Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion currently dominates Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time 77–24

Anno's 1997 apocalypse overwhelms his 2021 reconciliation.

77% 24%

Based on 17 head-to-head votes across 1 bracket

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion poster

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time poster

The Verdict Director's Cut

This matchup has 17 votes. The picture may shift as more people weigh in.

End of Evangelion's Instrumentality sequence — the live-action inserts, the animation dissolving into abstraction, Shinji's hand around Asuka's throat on the beach — is Anno at his most psychologically naked, the barrier between the director's depression and the character's disintegration completely collapsed. The Rebuild's Thrice Upon a Time resolves what End of Evangelion refuses to: Anno at fifty choosing healing where Anno at thirty-seven chose annihilation. Both are extraordinary filmmaking achievements. The gap says the annihilation is more gripping than the healing. The film that burns the franchise down is outperforming the one that rebuilds it from the ashes.

The Numbers

	Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion	Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time
Head-to-Head	77%	24%
Overall Win Rate	68%	64%
Championships	5	13

Where This Matchup Sits

BingeBracket has 21 Animation films. Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion sits at #1 and Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time at #4.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time has 13 tournament wins to Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion's 5, but that championship pedigree isn't translating to the head-to-head. Something about this specific pairing overrides the broader record.

Choosing Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion takes 1.1s on average. Choosing Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time takes 2.4s. That gap suggests they're doing different things for their voters.