Subjectively speaking, Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the greatest anime of all time.

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The series follows Shinji Ikari, who controls a kaiju-sized animatronic weapon in order to prevent Angels from destroying the earth. It's a classic with beautiful colours and animation that's been lost over the years – which can feel like a trip down memory lane with every episode.

What separates Evangelion from many other world-famous anime is its complex intermingling of both Western and Japanese ideology, iconography and especially entwining of Biblical themes and references with its breath-taking, and at times, unnerving mecha battles against the Angels that descend unto Earth.

Some have argued that Neon Genesis Evangelion is in fact a deconstruction of the very anime sub-genre it appears to be, and is undoubtedly one of the most laudably philosophical and intelligent anime series, with fans still unpicking and deciphering characters, themes and plot points since its initial debut in 1995.

There have been several retellings, additions and sequels to the Evangelion world with the connectivity between them somewhat blurred, so here's how to watch Evangelion in order.

How to watch Evangelion in order

Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion Crunchyroll

The initial Neon Genesis Evangelion series kickstarts the anime exactly where you'd expect and concludes with the Death movie. Creators decided the final wasn't dark enough and decided to create The End, another movie, to wrap things in an even more confusing, blood-soaked bow.

Several years on from the original release, Evangelion received a remake but ended up with a reboot. The decimal additions add new fights, characters and events in never-before-seen content.

It all sounds confusing but the watch order is relatively straight-forward:

  1. Neon Genesis Evangelion
  2. Evangelion: Death(true)2
  3. The End of Evangelion
  4. Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
  5. Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
  6. Evangelion: 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo
  7. Evangelion:3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time

What Evangelion episodes are filler?

Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion Gainax

You really shouldn't miss a single episode from any of the instalments. Evangelion is confusing enough without skipping over dialogue so we advance you to hunker down and watch the anime in its entirety.

It's a faithful adaptation to the manga and everything you're shown has a direct knock on effect to the battlefield and sanity of the characters.

How to watch Evangelion in the UK

The original Neon Genesis Evangelion series, including the Death and The End movies are available to stream on Netflix.

The decimal installations are available online via Prime Video.

Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide or Streaming Guide to find out what else is on.

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