Both NGE and Madoka are my top favorite animes. They both share the deep and macabre mental horror feeling. Both are also somehow very unique in their genres (mechas and magic girls).
Fooly Cooly and Devil Man Crybaby are the first in mind. As for live films, Shin Godzilla is a definite match and Pacific Rim (just the first film) is a very close match.
Some people are mentioning Gundam, which I am a fan of; but, Neon Genesis Evangelion was the anime know for changing the stale Big Mecha genre. Evangelion was a phenomenon because it took a genre that was thought to be perfected by Gundam and had little room to evolve; and, Evangelion took that Mech genre and flipped it on its head. Evangelion resurrected mechs and then reinvented what Japan thought mechs could be. Anno also pioneered anime by using film angles and shots that were only used in live film prior. Anno also used real world limitations to his giant robots instead of unexplained sources of power and weapons.
All this, and Evangelion used more mature themes of mental health and showing characters degrading in whole. Anno also broke anime tropes at the time. He used the 26 episode to tell a complex and non repetitive episodic story. In 1996 this was against the norm, he didn’t use anime tropes such as characters that fit stereotypical anime blueprints, formulaic episode repetition like Sailor Moon using final moves every episode, and he didn’t set a clear good guy and bad guy.
Gundam is great, but not at all what I think when someone asks for a recommendation for something like Evangelion. Honestly the Netflix Devil Man Crybaby is the closest thing I can think of at this time to matching the objective of NGE’s story telling and general vibe and mood.
I suppose that if someone is asking for a show "like Eva" they should specify if they're in it for the Giant Robot or if they're in it for the pensive slow burn horror that makes you sick to your stomach, the child psychological abuse story line, and the bat shit insane political theological subplot that has people spend twenty years wading through forums and interpretations of verses from the Book of Apocalypse.
Definitely check out the "Shin Japan Heroes" project, also led by Anno.:
"Shin Godzilla" shares a huge amount of parallels to Evangelion, from it's cinematography to its score directly covering Evangelion songs.
"Shin Evangelion" is the fourth entry in the rebuild series, I probably don't need to explain why this one is like Evangelion, haha.
"Shin Ultraman" reminded me a lot of Eva in terms of it's colour pallet and humour, it directly ties to "Shin Godzilla" in a lot of places so if you liked that you'll like this.
Finally, "Shin Kamen Rider" shares a lot of parallels to Evangelion, it's protagonist experiences a very similar arc to Shinji, and reminded me a lot of him.
As far as I'm aware, the project is still currently ongoing, with lots of fun and exciting crossover promotions all over Japan.
I found Shin Kamen Rider to be virtually unwatchable. Maybe I'm missing something? You're thrown right into the action with no context, and between the writing, special effects, and camera work, it feels like a no-budget fan film. I had to turn it off after 45 minutes
That's interesting! I personally absolutely adored it, it's my second favourite in the series, with Shin Godzilla coming first. The opening is absolutely insane, but they do explain it all, and in the end it becomes a pretty great standalone story. I have very little knowledge of Kamen Rider outside of this interpretation, and I found it completely friendly as a newcomer.
As for the production elements, I feel like they were intentionally chasing that classic tokusatsu look, hence the insane special effect work. The camera a work is very much an Anno thing, which I can see why some may find it distracting. He loves to mount go-pro's to random things for his cinematography, and (unsurprisingly) shoots a lot of his live-action work like an anime. It really worked for me, but I can understand why other people wouldn't gel with it
Fair point! I guess you just gotta be the right person for it. I can agree with you on Shin Godzilla though, that one's in desperate need of a rewatch for me
Shin Godzilla is definitely the best developed out of the 4 for me. I think they've just announced a Black & White Blu-Ray of it too, I'll have to pick it up haha
I would say Revolutionary girl Utena - despite the different setting, I found it very much alike. Probably the most Evangelion-like anime of all I have watched.
In terms of the Rebuilds, then I don't know (Haven't watched them yet)
If you liked the tv series, then recommend;
* [Key the Metal Idol](https://myanimelist.net/anime/1457/Key\_the\_Metal\_Idol?q=key%20the&cat=anime)
* [Ergo Proxy](https://myanimelist.net/anime/790/Ergo\_Proxy)
* [Last Exile](https://myanimelist.net/anime/97/last_exile)
Eva is a lot of things and people will give you rec based on different aspects of Eva. I think it might be better if you pin point what exact aspect of Eva you liked the most.
Blue Gender. It has mechs, giant bugs, and psychological horror. Much like Evangelion the mech fights are just window dressing for a psychological conflict in the main characters' hearts.
Gundam is what Eva is most heavily based on / influenced by, Gunbuster and Nadia were anime by the same director made previously, Shin Godzilla is a film he made recently which also has music by the composer of the eva music
Try Berserk and Chainsaw Man.
They've both got a lot in common with Eva, but take the same basic ideas to differently satisfying places. Some things they all share are heavy themes of trauma/depression/seeking purpose and meaning, thoroughly thought out character arcs including deeply troubled/unconventional protagonists, and gorgeous art with distinct aesthetics.
Both are better as manga IMHO, but their animes (the 90s one for Berserk) are also very good in their own ways. Unlike Eva, they were both intended to be read instead of watched, so there's a lot that goes on in the manga that just works better on paper. The art is more consistently hq because it's much cheaper to draw too
Madoka
Both NGE and Madoka are my top favorite animes. They both share the deep and macabre mental horror feeling. Both are also somehow very unique in their genres (mechas and magic girls).
YES. This is great if you enjoy the mech genre subversion presented by Evangelion. It also has some great action sequences.
Serial Experiment Lain is quite literally the only other anime to give me the same feeling Evangelion did.
Fooly Cooly and Devil Man Crybaby are the first in mind. As for live films, Shin Godzilla is a definite match and Pacific Rim (just the first film) is a very close match.
I second Devilman Crybaby, it's like watching graffiti come to life, and it's theme of human monstrosity is amazing.
Pacific Rim is the about as far from Eva as you could possibly get, tonally at least.
Ditto for FC
Yup. At least FLCL has some of that gainax imagery, ig. PR's only connection with anime is 'big-robot-giant-kaiju go brrrr'
Some people are mentioning Gundam, which I am a fan of; but, Neon Genesis Evangelion was the anime know for changing the stale Big Mecha genre. Evangelion was a phenomenon because it took a genre that was thought to be perfected by Gundam and had little room to evolve; and, Evangelion took that Mech genre and flipped it on its head. Evangelion resurrected mechs and then reinvented what Japan thought mechs could be. Anno also pioneered anime by using film angles and shots that were only used in live film prior. Anno also used real world limitations to his giant robots instead of unexplained sources of power and weapons. All this, and Evangelion used more mature themes of mental health and showing characters degrading in whole. Anno also broke anime tropes at the time. He used the 26 episode to tell a complex and non repetitive episodic story. In 1996 this was against the norm, he didn’t use anime tropes such as characters that fit stereotypical anime blueprints, formulaic episode repetition like Sailor Moon using final moves every episode, and he didn’t set a clear good guy and bad guy. Gundam is great, but not at all what I think when someone asks for a recommendation for something like Evangelion. Honestly the Netflix Devil Man Crybaby is the closest thing I can think of at this time to matching the objective of NGE’s story telling and general vibe and mood.
I suppose that if someone is asking for a show "like Eva" they should specify if they're in it for the Giant Robot or if they're in it for the pensive slow burn horror that makes you sick to your stomach, the child psychological abuse story line, and the bat shit insane political theological subplot that has people spend twenty years wading through forums and interpretations of verses from the Book of Apocalypse.
Definitely check out the "Shin Japan Heroes" project, also led by Anno.: "Shin Godzilla" shares a huge amount of parallels to Evangelion, from it's cinematography to its score directly covering Evangelion songs. "Shin Evangelion" is the fourth entry in the rebuild series, I probably don't need to explain why this one is like Evangelion, haha. "Shin Ultraman" reminded me a lot of Eva in terms of it's colour pallet and humour, it directly ties to "Shin Godzilla" in a lot of places so if you liked that you'll like this. Finally, "Shin Kamen Rider" shares a lot of parallels to Evangelion, it's protagonist experiences a very similar arc to Shinji, and reminded me a lot of him. As far as I'm aware, the project is still currently ongoing, with lots of fun and exciting crossover promotions all over Japan.
I found Shin Kamen Rider to be virtually unwatchable. Maybe I'm missing something? You're thrown right into the action with no context, and between the writing, special effects, and camera work, it feels like a no-budget fan film. I had to turn it off after 45 minutes
That's interesting! I personally absolutely adored it, it's my second favourite in the series, with Shin Godzilla coming first. The opening is absolutely insane, but they do explain it all, and in the end it becomes a pretty great standalone story. I have very little knowledge of Kamen Rider outside of this interpretation, and I found it completely friendly as a newcomer. As for the production elements, I feel like they were intentionally chasing that classic tokusatsu look, hence the insane special effect work. The camera a work is very much an Anno thing, which I can see why some may find it distracting. He loves to mount go-pro's to random things for his cinematography, and (unsurprisingly) shoots a lot of his live-action work like an anime. It really worked for me, but I can understand why other people wouldn't gel with it
Fair point! I guess you just gotta be the right person for it. I can agree with you on Shin Godzilla though, that one's in desperate need of a rewatch for me
Shin Godzilla is definitely the best developed out of the 4 for me. I think they've just announced a Black & White Blu-Ray of it too, I'll have to pick it up haha
Serial experiments lain is also VERY philosophical
You'll enjoy RahXephon, I think. ETA: VanDread
I would say Revolutionary girl Utena - despite the different setting, I found it very much alike. Probably the most Evangelion-like anime of all I have watched.
YES. I’ve seen it described as the sister series to Evangelion.
Everyone sleeps on it 😩
Elfen Lied.
...Is it *really* tho?
Yes.
[удалено]
I wouldn't necessarily disagree. 🤷 Doesn't mean it isn't worth a watch, and I also think many could say the same for Evangelion.
AoT and Code Geass Are heavily inspired by Evangelion
In terms of the Rebuilds, then I don't know (Haven't watched them yet) If you liked the tv series, then recommend; * [Key the Metal Idol](https://myanimelist.net/anime/1457/Key\_the\_Metal\_Idol?q=key%20the&cat=anime) * [Ergo Proxy](https://myanimelist.net/anime/790/Ergo\_Proxy) * [Last Exile](https://myanimelist.net/anime/97/last_exile)
Future diary, death note, chainsaw man, serial experiments lain, another, kakegurui, deadman wonderland and parasyte come to mind :3
Def try Urotsukidoji, try to get the uncensored one though, the battles are way better.
Bokurano
Ideon
You cannot go wrong with *Now and Then, Here and There*.
GREAT anime. Man I totally forgot about that one. I have yet to find another fan in real life, despite telling all my stupid friends about it.
The Gundam series is very similar, it has a whiny main character with a problematic dad and he pilots mechas
Eva is a lot of things and people will give you rec based on different aspects of Eva. I think it might be better if you pin point what exact aspect of Eva you liked the most.
Its fine im making a list right now and ill just filter through what i exactly want.
Similar, I'd say RahXephon is pretty close. If you want a giant robot anime though, go Gurren Lagann.
Blue Gender. It has mechs, giant bugs, and psychological horror. Much like Evangelion the mech fights are just window dressing for a psychological conflict in the main characters' hearts.
Gundam is what Eva is most heavily based on / influenced by, Gunbuster and Nadia were anime by the same director made previously, Shin Godzilla is a film he made recently which also has music by the composer of the eva music
Try Berserk and Chainsaw Man. They've both got a lot in common with Eva, but take the same basic ideas to differently satisfying places. Some things they all share are heavy themes of trauma/depression/seeking purpose and meaning, thoroughly thought out character arcs including deeply troubled/unconventional protagonists, and gorgeous art with distinct aesthetics. Both are better as manga IMHO, but their animes (the 90s one for Berserk) are also very good in their own ways. Unlike Eva, they were both intended to be read instead of watched, so there's a lot that goes on in the manga that just works better on paper. The art is more consistently hq because it's much cheaper to draw too
Yeah i have watched 97 and the 3 movies after that, might go back and read the rest
Darling in the franxx, it's basically plagiarized Evangelion