It seems Shinji will never stop getting into the robot. As part of its 30th anniversary, Neon Genesis Evangelion announced that a surprise new anime series is in production at Studio Khara and CloverWorks, with a new but familiar name added to the staff list.
NieR creator Yoko Taro is set to pen the script and series composition, joining director Kazyua Tsurumaki, who previously helmed the Rebuild films and Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, and co-assistant director Tokyo Yatabe (Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time), on the untitled project. Keiichi Okabe, best known for his work on NieR: Automata, is on composing duty.
Additional details, including a release window or story specifics, were kept under wraps for the reveal, which took place during the final programme of the “EVANGELION:30+; 30th ANNIVERSARY OF EVANGELION” event held in Yokohama, Japan, that marked the premiere of a special anime short. It’s also unclear how the new anime will fit into the overarching universe, itself a convoluted tangle of alternate timelines and time loops.
Nonetheless, it’d be interesting to see what Taro has up his sleeve. The respected creative has been open about the franchise’s influence on his games, and his expertise in crafting thought-provoking, bizarre, and unsettling sci-fi narratives remains a high standard to beat. The news couldn’t have come at a better time, too — NieR: Automata just crossed the 10 million sales milestone earlier today.
“The work I was most inspired by is Neon Genesis Evangelion,” Taro previously told IGN Japan. “I thank you for praising Nier: Automata‘s story, but actually, it’s pretty much just a retelling of Evangelion, so there’s not much originality to it. I don’t really watch recent movies, so I’m mostly inspired by memories of works I saw in the past.”
Directed and created by Hideaki Anno at the now-defunct Gainax, Neon Genesis Evangelion follows 14-year-old Shinji Ikari, who is recruited by the mysterious organisation NERV to pilot a giant mecha called “Evangelion” to fight against monsters known as “Angels” in a post-apocalyptic world. It originally aired from October 1995 to March 1996, and has spawned multiple movies, reboots, spin-offs, and countless brand collaborations.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
