Now, I can perfectly understand why many people despise the series, it has a pretty poor fanbase who usually lash out whenever it's criticised and claim that the series is misunderstood and people simply don't "get" it, and the later half of the series switches tone massively along with a big drop in animation quality. There's a scene in an elevator later on which seems like it goes on forever, where nobody speaks nor makes any movement, only the occasional cough. This was down to the budget drop, but it no doubt makes the series a little worse for many people.
The story is fairly typical fr the first half; school kids have to pilot giant robots to fight the big monsters that'll destroy the planet. But halfway through, the series takes a massive turn, delving into the minds of each main character, highlighting the trauma and stress that's been forced on them at such young ages, along with past issues such as Shinji's relationship with his father or Asuka's mother when she was a child. The story overall is very good, but is slightly weighed down by the straightforward first half.
The soundtrack on the otherhand is outstanding, each track is perfectly used for any situation, it conveys the emotion felt by the characters and the dire situations they're thrusted into perfectly. The main theme is oddly upbeat, somewhat unfitting for the latter half of the series, but is nonetheless a great piece of music.
The first half of the series has very good art, especially for the time, but as I've already said in the latter half it takes quite a big quality drop, using black a great deal more than it used to and in general being quite poor when compared with earlier episodes. But it's still bearable and is no reason not to give the series a try.
The characters is what Eva excels at the most, it really highlights just how stressed and traumatised each character is, why they are how they are, why Shinji hates his father but still seeks for his approval, why Asuka acts so cocky and moody, why Rei is so quiet but rarely seems nervous or happy.
All in all, I love this series, but can definitely understand it's faults and understand why many people dislike it.
