Tributes to Neon Genesis Evangelion in other Anime and Manga
As the name implies, this page is for references to Evangelion. This is a work in progress, there's still much cleanup that needs to be done.
Sgt. Frog (aka Keroro Gunsou)
Sgt. Frog (anime and manga) has too many Evangelion references to possibly list them all, so a few will have to do.
In this sequence from Vol. Eleven of the Manga, Corporal Giroro revives like Eva-02 in EOE.
In this episode, the Keron Force tries to conquor Earth by making everyone lethargic with "May Disease", which seems to be the Japanese equivalent of Spring Fever. This somehow escalates into a Third Impact-style disaster.
Hayate no Gotoku
Hayate no Gotoku, or Hayate the Combat Butler, is a show that started in April of 2007. This show contains so many parodies and references to other anime, TV shows, and games, that it is nearly impossible to catch them all.
During an episode with an extended parody of the game "Dragon Quest", the head of Giant Rei/Lilith popped out of the enemy everyone was fighting:
Nerv logo look-alike can be seen in one of the baths:
This following sequence parodies the first launch of Evangelion Unit-01. This is a giant nursing robot that goes berserk.
In Episode 34, during a scene in the school festival that suspiciously looks like Comiket, there's a girl holding a sign wearing a teal colored plugsuit.
Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann
Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann, an anime by Gainax that aired starting in April of 2007, in episode 6, the animators were said to have "gone crazy" (according to Hiroyuki Yamaga, at the Fanime 2007 Gurren-Lagann panel, concerning how the cameos weren't scripted to turn out like that) and stuck several females from other Gainax shows in the bathhouse, all wearing bunny outfits similar to the Daicon III and IV animations. Among them, were Rei and Asuka.
Diebuster
Diebuster, or Gunbuster 2, is an OVA from 2004 by Gainax. In episode 6, the final episode, there is an overt reference to Gendo putting his hand over Rei's left breast and it going inside her body.
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is a 13 episode series by Gainax that aired in April of 2002. In episode 3, when Satoshi realizes what's going on in this world, you can see grey Evangelion Unit-01 floating in space in the same fashion at the very end of End of Evangelion, with flowing hair.
Also, in episode 3, during the brief flash of the "Anime Pyramid", you can see Eva-01's head in the 3rd tier.
Also, in episode 3, after Satoshi gets inside the pilot's seat, the Evangelion background music, Decisive Battle, can be heard in the background. In episode 8, Satoshi's sister is seen running down the street, toast in mouth, wearing Rei's school uniform, saying "I'm late, I'm late", taken directly from the alternate reality in Episode 26 of the Evangelion TV Series.
Fooly Cooly
The Gainax/Production I.G. OVA Fooly Cooly(Furi Kuri or FLCL), naturally contains several Evangelion references.
In the second episode of the series, main character Noata Nandaba remarks that his father, Kamon "wrote an ‘Eva’ book a long time ago"
Hideaki Anno also provides the vocal effects for Miyu Miyu, the Nandaba family cat.
He Is My Master
From the anime He Is My Master, a 12 episode TV show by GAINAX, there is a scene where several Evangelion characters show up as dolls on a shelf. On the bottom row on the left, there are chibi versions of Mayumi, Misato, Asuka, and Hikari. On the bottom row on the right, there is a Rei Ayanami wearing the school uniform from the alternate reality from Episode 26.
Great Teacher Onizuka
Great Teacher Onizuka is a show that first aired in June of 1999 and based on a manga series that started in February of 1997. In the manga, when Onizuka walks through Yoshikawa's room, you can see several posters of Rei and Asuka hanging on the walls.
Also, in the anime, Onizuka can be seen occasionally sporting a red scarf that has the 7 eyed mask, similar to Lilith's Mask. Since the 7 eyes is symbolic outside of the Evangelion series, it's possible that this is not a reference at all to Evangelion.
In the manga, after winning the swimming contest against Mr. Fukuroda, he says that he'll use the winnings to buy Evangelion trading cards.
In volume 11 of the manga, when Miyabi was setup with an S&M crowd, there is a Seele mask on one of the S&M implements against the wall.
In volume 14 of the manga, when Miyabi came to school after dying her hair blue, Onizuka hugs her and tells her how big of a Rei Ayanami fan he is, believing that Miyabi dyed her hair to look like Rei.
In episode 12, Teshigawara Suguru, the Math teacher, wears a white glove on his right hand that looks very similar to the ones that Gendo Ikari wears, and can be seen pushing his glasses up several times in this episode.
While the class was in Okinawa, Yoshikawa can be seen building a sand castle similar to child Shinji's sandcastle (a pyramid) in the Sandbox Sequence in the End of Evangelion.
Genshiken
In the Genshiken manga by Shimoku Kio, which started in December of 2002, one of the short Omake strips has Ohno Kanako, an avid cosplayer, dressed up as Asuka.
In the second season of the Genshiken anime, near the end of episode 2 you can see 2 stacks of doujin on a table. The one on the right features Asuka and Rei in bikinis on the cover and Asuka is holding a beach ball that looks like Leliel.
In volume 7, chapter 39, of the manga, when Ohno's 2 friends from the States come to visit, one of her friends, Sue, introduces herself by saying "Anta Baka", a saying made popular by Asuka. The reference is made even more evident in episode 10 of the second season TV series where she even mimics the way Asuka says it. Ohno then tells her she can't just say stuff like that and that she's lucky Madarame (the person she says it to) understands that it's a parody (of Evangelion).
Elf ban Kakyuusei
Elf ban Kakyuusei is a 4 episode OVA that was released in November of 1997 and based on a dating sim. In episode 4, during a scene in a theatre, several characters from Evangelion are clearly depicted sitting in the theatre.
Burn Up W/Excess
Burn Up W, a 4 episode OVA release starting in April of 1996. Although it was released the same year the Evangelion TV Series was aired, in episode 2, Nanvel produces a robot named "El Heggunte'" which is very obviously a reference to Evangelion Unit-01.
There is a sequence of Nanvel's display with a timer and text scrolling by. The text is the episode list of the Evangelion TV Series.
In the second half of episode 8 of Burn Up Excess, the follow-up TV series, Rio Kinezono and Lilica Ebett perform a synchronized somersault and double kick like Eva-01 and Eva-02 do in Episode 08.
Also in the second half of episode 8, a giant transvestite performs a rush and somersault mimicking Eva-01 in Episode 02 against Sachiel.
Love Hina
In the Love Hina manga, Keitaro was following Naru around when she stops at a Cosplay Cafe, he imagines her wearing Asuka's red plugsuit.
Seto no Hanayome
Seto no Hanayome is a series that aired in April of 2007. In episode 16, Rei and Asuka can be seen in the crowd in the school's hallway wearing the school's uniforms.
Ikki Tousen
In the second season of Ikki Tousen (Dragon Destiny), the mid-episode eyecatch in episode 8 featured Gakushin Bunken in Rei's plugsuit as well as the interface headsets.
801 T.T.S. Airbats
In 801 T.T.S. Airbats, an OVA that was released from 1994 to 1996, an Evangelion poster can be seen on the wall of Takuya Isurugi's bedroom.
Pani Poni Dash!
Pani Poni Dash! is an anime that aired in July of 2005. In one of the episodes, a giant Akane Serizawa is holding Rebecca Miyamoto in a similar fashion as Eva-01 holds Kaworu Nagisa during the long single still shot in Episode 24.
Slayers
In the Slayers manga, there is a frame where you can clearly see Misato, Asuka, Shinji, and Rei in the background.
Miami Guns
In the opening animation of Miami Guns, there is a quick shot of Yao's father behind his desk wearing white gloves in a Gendo pose.
Also, in episode 7, Yao's father repeats the pose
Also, in episode 7, Yao reverts to a primitive state after her father takes her money and priviledges away, and is being monitored from a control room. She goes berserk and punches the glass that separates her and her father and Kaken. Kaken orders the warm water to be turned on to contain the berserk Yao. This entire sequence mimicks Eva-00's activation test in the beginning of Episode 05.
Hanaukyo Maid Tai
In Hanaukyo Maid Tai, and anime TV series and OVA, an angelic Rei Ayanami makes a cameo in episode 1 as a statue when Taro first enters the mansion.
Aoi House
In volume 1, episode 4, page 19 of the English language manga, Aoi House, published by Seven Seas Entertainment, there is a mysterious character called Oniisan which provides Morgan McKnight high-tech equipment that appears as a Seele Monolith.
Cosplay Complex
Cosplay Complex, a 3 episode OVA released in May of 2002, has a character, Jenny Matel, who went around repeating "I mustn't run away!" over and over again, like Shinji does, during the beach episode. Also, during the beginning of episode 1, Gourou, the president of the cosplay club can be seen doing a Gendo pose while video conferencing.
In the beginning of episode 3, there is a shot of a medical monitor that is taken from the beginning of End of Evangelion, where there is a medical monitor in Asuka's hospital room.
Although, it's debatable whether these 2 instances are actual references to Evangelion, the clear reference to Shinji make it a distinct possibility
Yakitate! Japan
Yakitate! Japan (manga) by Takashi Hashiguchi and serialized starting in 2002 and getting a U.S. release starting in September of 2006, in the U.S. release volume 10, chapter 83, page 6, during Pierrot's flashback on a beach, his child self can be seen building a sandcastle, which turns out to be a pyramid and includes a frame very similar to the Sandbox Sequence in the End of Evangelion where a child Shinji builds a pyramid sandcastle. Although pyramids made of sand is not unique to Evangelion, this is a possible reference to the End of Evangelion due to the last frame on this page.
Puni Puni Poemy
Puni Puni Poemy, a 2 part OVA released in March of 2001, there is a massive alien mecha that attacks the city. One of the legs of the alien mecha belongs to Evangelion Unit-01.
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, or The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, was a show by Kyoto Animation that started in April of 2006. Although the scene near the end of the show where Haruhi chokes Kyon (for apparently no reason at all) may or may not be a direct reference to the final scene in the End of Evangelion, the circumstances, the desolate surroundings, and the lighting of this scene has many fans believing it is a direct reference.
Trinity Blood
Although this is a debatable tribute, during an episode of Trinity Blood, an anime that aired in April of 2005, one of the vampires produce something that looks like an A.T. Field.
Rurouni Kenshin
According to the author of the Rurouni Kenshin manga, Nobuhiro Watsuki, the visual design of Yukishiro Tomoe ended up being like Rei Ayanami and Honjo Kamatari's face was based on Yui Ikari.
Azumanga Daioh
Azumanga Daioh, an anime that aired in 2002 and based on a 4-koma manga of the same name by Kiyohiko Azuma, in episode 3, Yukari mimics the way Misato drinks beer, slamming the empty glass down and yelling. Although it is debatable whether this was a direct reference, the similarities are clear.
Lucky Star
Lucky Star, an anime by Kyoto Animation that aired in 2007, in episode 6, Kuroi-sensei mimics the way Misato drinks beer.
The cover of the Vol 11 Lucky Star Character Song CD, featuring Soujirou and Kanata (Hirokazu Hiramatsu and Sumi Shimamoto), shows Soujirou standing in front of a wooden cabinet that's seen in the TV series. However, unlike in the series, you can see Asuka and Rei figurines sitting on it behind Soujirou's left shoulder.
Koi no Mon
Suzuki Matsuo's 2004 romantic comedy Koi no Mon features, among its countless anime and manga references, a cosplay bordello that capitalizes on Rei Ayanami's fame as an otaku idol. Hideaki Anno makes a small cameo appearance in the movie as an inn keeper. Sauce.
