Almost 26 years after it first aired, Neon Genesis Evangelion's creator Hideaki Anno may have finally ended the story on his own terms, but he hasn't ruled out a potential return to the series in the future. Originally airing in 1995, Evangelion ran for only season at a time when the Japanese animation industry was struggling significantly. The show developed a huge following however, with reportedly 10% of TVs in Japan tuning in to watch the show's final episode. Blending staples of the mecha-genre of anime with Judeo-Christian symbolism and mythology, Evangelion followed Shinji, Rei, and Asuka, a trio of psychically gifted teenagers who used giant cyborgs (EVAs) to battle gargantuan monsters known as Angels.

Greatly influential on both future anime series and popular culture in general, and still discussed to this day, the ending of Evangelion failed to offer a satisfying conclusion to Shinji's story, which swerved heavily off-course into the metaphysical. In part, this was due to Anno not knowing how he wanted to end the series. Two films were released in 1996 and 1997 Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion which retold the final episodes in a more traditional manner. Since 2007 however, Anno has four more anime films, known as the Rebuild of Evangelion series, have been released which drastically reimagine the series without the financial and technological limits originally faced.

Related: Evangelion 3.33's Time Jump Radically Changed The Story

The final film, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, released earlier this year and is set to arrive on Amazon Prime later on August 13th. Despite Anno seemingly ending the series on his own terms, the creator told The New York Times that he is open to a potential return to the series if the time was right. Anno said:

“I don’t feel a need to see Shinji and the other characters any time soon. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see them ever again: There might come a time when I meet them again.”

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Stepping away from the series after so long seems bittersweet for Anno, which is more than understandable having spent over 25 years working on the project. Likewise, this bittersweet feeling likely translates to fans, with many undoubtedly happy to see Anno finally bring Evangelion to an end. The film received positive reviews from critics and became the highest grossing film of the series, although some fans still found the ending dissatisfying with it raising more questions than it answered. However that shouldn't be too much of a concern as it's important for Anno to have finally ended the series how he saw fit. For those fans who are hoping for more though, the fact that the creator isn't ruling out a potential return to the series will likely be reassuring.

That said, it's probably healthiest for Anno to simply step away from Evangelion at this point. The fact that he doesn't immediately feel compelled to things over or make any changes is a positive sign, and Anno can hopefully be content knowing that he crafted one of the most beloved and influential anime series of all time. Realistically, he should only return if he feels that there are more stories to tell, but Thrice Upon a Time's ending seemed fairly definitive. Fans will just have to wait and see what comes next, but at least have the final film's arrival on Amazon Prime on August 13th to look forward to.

More: Evangelion: 5 Anime The Series Influenced (5 It Was Influenced By)

Source: The New York Times