Neon Genesis Evangelion arrives on Netflix in spring 2019

Netflix has announced it will stream the complete series of Neon Genesis Evangelion, the most influential Japanese anime of the 1990s, starting next spring. Created by director Hideaki Anno (born 1960 in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture) and produced in 1995 by Gainax, the 26-episode series originally aired in Italy on MTV in 2000. Set in 2015 in the futuristic city Neo Tokyo-3 after the Second Impact cataclysm that halved the world's population 15 years earlier, the story follows the secret organization NERV, which builds giant mecha called Evangelion Units to defend humanity from mysterious Angels. Teenagers pilot these units, confronting both external enemies and their own inner demons. The series is noted for its deep psychological characterisation, intricate storytelling with interior monologues, and references to Western philosophy (Freud, Heidegger, Nietzsche) as well as esoteric traditions like Kabbalah. Its enigmatic ending provoked fan outrage, later partially addressed by sequel films. The Netflix deal coincides with the planned 2020 theatrical release of the final film in an alternative tetralogy.