Top 20 Neon Genesis Evangelion Moments

After being right in the middle of a warzone between the angel Sachiel and the UN Forces, Shinji manages to get to NERV Headquarters thanks to Misato. Without knowing why exactly he was called there, his estranged father Gendo suddenly appears and skips all the pleasantries, telling Shinji that he must pilot the giant Eva Unit-01. To the surprise of no one, Shinji does what any sane person would do and immediately declines, leading to Gendo proclaiming that he has no use for his son. The manipulation doesnt stop there though, as they quickly wheel in a heavily injured Rei to take on the role. This obvious guilt tripping results in Shinji relenting, and being thrown right into the deep end against a dangerous foe.

Considering the fact that Evangelion are essentially giant artificial humans that need to be piloted by teenagers, there was bound to be plenty of hiccups in the creation process. Twenty two days prior to the events in the first episode, were shown an activation test of the Eva Unit-00. Part way into it, things go awry and the Evangelion suddenly goes out of control, breaking away from its bindings. Despite their best efforts to abort the experiment, Unit-00 starts to punch the protective glass, right where Gendo is standing. It only begins to calm down once the entry plug containing Rei bursts out, causing Gendo to finally show some semblance of humanity.

As a triple agent, it was hard to gauge where Kajis allegiances truly lied. So it comes at no surprise that his final moments were steeped in mystery. The show refreshingly doesnt bash you over the head with the revelation and instead trusts the audience is smart enough to pick up on the fact that Kajis personal motivations led to his life being snuffed out by an unknown assailant. The only thing that hurts more than the sound of a gunshot going off is the final recorded message that Kaiji left for Misato.

During the final confrontation between Wille and Nerv, Asuka attempts to attack Unit-13 while piloting Unit-02. However, just as shes about to strike, her Eva turns rogue and puts up its own AT-Field, preventing her from striking. With no other options, Asuka removes her eyepatch, unleashing the Ninth Angel within and transforming Unit-02 into a new Angel-like state. With this shes able to go beyond her limit, easily breaking through the AT-Field. Unfortunately, as is often the case whenever Asuka does anything extremely cool, things immediately go south when its revealed to be a trap.

As the fifteenth angel, Arael is unique in the fact it flies all the way up in Earths orbit, well above any range that the Evangelions can attack. After Asuka fails to snipe the angel, Reis attempt also proves meaningless when the Positron Rifle's power level is far too low to penetrate its AT-Field. This leads to Gendo ordering Rei to use the ever important Spear of Longinus, who hurls it into the sky at an incredible distance, going right through its AT-Field to strike down and defeat the angel.

As we get towards the end of the original series, tensions between the cast are at their highest point, and nowhere is it more apparent than in this awkward confrontation between Asuka and Rei in the elevator. Some suggest that this scene was a result of the shows budget drying up, but for our money its an absolute masterclass of how to do so much with very little. The long, drawn out scene adds a sense of both tension and discomfort as, despite not saying anything at first, we can sense the frustration from Asuka. Of course, the scene does eventually come to a boiling point, with Asuka snapping and slapping Rei.

After spending most of the series with just Shinji, Asuka and Rei as the Eva pilots, Shinjis fellow classmate and friend Toji was set to become the fourth child. Sadly this wasnt meant to be, as during his first synch test with Unit-03, the Eva is infected by an angel, resulting in it going berserk. With Bardiel advancing towards Tokyo-03, Shinji refuses to attack it when he realizes another human being is inside, even if he dies. Gendo immediately orders the dummy plug to take over, causing Unit-01 to tear the angel apart. When the gruesome display is finally over, its finally revealed to Shinji who exactly was inside, further contributing to his downward spiral.

While many of the characters in Evangelion manipulate Shinji for their own personal gain, Kaworu seems to be the only one who has consistently looked out for him. That was perhaps illustrated best here in Evangelion 3.0, when he and Shinji were assigned to pilot Unit 13. Earlier in the movie, Shinji, under orders from Misato, had been equipped with an explosive collar that is said to go off if he steps out of line. Kaworu in an act of selflessness, removes the collar from Shinjis neck and places it on his own. This would ultimately be his undoing, and Shinji once again has to suffer watching one of his closest allies be horrifically killed.

Moments of genuine levity in Evangelion are few and far between, so when they do happen its a breath of fresh air. Episode 9 has both Asuka and Shinji working together to defeat an Angel, with the pilots needing to be perfectly in sync to take down Israfel. After a pretty fun episode that shows early hints of Asuka and Shinji's turbulent potential romance, the final battle is one of the few rare moments when "Evangelion" grants Shinji and Asuka a definitive win. Considering what happens later in the series, its nice to see Shinji and Asuka almost get a long for a change.

Describing "Neon Genesis Evangelion's" TV conclusion as divisive is an understatement, and the final "Congratulations!" scene is no exception. Even if "End of Evangelion" tends to be preferred, the anime's abstract final two episodes provide a fascinating and in-depth exploration of Shinji's psyche, as the protagonist gradually grows to appreciate himself. The final scene of all the characters showing up to give Shinji a standing ovation is iconic, if not necessarily universally loved, and has definitely itched its place in anime history. Its not the ending fans wanted, but the one Shinji definitely needed.

Withdrawn and hard to read, Rei presents an enigmatic figure for the majority of the TV series. Created specifically to play a role in Third Impact, all incarnations of Rei are treated as tools by Gendo, with the clone seldom being allowed to express any emotions. After the Angel Armisael takes over Eva-00 and Rei, the pilot begins to understand her own emotions and decides to make the ultimate sacrifice to save Shinji. Rather than the sacrifice, this moment is important because Rei directly defies orders and gains autonomy, something that very few characters in "Neon Genesis Evangelion" accomplish.

After seven episodes of the reluctant Shinji and the aloof Rei, "Neon Genesis Evangelion" was crying out for some energy to be injected from somewhere. As it so happened, Germany had the perfect person for the job. Asuka arrives on the scene like a hurricane; loud, threatening, and with a gust of wind. While the pilot's opening scene is primarily played for laughs, Asuka instantly leaves an impact on the series, serving as the perfect counter to Shinji's timidness. "Rebuild 2.0" meanwhile opts to give Asuka an introduction that features a lot less fanservice and a lot more badass.

Along with boasting an awesome design, Ramiel is undoubtedly among the most dangerous angels encountered by the Eva pilots and comes painfully close to killing Shinji. Up until this point, Shinji and Rei had maintained their distance from each other, but defeating Ramiel mandates the two work together to stand any hope of victory. With Ramiel coming very close to penetrating NERV Headquarters and Shinji having almost no room for error, the fight itself is incredibly intense and the payoff more than lives up to the hype. The episode also ends with a touching moment between the two pilots, even if Rei's backstory does retroactively undermine this scene's sweetness.

Its truly hard to describe the gravity of this scene for fans who had been watching the series since day one. Many of us thought wed never see these two sort things out, but everything changed when the Rebuild movie series made it clear that they were more than just retellings, leading to Shinji finally confronting his father one on one in the finale. After it quickly becomes apparent to Shinji that duking it out with his father was not the answer, Gendo makes clear all of his intentions and the two finally make peace. If there werent tears in your eyes when you saw Gendo finally embrace his son, you better check your pulse.

Initially starting out as an action-heavy retread of the original series, "Rebuild of Evangelion" begins to deviate considerably by the end of the second film. With Rei swallowed by the Tenth Angel and all hope appearing lost, Shinji temporarily taps into his inner Shounen hero, fuses with Unit-01, receives a power-up, and seemingly saves the absorbed pilot. In most other anime, this would be Shinji's moment of triumph; however, "Evangelion" is a franchise like no other. In the sequel movie it is revealed Along with not really saving Rei, Shinji's "Gurren Lagaan" moment nearly brings forth the Apocalypse and destroys a large section of Tokyo-3.

Not a single character gets off easy in "Evangelion," and Asuka spends the last stretch of episodes spiraling out of control while trying to sustain a facade of confidence. By "End of Evangelion," Asuka is a shell of a person but the 14-year-old girl manages to find the resolve to take on SEELE's Mass Produced Evangelions. The battle is vicious from the start, with Asuka dismantling the knock offs without too much trouble. When things are suddenly lookup up, EVA-02 runs out of power and the seemingly defeated Mass Production Evangelions begin to move again. Asuka someone so desperate to be loved and seen as special is eaten by soulless mass-assembled nobodies.

Achieved through the event known as Third Impact, Human Instrumentality basically means that all human souls return to Lilith, the Second Angel responsible for creating life on Earth, and be united as one being. Third Impact is finally triggered during "The End of Evangelion" and damn does it leave an impression! Putting aside context, the image of a massive Rei towering over the Earth while absorbing all of humanity's souls is simply an unforgettable sight. Surreal, grim, and epic; Third Impact distills "Neon Genesis Evangelion's" strange awesomeness into a single moment.

If theres one person in all of Eva that deserved a happy ending, it was Shinji. After every PTSD-inducing battle, every bit of manipulation from adults, and every tantrum from Asuka, Shinji was finally afforded the seemingly happy life he earned. Now in a world where Evangelions no longer exist, were introduced to a Shinji who has finally grown up. Following an intimate moment with Mari, the two set off in the real world. Like a lot of Evangelion, this is a deeply personal moment from Anno who reflects his own struggles with mental health and breaking through them with the person who he loves.

"Neon Genesis Evangelion's" final few episodes are virtually non-stop torture, the one exception being a couple of scenes of camaraderie between Shinji and the mysterious fifth child, Kaworu. Ultimately, Kaworu is revealed to be both the first and final Angel, leaving Shinji no choice but to kill the one person who seems to truly understand him. While it had been coming for a long time, this is the moment that truly breaks Shinji. Up until this point, Shinji is primarily following orders and could at least distance himself slightly from most of the casualties; however, even if the situation necessitated taking drastic measures, the pilot actively makes the choice to kill Kaworu.

Whenever Shinji has an impressive moment in "Neon Genesis Evangelion," more often than not, there is a catch. While fighting the 14th Angel which utterly destroys Asuka and Rei Shinji runs out of power. In order to save everyone, the protagonist unleashes a Berserk Mode, which greatly increases Unit-01's power but pries control away from Shinji. While Shinji's determination and willingness leads to victory, this can only be achieved by the pilot basically losing himself to the EVA. Blending vicious mecha action and psychological drama this moment is "Evangelion" in a nutshell.

What's your favorite Evangelion moment? Let us know in the comments below!