There’s never been an anime quite like Neon Genesis Evangelion. When it first aired on Japanese TV in 1995, it looked like a typical mecha series—giant robots, alien threats, and teenage pilots. But as the story unfolded, the mystery quickly took center stage. With its dense religious imagery and cryptic symbolism, Evangelion has kept fans theorizing and debating for nearly thirty years. Was it all a profound meditation on identity and existence, or just a coming-of-age story dressed up to look deeper than it really was?

Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno has long been famously tight-lipped about his most iconic work, often showing a love-hate relationship with the sprawling phenomenon it became. But in a 2021 interview with Japan’s NHK—recently brought back into the spotlight—Anno seemed to finally come clean about the real meaning, or rather the lack of it, behind Evangelion. As he bluntly put it: “Evangelion is often described as philosophical, but in reality, it’s not. It’s pretentious.”

From Otaku to Auteur

A Personal Project, A Cultural Earthquake

Hideaki Anno was born in 1960, right as Japan’s postwar boom was taking off. He grew up watching sci-fi anime like Space Battleship Yamato and Mobile Suit Gundam, full of heroes and hopeful futures. But by the time he was an adult, Japan’s outlook had shifted. After the economic bubble burst, Anno said it felt like “dreams and hopes had suddenly vanished,” leaving people unsure of what to believe in. He started his animation career in the early '80s and became part of a new wave of otaku creators—fans-turned-artists who dove deep into anime and pop culture. At Gainax, he worked on projects like Otaku no Video, which poked fun at otaku culture while celebrating it. Still, Anno saw how fandom could become a form of escape, especially in a time when more people were struggling to face reality.

After directing Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Anno turned inward—Evangelion was born from personal and national uncertainty. It wasn’t designed as a grand statement, but its raw portrayal of depression, alienation, and identity happened to mirror the emotional state of 1990s Japan. Anno himself said he was simply putting what he felt on screen, not aiming for depth. Yet audiences found something powerful in that chaos. Evangelion became a cultural landmark, more for how it resonated than for any single intended message.

Holy Symbols, Hollow Meaning?

Japanese Audiences Saw It Differently

Right from the start, Neon Genesis Evangelion was packed with religious imagery that hinted at deeper meaning. The opening sequence flashes a quick image of the Tree of Life from Kabbalah. The story features the Lance of Longinus, tied to Christian legend, along with enemies known as “Angels.” And episode titles like “A Human Work” and “Rei, Beyond the Heart” echoed biblical phrasing. Surely, Hideaki Anno wouldn’t just casually toss around holy symbols and references without some deeper meaning behind them—or would he?

I watching Evangelion episode by episode as it was released on VHS in the U.S. during the late 1990s. It was a wild ride—starting from a place of relative normalcy, only to spiral into something far stranger, culminating in that famously baffling ending. My friends and I, veterans of mind-bending journeys like The Prisoner and Twin Peaks, spent hours trying to piece it all together. What was Anno really trying to say with this animated series? We didn’t have the answers—but the questions kept us talking for years.

Meanwhile, back in Japan, critics and scholars began chiming in on Evangelion’s use of religious symbolism. Animage magazine once pointed out that all the crosses, angels, and Dead Sea Scrolls were likely chosen more for their striking visuals than any deeper meaning. In a 1997 Newtype interview, Anno himself said, “We used Christian symbols because they looked cool. There’s no deep meaning.” For many Japanese fans, the religious elements weren’t taken too seriously—they were just part of the show’s distinctive style, not clues to some hidden philosophical message waiting to be unlocked.

The Questions Haven’t Gone Away

Anno Says the Quiet Part Loud

And yet, the mystique around Evangelion hasn’t faded—it’s only grown. As the story expanded into the Rebuild of Evangelion film series, new generations of fans were introduced to Shinji, Asuka, Rei, and the tangled world they inhabit. These films brought fresh layers to the narrative, but also reignited old questions. At this point, it’s almost a rite of age for anime fans to stop and ask themselves, “What does Evangelion mean?”

Perhaps it’s those questions that inspired Hideaki Anno to try and set things straight. In his 2021 interview on the NHK TV series Top Runner, Anno said, “Evangelion is often described as philosophical, but in reality, it’s not. It’s pretentious.” He called it “pseudo-intellectual,” explaining, “It just looks impressive at a glance—there’s no deeper meaning.” Anno added, “I just wanted to depict a boy who runs away,” and itted, “I put in all the things I like—robots, girls, and introspection.” Reflecting on his approach, he said, “Making films is a service industry… Eva’s pseudo-intellectual story was part of that service, but in this case, it may have been excessive.”

Beyond Evangelion

Anno Said It’s Pretentious—But We’re Still Talking

Hideaki Anno has since moved on to other projects, including directing hit films like Shin Godzilla and co-scripting Evangelion x McDonald’s commercials—but someone out there is probably trying.

Anno may seem dismissive of his own creation and the reaction it’s sparked from fans still searching for answers anime alone can’t provide. But sometimes, a great work of art provokes responses its creator never intended. Regardless of what Anno thinks Evangelion means—or doesn’t—might be beside the point.

The real question is: What does Evangelion mean to you?