Shinseiki Evangelion (Neon Genesis Evangelion), an animated television series created by Gainax, first aired in Japan from October 1995 to March 1996. Spanning twenty-six episodes, this intensely character-driven series chronicles the conflict between humanity and an enigmatic race of entities called the "Angels". Caught in the center of this conflict is Ikari Shinji. Shinji is unexpectedly drafted into service by his estranged father, Ikari Gendo, to pilot the fantastic creation known as the Evangelion.

The first Evangelion movie, Death and Rebirth, premiered in Japan on March 15, 1997. The movie is divided roughly into halves; the first half recaps the TV series up to episode 24 and the remainder continues the story from that point. The second half of Death and Rebirth is actually a work-in-progress preview of the final Evangelion movie, titled Neon Genesis Evangelion the Movie: Air/My Pure Heart for You. Air/My Pure Heart for You is the concluding chapter of the Evangelion story and premiered on July 19, 1997.

A.D. Vision is translating and releasing the TV series for the North American market. Their release is available on VHS in subbed and dubbed format. They have also released episodes 1-8 of Evangelion on LD. However, they have not made a committment to releasing the entire series in this format. Caveat emptor; if you want the entire TV series on LD or DVD, your best bet are the Japanese language-only editions.