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Neon Genesis Evangelion
alt title(s): Evangelion; End Of Evangelion; The End Of Evangelion; Eva
Not featured in this picture: the Angst, the Frequent Mind Screwing, and the metric tons of Freudian imagery.

Attempting to harness the engine of our own destruction...only humans are so foolish.
— Misato Katsuragi

This is a giant robot saga the same way Twin Peaks was a cop show.
— Comic Buyer's Guide

In one sentence: Neon Genesis Evangelion is a dramatic character study that uses psychological references and themes in order to convey and analyze, through character development and psychoanalysis, the various mental illnesses and emotional problems of the principal cast, all of which is set against the backdrop of a deconstruction of the Humongous Mecha genre and a commentary on post-postwar Japanese society, and which also uses Christian and Kabbalistic symbolism to apply subtext to the show's various themes and plot points.

Was that a bit much to take in one sitting? Well, so is the show.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (in Japanese, "Shin Seiki Evangelion", which translates as "New Century Evangelion") is an extremely popular, controversial, and critically acclaimed 26-episode science fiction / action / drama anime series from Studio Gainax, which aired on Japanese television in 1995-96. It was written by Hideaki Anno, already famous for Gunbuster, and character design was done by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, who authors and illustrates the ongoing Evangelion manga. There were also two movies made at the end, Evangelion: Death and Rebirth and End of Evangelion.

Evangelion tells a dark and apocalyptic story:

In the year 2000, Earth was devastated by the destruction of Antarctica during the "Second Impact", a disaster most believe was a meteor strike. Half of humanity died in the Impact and its aftermath, ocean levels rose, and global warming became a fact of life. Fifteen years later, Earth faces a series of attacks by bizarre, gigantic alien creatures called "Angels." The only effective defense against the Angels is the secret agency NERV and its Evangelions: armored biomechanical giants designed to defend from Angel attack. The only persons who can pilot the Evangelions are a small group of dysfunctional 14-year-olds.

A common thread running through the personalities of these teenagers, and in varying degrees to the adults they work and live with, is that they feel a great need for love and acceptance, without which they feel incomplete. Some are desperately, hopelessly in love with people they can never have, with whom there can be no hope of consummation. Others are attracted to people they're afraid to approach, because they're paralyzed by shyness, self-doubt, and fear of being hurt. Most have lost their parents. And so on. This seems to be part of the philosophical statement Hideaki Anno wanted to make — that people need one another yet fear being hurt, and therefore put up psychological barriers that cause them even more pain as often as not.

Prophecy intertwines with conspiracy as shadowy players on all sides manipulate events and individuals to change the ultimate secret outcome of the Angels' siege.

Although it superficially resembles a classic "giant robots" anime series, Evangelion is in fact a study of individual alienation, betrayal, wheels-within-wheels conspiracies, obsession and apocalyptic fervor. In some scenes it resembles a harem anime, insofar as the main protagonist is constantly surrounded by breathtakingly beautiful women and teenage girls (and his friends frequently comment on this), but whatever feelings these people have are confused and badly expressed. In many episodes, particularly early in the series, there are instances of rather broad physical comedy that make it look like a teen coming-of-age Sit Com, complete with giant sweat drops and characters Face Faulting, but these moments only provide contrast for the terror and hopelessness to come. By the end of the series, no one is laughing.

Its final episodes are among the most controversial television ever broadcast in Japan, if only for an utter incomprehensibility that ranks up there with the ending of The Prisoner. Fan outcry and dissatisfaction resulted in the production of two "concluding" movies: Evangelion: Death and Rebirth, a film consisting of little more than two episodes end to end, Death being a clip show retelling of the series, and Rebirth being the first twenty minutes of the concluding film, End of Evangelion, which simply pushed the horror and despair of the setting to new heights. Despite repeated statements to the contrary, these films are believed by some to be petty revenge on the part of series creator Anno, who some claim reportedly felt so offended by the viewers' complaints that there was no satisfactory "happy ending" to the show that he deliberately turned it into a Wall Banger in which the entire human race is killed off in the most mean-spirited manner imaginable (they got better...sort of). Others point to evidence (particularly in the episode preview of episode 25) that this was going to be the ending from day one, but that budget deficits prevented it from being made during the show's TV run. To add to the series' notoriety, Gainax's president was arrested for tax evasion based on fraud committed using profits from the show and merchandise; this led to rumors that Gainax had been planning a Springtime For Hitler-style scheme with NGE from the beginning.

Despite the dark and gruesome ending (freeze-frame play during End of Evangelion can reveal a major character's body being visibly blown to pieces, for example), Evangelion is beautifully crafted, with exquisite attention to art, music and characterization; outstanding voice acting (critics differ sharply on whether the English dub is as good, with passionate proponents both for and against it); and some of the most technically impressive animation ever done. Strong themes of Kabbalistic mysticism and occult Christian eschatology adds an intriguing and different flavor as well.

In addition to the anime, there are a number of other Evangelion works, including:

Compare Bokurano and Rah Xephon. Contrast Gao Gai Gar, G Gundam and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (each pretty much the polar opposite of Evangelion). For similar anime in general, compare Revolutionary Girl Utena, Boogiepop Phantom, Paranoia Agent, and Serial Experiments Lain.

This series has a character sheet.

This franchise is the Trope Namer for:

  • Eva Fins — All of the Evangelion units aside from the first form of Unit 00 and the mass-produced units in End of Evangelion have the signature twin shoulder fins.
  • Instrumentality
  • Mind Rape — Arael to Asuka

It also provides examples of:

  • Abusive Parents — Let's see, first we have Gendo, who's a Jerk Ass Manipulative Bastard of a father to Shinji and a creepy quasi-incestuous parent to Rei, who's really a clone of his wife. And then we have Ritsuko's mother Naoko who cold-heartedly ignores her daughter, mirroring Asuka's own mother while also being something of a Yandere. Misato's father wasn't outright abusive, but he was definitely neglectful, which fuels her resentment of him.
  • Accidental Pervert — Shinji's first actual conversation with Rei starts with this. Notable for being one of the first major signs that Rei isn't normal.
  • Action Mom — Yui Ikari...sort of. Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu...for about five minutes.
  • Adaptation Distillation — The manga to a degree, and Rebuild of Evangelion...possibly.
    • So far, it's also hard to tell whether Rebuild is Lighter And Softer or Darker And Edgier. The first movie does seem even more violent (both physically and psychologically) than the original, but Misato seems more overtly nice to Shinji and we don't know yet how far the school antics and Tsundere slapstick will go.
      • It definitely is easier to understand, so long as you've seen the original series first. Whether this is good or bad is a question for the sages.
    • While Your Mileage May Vary, many fans consider some changes in the manga adaptation an improvement upon the original anime. More attention is devoted to character relationships, several filler plots (including some of the less consequential Angels) are cut altogether, and a very controversial scene (you know the one) is changed to be more acceptable and arguably more appropriate.
  • Adaptation Expansion — The manga details more of the odd relationship between Shinji and Rei, as well as giving Kaji a tragic backstory and making Kaworu much more prominent. Asuka's screentime, however, suffers a bit of a cutdown, although her introduction establishes her as more of a Bad Ass: she takes out Gaghiel by herself, and later KO's a group of thugs in an arcade singlehandedly.
  • A God Am I — Gendou's goal; he even monologues about it in the manga.
  • AI Is A Crapshoot — Mostly averted; the MAGI computers never turn evil, but the most human of them betrays Ritsuko at the worst possible moment. Subverted with the Evas when you find out they aren't actually robots.
    • Totally averted with the robot Jet Alone. It was remote-controlled and was sabotaged to walk towards the city and almost melt down.
  • The Alcoholic — Misato
    • I wouldn't go that far... She just likes beer. For breakfast.
  • Alien Geometries — Leliel. The Rebuild version of Ramiel also pulls out some crazy impossible geometry while transforming.
  • All Just A Dream — One interpretation of the original ending is that the whole thing was just an elaborate fantasy world that Shinji created for himself because he couldn't deal with the real world. The final episodes depict the point when he finally realizes that his "real" life wasn't so bad, at which point he abandons the fantasy and rejoined reality — the world he finds himself in the end where he has a normal life.) This would of course have the hilarious effect of making the Angelic Days manga a subversion of the trope as Shinji would awake from his fantasy only to find out that Evangelions and Angels are very real and he does in fact have to pilot a giant robot to save the world.
    • Another possible interpretation is that it all happened in Shinji's mind, who was schizophrenic all along, and the ending shows the inside of his mind to make a point that he's now too far gone to have any form of contact with the real world. "Mustn't run away", indeed.
  • Alas Poor Villain — Gendou in The End might fit, depending on your interpretation of the character.
    • As might Ritsuko, who is less villainous than Gendou, but whose death is also more heart-rending — and more heart-splattering.
  • Alternate Character Interpretation — Intentional on the creator's part, but especially noteworthy in some cases: is Gendou a manipulative monster, a misunderstood genius, a loving but misguided father who wants to make his son strong, the show's biggest Woobie, or a mix of the four? Is Yui a soft and idealized mother / Virgin Mary figure (close to being the series' Canon Sue), the actual manipulative monster who's responsible for messing up Shinji, Gendou and the fate of the world, or just off her rocker? Is Shinji a neurotic, obnoxious "wimp", a normal person dealing with impossibly overwhelming odds, or actually a courageous young hero? Is he "pure" or a pervert with Yandere tendencies? Since we're at it, is Shinji similar to Gendou, his polar opposite, or a complex mix of the two?
    • The Super Robot Wars games also dabble in this (as they usually do with the series) giving Shinji a backbone and changing story details. For example Touji does not suffer the fate that he does in the TV series and can occasionally join the team as a playable character. Likewise Asuka, in her famous scene from the movie, does not die when she is attacked by the group of Angels but can actually wipe them out instead.
  • Alternate Continuity — Especially noticeable in the video games and mangas Girlfriend of Steel 2 and Ikari Shinji Raising Project as well as in the new manga Neon Genesis Evangelion Gakuen Datenroku (Evangelion Academy) and the Hobby Japan-exclusive "sequel" Evangelion ANIMA.
  • Alternate Universe — In the omake at the end of End of Evangelion, and during the Third Impact sequence in episode 26; the latter has of late become an official Elseworld with its own manga.
  • All There In The Manual — There are a few guidebooks that attempt to elucidate the series. Given that it's intentionally left up to the reader, they are less than helpful.
  • Ancient Conspiracy — SEELE
  • Anime Anatomy — Played straight, averted, and subverted, depending on which part or version of the story you're talking about.
  • Anime First — Subverted. The manga ran for almost a year before the series begun, but it was made specifically for promoting the anime.
  • Anvilicious — Do you know that people are full of ugly fears and impulses? Also, do you know that modern technologies are a mixed blessing?
  • Anyone Can Die
  • Apocalypse Of The Week
  • Applied Phlebotinum — ...where do we start!?
  • Ascended Extra — Mana, from the Girlfriend of Steel spinoff. She's one of the very few non-canon characters to reappear in another spin-off (Ikari Shinji Instrumentality Project), and has a prominent, if B-tier, role in the Fan Fic Shinji And Warhammer 40 K.
  • Author Appeal — You might notice that in most anime directed by Anno, people are in love / go out / have sex with someone either much younger or much older than them. The Misato/Kaji relationship — only a year apart — is almost an anomaly here. Misato's relationship as Shinji's boss and "guardian" has lots of subtext, and Kaji gets sexually harassed by Asuka. You have to wonder...
    • Not only that, but Gendou had relationships both with Ritsuko Akagi and, earlier, with her mother, Dr. Naoko Akagi. Gendou is eighteen years older than Ritsuko. Although Gendou evidently referred to Naoko as "that old hag," there's not much to tell us how much older than he she was, if indeed she was older.
    • The Judaeo-Christian overtones, giant Adams, etc. probably also count as Author Appeal, when you compare Eva to Nadia The Secret Of Blue Water and other Gainax/Khara series. So do the angsty characters, ethical debates about biotechnologies, gratuitous DNA imagery, etc.
    • Not to mention all the hands. They're pretty much Eva's signature style.
    • And the stylized psychedelic eyes.
  • Awesome But Impractical — Applies to pretty much every bit of technology NERV owns. In universe: the Jet Alone. Powered by a nuclear reactor, but without the Eva's AT field.
  • Badass Beard — Gendou
  • Badass Decay — Arguably Gendou in the manga and End of Evangelion and Asuka around the time of her Mind Rape.
  • Baka — Part of Asuka's catchphrase. According to her, Shinji, Kensuke and Touji are also the "stupid trio."
  • Bandage Babe — Rei, to an outrageous degree. Also happens to Misato and Asuka, who suffers from similar wounds as Rei's in The End.
  • Bandaged Face
  • Beauty Is Never Tarnished — Borderline aversion with Misato. She has serious scars, but considering their placement on her chest, most of the characters never get to see them, and the audience doesn't see them much either.
  • Because Destiny Says So — According to the Dead Sea Scrolls. There is, however, an interesting interplay between destiny and human will.
  • Beginner's Luck — Shinji, subverted in several ways.
  • Best Beer Ever — Misato
  • Berserk Button — Shinji's button is pressed in Rebuild 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance when Rei is devoured by Zeruel, and Shinji decides to take a page from Kamina and rips the angel to pieces with glowing eyes of rage to save her. A Crowning Moment of Awesome ensues but is Subverted in that it's still a desperate, universally suicidal action akin to End of Evangelion. After "killing" Asuka, Shinji had already fallen into a state of apathy where he said he longer cared about anyone else until watching what he had left, Rei be eaten in front of him. Pushes him into a state of desperation similar to EOE where he doesn’t care about dying or destroying the world if he's going to be alone.
    • Not to mention that as an ultimate act of irony, he is actually playing right into Gendou's hands.
    • In the TV series in Episode 03 and 24. Then, in End of Evangelion.
  • Beware The Nice Ones — When Shinji is driven over the edge, horror ensues for Angels, Asuka, and possibly for Gendou.
  • Be Yourself — Played in a straight but horrifyingly cynical way.
  • Big Damn Heroes — Shinji in episode 19 when the Angel Of The Week is trashing Central Dogma and suddenly Unit One crashes through the wall and Shinji kicks arse! Whatever else he does in the series, just this once he gets to be the hero.
  • Bilingual Bonus — Many. For example, the last episode is titled "The Beast That Shouted "I" at the Centre of the World." The fact that "I" is pronounced the same way as "ai," the Japanese word for "love," triggers a second meaning. "The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World" is a classic science fiction story (and also the title of an anthology) by Harlan Ellison.
  • Bishonen — Multiple, most notably Kaworu. Shinji's level of bishie-ness (or non-bishie-ness) is very polarizing in the fandom, although Sadamoto wrote that he designed Shinji to be a delicate/vulnerable-looking bishonen.
  • Bittersweet Ending — Episode 24. The Angels are gone and mankind is safe...but Tokyo-3 has been ruined; Kaji is dead; Touji is a cripple; Kensuke, Hikari, and their families have moved away, taking Pen-Pen with them; Asuka is catatonic; Ritsuko is in prison; Misato is a nervous wreck; Rei is no longer the person everyone knew; and Shinji is utterly psychologically broken after having to kill the only person who has offered him unconditional love in the whole series.
  • Black Box — The Angels are described this way by the scientists "not in the know"; they also complain about how dangerous using the S2 organ is, since they know nothing about it.
  • Blood Knight — Mari in Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0. By God, Mari.
  • Blue With Shock — Several instances.
  • Book Ends — The bookend Reis, one in the first episode and the other in the movie.
  • Body Horror — Arguably evoked by Bardiel and Armisael's infectious attacks, and by Gendou having the embryonic Adam grafted to his hand. Also, arguably the situation for the human souls attached to the Evas. This might even qualify as And I Must Scream.
  • Bottle Fairy — Misato
  • Bragging Theme Tune — Played straight, despite the lyrics being about Shinji.
  • Brand X — See Shout Out below.
  • Break The Cutie — Every last character you found the faintest bit sympathetic, in End of Evangelion, and several other instances that begin much earlier. Shinji and Asuka (especially Shinji) embody this trope.
  • Breaking The Fourth Wall — Both the original ending and Evangelion: Death include visual references to a theater stage. The End of Evangelion has a live-action sequence, which includes equivalents of several of the characters. The latter is even described as being a "dream" and "not Shinji's reality," hence the postmodern overtones of the movie.
    • Before the live-action sequence, a young Shinji is shown building a sand castle of the GeoFront...and then the camera backs up and shows that he's under stage lighting.
  • Bridge Bunnies — Averted; two of them are male.
  • Broken Base — One of the few irrefutable statements that can be made about Evangelion is that it is the most divisive anime ever. Virtually everything about this series has been, is, and will be the topic of heated debate. Is [insert character here] a sympathetic character? Do the religious allusions really mean anything? Did the series change over its run, or was it all planned out from the beginning? Which ending is better? Are they the same, or do they conflict? Is the English dub as good as, better than, or vastly inferior to the Japanese? Is the series itself one of the greatest in the history of anime — or even cinema — or merely one of the most overrated? Can the live-action movies be done right? Which girl would you bang? If you wonder it for even a second, there is absolutely no question that it has been the subject of fierce debate inside or outside the fandom. The fact that, one way or the other, people generally tend to form very strong opinions about this series helps cement it firmly within this trope.
  • But Not Too Foreign — Asuka is part-Japanese, part-German, and part-American.
  • Butt Monkey — Shinji, until he is put on the Trauma Conga Line.
  • Cannot Spit It Out — A central theme of the series is that characters cannot admit their deeper feelings for one another, and / or cannot find the find the right way to comfort those they care about. So many examples, it's almost easier to list the aversions, and even the aversions tend to have a tragic cast to them.
    • While Asuka has no problem letting everyone, including Kaji, know the "depths" of her feelings for Kaji, she often does this precisely as a way of deflecting attention from her developing feelings for Shinji. Simultantously an aversion and an example.
    • Another exception: Kaworu, the final angel, is the only character in the whole series (and possibly the only person in-universe since the death of Yui) who expresses love to Shinji in so many words.
      • Which, of course, is made clear to be extremely significant.
      • Also, this profession of love isn't necessarily genuine. it's probable that this is a mind game Kaworu is playing on Shinji
    • Misato finally comes to terms with just how deeply she cares for Kaji...after he's dead.
    • Even Gendo admits to his fear of bonding with his son once his vague apocalyptic plan has failed and he realizes he's going to be killed.
  • Captain Ersatz — Evangelion 's characters have been used as the basis for many animes' casts:
  • Caramelldansen Vid — Here
  • Casanova / Handsome Lech / Leisure Suit Larry — Kaji, depending on how you interpret his behavior around the ladies.
  • Cash Cow Franchise — God in Heaven, help us.
  • Catch Phrase — In the anime, Shinji is constantly saying "I mustn't run away!"; also Asuka's repeated refrain of "What are you, stupid?" Let's also not forget all the times when Gendou tells Fuyutsuki to "handle the rest of this" and variants of "So," "Yes," and "I understand."
  • Cerebus Syndrome — As the series progresses to its final episodes, all attempts at making jokes are dropped.
  • The Chessmaster — Gendo.
    • And arguably Rei/Yui in End Of Evangelion. The implication that she was acting on her own accord throughout the whole series is disturbing.
  • Child Soldiers — The pilots, who are even called "Children" both individually and collectively.
  • Christmas Cake — Misato and Ritsuko. They aren't happy about this.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl — Asuka in the presence of Kaji, and also towards Shinji for that matter, especially in Alternate Continuity works. Also, Misato gets quite jealous whenever Kaji runs off to flirt with another woman.
  • Clip Show — About half of episode 14 is a clip summary of the first half of the series, packaged as an internal SEELE report about Gendo's activities. The Death sequence of Death and Rebirth is a clip show version of the entire series...26 episodes packed into 70 minutes.
  • Cloud Cuckoolander — New girl Mari Illustrious Makinami from the new Rebuild film series retains her cheerful, aloof outlook on life even in the face of gruesome pain and impending apocalypse.
  • Common Eye Colors — Shinji has blue eyes in the anime presumably to play off the sense of innocence or purity that provides, but he has brown eyes in the manga for more of an everyman look. In the first volume of Raising Project, he's brown on the cover and blue in the first chapter artwork! Yui has light green eyes in the manga.
  • Conspicuous CG — Rebuild of Evangelion
  • Contemplate Our Navels
  • Cooldown Hug — Shinji broke down and started crying in the movie only because Asuka caressed his face.
    • Actually the whole "strangle to caress" is lifted from the Lawrence Fishburne movie of "Othello", Shinji just stops.
  • Cosmic Horror — Strongly evoked by the Angels and even more by Adam and Lilith.
  • Cosmopolitan Council — The members of SEELE.
  • Creator Breakdown — So much of it, it actually originated from Creator Breakdown. Some parts of the manga suggest Sadamoto isn't too happy or wholesome either.
  • Creepy Cool Crosses — The Angels' energy blasts, and the shot of Misato's pendant near the very end of End of Evangelion.
  • Cross Dressing Voices — Shinji is voiced by Megumi Ogata, and Pen-Pen by Megumi Hayashibara.
  • Cross Popping Veins — Asuka, continuously; also Misato, whenever she finds Kaji flirting with and/or groping another woman.
  • Crowning Moment Of Awesome — Several; see here for the list.
  • Crowning Moment Of Funny — Quite a few of them, mostly early in the series.
    • In episode 5, Pen-Pen hesitantly samples Misato's atrocious cooking and promptly faints.
    • In episode 17, Kaji inexplicably flirts with Shinji.
      Kaji: How about it? Wanna go out for tea?
      Shinji: You know, I'm a boy.
      • And in Rebuild 2.0, Kaji pretends to try to kiss him and Shinji lets out an almighty squeal. "Love isn't concerned with gender!"
    • Toothpicks. 'nuff said.
      • In fact, any slapstick scene that somehow involves Misato and beer.
    • Asuka's violent squibble with Touji over underwear.
    • Every time Shinji's "feminine" characteristics are lampshaded, such as when Kensuke and Touji start making fun of him while he's wearing one of Asuka's plug suits in episode 8.
    • Units 01 and 02 faceplanting in the "dance episode," and Fuyutsuki's embarrassed reactions.
    • The wacky alternate universe sequence in episode 26. Schoolkid antics, morning stiffies, Misato the wacky schoolteacher, and Gendou getting scolded for being lazy.
    • Gendou and Fuyutsuki beating the heat in episode 11.
      Fuyutsuki: It's lukewarm.
      Gendou: Yes.
  • Crowning Music Of Awesome — Among others is "Komm Susser Tod" from End, and "The Beast II".
  • Curb Stomp Battle — Happens every time the Evas go berserk, and the first time the Dummy Plug is activated.
  • Cute Shotaro Boy — Child Shinji. Actually, teen Shinji, in some interpretations.
  • Cyber Cyclops — Unit 00
  • Cyberpunk — Evangelion has quite a few cyberpunk and post-cyberpunk traits.
  • Deadpan Snarker — Ritsuko; manga Shinji.
  • Deconstruction — This happens to a lot of the tropes used in the series. The show is so postmodern the leaders of the superflat movement claim it as one of its precursors. Now that's some homage...
  • Defrosting Ice Queen — Arguably both Rei and Asuka, depending on how the trope is interpreted.
  • Deranged Animation — Numerous examples, but especially episodes 25, 26, and The End of Evangelion.
  • Description Cut and Ironic Echo Cut — Episode 11 sets up long chains of these. After all, the whole point of the episode is how the characters isolated by a power cut still manage to think the same.
  • Designated Hero: Shinji, and arguably the other pilots. Literally, given that everyone in Shinji's class are potential pilots.
  • Despair Event Horizon — Shinji crosses this line for sure, but where exactly it happens is arguable.
  • Deus Angst Machina
  • Disney Death — Rei. Except she actually did die...but she's a clone.
  • Dissonant Serenity — Kaworu is a perfect example of this. Not only does he smile a lot despite the fact that he is introduced at a moment in which events have taken a turn for the tragic, he even manages to smile as he asks Shinji to kill him.
  • Do You Want To Copulate — Rei has no reaction whatsoever to Shinji seeing her naked, then falling on her and accidentally groping her, other than to ask him to let her up. In the manga, she actually looks surprised but doesn't say anything.
  • Doctor Jekyll And Mister Jack Daniels — Misato. When she's sober, she's a force to be reckoned with. Drunk...not so much.
  • Does This Remind You Of Anything — The less said about the points related to Freud Was Right, the better.
  • Double Agent — Kaji, although it's never really certain who he's really working for.
  • Dont Look At The Camera
  • Don't You Dare Pity Me — Asuka
  • Downer Ending — Your Mileage May Vary on Episode 26, depending on interpretation. Played very straight by End.
    • An even darker ending was in planning for End at some point. It starts with Shinji lying on the beach while holding hands with someone. He notices that he will probably never see his friends again, but that he also will keep on living anyways. He then squeezes the hand he is holding and sees a short flash of Rei. It is then revealed that nobody is lying next to him, and the hand he is holding belongs to that arm Rei lost earlier in the film.
    • Arguable. End more than hints that all humans can be reborn from the LCL sea if their will to live as separate beings is strong enough.
  • Draco In Leather Pants — Gendou has a disturbing amount of female followers in Fan Fic. Kaworu is a more debatable example — at least the "Draco" part.
  • Driven To Suicide — Asuka's mom Kyouko. Naoko, ambiguous in the anime but very definite in the manga. Shinji gets very close. Gendou's death in End can also be viewed as a symbolic suicide.
  • Driving Question — Many, but possibly the biggest one is the nature of the Evas, which is also the closest one to getting a straight answer.
  • Dropped A Bridge On Him — Just about everybody in End of Evangelion. Asuka deserves a special mention, though. Oh, the pain.
  • Dude Looks Like A Lady — Shinji is essentially a Gender Flip of Nadia (see here◊ for notes from Sadamoto himself). He was described by Sadamoto as looking like "a boyish young girl" (more evidence here◊), and was made as such to distinguish him from the mecha heroes at that time. Shinji’s feminine facial features are brought up by Misato in the first episode, and during the eighth and ninth episodes he’s made to look like a girl from nothing more than a wardrobe change◊.
    • One of the official games that had its scripts designed from interviews with Anno also had Fuyutsuki say that Shinji looked just like Yui and then crossdress Shinji for the role all while saying how beautiful "she" looks; Fuyutsuki's actions soon become overtly sexual.
    • Shinji and Kaworu also make rather pretty girls with little more than a hair and eyelash change (and breasts) in the GenderFlip version of episode 24, longer haired Shinjiko ends up looking like a young version of Yui.
  • Dude, She's Like, In A Coma! — First subverted when Shinji tries to kiss Asuka in her sleep. Then, in End of Evangelion, Shinji wanks over a comatose Asuka.
    • The manga's reworking of the latter scene is equally disturbing and tragic, but turns it into a Kiss Of Life of sorts. At first, Shinji is at Asuka's bedside, exhorting her to get up. He may try to do something more, wank or no, but then Asuka finally sits up and turns her head to him slightly, her first conscious action in weeks...and then she leaps out of bed and attempts to strangle him to death in the exact same manner her mother did to her a decade prior.
      • What triggers her off into a rage is Shinji saying that she is "just a doll" while comatose and that he wants her back...something that after her mother's treatment of her is not the right words to use. Of course Shinji does not mean it in that way and he has no clue why she snaps, which makes the scene all the more tragic.
  • Dumb Struck — Both played straight and inverted by Misato. She was so traumatized by Second Impact that she didn't speak for several years, then turned into a major chatterbox when she got into college.
  • Dynamic Character — Most of the characters are dynamic and rounded.
  • Dysfunction Junction — ...where do we START!?
  • Ear Worm - 22 versions of "Fly Me To The Moon" will catch up to you.
  • Early Bird Cameo — Kaworu and Lilith already appear at the end of Rebuild 1.0. Also, in the manga, he first appeared in the last pages of volume 7.
  • Easter Egg — Spike Spencer (Shinji's English dubber)'s famous comment about the original ending from Shinji's POV, which includes gems such as "W-what's an Eva? Is that sort of a Freudian thing, or...um...am I real?" and "I mustn't run away, I mustn't run — okay, I got that, good, okay, now if I were to run away, let's analyze that, where the fuck would I go!?". Take a listen.
    • It's even better if you think about how much Spencer's Shinji voice sounds like Larry the Cucumber from Veggie Tales.
  • The Eeyore — Shinji
  • Epiphanic Prison — End of Evangelion thrust Shinji into one. His solution? Destroy the world.
  • Empathic Weapon — Deconstructed; Shinji's empathy with his Eva is psychologically dysfunctional. For example, Shinji describes Unit 01's destruction of the possessed Unit 03 along the lines of "Father used my own hands to hurt Touji," despite the fact that (a) it was the Eva's hands, not his own hands, and (b) he was not in control of the Eva at the time; the dummy plug was. Apparently, piloting a mentally-controlled Humongous Mecha messes with your mind real good.
    • When Shinji fights Unit 02 under the control of Kaworu, he says an apology to Asuka. In this case Shinji can't see Eva 02 as just a machine; he sees it as an extension of Asuka, so that attacking Eva 02 is at some level equivalent to attacking Asuka.
  • Emotionless Girl — Subverted by Rei; although she comes across as this for much of the series, she is simply so disconnected from meaningful human contact that she has no real idea of how to emote, until she meets Shinji.
  • Enforced Method Acting — Megumi Ogata was told by Anno to literally strangle Yuko Miyamura in the recording room when Shinji dreamed about strangling Asuka in End of Evangelion.
  • The End Of The World As We Know It — What apparently happens if an Angel ever reaches Lilith. It happens anyway, but through other means.
  • End Of The World Special — End of Evangelion
  • Epileptic Trees — If you thought that the show was disturbing and insane, you clearly haven't read the Fan Wank...
  • Erotic Dream
  • Even The Guys Want Him — Ultimately subverted by Shinji. For all his low self confidence and psychological issues, both the anime and the manga give him lots of Ship Tease moments with Misato, Asuka, and Rei, all of whom have genuine affection for Shinji...unfortunately, because of their own psychological issues, none of these develop in healthy ways. He also seems to attract quite a bit of attention from Kaworu Nagisa, especially in the manga, although given what Kaworu is, none of it can be literally interpreted, and it really turns out badly for Shinji.
    • On the other hand, Ryoji Kaji jokingly(?) flirts with him in Rebuild 2.0 — and, in "Shinji Ikari Complementarity Project," Shinji gets unwanted attention from both Kaworu and Gendou.
  • Everyone Is Jesus In Purgatory — Works particularly well. Shinji as a pathetic messiah/Jesus figure; Yui as Rei Ayanami's "virgin mother"; Gendou as Judas or Satan, or alternately as the tyrannical God of the Ancient Testament; angels/apostles; crosses... It's hard to tell whether the Eva verse is meant as a kind of Hell or as a purgatory, though...
  • Everything's Better With Penguins — Pen-Pen, whose purpose is purely to lighten the mood.
  • Evil Albino — Kaworu, although he's more morally ambiguous than truly evil, especially in the manga.
  • Exploding Calendar — The episode 9 montage.
  • Expy — More Nadia tie-ins; in addition to Shinji's similarity to Nadia, Ritsuko, Asuka, and Kensuke are similar to Electra, Grandis, and Jean, respectively. Also, Asuka may be viewed as a partial expy of Jung Freud of Bustgunner Gunbuster fame.
    • Additionally, the later Gainax productions FLCL and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann seem to exist to represent how Shinji would have turned out if he was raised more successfully. Gainax staff have said that while creating the male protagonists for their recent major productions they asked themselves how Shinji would have turned out if he had been brought up in different circumstances.
    • The Evas themselves are loosely based on the God Warriors, giant radioactive cyborgs from Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind, which Anno worked on during his brief stint as an animator for Studio Ghibli.
      • It's interesting to note that Anno had even planned to do a side story focusing on Princess Kushana, but was refused permission by Miyazaki, who disagreed with the level of violence and militarism in Anno's vision. Elements of Kushana's character informed the creation of Asuka, however, and the infamous "doll scene" is taken almost verbatim from a similar incident that occurred earlier in the manga version of Nausicaa.
  • Eyepatch Of Power — This "upgrade" happens to Asuka after the events of Rebuild 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance. God save us from the tsundere that is to be unleashed.
  • Eye Scream — A few times. Sachiel pierces Unit 01's right eye all the way to the other side of the skull. The End Of Evangelion scene where Unit 01 bursts through Lilith/Rei's eye has come to symbolize for many how much of a Mind Screw End is. Also from End: the scene where the MP Eva's Lance of Longinus hits Unit 02 in the face, and the resultant injury to Asuka.
  • Face Fault
  • Family Unfriendly Violence — So much, it is rumoured the series generated a reinforcement of censorship laws in Japan.
  • Fan Dumb — Dear God, THE Fan Dumb!
  • Fan Disservice — Many instances...
    • Shinji masturbating over a comatose Asuka is basically the epitome of this.
    • Also, pretty much every revelation about Gendou's sexuality will have you reach for the Brain Bleach.
    • The "naked Yui tempting Shinji" sequence in the manga is a particularly horrifying example.
  • Fan Haters
  • Fan Myopia — Very prevalent on this very wiki.
  • Fan Service - Misato, Asuka, Rei every character below the age of 31.
    • The show lampshaded this in each of the "next episode" previews, as Misato always promised "more fanservice!".
    • Shinji semi-lampshades one instance in the manga after coming home from school and finding Misato in the shower...with the apartment door unlocked.
      Shinji (thinking to himself): That's not safe! Anyone could walk in!
  • Fan Nickname:
    • "Tang" for LCL.
    • Mind Rape (The Trope Namer).
    • GNR, or Giant Naked Rei, for the skyscraper-sized glowing white naked Rei that Lilith transforms into
      • Also Mini Giant Naked Rei, Giant Giant Naked Rei, Regular Naked Rei, and Giant Naked Kaworu, all of which are unique and distinct entities. MGNR is what Unit 00 transforms into before blowing up in the Director's Cut of Episode 23. GGNR is the planetary-sized GNR that pops straight out of the Earth, grows wings of light, and collects all of humanity's souls. RNR is just Rei without clothing, like in episode 5. GNK is the large white Kaworu that sprouts out of GNR.
    • "Puppy-kun" for Shinji, at least for Eva fans who like him.
    • EMK, or Evil Manga Kaworu, for the Kaworu who kills a kitten in the manga — hence the meme "every time you masturbate, Kaworu kills a kitten."
    • "Stay-Puft Marshmallow Woman" for Lilith
    • "Yui-sama" for Unit 01.
    • "Uberpimp" for Gendou. Super Gendou, Super Adam Gendou and others for his insane AT-Field generating incarnation in the manga.
    • "Harpies" for Evangelion units 05-13 because they look like grotesque cyber-vultures.
    • "Induction" for the 'Tangification process' in The End, after a term from quantum mechanics.
  • Fanon — No, Gendou and Kouzou never actually have a drinking party in the series. And no, Shinji isn't some kind of sex master, thank you very much. Also, for heaven's sake, Shinji and Kaworu never really get into a relationship in Canon. This also extends to Touji's sisters' name; Misato's father's name; Hikari's sisters' personalities; Shinji's wardrobe; and many other things.
  • Fan Wank — Horrifying amounts of it.
  • Fatal Flaw — Most of the characters have at least one.
  • Fearful Symmetry — The angel Israfel, in the episode "Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!"
  • Fear Leads To Anger — Multiple characters
  • Feed Me
  • Femme Fatale — Misato, Rei, Asuka
  • First Church Of Mecha — Evas were made as a substitute for God, apparently.
  • First Kiss — Subverted; Shinji and Asuka kiss, but it's painfully unromantic, it doesn't lead anywhere, and she never does stop bullying him.
  • Five Rounds Rapid — Conventional military efforts tend to do precisely jack against the Angels.
  • Flash Back — Epecially in Episode 21.
  • Flanderization — All the characters get this treatment in the Fan Fic community; some are more baseless than others.
  • Foe Yay — Shinji and Kaworu
    • Except that they were friends for at least a day, and foes for about 3 minutes. Definitely more Ho Yay than Foe Yay.
  • Four Is Death — Unit 04 explodes on its activation test. Given that it's Evangelion we're talking about...
  • Foxy Grandma — Naoko Akagi, possibly.
  • Freudian Excuse — Oh boy, where to begin?
    • Shinji, who as a three year old witnessed his mother's apparent death in an experiment with Unit 01, was subsequently abandoned by his father, and seems to have been given little to no affection by his tutor(s).
    • Rei, who grew up in a dark, dingy, creepy basement in NERV headquarters, isolated from most human contact, which carries over to her teenage life. Also, her relationship with Gendou is loaded with incestuous subtext, and she seems to be at least somewhat aware that she is a clone, especially after the battle with Armisael. "I can be replaced", indeed.
    • Misato, who hates her father who never was there for his family because of his work, but can't help but admire him at the same time because he used the last minutes of his life to save hers. This also factors into why she broke up with Kaji; he reminded her too much of her father.
    • And then there is Asuka, whose mother went insane after an experiment with Unit 02, started to talk to a doll like it was Asuka, at some point asked Asuka to die together with her, and in the end committed suicide together with the doll, leaving Asuka to find her. Oh yeah, and her father had an affair with her mother's doctor, to the point where they even had sex in the hospital within earshot of Asuka. And just to top it all off, he ended up marrying the doctor shortly after his wife's suicide. It's even worse in the manga.
    • Contrary to what some writers might lead a reader to believe, the other characters don't go insane until well into adulthood, ruling out Freudian excuse. It's still suggested that Ritsuko may have suffered as a child from her mother's emotional distance and perhaps from not having a father (he's never even mentioned).
    • Non-canon but noteworthy: in the Alternate Continuity Girlfriend of Steel II / Angelic Days, a whole volume is devoted to teen Gendo's wish to beat up, yell at, or annoy every single person on the earth after his parents get a divorce and his mom abandons him. At least before he meets Yui and Kaworu. All the more pathetic since he's basically what would happen if you merged Shinji and Touji, an angry emo teen who's a social problem. Canon implies very vaguely that he had mommy issues and that he didn't feel loved by his parents.
    • Kaji and Vice-commander Fuyutsuki are the closest Evangelion comes to normal. Kaji is a triple (quadruple? quintuple?) agent living an extremely dangerous double life and gives the impression that his skirt-chasing caddish lifestyle is part of his cover. Also, it's revealed in an artbook that he's a self-hating mess. Fuyutsuki's whole character revolves around him just being a man who knew too much and was sucked into something much bigger than he ever intended to be in. These are the best-adjusted people. Touji deals with his depression and anxiety over his ill sister by becoming a bully. Kensuke is a military otaku who lives in a whole other plane of reality. Every single child in Shinji's school has lost one or both parents (usually the mother), with varied results. Ritsuko has huge mommy issues (hooking up with the same man that used and disposed of her mother, and getting used by him in the same fashion). Lorentz Kiel is hell-bent on destroying humanity for its own good.
  • Freud Was Right Freud Co-directed The Series — Arguably the crux of the plot.
  • Furo Scene — Numerous instances, but most memorably Asuka's in episode 22...which, typically for the series, is not as titillating as it sounds and is in fact extremely disturbing, what with serving as one of the first signposts to Asuka's impending mental breakdown and all.
  • The Gadfly — Asuka, a rather jerkass example.
  • Gainax Ending — One of The defining THE Most Triumphant Example.
    • Some fans consider End Of Evangelion to be this, but ultimately it's a more satisfiying ending.
  • Gainaxing — Especially Misato.
    • Mari carries on the tradition in Rebuild 2.0, complete with a blatant Male Gaze shot during the final battle.
  • Gender Flip — Several fans have theorized that the three leads are examples; noting how few would speak ill of◊ a sad little Moe Shinji, Hot Blooded Jerk Ass Asuka, and The Stoic Rei were they the opposite genders. This Video shows a nice example of that idea. )
  • Genius Ditz — A possible interpretation for Misato.
  • Giant Eye Of Doom — Shinji comes face to face with his Eva, in episode 2. Here's looking at you, kid.
  • Girlish Pigtails — Asuka, Hikari
  • The Glomp — Fascinating Asuka-on-Kaji assaults.
  • Gonna Fly Now Montage — Shinji and Asuka training for the second battle with the Seventh Angel.
  • Good Morning Crono — Spoofed in the final episode, when Shinji is shown what his life could have been like — a cliche shounen series.
  • Gory Discretion Shot — All that is shown of Kaworu's death in the anime is the silhouette of his head falling into the LCL lake. The manga represents his death as Shinji strangling him in a field similar to where they first met.
  • Government Conspiracy — The coverup regarding Second Impact
  • Grasp The Sun — Asuka plays this straight in the End of Evangelion. Painfully straight.
  • Gratuitous Foreign Language — "Back storoke entory!" "Yoo ah nambah wan!" "Bohdahline cleah!" "Obah za rainbow!"
    • Gratuitous German — Gehirn = brain, Nerv = nerve, Seele = soul
    • The title itself is gratuitous Greek, translating "New Beginning Gospel."
  • Half Human Hybrid
  • Hermetic Magic
  • Heroic BSOD — Shinji and Asuka, towards the end of the series, are the king and queen of this trope, though it's debatable who's the king and who's the queen.
  • Heroic Sacrifice — Multiple, and subverted in some cases.
  • He's Back — Played straight with Shinji; subverted with Asuka, who comes out of her coma, but simply dies fighting 5 minutes later.
    • Asuka does this yet again in the third Rebuild movie.
  • Hey Its That Voice — Misato is Sailor Moon. Now you can never unhear it. And Shinji is Sailor Uranus. And Kurama. Motomu Kiyokawa, Fuyutsuki's dubber, also dubbed Gargoyle. As for Megumi Hayashibara... well, she's Megumi Hayashibara.
  • Hidden Eyes — Shinji and Asuka on various occasions; Shinji's uncle, aunt, and bullies in the manga. Yui does this a few times, too.
  • High Octane Nightmare Fuel — So much so that the series has its own page.
  • High Pressure Blood — Holy mother of God, the Angels bleed rivers. In the first episode alone, Unit 01 sprays for a good five seconds from both sides of a head wound. Apparently Evangelions have a very high blood pressure. It gets even worse in the new movie, where Ramiel, the octahedral, laser-firing, and now shape-shifting Angel, takes a shot fired from Unit 01 through what appears to be thin air, screams like hell, and sprays enough blood out to cover a two-story building and paint a countryside a nice shade of red. And that's just getting started.
    • Justified, perhaps, when you consider how much blood there is in something taller than office buildings and what's needed to move it around. And when you consider how much pressure is required to pump blood all the way up to the heads of those things...
    • And the amount/pressure of blood in Giant Giant Naked Rei is enough to put a big red stripe on the moon.
  • Hint Dropping — Asuka does this towards Shinji a couple of times. Shinji remains completely oblivious to this, which fuels much of Asuka's anger towards him.
  • Hit Me Dammit — Touji tells Shinji to hit him back as a "macho" way of apologizing. The manga adaptation subverts the trope, with Shinji deciding it'd be more interesting to have Touji owe him one instead. In Rebuild, he actually hits Touji right away.
  • Hive Mind — Instrumentality
  • Hope Spot — Most notably Asuka's very brief recovery in EoE
  • Hot Blooded — Asuka; Misato is a milder case.
  • Hot For Teacher — In the Alternate Universe
  • Hot Scientist — Debatable: Ritsuko, Yui, Maya, Naoko.
  • Ho Yay — Shinji and Kaworu. It's not a stretch at all to think Gainax deliberately played on (and cashed in on!) the fujoshi fantasm.
    • Pretty much confirmed by some of the official artwork available through Gainax's Eva merchandise site.
    • In Rebuild 1.0, Kaworu awakens on the moon to promptly say "I'm looking forward to knowing you, Shinji Ikari." As lampshaded with many lulz by the fansubbing group, the Japanese word used can mean "to know in the biblical sense."
    • Some will also say the relationship between Gendou and Fuyutsuki is loaded with subtext/vibes. Amusing as the idea may be, it's not canon, though you can really imagine what you want with Eva...
  • Humanoid Abomination: Kaworu and Rei. And of course, the 18th Angel is claimed to be mankind.
  • Humongous Mecha — The Evas, Jet Alone... If you can call a loosely restrained Eldritch Abomination with a steering wheel glued on a mecha.
  • The Idiot From Osaka — Touji
  • I Just Want To Be Special — Kensuke
  • Immune To Bullets
  • Impaled With Extreme Prejudice — Spam Attacked to Gorn levels with Asuka's death in End of Evangelion.
    • Not to mention the final scene of Rebuild 2.0, done on Unit 01 by Kaworu.)
  • Incest Is Relative — Shinji's attraction to Rei, and vice versa. They can even date or marry in some of the wacky schoolday video games and the mangas based on them.
  • Instant Expert — Triply subverted in the first two episodes; at first, everyone's really excited because it looks like Shinji just might save the day, despite having absolutely no experience piloting the Eva unit. Then he trips, gets beaten up rather brutally by the Angel, and the next thing we see is him waking up in a hospital bed. BUT, it turns out that he really did turn around and beat the Angel...but this turns out to be due less to Shinji's own abilities and more to the fact that the Eva units are actually alive and intelligent. It's Unit 01 doing the fighting, not Shinji.
    • Another wrinkle to the number of subversions is that at least some of the characters were really expecting it to go exactly like that. Ritsuko's comment of, "He just has to sit in the seat. We don't expect any more of him than that." is just downright heartless in retrospect.
  • Internet Backdraft — Evangelion generates so much heated debate that some forums forbade launching threads about it.
  • It Got Worse — Boy howdy, does it ever.
  • It Has Been An Honor — Makoto Hyuuga to Misato
  • It Was His Sled — Pretty much everything in the last few episodes and the movie. Some tropers even forget to spoiler tag it.
  • Jerk Ass — Gendou; Touji and Asuka, at first.
  • Jerk Ass Woobie — Asuka, once her background is fully revealed
  • Jerk With A Heart Of Jerk — Gendou, depending on interpretation. The reason why he saved Rei is pretty messed-up, and his complimenting of Shinji may be a way of manipulating him.
  • Jigsaw Puzzle Plot — The reason the earlier episodes are easier to follow.
  • Karmic Death — Gendou Ikari, if any, did deserve a good metaphorical smacking from the cosmos and his death (provided that it isn't just a remorse-fueled hallucination, or what happened to him actually counts as dying) drips of poetic justice.
  • Kavorka Man — Gendou, hence the ReDeath meme "IT'S GENDOU!". Shinji has quite the kavorka too, as he is fourteen, lacks self-confidence and social skills to a spectacular extent, isn't particularly handsome and still has a pretty huge Unwanted Harem. Let's see: Asuka, Misato, Rei, Mana in ''Evangelion: Second Impression," possibly Kaworu. And then he'll complain that nobody loves him...
  • Kid Hero — Deconstructed.
  • Killed Off For Real — Kaji; Rei I and II; Naoko; possibly Misato and Ritsuko.
    • Also, Touji in the manga.
  • Kill Em All — The movie looks like it, though it depends on your interpretation whether what happened to them actually counts as death.
  • Kotono Mitsuishi — Misato
  • Kuudere — Rei; Ritsuko in Ikari Shinji Raising Project, though she already has a few traits in the main series.
  • Kudzu Plot — Invoked by, and at the same time resulting in the Mind Screw.
  • Last Stand
  • Latex Space Suit — The plugsuits for both sexes have a button that once pressed automatically makes the suit shrink to conform to the pilot's body.
  • Les Yay — Maya seems to have a crush on Ritsuko. Also played with with Asuka and Rei in official art, even though they're far from being on friendly terms in the series.
  • Lethal Chef — Misato even manages to mess up instant noodles.
  • The Libby — Asuka is basically this without the minions or blond hair, and with the bitchiness cranked Up To Eleven.
  • Light Is Not Good — And comes with Mind Rape, in the case of Arael.
  • Limited Animation — There are an awful lot of still images used, many scenes show the characters from a great distance, and the same Stock Footage is reused several times. On the other hand, if the creators were trying to save money for where it would matter most, it worked; there are several scenes that are gorgeously animated and absolutely stunning.
  • Living Shadow — Leliel, the 12th Angel.
  • Locked In A Room — Kaji and Misato in an elevator during the attack by the Ninth Angel. Asuka and Shinji's training to fight the Seventh Angel is a variant; they're not actually locked in a room, but they do have to spend almost every waking moment together.
  • Loser Guy — Shinji
  • Lotus Eater Machine — At some level, the Evas. Some of the Angel's attacks (notably Leliel's, Arael's, and Armisael's) and Instrumentality are this.
  • Love Dodecahedron — Played for angst rather than laughs.
  • Love It Or Hate It — There's probably some Hype Backlash in play for the latter.
  • Love Makes You Evil — ...and that man's said evil makes the whole world suffer.
  • Lyrical Dissonance — "Komm, süsser motherfucking Tod" in End of Evangelion.
  • Magical Computer — Appropriately, the MAGI.
  • Magic From Technology
  • Mama Bear — All the Evas, but particularly Unit 01 to Shinji.
  • The Man Behind The Man
  • Manipulative Bastard — Gendou
  • Marshmallow Hell — Misato accidentally does this to Shinji when they, along with Asuka, Touji, Kensuke, and Kaji, are stuck in a too-small elevator.
  • Mask Power — Gendou and his little round eyeglasses.
  • The Masochism Tango — Shinji and Asuka's "relationship."
  • May December Romance — At the very least, toyed with.
  • Meaningful Name — Quite a few:
    • "Shinji" ironically evokes the words for "truth" or "to believe" and can also mean "divine child." Shinji's name is even punned on in Rebuild 1.0; Misato exhorts Gendou to "believe in his own son", invoking of course the word shinji.
    • "Rei" can mean, among other things, "zero," "ghost" and "cold."
    • "Yui" puns on Rei, of course and, by Word Of God, on the word "yui" meaning "the only one."
    • "Gendou" is "limit" or "boundary."
    • "Ikari" uses the character for "anchor" (part of the nautical theme), but with a different character would be "wrath" or "anger."
    • "Nagisa" contains the characters for " messenger" and, with different kanji, can mean "shore."
    • The Japanese word given to the Angels, "shito," actually means "apostle" or "messenger" (which is the meaning of the original Greek word that became "angel" in English). It also sounds very close to the Japanese word for "person" or "human being," "hito", hinting at one of the deep secrets of the series.
    • The Angels' appearances and attacks are based on their names: for example, Sandalphon, the angel of embryos, starts off as an embryo in a volcano; Arael is the angel of birds; Israfel, who's beaten with music, is the angel of music; Kaworu aka Tabris is the angel of free will.
    • "Evangelion" comes from "eüangélion", the Anglicanized version of the Greek word meaning "gospel" or "good news", which has led the series' title to sometimes be interpreted as "New Century Gospel" or "New Beginning Gospel".
    • "Seele" is German for "soul".
  • Medium Blending — The live action scenes in The End of Evangelion.
  • Meganekko — Ritsuko; Mari from Rebuild 2.0.
  • Megumi Hayashibara — Rei, Yui and Pen-Pen; she also performs Mana Kirishima in the Evangelion videogame Girlfriend of Steel. In a rare case, she doesn't perform the opening theme in the credits, although she does sing a couple versions of the closing song. There do exist at least two versions of the opening theme sung by her — one of them in character as Rei! — but neither were actually broadcast.
  • Memetic Mutation — Everyone gets hugged and turns into Tang; Kaworu kills kittens; Robo-Shinji; Shinji sucks; who killed Ryouji Kaji; Kaworu died for your sins; take Adam into your heart; Neon Gender Evangelion and other gender swap FanVideos; "GENDOWNED" became both famous and copied to death after its 'debut' in AMV Hell 2; the spoof video Evangelion: ReDeath gave us the incredibly popular "It's Gendou!" line. Then there's the unholy union of Evangelion and well-known memes from other fandoms, such as the Evangelion Caramelldansen videos, photoshopping Kamina's shades on Shinji and the "Just as planned" Gendou demotivator. Also, "[anime X] + the Evangelion opening, lulz" is already an old meme.
    • And of course, the memes with hundreds of variations that never gets old: "WTF happens in episodes 25-26!?" and "The End of Evangelion will mess with your head!"
  • Messianic Archetype — Shinji even has a few "temptation scenes" involving the choice of rejecting the world completely and being Tanged forever or, in the manga, of going ballistic on humanity with his Luciferian dad. Granted, he's a darkly ironic and/or pathetic kind of messiah.
  • MIB
  • Mildly Military — NERV.
  • Million To One Chance — Ritsuko likes to predict that there's a 0.[long string of zeroes]1% chance of Misato's plan succeeding, with lower probabilities as the series progress.
    • And by the same time subverted since the chances were actually 100% each time, as the happenings ride on a pretty accurate prophecy-based schedule.
  • Mind Screw — And how! It practically defines the Mindscrew "genre" for anime and manga and it's difficult to avoid mentioning it while talking about Mindscrew animes.
  • Misaimed Fandom — ...though what part of the fandom is misaimed is up for tremendous debate.
  • Misaimed Marketing — Gainax makes George Lucas look like a marketing prude. Care to buy a Rei hentai statue, a "petit Eva" videogame, or a Lilith-shaped plate with a Longinus spear-shaped fork? Or maybe a Nerv necktie and a Kaworu cushion?
  • Mission Control — Straight down to spewing technobabble purely for the sake of the viewer.
  • Mix And Match — Humongous Mecha + dark psychological drama.
  • Moe — Quite a bit of what modern moe fetishists chase after was inspired by Rei. Also, Shinji can be quite Moe depending on your interpretation.
  • The Momo — Pen-Pen. No relation.
  • Monster Of The Week — The Angels, though they don't appear in every episode.
  • Mood Whiplash
  • More Than Mind Control — Manga Gendou uses Shinji's insecurities and loneliness to try to convince him he's every bit as evil, desperate and vengeful as he is.
  • Most Common Superpower
  • Multinational Team — Sort of.
  • Murderer POV — Kaji's death.
  • My God What Have I Done — "I'm scum."
  • Myth Arc — The Angel war, NERV, the Evas, and the tangled web of secrets surrounding all three.
  • Narm — Surprisingly little, but the fact that being reduced to LCL is accompanied by an audible "pop" is hilarious.
    • A few events involving Evil Manga Kaworu, particularly the ludicrous hyperventilation scene. The fact that he fights Armisael in Eva-02, saying "Sorry, but the Scrolls say you die first!" is either saddening or hilarious.
    • Most of Gendou's antics when he saves Shinji, or rather retrieves Unit 01's pilot, in the manga. Particularly hilarious: the fact that he has an AT-Field and looks like some kind of alien-worshiping guru], on top of being a raving madman. The implication that he wants Yui to be his mom is mind-bogglingly laughable too. If (according to some) EMK marked the manga's shark-jumping, this will probably be remembered as the time Sadamoto stopped trying.
    • Some Fan Videos have the effect of making several dramatic scenes hilarious, though. For example, the French parody group Gotohwan made this reinterpretation of the first episode (in French) poking fun at godawful French dubs. Shinji's unemphatic "Daddy, daddy, I'm sad and if you don't stop I'm going to cry." and eventual bawling nearly ruined that very scene in Rebuild for this troper.
  • Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book — Shown in The End of Evangelion and the Director's Cut version of episode 22 (the drawings are implied to be of Asuka's design).
  • No Fourth Wall — Played with in episode 25, when text on the screen narrates that "the return to nothigness" has begun, only for Gendo to appear on screen and "correct" this statement. In-series, Instrumentality was supposed to accomplish this for the entire human race.
  • No Holds Barred Beatdown — The instances of Unit 01 going berserk, and the activation of the Dummy Plug. Honorable mention however, is the end of Episode 19, where we bear witness to one so horribly vicious that it is perfectly balanced between Nightmare Fuel and a Crowning Moment Of Awesome.
  • Non Indicative First Episode — Anno reportedly complained about the first episode being "a failure" and out of tune with the rest. It was supposed to create an atmosphere of total despair.
  • No Periods Period — Painfully averted with Asuka in both the anime and the manga. Rei, on the other hand, is implied not to menstruate.
    • Evangelion, the anime that Lampshades its painful periods and menstrual symbols.
  • No Yay — Almost any pairing that involves Gendou, Rei, or Shinji. It somehow gets worse in Shinji Ikari Raising Project.
  • Nuclear Weapons Taboo — Assuming that N2 mines are non-nuclear; see Word Of Dante.
  • Oedipus Complex — Shinji / Gendou
  • Omniscient Council Of Vagueness — SEELE is almost a caricature.
  • Omniscient Morality License — The End Of Evangelion suggests that Yui Ikari has this; of course, also depends on where you rate the character on the 'innocent vs. manipulative' scale. Shinji's other two Spirit Advisors, Rei Ayanami and Kaworu Nagisa, may have this too. In the original ending, Gendou Ikari may have this at a more metaphorical level, seeing as he obviously represents God and more generally, the father archetype.
  • Only Six Faces — So much that almost all the young characters have the same face shape and Maya looks like Shinji. In one commentary track, Tiffany Grant (English-language voice actress for Asuka) managed to confuse Misato with Shinji. And Misato was naked at the time.
  • Only You Can Repopulate My Race — If Shinji and Asuka don't learn to at least like each other quick smart, humanity is doomed.
    • If no one else comes back, humanity's doomed anyway since two people can't feasibly repopulate a world by themselves. Then again, considering all the Biblical imagery that came beforehand...
  • Oracular Urchin — Borderline; Rei clearly knows more than she lets on, though she only rarely speaks.
  • Ordinary High School Student — Shinji, at the beginning. On the other hand, his family past is such that he could never have had an ordinary life to begin with, which Kaji makes amply clear in the manga.
  • Otaku — Shinji's friend Kensuke, who is a military otaku.
  • Our Angels Are Different — And how! Ironically, these are a lot closer to the actual, very trippy angel descriptions in The Bible, such as "beryl-coloured wheel within a wheel, each rim covered with eyes" and the like.
  • Out Of Clothes Experience — Especially Shinji and Rei, but it happens once or twice to Asuka too. And to manga Yui. Also, to humankind in The End.
  • Panty Shot — Played straight in episode 8: Asuka + sun dress + breeze = "viewing fee". Subverted twice in the manga, first when Touji tries to teach Shinji how to turn cleaning the stairs into a peeping opportunity and gets caught by Hikari, and then when Shinji, Touji, and Kensuke first meet Asuka in the arcade. Implied in the Alternate Universe sequence in episode 26, when Rei thinks Shinji looked up her skirt, as well as in one of the Petit EVA shorts, when both Shinji and Unit 01 get a look up Asuka's skirt while tunneling under the school grounds (don't ask, just go watch the clip).
  • Parental Abandonment — Evangelion deals with its consequences.
  • Peeka Boo — The toothpick holder scene.
  • Perma Stubble — Kaji.
  • Pettanko — Asuka in most of the original artworks by Sadamoto and in much of the manga. In episodes 9 and 10 of the anime, by contrast, she displays the Most Common Super Power. Her chest seems to grow and shrink on demand... It's the same in adaptations such as Shinji Ikari Raising Project, in which the resident Pettanko is actually Rei. Maya is also like that in some versions.
  • Pillar Of Light — Lots of 'em, and cross-shaped, at that.
  • Poirot Speak — Asuka in the Mexican dub.
  • Possession Implies Mastery — Significantly averted: Unit 01 keeps going out of control and doing things that Ritsuko and her staff can hardly believe. This is presumably because NERV didn't so much "invent" the Evas as copy them from the Angels that they possess.
  • Posthumous Character — Naoko for sure; Kyouko and Yui...kind of.
  • Precision F Strike — The English dub of the series uses moderate swearing throughout, but does not drop the F-bomb until the movie, at which point it does so in suitably memorable fashion... twice.
  • Precursors left Adam and Lilith on Earth, according to one video game that pretty much just exists to deliver supplemental material.
  • Product Placement — Asuka plays a Sega Saturn in episode 22. Evangelion: 1.0 contains a shot of a can of UCC coffee. Also, Yebisu/Yebichu beer. The manga has UCC Coffee and Coca-Cola vending machines, and also an iPod in recent chapters.
  • Rage Against The Heavens — ...and the heavens rage back apparently.
  • Raging Stiffie — Shinji in the Alternate Universe.
  • Raised By Wolves — Rei...who was actually raised by Gendou, which is almost the same thing. It's likely he was himself raised by angry bears.
  • Readings Are Off The Scale
  • Redemption Equals Death — Subverted in gruesome ways.
  • Red Oni Blue Oni — Asuka and Rei, who've taken up where Kei and Yuri left off and ran with it. 3-4 paired figure sets a year for more than a decade. Also notice that their hair and eye colors are inverted — Rei's red eyes and blue hair vs. Asuka's blue eyes and red hair. It even carries over to their Evas once Asuka is introduced.)
  • Replacement Goldfish — One interpretation of Rei.
  • The Reveal — Quite a few later on, but like everything at that point in the show, the Mind Screw might be a tad distracting.
  • Riding Into The Sunset — Occurs in a very odd and somewhat disturbing fashion in EoE as after Instrumentality is overturned, Unit 01, fossilized and still carrying Yui's soul, flies into space accompanied by the Lance of Longinus, beginning its "eternal reminder" journey.
  • Room Full Of Crazy — Post-its all over the guts of the Magi; quantum physics graffiti in the room where Rei was born; random religious symbols and artifacts strewn about the place; graphs from a particle accelerator...heck, we're talking about a whole building full of crazy here.
  • Running The Asylum — Shinji Ikari Raising Project is quite obviously done by an Ascended Fanboy, is entirely powered by Mythology Gag and Fanservice and is incredibly Doujinshi-esque. The same could be said about the Angelic Days manga. Not that we complain, it's Eva characters so we'll buy it.
  • Scars Are Forever — Misato has a huge scar on her chest from injuries suffered during Second Impact. Gendou's hands are covered with burn scars from when he forced open Rei's entry plug after Unit 00's activation test went awry. His scars are much worse in the manga, too.
  • Scary Shiny Glasses — Lots of them.
  • Science Fiction Versus Fantasy — At the very least very soft science fiction. Of course, those robots are revealed to be biological. CLONED FROM ANGELS! Who are aliens. Aliens with weaponized pseudo-Chrisitian Kabbalah and existentialism-based force fields. And with human-like DNA but a different wavelength color(!?). All predicted by the Dead Sea Scrolls. The bodies of wizards and scientists alike are strewn across the field.
  • School Uniforms Are The New Black — Shinji will wear his school uniform even when he goes out at night to wander the streets of Tokyo-3. Rei is also an example.
  • The Scrappy — Shinji has a huge Hatedom; Asuka is a very polarizing character too, to say the least — actually close to an Ethnic Scrappy. Gendou and Keel also have a pretty fervent hatedom. Gendou ranked 50% most hated anime character in a few polls.
  • Scenery Porn — Especially notable whenever Shinji runs away. Also, the Rebuild movies, in their entirety.
  • Sempai Kohai — Ritsuko and Maya; surprisingly absent from Shinji's school, where all pupils seem to be the same age and in the same grade. The latter point is a deliberate subversion, as all of the students in Shinji's class are potential Eva pilots.
  • Sexy Discretion Shot — At one point, Misato and Kaji are in bed together, nude. The "camera" turns away, and stays focused, unmoving, on a nearby table while you hear the two of them going at it.
    • The "Shinji wanking" sequence in End is an Unsexy Discretion Shot; we hear what's going on but only see the output.
  • Shadow Archetype — A good example is Gendou-Shinji: Gendou gives a pretty good idea of an embittered, corrupt and still antisocial adult Shinji. The Evangelions are also pretty good shadows for the pilots' mothers and possibly the pilots themselves. The Angels may also represent humankind's basest instincts.
  • Shapeshifter — Several Angels
  • Ship Tease — Shinji/Rei. Shinji/Misato. Shinji/Asuka. Shinji/Kaworu. Kaji/Asuka. Kaji/Misato. Kaji/Ritsuko. Gendou/Ritsuko. Maya/Ritsuko. Touji/Hikari. Plenty of others.
    • Gendou/Yui is pretty much the only canon couple of the show. Even the relationships between Asuka's parents and Misato's parents went to hell.
  • Shotacon — Misato towards Shinji, possibly.
  • Shout Out — Misato's "Yebisu" beer is actually labeled with a parody of the real label which references the manga Oruchuban Ebichu, of which both Anno and seiyuu Kotono Mitsuishi were fans. Anno later developed it into an anime at Mitsuishi's recommendation.
    • Later when Rebuild of Evangelion, uh, actually uses Yebisu.
    • By Word Of God, Rei's first name alludes to a Sailor Moon character.
    • The Human Instrumentality Project was named after Cordwainer Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind, though they are not otherwise related.
    • In turn, the Hedgehog's Dilemma is an allusion to Schoppenhauer. It's also been theorized among fans that the original ending alludes to and borrows from some of the existentialists, such as Sartre and Kierkegaard.
    • The title of the last episode, "The Beast That Shouted "I" at the Centre of the World," is a clear reference to Harlan Ellison's classic short story (and the anthology named for it) "The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World", especially given the "i"-"ai" ("love" in Japanese) pun.
    • Touji and Kensuke are allusions to characters from Ryu Murakami's Ai to Gensou no Fascism ("The Fascism of Love and Fantasy"), from which Anno borrowed much of the psychological material.
    • The original ending is rumored to be a Shout Out to Space Runaway Ideon.
    • Keel Lorenz is an allusion to the ethologist Konrad Lorenz. He was originally named Konrad, too.
    • Interestingly, this series is the one most referenced by later Gainax works, and possibly anime in general. Yes, even Gurren Lagann.
    • The manga seems to have shoutouts to Star Wars, of all things. For example, on a NERV writeup of Touji, there's a documentation of his Midichlorian count. In a recent chapter, Gendou also pulls a Darth Vader on Shinji, which is reminiscent of the fact he loses a hand in The End.
    • And of course, the SEELE monoliths allude to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
    • One of the Scenery Porn shots when Shinji first runs away alludes to a small sanctuary in My Neighbor Totoro.
  • Shrinking Violet — Shinji. Rei combines this with Emotionless Girl.
  • Shrug Of God — After fans were upset with the ambiguity of the series, Hideaki Anno basically declared that it was up to viewers to determine their own meaning and reprimanded them for expecting all the answers on a silver platter.
  • The Siege — Subverted
  • Sinister Geometry — Ramiel. In Rebuild: Oooh, shiny!
  • Slap On The Wrist Nuke — N2 Mines. Although they are devastatingly effective against unshielded targets (the Geofront in End), their effectiveness against the Angels ranges from significant ( Israfel takes six days to recover from one) to minimal ( Sachiel is damaged but heals very quickly) to useless ( Sahaquiel and Zeruel are completely unfazed).
  • Sliding Scale Of Anti Heroes — Shinji is a textbook Type I ("anti-hero as loser") with hints of Type IV ("What the hell, anti-hero?") as the plot advances. Most of the main characters share some of the Type I characteristics. Ritsuko is closer to a Type III (super-cynical / Good Is Not Nice) or Type IV depending on how likeable you find her. Gendou is closer to a Type V (villainous asshole) with hints of Type I and Type III.
    • While not as villainous as Gendou or the guys from SEELE, Ritsuko has more than her fair share of Type V. She just hides it better...most of the time.
  • Sliding Scale Of Idealism Versus Cynicism — Far on the cynical side, though arguably not as it has often been represented. Evangelion characters do long for love and harmony...they're just existentially completely out of their reach, especially since all the characters are struggling with crippling mental illnesses and PTSD. Oh, feel the tragedy.
  • Smoking Hot Sex — In episode 20, Misato says she only smokes after ""things like this".
  • Soaperizing — ...to the point where the last 2 episodes abandon the rest of the plot.
  • The So Called Coward — Subverted; Shinji saves the day again and again, but never does get any respect.
  • Soundtrack Dissonance — ASUKA IS VIOLENTLY DISMEMBERED/ASUKA IS VIOLENTLY MIND RAPED/EVERYONE IS TURNED INTO TANG/KAWORU IS CRUSHED AND DECAPITATED WHILE I PLAY UNFITTING MUSIC)
  • Spell My Name With An S — Aside from the usual romanization problems...even Japanese given names are rendered in katakana; materials for Rebuild use the obsolete character we to spell Evangelion.
    • And seen on this very page — canonically, his name is Keel Lorenz.
  • Spider Mech — The new Eva-05 from Rebuild.
  • Spike Spencer — The anime that either made or ruined his career, depending on how you look at it.
  • Spirit Advisor — Yui Ikari to Shinji and Gendou — and also to Fuyutsuki in the videogame Evangelion: Another Cases; in The End Of Evangelion, the three Reis and Kaworu become this. This raises questions about Omniscient Morality License, though, as they all do some pretty questionable stuff.
  • Springtime For Hitler — Rumor has it that after Nadia turned out to be something of a financial dissapointment, Gainax's executives planned to deliberately produce an even bigger flop to take advantage of a loophole in Japanese tax law. They thus put Anno, known to be mentally unstable, at the helm and allowed him and the rest of the creative team to throw in whatever insanity they could come up with. Needless to say the plan backfired spectacularly and several of the studio bigwigs served prison sentences for tax evasion.
    • Gainax's president and an accountant did go to prison for tax evasion based on profits from Evangelion, but the rumored "plot" is pure Fan Wank.
  • Squick — End of Evangelion pegs the Squickometer multiple times; heck, even Shinji has been touched (ahem) by the disease. There's also pretty much everything Gendou does, especially in The End Of Evangelion. The whole Shinji-Rei relationship is also some subtext for you. Finally (?), the manga goes extremely far in making all the Freud Was Right explicit when Shinji, trapped in the Eva, is "tempted" by a seductive apparition of naked Yui, or rather Unit 01's Angelic side in her guise. Even for Evangelion, that scene was seriously disturbing.
    • The manga's storyline, in the published tankobons, has only just reached the JSSDF's invasion of NERV, so the Gendou/Rei/Ritsuko sequence hasn't been depicted yet. Given that Gendou swallows Adam in the manga, and what he does to Rei in End to try to trigger Third Impact, if that sequence actually happens, the resulting subtext and possible variations leapfrog Squick and go straight into a High Octane Nightmare Fuel / Moral Event Horizon margarita.
  • Stepford Smiler — Lots. Misato, Kaji, and Asuka, to name a few.
  • Stock Footage — Note how much time the characters spend on elevators and escalators in most episodes; also, Eva launch sequences. The end of the Unit 01 vs. Kaworu scene was also the longest still shot in anime history back then and might still be (but the end of the "Ode to Joy" sounded good!). Let's also not forget the original episodes 25 and 26, which consist almost entirely of reused footage, as the studio had run out of budget by that point.
    • The same clip of Shinji eating breakfast is reused several times, as is a clip of Misato drinking beer.
    • And one scene of a forest being destroyed was actually recycled from Nadia.
  • The Stoic — Gendou and Kouzou; Rei; arguably, Ritsuko.
  • Strange Girl — Rei
  • Summon Bigger Fish — The Evas turn out to be this.
  • Super Robot Wars — Has appeared in F, FF, Alpha, Alpha 3 and MX.
  • Superlative Dubbing — At least according to some fans (one of the most visible being ANN's Theron Martin), though some others disagree in varying degrees of extremity.
  • Surprisingly Good English — The people in charge of bringing over Unit 03 from America speak perfect English, and are accompanied by subtitles in Japanese. English being the IACO's required language for flight operations, it isn't surprising that an aircrew would speak it well.
    • What's also to say the plane's pilots weren't American themselves.
  • Take Off Every Zig — ...but with mecha instead of fighters.
  • Takes One To Kill One — The Evas are basically the only weapons humanity has which can go toe to toe with the Angels themselves partially because they are derived from Angels.
  • Tear Jerker — Don't even bother putting down the tissues.
  • Technicolor Eyes — Rei and Kaworu have red eyes, as in red irises. Note that albinos usually have blue irises, and the eye as a whole has more visible red arteries all over it, which makes the "whites of their eyes" seem pink, or in combination with the iris, purple, as the light hits them. The rare appearance of violet eyes in real life is usually a product of a similar process, but there are no simply 'red' eyes. Or they are albinoes after all, just that level of detail would be a bother to draw, and arguably the whole thing is played away with their origin story.
  • Techno Babble — Reams of it.
    • "Pattern Sepia!" You've got to hand it to an organization that comes up with a code phrase for "The pilot's self-destructive impulses are taking on independent physical form."
  • Ten Minute Retirement — Shinji keeps doing this: when he runs away in episode 04, when he leaves Nerv after the Unit 03 debacle, when he breaks down in the movie...
  • Theme Music Power Up — Whenever "The Beast II" plays, something's going to die.
  • Theme Naming — The characters' last names are those of Japanese ships that were sunk during World War II. Also, Hikari and her two sisters Kodama and Nozomi are named after Shinkansen lines.
    • There is one exception to this: Maya Ibuki's surname-sake would have lead the Imperial Japanese Navy's "next generation" cruiser class, but the keel was never laid and the class was cancelled. The HIJMS Maya, however, keeps the theme intact, having been sunk at Leyte Gulf.
    • Even more blatant in Rebuild: First we have Rei Ayanami. Then we have Asuka, whose full name has been changed to Asuka Langley Shikinami. And we have the new female Eva pilot, Mari Illustrious Makinami. (For the record, "nami" means "wave". Whether this has any significance is not yet known.)
      • Shikinami is "Following Wave", the title of 2.0 is "You can (not) Advance". I'd say, yeah.
      • Ayanami, Shikinami, and Makinami are all Ayanami-class warships. Langley and Illustrious are also ships; Langley was the first US aircraft carrier, while Illustrious could refer to one of several British ships, including a battlecruiser and a carrier.
  • There Are No Therapists — The world would fare better with them.
  • The Walrus Was Paul — One of the best examples of this trope in all of anime.
    • Somewhat justified. It's implied that the pilots are specifically picked out because of how fucked up their lives are.
  • They Changed It Now It Sucks — Rebuild 2.0 alters quite a few things about Asuka's character, starting with changing her surname from Soryu to Shikinami. Reaction from the fans of the original series have been generally negative so far.
    • A lot of the changes in the manga have gotten this reaction.
  • Thirty Xanatos Pile Up — As the series goes on, it becomes increasingly difficult to know who knows what, who has what interests, and who's leading the game. It gets worse in The End Of Evangelion.
  • Through His Stomach — Hikari's method for getting close to Toji. Gender Flipped in Rebuild 2.0; Shinji offering Rei some food is the catalyst for her opening up emotionally.
  • Through The Eyes Of Madness — It's debatable whehter the final two anime episodes really happened or were all taking place in Shinji's head.
  • Throw The Dog A Bone — Shinji's only moments of 'happiness' are so far and few they deserve their own drinking game. Let's see: when Gendou or Misato actually praise him overtly (drink the whole bottle!); when Rei reacts somewhat warmly to his presence; when he can hang around with Touji and Kensuke; when he thinks he's fusing with his mom; when Kaworu stands close to him looking handsome and saying ambiguous things. That's all. Every form of comfort has gotten out of his reach by the time The End of Evangelion happens. But congratulations, Shinji and all the children of the world!
  • Toilet Humor — In the first Petit EVA short, Unit 01 trades lunches with Shinji...but its lunch is nothing but batteries. Unit 01 expects Shinji to eat, so he does. The last scene shows Shinji coming out of a bathroom stall holding his butt and groaning.
  • Tokyo Is The Center Of The Universe — Why are the Angels attacking Tokyo-3? Turns out that the "Black Moon" from which all life on Earth emerged just happens to be right underneath Japan, and their ultimate goal is to get in there and reunite with Adam. Subverted when Adam wasn't there originally and they were completely heading the wrong direction.
    • And then played straight after episode 8 when Gendou has Adam brought there.
  • Too Cool To Live — In a series populated by Wangsting screw-ups, Kaji was simply too charismatic and entertaining to stay alive.
  • Took A Level In Badass — Subverted in that everyone was waiting for Shinji to do this. There are at least two instances in which he goes completely, homicidally, and brutally ballistic toward his enemies, which at one point included his father along with the rest of NERV and Tokyo-3. And after all of that, he's still quite "wimpy." This is arguably the most realistic thing about the show.
  • Tragic Hero — The highly flawed and admirable Shinji oscillates back and forth during the series between terrified near-catatonia and insane superhuman courage, though by the end he's clearly heading for a nervous breakdown, and completely snaps in End of Evangelion.
  • Transformation Trauma — Especially in End of Evangelion where Rei merges with Lilith and embryonic Adam and becomes a giant...something... And the infamous "Everyone hugs and turns into Tang" sequence.
    • On the other hand, the trauma is noticeably absent in the case of Gendou merging his hand with Adam. Heck, he's so stone-faced about it that in the manga, he even eats Adam in a very insane and Squick-inducing scene.
  • Trauma Conga Line — End of Evangelion.
  • Tricksters — The Evangelions, Rei, Lilith and the Angels (with special mentions to Kaworu in all versions, Adam, Iruel and Rebuild Ramiel) are noteworthy examples. Yui (especially as a Spirit Advisor) is a more debatable case, and let's say Gendou is very mysterious and manipulative.
  • Troubled Fetal Position — Shinji does this a lot in The End Of Evangelion. Asuka, too, both during and after her Mind Rape.
  • True Art Is Angsty — Oh, so angsty...
  • True Art Is Incomprehensible — "Soooo, what is an Eva? Is it a Freudian thing?". NGE is probably best summarized by the True Art page.
  • Tsundere — Asuka is a glorious Type A; Misato has a few tsundere characteristics too. Some fans view manga Shinji as a tsundere character, mainly in his sarcastic treatment of Asuka and Kaworu. In Ikari Shinji Instrumentality Project, Yui is a Type B with violent approaches and Hilarity Ensues, whereas Rei tends to be a Type B who gives the cold shoulder to Shinji whenever she can't deal with her feelings towards him.
    • More generally, the Hedgehog's Dilemma could be nicknamed "the Universal Tsundere Theory": "everyone is a tsundere for everyone." Emotional ambivalence and various love-hate relationships are one of the main themes, after all.
  • Twenty Minutes Into The Future
  • Two Keyed Lock — In episode 13, Hyuga and Aoba unsuccessfully try to do this to shut off the MAGI system before an Angel (which has taken the form of a computer virus) can infect it.
  • Two Teacher School
  • Tykebomb — Rei and Asuka
  • Ugly Guy Hot Wife — Possibly Gendou-Yui.
  • Uncanny Valley — Rei was aimed to be in this by the creator. Apparently, he missed.
    • Still, Rebuild of Evangelion managed to have Rei be further in the Uncanny Valley. The ominous BGM that always plays in her presence (at least in the beginning), added to his hallucinations implying her and probably aggravated by EVA-induced Mind Screw made it quite clear in this troper's mind that Shinji definitely senses something very unsettling in her.
    • This is definitely confirmed in Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0: Ha (kanji for "wave", incidentally also read as "nami" as in ... Ayanami, Shikinami and Makinami) where the three aforementioned characters who could be regarded as "moe" get moments or musics that definitely raise several levels and flavors of Squick in this troper's heart. Asuka being crushed by Unit 01 in the Unit 03 hijack accident, then featured with an eyepatch in the preview; Rei LITERALLY eaten by Zeruel, then saved by Shinji, and "reformed" using Zeruel's remains, though this nearly triggers the Third Impact; Mari going totally batshit insane while STILL in control at Zeruel, and RIPPING through Zeruel's AT Field with EVA-02's teeth! It feels like a big Take That from Hideaki Anno about fans thinking his characters are moe.
  • The Unfunny — Gendou and Fuyutsuki, with the exception of one scene in episode 11; some of the bumbling, useless UN officers.
  • Unlucky Every Dude — Shinji.
  • The Unreveal — So many examples, but a very noteworthy [and memetic] one is who killed Ryouji Kaji.
  • Unstoppable Rage — Note to alien monsters who may be reading this: Do not make Yui-sama take control of Unit 01, because she will kick your ass.
  • Unusually Uninteresting Sight — Rei
  • Unwanted Harem — Shinji is quite pimpin', for a skinny teen with a crippling social phobia.
  • The Urkel — Kensuke
  • Utopia Justifies The Means — SEELE's ultimate plot
  • Vibroweapon — The Progressive Knives
  • Viewer Gender Confusion — Occasionally happens when Maya is mistaken for Shinji and the other way around. Happens a lot in the Alternate Continuity Gakuen Datenroku ("Records of Heaven's Descent"), where Shinji is at his most androgynous and really looks like Maya and where it's sometimes necessary to have a close look to realize that the cute short-haired girl is actually him. This troper suspects the gender confusion has happened with Kaworu, too.
  • Warped Aesop
  • The War Room — Central Dogma's command center, with Mission Control, natch.
  • The Watson — Sometimes Maya, sometimes Misato, sometimes Shinji. Actually, so few characters know what's really going on that they all have their Watson moments...
  • Water Is Air — LCL. Breathable? That's certainly possible. No sound distortion? There could be a reason. But the fact that it even lets tears fall freely to someone's lap? Essentially, when inconvenient, it's not there.
  • Weapon Of Mass Destruction
  • We Have Reserves — The Reiquarium. Also, all of Shinji's classmates are potential Eva pilots.
  • Weirdness Magnet — Primarily Shinji, as the plot mainly revolves around the Mind Screw that happens to him (and let's face it, how often do you accidentally fall on a naked blue-haired clone of your dead mother?); Misato, due to her wacky angel-beating schemes and zany alcohol problem ; Gendou has psychosis-induced plot-distorting abilities and lacks a sense of ridicule, especially in the manga and (on 'shrooms!) in Shinji Ikari Instrumentality Project; the rest of the cast, to various degrees.
  • Well Done Son Guy — Shinji is a textbook case. Asuka is arguably a closet "well done cutie girl."
  • Wham Episode — Episodes 18 to 24. It's hard to say which individual episodes count though...
  • What An Idiot
  • What Do You Mean, It's Not Didactic? — The director actually researched some academic psychology, and when a man climbing out of a depression reads a psychology textbook you know he's paying attention. Consequently, its usage is fairly accurate in the show, although it suffers from All Psychology Is Freudian.
    • For example, one of the episodes, "Oral Stage," is named after one of Freud's psychosexual development phases. Many of the music titles derive from mainstream psychology, e.g. "Borderline Case," "Separation Anxiety," "Mother Is the First Other," "A Fragile Ego Border."
  • What Do You Mean, It's Not Symbolic? — While a lot of the symbolism is intentional, Word Of God says most of the religious symbolism was put in to add mystery and an exotic feel; the relevant quote can be found on the Jesus Taboo page.
  • What Measure Is A Nonbadass — The trope could easily be called The Shinji.
  • What Measure Is A Nonhuman — Shinji angsts about this after the double whammy of learning Rei's secret and being ordered to terminate Kaworu. There's also the little thing about the Angels' nature.
  • When She Smiles — Rei
  • Gray Haired Pretty Boy — Kaworu
  • White Mask Of Doom — Several of the Angels have what look like white masks with little more than eyeholes.
  • With Friends Like These — Despite being friends since college, Ritsuko keeps Misato in the dark about all of NERV's most important secrets until near the end of the series. She also gets into frequent (and sometimes physically violent) arguments with Misato about how to handle situations which could endanger the pilots, and takes cruel potshots at Misato after things really blow up between her, Shinji, and Asuka.
    • Ritsuko takes cruel potshots at Misato throughout the series. Misato usually either ignores her or is oblivious. On occasion, her jibes turn out to be true.
  • The Woobie — Everyone...except SEELE.
  • Woobie Destroyer Of Worlds — Gendou, arguably. Shinji also fits this trope in The End.
    • Gendou's case is canon in the manga. It's safe to assume his daddy didn't love him — and neither does God.
  • Word Of God — Anno has issued a few surprising or controversial statements about Evangelion, for example his quip that it shouldn't be analysed because it was just "a scream" on his part.
  • The Worf Effect — Asuka's performance against the Angels gets steadily worse as the series progresses.
  • World Half Empty — ...and, of course, it's filled to the brim with Tang.
  • Wrap It Up
  • Writer On Board — End of Evangelion
  • Xanatos Gambit
  • Yamato Nadeshiko — Hikari is more of a "Yamato Nadeshiko in training."
    • Your Milage May Vary. Just as plausibly (at least in the anime), she's a Type-A (i.e.cranky) Tsundere. How often is she actually nice to anyone other than Asuka?
    • Subverted with Yui, whom Shinji remembered as this (especially in the manga) but who was actually the architect of Project E (and is implied to wear the pants in her marriage, or at the very least be the source of stability in Gendou's life). She somehow becomes quite a bit of a powerless Yamato Nadeshiko in some alternate continuities such as Girlfriend of Steel 2 / Angelic Days — but she's a powerful, fearsome Tsundere wife in Ikari Shinji Instrumentality Project, believe it or not, while Gendou exists pretty much to do all the petty paperwork so that she can concentrate on the real work.)
  • Yandere — Asuka over Kaji; both Naoko and Ritsuko over Gendou; and later on, Shinji over Asuka to a disturbing degree (and the feeling is quite mutual). Kyouko and Yui-sama are a bit on the Yangire side, too.
  • Yank The Dog's Chain — Shinji, over and over and over...
  • Yaoi Fangirls — See Ho Yay
  • You Blockhead — Shinji is a universal target of this.
  • You Fail Biology Forever — Arguably, a fairly mild form of it; it is SF biology, after all. Though it might be argued it's meant as metabiology and actual science has very little to do with the show.
  • You Fail Physics Forever — That's not what a Dirac sea is...at all. The show also fails quantum physics forever by throwing it around as a metaphor combined with Rule Of Cool.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair — Rei with blue hair, Misato with purple hair, Kaji with greenish hair, Kaworu with gray hair (very unusual for a teenage boy).
  • You Should Know This Already — If you've been around TV Tropes a lot you should know how Tang relates to this series...
  • You Suck — Shinji gets this treatment a few times. It's been theorized that Shinji, and even the whole show, were meant as Take Thats against otakus. What makes it funnier is that Shinji might be an Author Avatar of Anno himself, so he'd be including himself as a target with that giant middle finger.
  • Your Mileage May Vary — Ooooh boy...where do we begin...
  • Your Size May Vary — The Evas are exactly as tall as they need to be to look cool/imposing/sinister in whatever shot they're in.

Tenchi MuyoEssential AnimeRurouni Kenshin
NarutoLong RunnersThe Now Show
DragonballTrope OverdosedSailor Moon
NarutaruSeinenNoir
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