Story: The story is straightforward. It's also jumbled and really complicated. Its genuinely funny. And it's crippling, depressive. Basically, it's like a rollercoaster, ups and downs, until it's only down, right into hell's maw. But then everything seems to be good again and we are left utterly confused but also kinda relieved. There is no conclusion at the end, no explanation of the events. There still isn't, even after the End of Evangelion and all the Rebuild-movies. But it doesn't matter, the story is just a stage, the couch in the therapists room, where all our characters can lie down and spill their souls. This is what Evangelion is about, not the fight against the angels, not the schemes of Gendo Ikari and Seele. They all just serve as a driving force and in the end, Evangelion abandons all of these pretenses and just looks into the characters as a final case study. And that is okay, it's amazing even, however the Story section is certainly the weakest part of the show, which doesn't mean its bad, no, it is very good.
Art: For an older show with heavy budget-constraints, Evangelion looks amazing. Be it backgrounds, animations, character-design, everything is an own piece of art. Everything in motion looks great, at times fantastical, then just really down to earth. However, there are a lot of still frames, most likely to manage the limited funds. It never takes you out of the experience though, quite the opposite and adds to Evangelions charm. When Rei and Asuka ride an elevator for almost a minute, without saying a word or moving at all, then you can either call that lazy or just an interesting display of a very awkward situation between characters, who can't stand each other. I choose the latter, so in conclusion, the art is great.
Sound: The Sound is insane, it's fantastic, the OST enhances every scene, supports them or sometimes, just completely contadicts them. Even then it just works. The Opening is downright iconic, nearly everyone who enjoys anime has probably heard it at some point. And the Ending, "fly me to the moon", a classic, changed for the show in as many variations as there are episodes. So the music is great, all the other sounds as well, weapons sound nice, the Angels, when they display noises, they sound really weird, otherworldly. The last words i have are for the voice acting, it's brilliant, the characters sound real in a sense and i never heard such desperate cries in an anime. So in terms of the score, the Sound is outstanding and that's not even enough to describe it.
Characters: If i could, i'd give this category, like, a 12 or something. The Characters are that good. When i first watched this show, Shinji seemed like a copy of myself, i recognized myself in a lot of his dialogue or just dialogue other characters had about him. Well, i got better, but i can still appreciate just how realistic Shinji actually is. Not only him, while i never shared Misatos or Asukas problems, i realize that these are real issues that some people face in their lives. While it is taken up a notch, simply for drama and as a reminder that this is still a piece of entertainment, it still remains that image of real people. Yet the characters are not always likable, they can be annoying, they can be detestable, they can be selfish, but of course they are, they are only human. Well, except that they are not, but what they are is realistic, all of them, the only one i'd almost exclude from that are Gendo and Rei. I have trouble describing my feelings here, as i said, smarter people talked about these characters, i suppose you should listen to their thoughts on this matter. All that is left for me is to praise it.
Enjoyment: That is actually not the word i would choose for my experience. Sometimes, i felt really bad, really uncomfortable watching this, cause in a sense it's TOO real. If you're looking to escape your troubles, if you don't want to think about existential questions, i'd stay away. But i would never advise that, take the challenge, expand your horizons and know that in the end, you might gain something. I like the ending, by the way. As much of a meme it is by now, i think it's a great last note to end it on. Never was i bored in this show, not for a second, so i can only call my Enjoyment outstanding. After all, Enjoyment doesn't mean that you felt happy all the time.
So i laid down my thoughts. I understand that i probably missed a lot, the reason being, that there just is a lot to talk about. I could probably fill 10 pages with my views on Evangelion and i would even enjoy it, but this is not the place, so i tried to restrain myself. I am only left to say this: watch it. You don't even have to like it, but everyone should have watched this. It will stay with you, whether you loved it or hated it, it's certainly unforgettable and just a part of anime as a medium.
