Resurfaced Interview Sees Evangelion Creator Reveal His Father’s Abusive Ways

Neon Genesis Evangelion managed to make a name for itself, and set itself apart from other mech anime franchises, by diving deep into the shattered psyche of its protagonist, Shinji Ikari. The young boy, who was set to pilot Eva Unit 01, wasn’t just dealing with the incoming threats of Angels as they attempted to remake the world, he was struggling with his inner demons and his stressful relationships with those around him. The creator of Evangelion, Hideaki Anno, has gone on record to say how Shinji’s mental issues reflect his own and a rediscovered interview with Anno describing his father solidifies that.

Twitter User EVAMonkey managed to find a printed interview with Hideaki Anno as he describes both his early life and the stressful relationship that he had with his father, impacted by the severe mental issues that his dad was dealing with throughout his life as well:

It is clear from the story that Hideaki shares that he had a rough childhood, which inspired the creation of the anime that so many fans have managed to not just love, but relate to. Shinji Ikari is originally brought to fight the angels by his father Gendo, the current head of the organization named NERV. With Gendo showing Shinji next to no affection while stressing that his son do whatever he says, its clear to see that this relationship mimicked that of Hideaki Anno and his father.

Neon Genesis Evangelion has recently seen a resurgence in the public eye with it being released on Netflix for fans both old and new. While another film following the franchise will be releasing next year with 3.0+1.0, fans have been more than willing to revisit the series and let their love of the characters and unique scenarios presented in the franchise be known.

What do you think of this re-discovered article that gives us more insight into the creation of Neon Genesis Evangelion based on Hideaki Anno’s relationship with his father? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Evangelion!

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a psychological drama by way of giant monster versus mech anime. The franchise debuted as a television series in 1995-1996 with two films following in 1997. Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth is an one-part drastically abridged retelling of the first 24 episodes of the television series, and one part new animation. The End of Evangelion, the second film, would incorporate some of Death & Rebirth’s original animation and offer an alternate take on the original series’ controversial final two episodes. The original series and movies are now available to stream worldwide on Netflix.