There's Nothing Like 'Evangelion', but These 5 Anime Are the Closest You Can Get

After finishing Evangelion, fans often feel a strange emptiness – a sense of having experienced something grand yet not fully comprehensible.

Hideaki Anno's creation set the bar high for the mecha genre and redefined it by making the characters and their emotional wounds the central battlefield.

Finding a similar title that could replicate this unique blend is nearly impossible. However, that doesn't mean there aren't other series capable of evoking similar feelings.

1. 'Darling in the Franxx', 2018

IMDb Score: 7.3/10

The surface of Earth has become virtually uninhabitable – this is due to human greed, the depletion of natural resources, and the onslaught of gigantic monsters called Klaxosaurs.

People hide from the monsters inside mobile cities called Plantations. While some residents live peacefully, others defend the population from external threats. The only way to combat the Klaxosaurs is with piloted combat robots, which only teenagers can operate.

Hiro, a gifted young man, is paired with a girl whose blood is that of a monster, and she has already destroyed many of her partners.

2. 'Bokurano', 2007

IMDb Score: 7.3/10

A group of teenagers were strolling along the seashore when they discovered a strange cave. Deep within the cave, someone had set up a workspace with numerous computers and various devices.

Before they had time to explore, the cave's owner returned. He introduced himself as a programmer and invited the teenagers to play a game in which they control a combat robot that defends Earth from enemies.

The students agreed, but then passed out. When they woke up on the seashore, they found themselves in the game and everything around them looked very much like their city.

3. 'RahXephon', 2002

IMDb Score: 7.2/10

Seventeen-year-old Kamina Ayato lives in the outskirts of Tokyo and is unable to leave. He and the other 23 million residents of the capital are the last people on Earth.

Two years ago, an attack by extraterrestrial beings wiped out all humanity outside Tokyo. Ayato believed this until he witnessed a battle between an unknown enemy and combat robots.

4. 'Akira', 1988

IMDb Score: 8.0/10

The story takes place in 2019. New Tokyo has been built on the ruins of the former capital, which was destroyed in World War III. Thirty years have passed since then, yet the city still feels unsettled.

In research centers, scientists are trying to create powerful weapons. The government, the military, and the city's gangs are at odds with each other, and ordinary citizens have begun to worship a man named Akira.

They believe he possesses supernatural powers and that he will solve all their problems, but the opposite turns out to be true.

5. 'Fafner', 2004

IMDb Score: 6.9/10

The anime is set in the future after most of the world has been destroyed by alien invaders. The remaining population has settled on an island protected by a special dome.

All was peaceful until the enemy breached the defenses and invaded the safe lands. Conventional weapons are ineffective against them, so the military activates the combat robot Fafner. Only teenagers with altered genomes can pilot the device, and one of them is the schoolboy Kazuki Makabe.

Unfortunately for him, Makabe's first flight coincides with the invasion of an alien monster that can penetrate human minds.