is a Japanese
media franchise created and owned by
Gainax. Most of the franchise features an
apocalyptic mecha action story, which revolves around the efforts by the
paramilitary organization NERV to fight hostile beings called
Angels, using giant humanoids called
Evangelions that are piloted by select teenagers. Other works deviate from this theme to varying degrees, focusing more on romantic interactions between the characters, side stories which did not appear in the original works, and/or reimaginings of the conflicts from the original works.