T5W#552-Top 5 Theories About the Next Evangelion TV Project

Just when we thought that the final word had been said on Evangelion back in 2021 with the epic masterpiece Evangelion 3.0+1.0-Thrice Upon a Time, a couple weeks back saw a major announcement during the 30^th Anniversary of Neon Genesis Evangelion: A New Evangelion TV Anime is in the works from the forces behind Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuX.  This is kind of a big deal.  This will be the third Anime iteration of Evangelion (or 4^th depending on how you look at the Death and Rebirth/End of Evangelion Movies).  Considering the story has been told in two spectacular ways across 30 years, what exactly can we expect from a new series?  More importantly, what’s it even about?  Well I have my thoughts on that and on todays Top 5 Wednesday I’m sharing my Top 5 Theories About the Next Evangelion TV Project.

 
#5-An HD Retelling

This is the least likely so it’s at the bottom of the list.  Evangelion would hardly be the first classic Anime to get a modern day Anime face lift.  This could also be a way to tell the story in a way the TV Series couldn’t back in 95.  With a bigger budget it could have the chance to Eva’s originally intended plot from beginning to end and that includes the End of Evangelion material.  The first couple of Rebuild of Evangelion films retold some of the TV shows big events almost beat for beat, especially in Part 1.  So this option isnt 100% out of the realm of possibility…maybe a soft 90 though.
 

#4-One of the Spin Offs

Being one of the, if not the most, successful Anime franchises of all time, it’s no shock Evangelion has it’s fair share of spin off Manga.  Most of these aren’t connected to the main series but rather focus on alternate realities where things are a bit more sunnier and upbeat than their parent universe.  Two titles that come to mind are Angelic Days and The Shinji Ikari Raising Project.  The former starts off lighthearted but still has time for that good ol serious Eva business.  The latter is a harem comedy with Shinji running the romantic gauntlet of Asuka, Rei and even a few new faces introduced to mess with his head.  Honestly, this also seems unlikely but if it did happen, I wanna see Shinji get to live his best Tenchi Muyo fantasy, he deserves that at least.

 
#3-A Prequel

Anyone who knows Evangelion knows that there’s a pretty rich history well before the war against the Angels begins in 2015.  A prequel could look at the lives of those who would play a part in nearly ending the world the first time and those trying to save it 15 years later.  The stories of Gendo Ikari, Kozo Fuyutsuki, Naoko Akagi and especially Yui Ikari are a tragedy on a scale that rivals, if not dwarfs, what their next generation has to go through and could make for some compelling, if maybe overly depressing, storytelling.  As they say, “Every Saga has a beginning”.

 
#2-Adapt the Manga

The Evangelion Manga ran well after the TV Series had concluded and somehow managed to end before the long delayed fourth Rebuild movie arrived.  In my opinion: this is the best Evangelion story (as much as I love 3.0+10.).  All of the limitations that held the TV show back aren’t present and you get expanded character backstories and even some altered character fates, some for the better and some for the worst.  And oh man, the Manga’s End of Eva arc goes completely insane, I might actually like it better than the movie.  Hey if Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood could finish the story FMA 2003 couldn’t, there’s no reason Evangelion cant bring its Manga to life and show us Eva the way it was meant to be seen.
 

#1-Something Totally New

Now this would be something very, very risky.  How do you do anything different with Eva?  What kind of story can you tell that can even come close to rivaling the original?  Would you even attempt it without Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Misato or the rest of the cast?  Granted we’ve seen Eva clones pop up all over the place since the show ended.  Some are freaking amazing like Rahxephon and others are Darling in the Franxx levels of terrible.  Also since there’s staff from GQuuuuuX working on this, good for them cause GQuuuuuX felt like it wanted to be half Gundam love letter and half Evangelion (now they can pick a lane and keep Rei Ayanami sized Gundams out of my Gundam series).  Then again, Evangelion was a bold pioneer in the mid 90s, changing the Anime landscape as a whole forever.  Would this new series want a shot at the title?