The new Evangelion anime has one massive hurdle to overcome

Some things can never be replaced

The biggest news in the world of anime is currently the announcement of a new Neon Genesis Evangelion series, with Nier franchise creator Yoko Taro taking the writing reins from Hideaki Anno. Fans are understandably excited, confused, and a little worried about this new entry in the legendary saga. How will the new series fit into the multiple timelines of the franchise? Will it connect to the Rebuild movies or to the original? Or will it be a brand-new retelling of Anno's brainchild? None of this truly matters. The biggest obstacle for the new Evangelion anime is that it will never get an opening song that's as good and iconic as the original.

Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis (or A Cruel Angel's Thesis), is one of the most famous songs in anime history. It transcended the boundaries of the medium to become an iconic J-pop anthem whose popularity only kept growing over the 30 years since its debut. The song was composed by Hidetoshi Sato, with lyrics written by Neko Oikawa, and sung by Yoko Takahashi. The powerful vocals, the chorus, and the rousing drum beat come together to make A Cruel Angel's Thesis an injection of vital energy. The funny thing is that the artists behind this hit had almost no idea what Evangelion was about when they made it.

The show was still under production when Oikawa sat down to write this song, and she only had a quick look at the proposal and the first two episodes in fast-forward. For the title, she took inspiration from a little-known gem of a manga, A Cruel God Reigns by Moto Hagio, the winner of the inaugural Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize award. This manga tells a story of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and addiction, so even if Oikawa couldn't get a good look at Evangelion before writing the song, her inspiration wasn't too far away — except for the giant robots and the religious mysticism. Takahashi also had no knowledge of the series when she recorded the song, but based on the result, it didn't really matter.

Generations of otaku and anime fans grew up with this song. Despite its tone and lyrics being very removed from the contents of the show, A Cruel Angel's Thesis helped Neon Genesis Evangelionbecome a beachhead for anime on the shores of mainstream popular culture. And now, Keiichi Okabe, the composer of the Nier franchise, will have the almost impossible task of living up to the expectations set by this song.

Let's be clear: Nier has great music. The teaser trailer for the new Evangelion show is accompanied by that same brand of eerie, somber composition that enriches not just the Nier games, but also the excellent Nier: Automata Ver1.1a anime. However, almost every single person watching this new show will compare the opening to A Cruel Angel's Thesis​​​​​, a three-times platinum song, which also ranked first in the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers awards, certifying it as one of the highest-earning songs in Japanese music history. Good luck beating that.

Evangelion's many established endings are making some fans skeptical about this new entry in the franchise, but that's not what I'm worried about. Hideaki Anno said he envisions Evangelion as something that can be handed down to other creatives who will be able to express their visions freely, so fans should approach this new product with an open mind. The truly titanic, Eva-sized task will be finding a song that will make us forget about A Cruel Angel's Thesis even for a moment.