Neon Genesis Evangelion is a much deeper story than initially shown. The story does becoming confusing which adds to it's greatness. Never quite sure of what lays at the core of the characters, it can be somewhat frustrating to never fully see the heart of certain characters " Neon Genesis Evangelion: the end of Evangelion" corrects this however, I'd highly recommend seeing the movie afterwards. It gives a sense of completion to the series.
The story itself is solid and interesting, the characters are a little shallow but the series is short and never had enough time to give complexity to anyone other than Shinji.
The characters are very likable however and play their part in the story well. I like Neon Genesis Evangelion for many reasons and I would recommend it to anyone.
The story has many religious concepts mixed with scientific twists which create an exceptional transfusion of greatness.