Okay, so today, an anime news site, for some reason, unearthed an old interview with Hideaki Anno, the creator of the notorious and infamous anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. This article made rounds on several social media sites and people are talking a lot about it.
Even if you're not into anime, chances are you've heard about Evangelion at least once, it's that iconic, with a loud and passionate fanbase to match.
The highlight of this newly resurfaced interview, originally from around 2004 i think (BEFORE the movies), is a statement where Anno claims that Evangelion is "not really a deep, philosopic or psychological anime" as many have interpreted it. He says it was only made to look like that, and that the symbols and deeper elements are, in fact, purely stylistic.
Evangelion debuted in 1995 and immediately upended many of the tropes that were common in anime at the time. It aimed to present its story and characters with a more grounded, serious tone within a sci-fi setting. This unconventional approach made it clear from the start: this wasn't just another seasonal mecha anime.
Since then, rivers of ink and billions of words have been spent dissecting this series. From its characters' behaviors to its enigmatic use of symbology. There's an entire academic field (well, almost) built on Evangelion analysis.
I remember reading, even before 2004, that Anno had said something along the lines of, "Evangelion is not that deep. I just liked the way Christian imagery looked." He downplayed its deeper meaning, framing it as a show about cool robots and pretty girls more than anything else.
What's fascinating is how this resurfaced quote is now being used by some critics of the show, people who never liked it or resented its fame, as a kind of "gotcha" moment. They're implying that the decades of discussion and analysis have been pointless, like fans have just been seeing patterns in the clouds.
But is that really the case?
Hideaki Anno is known for being a bit of a trickster when it comes to interviews. If you dig into other videos and conversations where he discusses his work and worldview, you quickly realize that he's someone who rarely takes a single step without calculating twenty more. Whether he's being humble, deflective, or subversive, it's hard to believe that there isn't more intention behind his choices than he lets on.
Personally, I enjoy Evangelion, for its themes, its mystery, and the strange atmosphere that clings to it even decades later. I'll be honest, I've never considered it some flawless work of genius. Yet ironically, my favorite anime character of all time is from this series.
Maybe Anno is telling the whole truth in that interview. Maybe Evangelion really isn't as packed with "meaning" as we thought. But even then, here's the thing: if you peel back the crust of clichés that time has added to the show, you'll still find a fantastic and deep story underneath.
One of the things I truly admire about Evangelion is how its characters are constructed. You can form an initial opinion based on how they act in the show, but once you dive into the lore and pay close attention to their behavior, you'll see that they are far more complex than they appear. They act the way they do for very specific, often tragic reasons that only become clear under close analysis.
You might say, "Well, Ryuichi, all stories are like that. Characters have unique motivations." And yeah, sure, but Evangelion handles this exposition in a subtle and layered way. The characters aren't just archetypes (even if, at the end, i think they ended up creating archetypes themselves). They feel like real, flawed people. There's a depth there that goes beyond many comparable anime series. It's not just "good writing," it's intentional ambiguity that invites the viewer to fill in the emotional blanks.
A good story, to me, isn't just about a great setting or dramatic moments. It's about the little details, the lore, the emotional nuances, the atmosphere. All of that adds up to something bigger than the sum of its parts. And let's not forget: anime is a collaborative medium. Anno may be the creator, but dozens of artists, writers, animators, and producers shaped the final product.
Maybe I am being as pretentious about this series as Evangelion fans are often accused of being. Maybe this is just one of the hundreds of articles "reading too much into it." But honestly, I think the fact that we're still talking about this anime 30 years later is proof enough that it did something right.
I don't think any piece of art, being anime, music, whatever, needs to have "depth" to resonate. What matters is the intersection between the work and its context: both social and personal. A piece might seem simple, but under the right circumstances, it can strike like lightning.
In my view, one of the biggest reasons Evangelion hit so hard for so many people is because of how its characters are presented. As I said earlier, they feel real. You recognize fragments of yourself in them, your fears, your insecurities, your emotional cycles.
So yeah, my final take is: even if we take Anno's statements at face value, even if Evangelion isn't as "deep" as people think, and even if the story has its flaws and clichés, it's still that good. It might not be a capital-P "Philosophical" anime, but it has enough substance, enough ambiguity, and enough heart to justify decades of discussion. And I think that discourse is far from over.