The Criterion Channel is growing its anime library this September with the arrival of a true animation landmark. Thanks to North American distributor GKIDS, Hideaki Anno’s legendary Neon Genesis Evangelion lands on the platform on September 1.
The upcoming release brings three essential pieces of the franchise to the service: the groundbreaking 26-episode 1995 TV series, the 1998 recap movie Evangelion: Death (True)2, and the critically acclaimed 1997 series finale, The End of Evangelion. Notably, the original TV run will feature both the Japanese audio and the classic English dub, marking the first time the original English voice track has ever been available on a streaming platform.
Widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential anime ever produced, Neon Genesis Evangelion is set in a desolate, post-apocalyptic future. It follows teenagers tasked with piloting giant bio-mechanical weapons known as Evangelions to protect the remnants of humanity from monstrous entities called Angels. While it begins as a high-octane action series, it famously evolves into a profound psychological examination of trauma, isolation, identity, and the human condition.
While the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy—which serves as a reimagining and sequel to the original story—is not included in this drop, the classic trio of titles will still be familiar to some streamers, as they are currently available on Netflix (though Netflix utilizes a later, alternative English dub). Meanwhile, the Rebuild films currently reside on Amazon Prime Video.
This addition builds upon the dedicated anime collection The Criterion Channel introduced late last year, which featured acclaimed films like Ghost in the Shell, Paprika, Redline, and Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space, alongside Hideaki Anno’s pre-Evangelion directorial debut, Gunbuster.
Looking ahead, the Evangelion universe is also slated to expand further with an all-new series penned by Nier creator Yoko Taro and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, whose credits include the Rebuild films and Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX.