is a 2007 Japanese animated science fiction action film, written and chiefly directed by Hideaki Anno. It is the first installment of the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy, based on the anime television series Neon Genesis Evangelion. The story, which is set in the futuristic city of Tokyo-3 fifteen years after a planetary catastrophe known as the Second Impact, focuses on Shinji Ikari, a boy who is recruited by the special agency Nerv to pilot a giant mecha known as an Eva unit and fight, along with fellow pilot Rei Ayanami, against a mysterious species named Angels. The film features the same cast of voice actors from the original series, including Megumi Ogata as Shinji, Megumi Hayashibara as Rei, and Kotono Mitsuishi as Misato Katsuragi.

Evangelion: 1.0 was planned to be the first installment of a three-part remake of Neon Genesis Evangelion with about one hundred fifty new cuts; during the production, however, the staff could not reuse the original drawings from the series and had to begin production from scratch. As production went on, the project began to deviate from the original series, introducing differences in plot and characterization. Hideaki Anno was joined in the direction by Kazuya Tsurumaki and Masayuki, both of whom were assistant directors of the original series. The storyboards were handled by Shinji Higuchi and Tomoki Kyoda.

The film, which retraces the plot of the first six episodes of the series, enjoyed a positive reception in Japan, grossing about ¥2 billion and generating considerable revenue for the home video market. Abroad, Evangelion: 1.0 received a more polarized reception, although generally positive; critics described it as too derivative of the classic series and claimed that it cut important details, while others praised its direction, soundtrack, and plot, with particular attention to its use of CGI graphics. The feature film also won accolades, receiving awards at, among others, the Animation Kobe and Tokyo International Anime Fair.

Plot Fifteen years after a global cataclysm known as the Second Impact, fourteen-year-old Shinji Ikari is summoned to Tokyo-3 by his estranged father Gendo, the commander of the paramilitary organization Nerv. Shinji gets caught in the crossfire between UN forces and a mysterious being called an Angel, but is rescued by Captain Misato Katsuragi, who brings him to Nerv headquarters. There, Gendo demands Shinji pilot Evangelion Unit 01, a giant, humanoid bio-machine, against the Angel. Shinji concedes when Gendo has Rei Ayanami, a wounded Evangelion pilot, prepared to be sent out instead. Shinji loses consciousness during the fight due to injuries inflicted by the Angel on Unit 01, as Evangelion units sympathetically reflect the pain of injuries they sustain onto their pilots. Unit 01 autonomously reactivates and wins the fight, destroying the Angel. After the battle, Misato becomes Shinji's guardian and he is enrolled in a local junior high school.

When another Angel arrives, Shinji's classmates Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida sneak out of their emergency shelter to watch the battle, but the Angel throws Unit 01 onto a mountainside, nearly crushing them. Misato has the two take cover in Unit 01's cockpit and orders Shinji to retreat, but he ignores the orders and destroys the enemy with Unit 01's knife. After Misato scolds him for insubordination, Shinji wanders off and is recovered by Nerv agents before being brought back to her.

The Sixth Angel appears, but when Shinji is sent out to attack it in Unit 01, the Angel fires a powerful laser, critically injuring him, before beginning to drill into Tokyo-3 to reach Nerv headquarters. He wakes up from a coma several hours later, and Rei tells him that she will take his place for the operation to stop the Angel, and leaves to do it alone. Misato shows Shinji what the Angels are trying to reach: a white anthropomorphic giant kept at the bottom of Nerv headquarters, the Second Angel, Lilith, which, upon contact with one of the attacking Angels, will result in the deaths of all life on Earth.

Shinji agrees to pilot Unit 01 alongside Rei in Unit 00, wielding an experimental positron cannon, which requires the entire electrical power output of Japan to power, like a sniper rifle, and successfully destroys the Angel. Rei is nearly killed defending Shinji from the Angel's return fire, but he saves her by cooling Unit 00 in water and prying open its cockpit using Unit 01's knife. Rei, normally cold and emotionless, shares a smile with him.

On the surface of the Moon, a boy named Kaworu Nagisa awakens from one of nine coffin-like containers arranged on the ground. In a pit in front of him, surrounded by construction equipment and scaffolding, is an unidentified giant wearing a purple seven-eyed mask and wrapped in white bandages. A black monolith appears through which he and Seele 01 engage in a cryptic conversation. Looking towards Earth, Kaworu says that "the third one" has not changed and that he looks forward to meeting Shinji.

Voice cast

CharacterJapaneseEnglish Funimation/Okratron 5000 (2009) Dubbing Brothers/Prime Video (2021) Megumi Ogata Spike Spencer Kotono Mitsuishi Allison Keith Fumihiko Tachiki John Swasey Megumi Hayashibara Brina Palencia Amanda Winn-Lee Yuriko Yamaguchi Colleen Clinkenbeard Mary Faber Akira Ishida Jerry Jewell Daman Mills Motomu Kiyokawa Kent WilliamsMichael Ross Miki Nagasawa Caitlin GlassAmy Seeley Takehito Koyasu Phil ParsonsJaxon Lee Hiro Yuuki Mike McFarlandJoe Fria Tomokazu Seki Justin CookBrett Weaver Tetsuya Iwanaga Greg AyresAlejandro Saab Junko Iwao Leah ClarkKimberly Yates Mugihito Bill Jenkins Tom Booker Megumi Hayashibara Stephanie Young Amanda Winn-Lee

Production Pre-production Many different desires are motivating us to create the new Evangelion film. The desire to portray my sincere feelings on film. The desire to share, with an audience, the embodiment of image, the diversity of expressions, and the detailed portrayal of emotions that animation offers. The desire to connect today's exhausted Japanese animation [industry] to the future. The desire to fight the continuing trend of stagnation in anime. The desire to support the strength of heart that exists in the world.... "Eva is too old", we felt. However, over the past twelve years, there has been no anime newer than Eva.Hideaki Anno After his film Cutie Honey (2004), Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno began to plan another live-action project; however, a script for this film could not be drafted and the director decided to refocus on animation. Anno had planned to work on the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise again since the release of the DVD box set of his series Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. He officially began working on a Neon Genesis Evangelion-related project in November 2005, considering it a suitable franchise he could work on without rights issues or interference. Anno was inspired by the Gundam franchise, which had been created years before by Yoshiyuki Tomino and was still running through television series, video games, and comics. He gave himself the purpose of Gundamizing Evangelion, expanding the franchise, possibly with the contribution of new and young authors; initially having in mind a title in the wake of G Evangelion, he tried to create a work capable of completely overturning the entire concept of Evangelion, similar to what G Gundam did for Tomino's franchise. He believed that animation was at a standstill, perceiving the need to produce "a work that would appeal to middle and high school-aged men, who quickly grow away from anime", and raise the general level of animated productions. In children's animation, Anno found a wide range of content available, such as Hayao Miyazaki's and Studio Ghibli's films, but for the older age groups he only noted Gundam; as Tomino's franchise had reached popularity beyond the boundaries of the otaku fanbase, Anno set himself the goal of doing something similar.

Anno did not rely on Gainax, the studio that produced Evangelion ten years earlier, to make the film. He wanted to create something new and felt he could not do so at Gainax, thinking that the studio would make him stick to "the same framework and the same tracks". He also said that he intended to respect the spirit of the original series in this way: "Without looking back, without admiration for the circumstances, we aim to walk towards the future". Anno contacted King Records' Toshimichi Ōtsuki, producer of the Evangelion television series, and, after initial hesitations, he agreed to help produce the new project. Ōtsuki proposed the deal to different companies; however, according to him, there were not many studios willing to work on an Evangelion continuation. He found a number of candidate studios, but none decided to join the project. Although the movie End of Evangelion (1997) was produced by Gainax and Production I.G, Anno decided to hold all the legal rights to the Evangelion continuation project, saying the efforts of the staff of the original series were not adequately rewarded, and the creation of a new company would allow for a fairer distribution of profits. The introduction of Evangelion-branded pachinko machines into Japanese markets also helped the project, increasing DVD sales of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Munenori Ogasawara eventually suggested the creation of a new studio, and Anno agreed. The Khara Office was founded that year, quickly outgrowing its space along the Chūō rapid line. In 2006, after moving to a larger office in Nishi-Shinjuku that February, Khara was officially founded. This allowed new personnel who did not work on the original series to be hired for the new project. Anno would not resign from Gainax, however, until October 2007.

Development Hideaki Anno was assisted in the direction of You Are (Not) Alone by Masayuki and Kazuya Tsurumaki, who were assistant directors on Neon Genesis Evangelion. At the beginning of production, Anno asked Tsurumaki what he would like to do after finishing Diebuster between working on an Evangelion-related project, or on a new project about a famous anime. While confused by the question, he instinctively answered Evangelion. If Tsurumaki had refused, Anno was prepared to offer the role of assistant director to someone else, but Tsurumaki eventually accepted, albeit with reservations. Tsurumaki had regrets about the sixth episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion, "Rei II", which after the storyboard "was ordered by another company, and Gainax had no control over it", and felt he could address the issues he had with the episode. Meanwhile, Ōtsuki contacted Masayuki in February 2006. Like with the theatrical release of 1997, Masayuki was originally working on just the layout and helping with animation; however, Khara quickly promoted him to assistant director, since Tsurumaki alone could not do all the work within the production schedule.

Anno originally planned a simple graphic remake of the series with the addition of about one hundred fifty cuts and the use of more advanced animation techniques. Tsurumaki claimed Anno's original plans were not to make a "pure sequel", but a "compilation that wasn't really a compilation", similarly to what Mobile Suit Gundam Seed did for the Gundam franchise. According to Tsurumaki, the director planned something similar to the forty-fifth episode of Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, a recap episode that reveals more about the plot, or like the fourteenth episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion, "Weaving a Story". The initial project also called for a film to be released every six months, though the films would be a quick, easily produced year-and-a-half time commitment. According to Tsurumaki, Anno himself probably had no intention of officially directing the film, instead completely outsourcing the project, and the plans changed only during the production of Evangelion: 1.0.