Shopping Guide
The day has finally come. The broadcast of a certain masterpiece that carved its name into the history of Japanese anime began on this very day, Oct. 4, 20 years ago.
Yes, it’s none other than Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion, an anime by director Hideaki Anno started airing exactly 20 years ago, on Oct. 4, 1995. A manga by the same name by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto started serialization in December 1994, causing Neon Genesis Evangelion to spread out into the world as a mix of media. Although the broadcast of the anime concluded in March 1996, with the release of the movies and the continuation of the manga, its fan base never stopped growing. (The manga was concluded in June 2013.)
The first movie, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth released in March 1997, which was followed not long after by The End of Evangelion in July the same year. The two films released in ’97 serve as a reconstruction and a complementation to the last episode of the TV anime.
When the first part of Rebuild of Evangelion, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, was released in September 2007, there were probably many fans who cried at the news of a new movie coming out after 10 long years. As the movie series was intended as a tetralogy, a second part titled Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance was released in 2009, two years after 1.0, and another three years later Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo came out. The three movies generated a box office revenue of roughly ¥11.3 billion in total. Although the title of the fourth film was announced to be Evangelion: 3.0+1.0, its precise release date remains unrevealed.
The popularity Evangelion gained with the manga, the anime series, and theatricals didn’t remain confined to Japan but spread to overseas as well. The large-scale Evangelion exhibition “Eva Expo” reaching all over China was held in 2013 for the first time, and there are plans for its continuation in the future as a limited-time event. Exhibitions and events related to Evangelion have also been part of large otaku events throughout the world, such as when Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo was screened at the New York Comic Con or when Yoko Takahashi, known as the the artist who sings “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” the world-renown opening theme of Evangelion, performed the song at Anime Expo 2015. Not to mention that you are bound to see cosplayers dressed as Evangelion characters at every overseas otaku event, starting from Japan Expo, which is held in France every July.
And so came October 2015. The story of Eva and us, which somehow feels both long and short, is yet to reach its climax.
The Shinkansen: Evangelion Project, a collaboration project between Sanyo Shinkansen and Evangelion is scheduled to launch from November. The trains will bear designs created by mechanic designer Ikuto Yamashita under the supervision of director Hideaki Anno, while on the inside, passengers can enjoy contents themed around the world of Evangelion. In addition, it was only recently announced that the Evangelion Smartphone would release in the same month. Needless to say, fans throughout the world are also eagerly expecting the release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0.
Now all we can do is look forward to new developments in the Eva series and rewatch the first episode of this commemorable anime...