Hideaki Anno has ended Neon Genesis Evangelion twice before. Due to production issues, the final two episodes of the original 1995 anime series about giant sci-fi robots and the angsty teens who pilot them controversially abandoned its main plotline in favor of examining the psychology of its characters through the use of abstract animation. Fans were dissatisfied with the ending, leading to the making of The End of Evangelion. The 1997 film delivered the apocalyptic action that fans had hoped for, but was just as polarizing.
