20 Best Anime TV Series Of All Time
5. Neon Genesis Evangelion
Mecha anime has been around for decades, with classic series such as Macross and Gundham popularising the format, and Pacific Rim demonstrating that giant robots are just as popular in the West as they are in Japan (who doesn't like giant robots?).
Neon Genesis Evangelion not only masters mecha anime but also goes several steps further in its contribution to animation. Not content with deconstructing the tenets of the genre it also offers some mind-bogglingly complex psychological ideas amidst the beautifully observed character development.
It also becomes increasingly bonkers as the story develops, swerving into a weird zone of religious symbolism and Jungian psychology guaranteed to have most viewers scratching their heads and wondering WTF it was they just saw. Series creator Hideaki Anno once described Neon Genesis Evangelion as one of the most overrated anime series of all time - don't believe a word of it.