In a post-apocalyptic world, the last remaining human settlement in Japan is the heavily fortified city of Tokyo-3. Fourteen-year-old Shinji Ikari is brought to the headquarters of NERV, an underground organization lead by his estranged father, Gendou. He requests that Shinji become a pilot of an "Evangelion," a colossal android built to fight against monstrous and destructive alien creatures known as "Angels" that wreak havoc on the planet and threaten the survival of the remaining human race.

Although initially reluctant, Shinji is swayed by the idea of reconciling with his father, and agrees to aid in mankind's perilous endeavor against its alien threat, as the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01. Thrust into the midst of a dangerous battlefield, Shinji must find the necessary courage and resolve to face against the Angels' incursions before it is too late.

1.01: An additional 266 enhancements from 1.0. 1.11: 2 minutes longer than 1.0 and 1.01 and created by processing the master digital data instead of the 35mm film.

In 2007, the film was awarded the DCAJ Chairperson Award during the 22nd Digital Contents Grand Prix. In 2008, the film won the Tokyo International Anime Fair award for anime of the year (with Hideaki Anno receiving the best director award for it), the Toukaimura Genpachi Award at the 7th Annual Japanese Otaku Awards and the Theatrical Film Award at the 13th Animation Kobe Awards.