[4] Wrapped up in producing the DAICON III and IV Opening Animations with his fellow students, and also busy making self-financed films, Anno stopped paying his tuition, eventually getting expelled from Osaka University of Arts.

[7] However, Anno fell into a four-year depression following Nadia — the series was handed down to him from NHK from an original concept by Hayao Miyazaki (of which Castle in the Sky is also partly based upon) and he was given little creative control.

Anno's history of clinical depression[10] was the main source for the emphasis on the psychological aspects of its characters, as he wrote down on paper several of the trials and tribulations of his condition.

Anno felt that people should be exposed to the realities of life at as young an age as possible, and by the end of the series all attempts at traditional narrative logic were abandoned, as the final two episodes take place within the main character's mind.

The show did not garner high ratings in Japan at its initial time slot,[citation needed] but after being moved to a later, more adult-oriented venue, it gained considerable popularity.

Timing constraints[citation needed] at Gainax also forced Anno to replace the planned ending of Evangelion with two episodes set in the main characters' minds.

Budgeting issues left the film unfinished,[citation needed] and the completed 27 minutes of animation were included as the second act of Evangelion: Death and Rebirth.

During the production of Kare Kano, Anno became frustrated with the restrictions placed on the show by TV Tokyo after the Pokémon seizure incident[12] and has rarely directed television anime since then.

Also released in 2004 was the movie Funky Forest (ナイスの森, Nice no Mori), in which Anno makes several acting cameos: as the student in the front row of the "Home Room!"

[13][failed verification] On August 1, 2006, Hideaki Anno's official website was updated with job listings for key animators and production staff at a company he founded, Studio Khara.

[16] On February 17, 2007, Anno published an official statement[17] on the Japanese Yahoo Portal for the films regarding his personal involvement and goals in their production.

[1] In 2011 Anno co-produced the Koinobori Pictures movie Kantoku Shikkaku ("Failed Director"), directed by Katsuyuki Hirano featuring Yumika Hayashi.

[19][20][21][22][23] In 2012, Anno was the curator of an exhibit entitled Tokusatsu- Special Effects Museum-Craftsmanship of Showa and Heisei Eras Seen Through Miniatures, held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, featuring actual props and suits from many of Japan's tokusatsu films and TV shows.

[31] In 2007, a college-age version of him appeared alongside other Gainax founders Hiroyuki Yamaga, Takami Akai, and Toshio Okada in the Kazuhiko Shimamoto manga Aoi Honō.