It is the year 2015 and the Earth is still recovering from a devastating attack suffered 15 years ago. Now it is under siege again, by giant alien creatures known as Angels. A multi-national military organization called NERV has a plan to combat the Angels with the use of mecha called Evangelions, but only a very small group of people can pilot Evangelions and all of them are age 14: born soon after the first attack. Among them is Shinji Ikari. Timid and hesitant, Shinji's mother is dead and his distant father is the head of NERV. Together with two other pilots, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley, Shinji toils against his fear, working to summon the courage to take on the salvation of mankind against this ominous enemy. As more about NERV is revealed, the nature of the Evangelions and the Angels becomes more cryptic. Is there a reason that the only people who can pilot Evangelions are young teenagers who have lost a parent? One of the best known anime of all time,
Neon Genesis Evangelion is much more complex and steeped in emotional and spiritual subtext than traditional examples from the mecha genre of anime. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide