1.
Ritual (2000)
Hideaki Anno made his debut as an animator in the 1981 anime short film ‘Daicon III’ directed by Hiroyuki Yamaga. In 1982, he came out with the anime television series ‘Super Dimension Fortress Macross’ directed by Noboru Ishiguro. The show aired its final episode in 1983. He went on to make his directorial debut in the 1983 Japanese superhero kaiju parody fan film ‘Daicon Film's Return of Ultraman.’ In 1988, he directed the Japanese OVA anime series ‘Gunbuster’ created by Toshio Okada. The series aired a total of 6 episodes before going off-air in 1989. He returned to the director’s chair in 1990 for the Japanese anime television series ‘Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water.’ He was also the co-creator of the series along with Hayao Miyazaki. The series received praise from critics and audiences alike and aired its final episode in 1991. In 1995, he directed the Japanese mecha anime television series ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion.’ The series received massive acclaim upon release and went off-air in 1996.
In 1997, Anno came together with Masayuki and Kazuya Tsurumaki to direct the animated science fiction psychological drama film ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth.’ The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed over ¥1.87 billion at the box office. He continued to direct films and television series such as ‘Love & Pop’ (1998), ‘Kare Kano’ (1998-1999), ‘Shiki-Jitsu’ (2000), ‘Cutie Honey’ (2004), ‘Re: Cutie Honey’ (2004), ‘Gunbuster vs. Diebuster’ (2006), ‘Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone’ (2007), ‘Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance’ (2009), and ‘Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo’ (2012). In 2016, he co-directed the Japanese kaiju film ‘Shin Godzilla’ along with Shinji Higuchi. While the film saw critical acclaim in Japan, it received a mixed response in the West. Shin Godzilla also performed well at the box office and grossed over $78 million on a $15 million budget. He last directed the 2021 Japanese epic animated science fiction film ‘Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time.’ The film earned praise from critics and grossed over ¥10.28 billion at the box office.
