In the year 2015, the world is in shambles after the Second Impact. This was an apocalyptic event that eliminated around 50% of the worlds population 15 years prior. Now, large alien war machines, known only as "angels" have appeared. The only hope of stopping them is humanity's own war machines called Evangelions. The only downside? Only children born 14 years ago, or before the second impact, can pilot them. The story follows three of these children, Ikari Shinji, Ayanami Rei, and Souryuu Asuka Langley as they not only fight off the angels, but struggle with the mental anguish of having to carry the fate of humanity on their fourteen-year-old shoulders.