Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997) is a dark, intense, and polarizing cinematic conclusion to the original TV series. Picking up after the defeat of the final Angel, the film thrusts NERV into a desperate siege: SEELE launches a full-scale, leave-no-survivors assault to force the Human Instrumentality Project forward, and Gendo Ikari pursues his own private, apocalyptic plan deep within NERV’s Terminal Dogma. With Asuka incapacitated and Shinji spiraling into depression and confusion, humanity’s future — and the line between self and other — falls into the hands of a traumatized fourteen-year-old. Viewers can expect two simultaneous experiences: brutal, large-scale mech action and military assault rendered in striking, often graphic animation; and long, harrowing passages of psychological and philosophical introspection filled with surreal imagery, symbolism, and fragmented narrative. The film alternates between visceral violence and intimate, unsettling examinations of identity, loneliness, guilt, and the yearning for connection. It is visually inventive, emotionally overwhelming, and deliberately ambiguous — designed to provoke and unsettle as much as to conclude the story. Content warning: explicit violence, disturbing imagery, sexual overtones, and severe psychological themes. The End of Evangelion is likely to leave viewers challenged, moved, and debating its meaning long after the credits roll.

Actors: Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yûko Miyamura

Directors: Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki

Runtime: 87 min

Genres: Action, Animation, Drama

8.1 /10 8.1 /10