Evangelion's Forgotten Sequel Returns After 13 Years with New Official Release

A long-dormant chapter of the Evangelion franchise is making an unexpected return, with KADOKAWA bringing the Evangelion ANIMA story back in a brand-new format more than 13 years after its original serialization concluded.

Neon Genesis Evangelion first aired in 1995 and became one of the most influential anime series ever created, spawning movies, manga, novels and numerous spin-offs that continue to expand its universe decades later.

Among those spin-offs is Evangelion ANIMA, an officially licensed sequel side-story written by original TV series mechanical designer Ikuto Yamashita that explores an alternate timeline branching from Episode 24, “The Beginning and the End, or ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’,” imagining what happens three years after the events of the television series.

Originally serialized in Dengeki Hobby Magazine between 2008 and 2013 before being collected into five novels released from November 2017 through March 2019, Evangelion ANIMA follows older 17-year-old versions of Shinji, Rei, Asuka and the rest of the cast in a story that has remained a favorite among dedicated Evangelion fans.

Now, Evangelion ANIMA is returning with a newly launched audiobook adaptation, beginning with Volume 1, marking the first new way to experience the complete story since the novel series concluded.

Voice actress Saki Aiya narrates the audiobook and said she revisited the original television series extensively before recording in order to capture each character’s personality while also portraying their older counterparts from ANIMA’s alternate timeline.

She explained that differentiating multiple characters with a single performance required extensive preparation, while the novel’s military terminology, technical vocabulary and lengthy descriptive passages made recording particularly demanding.

Aiya also revealed that switching between standard Japanese narration and Toji Suzuhara’s Kansai dialect proved more difficult than expected despite her own background in Kyoto.

Yamashita admitted he initially questioned whether ANIMA’s highly technical writing style and lengthy explanations could successfully translate into an audiobook, but said hearing the performances quickly convinced him that the project could offer fans a fresh way to experience the story.

He also praised Aiya’s ability to capture the personalities of the Evangelion cast while joking that her dramatic reading only made him more aware of imperfections in the Kansai dialect he originally wrote for Toji.

KADOKAWA has confirmed that the complete five-volume audiobook series will be released over the coming months, with Volume 2 arriving in late July 2026, followed by Volume 3 in late August, Volume 4 in late September and Volume 5 in late October.

Volume 1 of the Evangelion ANIMA audiobook is available now through Audible, with the remaining volumes scheduled to follow monthly beginning in late July 2026.