

However, the tension of the staff as we all became more desperate and frenzied certainly showed up in the film. The schedule was an utter disaster and the number of cels plummeted, so there were some places where unfortunately the quality suffered. This change in emphasis was partly due to the intended development of the story, but also partly because by this point, production was running increasingly behind schedule episode director Kazuya Tsurumaki identifies this as the impetus for Evangelion's turn into internal conflict:

The 16th episode marked a distinct shift to a more introspective, less action-focused tone that would come to characterize the second half of Evangelion. Initially ignored (although received positively by those Gainax fans invited to early screenings), viewership grew slowly and largely by word of mouth.

After several episodes were produced, the first episode aired on October 4, 1995, long after originally planned.
