And the story is very nice; an interesting world setting that manages to mould the character's backstories and development rather well. Shinji himself is relatable and the other characters, whilst almost cookie-cutter like in their personalities, manage to be all captivating in their own way.
The Eva fights are thrilling and very dangerous, the character's in the mechas are always in danger and they manage to have a tonne of moments that will have you at the edge of your seat. They are all visually dazzling and very fun to watch.
One thing I certainly appreciated is the show's use of humour, there's not a whole lot but comic relief manages to keep your spirits up especially due to the hostile and bleak nature of the world after the Second Impact, along with the Angel threat. I was surprised to see that many scenes were set in school, which I had no idea about. The show balances the dynamic of Shinji having to battle Angels and put up with school at the same time; it works rather well. Even the religious imagery, whilst pointless in the long run, does supply some depth and are visually striking.
And I have to say that unfortunately the anime does have a steep downside. I would easily rank the first 15 episodes as being a 9, or possibly even 10/10. They're somehow still fresh, they're dark and mature without being overwhelming, the setting and characters are nice, the music is great, the fights are fun and perilous, and the show is paced well.
Many people, including die hard fans criticize the final two episodes for being confusing and extremely different from the rest of the show; but I feel that the problems stem from episode 16.
Episode 16 is the first episode that really began to drag on and on. Very few episodes after this point feel like they have a definite beginning and end. They open somewhere; sometimes to bring in a plot device or story element out of nowhere, and after twenty minutes the closing credits begin to play. These episodes are noticeably darker in tone, which is really saying something, and whilst mecha fights do still exist at this point they aren't as plentiful and are very slow. But then the show only falls more and more by the episode. Evangelion slowly drops all humour, drops the entire school setting, and you will be lucky to see any mecha fights; there are so few after episode 16 its almost like a cruel joke. To put it simply, the final Angel confrontation in the series is NOT a mecha fight.
The final 10 episodes shift from post apocalyptic action into psychological drama, and not only does it feel out of its depth, but it feels so hamfisted and jarring. All the episodes dragged on for various reasons and were simply depressing and boring all due to the confusing cuts and lack of clarity as to where characters are and the (sometimes) lack of animation altogether; it gives the final episodes a very boxed in and dreamlike quality where you're not quite sure what is happening is really happening. Two characters late on are revealed to be shot dead; but due to the editing and such I was confused and still aren't sure if that was a dream sequence, wondering if what happened did indeed happen.
So few answers to questions brought up aren't actually addressed, and if they are they're incredibly vague to the point of raising even more questions than the ones initially asked.
And of course episode 25-26 are where you're really in the deep end.
As poor as the final two episodes are, I feel since I prepared for them, I knew mostly what to expect. I never heard a peep from anyone about the 8 running upto the final 2; which certainly took me by surprise and impaired my enjoyment.
But I'm sure if you've heard of Evangelion you've most likely heard of the terrible ending that's confusing, makes no sense and contains zero closure, so I won't flog a dead horse.
In conclusion I'm not sure if I can recommend Evangelion. The first half is so good and so fun/enjoyable and definitely worth its status but does it matter how good the first 15 episodes are when the remaining 10 are absolutely dire and depressing?
We aren't talking about two separate seasons or a sequel series, this is one full arc that is intended to come full circle. Not like GT to Dragon Ball Z. Because it's all one long running plot, that means that I can't recommend the first 15 episodes and then advise to stop there, because even if you read up on the internet about the answers you'll get the same effect as watching. So either way you're destined to be disappointed and baffled by this show. I just can't fathom how this show is so popular when it took a deep dive, the first 15 episodes are near masterpieces but they're sunk by whatever the hell 16-26 are.
Evangelion really is the anime equivalent of Marmite. People fall into two camps since either you absolutely love it or absolute hate it. But I'm right in the middle in that I love the first 15 but hate the second half.
When I finished the series I felt sad, angry, and just plain disappointed. I was so ready to call myself an Evangelion fan, but as it stands, I can't.
