Neon Genesis Evangelion was created by Japanese director and writer Hideaki Anno, with the series produced by the animation studio Gainax and TV Tokyo, and animated in collaboration with Tatsunoko Production.

Quick Scoop: Who Made Evangelion?

  • Primary creator: Hideaki Anno conceived the story, directed the TV anime, and wrote or co-wrote nearly all episodes, making Evangelion very much his personal vision.
  • Main studio: The original series was produced by Studio Gainax, a then-young but influential anime studio co-founded by Anno.
  • Key collaborators: Character designs were by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, who also drew the manga adaptation, which is based on Anno’s story rather than the other way around.
  • Franchise scope: Anno remained chief director and story creator for The End of Evangelion and the Rebuild of Evangelion film series, steering the franchise’s core direction over decades.

In short: Evangelion is mainly Hideaki Anno’s brainchild, built with a tight creative team at Gainax, with Sadamoto and others shaping how that vision looked and felt.

A Tiny Bit of “Latest / Forum” Context

  • Fans often debate how much credit to give Anno vs. Sadamoto; most agree Anno is the author of the story and themes, while Sadamoto’s biggest stamp is on the iconic character designs and some early concept ideas.
  • Recent retrospectives still frame Evangelion as an intensely personal project born from Anno’s struggles with depression and his desire to reinvent the mecha genre, which is part of why its success is seen as hard to replicate.

TL;DR: Hideaki Anno created Evangelion’s story and directed the original anime, with Studio Gainax producing and collaborators like Yoshiyuki Sadamoto defining its look and supporting the worldbuilding.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.