This began as a conversation I had with the fan-fiction writer E.Liddell, whom had introduced me to Shoujo Kakumei Utena and for whom I am very grateful that she did. My friend Kelly, who was patiently waiting for me to finish my Dark Kingdom Project, had introduced me to Shinseiki Evangelion and within the span of a few days, I had seen the ending of Utena and the film End of Evangelion.
Evangelion and Utena were two of the most intriguing pieces of animation I had seen in a long time, but as anyone who has seen these series can attest, often more questions are raised in the conclusion than are answered. During this conversation, I crossed characters from Utena into Evangelion situations and vice-versa in an attempt to be funny. E.Liddell laughingly noted (probably much to her dismay, now) that I matched the two nicely.
That night, thinking about it, I realized that an amalgam of the two was actually conceivable, and despite all the advice given to me otherwise, probable. Episodes III and VII were already in my mind by the time I started work on Episode I the next morning, and thus the next 28 or so weeks were spent writing out the rest of it.
In the strictest sense, Shin Kakumei Evangelion is an amalgam. Most crossover stories fail because the innate qualities of each setting remain separate. Crossovers also tend to try telling completely new stories featuring two casts, while retaining most of the framework of the originals. An amalgam is complete blending of two or more pieces into a single whole, and it is my sincerest hope that I've managed to work the two into something new that while faithful to the originals, is also different enough that fans of either series will still be entertained.
Utena, taking place for the most part in the fairly isolated Ohtori Academy, was transplanted into Tokyo-3 relatively easily and takes the place of the school in Evangelion. The only thing altered significantly are the dates of birth for the Utena cast, which are moved into the post Second Impact world of 2015. Everything else interweaves itself with the influence the respective setting would have on the other.
If you haven't seen Evangelion or Utena, don't worry, the story is written as a complete series in and of itself. You don't need to be completely familiar with both stories to understand what is happening here. Some events will unfold exactly the way they did originally. Others similarly, and still others are completely new.
Special thanks goes out to my first five beta-readers: Kelly, Jack, David, Stephenie, and Princess-Vespa. Most of the images here come courtesy of Empty Movement, Guide to Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Absolute Evangelion Image Gallery. Links to their sites are in the Links section. The SKE NERV logo and Juri/Asuka image were created by Jack. Thanks to you all.
Ashnod