Monster World (franchise) (Johnsonverse)

Monster World
Monster World
Genre	Science fiction; Action; Adventure; Hybrid; Kaiju
Created by	Hideaki Anno
Based on	Godzilla; by Toho Co., Ltd.; Cthulhu Mythos; by H. P. Lovecraft; Neon Genesis Evangelion; by Hideaki Anno
Voices of	Spike Spencer; Tiffany Grant; Amanda Winn-Lee (1998-2004, 2021-); Michelle Ruff (2005-2021)
Composer	Cal Johnson, Jr.; Johnny Douglas
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	14
No. of episodes	TBA
Production
Executive producer	Sheldon Johnson, Jr. (1998-2004); Timothy Hill (1998-); Tim Johnson (2015-)
Producer	Hideaki Anno
Running time	22-44 minutes
Production company	Johnson Studios; Toho; Toei Animation; Timothy Hill Productions
Distributor	Johnson Television
Release
Original network	WBC
Picture format	NTSC
Audio format	Stereo (1998-2004); 5.1 surround (2015-)
Original release	May 25, 1998 - June 27, 2004 (original run); September 13, 2015 - present (revival)
Chronology
Preceded by	Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996)
External links
	[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Monster World is an American multimedia franchise produced by WBC. It is a crossover of Godzilla (predating the Johnson Aligned Universe by fourteen years), the works of H. P. Lovecraft (specifically the Cthulhu Mythos deities), and even Neon Genesis Evangelion, serving as a sequel for both NGE and the Godzilla Heisei series.

The television series premiered in 1998 and ended in 2004 after a seven-season run, with a movie in 2006, and another following in 2015 followed by a revival of the television series.

The franchise has been universally acclaimed, and has won many awards since its creation.

Plot[]

God (voiced by and modeled after Patrick Stewart) intervenes just before Third Impact, redeems all of the Angels, casts SEELE into Hell, and restores the Earth to before the Angels appeared. Quite mysteriously, though, the Evas are still extent, and the Geofront is all that remains of Tokyo-3.

God reveals that all of the Angels had gone rogue, believing humanity had learned nothing in the 2,000 years since the Crucifixion of Christ, and thus were mistakes that needed to be eliminated. God and Satan, viewing this as a gross overreaction to human nature, spent the last 15 years hunting them down.

Three months later, things are looking up for humanity. The economy is booming, the term "third-world country" becomes extinct, peace reigns among the nations, and three moonbases are under construction (one by NASA, another by Roscosmos, and the third by ESA).

NERV still exists as the weapons research division and peacekeeping army of the United Nations. Their researchers have developed laser-based weaponry once thought only possible in science-fiction, and have also improved the Eva designs, installing ankle-mounted jets allowing flight, chest-mounted missile tubes allowing N2 Missiles to be launched, and Anti-Berserk Restraining Bolts, preventing Units-01 and 02 from going berserk. The development of next-gen Evas has also started, with designs for Units-04 and 05 on the table.

What's more, all NERV staff have undergone drastic therapy. Gendo is now a better father who would never force Shinji to pilot Unit-01 against his will. Not that this would be a problem, since Shinji is now an upfront, brave, more confrontational person who willingly pilots his Eva into battle. Rei has stopped being drugged to suppress her emotions, and it has been revealed there never were any clones in the first place. The cloning explanation was a cover-up for NERV's advanced medical technologies. As a result of the druggings ceasing, she is slowly but surely showing more and more emotion, revealing some nasty habits and eventually, an eccentric-yet-loyal trickster. Asuka is now a kind, sensitive, selfless girl and also Shinji's best friend and love interest. Misato is no longer a drunkard, and Ritsuko is something of a mad scientist.

Life is great...until a new threat shows up. A giant monster named Cthulhu appears in Tokyo while Shinji and Asuka are heading from school to catch their train to NERV HQ. The Evas fight a losing battle until a band of kaiju led by the legendary Godzilla appears and send Cthulhu packing, causing him great physical injury, and ushering in the Third Kaiju Age. Cthulhu raises a hell army to destroy the Earth and accomplish what the Angels couldn't.

Later, a monster named Gigan appears. Initially thought to be one of Cthulhu's minions, detective work by Shinji reveals the difference in genetic make-up between one of Cthulhu's minions and Gigan, revealing Gigan to be an alien monster. This is followed closely by the invasion of an alien race known as the Invadors.

Fighting a two-front war won't be easy. With aliens above and Cthulhu below, not to mention an army of kaiju collectively known as the Mutant Horde and led by a resurrected SpaceGodzilla, NERV has its work cut out. But Godzilla (the son of the Heisei Godzilla) is humanity's champion, and with his allies, the Earth Defenders, both Cthulhu and the Invadors won't have it so easy.

NERV isn't alone. The UN's anti-kaiju division, the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasure Center (UNGCC), is reactivated and renamed the Earth Defense Force (EDF), with MOGUERA, MechaGodzilla 2, and Mecha-King Ghidorah rebuilt, as well as a new anti-kaiju robot, Jet Jaguar, is built based on the Jet Alone design. Later, they build a new mech named Kiryu (codename MechaGodzilla 3).

Characters[]

See List of characters in Monster World (Johnsonverse).

Vehicles[]

Seasons[]


No.	First aired	Last aired	Episodes
1	1998
2	1999
3	2000
4	2001
5	2002
6	2003
7	2004
8	2015
9	2016
10	2017
11	2018
12	2019
13	2020
14	2021

Production[]

The original concept that evolved into the final product was first conceived in 1996, shortly after production on Neon Genesis Evangelion wrapped up. Hideaki Anno, questioning his own sanity and mental state when writing the ending, began writing End of Evangelion as the full version of the final two episodes, which were infamously made using stock footage, limited animation, and voice-overs because the budget had been blown on the Eva fights. He did not, however, intend for EoE to be the canon ending. Instead, Anno wrote up a sequel series with the working title Evangelion R. The series was intended to take place after Third Impact, with the entire cast being resurrected and fighting an alien invasion. This series was to be much more light-hearted than the first, involving quite a bit of comedy, including topics such as school, relationships, and especially politics. During brainstorming sessions, there is an urban legend that there were loud arguments over whether Shinji should end up with Rei or Asuka, as well as how much torture Gendo should be subjected to, and whether or not Asuka should continue being a tsundere. Ultimately, these would be the only topics discussed during most of these sessions.

Eventually, though, after the release of EoE, Gainax stated they wanted no more to do with Evangelion, and moved on to FLCL, which was used as an anti-depressant due to the madcap nature of the latter. Anno was then told they would not go through with Evangelion R. Disappointed but undeterred, Anno took his business elsewhere.

Immediately, Anno began rethinking the series. In October 1996, Anno was approached by Toho to write a new tokusatsu series tentatively titled Monster Nation. Originally intended to contain all-original monsters, Godzilla was eventually added when it became clear the Roland Emmerich-directed remake by Tristar was taking too many liberties with the character for it to be considered Godzilla; just a year prior, Toho had killed Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, and even held a funeral. Anno saw the series as a chance to rebound after Gainax rejected Evangelion R.

Anno created an outline combining Evangelion R and Monster Nation, calling it Evangelion x Godzilla, but it was only for fun. However, when a Toho executive saw the premise, he was extremely impressed and presented it to director Takao Okawara.

Several days later, Toho announced it would be retooling Monster Nation into a new series called Monster World, a crossover between Neon Genesis Evangelion and Godzilla. However, the creative team was torn as to which method to use: whether to have use live-actors and suitmation, or full animation.

In December 1996, Toho approached two other studios to assist: Toei Animation and Johnson Studios. Toho had decided to use a hybrid approach, with animation for the human cast and indoor scenes, and suitmation and miniature sets for the monsters, a method first used by Tsuburaya Productions for Dinosaur Great War Izenborg in 1977 and perfected by Johnson's own Detective Jenny (from which Monster World culled quite a bit of stock footage from in its first season) in 1994. The original set-up was as so:

Toho would provide suits and effects consulting
Toei Animation would do the human characters and interior scenes
Johnson Studios would do all the monster scenes
Hideaki Anno would do episode outlines

Three suits (MogeGoji, SoshingekiAngira, and HeiseiGhido) were sent to Johnson Studios in October 1996 for the Godzilla sequence in the 1997 blockbuster adaptation of EarthBound, and were retained after filming for Monster World.

Upon the success of EarthBound, the set-up was changed. Anno's role was reduced to consultant when Johnson brought in its own writers; by this point, Monster World was now considered a Johnson production, as Takao Okawara was replaced as director by Timothy Hill, and the animators Toei had assigned to the series moved to California full-time to consolidate all production at Johnson Studios in San Jose, CA (this was also done to streamline production of the Toei-animated episodes of Detective Jenny, as episodes could now be produced much quicker; TMS also sent its animation team for Detective Jenny to California in 1999, again to streamline production for their episodes). The premise of Monster World was expanded in June 1997, replacing the aliens as the main antagonist. Instead, Cthulhu was made the new main antagonist, voiced by British voice actor Tony Jay.

Filming for the series began in earnest in August 1997. Large, elaborate sets of multiple cities, including Tokyo, Los Angeles, Seattle, Beijing, Cape Town, Osaka, and Fukuoka were built, many of which were so large, the soundstages couldn't fit them, and they had to be taken to decommissioned hangars at Beale Air Force Base near Marysville, California. The Tokyo set was the largest, and could not fit into a hangar; instead, it was put in an outdoor environment near Fresno, California, which allowed for natural lighting and weather.

Toho began sending over more suits in this timeframe, including the SpaceGodzilla, Destoroyah, MechaGodzilla, MOGUERA, Mothra, Battra, Biollante, and Mecha-King Ghidorah. Since HeiseiRado (the Heisei Rodan design) wasn't a suit, but rather, a puppet, Johnson created a larger, wearable version of HeiseiRado. Johnson also created new suits for the monsters also slated to appear, oftentimes replicas of older suits and puppets, such as King Caesar, Gigan, Megalon, Jet Jaguar, the original MechaGodzilla and Mogera, Kamacuras, Kumonga, Ebirah, King Kong, Gorosaurus, Kamoebas, Gezora, Ganimes, and Gabara. At least 25 suits each for Ebirah, Kumonga, Kamacurus, and Titanosaurus were built, as the character was to be portrayed as a species numbering in the thousands. Baragon and Varan both received brand-new designs that were eventually adopted by Toho. And finally, suits for the Evangelions themselves were built, as well; designing the Evangelion suits was a challenge, as the animation in Neon Genesis Evangelion portrayed them with arms higher up on the body than a normal human, as well as having long, slender arms. Many options were considered, from having the suits be on stilts to using camera angles to fudge the proportions, but ultimately, it was decided to drop the arms down and explain why in-series. The actor's head is in the neck, with the head above being an animatronic (all of the monster heads in the series are animatronics controlled via waldo manipulator developed by the Jim Henson Creature Shop).

Casting[]

For the voice cast, much of the original voice actors returned for the English version. Among the returnees were Spike Spencer as Shinji, Tiffany Grant as Asuka, Amanda Winn-Lee as Rei, Allison Keith as Misato, Kurt Stoll as Kensuke, Carol Amerson as Hikari, Kendra Benham as Maya, Sue Ulu as Ritsuko, Matt Greenfield as Makoto, and Jason C. Lee as Shigeru; when Touji was reintroduced in Season 9, Brett Weaver returned to reprise the role. Several actors were replaced, though; for example, voice-acting veteran Tom Kane replaced Tristan MacAvery as Gendo, Fuyutsuki was voiced by John Cleese of Monty Python, and Kaji by Michael McConnohie.

After a royalties dispute in 2005, Winn-Lee left the franchise, and Michelle Ruff was hired to replace her, also redubbing all prior episodes; old VHS tapes and recordings of the episodes when they originally aired, as well as Season 0 (Neon Genesis Evangelion) are now the only ways to hear Rei's original voice. Winn-Lee's departure was reportedly the prime factor in the decision to cast Brina Palencia as Rei in the Rebuild of Evangelion films. In 2021, Winn-Lee voiced Rei for the first time since 2005 in Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time, which was co-produced by Johnson due to the ending recreating the final moments of "The Last Stand"; Tim Johnson mended fences with her, and she returned to voicing Rei in Monster World for its fourteenth season, with Ruff staying on as her understudy. All prior episodes originally recorded by Ruff retained her voice, while episodes from Seasons 1-7 were officially re-released on Netflix with Winn-Lee's voice, as well as the original versions being put back into rerun rotation.

When the series was revived in 2015, several cast members were replaced. Amerson was replaced by Caitlin Glass, Benham by Bridgette Hoffman, Ulu by Colleen Clinkenbeard (who also voiced Ritsuko in the Rebuild of Evangelion movies), and Cleese by John Hurt. After Hurt's death in 2017, Cleese returned to the role, and Ulu also returned partway through Season 8 after revelations about Cyber-Ritsuko came to light in-series.

On December 30, 2020, it was reported that Kane had suffered a major stroke two months before, and doctors warned that he may never do voiceover work again, even after therapy; he was eventually forced to retire in September 2021. Minutes after receiving the news, Hill "drafted" Tristan MacAvery, Gendo's original voice actor from Neon Genesis Evangelion, to become the full-time voice for Gendo going forward.

Music[]

The series makes use of music made both by the Johnson Philharmonic Orchestra, and for the Godzilla films (composed mainly by Akira Ifukube, with other pieces by Michiru Oshima, Riichiro Manabe, Masaru Sato, Reijiro Koroku, Takayuki Hattori, Kow Otani, David Arnold, Keith Emerson, and Alexandre Desplat). There is also music from other, non-Godzilla sources (including the theme for Magnificent Seven, as well as music composed by John Williams, Johnny Douglas, Barry Grey, Shunsuke Kukuchi, Kenji Yamamoto, Shiro Sagisu, Alan Menkin, Jerry Goldsmith, and Elmer Bernstein).

Movies[]

Revenge of Cthulhu (2006)[]

The biggest complaint about the series finale was that Shinji and Asuka never got together, let alone kissed. This movie set out to fix this. The plot involves Cthulhu's enduring spirit possessing Shinji, using him to go on a rampage in Unit-01, and alienate NERV until they seek to kill him, not knowing he is possessed. Asuka is the only one not hunting Shinji, and actively opposes NERV. In the end, Cthulhu's spirit is excised by Asuka's declaration of love to Shinji. Shinji and Asuka then kiss and become an official couple, eliciting a thumbs-up from Rei when she cracks open Unit-01s hatch mid-kiss, while devestating Hikari, who developed a crush on Shinji after Toji disappeared from the public eye. But Cthulhu has a last-ditch plan: possess Destoroyah. Fortunately, Godzilla shows up and takes his revenge for what transpired in 1995, sending Cthulhu back to the depths of hell where his soul falls into Oblivion and is permanently destroyed, much to Satan's despair. The film was a critical and commercial success, with many critics saying the movie "ended the series on a great note", despite the cliffhanger featuring SpaceGodzilla, the Invador Controller, and Cyber-Ritsuko separately plotting, which was inserted during post-production to open the door for a continuation, which was confirmed in 2012. The film was also one of Tony Jay's final projects before his death.

Monster World (2015)[]

Released in June 2015, this movie served as the pilot for the revived series. Rather than being a reboot, the new movie continued the story and depict the Invadors returning with an even bigger invasion force. The movie had several characters recast (Sue Ulu, John Cleese, Kendra Benham, and Carol Amerson were replaced as Ritsuko, Fuyutsuki, Maya, and Hikari by Colleen Clinkenbeard, John Hurt, Bridget Hoffman, and Caitlin Glass, respectively, though Cleese later returned to his role after Hurt's death in early 2017). Spike Spencer, Tiffany Grant, Michelle Ruff, Tom Kane, Allison Keith, Michael McConnohie, Matt Greenfield, Jason C. Lee, and Kurt Stoll remained in their respective roles as Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Gendo, Misato, Kaji, Makoto, Shigeru, and Kensuke.

The teaser trailer depicts Alpha Squad fighting a horde of MechaGodzillas (something that never happened during the original series due to the fact there was only one MechaGodzilla suit available; the advent of the Johnson Aligned Universe changed this, resulting in the construction of a staggering 20 additional suits, and hundreds of plywood dummies destroyed and replaced on a regular basis). It is also confirmed that Ritsuko and her cyborg army will appear; it is rumored that it will be revealed that Ritsuko, even in her human form, was responsible for signalling and mind-controlling SpaceGodzilla, and forming, controlling, and stealthily leading the Mutant Horde.

The main trailer premiered during halftime of Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015, depicting scenes from the movie, such as a major assault on an island that turns out to be SpaceGodzilla's fortress, Shinji's new jetboots (and his subsequent rescue of Asuka from a Titanosaurus, and their thrilling flight through the island while on the run from other Mutants), the Invadors fusing King Ghidorah with a Ghidorah from a parallel universe, Godzilla being dropped into an oil refinery and blasted by the Invadors' kaiju forces all at once, and Alpha Squad being halo-dropped into New York City. Other shots shown included Gendo shedding a tear for as-of-yet unknown reasons, Misato pushing Kaji away, Cyber-Ritsuko smirking, Shinji and Asuka kissing passionately, Rei getting an eye gouge from Hikari and later hitting her head against a wall, and Fuyutsuki looking with apprehension at something. The trailer ended with Godzilla in full view roaring at the camera, followed the names of Spike Spencer, Tiffany Grant, and Michelle Ruff, the film's logo (unchanged from the TV series), Unit-01's roar, and Godzilla's Millenium roar, hinting at a major event in the film.

Shortly after the trailer premiered, fans with too much time on their hands, using editing software, managed to spot Kaworu Nagisa. Many thought it was simply a flashback, while other say that, as an Angel, he works in mysterious ways. Director Timothy Hill debunked the theory, stating that Kaworu was still dead and will remain as so, and that the so-called Kaworu-spotting was really Rei seen from a funny angle and in abnormal lighting. though he also hinted at bringing him back via a flashback in the eighth season. The fact that a casting call for the character was leaked and that Steven Blum had been reported in the studio has sparked rumors.

Initally, this movie was to be pushed back to November 2015 to accomodate the Johnson Aligned Universe film Nemesis after a 60th Anniversery Godzilla co-production with Toho for November 3, 2014 release was announced, a film that was released as Terror of Godzilla (a crossover with CLANNAD that spawned a trilogy). However, Nemesis was instead moved to March, and Monster World was moved back to its old release date, the coveted June release slot. Despite the change, Nemesis still takes place in its original spot on the Johnson Aligned Universe timeline in September 2014, so as to maintain the integrity of the universe and the major Konata and Kagami plot thread (argubly the most-anticipated part of the movie).

The movie was released on June 19, 2015 (the same day as another movie belonging to Johnson subsidiary Disney, Inside Out) to critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a rare 100%, and Metacritic, too, gave it a perfect score of 100 (indicating "universal acclaim"), and was given an overall score of four stars. The movie was also the highest-grossing film in June and July, and still commanded large crowds in mid-August. The film was a massive hit in the Japanese states, as well, receiving a huge amount of promotion, advertising, and previews. On opening day in the Japanese states, theatres reported have run out of refreshments (a similar situation occurred upon the Japanese release of EarthBound in 1997), and several even had to cancel screenings of other films so their screens could be used as overflow, angering those not there to see Monster World (these irate patrons were actually the vocal minority).

Things were no better in the United States. Gridlocks were reported in San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, New York, and Boston, all owing to massive theatre crowds, many of whom had camped out for several days in anticipation of the film.

Shin Godzilla (2016)[]

Shortly after the 2015 film, Johnson Studios announced that there would be a new Monster World film annually, along with a new Johnson Aligned Universe movie.

Via a clever misinformation campaign, Toho announced a new Godzilla film to be released in 2016, the first they had produced with Johnson's involvement since Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004. The film was described as a reboot, and to that end, filmed scenes with live-actors for the first trailer. On March 13, 2016, Johnson Studios announced that Godzilla Resurgence was actually a new Monster World film, and that Toho would release a new film of their own in 2018.

The plot involves the return of Godzilla I. A few of his cells survived the Oxygen Destroyer, and over a period of 63 years, slowly regenerated. After ships begin disappearing in the Pacific, the EDF launches an investigation into them, initially writing them off as Gezora attacks until Yui arrives at the site of the latest sinking and discovers the bodies and debris recovered are highly-radioactive, a property no single Gezora specimen has ever possessed. Soon, a misshapen, armless Godzilla-like creature emerges in Kawasaki, and attacks nuclear plants (many still suspended following the 2016 earthquake and tsunami), evolving different forms and completely destroying Kobe until it reaches the Fukushima-Daiichi plant, by which point it is revealed that the nearly 118-meter creature is actually a protective shell for the original 50-meter Godzilla I (Shodai), who bursts out after completing his regeneration and makes a beeline for the Tokyo Metroplex to finish what he started in 1954. After causing chaos in Shinogawa, Godzilla I makes landfall in Tokyo proper and destroys much of the city before Godzilla V, the three Kiryus, and all Eva units arrive to oppose him. Shodai manages to escape along with Kiru to form the Godzilla Collective.

This film was notable in that, for Godzilla I's final form, original Godzilla suit actor Haruo Nakijima reprised his role at the age of 87 (the first two forms were CGI, and the third form was operated via remote control; the final form was a reproduction of the ShodaiGoji suit). It was the first time Nakijima had portrayed Godzilla since 1972, and the final time he would do so before before his death on August 7, 2017. One of the sequences during the climax depicting Kiru fighting one of the Kiryus was stock footage lifted wholesale from Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, with all live-action human shots replaced by animated scenes with NERV and EDF personnel.

The film was directed by Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno, rather than Timothy Hill. It was the first Monster World production Anno had direct involvement in.

Shin Godzilla was the third highest-grossing film of 2016 behind Captain America: Civil War and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It received a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critical consensus of "Shin Godzilla brings Hideaki Anno to the fray, and with his masterful artistry, combined with Johnson Studios' high-quality practical effects, the film is an instant masterpiece that warrants comparison with the original 1954 film." The film was also praised for its cliffhanger, in sharp contrast to the more conclusive endings of the previous two Monster World films.

A separate, made-for-television version of the film was also made for the Johnson Aligned Universe, though closer to the original script before it was adapted into a Monster World production at Anno's request.

Other Media[]

In addition to the show and movies, the franchise made its way to several other mediums.

Comics[]

A comic book series was started in 2000. Published by Dark Horse Comics, the comics depict various battles and events not seen in the show. The comic was published until 2004, when it changed hands to IDW and was published until 2012 when the Johnson Aligned Universe was introduced. It was revived in 2015 to coincide with the revival of the series, now published by Marvel Comics (Johnson Industries having acquired Disney in 2013).

Video Games[]

The first Monster World video game, titled Net Battle, was published in 2000 for Playstation, N64, and PC. The game is a third-person open-world sandbox in which the player controls Shinji, Asuka, or Rei through the Internet itself when an international crime syndicate hacks it in a bid for world domination. Players have free reign to drive a wide-range of licensed vehicles, use crazy weapons, and kill the avatars of hackers and the viruses they created in creative and hilarious ways (Rei has argubly the best kill camera sequences). In some levels, the player takes control of a virtual Eva (in two levels, the player controls a real Eva), and plays as Godzilla in the final level, fighting a monstrous creation called Autosaurus Wrecks (later featured in SimCity 4: Rush Hour as a disaster). The game was given an enhanced port on the PlayStation 2 in 2001 (which included five extra missions, two of which were cut from the original release, three new vehicles, and the ability to play as Kensuke and Hikari; Mari, Toji, and Mana were added as DLC characters in 2018), and was re-released on Steam in 2016 with HD graphics, newly re-animated cutscenes (as well as redubbing all voice lines with the current actors, including Michelle Ruff as Rei), achievements, and Steam Workshop support. It has been said that many concepts in the game aided in the creation of modern Grand Theft Auto titles since GTA III.

The second game (SpaceGodzilla's Counter-Attack), released in 2007 for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, and OSX, is an over-the-shoulder third-person shooter, in which the player controls an Eva, Earth Defender, and EDF mecha (Mutants and Aliens can be unlocked for use after completing all three campaigns on any difficulty, while completing all campaigns on hard will unlock a bonus campaign based on the events of Neon Genesis Evangelion). The game takes place after Revenge of Cthulhu, and involves a war with Spacegodzilla's Mutant Horde.

The third game (The Lost Missions), released in 2012 for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U (as a launch title), PC (via Steam), and OSX, involves similar gameplay to the second game and provides a look at the battles never seen on TV or in the comics, including unproduced episodes, scrapped movie drafts, episode scripts that were re-written, and episodes scrapped partway through production (in the latter's case, recorded dialogue from these scrapped episodes is re-used).

The series was also heavily featured in the Atari/Pipeworks Godzilla games. In Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Unit-01 and Unit-02 are available by default, with Unit-00 as an unlockable monster. In Godzilla: Save the Earth, all three members of Alpha Squad are available from the start, and both members of Beta Squad are unlockable. In Godzilla Unleashed, all five Evas are unlocked from the start, and grouped under the NERV faction. In all three games, the Evas are part of unique storylines featuring full animation and voice-acting (with the voice cast of the series reprising their roles, except in Unleashed, where Amanda Winn-Lee was, of course, replaced by Michelle Ruff as Rei).

The series also figures heavily into Godzilla: The Game, in which the Evangelions are exclusive to the PS4 version. The Evas star in their own mode called "Civil War", in which NERV sends the Evas to destroy the G-Cell Generators, as Gendo rightfully believes the generators will turn cities into targets for hostile kaiju. The new Japanese Prime Minister commences the NERV Purge, which entails charging all NERV personnel with treason and giving the EDF orders to use lethal force to stop the threat to the Japanese power grid (Rei likens it to Order 66, and even Hikari has to admit she's not very far off). In the end, the Prime Minister is exposed as an Invador agent, and the real Prime Minister is found dead, leading to a snap election, while the EDF stands down and compensates the families of any NERV personnel they killed.

Several unlicensed Monster World games have appeared on the Apple App Store, but these are usually taken down within days of appearing. One particular game, though, was so well-made that Johnson licensed and expanded it to become Monster World Battle Tactics, a turn-based tactical RPG that is still being updated; it is notable for not featuring any microtransactions, with everything being available for in-game currency (there is no premium currency); this practice has received immense praise from players, and indeed, no mobile game made by Johnson Games has any microtransactions of any sort, as they believe such practices are, according to Tim Johnson, "blatant Skinner Box manipulation preying on people with a gambling problem and exploiting them".

For the US release of City Shrouded in Shadow, the Evangelion sections of the game will be changed into Monster World, which will entail removing Sachiel and Shamshel, changing Unit-02 into its original appearance, and adding FMV cutscenes featuring the human characters. Rumors have circulated that Johnson has resolved the royalties issues with Amanda Winn-Lee, and that she will return to the role of Rei in this game, though this rumor has been debunked by Michelle Ruff.

Slot Machine[]

In 2017, Johnson Games released a Monster World slot machine. The main feature of the game involves quick-time events with FMV sequences filmed specifically for the game. Players have to touch the right button on the screen at the right time to increase their winnings, with the wrong choice leading to the loss of a life; when all three lives are lost, the feature is over and the target kaiju beats the Evangelion or Earth Defender they selected. Playable characters are Unit-01, Unit-02, Unit-00, Mothra, King Caesar, and Varan (Godzilla is also playable by way of a button that was made small and innocuous since Godzilla has the best stats and losing with him is almost impossible, though this button can be made more visible at the casino's discretion in exchange for making the feature less common), while the target kaiju are Titanosaurus, Zilla, Gigan, Megalon, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, Female Godzilla, SpaceGodzilla, and ending with Cthulhu (who speaks using VoxMutatio, Johnson's voice-changer technology that can accurately reproduce any voice, thus allowing Tony Jay to, in a way, return from the grave to reprise his role; this technology also allowed Jay to voice Frollo in Kingdom Hearts III). Upon obtaining a handpay jackpot, the top screen shows the closing credits for the FMV sequences, plus behind-the-scenes footage. The FMV sequences were filmed during production of the tenth season.

Novels[]

A series of novels have been release that expand on the series' mythos. One notable novel published in 2009, titled The Therapy Sessions, details the therapy sessions of each NERV staff member and pilot, and the beginning of the lasting friendship between Shinji and Asuka. The novel was adapted into a television special aired the next year.

Toyline[]

A toyline was licensed by Hasbro in 1998. The line includes action figures, vehicles, mechas, and playsets. The mechas, vehicles, and playsets were produced to a precise scale so as to be compatible with the monsters being produced by Bandai. Many of the vehicles and playsets were compatible with the Machine Wars: Transformers toyline being made at the time, also to support a Jonhson-made series.

In 2005, the toyline moved to in-house production at Johnson Industries. The new toys were much more articulated and used higher-quality plastics. The toyline is still in production, and a LEGO line was released in 2015.

Manga[]

The series proved extremely popular in the Japanese states, and thus, a manga was produced starting in December 1999. Faithful to the original source material, the manga also introduced new concepts that will be introduced in the 2015 revival. This manga continues to this day, and several of the newest chapters were adapted into episodes for season eight. In addition, the original Evangelion manga had its ending influenced by Monster World. In the original ending, the world goes back to the way it was, and Shinji and Asuka see each other in public, but they have no memory of each other and keep walking. In the new ending, which is now considered canon to the manga, the third-to-last page of the last volume features Shinji suddenly looking at a glowing light, and the last two pages show memorable events from Monster World. The last panel features Shinji, Asuka, and Rei posing heroically with Godzilla roaring in the background.