“Neon Genesis Evangelion,” a classic anime now on Netflix, tells the story of our lives

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a classic 1995 Japanese animated series that takes place in a future that is already our past, the year 2015. Described in the New Yorker as “a kind of Holy Grail for anime fans” because it’s been difficult to find and watch legally until now, it was released by Netflix in English on June 21. The 26-part series by Hideako Anni is not quite science fiction anymore, and the story it tells isn’t as fantastical now as it was in 1995.