K-pop idol ‘binge read’ the Bible after becoming obsessed with Evangelion

Magenta from the K-pop group QWER surprised fans after revealing that she “binge read” the Bible because of her Evangelion obsession.

In a YouTube video posted on July 18, 2024, QWER members Magenta and Chodan joined Kiss of Life’s Julie and special host Haneul as guests to discuss their otaku interests, such as anime and manga.

During the show, Magenta expressed her love for Neon Genesis Evangelion. She explained that the series incorporates many themes from Christianity, which led her to binge-read the Bible due to her obsession with the popular Japanese anime.

“I was so obsessed with Evangelion that I read the entire Bible. The universe of Evangelion is… this goes kind of deep, but… it has strong biblical references,” she said while struggling to contain her laughter. “So, I binge read the Bible.”

Haneul appeared surprised by her comment, joking that putting “binge reading” and “the Bible” in the same sentence sounded “awkward,” which  QWER’s Chodan agreed with.

While the original episode on YouTube only garnered 73,000 views, the clip went viral on Twitter/X with over 4.3 million views and more than 153,000 likes.

Many fans were shocked by Magenta’s dedication to binge-reading the Bible, which, given its 1,200 pages, is estimated to take 65-75 hours to complete. “Binge-reading the Bible to understand Evangelion is a level of commitment that none of you’ll ever understand,” one person wrote.

“I’ve NEVER heard of someone binge reading the Bible for the sake of understanding their favorite ANIME!” Another added. “Getting through the New Testament just for fun is some immense dedication,” someone else said.

Others joked that the anime could get more people to read the Bible than churches. “Evangelion does do a better job making folks interested in Christian lore than churches and the like,” one commented. “Evangelion’s got the whole world reading the Bible,” another quipped.