Pre-episode 16: It’s a good show with some great moments here and there. The lore is pretty intriguing and the characters are pretty interesting and well-made.
Ep 16-26: AAAA ITS PEAK. The intriguing lore and exciting characters from before get expanded on perfectly making for an incredibly powerful final stretch. Shinji and Asuka are both goated characters. The last episode was just a chef’s kiss—one of the most powerful messages on any show to me. The visuals just keep getting better and the ambition of the show really comes through. It’s definitely the weirdest and most artistic anime I’ve seen (not a lot but still). The show tackles isolation and the importance of human connection brilliantly through all its characters.
The only thing holding it back for me is that it’s not that consistent for me with most of my praise coming from the back end of the show. Still a really good watch. But it's made me wonder, do I care more about a show being consistently great or what the whole story amounts to? Cause Eva's last 10 episodes are so powerful and impactful even though before that I didn't care about it that much.