What is Neon Genesis Evangelion's IQ Score?

Neon Genesis Evangelion has an IQ Score of 196/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient framework, placing it in the Masterclass tier. The score breaks down to 50/50 Cognitive Stimulation, 50/50 Educational Value, and 46/50 Craft & Quality.

Is Neon Genesis Evangelion educational?

Neon Genesis Evangelion is strong on educational value, 50/50 on TVI's rubric, which covers academic content, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, life skills, and knowledge transfer.

How does TV Intelligentsia calculate IQ Score?

TV Intelligentsia's IQ Score is calculated as round((Cognitive Stimulation × 0.4 + Educational Value × 0.35 + Craft & Quality × 0.25) × 4), scoring titles from 0 to 200 across five tiers: Masterclass (≥160), Stimulating (≥130), Competent (≥100), Passive (≥70), and Numbing (<70). The framework is published at tvintelligentsia.com/methodology/.

Neon Genesis Evangelion , IQ Score 196/200

Neon Genesis Evangelion has an IQ Score of 196/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Masterclass tier.

By Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH·Updated 2026-06-19·Methodology

animemechapsychological

196/ 200

Masterclass TVI Essential

Measurably increases domain knowledge or cognitive capacity

Neon Genesis Evangelion poster, IQ Score 196/200, Masterclass tier on TV Intelligentsia

Score Breakdown

Cognitive Stimulation/50

Educational Value/50

Craft & Quality/50

Cinematic Score/50

IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4) · How we score →

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Why you should trust this score

Scored under Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH

Physician and founding editor. Maintains the adult catalog against the published rubric and reviews the rubric application.

Methodology

Published rubric, v1.2

Formula

round(C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4

Database scale

2,338 titles, version-controlled

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TVI Essential · Consensus

Neon Genesis Evangelion scores 196/200 on the TVI IQ Score, Masterclass tier. Genre-defining anime that takes existential themes, psychology, and human relationships, earning Cultural Impact, Intellectual Substance, and Lasting Significance. TVI Essential is an editorial designation; IQ Score is a content rating, not an intelligence measurement.

The TVI Take

Hideaki Anno's 1995 series is the foundational text of post-trauma anime, mecha pilots used as a frame for Anno's depression and Christian-mystical iconography pulled into the show's interior architecture. Shinji's twenty-six episodes plus the End of Evangelion film constitute one extended argument about whether the self is worth preserving and what it costs to choose other people.

The instrumentality sequence and the influence on every serious anime that followed are the actual measurement of cultural weight.

Where to Watch

Stream