Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion brings the story of the television series to its close. The secret organization SEELE turns on NERV, the agency that has been fighting the Angels, and launches a full assault on its underground headquarters. Its aim is to seize control of the Human Instrumentality Project before NERV's commander, Gendo Ikari, can set his own version of the plan in motion. Caught in the middle is the young pilot Shinji Ikari, who has to decide whether humanity continues to exist. The film is set in the same near-future world as the series and follows its main characters: Shinji, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Soryu, Misato Katsuragi and Gendo Ikari.

Hideaki Anno directed, and also wrote the screenplay; Kazuya Tsurumaki is credited as director on this title, the first of fifteen films listed in his directing career. Mitsuhisa Ishikawa produced, with animation by GAINAX alongside Toei Company, TV Tokyo and movic. The voice cast includes Megumi Ogata as Shinji, Megumi Hayashibara as Rei and Yui Ikari, Kotono Mitsuishi as Misato, Yuko Miyamura as Asuka, Fumihiko Tachiki as Gendo and Miki Nagasawa as Maya Ibuki, with 76 crew members credited.

Released in Japan in July 1997, the film runs 87 minutes and had a budget in the region of 8 million dollars, going on to take about 22 million worldwide. It holds an 8.1 rating on IMDb from 76,000 votes and an 8.3 on TMDB from a much smaller base of 1,958 ratings, while a critics' rating of 9/10 from 12 reviews places it at the high end of its reception.