The original Neon Genesis Evangelion is a milestone in anime history that changed the media forever, but fans who watched both the original series and the more recent Rebuild of Evangelion movies may have questions regarding their differences. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a classic of the mecha anime genre, redefining many of its tropes and clichés, so when the Rebuild of Evangelion films were announced in 2006, fan excitement was through the roof. With their slow release, it became apparent that Rebuild wasn't just a big-budget retelling, it was going in a new direction entirely. So, what makes the films and the Evangelion TV series different?

A commonly known fact is that Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno was going through an intense bout of depression at the time of its production, and this dark state of mind worked its way onto the screen. Evangelion's characters are all tortured by their pasts and have little hope for the future, fighting each day merely to survive to the next. As the series works its way to the infamous first ending, the consequences of their actions begin to pour in, and then everything goes off the rails. The confusing ending of the TV anime was reworked in the film End of Evangelion, which showed the devastating downfall and deaths of many characters.

Rebuild of Evangelion's Differences Begin With The Second Movie's Ending

Starting to work at Rebuild over 10 years later, however, Hideaki Anno was in a very different state of mind, and that, too, is apparent in the final product, which has countless differences, both big and small. The films are faster paced, with the first one covering in moments what took up the first few episodes of the series. Shinji is a bit less brooding, but still very much himself. The characters in general seem to understand themselves a bit better, and they're more aware of what their real problems are than their counterparts in the original TV series. The Rebuild of Evangelion films also start off by introducing a new EVA pilot, Mari Maki, who adds a complicating factor to the existing dynamic. The second movie is where things really begin to diverge, when a certain moment occurs at the end involving Rei, but this time Shinji makes a very different choice, the effects of which spiral out into the final two films, making them almost unrecognizable.

The third Rebuild of Evangelion film features a time jump, skipping 14 years into the future, thus making everything from this point forward radically different. Shinji is absent for that 14-year period, so events unfold very differently, and it's revealed that Eva pilots cannot age, meaning Asuka and Rei, despite living through that time, look exactly the same. The third film focuses heavily on Shinji and Kaworu's relationship, which unfolds across basically just one episode of the original series. The fourth Rebuild of Evangelion film is similarly unlike anything in the series, with a major chunk of the film dedicated to Shinji, Rei, and Asuka living a relatively normal life in a village before escalating back for the finale, ending with a long-awaited confrontation between Shinji and his father in a trippy realm known as Minus Space.

Rebuild Of Evangelion Is Neither A Reboot Nor A Sequel

It's very hard to underestimate how Neon Genesis Evangelion's impact changed anime forever. Despite its shiny coating of giant robot action, the series is basically an exploration of the darkest and most important aspects of human psyche and relations, so the fact that it managed to captivate several generations of fans across more than two decades is a testament to its enduring value. Ultimately, Rebuild occupies a strange place between reboot and sequel where few movies tread. As a metafictional ending for the entire Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise, the Rebuild films are certainly worth watching and don't really replace the original in any way.