01SeriesNeon Genesis Evangelion
1995 · Original TV series
The story
What's it about?
Fifteen years after a global catastrophe, giant beings called Angels attack Tokyo-3. Shinji Ikari is summoned by his cold father to pilot the giant biomechanical Evangelion Unit-01. But the real battle is inside the pilots — a story about loneliness, depression and the terrifying, necessary act of connecting with others.
Meet the main characters
Protagonist
Shinji Ikari
A withdrawn boy who pilots a god-machine while desperately wanting someone to tell him he matters.
Deuteragonist
Rei Ayanami
The quiet First Child, an enigmatic girl whose identity is the story's deepest secret.
Antagonists
SEELE / Gendo Ikari
A secret cabal and Shinji's own father, both manipulating the end of the world for their own designs. The Angels are their harbingers.
Portrait: a representative member.
Side characters
Pilot
Asuka Langley
The fiery Second Child, whose pride hides the deepest wounds of all.
Guardian
Misato Katsuragi
Shinji's guardian and NERV's operations director, fighting her own demons.
Friend
Kaworu Nagisa
The one person who ever tells Shinji he loves him — and the final Angel.
Scientist
Ritsuko Akagi
NERV's chief scientist, bound to Gendo by a doomed love.