For Shinji Ikari, returning to Tokyo-3 means facing the father who abandoned him years earlier. At fourteen, he struggles with his mother's loss and the lasting wounds of paternal neglect, afraid to let others close. Misato Katsuragi, a high-ranking officer in the organization NERV, offers him an unfamiliar warmth. His father, NERV commander Gendou Ikari, has summoned him for a different reason.
Fifteen years after the Second Impact devastated the world, beings called Angels are attacking Tokyo-3, resisting even humanity's strongest conventional defenses. NERV fights them with giant humanoid machines called Evangelions, equipped with advanced weapons and protective Absolute Terror Fields. During a devastating attack, Shinji learns why Gendou needs him: he alone can effectively pilot the new Evangelion Unit-01, which synchronizes with his biometrics. Defending the city subjects Shinji to severe psychological trauma, while he remains unaware of the sinister plans his father is pursuing.
