The BEST episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion

Every episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion!

In the year 2015, the Angels, huge, tremendously powerful, alien war machines, appear in Tokyo for the second time. The only hope for Mankind's survival lies in the Evangelion, a humanoid fighting machine developed by NERV, a special United Nations agency. Capable of withstanding anything the Angels can dish out, the Evangelion's one drawback lies in the limited number of people able to pilot them. Only a handful of teenagers, all born fourteen years ago, nine months after the Angels first appeared, are able to interface with the Evangelion. One such teenager is Shinji Ikari, whose father heads the NERV team that developed and maintains the Evangelion. Thrust into a maelstrom of battle and events that he does not understand, Shinji is forced to plumb the depths of his own inner resources for the courage and strength to not only fight, but to survive, or risk losing everything.

Last Updated: 1/26/2024Network: TV TokyoStatus: Ended
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Introjection
star
8.54
723 votes

#1 - Introjection

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/7/1996

Distraught after the battle, Shinji vows to never pilot an Eva again and quits NERV once more. Just as he's about to leave, another Angel attacks.

Directors: Masayuki
Watch Now:Amazon
Ambivalence
star
8.46
737 votes

#2 - Ambivalence

Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/31/1996

Unit 03 arrives from the United States, but Shinji still doesn't know who its pilot is. During testing, NERV learns Unit 03 is possessed by an Angel.

Directors: Tensai Okamura
Watch Now:Amazon
Splitting of the Breast
star
8.40
716 votes

#3 - Splitting of the Breast

Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/17/1996

While in battle, Shinji and Unit 01 are engulfed in the spreading shadow of an Angel. As NERV fears them both lost, Shinji has a strange experience.

Directors: Kazuya Tsurumaki
Watch Now:Amazon
Rei II
star
8.18
798 votes

#4 - Rei II

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/8/1995

As the Fifth Angel drills toward NERV, Misato leads Operation Vashima: All of Japan's power will be diverted to take out Ramiel with a positron rifle.

Directors: Hiroyuki Ishido
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Weaving a Story 2: oral stage
star
8.16
674 votes

#5 - Weaving a Story 2: oral stage

Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/14/1996

After achieving an unheard of synchronization rate, Shinji merges with Unit 01. While he has an out of body experience, NERV works to salvage him.

Directors: Masahiko Otsuka
Writer: Hideaki Anno
Watch Now:Amazon
The Beginning and the End, or "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
star
8.11
732 votes

#6 - The Beginning and the End, or "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"

Season 1 - Episode 24 - Aired 3/13/1996

Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child, comes to NERV to pilot Unit 02 in Asuka's place. He's friendly to Shinji, but he's shrouded in mystery.

Directors: Masayuki
The Beast
star
8.01
1021 votes

#7 - The Beast

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/11/1995

After piloting the Eva Unit 01, Shinji wakes up in the hospital with no memory of the battle. Feeling sorry for him, Misato lets him move in with her.

Directors: Kazuya Tsurumaki
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Those women longed for the touch of others' lips, and thus invited their kisses.
star
7.99
671 votes

#8 - Those women longed for the touch of others' lips, and thus invited their kisses.

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/10/1996

For the first time in years, Shinji meets his father at his mother's grave. Ritsuko, Misato and Ryoji attend a wedding and Asuka goes on a date.

Directors: Naoyasu Habu
Watch Now:Amazon
Rei III
star
7.99
723 votes

#9 - Rei III

Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/6/1996

Despite her struggles, Asuka is ordered to assist Rei in battle against Armisael. When she fails, Rei makes a desperate move in order to save Shinji.

Watch Now:Amazon
Asuka Strikes!
star
7.96
712 votes

#10 - Asuka Strikes!

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/22/1995

Shinji and his friends accompany Misato to meet Eva Unit 02 and its pilot Asuka at sea. Misato's old friend Ryoji Kaji is aboard with his own agenda.

Directors: Kazuya Tsurumaki
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!
star
7.95
737 votes

#11 - Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/29/1995

Asuka and Shinji face another Angel but it gets the upper hand. They now have six days to learn synchronized moves to destroy it completely.

Directors: Seiji Mizushima
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
He was aware that he was still a child.
star
7.93
729 votes

#12 - He was aware that he was still a child.

Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/21/1996

Seele kidnaps Fuyutsuki and interrogates him about NERV and Gendo's true intentions, revealing events from the past. Ryoji goes missing.

Directors: Hiroyuki Ishido
Watch Now:Amazon
Don't Be.
star
7.92
729 votes

#13 - Don't Be.

Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/28/1996

Asuka's synchronization ratio continues to drop, undermining her self-confidence. Determined to show her worth, she ignores orders during battle.

Directors: Akira Takamura
Watch Now:Amazon
She said, "Don't make others suffer for your personal hatred."
star
7.89
707 votes

#14 - She said, "Don't make others suffer for your personal hatred."

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/20/1995

With Gendo and Fuyutsuki in Antarctica, a newly promoted Misato is in charge when a new Angel appears about the Earth, aiming to bomb Tokyo-3.

Directors: Hiroyuki Ishido
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still
star
7.89
743 votes

#15 - The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/13/1995

Tokyo-3 loses power just as another Angel is detected. The Eva pilots must enter the base from the surface while NERV preps the Units manually.

Directors: Tetsuya Watanabe
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Rei I
star
7.86
841 votes

#16 - Rei I

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/1/1995

Unit 00's pilot Rei Ayanami appears to have recovered, but she has no friends, no records of her past, and no interest in getting to know Shinji.

Directors: Keiichi Sugiyama
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Lilliputian Hitcher
star
7.86
714 votes

#17 - Lilliputian Hitcher

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/27/1995

An Angel infiltrates NERV, quickly taking over the MAGI supercomputer, Ritsuko proposes writing a program to forcibly evolve Ireul to its extinction.

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A Transfer
star
7.84
929 votes

#18 - A Transfer

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/18/1995

Word gets around school that Shinji is the Eva pilot; his classmate Toji resents him for it. An Angel appears and Shinji must pilot in combat again.

Directors: Hiroyuki Ishido
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Angel Attack
star
7.82
1201 votes

#19 - Angel Attack

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/4/1995

In the year 2015, an Angel returns to attack on Tokyo-3. Misato Katsuragi transports Shinji to the NERV base overseen by his estranged father, Gendo.

Directors: Kazuya Tsurumaki
Writer: Hideaki Anno
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
A Human Work
star
7.81
745 votes

#20 - A Human Work

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/15/1995

Ritsuko tells Shinji about the classified true cause of the Second Imapct. Then she and Misato attend the field test for an Eva competitor mecha.

Directors: Keiichi Sugiyama
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Magmadiver
star
7.74
744 votes

#21 - Magmadiver

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/6/1995

NERV learns of an Angel in dormant embryonic form inside a volcano. Using equipment designed for magma, Asuka is sent to retrieve it with Unit 02.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Hedgehog's Dilemma
star
7.71
909 votes

#22 - Hedgehog's Dilemma

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/25/1995

Stressed out following his last battle, Shinji runs away from home and meets Kensuke. After NERV brings him back in, Misato offers him a choice.

Directors: Tsuyoshi Kaga
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Fourth Child
star
7.59
717 votes

#23 - Fourth Child

Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/24/1996

NERV-02 in Nevada vanishes, along with the Eva Unit 04. With Unit 03 on the way, Gendo orders Ritsuko to assign a pilot to it.

Directors: Minoru Ohara
Watch Now:Amazon
Weaving a Story
star
7.51
700 votes

#24 - Weaving a Story

Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/3/1996

As Seele reviews NERV and Gendo's actions with the Third through Eleventh Angels, Ritsuko conducts a test in which the Eva pilots switch Units.

Writer: Hideaki Anno
Watch Now:Amazon
Take care of yourself
star
7.35
705 votes

#25 - Take care of yourself

Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/27/1996

The Human Instrumentality Project continues. Shinji must decide whether to accept a world alone, or embrace connections with others.

Writer: Hideaki Anno
Watch Now:Amazon