So, you finished Evangelion. You're probably sitting there staring at a wall, wondering why a show about giant robots ended with a therapist's couch session and a metaphysical existential crisis. It happens to the best of us. Hideaki Anno didn't just make a "mecha" anime; he basically deconstructed the human psyche using 14-year-olds and biblical imagery.
Finding shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion is honestly a nightmare. Most people will point you toward any random show with robots. That’s a mistake. If you loved Eva, you probably weren’t there for the metal-on-metal violence—you were there for the isolation, the "Hedgehog’s Dilemma," and that feeling of absolute dread.
You need something that hurts.
The Misconception About "Mecha"
People get this wrong constantly. They think if a show has a cockpit, it’s Evangelion. Wrong. Eva is a deconstruction. It takes the tropes of the 70s and 80s—the "brave boy pilot" and the "cool scientist father"—and reveals them to be traumatic, abusive, and deeply broken.
If you want that same flavor, you have to look at RahXephon. It’s often called the "Eva clone," and for good reason. It’s got the mysterious organization, the young pilot who doesn’t know what’s going on, and a heavy dose of artistic surrealism. But where Eva leans into visceral depression, RahXephon feels more like a hazy, musical dream. It’s softer, yet just as dense with lore.
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Then there’s Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. It’s gritty. It’s political. It’s about child soldiers who have no choice but to fight. It lacks the "end of the world" mysticism of Anno’s work, but it captures the sheer weight of being a pawn in a war you don't understand.
Psychological Horror Masquerading as Magic
Sometimes the best shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion aren't about robots at all. Take Puella Magi Madoka Magica. On the surface, it’s a "magical girl" show with bright colors and cute outfits. Don’t let that fool you. By episode three, it flips.
Gen Urobuchi, the writer, does to the magical girl genre exactly what Anno did to mecha. He asks: What would it actually cost a teenager to save the world? The answer is horrifying. The visual style, especially the "Witch Labyrinths" designed by the art collective Gekidan Inu Curry, mirrors the abstract, terrifying imagery of the Angels in Evangelion. It’s a sensory overload of collage and stop-motion that feels genuinely alien.
Serial Experiments Lain is another heavy hitter. It’s tech-focused, dealing with the "Wired" (the internet before the internet was everything). It’s lonely. It’s quiet. There are long shots of power lines humming in the heat. It captures that specific 90s anxiety about where humanity ends and technology begins. If the "Human Instrumentality Project" was your favorite part of Eva, Lain is your next stop.
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Why Complexity Matters
Most anime is simple. Hero wants thing, hero gets thing. Evangelion is about a hero who wants love but is terrified of being touched.
Revolutionary Girl Utena hits this psychological complexity perfectly. It uses surrealism and repeating motifs to talk about gender, adolescence, and breaking out of the "world's shell." It’s highly symbolic. You’ll spend hours on forums looking up what the roses mean, just like you did with the Dead Sea Scrolls in Eva.
The Modern Successors
We’ve seen a shift lately. Modern creators grew up on Evangelion, and you can see the DNA in shows like 86-Eighty Six. This show deals with systemic racism and the dehumanization of soldiers. It’s bleak. The character Shinei Nouzen feels like a version of Shinji who chose to become an emotionless weapon instead of crying.
And we have to talk about Devilman Crybaby. Masaaki Yuasa’s reimagining of the classic manga is hyper-violent and hyper-sexual, but at its core, it’s a tragedy about humanity’s capacity for cruelty. It ends with a cosmic punch to the gut that rivals The End of Evangelion. It’s fast-paced, unlike the slow burn of 90s anime, but the emotional payoff is just as devastating.
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What to Watch If You Want the "Vibe"
- Texhnolyze: This is arguably the most depressing anime ever made. It’s nihilistic. If Evangelion is a cry for help, Texhnolyze is the silence that follows.
- Bokurano: Children find a giant robot. They think it’s a game. It’s not. The cost of every battle is a human life. It’s a brutal examination of what it means to have responsibility thrust upon you.
- Ergo Proxy: Post-apocalyptic, philosophical, and incredibly moody. It deals with "Autoivs" (androids) gaining souls. It’s very "big brain" and requires your full attention.
Acknowledging the Limitations
Let’s be real: nothing is exactly like Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was a lightning-in-a-bottle moment for Studio Gainax. Anno was going through a genuine clinical depression during production, and that raw, unfiltered pain is hard to replicate. Some shows try too hard to be "deep" and end up feeling pretentious.
Evangelion worked because it was personal.
When looking for your next watch, don't look for the crosses or the giant robots. Look for the creator's voice. Look for the shows that feel like the person making them had something they were desperate to say.
Actionable Next Steps
If you're feeling overwhelmed by the list, start with Madoka Magica if you want the shock factor, or Serial Experiments Lain if you want to stay in that 90s psychological headspace. If you specifically need the mecha fix but want it grown-up, go with 86-Eighty Six.
For those who want to understand the "why" behind these shows, check out the essays on EvaGeeks or the documentary The Curse of Evangelion. Understanding the production history of Gainax adds a whole new layer to the viewing experience. Most of these series are currently available on platforms like Crunchyroll or Netflix, though some older titles like Serial Experiments Lain might require some digging through specialized boutiques like Funimation's legacy catalog or physical media.