Neon Genesis Evangelion can be best described as a hot pot of unrequited intimacy, human motivation, and sex psychology. With clever story writing, ancient mythology, and technology, beautifully fused, this anime was way ahead of its time when it had debuted.
First released as an anime series in the mid-90s, Neon Genesis Evangelion revived the mecha genre, making this franchise an untimely legacy of Japanese animation.
The original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series only has one season with 26 episodes in total. It has three original movies and three remake movies, along with many other installments like the short movies and parody series making it such a great flick to get hooked on.
With such a history of anime and one of its disappearing genres, watching Neon Genesis Evangelion has never been so meaningful and fun for both the newcomers and the seasoned viewers.
Let me guide you through the release order and the chronological order list and ease you into enjoying the excellent content.
1. Release Order
I. TV Series
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-96)
II. Movies
- Evangelion: Death and Rebirth (1997)
- The End of Evangelion (1997)
- Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021)
III. Movie Remakes
- Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone (2007)
- Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance (2009)
- Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo (2012)
IV. Other Media
- Evangelion: Death (True) (1998)\
- Revival of Evangelion (1998)
- Petit Eva: Evangelion @ School (Parody Series) (2007)
- Rebuild of Evangelion: Hakata Angel Attack Alternative (Short Film) (2019)
2. Chronological Order
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (Episode 1 – 6)
- Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (Episode 7 – 20)
- Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (Episode 21 – 24)
- Evangelion: Death and Rebirth
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (Episode 25 – 26)
- The End of Evangelion
- Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo
- Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time
3. Conclusion
The chronological order is the only recommended watch order to any viewer, be it a fresher or someone who has already finished it before.
One can skip the Evangelion: Death and Rebirth movie from the main films, as it only acts as a recap of the first 24 episodes of the original anime series. The short film and the parody series can be skipped easily as they have no impact on the main storyline.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most influential anime of all time, considering its history and artistic influence on people in its home country, Japan, and overseas.
For a newbie entering the world of Eva, all the recommended content is essential to dive into it fully.
4. Director’s Cut vs. Original
When viewing Eva for the first time, there is a frequent question about the confusion of the director’s cut episodes and the original episodes.
Episodes 21 to 24 are the director’s cut episodes that are longer episodes with extra scenes in them. Even though there are some additional scenes in it, it doesn’t affect the actual storyline. Instead, it is recommended that one should watch only the director’s cut episodes.
5. Where to Watch Neon Genesis Evangelion with Subtitles or Dubbed?
Netflix is currently streaming the Neon Genesis Evangelion with dubbed and subbed versions.
6. Can You Download and Watch Neon Genesis Evangelion Offline?
Netflix always provides the option for downloading and watching any of your favorite series or movies offline.
All that is needed is to become a subscriber and enjoy any series or movies anytime you want.
7. How Much Time Will it Take to Complete Neon Genesis Evangelion?
You will take around 25 hours and 20 minutes, roughly a whole day, to complete watching everything of this franchise.
This runtime includes the original series, movies, movie remakes, and also other unnecessary content.
Let me give you the list of the runtime of each installment –
- Neon Genesis Evangelion – 624 minutes
- Evangelion: Death and Rebirth – 104 minutes
- The End of Evangelion – 87 minutes
- Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone – 104 minutes
- Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance – 112 minutes
- Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo – 96 minutes
- Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time – 155 minutes
- Petit Eva: Evangelion @ School – 72 minutes
- Rebuild of Evangelion: Hakata Angel Attack Alternative – 7 minutes
- Revival of Evangelion – 159 minutes
8. About Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a Japanese anime television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production. It was directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996.
This series revolves around Shinji Ikari, who was recruited by his father to battle giant monsters (called Angels) in enormous mecha suits (called Evangelion).
Shinji has a hard time bearing this responsibility, and his inner conflict about these events leads to introspective episodes covering a range of religious and existential questions.
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