Longtime fans of Evangelion know that this franchise isn't very good at ending, seeing as how it has "ended" three times now, between the original series, The End of Evangelion, and the Rebuild films. Sure enough, a recent interview with creator Hideaki Anno suggested that future installments weren't out of the question, the primary stipulation being that he would not be the one at the helm.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time premiered in Japan on March 3, 2021, bringing an end to the "Shin Evangelion" series that began in 2006, in which Anno sought to "rebuild" the 1995 original series. On May 12, Atsushi Ohara of The Asashi Shimbun interviewed Anno about his plans for the future, in which he discussed taking a break from directing after releasing so many films in the past few years.

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How Anno Is Moving on from Evangelion

Anno has been quite busy, not only bringing Evangelion to a close but working to reinvent many of the defining greats of Japanese monster and superhero cinema. In 2016, he co-directed Shin Godzilla with Shinji Higuchi. Then, for three years in a row - beginning in 2021 - Anno would finish Evangelion 3.0+1.0, write/produce Higuchi's Shin Ultraman in 2022, and finally write/direct Shin Kamen Rider in 2023. The man has earned some rest.

Yet he didn't rule out the possibility of his magnum opus continuing, even after 3.0+1.10's rather thorough conclusion, and admittedly, this doesn't come as too much of a surprise. As early as August 2021, Anno entertained the idea that there was more story to tell, mostly concerning the 14-year time gap between Evangelion 2.22 and 3.33. The Blu-ray release of 3.0+1.11even contains a new short, Evangelion 3.0 (-46h), which tells just one story from that time gap.

Passing the Torch to a New Director

At most, this recent interview offers further clarification as to how concrete such plans are and Anno's role within the franchise. As expected, there are no definitive plans, but if there is to be a new installment, it would most certainly come from a different director, something Anno has welcomed in the past. There have already been glimpses of what Evangelion would look like without Anno, from literature like Anima to animated shorts like Another Impact or Neon Genesis IMPACTS.

Some of these have been received well while others have been divisive, but what is Evangelion without a little controversy? The biggest question is who could take over, but when looking at Anno's history and most notably, his collaborators, the perfect person to take over the next entry in the series has been there all along.

Kazuya Tsurumaki is a No-Brainer

For those unfamiliar with the name, Kazuya Tsurumaki is the director of FLCL, widely considered one of the best anime of all time and spoken of with comparable reverence to Evangelion. If that weren't enough, he is the direct protégé of Hideaki Anno and was the co-director behind the Evangelion Rebuilds. For as much as they are Anno's work, they are just as much Tsurumaki's.

Tsurumaki was even the director of that aforementioned short - 3.0 (-46h). If anyone were to take over Anno's project completely, Tsurumaki would be the clearest choice and perhaps the best sell to audiences on account of his resume. And it wouldn't even be the first time he took over a series that Anno created and produced a worthy sequel.

A Short Story About Gunbuster

In 1988, Anno made his directorial debut with Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster, a cult classic, space-faring mecha series where one can see traces of the story he would later tell with Evangelion. Even with only six episodes, it was a thrilling and emotional journey that ended so conclusively that the mere prospect of a sequel might seem dubious. And then, sixteen years later, Kazuya Tsurumaki proved otherwise, with Top wo Nerae 2! Diebuster.

Diebuster is set so many years in the future and is so detached from the original series, that calling it a sequel itself feels strange. Yet, it might be one of the best sequels in anime history, for how it managed to replicate parts of the narrative structure and the roles of its cast, but then used this familiar template to deliver something wholly unique with its own message and ideas. It is the ultimate legacy sequel and one of the most gorgeous mecha shows ever animated.

What Does This Have to Do with Eva?

The point of bringing this up is two-fold. Firstly, Tsurumaki is an incredible director whose contributions to Evangelion over the past two decades have frankly been quite undersold. It would be worth seeing what he could do with the series were he given the freedom to do anything. Secondly, bringing up Diebuster was a way to stress what a continuation to Evangelion needs, whether Tsurumaki directs it or not.

Whatever Evangelion becomes next has to be different. It should aim to go somewhere the franchise has never been, focusing on completely new characters and exploring the ideas of this franchise through a radically different tone. If it wanted to be just like Diebuster, it would preserve the storytelling philosophies behind pacing, editing, and character building, but apply them to something so unique as to have practically no relation to the original.

Why Cynicism is Understandable

For a multitude of reasons, optimism can be in short supply regarding art these days, and if anything kept Evangelion true to itself all these years - for better and worse - it was Anno. The biggest fear about Evangelion continuing is the idea that it will simply become a product without Anno at the center, but people forget that the franchise is already a commercial powerhouse.

Worrying about the series falling prey to capitalism flew out the window ages ago. As for the art itself, however, Evangelion has remained thoughtful and exciting since the beginning, no matter how long it arguably outstayed its welcome. Kazuya Tsurumaki might not even want to direct Evangelion, seeing how he has worked on this series as long as Anno has.

Perhaps he'll be happy to let Anno pass the torch to someone else, but in the end, the franchise's hypothetical continuation need not be a curse. If there is a story to be told, and a team that can tell it with the same spirit that has kept this series afloat for almost three decades, it ought to be met with anticipation. In 2006, Anno called Evangelion "a story of repetition," and just as it keeps ending, it will keep starting again.

Sources: Anime News Network [Link 1][Link 2], The Asahi Shimbun (Subscription required to read)

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