Visions of posthumanity: a posthumanist narrative study on *Rebuild of Evangelion*

The paper situates Hideaki Anno’s Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy within a post-apocalyptic near-future narrative where 14-year-old pilot Shinji Ikari joins Nerv to fight “Angels” and becomes entangled in Seele and Gendo Ikari’s Human Instrumentality Project. The study argues that the films expose transhumanism’s pursuit of disembodied immortality as destructive and dehumanizing, while advancing critical posthumanist values as a viable path forward. It proposes that EVAs embody transhumanist ideals, whereas Shinji and fellow pilots personify posthuman subjectivity grounded in embodiment, relationality, and egalitarian ethics. The purpose is to show how the Rebuild series critiques anthropocentrism and binary logic and offers posthumanist responses to contemporary crises such as ecological devastation and social alienation.

Prior scholarship on Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE) and its 1997 sequels spans psychoanalytic readings and analyses of binaries (child–parent, gender/sex, human–machine) and addresses transcendental/transhumanist themes. More recent work employs de-anthropocentric perspectives (post-theology, object-oriented/ecological approaches, AI/body/gender in trans-/posthumanism), often treating the franchise holistically. A gap remains in focused study of the Rebuild tetralogy as an independent corpus. Building on this literature, the paper turns to a critical posthumanist interpretation of Rebuild to examine its anti-binary, egalitarian core and responses to transhumanist anthropocentrism.

This is a theoretical narrative analysis of the Rebuild of Evangelion films conducted through the lens of critical posthumanism. The study contrasts transhumanism and critical posthumanism rooted in their differing relationships to Enlightenment humanism. It performs close readings of characters (EVAs, Shinji, Rei, Asuka, Mari, Kaworu, Gendo, Kaji), motifs and symbols (AT Field, Instrumentality, Lilith/Adam, environmental color palettes, architectural metaphors), and key scenes (e.g., synchronization, “going berserk,” reconciliation with Gendo, live-action coda). The analytical framework draws on Rosi Braidotti’s concepts of posthuman subjectivity and zoe/geo/techno assemblages, as well as Hayles, Wolfe, Barad, and others, to assess embodiment, relationality, and egalitarian ethics versus disembodiment, anthropocentrism, and commodification. No empirical or quantitative methods are used; the work synthesizes philosophical discourse with textual/visual analysis of the films.

• EVAs as transhumanist cyborgs: Evangelions, artificial humanoids powered by GNR-like technologies, mind-uploading/OS integration (e.g., Yui Ikari in EVA-01), and external power constraints, embody transhumanist ambitions of enhancement and immortality. Their limited autonomy and frequent berserk brutality signal the dangers of techno-solutionism and machine dominance; though built to protect, they serve Instrumentality’s annihilatory agenda.
• Pilots as posthuman subjects: Shinji, Rei (clone lineage), Asuka (clone-selected, cyborg-hybrid), and Mari (biotech rejuvenation implication) personify posthuman subjectivity’s zoe/geo/techno assemblage—embedded in environments (Tokyo-3, Third Village), relational with human/nonhuman others, and intertwined with technology while retaining embodied agency.
• Disembodiment critique: Seele/Gendo’s Human Instrumentality Project pursues a non-material collective immortality, erasing individuality and autonomy, reflecting hierarchical, anthropocentric, and authoritarian logics. Gendo’s Nebuchadnezzar’s Key alters body–spirit relations, exemplifying dehumanizing disembodiment.
• Symbolic binaries and alienation: Instrumentality enacts Cartesian mind–body splits and hegemonic binaries (self/other via AT Field). Visual metaphors—red oceans/earth, inverted pyramid HQ, primordial soup—depict ecological devastation and social alienation under transhumanist-capitalist logic.
• Relational repair: Shinji’s reconciliation with Gendo (penetrating AT Field with a Walkman gesture) models posthumanist intra-activity and reconstituted relationality. Shinji’s plan eliminates all EVAs, enabling renewed worldly entanglements; he dispatches Rei, Asuka, and Kaworu to the new world.
• Anti-commodification and egalitarian ethics: The films link transhumanism with advanced capitalism’s commodification (e.g., pilots’ “curse of EVA,” cloning, disposable tools, autonomous EVAs). Posthumanist ethics emerges via Kaji’s biodiversity care (seed bank, ocean restoration) and Kensuke’s stewardship of the Third Village, embodying zoe-centered, actor-network-informed egalitarianism.
• Embodiment affirmed: The finale’s shift from animation to live-action (Ube-Shinkawa Station) underscores a return to a material, mortal world where technology coexists with humanity without domination; the world’s restoration (blue seas, sunrise) visualizes the defeat of anthropocentric transhumanism.

The analysis addresses the research question by showing that Rebuild of Evangelion systematically critiques transhumanism’s disembodied, hierarchical, and binary tendencies and instead articulates a critical posthumanist alternative centered on embodiment, relationality, and egalitarian care. By contrasting EVAs (transhumanist machinery) with pilots (posthuman subjects), and by decoding symbols such as the AT Field, Lilith/Adam, and environmental color palettes, the films expose the socio-ecological harms of anthropocentric techno-utopianism. The narrative demonstrates how posthumanist intra-actions and transversal subjectivities (e.g., Shinji–Gendo reconciliation, community in the Third Village) can heal estrangement and rebuild socio-environmental ties. This contributes to broader debates on the Anthropocene, AI/biotech ethics, and the politics of enhancement by proposing a monistic materialism and non-hierarchical ethics attentive to human and nonhuman flourishing.

The paper concludes that Hideaki Anno’s Rebuild of Evangelion reframes the franchise through a critical posthumanist lens: it rejects disembodied immortality and hegemonic binaries of transhumanism while affirming embodiment, embeddedness/relationality, and transversality. Through characters, symbols, and visual worldbuilding, the tetralogy advances a zoe-centered egalitarian ethic that resists capitalist commodification and anthropocentrism. The ending’s elimination of EVAs and restoration of a livable world signal an affirmative, materialist posthumanism that fosters collaborative interdependence among human, nonhuman, and technological agents.