Theory and Analysis:List of Common Misconceptions

Please also refer to the FAQ section on EvaOtaku – though it is considerably outdated it also covers other questions. If you note any contradictions, the page below takes precedence as it includes many newer sources and pieces of evidence.

This page generally refers to the original series or the franchise in general. For questions specific to the Rebuilds, see:
Guides:Evangelion 3.33 FAQ
Guides:Evangelion 3.0+1.0 FAQ

NGE contains a religious message

A lot of references are also more accurately from Ultraman, although it did have a Catholic creator. Anno would later work on the franchise himself.

The religious symbolism in NGE is actually not used in any sort of religiously meaningful fashion.

There are a lot of giant robot shows in Japan, and we did want our story to have a religious theme to help distinguish us. Because Christianity is an uncommon religion in Japan we thought it would be mysterious. None of the staff who worked on Eva are Christians. There is no actual Christian meaning to the show, we just thought the visual symbols of Christianity look cool. If we had known the show would get distributed in the US and Europe we might have rethought that choice. – Assistant Director Kazuya Tsurumaki, Q&A from "Amusing Himself to Death"

Anno: I'm not into Western civilization, you know. Somehow I don't trust Western civilization very much.
Omori: Is that as something to be denied?
Anno: It doesn't relate to me, so I can use it. If I were a Christian, I'd be too scared to use Christian stuffs.
Omori: Indeed. You don't have any attachments, so you can use the name of an angel. Like let's use this name because its sense of language sounds nice.
Anno: To equate apostles and angels is so much to complain about from a westerner's point of view. There is an American worker in our company, and he scolded me for many things, saying it was wrong. That's normal. But I didn't care about that and just did it. – World of Neon Genesis Evangelion, SF Magazine, Aug. 1996

Here's an example in an old essay from 2001 of someone getting it wrong: "However, it is revealed at the end of the series that the Angels are actually failed attempts in the Creation (i.e., the Biblical Creation) that preceded mankind". Early inaccurate translations of the show may have contributed to this confusion.

LCL means "Link Connect Liquid"

Manga saying LCL stands for Link Connect Liquid, vol. 4

It is unknown what the initials "LCL" stand for within the anime series, but we do know what they don't mean:

Incidentally, the widely circulated idea that L.C.L is the abbreviation of "Link Connected Liquid" is incorrect. – Death and Rebirth program book (special edition)

One explanation is that L.C.L. stands for "Link Connected [sic] Liquid". Another possible explanation is that the L stands for "Lilith", considering that L.C.L. is Lilith's biofluid. – Evangelion Chronicle, Extra Sheet 06

However in Sadamoto's manga version, LCL is said to stand for Link Connect Liquid, written in the Dossier before a chapter starts.

Gainax ran out of money and/or was censored

Easily the most enduring myth around the production of Evangelion is the notion that the series' ending came about as a result of a lack of money and/or censorship by the network. In reality, Evangelion's troubled production was mostly a result of poor planning, changing decisions and running out of time. Restrictions set by the producers and the network were minimal, the only significant instance being the death of Toji being changed into him losing his limbs to avoid backlash from TV Tokyo. For a similar reason, the network demanded to see Episodes 25 and 26 before airing, after controversy from Episode 24 – the network executives found Kaworu's death too gruesome. There are also other factors that influenced production, like the Aum Shinrikyo attacks in 1995. This is also one of the reasons why the series was not released before or along with the promotional manga as initially planned.

The lyrics of A Cruel Angel's Thesis have messages about the plot

A rather natural assumption is that Evangelion's theme song, A Cruel Angel's Thesis, has a hidden message relevant to the show and helps illuminate plot points. However this song was written with very little involvement from the show's creators, as the producers did not allow the anime staff to even meet the music staff. The songwriter, Neko Oikawa had no prior knowledge of the show, and simply skimmed through an outline of the show (possibly Neon Genesis Evangelion Proposal) and watched two unfinished episodes on fast-forward (Oikawa's interviews are referenced in the main article on A Cruel Angel's Thesis). Singer Yoko Takahashi also had no knowledge of the series. Anno originally wanted to use an excerpt from Borodin's Polovetsian Dances in the opening, but the producers did not approve this and instead decided to use a J-Pop song, which eventually resulted in the creation of "Thesis" seemingly at the last minute.

It's worth noting that Komm, süsser Tod and Everything You've Ever Dreamed were written by Anno (though later adapted into English by another songwriter) and the lyrics are thus more meaningful.

N.E.R.V. and other acronyms

...aren't acronyms at all! Rather, Nerv is simply the German word for "nerve", like Seele is for "soul" and Gehirn is for "brain", and additionally "Wille" for "will" and "Kredit" for "credit" in the Rebuild films. Nonetheless, Nerv and Seele are often written in all-caps in merchandise and across most of the Web, leading fans to think that they stand for something.

The manga is the original or first version of the story, or timeline

Though this is often the case for many manga later adapted as anime, Evangelion was originally created as an anime series by Hideaki Anno, and the manga was instead created as a supplemental designed to promote the TV series by character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. The anime was conceived before the manga and they were meant to have coinciding releases, but due to delays in the anime's production its launch was postponed and the manga went ahead, releasing about 10 months before the series first aired.^[1] The anime rapidly outpaced the manga, to the point that the chapters comprising volume 4 (which included content corresponding to Episode 8) were not released until over a year after the TV series had finished airing. However, NGE's popularity lead to the manga continuing. Despite cutting most of the series' storyline, the manga was finished in 2013, thanks to a very inconsistent schedule and multiple years-long hiatuses. Sadamoto, the author of the manga and character designer for the series (no involvement as a writer) has repeatedly stated the manga is his separate project. Sadamoto states that he "wrote the script of the manga using the anime 'as a base', further implying that the Evangelion anime was conceived first. After the anime ended, Sadamoto decided to keep making the manga. Sadamoto has also stated he made the manga entirely on his own without consulting anyone, in contrast to the anime's more collaborative production, and that all differences were decided by him. He referred to the Evangelion manga as "a reworking of a pre-existing work", in an effort to "separate it from the anime".

He has also denied links to the Rebuild movies, particularly regarding the bonus chapter featuring Mari Makinami, which he regards as just fanservice. Sadamoto also stated he had no intention to "include elements from the new movies, because [the manga] is only a comic adaptation of the TV series and old movie [EoE]. So there will be nothing of the new character, Mari."

Mari or Kaworu is a timeline traveller

As mentioned above as well as in other places on this page, Sadamoto explained that the addition of Mari in a bonus chapter was not approved of or overseen by Anno. This is mentioned in other statements as well. Volume 9 of the manga features two characters that bear a resemblance to Mari Makinami from the bonus chapter, leading many fans to assume one of them was Mari. One theory is that Mari was Asuka's adoptive sister, impossible as the manga's Mari was already 16 years old in 1998, whereas Asuka's adoptive sister is still a child in 2005. Additionally, this chapter was written before the launch of even Evangelion: 1.0, many years before Mari was conceptualized, and her appearance in the bonus chapter almost ten years later was played down as mere fanservice; Sadamoto said he couldn't use Mari in the manga, and has repeatedly denied links between the manga and the Rebuild movies. Thus, Asuka's adoptive mother and sister in the manga are entirely different characters and not Mari.

Mr. Langley's new wife and their daughter, Asuka's adoptive mother and sister in the manga. Either are claimed to be Mari.

As mentioned in other sections, the spin-offs are non-canonical according to their own creators, and the myth of the manga being the "original" story is addressed above. In Kaworu's case, there are only two spin-offs in the entire franchise that so much as play with the idea of timelines or multiple universes: Campus Apocalypse and Angelic Days. Using them as an argument also omits Kaworu's relatively low importance and presence in those spin-offs: the former is a "paranormal" story centered on Rei/Shinji using an "Yggdrasil" as a plot point of holding together the "fabric of reality", a vague Norse mythological reference that is completely extraneous to the rest of the Evangelion franchise, and the latter is a romantic comedy that focuses on Asuka/Shinji. Kaworu offers Shinji to stay in a sort of pocket dimension with him as children forever, and Shinji refuses. Kaworu disappears, and in the following chapter is shown helping Gendo and Yui get together in the past, as well as briefly wishing well for Shinji and Asuka's relationship in the future. This is the only spin-off that has any character traveling in time. In Shinji Ikari Raising Project, Kaworu is also present only for a very short period as a "spy" for Seele and is used as comic relief in this ecchi comedy story, only to then disappear from the story for the remaining 10+ years of publication. Mana Kirishima, an extra-canonical character from the Girlfriend of Steel video game, has the exact same treatment but a longer presence. Overall, Kaworu is not even present in the majority of spin-offs and games, and when he is it's usually only to fight him.

Do note this might not apply to the "Sequel Theory" concerning the anime and Rebuilds alone, depending on one's interpretation of the final Rebuild movie. This also does not leave out the possibility this might apply in some sense, even a self-contained one within the Rebuilds alone, to Rei as Quantum Rei, which at least in the series actually does have a non-linear existence across space-time.

The manga, spin-offs and/or video games are canon or complementary to the series

Anno wrote the Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 video game

As with other myths involving derivative material, this one claims Anno was heavily involved with or even wrote part of the Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 video game, which provides the source for the Classified Information material. His only confirmed involvement is being interviewed, along with other Gainax staff, by the makers of the game, which helped them with world-building and with writing the CI files themselves. They also state that the scenarios in the game should not be regarded as canon. In a production log, they explain they wanted to create their own "world of Evangelion". This is also expressed in their effort to create an "autonomous" simulation and characters. This allows the player to create numerous scenarios for characters, battles, and relationships.

Evangelion is a small, niche franchise with no commercial aims

This one is a bit curious, and mostly seen in the English-speaking fandom, owing to the problematic and messy history of the availability of Evangelion in English-speaking markets leads many to assume Evangelion, as a franchise, is an underground cult classic. This claim however disregards, or simply isn't aware of, the absolutely gigantic influence Eva had on Japanese culture and media, often being cited as a redefining work for the entire anime industry, personified by the gargantuan popularity of Rei, the "Premium Girl", enjoyed for years, as well as the hundreds of characters inspired by her. Evangelion is actually a pop culture phenomenon in Japan and even attained relative mainstream status in a good portion of the West. Another effect of this misconception is surprise at the variety and perceived shamelessness of current Evangelion merchandise, when that already existed in enormous amounts even before the series was finished airing. E-Mono is an example, a 143-page merchandise catalogue from 1997. A final proof of Evangelion's popularity can be seen in the revenue of the TV series and movies, which has surpassed US$2 billion as of 2019 (a great deal more money comes in from Eva pachinko games, for which we do not have a revenue estimate).

Part of this myth is attributable to the niche status of anime in general in the U.S. back in the 1990s. The English-speaking market suffered from the limited availability of ADV's early VHS releases, and fans relied heavily on bootlegs and fansubs to obtain shows like Evangelion. ADV would later release two DVD collections in 2001 and 2003, the Perfect Collection and the Platinum Collection, however these went out of print within a few years and then ADV itself collapsed in 2009. The tide began to change when a mostly-unedited version of Eva aired on Adult Swim in 2005, bringing in new American fans who were unaware of the show's previous hard-to-obtain status. Finally, the widely-viewed Netflix release of 2019, at a time when anime has never had more mainstream acceptance in the U.S., has created a large new wave of fans who recognize that Evangelion is a major anime work. The Internet has also allowed Eva fans, old and new, to learn much more about how Eva is viewed and marketed within Japan, including the aforementioned impact that Eva has had on anime since 1995. Thus this particular misconception has probably died out.

Anno is disgusted by Evangelion getting milked and is a reclusive auteur

An extension of the idea that Evangelion is a niche, underground cult classic is the notion that the extensive commercialization of Evangelion through merchandising, spin-offs and more is somehow against the spirit of the series, or that it is out of Anno's control. Anno is sometimes presented as a reclusive, anti-materialistic auteur, and some fans even claim that Eva's commercialization motivated him to make the less marketable EoE as a sort of rebellion. The truth is that Anno generally has no shame in commercializing this gargantuan franchise, and this has been the case since before Evangelion had even been released. He himself has been quoted as saying:

As for all the merchandising, it's just a matter of economics. – Hideaki Anno's Roundtable Discussion

In Schizo & Parano and the 1.0 CRC, Anno detailed his plans since the very beginning for expanding the franchise to new creators in a manner like Gundam – although none of these would be integrated into canon. The Rebuild movies are intended to serve as a "foundation" for this. Even so, much of the 1990s/2000s-era spin-offs, merch and games were created without Anno's knowledge, and he openly complained about it as Gainax was quite liberal with its license.

As for Anno himself, he is actually a sort of superstar in the Japanese cultural industry, and has been for decades. Hayao Miyazaki has called him his successor, and most of his films have found big audiences. Neither is he a recluse. Before making Eva, Anno even had a reputation as a serial womanizer up until his 30s and bouts with depression. This is mentioned in Notenki Memoirs, as well as the comedy drama series Blue Blazes, which chronicles the college life of Anno and a few other classmates at the Osaka University of Arts, some of whom would go on to found Gainax. It was later adapted into a live-action TV series. Anno, now an established director and businessman in his sixties who has made a fortune through real estate, enjoys enormous societal prestige through Evangelion, though not exclusively Eva.

The making of Shin Godzilla was a major achievement by Anno, as getting Toei and Toho to work on the same film took enormous political pull and goodwill, as did the close involvement of the Japanese government and military. Some Western fans mistakenly believe Anno was being critical of the government – it is domestically interpreted as criticizing only the lethargy of elected officials, but praising the military and bureaucrats who "just get the job done". The Japanese government itself has expressed approval of the film, and successive right-wing Japanese prime ministers including Shinzo Abe have praised it for its nationalistic sentiment.

First Impact killed the dinosaurs

First Impact was never depicted or directly referred to on-screen. This has led several fans to incorrectly assume that because the Second Impact has the cover story of being a meteorite impact, the First Impact must be the well-known asteroid impact which caused the mass extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period 66 million years ago.

However, according to the Classified Information (CI), First Impact was actually the collision of a giant spherical object (the "Black Moon") with Earth approximately 4 billion years ago. As a result of the impact, huge amounts of debris, including the Black Moon's rocky exterior, were thrown into orbit, eventually coalescing into Earth's satellite, the Moon. Although it should be stressed that the CI is of lesser canonicity than the show itself, this would explain the presence of the Black Moon under Hakone, Japan, where it is now referred to as a Geo-Front. (This depiction of First Impact is also a reference to the real-life Giant Impact Hypothesis.)

The Barons of Hell

Almost from the beginning of the Eva fandom, there has been an internet rumor that the Evangelions are based upon Biblical entities called "The Barons of Hell". There are two problems with this theory:

There is no such thing as a "Baron of Hell" mentioned in the Bible or in any other Judeo-Christian source. Some sources claim that the Barons are the same thing as the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", but the descriptions given to the Barons don't match up to the Horsemen.
We know exactly what the Evangelions are based upon. Evas were fundamentally based upon the oni (commonly translated as “demon” or “ogre”, but actually a specific type of Japanese monster). Says Hideaki Anno himself (in an interview published in Aerial Magazine):

There's a monster in Japan called the Oni; it has two horns sticking out of its head and the overall image of the Eva is based on that. I also wanted to give the impression that beneath this ‘robot monster’ image is not so much a robot, but a giant human. – Anno's Roundtable discussion

An early sketch Anno did of an Eva (left) with two horns exposes their oni origins. Working from this basic premise, and corresponding with Anno along the way, Ikuto Yamashita developed the Evas as we know them (with the exception of EoE's “harpies”).

Kids born after 2I are soulless

A bizarre idea used to explain the drop in the birth rate after Second Impact, and why only kids born after Second Impact can synch with the Evangelions. This theory has no basis whatsoever as Ritsuko explicitly states in Episode 20 that Shinji, born after Second Impact, has a soul. (Also, it turns out later in the show that there is actually no need to use 14-or-under youths to synch with the Evas; see next point).

Only children born after Second Impact can pilot Evas

An idea that is still present even in synopses and guides for Evangelion on multiple sites is that 14-year-olds need to be chosen as Eva pilots because they were born after Second Impact. This leads the reader to assume that the post-2I world has some sort of effect on children born after that event, but there is no evidence for this or even any allusion to it in the show whatsoever. The actual reason they are selected as pilots is because their mother's souls are embedded in the Evas. It is implied that Hikari, Toji and Kensuke have all lost their mothers as well, and this presumably extends to the whole of Class 2A – some speculate that Nerv has some sort of "soul bank" with each pilot candidate's mother's soul ready for implantation in a future Eva.

Rei and Kaworu are an exception since they can single-handedly establish a deep synchronization with the Evas, possessing part of the souls of Lilith and Adam respectively.

It's worth mentioning that the pilots' birth dates are also not at all important or even mentioned in the actual show and are merely one of the instances of a retroactive handwave where the voice actor's birthdate was used as the character's birthdate, a common anime industry practice.

Spear of Longinus is the actual holy relic (that just somehow got big)

This is a product of taking NGE's religious references too literally. The Spear was actually excavated in Antarctica along with Adam, who was found impaled upon it. According to the Classified Information, each Source of Life is accompanied by a Spear that has a will of its own and can immobilize a Seed for going against its mission. Thus, the Spear of Longinus is billions of years old – not made by a Roman blacksmith.

A.T. Field is a real-life psychology term

Since the very earliest days of Evangelion analysis, there has been a rumor ([1], [2]) that A.T. Field is a genuine psychological term that describes the barrier that separates autism patients from the world around them. However "Absolute Terror" or similar terminology has never been used in science or academia, only in connection to NGE.

Rei and/or Kaworu are a representation of Shinji's unconscious

This seems to stem from a mistranslation or misunderstanding of an Anno interview. An interview was published in the November 1996 issue of Newtype Magazine where Anno said that he identifies with Shinji in both a conscious and unconscious manner (also mentioned here), and that Shinji, Asuka and Misato are close to himself, while Rei is Anno's "deepest part" and Kaworu is Anno's Jungian shadow, not Shinji's. This is a rather long interview containing several famous excerpts but hasn't been fully translated, though several other excerpts are available on gwern's source anthology, and the relevant section has been summarized in the forums.

Referring to his original intention, Anno also said:

The plan was that the ‘unconscious Shinji-kun’ would be Ayanami Rei, the Shinji-kun who appears on the surface would be Ikari Shinji, and the ‘ideal Shinji-kun’ would be Nagisa Kaworu-kun. [Kaworu was] supposed to be an ideal male but when I tried putting him together he was just a strange fellow (laughs). That was something of a lack of capability on my part. – Interview ‘with a member of Waseda University for the purpose of “character study.”’

Anno: [On why Kaworu is an ideal Shinji] Because he is a character who has been cleared of all of Shinji's complexes. Well, that part doesn't come through clearly due to shortcomings in my depiction. – JUNE interview

The key point is that Anno never makes it clear if he held on to the idea of Rei being an unconscious Shinji – in other interviews he echoes having had problems with characterizing Rei as she's part of his unconscious and somewhat hard to connect with. It is much more clear that Anno attempted to follow through on his plan for Kaworu's character.

Anno deliberately modeled characters on certain people

Another common claim. Although VAs like Yuko Miyamura (Asuka) and Yuriko Yamaguchi (Ritsuko) have influenced characterization to varying degrees, Anno is quite adamant about characters being first and foremost based on him. Some of the common claims include:

Misato Katsuragi is claimed to be based on Noriko Hidaka, voice actress of Jean from Anno's previous work, Nadia. This claim comes from a widely disproven slander document, the Kaibunsho:

When the TV version of “Nadia” launched, Anno confessed his feelings to Hidaka Noriko. This is a famous story in the industry. Apparently Anno told her that he “looked at her not as an object of adoration/longing, but as a serious love interest!” (ROTFL!)

Kaworu Nagisa being modeled on a real person or experience, but this has been denied long ago by both Anno and Sadamoto:

What about whatever research you’d done?

Anno: There was none.

[...] Telling someone or being told by someone, “Your heart is like glass” — did anything like that actually happen to you?

Anno: Nope, nothing like that. – JUNE interview

—When you designed Kaworu, did you base his looks on someone?

Huh? No. But, as the last Angel, if I make his profile a combined form of the people that the past Angels made a contact with——what about something like this——I have this concept. That is why some parts of Kaworu look like Shinji, some parts look like Rei, some parts look like Asuka. – All About Kaworu Nagisa interview

Neither is this ever even alluded to in multiple Sadamoto interviews detailing his design, or sources like the Newtype Film Books or Evangelion Chronicle.

Gendo Ikari's character coming from Anno's own father seems unlikely considering Anno was clear about having a good relationship with him. Instead, Gendo is described as representing the "pressure of society":

Ikari Gendo is not exactly popular in Japan. Many think that he is too stern with Shinji and that he generally exudes the aura of a hard, traditional, strict father. Gendo was meant to be a strong father who should have a positive influence on Shinji so that he could grow to be more confident and adult-like. Many modern fathers in Japan are “mollycoddled” which was another reason to make Ikari Gendo into a strong father. – FUNime interview with Kazuya Tsurumaki, English translation by Kendrix

In fact, Anno's father seemed to have influenced Toji of all people:

My father has only one leg. While working at a lumber mill he had his left leg seriously injured with an electric saw. He was 16 years old at the time. He wears an artificial leg below the thigh. He has trouble walking, so he used to stay at home. But there is no doubt that I have been influenced by father's physical handicap. I cannot love anything perfect.- Disability Shapes Taste for the Imperfect

Oizumi: About the complex you have because of your father's body... you said, for instance, in an interview with Animage that even when drawing a robot you're not satisfied until you've erased some part of it.

Anno: Probably I have an attachment towards deformity. I can't love [something] if it's not broken somewhere. I believe that's [due to] the influence of my father['s condition].

Oizumi: The Evas often got deformed as well (laughing).

Takekuma: Toji lost his leg. Why didn't he die there?

Anno: I couldn't kill him.

Takekuma: Of course.

Anno: No, um, I made a certain promise, though I think now I should have broken it. At the very beginning, when [we] drew up the plan [for Eva], [I met] with the producer, from King Records, who told me, "I will approve the plan you submit, whatever it is, because I have faith in you. However, there will be two conditions. The first one is that you will remain with me for five years. You cannot, for example, do a film version with another [producer]. The additional condition is that you will not kill any children. The adults can die, but I don't want children dying." Because of that condition I couldn't kill [Toji]. – Schizo/Parano

Rei Ayanami coming from Anno's mother is likewise a theory that Anno has denied. As mentioned elsewhere, she is Anno's deepest unconscious self:

Oizumi: Exactly. And, on the topic of substitutions, can we think of Rei Ayanami as being a person like your mother?

Anno: That’s not quite right.

Takekuma: There’s also nothing like the image of a girl you previously dated [in her], right?

Anno: No. Well, Rei is probably [the character] closest to my deep psyche. I don’t really understand her. … The truth is, I have no emotional attachment to her at all.

Takekuma: Huh? Is that right?

Anno: Yeah. I have no emotional attachment to her. Well, Nobita-san wrote [about her] as being a symbol of schizophrenia. There were parts where that was actually what I wanted to do [with her].

Takekuma: But she is the character best received by the fans in the outside world. Even I was drawn in by Rei at the beginning.

Oizumi: That’s right. Megumi Hayashibara’s voice was also incredible.

Anno: But Rei is [the character] I least understand. In addition, I’m not really that interested in her. There were parts where that’s what I was consciously doing, actively trying to put aside my presuppositions, trying to bring out the most primitive, the most core, the purest parts within me.

Oizumi: So Rei is perhaps [something] embedded in your unconscious [that] can’t be expressed in words.

Anno: Even in the midst of making Eva, I suddenly realized I had forgotten her. Her very existence. In episode seven, I remembered, and added a single shot with Rei. I had no emotional attachment to her at all. I think that was fine, because she didn’t appear in episode eight, not even for a single shot. -Parano

Mari Makinami from Hideaki Anno's wife, Moyoco Anno: See this section below.

Overall, Anno emphasizes that all characters in Evangelion represent different aspects of himself. The Character Name Origins article contains explanations by Anno on the (mostly nautically-inspired) naming of the characters.

Eva-00 has the soul of Naoko Akagi, or none at all

The most accepted theory on Eva-00 is that it contains Rei I's soul, which in turn is a portion of Lilith's own soul. Please visit Eva-00's soul for more information.

Kaji was killed by Misato/someone we know

This is one of the most famous early misconceptions. Usually, the piece of evidence used is the original cut present in the On-Air version of Episode 21. This misunderstanding shocked Anno so much at the time that he'd later avert it in the Director's Cut version of Episode 21 by changing the previous "evidence" for this, a shot of her room's door with her name on it, to a shot of her apartment complex. This might be the only case of a change made in Evangelion to retroactively disprove a fan theory.

It was also controversial enough to be addressed by Newtype at the time: "While a lot of fans think that it was done by Misato, Director Anno raised the possibility that it could have been done by Japan['s] government or [a] Seele agent". The film-book also states that the killer was not a main character.

…Who killed Kaji? What’s your version of it?

This is a question that many Japanese fans also wonder about. Kaji wanted to investigate a deeper part of NERV (SEELE) and learn of its secrets. He was tricked by one of his informants and then killed. It wasn’t Misato or Ritsuko. – Tsurumaki, FUNime March 2002 interview

Rei and Kaworu are actual albinos

Actual albinos don't have light blue hair! Albinos cannot walk outside without protection otherwise they would suffer severe sunburn, and most have very poor eyesight. On the contrary, Kaworu's eyesight appears to be exceptional (such as his noticing Misato in the Episode 24 director's cut lake scene). It is worth noting that Ritsuko's complexion is only slightly darker than Rei's, although she's obviously not an albino.

Kaworu had a natural human appearance

This theory posits that Kaworu's human appearance was naturally occurring like those of the other Angel's or even chosen by him in order to enter Nerv. Actually, he was created using human DNA and an Angel's soul, the Seed of Life Adam, just like Rei was created with Yui Ikari's DNA and Lilith's soul.

Episode 21’:

Man E: "The contact experiment with the donor is scheduled for the 13th of next month. There will be time for any adjustments."

(later) Woman B: "The genes that dived into Adam have already undergone physical fusion!"

Episode 24’:

SEELE A (speaking to Kaworu): [Adam's] salvaged soul exists only within you.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 2. Classified Information: Adam:
At the time of Second Impact, [Adam's] body was torn apart, and its soul flew off somewhere as a result. Adam's soul was later recovered by Seele and incarnated.

Kaworu's human DNA donor, however, is unknown. See: Theory and Analysis:Identity of Kaworu's Donor

However during the planning phase, Kaworu was envisioned as the final Angel who gets the humans to let down their guard, and would have played a larger role in the plot. Anno said this of his original concept for the character:

Q: When you designed Kaworu, did you base his looks on someone?

A: [A]s the last Angel, [I made] his profile a combined form of the people that the past Angels made a contact with[…]. That is why some parts of Kaworu look like Shinji, some parts look like Rei, some parts look like Asuka. – All About Kaworu Nagisa interview

This implies that, in the original plan for his character, Kaworu chose his form deliberately or that it was the result of whatever mechanism is behind the evolution of the Angels.

Toji not only loses his leg, but his arm as well

While Toji's left leg is plainly missing when he's on the hospital bed, it's not easy to tell if his left arm is there under the blanket. However, both of Toji's arms are seen before this as he is being hauled out of the entry plug. In an interview, Anno is asked about Toji's losing his leg, but does not correct the interviewer to say he also lost his arm.

Takekuma: Toji lost his leg. Why didn't he die there?

Anno: I couldn't kill him.

Takekuma: Of course.

Anno: No, um, I made a certain promise, though I think now I should have broken it. At the very beginning, when [we] drew up the plan [for Eva], [I met] with the producer, from King Records, who told me, "I will approve the plan you submit, whatever it is, because I have faith in you. However, there will be two conditions. The first one is that you will remain with me for five years. You cannot, for example, do a film version with another [producer]. The additional condition is that you will not kill any children. The adults can die, but I don't want children dying." Because of that condition I couldn't kill [Toji]. – Schizo/Parano

The original storyboards for The End of Evangelion also contain a scene showing Toji playing wheelchair basketball with Kensuke where he clearly has both arms.

However in Neon Genesis Evangelion: ANIMA, Toji indeed loses his leg and arm. He has cybernetic implants in their place.

Naoko's Brain is in the Magi

Or any other brain for that matter. This is due to the brain-like object Ritsuko reveals when she cuts into the Magi in episode 13. It is clearly stated that the Magi merely have personality imprints of Naoko Akagi – herself as a mother, scientist, and woman. The computers are also far too large to be actual human brains.

Naoko's Soul is in the Magi

Likely originated due to the fact that the Evas have the souls of their pilots' mothers, but additionally due to Caspar "betraying" Ritsuko in The End of Evangelion. However machines cannot be implanted with souls in the Evangelion universe (and hence can't project A.T. Fields, as was stated in Episode 07).

Keel is the Wandering Jew

One of the stranger myths about Evangelion. There is an extra-biblical myth that an onlooker at Christ's crucifixion spat upon him, and was punished by receiving the curse of immortality. He thus became the "wandering Jew", never able to make permanent friends or stay in one place, lest people notice his never-aging nature. The theory goes that Keel Lorenz's motivation in bringing about Instrumentality would at long last allow him to die.

There are, at the very least, two huge problems with this notion. One being there's absolutely nothing in the series to indicate this is Keel's motivation. The other is that when Keel appears in a flashback in episode 21, he is visibly younger than in the series' present, and as has been noted, the Wandering Jew is supposed to be ageless. This theory probably predates EoE, because when "Tangification" occurs at the end of EoE, Keel's body leaves behind mechanical augmentations that wouldn't be necessary if he was immortal, putting this matter to rest.

It's worth noting however that in the Rebuild movies, there are implications that Seele is composed of ageless undying beings.

The Dummy Plug Plant is the Chamber of Guf

The Chamber of Guf is mentioned by Ritsuko in episode 23 when she, Misato, and Shinji are down in the Dummy Plug Plant. This comment likely lead people to believe the two were synonymous. Please look here for an explanation of Guf within NGE.

Adam was impaled on the Spear of Longinus by Lilith

The "Duel of the Seeds" idea was made up to explain why one Seed would be skewered by the Spear of Longinus and placed in suspended animation while the other would be free to spread life on Earth. The interaction between Rei and Kaworu was interpreted to mean that both of them (as Lilith and Adam respectively) had interacted previously. This idea is contradicted by the semi-canonical Classified Information files, which revealed that each Seed was sent with its own Spear, and that Lilith's Spear was either lost or destroyed during First Impact. Adam was placed in suspended animation by its own Spear, which was used to impale Lilith later on.

Death's string quartet scenes don't take place in the actual timeline

While until lately the predominant idea was that the string quartet scenes are simply artistic linking devices that don't truly take place in the series timeline, an alternative explanation is that the characters featured there aren't Shinji, Asuka, Rei and Kaworu, but rather characters who look like, sound like and have some basic characteristic similarities to them.

This might sound like a joke, but consider that none of the musicians ever have their entire faces in a frame. Beyond that, there are also no links made between the musicians and the four pilots. Furthermore, the official book The Evangelion Chronicle: Side B explicitly calls the musicians different characters. A line from the book reads as following: "Before the Third Angel attacked, a quartet of boys and girls gathered in the school auditorium of the Third Middle School in Tokyo-2 to perform "Pachelbel's Canon". These young musicians bore an uncanny resemblance to the four Children upon whom the world's fate would come to rest."

Additionally, from the Refrain of Evangelion booklet:

1. Suiten for Violoncello solo Nr. 1 G-dur, BWV. 1007 1. Vorspier

This is the opening for EVANGELION: DEATH and an introductory part of Bach’s unaccompanied cello suite #1 played by a boy who looked just like Shinji.

How seriously one takes this narrative framing device is up to the reader. It was likely a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement of the fact that these scenes did not have time to take place in the timeline of the TV series as it turned out in the final product. According to the original plan for the series, Kaworu would have spent considerable time in Class 2A and thus these scenes could have actually happened.

See also: Death's string quartet scenes

Death threats, and 'Anno's Revenge'

Main article: End of Evangelion Death Threats

Many fans have been led to believe that The End of Evangelion was Anno's revenge against the fans for the negative response received from the ending of the TV series.

Some say this because Anno brutally killed off all of the main characters; however, this isn't anything new in the world of anime. See Yoshiyuki Tomino's Space Runaway Ideon, where not just all the main characters are killed off, even children are brutally massacred. Ideon may be one of Anno's biggest inspirations for Evangelion, but in fact the End of Evangelion was based on the planned ending to the TV series (see Anno's October 2013 interview). Some of the footage shown briefly in the TV series' ending (the corpses of Misato and Ritsuko) indicates that, even before the TV series ended, Anno had planned on killing these characters.

Another argument for Anno having a vindictive attitude is the cinematic and narrative mind-f### that takes up most of the second half of End of Evangelion. A subjective retort could be, "What about the end of the TV series?" More objectively, films have been known to use clashing motifs, non-linear storytelling, and highly symbolic/obscure imagery, and End of Evangelion isn't the first to use all three. Also, from an interpretive standpoint, the second half of the movie does very well in showing the chaos and disembodiment of Instrumentality, specifically, what Shinji was going through.

Finally, some argue that the smoking gun for the Revenge theory is the sequence of quickly flashing (about one per frame) death threats/hate mail which can be seen at the end of the live action sequence in the second half of the movie. However this rumor got started, it was probably propagated by the Commentary track on the Manga Entertainment release of End of Evangelion, where Amanda Winn Lee talks about hate mail during this sequence. Since then, these messages have been translated to English, and the majority of the letters and emails have been revealed to be conveying praise, or encouragement/anticipation for the End of Evangelion movie. Out of the 25 letters, only one of the emails can be considered critical of Anno's work, and it was criticizing Death and Rebirth, not the end of the TV series. The only 2 possible instances that could be considered a death threat are the graffiti spray-painted on the wall outside of Gainax's studio (which was hypothesized to be from religious fanatics) and an email that said, "Anno, I'll kill you!!!"; this was a close-up of a message on a computer monitor and lacked any context whatsoever. Almost all letters were positive or neutral. This puts the smoking gun argument on very shaky ground as this sequence can't be a "This is why I'm taking revenge on you people" justification. Another theatrical pamphlet for EoE claims that the letters are simulations to explore the relationships "between a work and its admirers". Moreover, Anno has revealed that the letters shown were actually written by a friend of his, as he could not use the actual letters for legal reasons.

It was popular at the time, and it is popular now. I thought of everything in the letters. If you write the real thing, it causes a lot of trouble. The person who wrote the abusive/slanderous stuff, is actually a really old friend of mine. He wrote it really well. It seemed like something that could be real. – Anno, Tokyo International Film Festival

First of all we didn't use a sad ending to annoy fans. When they're upset, that really bothers us. Personally, I think a happy ending is fine, but not if it is achieved too easily. That's no good. – Assistant Director Kazuya Tsurumaki

The TV series is the true ending

Thanks to the many urban myths surrounding the production of Evangelion, as well as the "revenge" myth mentioned above, some people assume that the series' ending in Episode 26 is the real, "original" ending, with End of Evangelion being a response. However, supplemental material and interviews clearly state that Episode 26’ in EoE represents Anno's original plans. Instead, EoTV, while still important and thematically relevant, was made that way because of the lack of time to appropriately represent Gainax's intentions. This does not discard EoTV, however, and EoE is generally considered to be, thematically if not narratively, a complementation of EoTV and not a complete replacement.

For instance:

I couldn't draw it out for various reasons, but as far as episodes 25 and 26 (the last episode) in the original storyline, I even had the plot for episode 25. Episode 26 was abandoned at the plot stage. We'll rework the original episodes 25 and 26 in the video and LD that will be released next year, but for episode 26, we're going to rework it again visually. If I can't come up with anything, I'll take that plot apart and do it again. The episodes 25 and 26 that aired on TV were a direct reflection of how I was feeling at that point in time, so I'm happy with them. I don't regret it.

March 4. After the end of the voice recording of "Evangelion" episode 25, the staff and cast members held a party near the Tabak recording studio in Tokyo.

Anno: At that time, the script for the final episode was not yet up. It was all done the following week. We only had three days of drawing work in fact. To be honest, I don't think it even needed to be drawn up as an expression. In fact, it should have been fine for me to come out and talk. I thought that'd still work, but as expected, they refused to let me. – Hideaki Anno: Special Interview to celebrate being made into a movie (Newtype 06/1996)

Episode 25’ "Air" is based on the original episode 25 script which was completed during the production of the TV series. Due to production time limits and other problems, this script was not used and the TV episode 25 "Owaru sekai (The Ending World)" instead became a drama which unfolded within an inner universe like episode 26. In this sense, episode 25’ could be considered a return to the originally intended contents. In contrast, episode 26’ adds much more story and dramatic content to TV episode 26, thus deepening the theme. – From Red Cross Book, available here.

When I did the TV series, there was as yet no such thing as moe. I like Sailor Moon as well. For the TV series, we certainly ran out of time. We had no time for episode 25, so we remade it for the theatrical edition. The final episode, episode 26, was going to be that way originally. In the scene in episode 16 which depicts a conversation between Shinji and the angel, Tsurumaki-san forbade [the angel's use of] Japanese. So due to that, the theme became from then on conversations with oneself, and it ended with the question of how you can come to terms with other people. We did [the finale] in four days. We did the voice recording first, and then drew the storyboards. – Hideaki Anno x Kazuo Koike (October 22 2013)

With that said however, that does not mean that Episode 25 and 26 are skippable or should be discarded, as they are an integral part of Evangelion.

Both endings are concurrent

Also linked to the above misconception. One of the most hotly debated topics is whether End of Evangelion and the final episodes of the TV series, known as EoTV, are different perspectives on the same event. This has been known as the Concurrency Theory. However, a multitude of official sources and statements by staff, including Tsurumaki and Anno themselves, make it clear that EoE is an alternative, replacement ending, and not directly compatible with EoTV, and are even explicitly referred to as "remakes":

After all 26 episodes of the TV series were aired, the remake version of Episode Twenty-Five and the Final Episode were released as a theatrical piece, in which several of the mysteries were resolved. Or there were clues presented with which to think about the mysteries. – Platinum Booklets – Mysteries Revealed

The conclusion to the drama and illuminating the mysteries. In response to fans clamoring for those two things, it was decided that there would be a remake of Episode Twenty-Five and the Final Episode. The result of that are Episode 25[’] "Air" and Episode 26[’] "A Pure Heart For You," which were released as the theatrical "The End of Evangelion."

Thus, the story of Eva would branch into two stories with the diverging point being the end of Episode Twenty-Four "The Final Messenger". The two stories each unfold differently and arrive at their own climaxes. Episode [25] and the Final Episode tell the theme directly. And the other version, Episode 25[’] and Episode 26[’], depict the same, following the story. It is not that one is the complete version and the other is incomplete. Just like the multiple endings of a game, two different endings were prepared for one story. – Platinum Booklets – The Two Endings

Seeing the remakes, Episode 25[’] “Air” and Episode 26[’] “A Pure Heart For You”, may in fact make the content of Episode Twenty-Five easier to understand. The depictions of Misato and Ritsuko being shot to death, Unit-02 hugging its knees in the lake, and Asuka likewise hugging her knees within Unit-02 all correspond to Episode 25[’].

When it was originally aired, many voiced their opinion that they could not understand the story in Episode Twenty Five and the Final Episode. However, there is actually a bare-bones explanation of the story within the show. That being… Gendo uses Rei to execute the Human Instrumentality Project and the complementation of man begins.

Gendo says, “All souls will become one and find eternal peace.” His Instrumentality Project must have been for all human souls to be combined as one and to compensate each other for what they have been deprived of. In the story that follows from Episode 25[’] “Air” to Episode 26[’] “A Pure Heart For You”, he was not able to execute the scenario he had drawn up. It may be that it was in Episode Twenty-Five and Episode Twenty-Six that his wish actually came true. – Platinum Episode Commentaries

The moment that Shinji gains conviction that it is okay for him to be there, the background changes, and the blue Earth spreads beneath his feet. However, there are no continents on this Earth, and it is covered by a gigantic coral reef. It seems this is the Earth that has been transfigured by the Instrumentality Project. This episode ends with the captions “To my father, thank you.” “To my mother, farewell.” “And to all the Children.” “Congratulations!” Eva is something of an Oedipus complex story, where a boy feels love and hatred for his father and mother, so the first two captions can be thought to means that Shinji has come to an understanding with his father and grown out of his dependence on his mother. Perhaps the latter two captions mean, “This is a world where all the children born into it deserve to live.” It is left for the audience to decide whether this ending is the Best Ending or the Bad Ending. – Platinum Episode Commentaries

At last, the [Human Instrumentality Project] has been executed. ... How about the complementation of Shinji? How about the complementation of Shinji's heart? Here the path of Shinji's complementation is described.

Amidst the many words of congratulations, a faint smile starts at the corners of Shinji's mouth (and spreads across his face). A happy face -- that is the figure of the Complemented Shinji. This conclusion is also one form, one possibility among many. - Filmbook Vol. 9

In other words, episodes 25’ and 26’ are the continuation of TV episode 24 "Saigo no Shisha".

For the TV series, episodes 25 "Owaru sekai (The Ending World)" and 26 "Sekai no chuushin de ai wo sakenda kemono (The Beast who Shouted 'I/Love' at the Center of the World)" were shown following episode 24 to conclude the series. Thus, the story of Evangelion branches into two after the last scene of episode 24. There is one ending as shown in TV episodes 25 and 26, while episodes 25’ and 26’ as shown in "THE END OF EVANGELION" are another ending. (Here, plain numbers are used to indicate the TV episodes, and numbers with apostrophes for the movie episodes.) Thus, in both name and fact, this is the complete conclusion to Neon Genesis Evangelion.

As the culmination of this trend, the final episode of the TV series, "Sekai no chuushin de ai wo sakenda kemono", took a novel approach in that the story progressed only within the inner world of the protagonist Shinji Ikari. Although this fulfilled the basic thematic requirements, the drama of the Eva characters and explanations of various settings were left unfinished as the story ended.

This became a major issue as the final episode of the TV series could be considered incomplete. The voice of the fans grew stronger as they demanded a proper ending to the drama, explanations of the mysteries, or even a new story. Thus, in order to meet these demands, it was decided to remake episodes 25 and 26.

The remade episodes 25’ and 26’ were originally intended for release as OVA, but during production it was decided that they would be released in theaters. – End of Evangelion Program Book (Red Cross Book): Commentary

-- What did you think about developments during the second half of the TV series?

KT – I didn't mind it. The schedule was an utter disaster and the number of cels plummeted, so there were some places where unfortunately the quality suffered. However, the tension of the staff as we all became more desperate and frenzied certainly showed up in the film.

-- I see.

KT – About the time that the production system was completely falling apart, there were some opinions to the effect that, "If we can't do satisfactory work, then what's the point of continuing?" However, I didn't feel that way. My opinion was, "Why don't we show them the entire process including our breakdown." You know -- make it a work that shows everything including our inability to create a satisfactory product. I figured that, "In 10 years or so, if we look back on something that we made while we were drunk out of our minds, we wouldn't feel bad even if the quality wasn't so good."

[...]-- Was this cinema edition made to match Director Anno's state of mind?

KT – I believe so. There was a time when Hideaki Anno clearly wanted to attempt a more cathartic development. It didn't end up that way, but I don't think we lied.

-- When you say "lie", do you mean to suddenly conclude with something like "love saved the world"?

KT – Exactly. And we didn't do that with this movie. I feel no dissatisfaction at the ending. I really like it. – Red Cross Book: A STORY OF COMMUNICATION: The Kazuya Tsurumaki Interview

Hayashibara: So there will be two episode 25s.

Anno: Right, it will be a multi-ending.

Hayashibara: So, a dual... ah, a multi-ending. After episode 24 the endings will diverge.

Anno: Right.

Hayashibara: There will be two of them.

Anno: There will be two of them.

Hayashibara: Ah, two endings.

Anno: Yes.

Hayashibara: In terms of gaming – is it called a simulation game? What do you call it? The ending for that [particular] self changes as you go on [through the game].

Anno: Right, a multi-ending [game].

Hayashibara: You took this road so you went here. You took this road so you went here. The ending changes. That's how it goes.

Anno: Um. Evangelion is my live performance. Since I create it with this sense of it being live, what I'm thinking now, what I'm feeling now, my current mood, all this gets transferred onto film – that was the initial theme, or the theme I had in my mind. – Hayashibara's Tokyo Boogie Nights, April 14 1996

Ohmori: So we can't think of [the ending] as him as being saved, or as it being happy.

Anno: Um, well, there are probably people who see it as a happy ending. For me, personally, it wasn't very happy. In hindsight. – The World of Neon Genesis Evangelion (SF Magazine 08/1996), full translation

Finally, this quote from many years later, after the Rebuild movies were finished, shows that Anno still regards EoE as a second ending to Evangelion:

Q: Has Mr. Anno’s Evangelion really ended?

A: Since I have already 'ended it 3 times', I am good for now, I hope. – First Anniversary Khara Q&A

The Mass Production Evas have no souls, or are piloted by other Children

The MP Evas do have souls, but their source is unclear. In Episode 24, Kaworu says that the A.T. Field is "the light of the soul", indicating that a soul is required to produce an A.T. Field. This is consistent throughout the TV series as well as in the movies, since the Mass Production Evangelions do produce A.T. Fields:

Shigeru: "The Eva series' A.T. Fields are resonating!"

Some say that it is the pilots (i.e. the Kaworu dummy plugs) which produce the A.T. Field. However, Ritsuko in Episode 17 says:

"This is the dummy plug prototype. Rei's personal data has been loaded into it, but it's not really possible to digitize a human mind and soul. Ultimately, it's a fake, an imitation. Just a machine that emulates a pilot's thinking process."

Therefore, it is impossible for the dummy plug to generate an A.T. Field.

An alternative theory is that they are piloted by the other members of Shinji's Class 2A, like Hikari, Kensuke and Toji, which would also mean that the MP Evas would be embedded with their mothers' souls. This is also disproven by the Kaworu dummy plugs being inserted into the cockpits where the pilots would be.

Adam and Lilith were once a single being/Adam and humanity both originate from Lilith

A misconception that arose from translation issues and has led to many assuming that both Adam and humanity derive originally from Lilith. This information tends to be derived from Misato's "info-dump" to Shinji in The End of Evangelion (specifically Episode 25’) and a particular line that has not been translated correctly in most releases, including official ones. It is part of the following monologue:

シンジ君

私たち人間もね

アダムと同じー

リリスと呼ばれる生命体の源から生まれたー

１８番の使徒なのよ

This sentence is phrased rather awkwardly in Japanese, and it is easy to get it wrong – this mistake was present in ADV/Manga's official dub and sub of EoE, and most fansubs (a notable exception is Sephiroth's fansub, partly made in conjunction with EvaGeeks). The exception among official releases is the new Netflix dub, as the subtitles use an unfinished version of the translation, something noted by Khara's translator, but still not corrected by Netflix.

In the incorrect translations that are commonly reproduced, Misato is saying something equivalent to "Listen carefully, Shinji. We humans also come from the source of lifeforms called Lilith, like Adam. We're the 18th Angel." This leads one to assume that Adam also originates from Lilith. This is false, as Adam is another source of life entirely. The second sentence is correctly translated as something akin to "We humans were born from the source of lifeforms known as Lilith, which is similar to Adam." Therefore Misato was actually pointing out that both Lilith and Adam are similar – both are Seeds of Life – not saying that Adam also comes from Lilith.

The Asuka in the kitchen scene wasn't real

This is part of the Pre-Third Impact Instrumentality where everyone who knows each other finds themselves in each other's heads. Right before the kitchen fight, Shinji and Asuka witness a scene from Misato's college days where she is having sex with Kaji. Shinji clearly has never seen this before, asking, "This is Misato? She does... this?", to which she replies, "Yes, this is also me... The melting into one another's hearts... The me that Shinji doesn't know." If this entire sequence was all "in Shinji's head", there is no way he'd know these things. Instead, because he is already undergoing complementation, he has access to Misato's memories.

This also applies to the preceding Hell Train scene where Asuka reveals that she knows about Shinji's sexual fantasies of her (she may not be referring to the incident in the hospital room, but rather to a habit of his from the time they lived together with Misato). This knowledge does not have to come from Shinji's imagination as he hallucinates a false Asuka because it can also be explained by her having access to Shinji's memories. Although Asuka did die before this point in the real world, her soul has been harvested by Quantum Rei and she is now present in Instrumentality, just like what happened to Misato.

Asuka didn't die

Asuka and Eva-02 were killed by the Mass Production Evas. Maya's and Shinji's horror, and the mangled state of Eva-02, make this explicit. Since Asuka was at an extremely high sync rate and suffered bodily injury corresponding to the Eva's injuries, there was no way Asuka could have survived the multiple Spear impacts or Eva-02's subsequent mutilation by the MP Evas. Just after she's stabbed, Maya also yells in desperation, "Asuka is...", but is unable to finish her sentence. Although it is only (strongly) implied, it fits with Maya's squeamishness throughout the movie that she was going to say "Asuka is dead!" It's true that Asuka wears bandages over her injuries in the final scene of EoE, but no one was around to bandage her after she was injured, so this is simply how her body "respawned". As mentioned above, her soul was harvested by Rei/Lilith and she later returned through Instrumentality.

The Asuka-Rei-Misato amalgamation

Original animation cel for the scene. Her eyes also look more clearly blue in newer releases.

This common misconception, fostered by the Manga Entertainment commentary track for End of Evangelion, revolves around the final moments of EoE with Asuka and Shinji alone on the beach. Asuka's arm is bandaged like Rei's in Episode 1; also, her eyes appear to be brown like Misato's, particularly in older Western releases of the movie. This leads some people to speculate that Asuka is really a combination of all three girls and therefore Shinji's "dream girl", but this notion is absolutely false. The bandaged arm is due to her battle trauma in Eva-02 (when a replica Lance splits Eva-02's right arm completely). Her eyes are still blue, but tinted due to the hue of the scene occurring at night.

Before Instrumentality ends, Rei tells Shinji, "If you wish once more for the existence of others, the barriers of the heart will separate everyone once more...", while Kaworu asks, "Is it okay for the A.T. Fields to hurt you and others once more?", indicating that the A.T. Fields have separated everyone's existence once again.

The Adam & Eve Scenario (or, Nobody Else is Coming Back)

Main article: Theory and Analysis:Final Scene in End of Evangelion

Considering that themes from the Bible book of Genesis pop up all over NGE, the final scene of End of Evangelion leads many to assume that Shinji and Asuka are the new Adam and Eve, left alone to re-populate the world. But this theory is possibly false if we are to believe Rei and Yui when, during the dissolution of Instrumentality, Rei states, "Anyone can return to human form as long as they can imagine themselves in their own heart", alongside Yui's reassurance: "All living things have the ability to return to their original form... and the heart to go on living." This means that other humans are able to return as well should they make the choice to. According to discarded ending Last A, some time apparently passed between Shinji's reappearance and Asuka's, as Shinji made grave markers for the dead, including Asuka. Not only that, but the nail through Misato's necklace cross is rusted and the wooden stakes may have rotted, judging from how Asuka's broke in half when she kicked it. More than a little time has passed, and yet Asuka has apparently just reappeared. This suggests that more people might return in the future.

Asuka is pregnant

This rumor is linked to the previous one. Usually the idea is that Asuka got pregnant either due to her brief metaphysical sex scene with Shinji shown during pre-3I Instrumentality, or somehow as a "gift" by Rei/Lilith in order to give a head start to the repopulation of Earth. It can also be theorized as being a result of Shinji "willing" her to return, as mentioned below.

A big reason for the popularity of this theory is that it was supported by the ADV English voice actors of Asuka and/or Rei back in the 90s, along with other theories like the "combination girl", and a similarly unsubstantiated claim that "Anno confirmed this". The claim that Asuka's final "kimochi warui" line can be used to express morning sickness on Asuka's part isn't necessarily wrong, but there is no other evidence to support this theory. Because other people can come back, it's not required for Asuka to be pregnant in order to preserve humanity. However, just like the Adam and Eve scenario itself, this can't be definitely disproven, nor does it preclude the possibility of Asuka getting pregnant later.

Asuka was brought back by Shinji

Main article: Theory and Analysis:Final Scene in End of Evangelion

It is often assumed that Asuka was brought back to life either by Shinji willing it or Rei/Lilith/Yui somehow deciding to return her to the real world in order to provide Shinji with companionship, as in the Adam & Eve scenario. However, there is plenty of evidence indicating that Asuka has decided to return from Instrumentality herself, out of her own free will: according to discarded ending Last A, linked above, she has apparently traveled to the beach on foot (instead of just materializing by his side), and found the markers Shinji set in her and other characters' memory. She realizes Shinji thinks she's dead, so she kicks down the marker with her name to signify she's alive, as well as her will to live. She finds Shinji asleep on the ground. Instead of waking him up, kicking him or yelling at him, she decides to sit and sleep by his side.

Shinji cannot somehow force people to return, but merely opened up the choice to return; all returnees have to decide to do so. Asuka is seemingly the first person who chose to return after Shinji.

Asuka did not have the strength to resist Shinji

One interpretation is that the reason Asuka did not punch Shinji or otherwise react aggressively to him choking her was that she simply did not have the energy to resist. Not only is this disproven by above evidence, Megumi Ogata also explained that this scene was modeled after the experience of a female acquaintance of Anno's, and this reaction is a deliberate choice on Asuka's part:

According to Megumi Ogata, Shinji's voice actress, the scene itself was modeled on a experience of a female friend of Anno's. This friend got into an argument with her boyfriend, and at some point he choked her in rage. Instead of reacting violently, this friend felt no fear, hatred or even a need for survival, but rather a desire to caress him tenderly. In response, her boyfriend lost her grip. However, Anno's friend grew cold, and muttered Asuka's line from the EoE draft almost verbatim ["Idiot. No way I'll let you kill me."]. Ogata believes this scene was how Anno wanted to "convey different ways how to bring feelings of love to a conclusion that exist in reality. You are you, I am I". Naturally, this reflects on the films of individuality and the duality of reaching out to others present in Eva.

Anno also guided Ogata to treat One More Final partly as a separate story: "as something that just exists. As if everything that happened before in the movie is merely a dream that never happened. It is its own narrative unity, something that can fundamentally be taken away from its context in the movie and still be interpreted as a dramatic whole. It is and is not the final scene of EoE."

Furthermore, Ogata asked Anno to help her understand what Anno wanted to convey through the scene and how Shinji is supposed to act. Hearing this, Anno first stands silent and confused for a moment. Then he firmly wraps his arms around himself and hugs himself. This is on the "purpose" of what he is trying to express. As for how Ogata should play Shinji Anno asks her to not play Shinji: "For this scene alone, I want Ogata to take on and express my feelings rather than Shinji's." – Koji Ide's Evangelion Forever

According to staff commentary, Asuka "gently" (as noted by the storyboard) moved her hand to confirm Shinji's presence herself:

Only the beach sequence between Shinji and Asuka remains from [Last] B. He and Asuka were resurrected because Shinji wanted a world with others. Other people will be resurrected from now on. Shinji strangles Asuka as she lies there. Asuka pats his face as if to confirm Shinji's presence (the storyboard notes “Asuka's hand moving gently”). Shinji comes to himself, relaxes his [grip], and cries. In response, Asuka says, “I feel sick,” and the film comes to an end. This last scene is said to be difficult to understand. Until the very end, “Eva” leaves the decision to the audience. In the storyboards and recording script, Asuka's line was “I don't want to be killed by you,” but it was difficult to record the line as director Anno intended. Because of this change, the last scene became more and more difficult to understand. – Oguro Staff Commentary #62

Shinji wanted to kill Asuka

Main article: Theory and Analysis:Final Scene in End of Evangelion: Discarded endings

Shinji choked Asuka in order to feel the existence of an Other.

Shinji had chosen a world where others existed, and for him Asuka became the first "Other".

During Instrumentality, Asuka encountered Shinji inside his inner world and told him she didn't need anything if she couldn't have all of him. Despite the significance of this statement, Shinji's response was vague at best and he only sought a place at her side because it was a "comfortable" place to be. Hurt by the notion that she was nothing more than an escape for Shinji, Asuka outright rejected him. As a result, the Human Instrumentality Project did not reach its intended result, and any changes to the relationship between Asuka and Shinji were left unclear. – Essential Evangelion Chronicle Side B

Shinji renounced the world where all hearts had melted into one and accepted each other unconditionally. His desire... to live with 'others' -- other hearts that would sometimes reject him, even deny him. That is why the first thing he did after coming to his senses was to place his hands around Asuka's neck. To feel the existence of an 'other'. To confirm (make sure of) rejection and denial.

In the sea of LCL, Shinji wished for a world with other people. He desired to meet them again, even if it meant he would be hurt and betrayed. And just as he had hoped/wanted, Asuka was present in the new world. Only Asuka was there beside him. The girl who he had hurt, and by whom he had been hurt. But even so, she was the one he had hoped/wished for.... – Evangelion Carddass Masters;D-88, D-84, P-66, P-68, H-11, full set here.

Asuka and/or Shinji attempted to commit suicide

Main articles: Theory and Analysis:Shinji and the Lake | Theory and Analysis:Asuka and the Bathtub

These are common theories due to some visually indistinct details in scenes in Episode 24 and Episode 26’, in which Asuka supposedly cut her wrists in a bathtub, and Shinji supposedly tried to drown himself in the lake. However several pieces of evidence and thematic considerations invalidate this. In both cases, Asuka and Shinji lost their will to live, but did not have the will to kill themselves either. In fact, the scenes parallel each other and other instances of suicidal ideation.

Kaworu served as Shinji's transition guide

Main article: Theory and Analysis:Motherly and Cross Symbolism in EoE

Immediately after the Giant Rei presents herself to Shinji and he reacts in terror, she turns into a Giant Kaworu and Shinji becomes mollified. This has understandably been used as evidence that Shinji actively wished for Kaworu, and that he became Shinji's transition guide to enter Instrumentality by being the person he wanted, similarly to what happened for Makoto Hyuga with Misato. Let's review the sequence of events to understand it better.

After deploying in Eva-01 and seeing Asuka's dead Eva, Shinji panics from the shock of losing yet another person he cared about. To add insult to injury, Rei-Lilith starts gruesomely mutating, and Shinji even sees a giant Rei's mangled head shape-shifting before his eyes. This is enough to drive Shinji further into despair and perhaps insanity. He could have been too psychologically damaged to continue Third Impact, so this calls for some action on Lilith's part; thus Lilith morphs into Kaworu. This calms Shinji down, and Lilith uses the opportunity for the Lance of Longinus to penetrate Unit-01's core and transform Unit-01 into the Tree of Life.

Shinji's easily missed vision of breasts when Yui asks what he wishes for

The storyboards and script make it clear that it is not Shinji's A.T. Field that is being penetrated, but rather Unit-01's. This is paired with Eva-01 audibly moaning, voiced by Megumi Hayashibara (Yui). After this, Shinji is still physically integral and has not reverted to LCL. Fuyutsuki also adds that Unit-01 now possess both the Fruit of Life and the Fruit of Knowledge, accompanied by Hyuga announcing that the A.T. Field has shifted into "Pattern Red", yet another element associated with the Angels and Evas, but not the pilots. Fuyutsuki then says that it's now in Shinji's hands, further emphasizing that Shinji is still needed to bring about Instrumentality.

Immediately afterwards, Yui explains that "this Rei represents your very hopes and dreams"; as she says that, Lilith morphs back into Rei. Rei then asks Shinji, "What do you wish for?" Shinji has a vision of a woman's bosom, and then the screen has a "bubbly" effect and turns orange, much like LCL. This is when Shinji enters Instrumentality. This scene is not about Kaworu or any specific woman but rather the overwhelming desire to return to the womb.

Additionally, Kaworu is still present in the "back half" of Lilith, suggesting his soul was absorbed – either harvested after his death or summoned by Gendo through his Adam implant, since he had a portion of Adam's own soul to begin with. That makes this further different from the following Rei apparitions, as it is not Lilith taking the appearance of that person's wish, but instead Adam as part of herself. (The fusing of Lilith (Rei) and Adam (Kaworu) was a necessary part of enacting Third Impact, hence why Gendo had the Adam embryo in his hand in the first place.) Thus, we can safely say it's not Kaworu manifesting as a transition guide like for other characters, but instead Kaworu/Adam himself, already fused with Lilith.

Misattributed or mistranslated sources

As discussed on What Is Canon?, there are several claims of "official Evangelion material" or statements that are anything but. Often, these are made by third party companies or even fans, or represent official but non-canon material, for example individual routes in multiple-path video games. Sometimes they are actual canonical material, but misrepresented. These are some of the most commonly cited ones and a counterexample, where applicable.

These pages from the Newtype Film Books have been used as the basis for arguments, but are a Chinese translation, not the Japanese original
Notably, Kaworu's lines are very different from the Japanese original, rendering this evidence invalid
The French release of the Newtype 100% Collection features this paragraph which is completely absent from the Japanese original and has also been spread
A translation by Reichu of the Japanese original is "Shinji, feeling betrayed by Kaworu, pursues him with his emotions churning in bitterness." It's also the same text present in the D&R program book.
"Nagisa Kaworu: The fifth Eva pilot, whom Seele sent in. To Shinji, he was both the very first friend he could confide in as well as a same-sex romantic interest."
This opinion of a third-party journalist is sometimes misattributed to Anno. It is actually a journalist's personal introduction/guide to a book containing interviews with Anno and others. See more here.
For comparison, official sources such as the Evangelion Chronicle Character Guide make no such statements

A commonly cited excerpt from an excerpt supposedly called "In 1997, KAWORU NAGISA was lost beforehand in End of Evangelion" is in fact from...
...a 2008 fanbook, and the supposed source is just a name of one of the chapters
As detailed here, this is the back cover for the 3.0+1.0 booklet. Many fans have claimed it provides official explanations of characters and plot points, but in reality it only lists the terms, not expanding on their meaning. The most circulated example is a supposed explanation of the nature of the Rebuilds' cycle and Kaworu's involvement with the Book of Life.
This discarded storyboard from the 2.0 CRC with a child Sakura sending Shinji a letter is real, but it has been doctored. In the doctored version that has been circulated, Sakura declares her love for Shinji and asks to marry him as an eight year old.
In the real storyboard, she simply tells him, "Take care and be good to my brother." The author made this clear and apologized for people misunderstanding this parody.

Anno forced Megumi Ogata to choke Yuko Miyamura

What is true is that Anno had difficulty in finishing this scene, and in order to get the most realistic performance, Megumi Ogata (Shinji) choked Yuko Miyamura (Asuka) while she spoke her lines. Some say it was Anno forcing them to do this, however it was clearly decided upon between the two actors. The sources don't clarify whose idea it was, however.

MO: I'm delighted that you think I sounded natural as if I was doing ad-libs. I don't remember doing anything experimental. There was a time when I actually pushed Yuko Miyamura to the floor to strangle her during the last scene of the "Evangelion" movie in which Shinji strangles Asuka. I couldn't act very well in playing that scene. I was so agitated that I strangled her too hard, making it impossible for her to say her lines for a while. Of course, I apologized to her for doing that. I almost killed her. – Statements by Evangelion Staff

CF: Did Megumi Ogata (Shinji) really strangle you while recording the voices for the End Of Evangelion to get a realistic performance?

YM: Yes, she did. I tried many times to make it sound like I was being strangled, but I couldn’t get it right. So, Megumi Ogata helped me make realistic sounds by actually strangling me. She’s nice isn’t she!? – Gold Coast Film Festival 2010

Ogata also says in another interview that the scene was based on the experience of a female acquaintance of Anno's:

It is. At the time of retake, I really strangled Miyamura once. Actually pulled her down to the floor and sat on her. That's why Miyamura's voice couldn't come out for awhile, which was crazy. Ah, of course I adjusted it (laughs) (for her health, so she wouldn't die).

However, there was a time when we (our performance) wasn't given the OK even after I tried several times and it did not go well. So I thought I'd actually try it (choking). I'm glad I didn't become a real murderer (laughs).

[…]It seems to be modelled after a situation that actually happened to a woman Anno knew. She was being strangled, and at the moment she thought she might be killed — not [by] Anno-san, by the way, just in case — she wanted to caress him, and that's when he came back to reality... Maybe that's what they thought I should try. I'm not the director, so I don't know if it's true or not, but for me, the ending before the eye catch was a mental/spiritual ending, and the scene at the end is a real ending. It was like a snap back to reality. The dubbing was also very real and it was accompanied by a real experience. – Megumi Ogata: Koji Ide's Evangelion Forever

Netflix made the new Evangelion translation, and other localization myths

Comparison of subtitles between releases: ADV's releases Genesis (VHS), Perfect (DVD) and Platinum (DVD), and Khara's (Netflix)

As explained in the first section of Theory and Analysis:Kaworu's lines in Episode 24, Netflix had no hand in the localization of Evangelion; the translated script was produced by Studio Khara's own in-house translator Dan Kanemitsu. This was the first translation handled directly by Eva's creators, in contrast to ADV's original translation of Evangelion, which was occasionally inaccurate. It's even sometimes claimed that Anno himself oversaw or even made the old translations and he isn't involved with the new one, when the opposite is true. Some myths are also perpetuated by fans who watched the show using fan-made subtitles, often without their knowledge, like the supposed replacement of Kaworu's "worthy of love" line, which was never present in any official English release – he previously said "sympathy" or "regard".

Khara mandated Eva 3.0 to be re-translated due to crowd reactions

This one is not so clear-cut. The source for this is a personal recollection posted on SomethingAwful. According to this claim, made on the forums the day after Netflix released Eva on their streaming service, Khara representatives were present for a screening of the dubbed version of Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo and were shocked at the reaction of the crowd, who treated the dub as a joke, particularly the scenes between Kaworu and Shinji. This apparently upset the Khara representatives and led to the re-dubbing of the movie by Funimation.

However the poster's claim that he was there to see this play out does not match the historical record of 3.0's screenings. Although 3.0 did indeed screen at Baltimore's 2013 Otakon convention on August 9 that year, it was in subbed form. The debut screening of the dub didn't happen until October 11 in New York City, two months later. Thus the poster either misremembered his experience or was promoting false information. In all fairness, he was writing six years after the fact.

There are, however, parallel stories from users across the Internet – examples from our own forum here, here and here, to pick a few. This phone recording captures the reaction to the Kaworu-Shinji interactions described in those posts. Now, con-goers can be a rowdy bunch, and it might be the case that their reactions were over-the-top and unrelated to the quality of the dub. We also don't know that they had anything to do with Khara's eventual negative feelings about the dub. For that matter, we also have no evidence that Khara staff were present at any screenings, but it would not be unusual if they had shown up for the first dub screening on Oct. 11. Hearing laughter at the Kaworu parts may have prompted them to ask some questions about what was so funny, and this may have led to a total re-evaluation of the dub and the demand for a new production, one that they would supervise closely. Alternately, the demand for a re-dub could have had nothing to do with that; perhaps it was a simple matter of someone at Khara who was fluent in English (such as Khara's in-house translator Dan Kanemitsu) finally hearing the dub and saying some choice things to Anno about it.

As detailed in Theory and Analysis:Kaworu's lines in Episode 24, the Netflix re-dub of the NGE TV series was driven primarily by the need to fix the many mistakes and one-sided arbitrary changes taken by ADV, the original dubber, back in the 1990s. The Eva 3.0 Funimation dub was redone by Funimation (this time with close supervision by a Khara representative and Dan Kanemitsu) for similar reasons. Even aside from the details of the SomethingAwful post not lining up, we simply don't know what motivated Khara to demand the redo. The first dub drew plenty of criticism from fans at the time (see previous links to EvaGeeks forum threads), so it's possible that Khara had started to care more about the quality of the English localization than they used to, and came across some of that negative feedback on the Internet. Khara's only official explanation was that the dub had to be brought "closer to the original vision". When it came time to dub 3.0+1.0 years later, Khara moved to another dubber (Dubbing Brothers USA), also supervised by Khara/Kanemitsu.

Near Third Impact and Third Impact are two separate events with different causes

This is a common misconception that is unfortunately aided in its spread by questionable dubbing decisions and the dub's closed captions saying "Near Third Impact" where the original says "Third Impact". In the car ride to the purification plant, Kensuke tells Shinji this: "Someone had to sacrifice themselves in order to stop the Third Impact." Kaworu later explains this to Shinji: "Once awakened, Eva Unit-01 opened the Gates of Guf and acted as the trigger to bring about the Third Impact. The Lilin call it the Near Third Impact. You were the key to it all."

In the flashback to Kaji's sacrifice we see Wille insignias, and Takao cites him as one of Wille's founders, therefore this must have happened after the uprising against Nerv and, subsequently, after Kaworu and Kaji met, meaning the uprising can't have been in between the end of Evangelion 2.0 and its famous post-credits scene full of events that aren't depicted in 3.0.

Taking these facts together creates the following timeline:

Shinji starts the process of Third Impact before being interrupted by the Spear of Cassius, which closes the Gates of Guf and stalls the surface destruction, but does not conclusively end the event.
The Wille uprising takes place an unclear amount of time afterwards.
Another unclear amount of time passes, and the stalled process resumes; it is still the same Impact, started by Shinji and carried out through the body of Unit-01.
To bring it to an end for good, Kaji stops the Impact event through an unknown heroic act.

Mari is based on Moyoco Anno, Hideaki Anno's wife

A common rumor surrounding the development of Mari Makinami Illustrious in the Rebuild series is that she was based on Hideaki Anno's view of his wife and reflects her personality. This theory was put forward by a seemingly authoritative source, Gainax co-founder, Toshio Okada, and was initially seen as reliable, as many other aspects of Evangelion psychology are based in Anno's life experience. However it was explicitly denied during a celebration livestream for the theatrical release of 3.0+1.0, and Khara later released the following statement:

We have seen various articles, videos, etc. that claim Mari was modeled after Anno's wife, but this merely only the assumption and speculation of a handful of people. At the time of production, this would have been impossible. Mari's personality (as well as Asuka and others) was created by director Tsurumaki's hand [rather than Anno].

Moyoco has commented on this herself:

Don't compare me with Mari. It's great that people are talking about "Shin Evangelion" and their thoughts on it, but... But please don't compare me to the work any more than you have to. Please don't make me feel uncomfortable about it. – Paid fan newsletter of April 2nd, 2021

Khara has publicly commented on Okada to a degree that some have labeled as a feud:

Another nasty video has been circulating. Toshio Okada has been making all sorts of assertions as if he is close to the people involved, but he had absolutely no involvement in the production, hasn't had any contact with the director for a long time, and has never met his wife. I think it's about time to stop making insulting remarks based on strange assumptions... – Japanese blog entry on retweet by official Khara account

Host: In Japan, we have freedom of expression, so I think it's perfectly fine for people to express their own opinions and analyses, but I really wish they'd stop charging for it. What exactly is this seminar with Toshio Okada?

Takaaki Yuguchi: It's like an online course, and they celebrate people who say interesting things. When the official denial comes across as impersonal, it makes it seem like […] the inside information they're saying is correct.

Tomoyuki Ogata: I've been working at Khara for over 10 years, and I've never met Okada before.

Yuguchi: I guess that's what makes him an entertainer, and his level of technical skill is impressive.

Ogata: Director Anno himself hasn't even been with him for a quarter of a century.

Yuguchi: So he probably hasn't ever met Moyoco-san face to face, his wife.

Ogata: Apparently they've never met.

Yuguchi: But when Okada says that the character must actually be Moyoco-san, people start thinking, "Well, Okada, who knows her so well, is saying it, so it must be true."

Ogata: But that's the most completely wrong thing to say.

Muneyuki Kii: It's a big lie after all, so it's probably quite far off.

Host: It's just a rumor to begin with.

Ogata: Mari is a character that is filled with nothing but Tsurumaki-san's libido. She's a strong-willed girl with glasses, and she would not have looked out of place in FLCL, and she even uses the same lines as in FLCL, so she is so full of Tsurumaki-san's love.

Yuguchi: Mari is a character that Tsurumaki-san created, and that's pretty much how we perceive it.

Ogata: In fact, everyone in the production seems to be directing with that in mind, but I feel like from the beginning of the new century, there's been a way of thinking that unless you connect something to a specific real person, the interpretation won't work. On the other hand, having Okada explain it further makes me think that playing the game using a wrong guidebook is a bit of a waste of time. I think it's fine for people to interpret things in different ways, so I feel that it's a waste to only look at it from one perspective. – official Studio Khara podcast on YouTube (now private), Japanese blog post with some quotes from video

As Ogata alludes to above, the process of creating and writing Mari fell to other members of the Khara staff, particularly Kazuya Tsurumaki, as documented here.

Additionally, Maaya Sakamoto had this to say about the direction she was given in playing Mari. Rather than any reference to a modern-day woman, Sakamoto was given a male inspiration:

Anno provided me with one little “hint” to better understand Mari: “Showa no Oyaji” ["Father of the Showa Period", that is, the typical Japanese parent from the '70s and '80s]. After realizing what he meant, I managed to improve my performance totally. – Evangelion 3.0 theatrical booklet interviews

Thus it's fair to say that there isn't really anything to the Moyoco=Mari connection.

There are plans for a live-action adaptation

A popular fantasy for many Western fans has long been to see a live-action adaptation of Evangelion. In the early 2000s, ADV, the company behind the English localization of Eva, had the same idea. They put considerable effort into getting Gainax to sell them the rights for a live-action adaptation, but were repeatedly rebuffed. This went on for almost a decade, until 2011, years after Anno had left Gainax to work on the Rebuild movies at Khara. Gainax returned the option payment for the live-action film which ADV had sent them, and ADV responded by suing them. Now that ADV is defunct and Gainax has filed for bankruptcy, it's safe to say that the lawsuit no longer exists. Nevertheless, ADV's behavior likely established a bad precedent for Anno when dealing with a prospective Hollywood adaptation.

Anno has also repeatedly stated that the Japanese are his targeted audience, and reaffirmed his lack of interest in collaborating with Western creators on a live-action remake:

"Only Japanese animation really explores our interior world and emotions. Japan is probably the only country that makes animation for adults as well as children."[...] It’s the differences in approach to animation between Japan and the West that makes Anno reluctant to collaborate on international projects. Neither is he interested in live-action remakes of his work. "The mental structure is too different between Hollywood and Japan," he says. "There may be some Japanese film-makers who can collaborate with Western creators, but I’m not one of them." – ScreenDaily interview

Anno, however, is not a fan of live-action films derived from his anime. He dismisses “Pacific Rim,” with its “Evangelion”-inspired tussles between giant aliens and human-piloted robots, as “not so interesting.” Hollywood plans for a live-action “Evangelion” remake leave him cold. “‘Evangelion’ was conceived as an animation,” he says. “It would be hard to express in live-action.” – Hideaki Anno: Emotional Deconstructionist

On the Rebuilds ending Evangelion, and the future of the franchise

Partly because of the common notions that Eva is a lot less commercially significant than it really is, or lack of understanding of the Japanese media and cultural landscape, a lot of English-speaking fans believe that Anno firmly intends to end the Evangelion franchise for good with Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time, partly because of the perceived finality of its ending. In reality, part of the purpose of the Rebuilds is to serve as a springboard for the launch of the Evangelion franchise as a "pillar" of mature anime, as well as launching Studio Khara as a hallmark of the anime industry. Khara has, however, no desire to make a direct sequel to the series. This is also integrated into Anno's perceptions of stagnation of the anime industry and his stated desire to revive it, commercially and artistically:

Specifically, among the stagnant mood of the present day, it is the portrayal of will – not technology – that is most important. To support the fans that support animation, we felt that a work that would appeal to middle and high school-aged men, who quickly grow away from Anime, was necessary. When we decided that we wanted to something to support the anime [industry] of today, the determination to return to this title was strong. – Hideaki Anno: Statement about New Evangelion Movies, February 2007

Anno has intended this since 2000, and his intentions moving forward include opening up the franchise to new creators. Unfortunately, a significant part of the sources dealing with this information have only been translated as late as as 2021, and a considerable portion remains only partly so. The 2021 NHK documentary included some lines by Anno that, out of context, have been used to argue the franchise is indeed over, but this misses this other informations. Some lines have even been mistranslated on the fan subtitled (and unextended) version of the documentary. There is a widely circulated screenshot of Anno denying he has any emotional attachment left to the series. In reality, Anno was asked about whether he'd miss working on it. Though he denied it to the crew, he later told Ogata during post production that he'd indeed miss it.

Assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki, and Anno themselves went into detail about this in their recently translated Evangelion 1.0 Complete Records Collection interview (this is a document from 2007, not the 2.0 CRC from 2010 which was translated many years ago). Sadly, their late translation meant much of this went ignored by Western fandom. In it, Anno considered "Evangelion Part 2" as a new addition to the story, and from the start he wanted it to be handled by other creators. However he was unable to move the project forward, as too many of his colleagues in the industry were unwilling to participate in the massive undertaking of continuing Evangelion. He likened this initiative to G Gundam, calling it "G Evangelion" at the time. In the history of the Gundam franchise, this is the series that broke with the habit of only telling stories in the "mainline" universe. It was also the first series that had no direct involvement from Gundam's main creator Yoshiyuki Tomino. Tomino was one of Anno's mentors and greatest influences, and one of the reasons why Anno originally started making Evangelion was to try and surpass Tomino. Ironically, he'd say the same about Anno years later.

After years of working on other projects, the Rebuild project started solidly in June 2005, but by that point Anno had decided on the current model. Initially, the Rebuilds would be mostly a retelling of the original series, and only the ending would be markedly different. Incidentally, fandom speculation at EvaGeeks and elsewhere at the time assumed the films would be a straight-up remake of each "arc" of the series, which seemed to be a natural assumption following Evangelion 1.0:

Tsurumaki: I was misunderstood at first, and ended up "participating" in the project before I understood exactly what was going on. When I first heard about the project, I was called by Anno, and I was thinking, "What, what?" He asked me out of the blue, "What would you like to work on next after GunBuster 2, Evangelion 2 or the new work of a very famous anime?" I was confused, but as I was giving my opinions on this and that, I came to the conclusion that "Eva 2" was the way to go. At that time, Anno's new work was supposed to be a completely different project from "Eva".

Interviewer: Is "Eva 2" something different from the "New Movie" that you're working on now?

Tsurumaki: I had assumed that Anno's next anime would be called "Evangelion 2". Even so, it's not a pure sequel, it's something as different as "First Gundam" – "Gundam 0079" – and "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED". In short, the anime that Anno-san is going to make will all be titled "Evangelion". For example, a work like "The Gutsy Frog" would be called "The Gutsy Evangelion", and "Star of the Giants" would be called "Baseball Evangelion". It's a kind of branding, like "VAIO" for all Sony computers. That's what he meant by "2". At that time, there was talk that if I wouldn't do it, he would assign it to someone else. Apparently, Mr. Anno wasn't going to officially direct the film, so it was okay to have a completely outsourced staff.

Interviewer: I see. There has been talk of a "G Evangelion" like the "Mobile Fighter G Gundam" in the Gundam series for a while, hasn't there?

Tsurumaki: Now that I think about it, there must have already been talk of a compilation at that time. But I just assumed that he was talking about "Evangelion 2" and listened to him. I told him, "If you're going to make Eva, you have to do it yourself, and if you're going to do anime again, I'll have to help you."

''Interviewer: So there was a twist in the story, and it turned out that Anno's next project was a remake.

Tsurumaki: That's how it ended up (laughs). To be honest, if it hadn't been for the Evangelion remake, I think I would have felt more comfortable participating. That's my honest opinion.

[…] Tsurumaki: Yes. This "New Movie" is practically becoming "Evangelion 2". I don't know if Anno originally had this in mind, or if he just came to his senses during the script writing meetings. At first, it was just a compilation.

Interviewer: That's what everyone has been saying.

Tsurumaki: It's been a little over a decade since the TV anime ended, and for new fans who want to watch "Evangelion" now, it would be hard to rent all 26 TV episodes and the movie version at a video rental store. So if you're wondering, "What's the story behind Evangelion?", if you want to know what Evangelion is all about, you can rent it and watch the whole thing in about three to four hours on a holiday. If that's the way "Evangelion" is going to be developed in the future, it's better for business. Besides, it would be relatively easy to make. We were just saying, "Let's make it easy." At first, it was just a compilation.

Interviewer: In reality, though, you've come to a place that's far from easy at all.

Tsurumaki: According to the original plan, after "GunBuster 2" was finished last summer, I completed one film every six months, and by the end of this year (2007), the trilogy was completed. It was supposed to be finished in a year and a half. – Tsurumaki, Eva 1.0 CRC (2007)

As a matter of fact, in 2006 an article and interview with Anno had 1.0 slated for a summer 2007 release, with 2.0 for a spring 2008 and 3.0 a summer 2008 release: "01, 02, and 03 will be based on 24 episodes of the TV series, but they will change more than one-third of the settings and characters' backstories. The finale will be a completely new, original story." Again Anno revealed his Gundam inspiration:

Evangelion Rebuild was inspired by Z Gundam New Translation. That film includes both 1985 footage and 2005 footage. Anno says, "I was amazed by how Tomino-san didn't care about the quality. It sold well, so I intended to do the same thing with Eva."

Tsurumaki: When we started the Rebuild of Evangelion series, about 10 years had passed since the TV series, and the number of fans had changed and the number of younger people had increased. So we decided to make a compilation that would allow people to enjoy Eva without having to watch the entire TV series. That was the starting point. We started with the idea that only the end of the four-part series might change, but basically 80% of the series would be a compilation, but that started to shift with "2.0", and "3.0" will start from a scene 14 years later, which is not even depicted in the TV series...

--So it became something unexpected along the way.

Tsurumaki: I thought that we were going to make something that would not put Anno in a state where he would be trapped like he was in the TV series and the previous "film version". I thought, "We've already experienced the extremes of that kind of thing, so we've had enough of that." I thought, "It's good to be able to make 'Eva' 10 years later, looking at the chaos from a bird's eye view." By doing so, it would result in a more "easy to watch" Eva. However, as it turned out, I got caught up in the chaos once again in "3.0" (laughs). – Tsurumaki, 3.0+1.0 booklet interview (2021)

This is also alluded to in a 2006 interview from producer Otsuki:

- In such a situation, between early summer next year and early summer 2008, you will release "Evangelion Shingekijoban", a reconstruction of the TV series version of Eva divided into four parts. But, what is your aim? I think what many fans expect from you and Director Anno is a "second Eva" and not an "Eva remake".

Otsuki: This is often misunderstood, but it's true that I have never once said to Anno-san, "Let's do a sequel to Eva" all these past twelve years. Because, to perverse people, if you say something like that, you've all of a sudden lost your enthusiasm (laughing). However, at last I received the following words from Anno-san: "I want to first of all create the 'foundation' for creating the 'next Eva'."

[…]Otsuki: Right. If I say too much it will be a spoiler (laughing). With the situation of society at that time, Anno-san's internal problems, and so on, and especially because the film version ended ruinously, with the world destroyed and Shinji and Asuka the only survivors, continuing the Eva of twelve years ago is not possible. However, with the passing of twelve years, and the turn of a [new] age, Anno-san has settled things within himself. The new films should be, in a sense, Eva with a happy end, or if I had to express it in a single phrase, a story which leads to hope.

- However, hearing that, I worry that [Eva] will become like Gundam in the "bad sense", and that from now on nothing but sequels to Eva will be made.

Otsuki: Anno-san says that he wants to make [Eva] Gundam in the "good sense". After all, despite the fact that in tokusatsu there are standards like "Kamen Rider" and "Ultraman" which stand towering over everything, in the world of anime there is only "Gundam". Because of that, we want to make Eva into a new standard for the world of anime with these films.

In 2016, Anno gave two interviews that reached the English-speaking fandom. These are somewhat well-known, but lack this additional context, and have been thrown into doubt by the NHK documentary, which also led many fans to believe Anno's "Gundamization" project was an idea he had just come up with at the time. This was also in light of Khara's Animator Expo event, which featured 20 animated shorts, including three based in the Evangelion universe but not canon to it: another Impact, Neon Genesis IMPACTS and until You come to me. Anno is currently involved in promoting new talent and works in the industry, and the Evangelion franchise is meant to be part of this:

For the future, he wishes Evangelion will become a cultural icon, one of the cornerstones of anime, much like Gundam, which has become an institution in and of itself. Like Gundam, where many creators can play around with the elements and create their own worlds, it is Anno's hope that Evangelion can also be set free, to be reconstructed and reinterpreted in many ways by many other artists.

[…] However, he feels confident about the future outlook. The Japan Anima(tor) Expo has been a brilliant success in the effort to expand not just people's understanding of Japanese animation, but also promote Khara's name to the world along with it. – Evangelion Creator Talks the Future of the Franchise

H. Anno: I felt like I couldn’t do anything that belonged to me at Gainax anymore. Once I was done helping Imaishi and the others with establishing projects, I felt that if they were able to do what they wanted to, I would indeed become a hindrance.

At what point have you started working on the Evangelion New Theatrical Versions?

H. Anno: Before creating this company, I was working on two anime projects, this one and another one. However, to raise funding for the company, we decided to start with the new Evangelion movies. At first, the idea was to use a reissue of the TV Series as groundwork […] That’s why I called it Rebuild at first. We were using the existing pictures and shooting the episodes digitally.

[…] H. Anno: No, at first, we were thinking about contracting another studio to do the show. Thanks to King Records’ Toshimichi Otsuki (executive producer on the Evangelion New Theatrical Version series), we visited several studios. Still, since the making of Eva is very singular, it didn’t work out well. That’s when producer Munetada Ogasawara (now at Kinema Citrus) said: “We should do it by ourselves.” He immediately found a place we could use as a studio. If we’re only doing Eva, we’re going to be labeled as "the studio that does Eva". But I plan on doing many different things.

Obviously, because I want them to be appealing works, it won’t be without specific conditions, but I will not confine them to what my works have established. Just like Gundam, which keeps continuously supporting the animation world, Eva can become a new pillar. After all, it is the purpose that led me to resume through the New Theatrical Versions. I want to maintain this pillar, which carries the animation world. The more pillars there are, the better for the environment will be, won’t it? That’s how I see it. Rather than for my company, I do this for the wellbeing of the animation industry. Gundam can be enjoyed through various works, and it would be nice if Eva can develop in the same way. I think it’s better if there is a diversity in the works. – 10 Years of Khara, interview with Hideaki Anno

Similarly, 3.0+1.0 included a lot of newer staff, like animators and artists, and even directors that were outside Gainax's old core staff, as Anno is seeking to develop new talent. As detailed on the NHK documentary, Anno himself intended to initially maintain a relatively hands-off approach to the development of the film and leave it mostly to Tsurumaki, but he progressively took on a larger role.

Well, I first saw "EVANGELION:3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME" at the first preview. At the screening, I had a chance to talk with Kazuya Tsurumaki, and he and I were talking about whether or not it would have been better if the words "End of Story" hadn't been included (laughs). We talked about the possibility of having a different world from the current one, and that there are many more possibilities. – Ogata Newtype Interview

Accordingly, two new interviews released just before the international release of 3.0+1.0 in August 2021 have surprised a lot of fans, but they are actually not new information. This mentions Anno's musings of returning to the franchise eventually, as already done at his initiative, and by supervising Tsurumaki on the EVANGELION 3.0 (-120 min.) prequel manga to Evangelion 3.0, released alongside the 3.0+1.01 re-release, both of which are already additions to the franchise done after the supposed "definitive ending". He also detailed the undeveloped plans for a film set during the time skip in-between 2.0 and 3.0 in the July 11 stage greeting. However, this might be handled by another creator, as at least for now, 3.0+1.0 is intended to be Anno's final Evangelion work:

There's always the 14-year gap in the story, so in some form, I want to shed light into that. […] At this point, I don't feel that I'm going to continue the story where I left off. – 'Evangelion' Creator Hideaki Anno Reveals 'Evangelion 3.0+1.0' Might Not be the End

I don’t feel a need to see Shinji and the other characters any time soon. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see them ever again. There might come a time when I meet them again. - 'Evangelion' Director Explains How He Finally Found His Ending

Incidentally, Mamoru Oshii, another famous anime director, has expressed his opinion that Hideaki Anno is more of a producer than a director these days. In a later interview with comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto, Anno himself later echoed this, saying that as a director he could afford to be a child, but not after he started producing. Likewise, Anno is considered Hayao Miyazaki's successor and one of the anime industry's leading figures, and has been so for years, another fact largely unknown to Western fans. It is also because of this that Japanese fans largely expect more Evangelion content in the future. Additionally, Tomino himself also later went back to work on the Gundam franchise after years had passed. Note also Khara's continuing insistence on tightly controlling English localization of Evangelion ever since Eva 3.0's re-dub, released in 2016, and continuing through the Netflix NGE release and Amazon's Rebuild release. Popular interest also remains extremely high, as can be seen NHK's making-of documentary "EVANGELION: 3.333 Breakdown", the high number of interviews and articles done in the 6 months between Japanese and international release, with more on the way. He has also reiterated the Japanese being his targeted audience, and reaffirmed his lack of interest in collaborating with Western creators or a live-action remake, both of which are perennially speculated in the Western fandom:

"Only Japanese animation really explores our interior world and emotions. Japan is probably the only country that makes animation for adults as well as children."[…] It’s the differences in approach to animation between Japan and the West that makes Anno reluctant to collaborate on international projects. Neither is he interested in live-action remakes of his work. “The mental structure is too different between Hollywood and Japan,” he says. “There may be some Japanese film-makers who can collaborate with Western creators, but I’m not one of them.” – ScreenDaily interview

Anno, however, is not a fan of live-action films derived from his anime. He dismisses "Pacific Rim", with its “Evangelion”-inspired tussles between giant aliens and human-piloted robots, as "not so interesting". Hollywood plans for a live-action “Evangelion” remake leave him cold. “‘Evangelion’ was conceived as an animation,” he says. “It would be hard to express in live-action.” – Hideaki Anno: Emotional Deconstructionist

Due to some ambiguous comments in the NHK documentary, some fans speculated that Anno had changed his mind by 2022. Nonetheless, in the Q&A session Khara held for 3.0+1.0's first anniversary, Anno reaffirmed his intention:

Q: You once said that you hope future generations can continue the EVA franchise like the Gundam franchise. Have you changed your mind?

A: I haven’t changed my mind. It will be great if my work can be of full help to the anime industry.

Q: Has Mr. Anno’s Evangelion really ended?

A: Since I have already ended it 3 times, I am good for now, I hope. – First Anniversary Khara Q&A

We're not yet done playing Asuka or Rei. – Miyamura on Hayashibara's Tokyo Boogie Night, March 19, 2023

Hmm, there may be something to that. The prospect of an Evangelion sequel made by someone other than myself could exist. I haven't decided yet – or rather, it's better for the work if there's a high degree of freedom. Whether it's commercially viable or interesting would depend on the content. It's not like I'm saying I'll never make another one again or anything like that. – Anno at an April 2024 expo (translation). See the full interview on the forums, where Anno details being exhausted from making his last live action films.

Notes

↑ The Essential Evangelion Chronicle: Side B

[1] The Essential Evangelion Chronicle: Side B

[1]

Theory and Analysis:List of Common Misconceptions

NGE contains a religious message

LCL means "Link Connect Liquid"

Gainax ran out of money and/or was censored

The lyrics of A Cruel Angel's Thesis have messages about the plot

N.E.R.V. and other acronyms

The manga is the original or first version of the story, or timeline

Mari or Kaworu is a timeline traveller

The manga, spin-offs and/or video games are canon or complementary to the series

Anno wrote the Neon Genesis Evangelion 2 video game

Evangelion is a small, niche franchise with no commercial aims

Anno is disgusted by Evangelion getting milked and is a reclusive auteur

First Impact killed the dinosaurs

The Barons of Hell

Kids born after 2I are soulless

Only children born after Second Impact can pilot Evas

Spear of Longinus is the actual holy relic (that just somehow got big)

A.T. Field is a real-life psychology term

Rei and/or Kaworu are a representation of Shinji's unconscious

Anno deliberately modeled characters on certain people

Eva-00 has the soul of Naoko Akagi, or none at all

Kaji was killed by Misato/someone we know

Rei and Kaworu are actual albinos

Kaworu had a natural human appearance

Toji not only loses his leg, but his arm as well

Naoko's Brain is in the Magi

Naoko's Soul is in the Magi

Keel is the Wandering Jew

The Dummy Plug Plant is the Chamber of Guf

Adam was impaled on the Spear of Longinus by Lilith

Death's string quartet scenes don't take place in the actual timeline

Death threats, and 'Anno's Revenge'

The TV series is the true ending

Both endings are concurrent

The Mass Production Evas have no souls, or are piloted by other Children

Adam and Lilith were once a single being/Adam and humanity both originate from Lilith

The Asuka in the kitchen scene wasn't real

Asuka didn't die

The Asuka-Rei-Misato amalgamation

The Adam & Eve Scenario (or, Nobody Else is Coming Back)

Asuka is pregnant

Asuka was brought back by Shinji

Asuka did not have the strength to resist Shinji

Shinji wanted to kill Asuka

Asuka and/or Shinji attempted to commit suicide

Kaworu served as Shinji's transition guide

Misattributed or mistranslated sources

Anno forced Megumi Ogata to choke Yuko Miyamura

Netflix made the new Evangelion translation, and other localization myths

Khara mandated Eva 3.0 to be re-translated due to crowd reactions

Near Third Impact and Third Impact are two separate events with different causes

Mari is based on Moyoco Anno, Hideaki Anno's wife

There are plans for a live-action adaptation

On the Rebuilds ending Evangelion, and the future of the franchise

Notes

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