Two Marathons, Then a Week of Catch-Up
The block runs on ABEMA's Anime SPECIAL channel, part of the Japanese free streaming service ABEMA. The first marathon starts at noon on Sunday, October 4, and runs until 1 a.m., going from the first episode (the series numbers it with an archaic kanji for "one") through to the finale without a break. A second complete run starts the next morning, October 5, at 11 a.m. Anyone who misses both still has time: all 26 episodes stay free for one week after the broadcast, so no one has to block out thirteen consecutive hours.
The date is the hook. Neon Genesis Evangelion premiered on October 4, 1995, which makes this year's anniversary the 31st. Oricon published the schedule on October 2, two days before the first run.
One caveat for readers outside Japan: ABEMA's anime channels are generally geo-locked to Japanese IP addresses, so this is a domestic rewatch event rather than a global one.
Shinji, the Angels, and 26 Episodes From 1995
Hideaki Anno's series follows Shinji Ikari and two other teenagers who pilot the Evangelion, described in-universe as a "multipurpose humanoid decisive battle weapon," against a mysterious enemy called the Angels. Alongside the battles, the three face a harsh fate and their own inner conflicts.
Oricon's write-up credits the series' innovative visual language for the attention it drew on first broadcast, and calls it a social phenomenon of its time that left a major mark on the history of Japanese animation. The 26 episodes were animated at Gainax with Tatsunoko Production.
The Original Cast, Credited in Full
Megumi Ogata (Yuta Okkotsu in Jujutsu Kaisen, Kurama in Yu Yu Hakusho) voices Shinji Ikari. Kotono Mitsuishi plays Misato Katsuragi and Yuriko Yamaguchi is Ritsuko Akagi. Megumi Hayashibara (Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop, Lina Inverse in Slayers) voices Rei Ayanami, and Yuko Miyamura plays Asuka Langley Soryu.
The cast list Oricon published stops there with an "and others," so the announcement doesn't itemize the supporting roster. The stills released alongside it include Rei in her plugsuit.
Looking Ahead
The first marathon starts October 4, 2026 at 12:00 JST on ABEMA, with the second on October 5 at 11:00 JST and a one-week free window after that. Outside Japan, Netflix holds worldwide streaming rights to the 26-episode TV series, including the director's cut versions of episodes 21 through 24, plus The End of Evangelion. The four Rebuild of Evangelion films stream on Amazon Prime Video.
The anniversary also lands while the franchise has a new TV production in the works. Studio Khara confirmed a brand-new Evangelion series on February 23, 2026, the closing day of the franchise's 30th anniversary event, with Yoko Taro of NieR: Automata on series composition and script, Kazuya Tsurumaki and Toko Yatabe directing, Keiichi Okabe on music, and animation shared between Khara and CloverWorks. The English version of the production-confirmation trailer went up on Khara's YouTube channel after screening at Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles. No title, plot details, or broadcast window have been announced.
(c) khara / Project Eva.