1. Wonderfully flawed characters.The male protag, Shinji, is a sniveling wimp, but in all due reason. His father is a massive prick and his mother is dead. He has few friends and is not very physically or mentally strong.In a world of tough guys like the heros in Robotech or Gundam, Shinji is a welcome sight.
2. The Soundtrack. Everyone has heard Cruel Angel's Thesis. Evangelion gave us one of the most iconic anime openings, ever. Fly Me to the Moon, the outro song, is a classy version of Sinatra's old song. Other memorable tracks include Both of You, Dance Like You Want To Win, Angel Attacks And Komm, Susser Tod.
3. The plot. NGE's plot is riddled with all sorts of symbolism, psychology and philosophy and where most animes would collapse under the pretentiousness, Hideaki Anno makes it shine through. Although many people complain about how confusing it is, just don't think about it. Just watch it and form your own ideas and theories. It only gets weird after episode 16.
Just remember: " I mustn't run away." Evangelion is too good to run away from.
