Neon Genesis Evangelion received critical acclaim both domestically and internationally. Evangelion has developed into a social phenomenon beyond its primary otaku fan base, generating national discussion in Japan. The series has also been the subject of numerous media reports, debates and research studies.
Following the conclusion of the series' original television broadcast, the public and critical reception to Neon Genesis Evangelion was polarized, particularly with regard to the final two episodes. The experimental style of the finale confused or alienated many fans and spawned debate and controversy; Hideaki Anno received anonymous online death threats. The criticism was largely directed toward the lack of storyline resolution in the final two episodes. Opinion on the finale was mixed, with the audience broadly divided between those who considered the episodes "deep", and those who felt their meaning was "more apparent than real". The show's American voice actors admitted that they also had trouble understanding the series' conclusion. The Mainichi Times wrote that after episode 25, "nearly all viewers felt betrayed ... When commentator Eiji Ōtsuka sent a letter to the Yomiuri Shimbun, complaining about the end of the Evangelion series, the debate went nationwide." Despite the criticism, Anno stood by his artistic choices for the series' conclusion. The controversy surrounding Evangelion has not negatively influenced the popularity of the series, which retains strong popularity within and outside the otaku subculture.
Neon Genesis Evangelion has scored highly in numerous popularity polls. In 1996, the series won first place in the "Best Loved Series" category of the Anime Grand Prix, a reader-polled award series published in Animage magazine. The show was again awarded this prize in 1997 by a large margin. The End of Evangelion won first place in 1998, making Neon Genesis Evangelion the first anime franchise to win three consecutive first place awards. The website IGN ranked Evangelion as the 10th best animated series in its "Top 100 Animated TV Series" list. The series placed third in Animage's "anime that should be remembered in the 21st Century". In 1998, EX.org's readers voted Neon Genesis Evangelion the #1 US anime release and in 1999, the #2 show of all time. In 2007, a large-scale poll by TV Asahi found Evangelion was the second most appreciated anime in Japan. The series was ranked as the most popular of all time in a 2006 survey of 80,000 attendees at the Japan Media Arts Festival. Evangelion won the Animation Kobe award in 1996, and 1997. The series was awarded the Nihon SF Taisho Award and the Excellence Award Japan Media Arts Festival in 1997. The film ranked #6 on Wizard's Anime Magazine on their "Top 50 Anime released in North America".
In the August 1996 issue of Animage, Evangelion characters placed high in the rankings of best characters with Rei ranked first, Asuka third, Kaworu fourth and Shinji sixth. Rei Ayanami won in the Female Character category in 1995 and 1996 and Shinji Ikari won the Male Character category in 1996 and 1997. In 2010, Newtype magazine recognized Rei Ayanami as the most popular character of the 1990s in the female category, and Shinji Ikari in the male category. TV Asahi recognized the "suicide of Ayanami Rei" as the ninth most touching anime scene ever. "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" won the Animage award in the Best Song category in 1996, and TV Asahi recognized it as the 18th best anime song since 1990.
The series has captured the attention of cultural theorists inside and outside Japan, and many critics have analyzed or commented on it, including Susan J. Napier, William Rout, Mick Broderick, Mari Kotani, and the sociologists Shinji Miyadai, Hiroki Azuma, Yuriko Furuhata, and Marc Steinberg. The series has been described as both a critique and deconstruction of the mecha genre. Mike Hale of The New York Times described it as "a superior anime, a giant-robot tale of unusual depth, feeling and detail". Theron Martin (Anime News Network) described the character design as "distinctive, designed to be sexy rather than cutesy", and the mecha designs as "among the most distinctive ever produced for an anime series, with sleek, lithe appearances that look monstrous, fearsome, and nimble rather than boxy and knight-like". Mike Crandol stated "It no longer seems contrite to say that Evangelion is surely one of the all-time great works of animation". Zac Bertschy remarked that "Most of the backlash against Evangelion existed because people don't like to think". Evangelion has been described as possessing complex characters and richness of narrative.
Evangelion has had a significant impact on Japanese popular culture. The series also had a strong influence on anime, at a time when the anime industry and televised anime series in particular were in a slump period. CNET reviewer Tim Hornyak credits the series with revitalizing and transforming the giant mecha genre. In the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese animation knew a period of crisis and decreased production that coincided with the economic crisis in Japan. This was followed by a crisis of ideas in the years to come. Against this background, Evangelion imposed new standards for the animated serial, ushering in the era of the "new Japanese animation serial", characterized by innovations that allowed a technical and artistic revival of the industry. The production of anime serials began to reflect greater author control, the concentration of resources in fewer but higher quality episodes (typically ranging from 13 to 26), a directorial approach similar to live film, and greater freedom from the constraints of merchandising.
Evangelion has influenced numerous subsequent anime series, including Serial Experiments Lain, RahXephon, Texhnolyze, Gasaraki, Boogiepop Phantom, Blue Submarine No. 6, Mobile Battleship Nadesico, Rinne no Lagrange, Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure, Argento Soma, Pilot Candidate, Generator Gawl, and Dai-Guard. The series is also mentioned in the third episode of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi. References and homages to the show are also contained in Koi Koi Seven, Hayate the Combat Butler, Baka and Test, Regular Show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and Keroro Gunso. The show's mixture of religion and mecha also influenced several Japanese video games, including Xenogears and El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. The design and personality traits of the character Rei Ayanami were reused for many anime characters of the late 1990s, such as Ruri Hoshino of Nadesico, Ruriko Tsukushima (The Droplet), Miharu (Gasaraki), Anthy Himemiya (Revolutionary Girl Utena), and Lain Iwakura (Serial Experiments Lain). The character of Asuka was parodied by Excel (Excel Saga), and some of her traits were used to create the character of Mai in Gunparade March. Evangelion's mecha design, characterized by a greater resemblance to the human figure, and the abstract designs of the Angels, also had a significant impact on the designs of future anime productions.
According to Keisuke Iwata, the global spread of Japanese animation dramatically expanded due to the popularity of Evangelion. After the success of the show, otaku culture gained wide attention. In Japan, Evangelion prompted a review of the cultural value of anime, and with its success, anime reached a new point of maturity. With the interest in the series, otaku culture became a mass social phenomenon. The show's regular reruns increased the number of otaku, which Lynden links to a boom in interest in literature on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Kabbalah and Christianity. Anime director Makoto Shinkai declared that the genre of anime owes a cinematographic debt to Evangelion. In the aftermath of Evangelion, Anno reused many of its stylistic conceits in the live-action Love & Pop and the anime romance Kare Kano. The UK band Fightstar's debut album, Grand Unification, was heavily influenced by Neon Genesis Evangelion. The Japanese band Rey derived its name from that of the character Rei Ayanami.
In Japan, Evangelion is an enormous content and merchandise industry with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Images of its biomechanical Eva robots are on everything from coffee mugs to smartphones and even airplane wraps.
— Tim Hornyak, CNET (16 July 2013)
The popularity of Neon Genesis Evangelion extends to its merchandising which exceeded $400 million within two years of its release. The series has established itself greatly on the Japanese market, developing a varied range of products for adult consumers, such as cell phones (including a special NERV and MAGI-themed Sharp SH-06D smartphone released in 2012), laptop computers, many soundtracks, DVDs, action figures, and telephone cards. The stylized mecha design that would later earn praise for Evangelion was initially criticized by certain toy companies as being too difficult to manufacture, with some expressing concern that models of the Evangelions "would never sell." Eventually, Sega agreed to license all toy and video game sales. At the time of the release of the Japanese film Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion, estimated sales of Evangelion merchandise topped $300 million, of which 70% derived from sales of video and laser discs, soundtrack CDs, single CDs, computer software and the three-volume manga. Multiple merchandising products were released during the Renewal Project, such as CDs, video games, cel-art illustrations and collectible models.
The commercial exploitation of the series for the home video market achieved record sales and remained strong over a decade later. The fame of the show has grown through home video sales, which exceeded two or three times the sales of other contemporary anime series and films. The series contributed significantly to the spread of the DVD format in Japan and generated a considerable impact on the Japanese economy, calculated in billions of yen. A 2007 estimate placed the total value of the franchise at over 150 billion yen.