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All 26 episodes of the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series are getting a free marathon broadcast on ABEMA. It runs across two consecutive days: October 4, the anniversary of the original premiere, starting at noon, then October 5 starting at 11 a.m.
October 4, 1995. That was the day episode 1 went out on TV Tokyo. Running the whole series from the top on that exact date, 31 years later. As programming stunts go, you cannot pick a cleaner date than that.
And it’s free. You don’t need a subscription to anything to follow all 26 episodes. For the “I know the name but I’ve never actually watched it” crowd, an on-ramp this easy does not come along often.
I’m one of the people who lived through the original broadcast in real time, and I’ll tell you this much: that series lands completely differently when you take it in one go. Let’s work through it in order.
When Is the Free Neon Genesis Evangelion Marathon on ABEMA?
It starts at noon on October 4, 2026 and runs again from 11 a.m. on October 5, two days back to back. All 26 episodes of the TV series are included.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Series | Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV series, all 26 episodes) |
| Platform | ABEMA |
| Day 1 | October 4, 2026, from noon |
| Day 2 | October 5, 2026, from 11 a.m. |
| Price | Free |
The October 4 date is the whole point. The TV series premiered on October 4, 1995, and this schedule is built around that anniversary. Thirty-one years later, on the same calendar day, that same episode 1 airs again.
How Different Is It to Watch All 26 Episodes Back to Back?
The value of a marathon broadcast is that the architecture of a show becomes easy to see. That goes double for Neon Genesis Evangelion.
The first stretch takes the shape of a relatively straightforward mecha anime built around fights with the Angels. But from the midpoint the center of gravity shifts to what’s happening inside the characters, and by the final episodes the visual grammar itself has changed. Watching weekly back then, you got hit with that shift and then left alone with it for seven days. Watch it consecutively and you start to see that the change was design, not collapse.
I’ll flag the downside too. Running 26 episodes across two days means roughly 13 a day. That series is punishing to absorb in one continuous dose. The last few episodes in particular get harder to sit with when you’re watching nonstop. Don’t force yourself to chase every last one; breaking it up is better for the show and better for you.
…I told my skate crew “hey, they’re doing an Eva marathon,” and the twentysomethings in the group shot back with “you can just stream it, though?” That’s the era we live in. Even so, having it come at you in order from the top is a different proposition than picking episodes off a menu.
Where Should a First-Timer Start With Evangelion in Year 31?
A marathon like this is the easiest possible door in for anyone who has never seen it. All 26 episodes of the TV series, in order, from the top, for nothing.
Evangelion has a lot of spin-off material, plus the four Rebuild of Evangelion films. That’s why so many people stall out on “where am I supposed to start?” The honest answer: start with the TV series. The Rebuild films are partly built on the assumption that you’ve already seen it, and flipping the order changes what you take away.
And if you want to see how far this show’s way of telling a story reached into the anime that came after it, you have to go through the original. A lot of those “wait, I’ve seen this directing trick before” moments in modern anime trace right back here.
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Neon Genesis Evangelion Free ABEMA Marathon: Everything You Need to Know
Let’s run it back. All 26 episodes of the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series are getting a free marathon broadcast on ABEMA. It runs two days straight, from noon on October 4, 2026, the anniversary of the original premiere, and from 11 a.m. on October 5.
October 4, 1995 was the TV series’ premiere date, and the schedule is built around it. It costs nothing, and all 26 episodes are covered (as of October 2026).
All 26 episodes, free, on the anniversary of the premiere. The concept is almost too tidy for its own good. In an era when you can stream anything whenever you feel like it, the value of a marathon broadcast is the experience itself: no choosing, just taking it from the top. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, this is the best entry point available. For anyone who already has, it’s a chance to re-examine the structure. That said, 26 episodes in two days is an endurance event. Don’t go in assuming you’ll clear the whole thing.
Noon on October 4. On the same calendar day as 31 years ago, episode 1 airs.
Snicker Kitamura
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