7 titles Updated Aug 30, 2026

Evangelion Watch Order (2026 Guide)

A teenager is pulled into piloting a giant bio-mechanical machine against mysterious beings called Angels, in a story that turns steadily inward and became one of the most argued-over works in anime.

Recommended Order

Quick answer

  1. Neon Genesis Evangelion
  2. Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
  3. Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone
  4. Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
  5. Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo
  6. Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

Plus 1 optional extra.

6 titles · 26 episodes + 5 movies · ~19.5 hours

Watch the original 26-episode TV series, then The End of Evangelion, then the four Rebuild films as a separate retelling. One bonus short sits outside the main run and is optional.

1

Neon Genesis Evangelion

  • TV Series
  • 26 episodes
  • October 1995

Start here. Shinji Ikari is summoned by his estranged father and told to pilot an Evangelion against the Angels. The early stretch plays as a tense monster-of-the-week series and then steadily turns into something far more personal.

⚠ The final two episodes drop the external plot almost entirely for an abstract, internal sequence. This is deliberate, and The End of Evangelion covers the same moment from the outside — do not stop at episode 26.

2

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

  • Movie
  • 1 episode
  • July 1997

Watch this immediately after episode 26. It is not a sequel and not a recap — it shows what was happening in the outside world during the events the TV finale spent entirely inside Shinji's head. The two together form the complete ending.

⚠ Contains sustained disturbing imagery and one of the bleakest closing stretches in the medium. It is difficult on purpose.

3

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

  • Movie
  • 1 episode
  • September 2007

A fresh start rather than a continuation. The Rebuild films retell the story from the beginning, and this first one stays close to the opening episodes of the TV series.

4

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance

  • Movie
  • 1 episode
  • June 2009

This is where the Rebuild films stop tracking the original. New characters appear, familiar events resolve differently, and the ending goes somewhere the TV series never did.

5

Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo

  • Movie
  • 1 episode
  • November 2012

Jumps forward fourteen years and drops you into a world that has changed beyond recognition, explaining very little as it goes. The disorientation is intentional and the final film is where it pays off.

⚠ The most divisive entry in the franchise. It withholds information deliberately and does not resolve on its own. Do not judge it before watching the final film.

6

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

  • Movie
  • 1 episode
  • March 2021

The end of the Rebuild series and, at two and a half hours, by far the longest entry. It resolves the Rebuild storyline and closes out the franchise.

Optional Extras
7

EVANGELION:3.0 (-46h)

  • OVA
  • 1 episode
  • March 2023
  • ⏭ Skippable

A ten-minute short included as a bonus feature on the 2023 home video release of the final film. It shows a small incident roughly 46 hours before the third Rebuild film opens, and explains a background detail about one of that film's characters. Watch it after 3.0 rather than before — it was made a decade later and assumes you already know what happens. Skipping it costs you nothing.

⚠ This is the one entry with no streaming release anywhere. See the FAQ below for how to actually watch it.

Why This Order

Evangelion runs across two completely separate continuities, so the order genuinely matters. Start with the original 26-episode TV series from 1995 — it introduces the world, the characters and the ideas the whole franchise is built on. Go straight from there into The End of Evangelion. That film was made as a companion to the TV series and shows the same climactic events from a completely different angle, so watching the two close together makes both land harder.

The four Rebuild films are a separate retelling, not a continuation. They open on familiar ground and then go somewhere entirely different. Watch them in numbered order. You can technically start with the Rebuild films instead of the TV series, but they assume you already know the original well enough to notice what has changed, so most of what makes them interesting is lost that way.

EVANGELION:3.0 (-46h) is a ten-minute bonus short included on the home video release of the final film. It is set shortly before the third Rebuild film begins, but it was made years afterwards and assumes you have already seen that film. It is listed below the divider because it is genuinely optional, and because it is the one entry here you cannot simply stream.

How Many Episodes and Seasons Does Evangelion Have?

Evangelion has 1 season and 5 films in the main run — 26 episodes altogether.

Main Run

Title Type Episodes Aired
Neon Genesis Evangelion TV Series 26 episodes October 1995
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion Movie July 1997
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone Movie September 2007
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance Movie June 2009
Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo Movie November 2012
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time Movie March 2021

Optional Extras

Title Type Episodes Aired
EVANGELION:3.0 (-46h) OVA 1 episode March 2023

6 titles · 26 episodes + 5 movies · ~19.5 hours

Source Material

Evangelion is an original anime, not an adaptation. The 14-volume manga by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto ran alongside it as a separate version of the story rather than as its source, so there is no point to pick up from after finishing the anime.

What to watch next

Picked for what tends to pull people through Evangelion — a protagonist who does not want the job, and a series willing to abandon its own format to make a point.

  • Code Geass For the same weight of consequence landing on a teenager, and a protagonist whose choices curdle the longer the series runs.
  • Steins;Gate If what held you was the psychological cost rather than the mecha — an ordinary group stumbles into something enormous and pays for it one by one.
  • Made in Abyss For the sense of an ordinary surface with something vast and indifferent underneath, and a story that refuses to soften what it does to its characters.

Evangelion Watch Order FAQ

Where should I start with Evangelion?

Start with the original 26-episode TV series from 1995. Then watch The End of Evangelion. That is the complete original story. The four Rebuild films are a separate retelling and come after.

What is the correct order to watch Evangelion?

Neon Genesis Evangelion (26 episodes), then The End of Evangelion, then Evangelion 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 3.0+1.0 in that order. The two continuities do not overlap, so watching them the way they came out also gives you the correct story order. The only optional piece is the short EVANGELION:3.0 (-46h).

Do I need to watch The End of Evangelion?

Yes. It is not a recap or a sequel. Episodes 25 and 26 stay inside Shinji's head during the climax; the film shows the same moment from the outside. Neither is complete without the other, and the film is where the original continuity actually ends.

Do I need to watch Death & Rebirth?

No, and it is not listed above. It is a 1997 theatrical release in two halves: Death recaps the TV series, and Rebirth is an unfinished early version of the first 25 minutes of The End of Evangelion. Everything in it is either something you have already watched or something The End of Evangelion does properly. Skip it.

Are the Rebuild films a sequel, a remake, or a reboot?

A separate retelling. They begin from the same starting point as the TV series, then introduce new characters and take the story somewhere the original never went. They do not continue from The End of Evangelion. Watching them without seeing the original first works, but most of what makes them interesting is what they change — and you cannot see that if you do not know the original.

Where can I watch Evangelion?

It is split across two services. Netflix has the TV series and The End of Evangelion. Amazon Prime Video has all four Rebuild films, listed under their extended-cut titles. No single service carries the whole franchise. The short EVANGELION:3.0 (-46h) is not streaming anywhere — it is a bonus feature on the North American Blu-ray and 4K UHD release of the final film. Availability varies by region.

What are Evangelion 1.11, 2.22 and 3.33?

Extended cuts of the first three Rebuild films, with additional and revised scenes. They are the versions streaming on Prime Video, and they are the ones to watch. Similarly, the final film exists as 3.0+1.0, 3.0+1.01 and 3.0+1.11 — the differences there are minor animation and sound revisions, not story changes.

Are there any filler episodes?

No. The concept does not apply here — Evangelion is an original anime rather than an adaptation, so there is no source material for episodes to run ahead of. Every episode of the TV series is part of the intended story.

Is there an English dub?

Yes, for everything. The TV series and The End of Evangelion on Netflix use a dub recorded in 2019 for that release; an older 1990s English dub also exists on some disc releases and has its own following. The Rebuild films use a newer dub that brought back several actors from the earlier English releases of the original series. Because the dubs were recorded decades apart, voices do not carry across from the TV series to the Rebuild films.

Is Evangelion finished? Is there another season coming?

Both continuities are complete. The TV series ended in March 1996 and The End of Evangelion closed it in July 1997. The Rebuild series ended with 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time in March 2021, which was explicitly promoted as the conclusion of the franchise. No further Evangelion anime has been announced.

What is EVANGELION:3.0 (-46h)?

A ten-minute animated short from 2023, set about 46 hours before the third Rebuild film opens. It fills in a background detail about one of that film's characters. It is entirely optional and adds nothing you need in order to follow the story.

What about Evangelion: 3.0 (-120min.) and Petit Eva?

Neither is part of the watch order. Evangelion: 3.0 (-120min.) started as a short manga given to cinema audiences and was later turned into a motion comic for the home video release — it is not animation. Petit Eva: Evangelion@School is a chibi school-comedy spin-off with no connection to the story.

Should I read the Evangelion manga?

Only if you want a different version, not a continuation. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto — the series' character designer — began the 14-volume manga in December 1994, before the anime aired, and finished it in June 2013. It covers roughly the same ground as the TV series and The End of Evangelion, but changes several characters significantly and ends differently. There is nothing in the anime that requires reading it.

How long does the whole thing take?

The TV series runs about ten hours across 26 episodes. The five films add roughly nine hours more, with the final Rebuild film alone running about two and a half hours. Watching everything in the main list takes somewhere around nineteen and a half hours. The optional short adds another ten minutes.

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