Is there religious meaning to Evangelion?
No. Evangelion is not, and never was a religious anime and does not contain any direct commentary on the world’s religions. The Judeo-Christian elements it contains are simply plot devices used to convey the story. Nothing more. The cross shaped explosions, the Kabalah, and all other references do have religious roots and do have relevance to Evangelion but it is very important to remember that Eva is a work of fiction and should not have it’s symbols taken that seriously. I think that Mamorou Oshii (director of “Ghost in The Shell” and “Patlabor”) described religious elements in anime best when he said “These are used as the prototype for the stories; not for religious reasons, but for ideology and literary inspiration”. Finally, at the Otakon anime convention held in 2001, assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki (who was the director of The End of Evangelion: Episode 25′ Air – while Anno personally undetook The End of Evangelion: Episode 26′ Sincerely Yours and acted as Chief Director) w
