A year of big news for Hideaki Anno’s iconic psychological mecha anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion, continues! Reported exclusively by IGN earlier today, the influential 90s anime will be hitting streaming on the Criterion Channel on September 1st! Most notably, for the first time ever, viewers will be able to watch the anime’s original English dub on streaming! Considering that many modern fans were introduced to the series with the Netlfix English dub, which despite its numerous great voice performances, was critiqued by older fans due to mistranslations that clouded the show’s intentions.
And of course, along with the 26 episode anime, the franchise’s iconic films The End of Evangelion (1997) and Evangelion Death True² (1998), will also be coming to Criterion streaming. All three titles will come via North American Distributor GKIDS, who are known for being the North American distributor for the Studio Ghibli movie catalogue, Shin Godzilla (2016) and Godzilla Minus Zero (2026), and Tatuski Fujimoto’s (Mangaka of Chainsaw Man) adapted Look Back (2024), among others.
It is a testament to Evangelion’s influence and impact that it is still receiving attention and care in its distribution today. Criterion users will have a treat to watch come September 1st. In the meantime, fans can be on the lookout for announcements regarding the new Evangelion anime series, as it was announced during a teaser at Anime Expo (July 4) that it has entered production!
Criterion’s description for Neon Genesis Evangelion reads, “Set in a post-apocalyptic world where teenagers pilot giant Multipurpose Humanoid Decisive Weapons — artificial humans known as Evangelions — to defend humanity from mysterious beings called Angels, the story evolves from high-stakes action spectacle into a deeply introspective exploration of identity, trauma, loneliness, and human connection.”
