K-pop Idol ‘Binge Reads’ the Bible After Becoming Obsessed with Evangelion

Magenta, a member of the K-pop group QWER, shocked her fans when she disclosed that she had “binge read”the Bible due to her love for Evangelion.

On July 18, 2024, QWER members Magenta and Chodan appeared as guests on a YouTube video with Kiss of Life’s Julie and special host Haneul. They discussed their shared interests in otaku culture, including anime and manga.

While watching the show, Magenta openly shared her passion for Neon Genesis Evangelion. She elaborated on how the anime incorporates various Christian themes, prompting her to eagerly read through the Bible to further indulge in her fascination with the popular Japanese series.

“I was incredibly captivated by Evangelion, to the point where I even delved into reading the entire Bible. The world depicted in Evangelion… it may sound a bit profound, but it contains numerous biblical allusions,”she shared, trying to stifle her laughter. “In fact, I ended up binge reading the entire Bible.”

Haneul was taken aback by her statement and playfully remarked that combining “binge reading”and “the Bible”in the same sentence seemed “unusual,”a sentiment shared by QWER’s Chodan.

SHE DID WHAT?? pic.twitter.com/QmWdlxw8ae

— delty (@DeltyThe73rd) July 19, 2024

Despite only receiving 73,000 views on YouTube, the original episode went viral on Twitter/X with a staggering 4.3 million views and garnered over 153,000 likes.

Despite its 1,200 pages and estimated completion time of 65-75 hours, Magenta’s dedication to binge-reading the Bible in order to understand Evangelion was met with shock from fans. One person expressed, “Binge-reading the Bible to comprehend Evangelion requires a level of commitment that none of you will ever comprehend.”

“I’ve never encountered anyone who binge reads the Bible solely to understand their favorite ANIME!”remarked one person. “Completing the New Testament purely for enjoyment takes incredible commitment,”another individual commented.

Some people made the lighthearted observation that the anime could potentially attract more readers to the Bible than churches. “Evangelion is more successful in piquing people’s interest in Christian teachings compared to churches and similar institutions,”one person remarked. Another person jokingly added, “Evangelion is single-handedly getting the entire world to pick up the Bible.”