If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Evangelion is 30, but its themes never get old

With a new Neon Genesis Evangelion anime in the works, it is time for a new generation to explore their depression through the medium of giant fighting robots.

Popverse Jump Header Neon Genesis Evangelion — Image credit: Gainax/Popverse

Features by Trent Cannon, Senior Contributing writer

Published on Tue Sep 22 2026

For a whole generation of anime fans, Neon Genesis Evangelion remains a nigh-untouchable classic. It influenced countless creators and fans with its uncompromisingly dark themes and an exploration of trauma that feels ahead of its time even today. Thankfully, the world isn’t quite done with Hideaki Anno’s signature work as a new Evangelion series has been announced because, 30 years on, the world still needs Evangelion.

It is time, once again, to get in the Eva.

When Neon Genesis Evangelion came out in 1995, it was revolutionary in many ways. On the surface, it is a subversion of many mecha anime tropes, with a focus on exploring the harsh realities of a world where literal children are responsible for fighting seemingly unkillable monsters while piloting giant robots. While giant robots are undeniably cool, anime’s tendency to put young people in the pilot’s seat of said robots is problematic at best.

Neon Genesis Evangelion Shinji sitting on a chair. — Image credit: Gainax

Where Evangelion succeeds is how it elevates the genre by not pulling its punches. There is an uncompromising exploration of depression, trauma, and the destructive nature of unhealthy parental relationships. Sexuality and sexual acts are displayed in extremely graphic and "fucked up" ways, but always with a level of respect for the severity of the topics. What makes Neon Genesis Evangelion a classic is the maturity with which it delivers its themes, which were not the norm in the mid-90s for anime.

This is all an excellent case for why fans should watch the original series, but why is 2026 the right time to announce a new Neon Genesis Evangelion series? Because Evangelion is also about the importance of hope in the face of absolute hopelessness, and if you don’t understand why that might be an important lesson for fans today, then you haven’t been paying attention to the world around you. I envy you, truly, but I cannot hide from the current horrors in the same way, so I must use art to process them.

Neon Genesis Evangelion — Image credit: Gainax

Loneliness and isolation are key drivers of many of the characters in Evangelion, either because they are incapable of connecting with other people or because they are afraid to. As I reflect on the series now, in the year 2026, it is impossible not to think of Gen Z, who would likely be the target audience of the newly announced Neon Genesis Evangelion series. This is a generation that was most impacted by Covid’s isolation as well as watching the supposed adults in power make terrible decisions on their behalf. They have inherited turmoil and war that they largely want no part in, which makes this the perfect series for them to work through some of that shared trauma.

Some fans might cry foul at the apparent absence of original creator Hideaki Anno from the new plans for a new Evangelion series, but it isn’t surprising to folks who have covered Anno for the past few years. While the appetite for new Evangelion has grown, he has made it clear that he doesn’t wish to revisit the series. In his mind, he’s already ended the series (three times), so asking him to close it out a fourth feels excessive.

Besides, Yoko Taro, the famously eccentric video game developer behind the Neir series, is the perfect person to carry the torch for Anno into the future. His grasp of the melancholy and willingness to leave things unsaid, regardless of how desperate fans are for more, is what gives me hope that he’ll deliver more of what has made Neon Genesis Evangelion a classic that deserves to be revisited once again.

In a perfect world, we could lock Evangelion in a time capsule as a product of its time, but our world is not perfect, and our history keeps repeating itself. 30 years later and the things that made Neon Genesis Evangelion remarkable and poignant persist, so it is only right that a new generation uses the world created by Hideaki Anno to explore why that is. There are no true answers here, but there is value and truth in the search. I’m ready to get into that robot one more time.

Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out Popverse's guides to: