Neon Genesis Evangelion, the hugely influential mid-1990s anime featuring a group of teens confronting their inner demons while learning to pilot gigantic weaponized robots, has finally found a new distributor in the West. Netflix will stream all 26 episodes of the original series, along with two feature films—The End of Evangelion and Evangelion: Death (True)2—in spring 2019.
Netflix shared the news to anime and sci-fi fans on Monday night, via the streaming platform's official NX Twitter account.
All’s right with the world: Neon Genesis Evangelion is coming to @Netflix. pic.twitter.com/2pQ1lG1h9e
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) November 27, 2018
If you're even remotely interested in anime, consider Evangelion required viewing when it hits the streaming service next spring. The series, which debuted in 1995 and quickly became known for its intense philosophical focus on the mental deterioration of its lead characters, has launched a thousand imitators, and is as much a cornerstone of the medium as storied franchises like Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball and One Piece.
Evangelion takes place 15 years after an apocalytic event known as Second Impact has destroyed the city of Tokyo, along with much of the world. The story begins with awkward adolescent Shinji Ikari coming to Tokyo-3 at the invitation of his long-absent father to take part in an experimental program. Shinji, along with a handful of other teens, must learn to combat an enormous biological weapon—the titular Evangelions—to combat the attacks of hostile alien beings known as Angels. The Angels seek to trigger another cataclysm like the one fifteen years ago, and the pilots begin to unravel as they discover the causes of the impending crisis.
Evangelion saw the rise to prominence of director Hideaki Anno, who imbued many of his own personal struggles with depression into Shinji's story. Anno drew wide acclaim for his work as director of the reboot of the iconic Tojo Studios kaiju franchise, Shin Godzilla, in 2016.
Neon Genesis Evangelion will debut on Netflix simultaneously in 190 countries worldwide.
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