
When the series finale aired, the plot apparently remained unresolved: the Third Impact and the Human Instrumentality Project are implied to have begun or even finished, but the last two episodes focus entirely on the internal psychology of the characters, leaving deeply unclear what actually happens in the world of the series narratively. With this popularity came the first home media merchandise, "Genesis 0:1", containing the first two episodes on VHS and Laserdisc. My opinion was, "Why don't we show them the entire process including our breakdown." ĭespite this, by the 18th episode, the series had become enough of a sensation that Eva-01's violent rampage " criticized as being unsuitable on an anime show that is viewed by children", and the 20th episode would be similarly criticized for the offscreen depiction of characters Misato and Ryoji having sex. About the time that the production system was completely falling apart, there were some opinions to the effect that, "If we can't do satisfactory work, then what's the point of continuing?" However, I didn't feel that way. However, the tension of the staff as we all became more desperate and frenzied certainly showed up in the film. The schedule was an utter disaster and the number of cels plummeted, so there were some places where unfortunately the quality suffered. This change in emphasis was partly due to the intended development of the story, but also partly because by this point, production was running increasingly behind schedule episode director Kazuya Tsurumaki identifies this as the impetus for Evangelion's turn into internal conflict: The 16th episode marked a distinct shift to a more introspective, less action-focused tone that would come to characterize the second half of Evangelion. Initially ignored (although received positively by those Gainax fans invited to early screenings), viewership grew slowly and largely by word of mouth.


After several episodes were produced, the first episode aired on October 4, 1995, long after originally planned.
