The story at most times is enjoyable, the characters, while not the greatest cast I've seen, had some crazy developments. The action scenes were few for a mecha, but short and sweet, leaving more time for character interaction and development.
The shows ending (both the last 2 eps and EoE) are really what most people take about for NGE. How the series left us with virtually nothing but a consolidating clap, and EoE, while satisfying in some aspects left my mind in a sea of human orange juice. In doing so, I admire the boldness of the show and respect that it allows us to come up with our own interpretations that we can discuss with fellow fans and friends for years to come.
I found Eva to be quite enjoyable, watching the characters develop relationships and fight angels in badass biomechs. This is up until about episode 20 anyway. The story then decides to get into the crux of things, escalating quickly and making it feel very rushed (perhaps due to lack of money) and it feels like your minds been tossed into a washing machine on an endless cycle.
Looking at the last half dozen episodes and EoE, you are left with more questions then answers and one would think "why bother? Is there any point in trying to interpretate this at all?" However, to me, the fact that the first 20 episodes where so enjoyable makess all the deciphering and theorizing worthwhile. The show is enjoyable then rapes your mind and leaves you with an endless topic of discussion.
So bravo, instead of providing a satisfying and happy ending to an enjoyable series that would have been memorable, Anno creates a series that we not only look back on, but constantly theorize in an attempt to perhaps one day understand what NGE is all about (but we all know that's not going to happen)
