Shinseiki Evangelion Movie: Air/Magokoro wo, Kimi ni

[Spoiler Warning]

After watching the final episodes of the original Evangelion series, I was really baffled. What happened? I understood that it all took place in Shinji's mind, but that's about it. Where was the ending? What really happened?

Those answers are provided by End of Evangelion. We get an alternate retelling of the two last episodes, outside Shinji's mind. From the awakening of Lilith to the result of the Instrumentality, we get to see it all. Of course, there's a lot of moments which are confusing (this is Evangelion, after all), but you kinda get a better understanding of everything that happened. Oh, and for the ... sake of your well-being, remember that the age rating *is* 17+. There are some really gross scenes in this movie (but that's all I can tell you without spoiling too much).

Also, kudos to the animation in this one. I've always enjoyed Evangelion's animation, everything's just really neat, and incredibly flawless, and it stands off as good even today. The same goes for End of Evangelion. Nice animation, and I really like the effects appearing when the Eva series are invoking the Third Impact. I was a bit surprised that they suddenly decided put in real-life clips. For what reason they did it, I don't know, but for me, it certainly had its positive effects.

One thing I've also always enjoyed about Evangelion (it's a lot), is the music. Music often portrays the mood very well, so much that you can often only by listening to the song get a picture of the current mood. However, the music they use in Evangelion often goes the opposite way and make a great contrast to the events unfolding. This, however, only strengthens the mood more than any song portraying the mood in a normal way would do. Not to mention that the songs they used in End of Evangelion are great as stand-alone music as well.

Evangelion is a psychological anime, and the characters are and behave thusly. They're all traumatized, or have some kind of emotional problems going on. The original series portrayed the characters and their problems very well, and the movie did that as well. I feel that they are real human beings, and I end up sympathizing with them. They have deep emotional struggles, and you're nearly dragged into them.

Shortly summarized, the movie was very much like the original series, at the same time also explaining many things the original series didn't. If you've watched the original series, you should definitely watch this, because it's *at least* equally good.

Story

The story starts in a fairly disorienting manner and then moves quickly from there. After about 20 minutes of confusion, however, the anime soon finds its feet and I began to be able to follow what was going on. At around 40 minutes in I was actually somewhat interested... and then, the anime falls apart under its own philosophical weight. Apparently, the creators of this anime thought that they could substitute all semblences of plot with random scenes that supposedly have symbolic meaning. A quote from Roger Ebert's movie glossary comes to mind: "If you have to ask what it symbolizes, it didnt."

I have seen ... this movie several times, and still cannot enjoy the film one iota. I do not believe that it is because I didn't "get" the film; I believe that there is quite simply nothing to get. Certain Neon Genesis Evangelion fanboys have gotten a huge kick out of analyzing the show and attempting to fabricate some sort of interpretation of the events that transpire, but in my opinion this is a futile endeavor. The shows plot was deliberately made incomprehensible for incomprehensibilitys sake; there is no meaning to the show other than to have no meaning whatsoever.

The difference between this film and other virtually indecipherable anime (see: Cat Soup, Paprika) is that End of Evangelion pretentiously demands interpretation.There is nothing to entertain the viewer beyond the movie's pompous symbolism, and this is the film's downfall.

Animation

Generally, the animation is pretty damn good. Because of the film's obviously larger budget, End of Evangelion improves on the excellent original character designs with greatly improved fluidity and backgrounds. A sequence near the end, where iridescent crosses spring from Earth, is one of the nicer pieces of eye candy that I have seen. Another highlight is Asuka's central fight midway through the show, which oozes with perfectly stylized violence.

The awesome animation is marred, however, by two dreadfully awful sequences. In one scene, the "anime" is not animated at all. Instead, a person with a low budget camcorder randomly wanders around town, filming things like empty movie theatres. This comes as quite a shock midway through and manages to come across as exceedingly ugly. Many people I have spoke with have tried to defend the scene by citing its symbolic meaning, but all of them have given me different answers. Ultimately, the sequence is a jarring break from the continuity of the animation, and definitely hurts both the show's pacing and overall video quality.

In another scene, there is a horrendously long sequence in which thousands of still frames are flashed across the screen at a mind-numbing rate. Never before have I had to sit through such an obviously expensive, thoroughly pointless, and horrifically painful section in anime.

Sound

In general, I found the sound to be pretty much flawless. The music does a pretty good job of setting the mood even as the story is falling apart, and voice acting is still excellent. Sound effects, particularly in Asukas battle, are nicely done.

Characters

Some may disagree, but I thought the original characters of Evangelion were excellent. All of them were almost perfectly imperfect, and as a result managed to capture some of the darkest parts of the human soul. While none of the characters were particularly likeable, every single one was captivating in their infinite flaws.These promising characters, however, are pretty much destroyed in the treadmill of an awful story. By the end of the show, just about every single individual has lost his or her humanity; their actions no longer reflect any semblence of logic or compassion. Forget character development - this is an anime about action figures.Because of this, what was arguably Neon Genesis Evangelions greatest strength becomes End of Evangelions biggest fault.

Overall

I went into this anime genuinely hoping that at last I would find a little closure to Evangelion. Instead, I got this. Deliberately plotless, the creators apparantly assumed that they could pass off mindless and pointless scenes under the pretense of "art." A huge budget is wasted, a good storyline is desecrated, and one of the most promising animes of 1997 is put to shame. Pretentious and disappointing, End of Evangelion is certainly down there among some of the worst anime that I have seen.

End of Evangelion is truly a masterpiece of an anime movie.

For me, like many other fans, the last two episodes of the anime series of NGE left me feeling a little frustrated and confused. They are fantastic and innovative as stand alone works but do not serve as a satisfying conclusion to what was an amazing anime. EoE, however, allows Anno to give his magnum opus the ending it truly deserves: beautifully animated, packed with action and philosophical to the core, this film does not disappoint.

Taking place in the same universe as the anime, EoE serves as a re-telling of events outside of Shinji's ... mind or as an entirely alternative ending. The beauty if this movie for me is that it does not spoon feed you the premise, instead it is up to you to decide what exactly is real, what is symbolic and what is psychological.
The first half of the movie acts like standard NGE fare...there is plenty of action, and an interesting threat falls upon the nerv headquarters. We are treated to a fantastic Asuka based fight scene, which breaks up nicely the scenes of drama involving Shinji. The interactions between side characters are stellar as always, and one never feels as though a character is being neglected...even the minor members of cast are three dimensional with their own wants and ideals.
The second half of the movie is when Anno's depth of work begins to truly shine. Beautifully animated, with stunning apocalyptic scenes, this part of the movie can be enjoyed as an analogy about the fear of being hurt, and the need for the warmth of others. Shinji's fear of reaching out to others has (or almost has) devastating consequences as the world without barriers he envisioned appears before him. The philosophical narration does not read as psychobabble at all: instead, EoE steadily makes simple points about the nature of life. Despite the scenes of destruction EoE presents, the narrative is largely optimistic: as an example, one quote is "if you are alive, any place can be heaven,".
As always, this is a wonderfully animated work. The backgrounds of the movie are stunning, and the larger budget definitely shows through, with complex action sequences and amazing, surreal and cosmic scenery galore. EoE is a feast for the eyes! The music, while somewhat dissonant to the general theme of the movie, is great, and strong enough to be appreciated as stand alone pieces. Like the NGE anime, this movie uses famous classical music, which create a dramatic effect.
I watched the original japanese Version, and the voice acting was fantastic. Particularly the voice of Shinji...Megumi Ogata is some woman! From crying to *ahem* ....other things..she performs realistically and with a tone of voice so unusual yet convincing. Rei's seiyuu was also fantastic, voicing her with that hint of emotion that is needed for such a complex girl.
Expect to see some character development, especially from Shinji and Rei in this movie! Even the villanious Gendou becomes more sympathetic. The interactions between Rei and Gendou and Shinji and Misato are some of the most heart rending of EoE, however, surprise encounters between the supporting cast (particularly the lovely Maya) also tugged at my heart strings.
All in all, EoE is fantastic and an imperative part of the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise. This wonderful movie offers some of the best animation and characterisation I have scene in any series. If you are dissatisfied by the ending of NGE, this will be the conclusion you have been waiting for!

When a film starts with the main character giving himself a wank over an unconscious girl after he reveals her breasts by accident, you know you're in for a treat.

"It's the end of the world Ladies and Gentlemen, and I'm feeling fine".

After a huge middle finger to the audience that were episodes 25 and 26 of the TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion, and the not-unexpected outrage and protests by the fans, the series' creator Hideaki Anno fell into a whole new level of depression that was so deep it hit the centre of the Earth, bounced back through its own anus, turned into a hysteric ... hatred towards the fans and shot up right back into Anno's big head, traversing his large intestine on the way back and thereby planting some serious shit into his head. The result was a giant wank in the face and the ensuing skull-fucking that was the "End of Evangelion" movie. And what a movie it is!

Films like End of Evangelion are a rarity, and only come about every couple of years. This movie is the anime equivalent of "Dungeons and Dragons" or "The Room"; a movie so epically bad it's a joy to watch. Though, there is one precondition to properly enjoying this film if you have the misfortune of owning a brain ( unlike the people who rate this magnificent turd a 10/10 ); you have to give all your fucks beforehand. The opening scene of Shinji wanking over comatose Asuka should assist you in switching off the "caring" mode, in which case, you're in for a roller-coaster ride through some of the most amazing shit that has ever been animated. I'll say it openly: I enjoyed this movie a lot, only not in a way you'd usually associate with the word "enjoy".
You may have noticed by now that this review is already different from my usual ones, and that's due to two reasons:
1. End of Evangelion is in a special league of its own regarding the films in general, let alone the anime I usually watch
2. I just don't give two f*cks. This is a rant and I intend to enjoy it. So buckle up and prepare to go!

As the opening scene plainly shows, Anno's single most important objective in this film is pissing the fanbase off as much as possible, and he accomplishes this superbly and in numerous ways.
First of them; making the already unlikeable and despised Shinji as appalling and disgusting as possible. There isn't a single person with a sane mind that doesn't loathe and hate Shinji and doesn't want to torture him in the most gruesome, most painful ways possible. If you thought he was spineless and whiny in the series, just wait to see how he acts during the film, and in particular during the first half of the series, when instead of fighting off the enemy in his Eva, he sits under the staircase, weeps and cries for the unconscious Asuka to come and help him. After he gave himself a wank over her just two minutes earlier. OUR PROTAGONIST LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!
What he does in the face of an impending apocalypse is even more admirable, but I shall discuss that later.

Sadly ( well, for me, fortunately! ), other characters aren't spared either.
Remember Major Misato Katsuragi ( which reminds me that Masamune Shirow and Mamoru Oshii should sue someone ) and how she was turning into Anno towards the series finale ( along with the rest of the cast )? You know, becoming all depressed and upset and stuff? Well, mr. Anno clearly doesn't, for she's all tough and fiery at the beginning of the movie. Hell, she basically bitch-slaps Shinji for being such a whiny, spineless bitch, and practically embodies the feelings of the audience in doing so. Shame she doesn't put a bullet in his head, not only would she make the viewers happy, she'd save the whole of mankind from turning into a stale orange juice. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyways, her character in the movie, while awesome, is inconsistent with the series, and seeing how this movie is supposed to replace episodes 25&26 as the proper ending for Evangelion, that's a minus I can't overlook.

Asuka starts off as being unconscious, then wakes up to be catatonic and scared and depressed - just like she was at the end of ep 24. Then, in literally 20 seconds during which she has a vision of her mother, she makes a 180 degrees turn and proceeds to kick some evil-Eva arse. Great writing there, Anno!
It doesn't at all negate and spit on what was arguably the best about NGE!
Immediately afterwards, though, as soon as she fulfills her role of a plot device, she's cast aside until the very last scene of the movie.

Same with Rei, who is barely present for the first half of the movie ( albeit it's understandable why that is so ), only to saturate the screen for the most of the second half. She's also ripped of her previous personality, uncompromisingly sticking it to Gendo and accepting her destiny as Anno's final plot device in the quest to piss the fans so much you can cover the entire Earth in piss.
Even though there was hardly anyone really likeable in the NGE's cast of characters, and even though they were all deeply flawed as people, they were believable and good characters ( until the last third of the series at least ) and End of Evangelion stripped them of everything, disregarding continuity and only making Shinji the most hated fictional character of all time after Jar Jar Binks.

Well, the first batch of turds, in form of handling character development, is done with. Onwards, to the plot!

Plot-wise, End of Evangelion is rather similar to the preceding TV series; it starts off decently enough ( not counting the opening wank scene ), only to collapse spectacularly in the second half, falling so hard it destroyed the world and liquified all living things in the process.
But while decent, the first part was still not very good, and in retrospect, it falls apart together with the rest of the movie. It's riddled with the aforementioned character inconsistency, plot holes, contrivances, repetition of ad-hoc resolutions from the original series ( namely, when Ritsuko stops a massive hack of the Magi supercomputers... AGAIN, and in the exact same way, only much, much faster ), and much more. There's also some ridiculous no brainers like this one: the Japanese military are assaulting the NERV HQ. While their forces are still inside the facility, trying to retrieve the Evas, their own forces DETONATE AN N2 MINE OVER THEIR HEADS, blasting the Geofront into pieces. I don't care if it doesn't have any radioactive fallout, a nuke is still a nuke and you don't shoot it at a target when your own men are inside!
While entertaining, the first half is convoluted, full of contrived plot points and generally a fine example of lazy writing that's only done in the first place to prepare the setting for the ultimate mind-fucking-wank-fest-epically-pretentious-mind-numbing metaphisical clusterf*ck that is the second half of "End of Evangelion".

To put it simply, if the infamous live-pudding-scene from "Akira" and the Eclipse episodes from "Berserk" had an s&m orgy during a black mass and conceived a baby, which in turn were to be raised by David Cronenberg, than the second half of the movie would be that baby.
There's just no point in explaining it, you have to see it to believe it. If the episodes 25 and 26 were mindfuck. then this is an all-out gang-bang orgy of Anno randomly throwing around epically grotesque and random scenes filled with pointless and shameless religious symbolism that very unsubtly screams "ASK ME WHAT IT MEANS! ASK ME WHAT IT MEANS!" What does all that symbolism mean? Fuck all, that's what, and it's so painfully obvious, that the endless and futile attempts by the rabid fans to read some deeper meaning into it causes me, and the creator, that big troll, to laugh my arse off because they've taken the bait and allowed Anno to win.
Also, if I may quote from Roger Ebert's movie glossary: "If you have to ask what it symbolizes, it didnt." Albeit the quote goes a bit too far, the point still stands.
We also get some of the trademark navel-gazing too, because ep 25 and 26 just weren't enough. What a joy!

Anyways, all the spectacular mind-fuckery and endless nudity of the second half aside, there's one remaining and pretty major flaw of the story. Guess what it is. If your answer was: it's not conclusive, then CONGRATULATIONS!
Yes, despite being promoted as a proper and cohesive conclusion of the series that's supposed to tie up all the loose ends and provide answers to countless questions that were raised over the course of the series, it fails to achieve that.
As previously mentioned, many of the "resolutions" were either contrived and unsatisfying, or were drowned in the sea of random grotesqueness and symbolism of the second half of the movie. And to top it all, the ending only raises some more questions, leaving the story without a proper and complete conclusion once more. Well done Anno, there aren't many people with the ( lack of ) skill to do that. I'd take my hat off for you if I had one.

Now, the few good things about the movie. I gave it 3/10 not 1/10 after all.
The visuals are very good throughout the movie, with the exception of a short period of live-action stock footage near the end of the film.
In that one scene, a person with a low budget camcorder randomly wanders around town, filming things like empty movie theatres or city streets. This comes as quite a shock midway through and manages to come across as exceedingly ugly. The point? A pretentious and futile attempt to make the movie relevant to the real world and probably further connect with the audience. Well, it failed.
Again towards the end of the movie, there is a horrendously long sequence in which thousands of still frames are flashed across the screen at a mind-numbing rate. People suffering from epileptic seizures are warned. This warning also applies to the people without such medical conditions. It's very tiresome.

The music does a pretty good job of setting the mood even as the story is falling apart, and voice acting is still excellent. Sound effects, particularly in Asuka's battle, are nicely done. Obligatory pretentious tracks ( namely J. Sebastian Bach's music ) are obligatory. The climactic scenes of apocalypse are played to the sounds of a pop song "Komm, Susser Tod", a bright and upbeat piece that could be played at parties and weddings if its title weren't "Come, Sweet Death!" and if its lyrics weren't about suicide and the end of the world. I'll give you three guesses as to who wrote the lyrics.

Well, that's it! The end of End of Evangelion. And what a steaming pile of dick and cock it was, yet I absolutely loved it! The main reason why I loved is because, unlike NGE, which was an extremely mixed bag with some very good stuff and lots of very bad stuff, End of Evangelion was just plainly horrible and I could just indulge in pure, justified hatred that my rational and objective mind didn't allow me with the original series.
This is the film that turns everything it touches into shit, and yet dances around pompously, demanding attention and critical recognition in the most trollish manner possible. Its story fails at just about every level imaginable - truly, a movie of such epic and total badness only comes around once a while. In every aspect; plot, characters, dialogue, style, themes... it was such absolute rubbish it reached a Nirvana of Bad and moved to a higher plane of existence.
An incredibly entertaining movie if you watch it with a certain mindset. If not, you're either going to smash your TV/computer, or become even more depressed than Anno after pondering the fact that the humanity has been destroyed and turned into a giant orange soup by a character so spineless an disgusting, he makes Werther and Jar Jar look like appealing characters.

“Man is spirit. But what is spirit? Spirit is the self. But what is the self? The self is a relation which relates itself to its own self, or it is that in the relation [which accounts for it] that the relation relates itself to its own self; the self is not the relation but [consists in the fact] that the relation relates itself to its own self. Man is a synthesis of the infinite and the finite, of the temporal and the eternal, of freedom and necessity; in short, it is a synthesis. A synthesis is a relation between two factors. So regarded, man ... is not yet a self.”

If you do not understand the quotation above, it is doubtful you truly understand The End of Evangelion. Does this mean you are an idiot? No. Both Kierkegaard and Anno use flowery, pretentious language. Instead of getting to the point, they use convoluted phrases to give the impression of depth.

The End of Evangelion. This film, like the anime series, has its fair share of fans and critics. Although this reviewer liked the film, which does not mean he necessarily enjoyed all of it, he belongs to the latter group. From its incoherent narrative to its plot holes to its implausibility—let us not forget clichés and contrivances—the film is riddled with flaws; this is an undeniable fact. Were it not Evangelion, it is reasonable to assume the film would have been met with a negative reaction upon release.

Let us be honest. Several reviewers on here, as well as fans in general, were disappointed with the ending of the series. People were confused on what actually happened and did not like the philosophy and psychological introspection; the finale seemed to be a departure from the already established storytelling format—and it was. The End of Evangelion, the alternate ending, is no different in this regard, so it is puzzling why fans accepted it.

The film has the same structure as the series: the first half is typical fare, and the conclusion goes into an overload of philosophy (but with more visuals). As with the original ending, existential themes are explored. Philosophical discussion is welcomed, but only if it serves a purpose. It does not. The ending—no, the film itself—is controversial and for good cause. Many of the scenes, and the ending itself, are ambiguous. Hideaki Anno did not bring closure to his story: people still have no clue what happened or what it all means. (According to MAL reviewer Kajia, even the DVD commentators could not comprehend several scenes.)

Anyone who states they understand the true meaning (the intended interpretation) behind the film is a liar. Without input from the director, we cannot know. This is not a flaw, but a positive characteristic. The beauty of The End of Evangelion is you are allowed to take what you want from the film, and your viewing experience depends entirely upon your past and knowledge base. If the film changed your life, if your interpretation of the film differs from others, or if you believe the film is nonsensical, that is fine. No one can say you are wrong. With that said, an interpretation of the message(s) behind the film will be given. (Do not read any further if you have not watched the film.)

From the beginning, Neon Genesis Evangelion has provided commentary on humanity and life. Continuing on from the series, Shinji, the protagonist, struggles with determining whether his life is worth living, although it does seem he is quite resolute on ‘no’ for the majority of the film. It is only when circumstances—no, the world—changes Shinji realizes it is better to keep living and within the company of others. He is essentially embracing the absurd: he understands he will keep attempting to find meaning but will never be able to find any. It is better to live a life without meaning rather than not live at all, even if we are miserable.

The goal of the Human Instrumentality Project is to merge all souls or individual consciousness into one entity, one consciousness. No individuality—just sameness. No conflict, no pain, no struggle for identity. This seems like a good thing, right? Wrong. Life is a continuous struggle for identity, and conflict & pain are inevitable. Shinji realizes this and rejects Instrumentality. Multiple individual existences can be born once again from the single entity, given that people realize what differentiates themselves from others; in other words, they must find their self.

"How disgusting." This final remark is not directed at Shinji but rather humanity. Hideaki Anno does not like that society forces us to be what we are not (inauthentic self) instead of what we actually are (authentic self). We are all pressured to act a certain way, even though these behaviors are not true to ourselves. We act for them (the they-self) rather than for our self. Our personality or mindset is shaped by the collective; our identity is created for us. Anno thinks we should create our own identity, not be easily influenced by society, and remain true to our self, living authentically rather than inauthentically.

There is disagreement over character development in the film. Some reviewers claimed the characters did not develop in the series but did in the film. No. This reviewer does not hold to this belief. In the series, their development was directly related to their mental state. We observed how the characters' mental condition deteriorated. The series served as a character study, and the characters were great and realistic. (Those who suffer from depression or emotional problems do not recover easily. Without help, their condition can easily become worse.) In the film, there was character development, but it was limited to Shinji and Rei. Shinji became more disturbed (the infamous scene) and Rei became independent, no longer a puppet to Gendo. Asuka's recovery should not be accepted as character development: it was a contrivance.

The philosophy, symbolism, and unclear ending are the reasons why this film is still actively discussed. The aforementioned elements made The End of Evangelion an influential film, but not a masterpiece. Furthermore, the philosophy was incorporated to make the film look cool. It was redundant and often jumped from concept to concept. The original ending, although repetitive as well, is the superior ending. It provided for an interesting meditation on individuality, bad faith, Dasein (authentic self), and das Man (inauthentic self) through psychology.

Do NOT watch this movie. It is the single most soul-crushingly depressing thing ever spawned from the depths of human imagination. It takes all of the closure, hopes, and expectations you had for the end of the series and blasts them into the sun. It is the single worst possible ending to anything EVER.
I guess I should explain myself. Admittedly, the first half of the movie wasn't so bad. It was exciting and tragic and incredibly cryptic, all things we've come to expect from Evangelion. It was all really just a backdrop for the end, when all of the loose plot threads and secrets that ... the series had been hinting at here and there but never got around to adressing would finally be brought to a glorious and satisfying conclusion that would be sung about by nerds the world over for generations to come. Except that that didn't happen. No, what we got instead was what can only be described as the horrid fever dream of a delusional psychopath bent on destroying the spirit of hopeful geeks everywhere. Seriously, I can't even describe it. I'm not even sure what the hell happened! All that I knew by the time that it was over was that everyone on Earth was dead. Or maybe they weren't. I DON'T KNOW!!!!
So in conclusion, don't watch this movie. You'll regret it for the rest of your life and anyone who says otherwise is a dirty liar that you should reevaluate your relationship with to see if they don't actually secretly hate you.

me, a dumb cocky 16 year old in 2013:


"wow eva is so overrated.....i can't even finish this show lol it's so pretentious and doesn't make sense, why should i even bother with eoe, let me just watch the rebuilds instead, gunbuster is SO much better!!"


me, a depressed and self-loathing 21 year old NEET in 2018:


"literally the existence of anime as a medium has led to this; there isn't any other example in the pantheon of japanese animation that can even reach the heights of this fucking masterwork, how does this exist, how does it understand me like it does, how can i ever even try ... to understand its scope and its depth fully, evangelion is a revelation, it's a vision, it truly is one of the greatest anime of all time but this film should be recognized as one of the greatest fucking films of all time, what's the criterion collection hotline, if they put another fucking wes anderson movie into their collection before canonizing this transcendental mindworm i will burn down their headquarters on god, this is a masterwork, the pinnacle of animation, the pinnacle of japanese art, how can you not just gape in awe at its majesty as its own work, regardless of the context after watching the series, it's spiritual in the sense that its reflection of humanity makes our very existence seem ethereal but still altogether messy, it shoves a mirror in our goddamn face for us to reevaluate what it means to exist, it uses intimacy as a canvas to paint the irrevocable black horror of the isolated human condition, this is a motherfucking masterwork in every sense of the words, nothing since the invention of the contraceptive pill has been this revolutionary and groundbreaking, why aren't more people talking about this, fuck you stupid hipsters who think this movie is shit, maybe you're shit, maybe you can't wrap your head around it, i sure can't either, because you're not supposed to fucking wrap your head around it you weaboo shits, maybe you're supposed to sit back and let the film take your emotions on a ride as an experience without trying to comprehend it and put it in your convenient little comprehension box that you put on your pathetic comprehension shelf so you can feel self-righteous and triumphant about winning a challenge that doesn't exist, this isn't a normal anime nor a normal movie where everything needs to have closed ends and neat exposition to explain it all, maybe try to come to your own conclusions, tarkovsky would have fucking sucked this movie's dick because he understood that art can exist as art on the merit that it's art without even assigning a single shred of meaning, you think solaris would be as good if the film was explained, you fucking piece of shit, this is a masterpiece, i can't believe with the film's scale, with the film's scope that it is introspective and intimate enough to make me feel like it understands me, understands what runs through my head at night when i jack off and feel empty and colder than before i ejaculated thinking of loved ones that got away, understands the inner dialogues of why i hate myself, of why i don't think i deserve the love i receive and why, even with all the suffering and the pain i've gone through in my period of depression, i wouldn't ever give up my individuality, i wouldn't ever change the rejection, i wouldn't ever want to change how i've turned out because of my thirst, my lifelong hunger for someone to love me as much as my parents do, i never would have thought an anime revolving around mechs would ever make me acknowledge that my shitty existence and my constant endless chasing of skirts not for sex or carnal release but to look for something as genuine as the love of my family and my friends who are hundreds and thousands of miles away from me as i rot every day in my room in a small town with no friends with just my mother, i lose myself in the intimacy and attention i receive from girls to give myself a sense of fulfillment, to fill in the whole in my heart of loneliness that i don't think i can ever plug, i'm a christian but i feel like even the spritituality i so treasure isn't enough, i turn the love and care i have for women into spite and control, i don't want them to leave, even if sometimes i force them to leave, how can i ever be content when all i do is spread my poisonous sense of self-worth found through others, how can i love others when i can't ever love myself without relying on the crutches of my interests, i don't think i can ever forget her, not with how much i dedicated to her in my thoughts and in my heart, because in the wake of the darkness that followed i realized i only love others and restrain them and find ways to fix them so i can distract myself from fixing myself, i'm so sorry if you're reading this, don't ever feel guilty for what i am now, some edgy bastard who quite literally fills that lack of romantic intimacy by obsessing over cartoon girls while lashing out at any friend who tries to drag me out of my own muck, i'm unfinished and i seek to be whole without considering that any day, i could crumble under the own weight of my own skeleton, and that's what happened when i met her, when i loved her until i realized the only thing i had to offer her was my love and attention until i couldn't love myself and offer her anything else, that's what evangelion is about, that's why this film is a fucking masterpiece, this movie is a fucking masterpiece, it understands that it's impossible to understand, it understands that people can never truly feel whole and unalone, but it also understands that to live as our own individual being with the hope that someday we won't feel so pained with our own dreadful lonesome selves, that someday we won't be so insecure about how others see us, and how we see ourselves, and someday even if none of those things happen, we can be happy and content with just the fact that we're alive, that we can find our identity through ones we love even if they don't love us back, even if they don't see us as we see them, as we treasure them, this film is a fucking masterpiece and literally uses sex as a metaphor during a literal apocalyptic cataclysm where billions of people melt into a bubbling puddle of primordial soup because sex is the most intimate state of being, of connection between mind, body, and soul, and it's the closest way we can achieve what we all desire deep down in our hearts, how we yearn to be loved, to be paid attention to, we are addicted to screens to our social media to friends we make without ever meeting, addicted to sitting in calls without talking to sit in servers and just read chat logs without ever responding so we can't be alone, because we must not be alone, our facebook and instagram and snapchat posts are cries for help, they're questioning yells into a void where we demand an answer and companionship, where we demand validation with cheap instant gratification in a sea of hundreds and thousands of digital friends who are just as thirsty and hungry for validation as you are, demanding, demanding answers, but there isn't a fucking answer, i can't tell you to fill that void with christianity, i can't tell you to fill that void with women, i can't fucking tell you to fill that void we all have with anything, because it can't be filled, but life is still beautiful because we're alive, and individuals, and people are still beautiful because they're alive too, even if they don't give us the love we want, reciprocate it or even acknowledge us, life itself is our pursuit for the answer we will never receive, assigning things that define us as several replacements, but knowing the answer to our voids and our eternal lonesomeness will never truly given to us, this film is one of those replacements, this film is a masterpiece, thank you hideaki anno holy shit"

The ending to the popular Anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion, left many questions as to the fate of NERV, the children, the Angels, and many other plot factors unanswered or otherwise hanging.

To answer the baffled Evangelion fans, Gainax remade the ending into a two-part movie known as Death and Rebirth, which was to replace episodes 25 and 26 of the television series, which then led to this movie, Death and Rebirth itself being recreated into part one of The End of Evangelion. It begins much in the same fashion, with the final Angel already having been defeated, and the current enemy switching to humanity ... itself, as SEELE unleashes its own plan for the Evas and NERV... and indeed for the entire human race. What role will our depressed boy Shinji play in this dangerous situation? Will Gendo's plan swallow up all of humanity? Will Hideaki Anno ever figure out how to end an anime? These questions and more will be answered in what looks to be the final installment of Evangelion.

This movie can be taken in three ways if you are a fan of Eva and watched the original series:

1. It can replace the original ending to Neon Genesis Evangelion entirely

2. It can be viewed as an alternate ending

3. It can be viewed alongside the final two episodes of the series

I liked the original ending honestly, but this ending was better if you ask me, due to several factors that is. This was a highly anticipated Anime feature film for it's time, and the experience I had with it is unforgettable. Evangelion is a love-hate type of series, you either love it or you hate it. If you are one of the people who loved this movie, or one of the people who hated it, you cannot deny that this movie did something right at the very least to be memorable.

Gainax really upped their game here with this movie. The first half is very good, there are spectacular action scenes, which were present in the TV series, but in this movie they went full force and all out with the production. You get some amazing action sequences between Asuka and the Eva series. As for the movie's second half, we are given philosophical, metaphorical, artistic imagery and a well thought out dialogue for most of it. I'm not going to go into much detail with this movie's imagery and dialogue, as in I don't want to discuss what I understood and what boggled my mind while watching this movie. I'm just going to say that this movie is a glorious brain wreck that I believe the viewers have to experience for themselves to form their own opinions on it. It is filled with this philosophical, psychological, metaphorical and mind boggling imagery that is a bit hard to decipher, which makes this ending a bit ambiguous for most. It's like the show's original ending, but way more visual.

The animation in this movie is a huge upgrade to the TV show. It looks three times better than the show, and the obvious reason for this is that the movie had a bigger budget than the show, which had a hard time keeping up with the budget. It is done really well for it's time and the action scenes are spectacular in this movie. Gainax really went to a whole other level in 1997, and this film was their beautiful creation. Aside from the beautiful animation, there was a live action scene at the very end. I don't know what the point of the scene was, but I believe that Anno did this to add more deep meaning to the movie, and make it more artistic.

The voice acting in this movie is spectacular. When it comes to voice acting, the Japanese cast goes all out here and expresses the full emotions of the characters. I watched this movie in both dubbed and subbed, and I can safely say that the subbed version was way better here. The dubbed movie was not that good to be honest, the voice acting was fine and did it's job, but it was not as good as the subbed counterpart. I also noticed that the dub added some stuff from their own, rather than just dubbing over the movie. What I noticed was that they added a cartoonish sound effect in one scene, which felt really out of place and did not serve to better the movie in any way. Rather, the sound effect they added made the scene it was inserted in less serious. If you are wondering what scene I am talking about, it's the one where Misato kills a soldier, who was about to kill Shinji during the first half of the movie. The dub added a goo sound effect to the blood for some odd reason, the sub just had a gun shot and a silent death, which was more fitting for the scene, and kept the serious tone going. There are other odd sound effects that the dub decided to add for some reason, all of which made me like the sub more.

The soundtrack in this movie is spectacular and pleasing to listen to. It is not only good, but also feels unique in it's own way. Shiro Saguso, the music producer for the movie, really let himself go all out here. I had listened to some of his tracks before watching the movie, but this might as well be his best work. The tracks here are scary and haunting, and add more depth to the atmosphere that the movie was striving to achieve. Komm, süsser Tod is the the best one and the most memorable track, because it is the only happy sounding track in the whole movie, and where does it play? During the film's darkest moment. Due to it being the only happy sounding track in the movie, it leaves you shocked and surprised when it first appears. Oh, wait, it sounds happy, but it is actually a track that talks about suicide and death when you search for it's lyrics... I've never been fooled by a movie before, but this movie takes the absolute cake. How could I have even thought that something joyful, even as simple as a song, could come out of Evangelion? I thought the song was cheerful not only in the way it sounds, but also in it's lyrics. Congratulations, Evangelion! The soundtrack was great during the first half, and amazing during it's second half.

Overall, the End of Evangelion is a spectacular feast to behold, but it is definitely not for everyone. There are some things people will like about it, and some things they will dislike about it. Some people would call it awesome, while others would call it awful. Some people would call it a masterpiece, while others would call it a pretentious piece of trash. I agree with the former, I don't think that Evangelion is a masterpiece per say, but it is unique enough to distinguish itself from other Anime titles and be it's own kind of thing. It is exciting enough to keep you at the edge of your seat for most of it's duration. It adds everything in an interesting way, from religious symbolism and philosophy to spectacular action scenes, and blends them all together in a unique way.

End of Evangelion is a movie experience unlike any other that I have ever witnessed. It is more brutal and violent than the series before it (which says something), and it has some of the most insane plot elements and imagery that you will ever see from any Anime movie. It manages to wrap up all of the plot threads that were left hanging from the original show, and it ends on a note that can be seen as bleak and depressing for some, or hopeful for others. For a show that has a lot of ambiguous things going for it, I feel that this is a perfect ending for a franchise like Evangelion.

It is a movie that I really enjoyed, and I would recommend you go give it a watch.

End of Evangelion is a two-hour movie that consists of two hour-long episodes (Episodes 25 and 26) that was released on July 19th, 1997, has been licensed Stateside by Manga Entertainment, and was originally released over here on September 24th, 2002. Episode 25 incorporates and expands upon footage from the Rebirth segment from the Death and Rebirth movie (released on March 15th of that same year), and is based off the original script for Episode 25. It was produced by Production IG (famous for their work on the Ghost in the Shell series and xxxHOLIC) and Gainax (famous for their work on His ... and Her Circumstances and FLCL), and directed by Hideaki Anno (famous for his work on the original Gunbuster OVA and His and Her Circumstances). It won the Animage Grand Prix prize in 1997, and also won a Japanese Academy Award.

So. End of Evangelion.

This movie is billed as Episodes 25 and 26, and honestly, I can believe that this is the way that Hideaki Anno MEANT for Evangelion to go out, but was originally unable to do because of production funding falling out, Anno's mental breakdown, and not being able to meet the schedule. It is, at the same time, a broader view of what was actually going ON in the original Episodes 25 and 26, I think, as this focuses on both the psychological and physical action around what was happening.

There are some fairly epic fight scenes in here, a full explanation behind all the mysteries that the show left untouched, along with a fair amount of Shinji's cracky therapy session of Episodes 25 and 26. This feels a lot more satisfying than the original ending for the series, though the original ending was fairly passable in my mind.

WARNING: There are fairly graphic sexual images, violence, and gore in here. Those who are squeamish should probably not watch this.

The art definitely takes a step up from the series as a whole, especially the end of the series. It's a lot smoother, and the pastiche between animation and live-action that takes place at one point, though it will leave you feeling like it's made of crack, is absolutely amazing. The Judeo-Christian symbolism is back with a vengeance as well.

The music's fairly neat, too, as it uses a lot of fairly famous classical music, and a pop update of another fairly famous classical song, and it usually ties in with some of the most amazing moments in the film.

All the VAs return as well, which helps with continuity with the series.

Overall? Definitely worth the watch, and probably the best part of the Evangelion canon that's been released thus far.

Part 2: A Violent Roar

So this is what happens when you refuse Eva’s embrace.

If Neon Genesis Evangelion was the stern yet loving embrace with the ultimate message of accepting understanding yourself in order to begin accepting understanding others, then The End of Evangelion is the much wilder, more apocalyptic, but equally passionate gripping and shaking of your shoulders that desperately roars to you of the dangers of running away from reality and that regardless of how painful we can be, we must face it in order for good things to even have a chance at happening.

Where NGE settled on a satisfying realization for Shinji despite ... the current and borderline unambiguously devastating outside circumstances we are made aware of via a line of text that lasts for but a brief moment, this one takes a more apocalyptic approach, effectively resetting things in the end with hope for the future where everything is restored. It is a violent rampage that lays waste to nearly everyone, and an exaggerated showcase of the type of results inflicted on other people when you decide to run away from reality and close yourself off out of fear and spite.

The violence is a wondrous spectacle to behold thanks to the teams at Production IG and Gainax. The final battle Asuka has is phenomenal and gruesome to say the least, and all sorts of destruction are beautifully drawn and animated. All sorts of magnificently vibrant explosions, and all the carnage of a more Lovecraftian and apocalyptic kind are vivid, imaginative, and horrifying. Everything is left mangled in an almost heavenly state, as if this film needed any more Christian iconography-based faux symbolism, among other relatively minor flaws that are carried over from the main series. For an inherently unique positive of the film, one few would really notice despite how long it stays there, we have the scene of the audience. Said audience was recorded at the screening of the initial film, intentionally, for it to be spliced a the last second as part of the mind-shattering real-life montage Shinji and all viewers witnessed. The only blemish is one short action-heavy rescue with shakycam and even then, if something so small and isolated is the worst the film’s visual presentation does, that is a testament to the film’s visuals.

Among the many new, fantastic pieces added to this film by series music composer Shiro Sagisu, is the phenomenal track that plays at the height of the film’s chaos and climax, is the track “Komm Süssser Tod”. A lovely, oddly fitting track despite its seemingly happy tone, with fantastic english vocals. There are other intensely emotional tracks that are around as wonderful as the best tracks of the original series, such as “Munashiki Nagare” and the end credits theme "Thanatos -If I Can't Be Yours-" by Loren & Mash, a lovely, soothing, and jazzy song that separates the two halves of this devastatingly brutal film. There are even tracks that blatantly remix old ones in ways that are around as great as said original tracks, adding to the praise this film’s music shall receive, on top of how some fantastic tracks from the original make a return.

The carnage hits hard, not just for viewers, but most especially for Shinji, broken and reduced to his lowest point mentally and as a human being by the events of episode 24 in the show. He and we know that everyone is in ruin, with everyone they admired or loved being dead before this film or dying early on, and the ruin and death continues because he cannot stop it, and he even wants it just so he can run away again. He ran away, and not only is no one in or out of universe having that, but the bulk of the climax is him being confronted by that and slowly cracking as he is convinced to accept the truth, the message, thanks to introspective versions of everyone in the show and film that were related to him in a major way, as well as Rei herself communicating with him. Throughout the series, he repeats the line “I mustn’t run away”, and he does thrice total, this being the third and final time, and we see what becomes of it. You must face reality, not run from it. That is the only way for you to find any hope or happiness in the midst of dark times, and the best way for you to not inadvertently hurt others. Much like last time, this is a lesson everyone should learn in order to deal with harsh times. The final scenes support this immensely in one of the most powerful “show don’t tell” scenes in anime, all whilst providing a sheer sense of hope for the future, knowing that closure has been given for every single relevant character in the series in ways so perfect for them it hurts to see them leave the way they do. Those moments were the most heart-shattering, soul-smashing in the film, and among the most impactful of this behemoth of a franchise.

Does it go too far sometimes? Admittedly. Are there problems with the narrative? Without activating an entire volcano of spoiler-heavy questions and answers and whatnot that analyzes justifies, and even criticizes both the film and the show itself, I’ll say that it does, even if they are relatively minor. But it is a truly powerful and challenging film with something important to say that justifies its existence when it didn’t really have to. Anno could have just ignored the abhorrently unwarranted backlash from people who hated the final episodes, but instead, he channeled his anger into another piece of art that in some ways, does the finale one better. It gives the closure some people wanted, even if it is nothing like what many expected, let alone truly asked for. It does so expertly in many regards, even if it may come off as self-important and unnecessarily unflinching to the point of discomfort and outrage on the part of some viewers. However, it fits almost perfectly with every character and ties up the themes of the original in a way that shines a new, more despondent and challenging light on them. The fact that it came away with an equally important message that the show itself left room for is just the cherry on top of this demented, awe-inspiring, and loving sundae, even if the controlled chaos may go too far and leave things more ambiguous or disturbing than it needed to. However, this is the culmination of everything Evangelion is and was, perhaps even more so than the finale of the original. For that and more, The End of Evangelion is something special, and worth cherishing, much like its predecessor. Thank you for reading this, and with all that said, I bid you adieu.

ABSOLUTE WASTE OF TIME. If you watch this movie for its "deep plot" you will be disappointed. The Neon movie gets a 10 by a lot of people mostly because it just looks like a classic movie poster, but don't get it twisted. This movie does NOTHING amazing except for having a higher budget in its animation with smoother fights, darker tones, and more gore and nudity than a TV show.

Main problem:
It attempts to be complex, but ends up being inconsistent, riddled with plot holes, villains with god-like power, absurd characters....

Many people argue that "no bro you just didn't understand the symbology." No. I got ... it. It's pretty clear if you ever watched the TV series or this movie what the message goal was of spirituality, free will, and confronting reality is. It's so dang simple, I get it. The problem IS that this message gets stretched out harder than a college student racing to finish an essay 15 minutes before its due. The essay becomes one long filler just to explain why water is wet. That's why this movie's plot fails as well. It takes almost 40mins of flashy scenes just to repeat the message of having a choice, i.e. what is Shinji's choice that he makes.

Shinji is a problem in itself as addressed in my Neon TV review, but in terms of what "Shinji resolves" it doesn't matter because Shinji does not undergo any learning curve. What does he learn in the TV show? Nothing. What does he learn in the movie? To accept reality....then choking Asuka because JK Shinji is still the same angry wimp with self issues.

The only ACTUAL learning curve that Shinji ever showcased was in the TV series, and that was just a filler episode that by now doesn't even count in the main plot (the scene when everyone is congratulating Shinji).

No. Because Shinji DOES NOT have any character growth means that the plot for this movie was wasted. All that absurd fiction. All those absurd drawings and animation. All those absurd moments of flashy edgy attempts of attempting to depict a theme or message, were all wasted the moment Shinji chokes Asuka. WHY? Because how does that scene DIFFER from Shinji in Neon episode 1? Answer: it doesn't. That's it. No character growth. Plot wasted. Message wasted. Consistency wasted. ALL IS WASTED. Shinji is meant to be the character that the author chooses to be a figure for its plot, but SHINJI turns out to be the same wimp, the same inconsistent motives of whos side is he on, the same empty pervert, the same bland character. Shinji does not exist. The sooner people can accept that, the easier it would be to watch Neon.

Once you accept that Shinji doesn't matter, you start loving Neon because Neon's "deep plot" doesn't matter. Why? Because Neon's "deep plot" has so many plot holes, fails to be consistent, and fails to be a good story because the main plot just does whatever it wants, no ifs ands or buts. If the world turned yellow. Don't worry guys its "a deep plot." If everyone turned out to live,Don't worry guys its "a deep plot." If a giant monster appeared, and the universe caved around it, Don't worry guys its "a deep plot."

This is why I say that Neon's attempt of having a message becomes TOO edgy, too convoluted, too poison, too absurd, too complex falling into itself, to SIMPLY just gloss over and say "yeah, I liked what Neon's message was." Because there is no 1 message. There are SERIES of messages that all fall into each other. Like slapping a bunch of paint and calling it art. Like pasting a bunch of symbolism and calling it deep. Like drawing a lot of animation and calling the movie good.

I can't rate the manga, but I CAN say that both the anime and the movie were gorgeous to watch, but as a whole completely butchered it's own lore through inconsistencies, shadow secrets people never learn, pacing direction that is just all over the place, bland characters, and a horrible main character.

If you really cared about the Neon series, you would recognize these flaws. In a future recreation you would want the story to be clear, the characters to be alive, and the plot to be decisive. No reason why doing this you can't also be a little artsy. But it seems Neon TV and movie went the other direction with being too artsy first, and everything else second...... 6/10 for pity.

Note: If you haven't already watched Neon Genesis Evangelion- go watch it. If you've already watched it, and you haven't watched The End of Evangelion-- for the love of god, please, PLEASE, watch this movie. Need I emphasis more?

Just like every other person who watches Neon Genesis Evangelion (NGE), I was in love, I was crying, but mainly, I was confused. If you are at all postponing watching The End of Evangelion (EoE) because you are confused with the ending of NGE, stop reading this review and go watch EoE. Why? Well, because chances are it will change your outlook on life. EoE truly is, ... as the rating system goes, a "masterpiece." Not one I can express with words.

NGE ends with Shinji killing kaworu, the only person who has ever loved him. You then see Shinji on the beach, with Misato, in obvious depression. She tries to console him, but only ends up hurting him more. The last two episodes are hard to explain. Basically, Shinji is in turmoil. He is hating himself, and feeling bad for himself. And honestly, who can blame him? He was faced with killing the only person that he believed truly loved him in life, or extinction of the whole human race. It's like being faced with saving your mom, or saving your dad. Neither choice is wrong, but neither choice is right. All it induces is pain, and suffering. All that Shinji wants to do is die, and who can blame him for that? Is suicide really a sin?

For me (and I know some will disagree) the whole Evangelion series was about loneliness. Everyone is afraid of being truly alone. People fear death because they do not want to be forgotten. They want to be remembered. They don't want to be alone. That's all shinji wants, is not to be alone. He says he doesn't want people to hate him, but he really just doesn't want to be alone. If you didn't know already, what Seele is trying to accomplish is to create god. By creating god, all physical forms of existence will cease to exist. All the souls on planet earth will come together and form one... "being", if you may. Shinji is at the center of this, as the being who will decide the fate of everyone in existence. Trying not to give to much of a spoiler, shinji chooses one way and realizes he is still lonely because everyone is something, yet he is nothing. He chooses to go back to the way he used to exist. However, after that several things happen that can be interpreted in many different ways. Although reviews are mainly opinion based, it doesn't feel fair for me to voice my opinion on such an amazing ending. If you really didn't understand the ending, there are thousands of discussions all over the web. However, every single one is only a theory. Hideaki Anno explained that EoE does not have one set meaning, or ending, for that matter. In a sense, you create the ending of this beautiful series with your imagination. Can you think of anything better?

Before Anno started creating evangelion, he had a girlfriend who fell terminally ill. On her deathbed, the last words she said to him were - "I was going to dump you anyway. Your disgusting." Shortly after, he created the masterpiece Evangelion. Many people believe that the last scene is a reenactment of the conflict that went on between him and his girlfriend. However, it can be interpreted in many ways. In fact, the whole Evangelion series can be interpreted in completely different ways. That, my friends, is the beauty of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion.

Story:

Since Neon Genesis Evangelion has become standard affair for any anime fan looking to get into serious anime, I don't have to explain the story. But, it is necessary to point out the improvement of this conclusion in comparison to the series. Episode 24 ended epically and I'm sure that all the viewers expected no less from the last two episodes, but most were disappointed with the result. What the viewers were treated with was an in depth character analysis laced with reused images and even dialogue. While I actually enjoyed this interpretation of actions and emotions (I felt it fit with the direction the ... series was moving in toward the end) many were outraged (especially since the main reason for it was because Gainax used up all the funds for the show). After squandering enough funds, the original creator, Hideaki Anno, decided to create a true ending to his ode to otakus. Thus, End of Evangelion was created.

Alright, now that the back story is taken care of, I can move onto the actual story. EoE is epic in its own right. It begins with a full force invasion, an awesome fight between Asuka (one of my favorite anime fight scene), and the termination of almost everyone. Then it cools down for another depressing character analysis of Shinji, some weird live action moments, and screaming (yes screaming). When it is finally resolved you will either be completely confused or blown out of your seat (most likely both). So all in all, it is a great conclusion to a revolutionary series. If anything, it will make you think, which is always a good thing.

Art:

The artwork and animation were amazing when it first came out and it still are. I can't believe that this movie came out in 1997. It's little over ten years old and it still compares to a lot of shows that are coming out this new year. This would be a sure ten if it wasn't for the awkward live action scenes. I understand that they were mostly scenes from a live action sequence in which it shows a future NGE world that did not have Shinji, but just because the effort was put in to make does not mean that it should of been featured. It came off as lazy to me.

Sound:

The music is spectacular. From the originals to the classical songs, the music really complemented each scene. The piano version of Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude (I'm not sure if that is correct in any way) by Bach is beautiful and also perfectly fitting. In fact I am listening to it right now to get in the mood for this review. Shiro Sagisu really hit it with this soundtrack (everyone should check it out even if you do not plan on watching the movie).

Character:

Everyone is back from the series in one form or another (well mostly everyone) and they all act as expected of them. Shinji is as angsty as ever at one point choosing to sit and die, forcing Misato to drag him out of harms way (while Misato is bad ass in this movie). To really go into depth on the characters I am afraid that I would have to give away too many spoilers so if you really need to know how they are, refer to the first sentence of this section (and you should know the characters by now because you have seen the series, right? and if you have not then DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE!).

Enjoyment:

Now this is the hardest section to judge because it is completely based on one's opinion (which usually defeats the purpose of most reviews because you want to judge the product on quality alone and not personal feelings, but I guess all judgments are relative to the reviewer). I thoroughly enjoyed most of the movie and there should be an emphasis on MOST. No matter how much I liked a lot of the parts, I could not ignore all of the awkward moments laced throughout the movie (hospital scene anyone) and the live action scenes just got on my nerves.

So, in the end you should watch this movie if you are a fan of the show. You will appreciate the fact that it is a conclusion, but it also brings up some questions of its own which might annoy some. It is visually stunning for any time period but is absolutely outstanding for being ten years old. The soundtrack is a great listen, featured with both new and classic music. It holds true to the series and it should not disappoint.

Basically.

Giant Rei is Anime Escapism.

Shinji is the Otaking.

All that real life stuff that occurs in the film is supposed to get you to reflect on yourself as a viewer.

Reality is out there to slap you in the face and take you away from Big Rei Mama. But Mama is comfy and turns you into a hikikomori.

... Christian symbolism is there for Chuuni - but it also doubles as a platform to get you to think about how the Religious instinct may possibly be another form of escapism. Or, alternatively, escapism may be in the core of the religious instinct.

Misato fanservice is understandable as a trope thing within the realm of Otaku-ness, but from the outside view it's just creepy. About as creepy as what Hitchcock did in Vertigo.

Too much Freud.

Last 30 minutes is still my jam, no matter where I am. This is completely out of personal bias.

Wait for SubaHibi to be translated to see themes taken to their highest conclusion.

I hope Anno reads Wittgenstein before making 4.0. Alternatively - I hope he reads speculative realism or something weird like that, and rather than turn everyone into Orange Tang - they turn into boxes.

This review contains minor spoilers.

"It all returns to nothing it just keeps tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down." -That really nice song in this movie

After you finished Neon Genesis Evangelion, you may be disappointed by the end. Well... there is The End of Evangelion and in my opinion the best ending of Neon Genesis Evangelion in storytelling, soudtrack and just really enjoying if you liked the first season.

Story: 10

First I have to say that this movie can be really confusing if you watch it only one time. If you go deeper into it, it will be a complex but an outstanding story. It's thrilling, creepy, ... action-packed and can be very disturbing for some people (R+). If you're confused about the story in general, it's about Robots killing Aliens... no just kidding, there is more about it. It's about the end of the world and about a new beginning. Like the title sais: Neon (new) Genesis (the first book of the bible), Evangelion (the robots created by NERV), they want to pretend the end of the world and want to kill the angels with the Evangelions. The rest of the story is self-explaining and I don't want to get way to deep into it.
PS: some scenes are just for emotions like the scene where you see a cinema full of people or the back of the protagonists in real life... it's not for the story.

Character: 9

The characters are the same as in NGE: Shinji, Rei and Asuka, to name the most important. The characters are like the story very dark, depressed and thrilling. You'll see what kind of person Rei is and what purpose she has to NERV and the world. The main protagonist is little bit different than in NGE. He is not happy like in the last episodes of NGE, he is depressed and got no future... you'll see what will happen to him.
We got to see whats in Shinjis mind in some scenes what was brilliantly shown and helped the viewer to feel with him with a kind of symbolism.
The father of Shinji is still a guy you hate and is doing his brilliant job as an antagonist. Asuka gets more backstory and she is not really happy about anything that is happening.
The mystery around Rei Ayanami is absolutely mysterios and mindblowing.
Side characters got more purpose for the story and are more important than in NGE, which is nice.
But there are still some side character that are unnessesary and well... there is a scene... just why?? You'll see what I mean.

Sound: 10

The main soundtracks are still the same. But the music isn't that happy this time... or is it? But the main soundtrack is still very good in my opinion and got a jazzy, military flair.
The other main themes that are new are just masterpieces.
We got: "If I can't be yours", which is very jazzy and slow with many feelings.
AAAanndd we got: "Komm Süsser Tod": holy... this is a masterpiece of soundtrack. The Scene where it stars is just bonechilling, that ost is so good and is improving the scene and the whole movie so much. I am really happy about that Soundtrack. It gives you a world-end kinda feeling, I could jam to that song all day.
The Soundeffects are thrilling and got a horror type.

Animation: 9.5

Old but gold. Like in Cowboy Bebop aired in the same time, it's just timeless.
The fights are the best mecha fights beside Gurren Lagann I have seen so far, you can feel the impact in the main fight.

Enjoyment: 10+

In my opinion: The End of Evangelion is a roller coaster of feelings, it's thrilling, mysterious, mindblowing and will stay in your mind for a long time.
If you want to get in the backstory and symbolism you'll have definately even more enjoyment and you want to see it over and over again.
I watched it already 6 times. :)

Thank you for reading this review and I hope you'll enjoy The End of Evangelion or keep enjoying it.

(Contains minor spoilers)


The more you love someone, the more their suffering will affect you.


It’s difficult for me, as a viewer, to really feel grief for a character that the author himself already hates. Rather, above all, I suppose I do feel the absolute hopelessness and melodramatic nihilism seeping through each and every frame of End of Evangelion (EoE), so perhaps I do feel depressed. But to say that I feel for the characters would be disingenuous. To create something beautiful, you must first love it. With mere hatred and resentment, one might be a victim of a fault in writing: bad melodrama. Though without establishing ... how the series leading to the movie is and how the movie actually ends, this would definitely seem like an unjust critique, for arguably, this movie has quite a positive conclusion considering that this is Evangelion that we’re talking about. So let us first talk a bit about the series as a whole.

Evangelion's main selling point is perhaps its strangely thorough and unflinching presentation of the characters' psyche, under the influence of a hopeless apocalypse. The most obvious trait that every character seems to share is that they all are fundamentally broken human beings with literally no redeeming quality, and the author views this somewhat as a demonstration of his own belief. That is, all humans, after exploring the deepest, most vulnerable of their Freudian ids, are exposed to be inherently disgusting, full of selfish needs and nothing else. The movie therefore ends on a loosely absurdist note, being that for one to find the meaningful in the ostensible meaningless, it accepts the fact that humans are despicable but they should all accept each other’s flaws and come to appreciate who they truly are.

For context: Human Instrumentality Project eradicates structuralism, individualism, freedom of choice and any sort of desires and struggles simply because there's nothing to be desired or struggled to begin with. It is the ultimate escapism for weaklings (since abandoning the self relieves you from everything), and also is a desperate, unrealistic resolution to its abiding misanthropy. Rejecting Human Instrumentality means escaping escapism, accepting responsibilities, retaining individuality – viz. understanding one's own shortcomings, learning to deal with it and learning to appreciate others even with the pre-existing 'AT-Field'. Therefore in all of this rambling, it actually has quite a simple message with the aid of some profound ideas - accept the insecurities and flaws and appreciate yourself and others. The problem is not so much in this seemingly irreproachable conclusive message, but rather in its execution (or at times, lack thereof).

As we spend the majority of the runtime in both the series and the movie exploring all the despicable human traits reside in our characters without any glimmer of faith in humanity whatsoever, the said conclusion seems rather dubious and otiose, because we have not come to love the characters, or more accurately, we’re not supposed to love them. If the movie wants us to love our pathetic absurdist self, it should’ve executed in such a manner instead of insisting on whining how the characters are so vulnerable and flawed. Admittedly, the flaws of Evangelion’s characters are very human, even relatable in many ways; though as shown through how irredeemable every character is, it is easy to lose every shred of hope and humanity, and so it seems as if we’re just experiencing a philosophical misanthropic manifesto of the author himself with a forced positive final note. It’s almost uncanny in a way. At the end of everything, the characters supposedly accept the barest of each other’s flaw, but not to have come to appreciate their valuable attributes because simply, there is none. EoE merely persuades its characters to appreciate other people’s flaws and not their strengths, because every character in the movie is too broken and similarly insecure. Talking about realism, that seems highly irrational and delusory to me. Human simply isn’t a complete blackness with only deep dark desires, nor are they all about insecurities. To undermine the goods would both be unwise and, as I’ve mentioned, melodramatic in poor taste.

I’m sure for Anno who had been suffering from clinical depression at the time, this would be a feasible point of view. The total hopelessness, total nihilism, total cynicism in oneself and in humanity, and the desperate desire for the nonexistent love that is. However, this is, if anything, foolish and parochial. It doesn’t accurately represent humans, nor does it hold much worth since it derives from a suicidal man after all. For this reason, he bitterly self-inserts and has thus come to despise the characters, and perceivably struggles to see the lights within his own creations. The approach of believing in such complete absence of so many things, in such a setting that aims to convey humanity as a whole, has created this sense of misanthropy and profound hatred, ultimately resulting in the misalignment with the movie’s underlying philosophy.

For better or worse, it’s clear that EoE is not within the realm of subtlety when it comes to psychoanalysis, or character self-analysis in general. I’m not talking about every little action the character decides to take here (which can sometimes be subtle), but their psychological trip that literally vomits dialogues of emotions with an unchanging formula – has a character confronted with his/her own issues, has them denied it, has them begged further to deny it, drives them practically insane, has them admitted it. I remember being so intrigued when this method of character reflection was first introduced in the second half of the series, until they kept chewing it over and over again even in the movie. The issue isn’t that it’s so raw and lacks subtlety, but it is overused with over-expositions, and thus has the earmarks of being whiny. This was slightly more balanced in the series, since different methods of characterizing are used more varyingly. Though for this movie, this method takes up the entire climax. Characters having existential crises every so often does not interest me, more so when there’s nothing new to put on the table. Shinji’s (or any other character) flaws have been previously explored, at which the movie's "crazy phantasmagoric sequences" are but visually whiny (albeit impressively so). So, contrary to some popular beliefs, the characters weren't terribly complex or anything in this movie.

It also doesn’t help how convoluted of a story EoE is, making it incredibly distracting for the first several viewings. The entire point of EoE is to discern the characters’ internal struggles and appetency to appreciate and be appreciated. By way of explanation, EoE is executed as a character-driven movie. So making a plot this infuriatingly convoluted really isn’t a wise decision, because it distracts viewers from what the movie tries to convey. If, and only if, the convoluted narrative has some sort of thematic value, meta even, then it might’ve been perfectly acceptable, which unfortunately isn’t the case for EoE. Even after reading pages of explanations to fully understand the supposed plot holes, it is still the narrative’s fault for being so negligent of properly explaining all the already jarring events. It barely scratches the origin of the Angels, or Lilith, or anything, and these are supposed to be the mystery built-up throughout the series awaiting for a satisfying payoff. It is a narratively incoherent mess of a story that really doesn’t have to be so overly complicated. Sure, it's easier to shrug it all off and give the audience a big middle finger since "nothing matters anymore at that point". But this wasn't Burning, the movie, type of ambiguity. It's simply more lazy than tactful.

But here we are. Despite all of that being said, I still gave this a 5, meaning it was not bad at all. Because even though the movie failed to make me deeply care about the characters, it still gave me adequate emotional depth that I could spiritually connect to. As I said, it’s a raw movie with raw emotions, about very real issues, even if under the director's disagreeable lens (since that didn’t really detract it from being emotionally impactful). Because the director and author, Hideaki Anno, is also being raw and very true to himself in the movie. It doesn’t mean I liked his bizarre point of view any better, but it’s undeniably difficult to completely hate the movie simply for how emotionally real it is. Other than that, the animation, music and choreography were also pretty great, and since I have quite a soft spot for that, I’m giving the movie a bit of personal bias here. So, audiovisual-wise, this movie is exceptional to say the least. And emotionally, it excels, considering how much I downright disdain the pov this movie took.

In conclusion, ok movie, nice audiovisual, whatever philosophy, bad execution. Used to be a 10 from me for such a long time, and for holding some personal significance, I'd say it's a 5/10.

I am not a fan of the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise but I pushed myself to see why many people would consider this to be a anime masterpiece. After watching 1 hour of hormonal teenagers screaming, mecha mutilation and nonstop fan-service. I came to the conclusion that End of Evangelion is the worst piece of crap atrocious animated film in history and it would better to call it a badly acted porno film than an actually anime.

The biggest problem of the film is the overly complex plot and it pulls too many philosophical themes in the story. I think it's often with these kind ... of films, that the creators confuse complexity with intelligence and as a result, make a film that is far too complicated which goes into the lines of stupidity. Complexity doesn't always reveal someone's intelligence and the reason why people wouldn't be able to understand the film's overly convoluted plot is because they are not stupid but just don't understand it's themes because the film is ludicrous.

The second problem is with it's main character, Shinji Ikari who is one of the most terrible characters in all of fiction. The reason why is because Shinji is more of a two-dimensional robot than an actually human being. Plus all he does is scream and weep like a toddler who didn't get their favorite candy. I'm not saying those qualities are bad for a character, they just overly use them and wastes their potential character development and ultimately these leave Shinji as a one trick pony who can't bother to do anything because he's drowning in his own self pity. We all feel sadness in our lives and it's tough but when we overcome the feelings of despair, we become stronger people. IGN even ranked Shinji as the greatest anime character of all time and the writer described him as being the most emotionally true to life character in anime history. The guys at IGN must have pea-sized brains if they think that's true, Shinji is unrelateable as his non intriguing and should never be called a work of art but rather a robot with flat character traits who is trying to act like a human.

I won't get started on the ending but honestly there are no words that can describe my disdain for the ending. It was simply too weird and even generic, plus it all felt rushed as characters started dying too quickly and the female giant monster was placed there, just to add more drama. Overall it was a nauseating and smutty ending that didn't give any satisfaction, I wouldn't even call it a downer ending, it was a ending that sucked. Devilman Crybaby had a similar ending but it was well executed and thought out in a good way while End of Evangelion rushed their ending too much and lead to a fountain of colossal fecal matter failure.

In the final points of my review, End of Evangelion is the worst thing I ever saw in recent memory and it shouldn't be included in any of the greatest animated film lists. The film should stay within it's own world because it will never be a genuine piece of artwork but rather a disgusting joyless animated mess of wasted talent and toilet slop. Hideaki Anno, you are not a good director at all but you are certainly a wiz with animation, too bad that's your only strong point.

Prologue.
Taking place right after episode 24 of the TV series the final angel has been defeated and all of the EVA pilots are now crippled in they own ways from Shinji being mentally broken, Asuka being comatose after getting mind-raped by one of the Angels to Rei going missing. Meanwhile, Seele puts the Human Instrumentality Project plan into monition as now Nerv must now defend themselves from Seele and prevent the third impact from happening.

Act I: The creation and the main purpose of the film.

Before we talk about what I thought about the story and characters of End of Evangelion let’s go over the background ... of The End Of Evangelion as well the creator himself Hideaki Anno. Hideaki Anno created anime such as Gunbuster, Nadia The Secret Of Blue Water, Neon Genesis Evangelion, His and Her Circumstances, and Gunbuster.
Honestly, I really liked and enjoyed his works especially Neon Genesis Evangelion where I consider to be his best work. Now at the time when Neon Genesis Evangelion was airing like with Tomino for Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, he was suffering through depression and just like with Tomino Mobile Suit Victory Gundam the depression really hit by the second half of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Because of that the second half Neon Genesis Evangelion became a psychological drama instead of being of a monster of the week type of show. Then comes the final 2 episodes of the show and like with many people on the net we thought the ending of the TV series was total shit. It had gotten to the point where people inducing fans of the show were sending letters to Anno which some of them were actual death threats. Ultimately Anno decided to re-create the final 2 episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion in the form of the movie called Neon Genesis Evangelion The End Of Evangelion where it not only was meant to close off many of the plot threads in the series but it also meant to give the series a proper ending that it deserves.

Act II: The grotesque but beautifully written first half.
Neon Genesis Evangelion The End Of Evangelion is by far one of the darkest pieces of media I have ever seen.
Right out the bat, the movie wastes no time showcasing it’s darker tone where the first couple of scenes we are presented with disgusting acts done by Shinji where not only he tried to commit suicide by drowning he jerks off to a comatose Asuka after failing to wake her up. I really liked the first scenes a lot because not only they are extremely well directed but does a masterful job of portraying the themes and topics of suicide, depression and downfall spiral. Not to mention as soon as Shinji finished jerking off of comatose Asuka he is filled with disgust he quickly says the following lines “I’m so fucked up”. The jerking off scene may not be for everyone due it’s disgusting nature but what it was it’s a well executed as it perfectly foreshadows the tone of the movie.

Now with that beautifully grotesque hospital scene done with let’s talk about the first half of End Of Evangelion.
The first half of The End Of Evangelion minus the hospital scene goes back to the first half of the TV roots where it’s all action pack that its filled with explosions and fights. However, unlike the first half of the TV series, the first half of the movie has a much darker thanks to it kill them all nature whereby the end of the first half almost every character in Nerv is dead including one of the mains characters which I will talk about soon.
Asuka battle with the Mass Unit Evas is by far my favorite scene of the movie. Not only it’s beautifully written and directed to the absolute core but it perfectly concludes her character arc even if her conclusion wasn’t exactly a happy one.
The final thing I want to talk about in this part of the movie was Misato death. Personally, Misato was my favorite character in the series because the not only beautifully written character that we can all relate to thanks to her backstory but she’s was a fun and likable character. We don’t see Misato much in the movie mainly because he only appears in a couple of scenes but when she show’s up in the movie she is still awesome as ever as she concludes her character with an emotional bang that honestly made me cry.

Act III: The fantastic psychological second half and the origin of Rei.

Before I talk about the psychological elements in the movie I want to talk about is Rei’s origin as well her role in the movie. In my review of Neon Genesis Evangelion I quickly talked about Rei but now I think it’s best to talk about her origin and purpose in the series and the movie. Rei was created by Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki attempt to retrieve Shinji’s mother Yui Ikari. The attempt failed on some level where Rei may incorporate DNA from the Second Angel, Lilith because she is the vessel for Lilith’s soul. Now there are three Rei’s in the series.

Rei I was created around sometime in 2004-2008 where she is shown as a small child wearing a red dress in episode 21. After that Rei 1 gets murdered by Naoko Akagi, for revealing that Gendo Ikari referred to her as an ‘old hag’ behind her back.

Rei II is the second incarnation of Rei aka the Rei that we have been following in the series. Rei II is shown to be a teenager who is age 14 the same as Shinji. Rei II has a stronger relationship with Gendo meaning she does whatever he says without question. Not only that but he she as a building relationship with Shinji. She sacrifices herself by setting her AT Field to maximum to draw Armisael to herself and try to contain it temporarily and then activated Eva-00’s self-destruct to kill both of them.

Right after Rei II death, Rei III was created however she has no memories of saving Shinji as she states that “I think am the third”

How does this relate to Rei’s role in the second half of the movie to put this straightforward Rei is the most important character in the movie even more than Asuka, Misato and at times Shinji. She is a character that is impossible to relate too but I think that the whole point of Rei as a character. She’s not human at all but rather an angel in human form. Her whole existence in the series is meant to serve where the reason why Rei was created is so that Gendo can have a controllable link with Lilith for the Human Instrumentality Project where in the movie he tries to use Rei to allow to see Yui again. However, Rei rejects Gendo by taking his arm so she can regenerate her lost arm as well using merging with Lilith to start the third impact. Just from these are moments alone Rei has become my second favorite in the movie because not only she was a fascinating character that I loved but it all comes together in the end especially in the third impact part of the movie where she concludes her character arc. Not to mention seeing all three Rei together was amazing and it made me tear up.

Now with Rei done let’s talk about the psychological elements of the movie.

While the first half of the movie is action-packed with a darker tone the second half of the movie mainly focus on The Third Impact as well as all the psychological elements that the series is known for. The psychological elements are nothing but amazing. Not only it well directed that is filled with great symbolism that highlight the series core themes but all of the psychological elements and themes come to a beautiful conclusion for Shinji character as a whole.

I won’t be talking about the Third Impact as well the last scene because that should be experienced for yourselves but all I can about it that it’s downright amazing and beautiful.

Overall the story and characters of The End Of Evangelion is perfection to the eye. It may be confusing but if you go back and re-watch the series and the movie a couple of times everything from story, characters, themes, and symbolism will come together.

Act IV Final: The wonderful visual and music upgrade.

Visually this movie is fantastic. It took everything that we liked the series visual wise and expanded it to new heights. Production I.G and Gainax really did a wonderful job with its visuals as not only it is very well animated but the visuals direction and editing was just masterful. This is by far one of the best-animated anime movies I have ever seen period.

The same thing can be said for the soundtrack is which is a big upgrade from the series as every single track in the moves manages to fit the tone of the movie perfectly.

Now for sub vs dub Not gonna lie the dub for The End Of Evangelion has improved quite a bit when compared to the TV series but at the same time the dub still had a lot of problems. At the end of the day if you want to best experience of this series I strongly recommend the sub because not only it’s well acted but it does a much better justice on key scenes of the movie. Am not trying to say that the dub was awful or anything as it was improved quite a bit from the series but at the end of the day the dub of Evangelion is very inferior to its sub counterpart.

Epilogue.
Neon Genesis Evangelion The End Of Evangelion is a fantastic film. It took everything that was great from the series and expanded it to new heights. It concludes all the story and theme elements in the show. it concludes all the beautifully written character arcs that the series has built up from the very beginning. It masterfully concludes Neon Genesis Evangelion as a whole. There is nothing like The End Of Evangelion and all the anime that tried to copy it afterward (cough Darling in the Franxx and Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion) fail thanks to horrendous overall execution.

If you haven’t seen the series yet then I strongly recommend you checking out the series first before watching this film.

The End Of Evangelion is a masterful film that I will forever love.

Final Score 10/10

"End of Evangelion" provides an alternative ending to replace those crappy two final episodes of the Evangelion series. This starts where the recap part of the previous movie "Death and Rebirth" ended, repeats the second part of that movie and then continues on where it left off.

First of all, I think the repeat of the whole of the second half of the "Death and Rebirth" is unnecessary - that's a whole half hour of stuff that I've already seen. Most other people appear to have penalised "Death and Rebirth" for it, but I've chosen to take marks off "End of Evangelion" instead, as this is ... the later film, and is therefore the one that does the actual repeating. I guess that an argument can be made that the inclusion of the second half of "Death and Rebirth" is for the purpose of completeness, but it still feels like a cock up to me, as though they forced this into a movie when they didn't have enough new material to make a full length one, so made up the difference by repeating what's already been shown before.

Anyway, the second part of "End of Evangelion" continues straight on from where "Death and Rebirth" ended. This segment has much of the same feel as the first part, except it's better. Like the first part, it's a compelling watch and the execution is sublime. The music production is especially good, and I remember one track in particular. It's a poppy, upbeat song featuring sweet-sounding female vocals... the catch is that the song is called "Komm, Susser Tod" - German for "Come, Sweet Death" - its lyrics tells the story of someone about to commit suicide, and it gets played prominently during some apocalyptic scenes. The result is a fabulous cognitive dissonance effect that somehow makes the scene oddly powerful, memorable, and utterly brilliant. Also like with the first part of this movie, I feel there are a couple of scenes that are there for no other reason than being shocking and disturbing, and I'm not entirely convinced they are consistent with the existing personalities previously shown by the characters. But to be honest, this is a small gripe as the excitement rose to new heights and I became totally absorbed with the show...

...and then it all went weird again in the third part. Watched it once, didn't understand it. Watched it again with the commentary track switched on. With the help of the commentary, I was able to understand it a bit better, and appreciated more of the subtle symbolisms that went past me the first time. But still, it didn't all make sense, and in fact there are parts that even the people doing the commentary admitted they had no clue about - and they are staff on the actual movie for God's sake. There's some parts that just seems to be completely unexplained, and other parts where I probably didn't understand due to my ignorance of religion related lore. I've never heard of things like the tree of life and the 7 eyes of God (phrases I just picked off the commentary), let alone know what these are supposed mean in the context of the anime. I don't think I'll go studying the bible intensively just for the sake of understanding this - my patience for this franchise is at an end. There's even a scene showing some letters praising/threatening the director, which is really starting to take the piss. What's the hell is all that about? Maybe he should start telling us his blood type and shoe size next?!

If you're into abstract stuff with lots of symbolisms and room for philosophical interpretation, then this is definitely one for you. But for me, it was good, but no more than that. Weirdly enough, out of the original series, "Death and Rebirth" and "End of Evangelion", I actually liked "Death and Rebirth" the most - it's the only piece of work that didn't piss me off at some point.

(Note:- Review applies to both NGE and EoE)

Unpopular Opinion:-

As everyone seems to praise the shit out of Evangelion, I beg to differ as I have formed certain opinions about it which everyone won't agree. So if you're someone who gets offended quite easily, please scroll away. And with that disclaimer out of the way, let's begin without any further ado.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a poor mashup of sci-fi and Christian philosophy. In the name of creating a "masterpiece", while being high ofc, Hideaki Anno tried to create a kaiju-mecha sci-fi anime with Christian philosophical references, but halfway, when his "budget" was almost blown away, he ... apparently got into "depression", which lead him to show and create painfully cringy and slow episodes in the name of "psychological" art. I mean, the elevator scene was a single frame shown for a freaking minute, and nothing significant happens for so many episodes after a certain point. The last significant thing to happen was deaths of Kaworu Nagissa and Kaji. And oh! How atrociously painful and slow the final two episodes were! In the name of psychological art, everything built up was thrown on the wall to see what sticks, and that "Congratulations" in the final episode is cringy yet so freaking memable to this very day!
Sure, we did get EoE, and yes, while it definitely was better than the monstrosity the final two episodes were, well, again, Hideaki Anno just seemed to throw everything towards the wall to see what sticks, but in high-quality animation.
And, let's not even talk about characters! Shinji, a pussy, Asuka, a whinny intolerable tsundere bitch, Rei, a lifeless hag, Shinji's dad, even bigger pussy than him and also a pedophile, rest all characters except Katsuragi Misato and Kaji are either godfucking annoying or just forgettably blending in the wallpaper of a shitshow!
Overall, Evangelion is a 3/10 anime for me. Evangelion will only look deep and appeal to those who are 14 year-old woke kids who don't know shit yet can't shut the fuck up after getting offended just slightly.