Neon Genesis Evangelion is a series that is superb not only for anime standards, but in general. I would recommend it to everyone willing to watch it because it has the ability to change a person whole outlook on life. However, this review will only focus on the movie.
Story: 9/10
The story of the entire series is something unique for it's time. This is the grand finale which has been set up throughout the 26 episodes of the original TV show, and it plays out on an epic scale. The pacing is fairly good, there wasn't a part in which things seemed to stop. The first half of the movie is the one in which pretty much all of the action happens. It's quick, intense and dramatic and contains some of the most emotional scenes in the series. Those include the deaths of many important characters, one of them being very memorable in particular, the main feeling about it being one of absolute hopelessness.
The second half of the movie does not contain much plot aside from the beginning of the third impact, and focuses more on the characters instead.
Art: 8/10
Even though the movie is old, the animation seems pretty fluid and I have no complaints there. The character designs aren't anything special, but they look good nonetheless. What especially caught my eye was the fairly creepy design of the new Eva Series. The visual spectacle during the later part of the movie is something I found amazing as well.
Sound: 9/10
I can't really say much about this part, save that the soundtrack complemented the overall picture pretty well and had several really memorable tracks. I found it to be overall great.
Character: 10/10
This is the best part about Evangelion. The characters, even though stereotypical to a point, are portrayed in a very realistic light. Shinji (who gets way too much hate for no freaking reason) is a good example of what would happen if a normal child were to be tasked with saving the world. He experiences a good deal of character growth throughout the series which reaches its height during the second half of this movie. The choices that he makes are a proof of that. The goal of Evangelion as a whole is to take a peek into the hearts of it's characters and it does it really well. The second part of this movie aims to show the reasons behind the characters' actions and their simplest desires and deals with themes about loneliness, the purpose of life and what it means to interact with other people and their effect on an individual person's life.
Enjoyment: 10/10
The only thing that I can say here is that The End of Evangelion has left me without words. It is pretty much impossible to enjoy this without watching the show beforehand, and I don't think it's a movie that everybody would like, but it's worth the watch. Even from people who are not into anime in general.
Overall: 10/10
In my opinion, Mr. Anno has created a masterpiece that will inspire many future generations to come. God forbid that it's ever forgotten.
