monsters —even the creator himself was surprised with the fame his work received. So why did Evangelion gain so much popularity to the point that it’s still gathering fans and attention to this day?
One of the aspects of Evangelion that was so loved was the complexity and distinctiveness of its characters. At a time where it was common for protagonists to be strong heroes or to have magical powers, Evangelion took another path and created an absolute mess of a fourteen-year-old boy that we know as Shinji Ikari. Abandoned by his father at a young age and only called back to work for his secret organization, Shinji seeks validation and love that was never provided to him during all those years. I especially want to point out that Shinji is fourteen, what is considered to be an extremely confusing time in one’s life due to it being in an “overlapping” stage between childhood and adulthood—the stage of adolescence.
Biologically, most fourteen-year-olds are capable of producing offspring, and historically, marriages were officiated between fourteen-year-olds in ancient societies. This is not to say that these are acceptable or good choices to make, but they are entirely possible and have definitely happened at some point. However, fourteen-year-olds are treated like children in modern society. They don’t have fully developed frontal lobes, they can’t drink or drive, they need legal guardians, and so on and so forth. If you aren’t a kid but you aren’t an adult either, then just where exactly is your place in the world? The average fourteen-year-old may not exactly need to fight heavenly monsters or giant robots, but many do need to figure out how to deal with situations they aren’t ready for. Just like Shinji choosing between a shot at the validation from his absent father he craves by taking on a task he is unprepared for, running from his problems as he always does, and having guilt eat him alive. Many people of Shinji’s age struggle with finding their place in the world too, and being able to see a part of themselves in a TV character makes people feel represented and heard.
Shinji Ikari’s first encounter with an angel whilst inside Eva Unit 01. Image taken from syfy.com but originally from Netflix
When I talk about characters, I am not just referring to the main character compared to other main characters. Even secondary and minor characters in Evangelion all have their own personal issues and stories they must grapple with, like the other child pilots and the workers at the organization NERV. Asuka Langley Soryu, characterized as bold and aggressive on the surface, longs for somebody to care about her and pay attention to her. Her mother’s suicide served as an indicator to her that her mother didn’tthink she was a good enough reason to keep living, and other parental figures she attempts to get close to reject her and focus on Shinji instead. Even when she tries to be the best at something, such as piloting her EVA, she is recognized for a second, but is eventually cast aside once Shinji becomes better than her. Rei Ayanami is stoic and somewhat emotionless, but only because she was created as a genetically engineered clone in a NERV lab and is aware of other clones made to replace her. Due to her awareness of being an easily dispensable tool, she does not value her life very much—seeing herself as only an EVA pilot instead of her own individual. Evangelion is so famous for its characters because the anime’s focus was not on the external battles between giant robots trying to save the world, but rather on the characters’ internal battles with past experiences, identity, responsibility, love, and adult relationships.
There’s a joke I like to make sometimes which is: “never ask an Evangelion fan what happens in the last two episodes,” because the creator’s extreme depression and rushed schedule led the ending to be… something. The original storyline of Evangelion has two ways of showing the ending: the series’ showing a somewhat bittersweet mental image and The End Of Evangelion showing a darker physical image.
The final scene in End of Evangelion, after the third impact
In the last few episodes of Evangelion, Shinji is tasked to decide whether to initiate the “Third Impact” and merge all of humanity into a single being, or to accept life the way it is—even with all the struggles he has faced and will continue to face. In the original TV ending, the last two episodes take place entirely inside the character’s consciousness. Shinji comes to the realization that it is better to exist as his own person, since it is possible to find happiness and self-worth as long as he is alive. He rejects the merge, and the final scene is the cast surrounding and congratulating him, probably on his mentality shift and finally learning to deal with his problems instead of running away from them. The End Of Evangelion is much more violent and horrific. Shinji still acknowledges that living as an individual with the potential to struggle is better than merging everybody and rejects the merge, granting anybody with the will to live to return to their individual bodies. But, instead of everything turning back to normal, Shinji returns to a destroyed world where he is alone—except forAsuka, another former pilot.
The Neon Genesis Evangelion series got so popular because despite it being considered an action anime, its main focus isn’t the physical fighting at all, but the psychology and complexity of its characters and motifs. It presents themes such as abandonment, love, responsibility, happiness, and finding one’s self-worth and place in the world, through the use of unideal protagonists—characters that viewers can actually relate to. People love characters they can relate to since they love to feel seen—just another reason for Evangelion’s popularity. Its complex ending may be just about impossible to explain in writing without seeming crazy, but I would say it represents the complexity and weirdness of being a human in the world and learning to love and accept oneself as they are.
Also, now that I somewhat explained what the “Third Impact” is, I hope you readers caught the funniest and definitely not overused Evangelion joke of all time that I slid into the title.
Bibliography:
(MLA Citations)
“Character Analysis: Shinji Ikari.” Confessions of an Overage Otaku, 27 Apr. 2020, davedalessiowrites.wordpress.com/2020/04/27/character-analysis-shinji-ikari/.
Edmundson, Carlyle. “Evangelion Creator’s Response to Its Popularity Symbolizes What Makes It so Fascinating.” ScreenRant, Screen Rant, 18 Aug. 2024, screenrant.com/evangelion-creator-anno-response-popularity-symbolizes-fascinating/. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
Tu, Vinh Nguyen. “Why ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ Was so ahead of Its Time.” Medium, 27 Sept. 2019, medium.com/@vinhnguyentu/review-why-neon-genesis-evangelion-was-so-ahead-of-its-time-a65328ba4feb.