It's something of a miracle that Neon Genesis Evangelion even exists. From a production standpoint, the series is a triumph in weekly storytelling, as operating so close to deadlines with no detailed outline of a narrative would have sunk any other project. Yet creator Hideaki Anno, insistent on writing and rewriting episodes as production moved along, alongside the staff at Gainax, were able to pull off an absolute masterpiece of an anime series.

Countless shows fail during production, whether from lack of preparation or proper resources, yet against all odds, Evangelion not only prospered within a chaotic creative environment, but became one of the most successful franchises in anime history. However, Anno and the staff at Gainax couldn't have done it without some help, and several episodes only reached completion thanks to other studios lending a hand. One of those that helped, surprisingly, happens to be the most iconic studio in anime.

Evangelion's Production Was Anything But Ordinary

The Classic Anime Flourished Despite All Odds

In a now famous 1996 interview, just after Neon Genesis Evangelion came to its first conclusion, and before The End of Evangelion brought it to its second, Hideaki Anno sat down with NewType to discuss the creation of his series. He said, "The development of Evangelion gives me the feeling of a live concert. Whether the story or the development of the characters, I made them without a plan," later adding, "We only started working on the next script once the previous one was done."

There's no exaggeration in his words, as Evangelion premiered with only about two and a half episodes fully completed, and a rough outline of where the story would take its characters. By episode #13, titled "Lilliputian Hitcher", in which Ritsuko fights off an Angel attempting to hack into the Magi, that rough outline was thrown away, and the series began its week-to-week creation. Impressively, Evangelion didn't suffer from its unique production until the time came for the finale, and an indecisive Hideaki Anno was forced to abandon his original plan for episodes #25 and #26.

None of the series' rushed development and production would have been possible had Gainax worked on their own, however. A good portion of Evangelion's visuals were outsourced to other animation studios, many of which left their marks on the series to varying degrees. One of them, Production I.G, became so involved that they were given a major credit and title card in the opening of The End of Evangelion. In some cases, for episodes that didn't contain much major plot development, outside studios did the bulk of the work, and exactly that's what happened for episode #11.

Studio Ghibli Is Responsible for an Episode of Evangelion

Anime's Most Iconic Studio Animated an Entire Episode of Evangelion

Even to those unaware of how Evangelion was created week-to-week, there's something noticeably different about episode #11, "The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still". The fluidity of the movement and animation is striking, and though the series is visually impressive throughout, the episode is a clear step-up from its usual quality. The most obvious difference, though, comes in how characters are drawn. They're all themselves, yet they consistently shift further off-model until the eventual Angel attack occurs, and the episode suddenly becomes an obvious Studio Ghibli production.

Toshio Kawaguchi served as the episode's chief animator, which explains the strangely Ghibli appearance of the cast. Already having an impressive resume, with credits on titles like Akira and Ghost in the Shell 2, Kawaguchi worked as a key animator on every Hayao Miyazaki Ghibli film until 2001's Spirited Away. While it wasn't rare for Evangelion, or any other anime series, to outsource animation work when help is needed, it is rare that a studio as illustrious as Ghibli would contribute, let alone without receiving credit.

Yet Evangelion's episode #11 features a cast with the studio's distinct rounded eye shape and environments with extraordinary detail and warm colors. Why or how exactly this collaborative effort came about isn't known, though it wasn't the first or last time series creator Hideaki Anno and Ghibli crossed paths.

Hideaki Anno Has Worked With Studio Ghibli on Several Occasions

Anno and Hayao Miyazaki Are Long-Time Friends and Collaborators

Long before he was the famous creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion, or the director of Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman, a young Hideaki Anno lent his animation talents to Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. A few years later, he once again worked on a Ghibli production as an animator for the haunting Grave of the Fireflies. It's unconfirmed, but there is a chance the studio's contribution to Evangelion was simply one friend doing another a favor.

In 2013, Miyazaki cast Anno to play the leading role of Jiro Horikoshi in The Wind Rises, the creator's first major voice acting job. Miyazaki was "a really mean old guy!".

It's uncertain whether the two masters of their crafts will ever cross paths again professionally, as Miyazaki firmly stated his final work would be 2023's The Boy and the Heron. However, he said the same of The Wind Rises, before returning with his most recent Academy Award-winning production. Hideaki Anno, on the other hand, has several projects in the works, one of which is the Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, scheduled to premiere on April 8, 2025.

Neon Genesis Evangelion remains the creator's most iconic work, and one that became a massive success despite its unusual production. Like many other anime series, Anno and studio Gainax weren't working alone, though few other titles can boast an episode animated entirely by the illustrious Studio Ghibli. There may be more to thank the studio for than just an episode, however, as Evangelion might not exist had Hayao Miyazaki not hired its creator to work on his first original anime film.

Source: NewType Magazine 1996 Interview with Hideaki Anno (translation via gwern.net), Neon Genesis Evangelion Episode Commentaries (via Evamonkey)