Shinseiki Evangelion Movie: Air/Magokoro wo, Kimi ni

Prologue. Taking place right after episode 24 of the TV series the final angel has been defeated and all of the EVA pilots are now crippled in they own ways from Shinji being mentally broken, Asuka being comatose after getting mind-raped by one of the Angels to Rei going missing. Meanwhile, Seele puts the Human Instrumentality Project plan into monition as now Nerv must now defend themselves from Seele and prevent the third impact from happening. Act I: The creation and the main purpose of the film. Before we talk about what I thought about the story and characters of End of Evangelion let’s go over the background of The End Of Evangelion as well the creator himself Hideaki Anno. Hideaki Anno created anime such as Gunbuster, Nadia The Secret Of Blue Water, Neon Genesis Evangelion, His and Her Circumstances, and Gunbuster. Honestly, I really liked and enjoyed his works especially Neon Genesis Evangelion where I consider to be his best work. Now at the time when Neon Genesis Evangelion was airing like with Tomino for Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, he was suffering through depression and just like with Tomino Mobile Suit Victory Gundam the depression really hit by the second half of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Because of that the second half Neon Genesis Evangelion became a psychological drama instead of being of a monster of the week type of show. Then comes the final 2 episodes of the show and like with many people on the net we thought the ending of the TV series was total shit. It had gotten to the point where people inducing fans of the show were sending letters to Anno which some of them were actual death threats. Ultimately Anno decided to re-create the final 2 episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion in the form of the movie called Neon Genesis Evangelion The End Of Evangelion where it not only was meant to close off many of the plot threads in the series but it also meant to give the series a proper ending that it deserves. Act II: The grotesque but beautifully written first half. Neon Genesis Evangelion The End Of Evangelion is by far one of the darkest pieces of media I have ever seen. Right out the bat, the movie wastes no time showcasing it’s darker tone where the first couple of scenes we are presented with disgusting acts done by Shinji where not only he tried to commit suicide by drowning he jerks off to a comatose Asuka after failing to wake her up. I really liked the first scenes a lot because not only they are extremely well directed but does a masterful job of portraying the themes and topics of suicide, depression and downfall spiral. Not to mention as soon as Shinji finished jerking off of comatose Asuka he is filled with disgust he quickly says the following lines “I’m so fucked up”. The jerking off scene may not be for everyone due it’s disgusting nature but what it was it’s a well executed as it perfectly foreshadows the tone of the movie. Now with that beautifully grotesque hospital scene done with let’s talk about the first half of End Of Evangelion. The first half of The End Of Evangelion minus the hospital scene goes back to the first half of the TV roots where it’s all action pack that its filled with explosions and fights. However, unlike the first half of the TV series, the first half of the movie has a much darker thanks to it kill them all nature whereby the end of the first half almost every character in Nerv is dead including one of the mains characters which I will talk about soon. Asuka battle with the Mass Unit Evas is by far my favorite scene of the movie. Not only it’s beautifully written and directed to the absolute core but it perfectly concludes her character arc even if her conclusion wasn’t exactly a happy one. The final thing I want to talk about in this part of the movie was Misato death. Personally, Misato was my favorite character in the series because the not only beautifully written character that we can all relate to thanks to her backstory but she’s was a fun and likable character. We don’t see Misato much in the movie mainly because he only appears in a couple of scenes but when she show’s up in the movie she is still awesome as ever as she concludes her character with an emotional bang that honestly made me cry. Act III: The fantastic psychological second half and the origin of Rei. Before I talk about the psychological elements in the movie I want to talk about is Rei’s origin as well her role in the movie. In my review of Neon Genesis Evangelion I quickly talked about Rei but now I think it’s best to talk about her origin and purpose in the series and the movie. Rei was created by Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki attempt to retrieve Shinji’s mother Yui Ikari. The attempt failed on some level where Rei may incorporate DNA from the Second Angel, Lilith because she is the vessel for Lilith’s soul. Now there are three Rei’s in the series. Rei I was created around sometime in 2004-2008 where she is shown as a small child wearing a red dress in episode 21. After that Rei 1 gets murdered by Naoko Akagi, for revealing that Gendo Ikari referred to her as an ‘old hag’ behind her back. Rei II is the second incarnation of Rei aka the Rei that we have been following in the series. Rei II is shown to be a teenager who is age 14 the same as Shinji. Rei II has a stronger relationship with Gendo meaning she does whatever he says without question. Not only that but he she as a building relationship with Shinji. She sacrifices herself by setting her AT Field to maximum to draw Armisael to herself and try to contain it temporarily and then activated Eva-00’s self-destruct to kill both of them. Right after Rei II death, Rei III was created however she has no memories of saving Shinji as she states that “I think am the third” How does this relate to Rei’s role in the second half of the movie to put this straightforward Rei is the most important character in the movie even more than Asuka, Misato and at times Shinji. She is a character that is impossible to relate too but I think that the whole point of Rei as a character. She’s not human at all but rather an angel in human form. Her whole existence in the series is meant to serve where the reason why Rei was created is so that Gendo can have a controllable link with Lilith for the Human Instrumentality Project where in the movie he tries to use Rei to allow to see Yui again. However, Rei rejects Gendo by taking his arm so she can regenerate her lost arm as well using merging with Lilith to start the third impact. Just from these are moments alone Rei has become my second favorite in the movie because not only she was a fascinating character that I loved but it all comes together in the end especially in the third impact part of the movie where she concludes her character arc. Not to mention seeing all three Rei together was amazing and it made me tear up. Now with Rei done let’s talk about the psychological elements of the movie. While the first half of the movie is action-packed with a darker tone the second half of the movie mainly focus on The Third Impact as well as all the psychological elements that the series is known for. The psychological elements are nothing but amazing. Not only it well directed that is filled with great symbolism that highlight the series core themes but all of the psychological elements and themes come to a beautiful conclusion for Shinji character as a whole. I won’t be talking about the Third Impact as well the last scene because that should be experienced for yourselves but all I can about it that it’s downright amazing and beautiful. Overall the story and characters of The End Of Evangelion is perfection to the eye. It may be confusing but if you go back and re-watch the series and the movie a couple of times everything from story, characters, themes, and symbolism will come together. Act IV Final: The wonderful visual and music upgrade. Visually this movie is fantastic. It took everything that we liked the series visual wise and…

"A dark, brutal, psychedelic orgy of sex and violence that culminated in the mass extinction of humanity set to an optimistic J-pop song with lyrics about suicide." -David Uzumeri; ComicsAlliance. Now that I've driven away those who can't take others' opinions or a harsher critic, let's go for the review. It's being on discussion for years now whatever this movie is. If it's a sequel for the original TV series, if it's just an alternative ending or if it's the "real" ending that was originally written by Anno. Actually, it doesn't even matter because essentially these three are the same. The most accurate description that we can give for this movie (not the quote above) is that it follows the continuity and timeline of the TV series, using even repeated footage to testify, and narrates what happened before and during the Intrumentalization. Precisely, the events which were skipped on eps. 25~26. As the movie itself is divided, it's the story of "Air" and "The beast that shouted..." deconstructed and expanded. Putting in other terms, it's the ending told from a different perspective, a more in-depth perspective. While the TV ver. focused on explaining what has happening inside people's mind during Instrumentality, the movie shows us what led to that and what was happening on the surface. Independent from the label it gets, End Of EVA gave the audience a solid conclusion for the story, leaving almost no lose ends for those who were willing -and were capable- of some interpretation. By "capable" meaning: rewatching some episodes and researching information on the symbolism that is used. ...According, it also shed some light on those who suffered a brain meltdown after "Congratulations!". Another polemical question is whenever this movie was "necessary" or not. You can read a share of the critics saying it's just GAINAX milking a money cow. However, just like not every fanboy trip around the symbolism of the franchise is true, things aren't exclusively commercial like this. GAINAX and Anno sure had their income from EoE, otherwise it wouldn't even be produced, but in the same side of the coin, it bought altogether the closure this series needed. Given the final episodes of the TV version, it was clear that the story wasn't finished. In fact, at the time the TV series was about to end, the production of this movie was already being considered. Hints of this fact are all over the place. AS for an example, the preview for episode 25 that aired at the end of episode 24 didn't contain scenes from ep. 25, those were sketches from this movie and the off-vocal description of it was also about the events from the movie. This wasn't by accident, neither someone had the idea to "hey, let's retell this ending in case people don't get it" it was indeed planned before. Hideaki's original script was way bigger and and more complex than the one produced. It originally had 28 Angels, 8 complete EVA units and the chapters about the Instrumentalization composed almost 1/4 of the final piece. Moreover, not only it was longer but also way more brutal and dark, holding Hideaki's original purpose of addressing the violence, indifference and the alienation of the audience itself. Obviously, this wasn't possible. Not only because of the censorship restrictions that would affect a TV series but also for the lack of time and budget to produce all this in 26 episodes. So, in order to give this closure and for the series finally show its "true colors" this movie was made. Right at the start, they make sure to advise you that the approach won't be as behaved as the TV series, with Shinji's line "I'm so fucked up" being the most accurate and memorable description of it. An easy and clear example of it, the "Prog Knife" of Unit-02 is actually a cutter (craft knife), did you know? Those used to cut paper that works better than a scissors? Isn't something extremely brutal killing something with that? This is pretty interesting, not only because it conflicts with the (surface) innocent setting of the beginning of the story, where Shinji was just a boy and EVA was just a giant robot, but because it pictures the theme of the franchise itself: The conflict between the artificial, divine serenity and the crude, ugly, HUMAN truth. Now, it's not an easy task make people feel uncomfortable but also accomplish it role as entertainment and "art". EoE succeeded at it. The most solid prof if it is that after so many years people like me are still writing about it, and somewhere there's someone still reading about it. It sure led into a completely polar and mixed reception but endured, recognized, through it. The key to this success was on the manner, the elements, that were used to provoke feelings on the audience. This was, without a doubt, when Hideaki's talent as a direction and screenplay writer stood out. Be prepared for a audio-visual assault, with sequences of shots and images rapidly being thrown at your screen, some at an absurd 1 frame/second timing along with a complete mayhem of sound, voices, dialogue, speeches. The color pallet as well, shifts abruptly from deep calm colors to a berserk of exposure and high contrast. -Seriously, it should be strongly enforced that people with epilepsy carefully watch this movie close to medical support. It surprises me the lack of warnings.- In case you didn't get what I mean, this will become very clear near the ending but not before we listen to one of the reasons the OST for this franchise is outstanding. NGE had "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" as a symbol of how important and cool the soundtrack can be. Analogically, EoE introduced us to "Komm, Susser Tod" which is German (as you probably guessed) for "Come, sweet death". When it's played and why it means so much to the plot will be left as a surprise for the reader to find out. Actually, since I'm already on the topic. A lot of names, text, symbology from this franchise are in German. It's worth google'ing it out. SEELE, NERV... EVA. End of Evangelion did what it said it would. They couldn't find a better self-explanatory title for this movie than this one. As a theatrical production, it had more freedom and a bigger space to spread its wings and show the crew and the story's full potential. To the point, nowadays it stands as a landmark and reference anime from the golden 90's with all it could offer. Giant robots, psychedelic shots, HIDEAKI! and to not be forgotten, the character design. Which set the pattern for many others, and not only this, but above all, its focus wasn't on being MOE or "cute" but SEXY. Anime is entertainment, entertainment is art, Evangelion is art. And just like some paintings in museums, not everybody will appreciate it and some people need to take lots of steps back in order to understand it. Who wants some Tang?

Short and Sweet Review: If you have finished the Evengelion series, you know damn well the last episodes are as amusing as watching paint dry, well this "Alternative Ending" is the best thing that can happen to the series in my outlook, plus the finale (Which I wont reveal) will leave you banging your head for more! Although I gave Evengelion a 9/10, this OVA definately deserves a 10, there is no superior way to conclude a series than a giant fight, with plot holes being filled, and making the viewer think about the OVA after he watches it. I believe even if you didn't like the Evengelion series, this OVA will alter your view. If you did in fact find this review helpful, I do take value in my “Helpful” rating, so please take a moment of your time to tell me how you liked this review.

"End of Evangelion" provides an alternative ending to replace those crappy two final episodes of the Evangelion series. This starts where the recap part of the previous movie "Death and Rebirth" ended, repeats the second part of that movie and then continues on where it left off. First of all, I think the repeat of the whole of the second half of the "Death and Rebirth" is unnecessary - that's a whole half hour of stuff that I've already seen. Most other people appear to have penalised "Death and Rebirth" for it, but I've chosen to take marks off "End of Evangelion" instead, as this is the later film, and is therefore the one that does the actual repeating. I guess that an argument can be made that the inclusion of the second half of "Death and Rebirth" is for the purpose of completeness, but it still feels like a cock up to me, as though they forced this into a movie when they didn't have enough new material to make a full length one, so made up the difference by repeating what's already been shown before. Anyway, the second part of "End of Evangelion" continues straight on from where "Death and Rebirth" ended. This segment has much of the same feel as the first part, except it's better. Like the first part, it's a compelling watch and the execution is sublime. The music production is especially good, and I remember one track in particular. It's a poppy, upbeat song featuring sweet-sounding female vocals... the catch is that the song is called "Komm, Susser Tod" - German for "Come, Sweet Death" - its lyrics tells the story of someone about to commit suicide, and it gets played prominently during some apocalyptic scenes. The result is a fabulous cognitive dissonance effect that somehow makes the scene oddly powerful, memorable, and utterly brilliant. Also like with the first part of this movie, I feel there are a couple of scenes that are there for no other reason than being shocking and disturbing, and I'm not entirely convinced they are consistent with the existing personalities previously shown by the characters. But to be honest, this is a small gripe as the excitement rose to new heights and I became totally absorbed with the show... ...and then it all went weird again in the third part. Watched it once, didn't understand it. Watched it again with the commentary track switched on. With the help of the commentary, I was able to understand it a bit better, and appreciated more of the subtle symbolisms that went past me the first time. But still, it didn't all make sense, and in fact there are parts that even the people doing the commentary admitted they had no clue about - and they are staff on the actual movie for God's sake. There's some parts that just seems to be completely unexplained, and other parts where I probably didn't understand due to my ignorance of religion related lore. I've never heard of things like the tree of life and the 7 eyes of God (phrases I just picked off the commentary), let alone know what these are supposed mean in the context of the anime. I don't think I'll go studying the bible intensively just for the sake of understanding this - my patience for this franchise is at an end. There's even a scene showing some letters praising/threatening the director, which is really starting to take the piss. What's the hell is all that about? Maybe he should start telling us his blood type and shoe size next?! If you're into abstract stuff with lots of symbolisms and room for philosophical interpretation, then this is definitely one for you. But for me, it was good, but no more than that. Weirdly enough, out of the original series, "Death and Rebirth" and "End of Evangelion", I actually liked "Death and Rebirth" the most - it's the only piece of work that didn't piss me off at some point.

The end of Neon Genesis Evangelion was perplexing to say the least. Many people including me were left scratching their heads, confused and unsatisfied with how the series ended. Primarily because nothing was explained, and there was no climax to the story, it just ended with main character, Shinji Ikari facing his own psychological fears after basically everyone around him dies. Quite the metaphysical approach, but it wasn't a good ending because everything the entire series built up never went anywhere, it was just left somewhere... There was no actual ending to Neon Genesis Evangelion. Like what happened to Adam-Lillith-Angels? The plan that Gendo Ikari created (instrumentality), will it actually be the savior mankind or will it be the bane of our existence? What exactly is instrumentality? SEELE Vs Nerv, how will it play out? Obviously Anno Hideaki got lots of complaints and even threats, and his response to it all was the Mind-fucking ending to Evangelion: The End of Evangelion. That is the true ending, and a somewhat satisfying one to the Evangelion series. After watching the End of Evangelion for the 5th time, I think I have a pretty good understanding of it, but that's not to say I understand everything that happened because that's literally impossible. A lot of things were left ambiguous so that the audience could decide for themselves how it all truly ended. The End of Evangelion is starts after the final Angel defeated, and now NERV is ready to initiate the Human Instrumentality Project which is supposed unite all of humanity with Lilith and bring about the Third Impact. Meanwhile, the SEELE organization is planning a full onslaught of NERV, planning to exterminate anyone related to the Eva project. Meanwhile, Gendo Ikari, the creator of NERV and father of Shinji Ikari has a whole different plan in his mind, and he's already begun. As SEELE invades NERV headquarters, Rei and Gendo are already gone. Shinji, our protagonist is in catatonic state. Asuka is in a state of unconsciousness in the hospital. All the meanwhile, the Third Impact finally takes place, bringing the world to a brutal and crushing end and consuming all of humanity in an orgy of corporeal dissolution and horrific death. And yes, the fate of all humanity-the world rests in the hands of Shinji Ikari is suffering from (the most powerful word that means "the highest amount you can get") psychological depression. Shinji is just so fucked up, in so many ways that it's so depressing and crazy. So how does it all work out in the very end? That is the story of End of Evangelion. As you'd know if you've seen the Evangelion series, "Evangelion" is not about giant robots fighting other giant robots (Angels) or teenagers complex romance story. Oh nonono. "Evangelion" is really a parable about the most disturbing aspect of human existence: the pain of isolation and psychological depression. One of the greatest things about the movie though is it's pacing. The movie itself is only 1 Hour and 30 Minutes, yet so many things happen (of course, because of this, not everything is concretely explained but people like me who like to think for ourselves and create an alternate ending that fits our beliefs, enjoy that). The first half of the movie seems like fighting and killing, but behind all the action is what I believe Anno intended: Reduce Shinji to rock bottom; the highest point of psychological trauma and self-depression as a human being can possibly have before becoming crazy - which Shinji honestly is. But not only Shinji, but Asuka too. Once Asuka goes back out to the battlefield, she just becomes completely insane. Asuka is pushed to the lowest of pits by the end of the movie that it's depressing. She's a scared teenager who puts on a tough girl act. A mere child whose been abandoned by her mother, and believes that going out in the world means going out alone and dying alone. There is a narrative explanation during Asuka's battle with SEELE's created Angels that claims that the Evas have embodied with souls of humans, the pilots’ mothers. Of course, this doesn't make sense at all... But this is Neon Genesis Evangelion is it not? Anyways, because of this, Asuka's psychological mentality completely takes a turn once more, but there's another twist after she learns that and fights. Her battle is definitely the most exciting battle in the entire Evangelion series, but what happens at the end is pure disgusting and disturbing to watch. By the end of the first half of the movie, probably about 90% of the characters are dead. Then in the second half of the movie, "Third Impact' initiates and Shinji's time to pick between Instrumentality and Reality finally comes upon us. The entire thing takes place in Shinji's psychological mind. And, this is something that you the audience must experience for yourself before I spoil anything at all but this basically explains for the most part Shinji's deep psychological mind, each character's true feelings, what instrumentality truly is, and the final decision that Shinji makes. Through "deep" sayings by Rei and Kaworu - Adam and Lillith, Shinji will come to his senses and makes him understand his existence and the value he gives to everybody around him. The end is shocking and confusing to say the least, and I enjoyed this movie to the max, because this movie wasn't afraid to ask/give thoughts on philosophical questions such as the end of the world; humanity, meaning of life, psychological depression, human suffering, and so much more. The movie actually had me confused and thinking deeply. That is what made this movie so great (because... The movie itself had a ton of plot-holes and unanswered questions, but it's fun to use what the movie hints at and create your own story/ending, right?). Whether it's a masterpiece or not is solely on how you the audience interpret all the themes in the movie, but personally I do believe this movie is a masterpiece, not only within the anime community but for all stories. Needless to say, the art and the sounds were magnificent. The design of the mecha/Angels are different than what you'd expect - unique. The use of christian symbolism seemed random at times considering Christianity wasn't/isn't a big thing in Japan, but it made the entire series "seem" more symbolic. With that said, the use of actual symbolism and pure art was genius although I still don't understand why there was a live footage scene of people at a movie theater during the movie... The music in the anime were great. Simply amazing. The voice cast was great as well. Hideaki Anno was very strict with his voice cast, and hence lots and lots of recordings were taken before actually being finalized. The sub and the dub are both great. Each character's voice fits accordingly to the characters; especially Shinji and Rei~ Loved it. I truly believe that End of Evangelion is just Hideaki Anno's way of sticking up his middle finger and saying "Fuck You" to the entire world.

Please don't be mad at me when I write this review. At first, I find this movie interesting because of how the main cast Rei, Asuka and Shinji overcome their problems and there is this monster fighting scene which is very exciting. However, the plot is totally messed up and I don't understand what is going on at all. The second half of the movie shows random scenes. Basically some reviewers think that this movie is about how horrible and tragic both Asuka, Rei and SHinji's life were. However, I just couldn't dwell in the story and the cast because of how hateful Asuka and SHinji were. Not only that the confusing plot. Asuka is aggressive and sometimes very mean while Shinji is a coward who couldn't face his problems properly. These symbolism in this movie really bored me a lot and it is quite offensive. I wouldn't go into too detail. Overall, it was more confusing than the anime itself and I really cannot get into it. There was actually no character development at all, just random scenes taken. So basically, that's it. [Second thought] I realised that Shinji is the most despicable person because when Asuka is in danger, he didn't save her. He just bawls in the corner crying for regretting being born and hates the world. I just can't believe he ruined the show for me.

This film is not simply the best anime film ever made, it is the best film ever made, period. It not only is a brilliantly original piece of postmodern art, but a beautiful, complex, and surprisingly uplifting character study about the futility of escapism and the need to live a happy life right here in reality. It often seems that reviewers try too hard to hate this movie, paying too little attention and viewing it simply as Hideaki Anno's 'fuck you' to the fans. Please don't listen to these people. If you are depressed and love relatable (if not always likeable) characters with brutally real conflicts, watch the series, and then watch this film. Prepare to be lifted up, then brought down, then finally given hope by this masterpiece of a film. So here's my full review of this ending film. Story: 9/10: The story of this film is pretty convoluted at times, so you definitely need to a) pay attention and b) see the 26 episode series. The second half of this film, in which the characters and the world itself is reborn as a result of the main character's decision, can be confusing if one does not remember the show. However, though important, the plot is fairly secondary, especially in this film. It is really about the characters, and nearly everything else exists as backdrop and symbolism for their complex struggles and Anno's high-concept message. The way things are shown and the depth of the symbolism is incredibly top-notch, though. Art 10/10: The art of this film is abso-fucking-lutely beautiful. Free from the budgetary constrictions of the sometimes visually lacking series and aided by more than 4 high-quality animation companies, the film looks so good for 1997, almost as good as Akira looked for 1988. An epic (and brutal) fight scene in the first half of the movie feels amazingly kinetic, impactful, and human despite not even being rotoscoped, and the apocalyptic montage of third impact is quite simply the most fluidly beautiful surrealist imagery I have ever witnessed. Every frame of this film is soaked in cell-animated beauty. Sound: 10/10: The music in this film is also fantastic. The aforementioned fight scene flows to a brilliant orchestration of Bach's Air, and an amazing (and now famous) song (with english lyrics, no less) plays during the climactic sequence of the film. The voice actors are amazing too. I recommend the Japanese version, because the seiyuu do a brilliant job at conveying the emotion necessary for such a brilliant film. The english dub has its talent as well, but some of the actors are "meh" enough to add some unwelcome cringe to some of the film's most important scenes. The dub I give a 7/10, while the original deserves a perfect 10. Character(!) 10/10: The best part of this film is certainly its brilliantly developed and brutally realistic characters. The complexity of their motivation, the height of their emotional trauma, and their final fates completely drive the entirety of this film. The main protagonist, Shinji Ikari, exibhits one of the most painfully accurate portrayals of depression ever explored visually, and the movie spends much of the time looking into this. The characters' decisions to attempt to live happily are the most thrilling aspect of this film, and Shinji's actions feel suprising, deliberate, and uplifting all at the same time. The film also boasts some of the best written character interactions in film, especially between Shinji and Asuka, as well as a scene between Shinji and Misato. Enjoyment: 10/10: There are some parts of this film that are painful to watch because of their emotional impact, shock value, or brutality, but ultimately this film's brilliant resolution of character and plot arcs (in a compact 87 minutes, no less) as well at its ultimately uplifting message caused me to thoroughly enjoy this film. Although I did not always like relating to Shinji Ikari, it was a thrilling and bittersweet relief to see him finally begin to make his way through life. Overall: 10/10: There are some things that are even more enjoyable when the consumer is depressed, and The End of Eva is certainly one of those things. The beautiful visuals, engaging plot, and insanely realistic characters prove the brilliance of this theatrical ending to one of the most incredible anime of all time. As a teenager and someone who struggles with depression, this film has helped me understand life and human relationships with its call to live in reality and outspoken rejection of escapism. In the end of eva, thoughtful viewers have the chance to see characters--no, people--reject a wishful escape, live through tragedy, death, and apocalypse to seek true happiness beyond depression. Viewers and characters alike witness death and sacrifice, but then, finally, resurrection and rebirth. And that, I believe, is the perfect End of Evangelion.

Neon Genesis Evangelion was already close to perfect as a series. Obviously the still shots and scenes based on them could get disappointing. While they did the best they could to make those parts stylistic, you can only take something like that so far before it gnaws at your senses. Unsurprisingly, when you give the people involved with Evangelion a real budget to work with, you get the best looking apocalyptic anime film since Akira. Honestly amidst all of the moments of crazy in the film, out of all of the "crowning moments of awesome", the thing that defines this film to me is when one minor role character Ibuki, as the world literally falls to pieces and she is curled up in grief, begs another minor role character Hyuuga "tell me, have I done the right thing?". Hyuuga replies as fast as humanly possible "how should I know?". Everybody in this series is always asking someone else to tell them how to feel, tell them what to do, tell them that everything is definitely going to be okay, but the person being asked is never been even slightly qualified to give that answer. Even worse, things probably will not be okay. After all, the fate of humanity is in the hands of a little boy who only has any willpower when women are making him feel good. The art/animation is amazing, the music is actually mostly a little more poorly picked than in the series, but it also has one of the best/funniest songs ever in Komm Suesser Tod. The action scenes are all pitch perfect - Rei might get the most character evolution, but Asuka definitely gets the most entertaining scenes. The "mysterious things are happening" scenes are pretty pitch perfect too. You could tell that they were really having fun working without solid guidelines or limits on where to take the plot, they just did whatever they wanted, and when you have the right talent in place that sort of thing works out as well as it did here. They really even seemed to have fun messing with the "Shinji being a whiny brat" aspect of the story, although on the flip side of that we got an even whinier Shinji than ever before whatever way that rubs you. There are a couple of major plot events toward the end that some people have big problems with, and that is fair. By that point I think I always have felt so much overwhelming satisfaction that I have never really been able to be slightly irritated even when I try to look at it from a "non-fanboy" perspective. Ultimately this film went all out to try to be a masterpiece, and whether you want to consider it just a "make up" ending or a proper canonical add on to the series , I always personally felt it achieved absolutely everything Evangelion could have wanted to achieve in an ending.

Let’s get rid of the obvious first. The End of Evangelion is inaccessible to anyone who didn’t watch the series. This shouldn’t be a point against the movie, though. There are enough great sequels who needed the first film. The fact this is two episodes smashed together to form a movie has no bearings on its quality. There are far worse problems here. Evangelion was a brilliant series with a disappointing ending. Instead of using intelligence to lift up its story of saving the world, it went full retard. The deviation is only impressive if you haven’t been to the edge of weird storytelling. It contributed nothing to the series but was just a scattered essay with moving pictures. The film was supposed to fix that, but sadly it doesn’t. Evangelion was never as deep as people say it is. It attempted subversions, but it lacked a theme to unite it all together. Religious symbolism and psychological portraits do not necessarily mean there’s a grand theme. They are ways to express ideas. The problems are already apparent in the beginning. It kicks off into a huge action sequence that lives little room for character development. It also perfectly replicates the intensity that made the TV show so fun. Nobody talks about how fun the TV show us. The drama was engrossing and the action scenes were beautifully animated. Every metal bending, every hit, every explosion is full of power. The enemies have the unique, Angel-esque design and the scene is clean. The environment is bare, making it easy to follow exactly what’s happening. Michael Bay has a lot to learn from this film. The film attempts the same psychological-monologue-slideshow thing, and it’s just as unnecessary and messy as in the series. It’s a little better, but the core problem remains. Moving to such territory is unnecessary. The story isn’t made for such experimental methods. At its heart, it’s a simple story about saving the world from the Unknown Enemy while realizing that humanity can be its own enemy, too. All you need for this story are characters who are convincing enough. The monologues just go in circles, bouncing from one subject into another with no ideas concluding or connecting. This technique works in novels, but not so for films. You read novels in your own pace, so you take your own time to digest the word salad. Movies set their own pace, so Anno is throwing at you images and words in machine-gun velocity. This could still have a chance of being entertaining, but experimental films often have a plot that works well with the method. You couldn’t tell the story of Pi without going full retard. It’s an abstract story at heart that happens only in Max Cohen’s head. There is something about loneliness and the desire to connect. I heard this before and searched for it in this film. While the conclusion does touch that in a symbolic way that works, everything else was over the place like I remembered. Shinji is a neurotic and angsty teen, but his type of angst isn’t focused on enough. Is he a person who gave up on connecting to people like Mirai Nikki‘s Yukki? Is he an obsessive person who sees everything in absolutes like Max Cohen? Perhaps I missed something in the series, but nothing here connected to a single theme. It starts to look like Digimon Tamers is an attempt to remake Evangelion with coherency. At least Tamers has a theme and symbols that point to it. I once read that Anno said Evangelion could mean anything the viewer wants to. If so, then the show is about nothing. This isn’t how vagueness works. A story should not give simple answers, but it still needs to ask questions. Asking questions means it confronts a subject, and it’s not just about anything. Medabots asks whether weapons only lead to destruction, or whether they can be used for fun. The vagueness is in how the series makes strong cases for both viewpoints. The film still gets by because of its visuals. Despite the attempts at philosophy, the second part works in the same way the first part. Its epicness is exciting. It’s not as meaningful as before. We get monologues, instead of seeing characters in action but the visuals are still beautiful, and there’s a sense of self-importance that actually makes it fun. It stretches itself so far so just seeing how crazy it will go is entertaining. Despite the philosophizing, the film never forgets it’s a visual medium and that it should take advantage of it. It’s an interesting addition to the Evangelion canon, but it supports the haters more than the fans. Instead of giving Evangelion a coherent ending, it shows how the series never had a grand theme to begin with. Knowing your limitations is important. If Evangelion stuck to its story of saving the world, it would’ve been fantastic. Still, a scattered but creative mind still has plenty of worthwhile ideas. 3.5 Angels out of 5

If you are disappointed in NGE's Ending, maybe its time to watch The End of Evangelion, or the other ending of Neon Genesis Evangelion... in some sort of way like the series' ending, you'll feel... Okay, following in NGE, EOE is the other Episode 25 & 26 of the anime bundled in a movie. As I read forums about NGE, someone suggested to just skip the series' 25 & 26 and jump into EOE and I guess I should recommend this to you folks if you will try watching NGE someday because if you hate disappointing endings... you know what to do. The story itself may confuse you and me as well, is confused on the second half of the movie. Sure, the first half is pretty good but the second half kinda felt boring for me but probably I'll watch this again. 9/10 The improvement of art in this movie may not be noticeable but its good. But reminder that this is an Mild and Nudity movie, there are some scenes that I find similar to some gore scenes in Elfen Lied so I hope you'll be ready for the gruesome and nudity scenes. The action scene (with Asuka) is pretty good and yeah, the animation in the second half was fantastic, I don't know how to describe it that much. 8/10 The sound, I think they used some OST's from the series again but again, as I mentioned in my NGE's review, the sound fits whenever a action scene will come out. I think they used the 'Hallelujah' sound again with one scene. 7/10 Sure, Shinji is one of my favourite characters now, but I felt that his development become a waste in this movie and I feel that I'm watching TWGOK Episode 12 where all the developments that the MC had, become a waste. But yeah, don't watch him out at the hospital scene if you don't like a lot of nudity. The movie didn't explained that much how did he overcome his self-negative thoughts. The ones that had the development that I've been searching for is Asuka and Rei. Heck, Asuka became a total baddass in this movie which make me want to put her in my list. She snaps out and totally understands herself. Even Rei too, the moment she said "I am not your doll." gave me chills. She and Asuka had this similar development where they finally snaps. 10/10 This movie again is one heck of a ride. I won't say what truly happened to the other characters because the whole movie is a spoiler if you haven't watched this yet. Maybe the second half of the movie will confuse you a heck about but still, EOE is one heck of an anime that will give you the chills and some mind .... and it may be not worth watching for others, truly, Neon Genesis Evangelion and The End of Evangelion is one of the most controversial animes that I've ever watched. 8/10

The End of Evangelion provides what is often called a "more externally-focused" ending to the Neon Genesis Evangelion series. If viewers weren't sure whether the original "internally-focused" ending was to the producers' liking, that EoE is structured like the series and broken into Episodes 25 and 26 should clear things up. This is the real End of Evangelion. Whereas the original final episodes showed what was happening in Shinji's mind and enabled us to construct answers pertaining to the Human Instrumentality Project and final psychological state of the characters, EoE gives us so much more. But while crucial questions such as the origin of the angels and the motive behind Seele's plans are revealed, EoE stays true to the Evangelion series' approach of leaving things open to interpretation. EoE has absolutely stunning animation and keeps the series' stand-out voice cast and enjoyable soundtrack. The storyline itself is a trip and much of the movie (especially towards the end) is done in a post-modern style which requires a lot of interpretation and will have viewers arguing for hours. Some scenes are grotesque, most are simply absurd. Watching one Eva eat another is nothing new to fans of the series, but it is pretty shocking to see the pilot's arm ripped in half, and there is something unnerving about watching an anime character masturbate on another if its not in hentai. Religious symbolism is prevalent, but intriguingly the symbols typically represent nothing at all. There are also some incredible lines: an indescribable feeling of fear, anguish, and genuine shock overcame me when I heard Seele's ultimate motive for reducing all beings to LCL. If you have issues of existential despair, you may want to pass on EoE or you might go crazy. Finally, the ending with Shinji and Asuka is telling in many ways, delivering the message of Evangelion in a neat 2-minute scene. Like the series, End of Evangelion is an interesting project. Different viewers will react very differently: some will find an immediate connection to the despair of the characters and will find great meaning in a collection of seemingly unrelated scenes; others will find the show so pretentious that they will make their disapproval known to anyone that will listen. I think that following the Evangelion series I was more in the latter camp. Having seen the movie, I still find the Evangelion project pretentious, but I understand what the goal was. Some viewers will walk away having been truly impacted by the film's message, and for this EoE is deemed one of the greatest in anime. EoE, like the Evangelion series, is one of those few works for which even a semblance of an objective evaluation simply cannot be given. At the very least, I've given you my opinion. Overall Rating: A For snapshots and a high quality download, see my blog at http://animefiend.blogspot.com

OKay, I am an Asuka fan and I am here to complain about Asuka and how she got pushed to the sidelines. She is my favorite character and I don't like what they did to her. It was too torturous, they ruined her eye and her Eva REALLY BADLY and Shinji just got even more hateful by going crazy, crying, and even choking her at the end (gladly, she didn't die). I do not get the hype for this. The movie is boring. Asuka is what made the series better, I would've got bored and I did skip the episodes if she wasn't in them. So, I guess I do not get this movie or maybe I have to watch the series again. So, now we got to suffer an hour of Shinji's pansy butt. Like in the series, he did get more likable towards the end when we learn about his past. I did like Misato more, too. Rei had a more decent ark, but I don't like the end of the world thing at the end. No one else I really could care much for. This movie was just creepy and violent. I was thinking that this would be a great film but it was just very over-hyped. This movie just had me screaming at the computer through. The characters are quite different, Asuka is worrying about her mother and I was wondering if like I heard, it may be because her mother's soul was there or she was just relying on her to try her best to get through this hard battle but she had a really evil face on sometimes during the battle, I understand that this type of facial expression was new for its time but it still looked too evil. Misato seemed to have been in love with Shinji, she might've been this way in the series, too. And I don't understand Rei's arc of being above the world while it was destroyed. I also did not like the new facial expressions for Asuka representing the scenes in the anime like when she wakes Shinji up, she's now more scary and hateful than she was likable and funny. I also do not like the live-action combination in this, even though it did have a good message about reality in dreams. The jazzy song at the end of the first half was okay but it was smoother than Fly Me To The Moon. Gladly, it did not have Hikari in it but it still could do better than this.

This is the first review that I've written on this site, so please, bear with me. (Might have some spoilers) 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.

As a fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion, I can say from an objective point of view that the series does have flaws. Multiple times throughout the series, I found myself dissapointed that things could have been greatly improved upon to make the series perfect. Unfortunately, though the series is great, it isn't perfect. End of Evangelion is. The series is known for its psychological overtones, but it had a tendency to shove them down your throat at times. End of Evangelion, however, leaves them subtle, yet obvious enough to notice and interpret. The most important part, in my opinion, is how End of Evangelion is far, far darker than the series. The series is naturally bleak and depressing, but it seemed too tame when compared to the story it was telling. Violence and sexual interaction were slim in the series despite all of them integral to the story being told. End of Evangelion fixes this and delivers scenes truly fitting the presented story. If you were disappointed with episodes 25 and 26 then look no further. This movie will leave you pleased with the series and even more so with the movie itself.

I finished both the televised series of NGE as well as the movie EoE. It took me over a decade to sit down and watch it, but I have to say I’m completely blown away. I was not expecting it to be THAT good. I don’t believe it was absolute perfection, but it was pretty damn amazing. I tend to be highly critical when it comes to anime. The fact is I do enjoy psychological and heavy anime much more than the fluffy, mindless series, but after something like this, I always need to see something stupid because I’ll continue to never stop thinking about the very real concepts it presents. I quite frankly enjoyed the last two original episodes of the series and was skeptical about EoE. I have come to the conclusion that I actually prefer this ending better, though I do appreciate the original as well. I think the main gripe I had about the movie was more artistic preference than anything. The scenes that presented “real life footage” caught me off guard and I felt it didn’t mesh well. Personally, I would have like to insert a portion of the last two episodes into there to show the inter-workings of Shinji’s mind with simplicity and acceptance with himself and then cut back to the external part of showing that he rejected instrumentality. I understand now why people say that viewing both gives you insight of what was happening. I also do applaud it for giving you conclusive info that the original show left for you piece together. That being said, I rated the original as 8/10 but would have rated it 9/10 if this was used as the last two episodes. But let’s say in my perfect world, I could have both in one? I can’t say I would still give it a 10. It would easily be a 9. But I can’t get over the fact how rushed Kaworu’s episode was. For Kaworu to be a vital person to Shinji, and for all the character development given to every character, his death lacked that profoundness the series gave as a whole. I was in total awe, feeling just about every emotion throughout the series, except for that particular death. I didn’t have enough time to connect and see how Shinji became so attached and was able to start expressing himself to someone. Though it’s a bit embarrassing, I admit I do connect with Shinji and understand why there was such a need for overbearing questions and the constant repeat of it. I can say if you have not been through depression, it may be hard to understand him and easily push him aside as a "whiny, annoying character." But having the constant feeling to run away from a responsibility, but then come back because you completely comprehend why it is vital. But then freaking out half way through bailing once again and feeling even more hatred towards yourself for doing it half-assed. That internal and seemingly endless struggle is outwardly pathetic. But if you already come to that realization, isn’t it better to think that of yourself so if someone says it out loud, you can’t be that surprised? Maybe in a way you use that as a confirmation… Almost a ticket to spiral out of control and give yourself the right to end it all and care for absolutely nothing. Overall, this really was a very, very good conclusion to a very, very amazing anime. I haven’t felt anything similar besides that in Haibane Renmei (which I’m sure is not a popular opinion). I think this is because it gives me hope. It reminds you why you need to survive and struggle — why it’s worth it. It reminds you that to be the very definition of human we need freewill to make our own mistakes and learn and grow from it, or it will inevitably eat you alive. It means a lot to me to explore such “simple” concepts of how we interact and see ourselves. We choose to ignore a lot it to get by in life, because pain and human interaction on the surface can be understood by everyone, the way humans think and deal with it is complicated.

Well, I can't say I didn't at least try and give this another go, but I still stand by everything I've ever said about this film and the franchise. What happens when self-awareness goes rogue? You get The End of Evangelion. A horrific mass of half-cooked ideas stolen from better sources made out of spite, glorifying the darker and more carnal side of humanity rather than offering a critique or deconstruction of it. A reflection of Anno's own self-deprecation. Doubling down on every misguided artistic choice, it transforms a flawed, semi-intriguing series into an insufferable spectacle of existential drivel. I'm putting my journey with this franchise well and truly behind me; a huge part of my college years was spent analysing it to death, enduring more abuse and death threats than I'd be willing to admit and, more recently, ridiculed, mocked and deprecated by people I used to call friends. A quick fix of instant despair. The End of Evangelion is an ugly film, visually less so, narratively abhorrent. There are very few films I utterly loathe so passionately as much as this.

Once in a generation, a movie comes out that completely changes your view about life, meaning, and purpose. For me, that movie was the 90-minute tour-de-force simply known as... The End Of Evangelion. This is a movie that bestowed upon me a barrage of emotions, everything from sadness to speechlessness to utter shock. Going into this movie, I was anticipating loads of dark subject matter. And this movie more than delivered. All 90 minutes of it acted as if it were a tank, unleashing bombs of sorrow onto my mind. From the disturbing first scene, to the tearjerker of a final scene, all of it completely blew my mind. I'll give a succinct spoiler-free synopsis: it all goes down. Hard. And everyone is affected by it. I found myself cringing at many of the graphic scenes in this, asking myself just why in the hell I was watching this, to begin with. But I knew I had to sit through this – I had watched all 26 episodes, and I was still wanting more. Then I watched End Of EVA. And then I deeply regretted it. Well... at first, anyway. As a preface and prelude, I watch the four Director's Cut episodes of Evangelion, to get a better sense of understanding just where the story was headed, leading into EOE. At first, I felt alright, but getting into this movie, I knew this would change me. I lied awake in bed in complete silence, for hours, after watching this. I felt empty, hollow, disturbed, visibly depressed. This movie did something to me that no other had ever done, before – it left me completely speechless. Then... I did a bit more research. And everything started to make more sense. (This can be considered just a fan theory, but for the sake of argument, let's call this as fact.) Episodes 25 and 26 and EOE (25' and 26) happen within the same universe. They coincide and coexist together. How it works: After the events of episode 24, End Of Evangelion begins. At to the scene where Instrumentality begins, episodes 25 and 26 happen, and soon after those events, the last 15 minutes of End of EVA happen. Anyway, before I go off on any tangents, let me start talking about the movie itself. The End of Evangelion is, essentially, the true ending to the Neon Genesis Evangelion television series, but because of time and budget constraints, this could not happen within the TV show, so the creative staff and producers at Gainax made two completely minimalist and experimental final episodes, which were received with, well... not the greatest response. Roughly one year later, in movie theaters across Japan in March 1997, Gainax and Production IG made what was the planned ending for the series, a final catharsis, a nearly-2-hour film called “Death & Rebirth” was released. The first part, Death, is a condensed 70-minute cut of episodes 1 through 24 of the TV series, told in a non-linear narrative format. Essentially, though, it's just a clip show, and if you've seen the series, you can pass on this, as select scenes from Death are included in the four Director's Cut episodes. The second part, Rebirth, is the first 27 minutes of End of Evangelion's “Episode 25',” but in an incomplete format. Because of budgetary reasons and time constraints, “Rebirth” ended without any real resolution, as it just stopped in the middle of a very important scene. (For spoiler reasons, I won't say what it is.) However, a few months later, in July 1997, End of EVA was released theatrically. Made up of two 45-minute episodes (25' and 26'), this is the true ending to the Evangelion story. For anyone who hasn't seen it, I won't start talking about every little thing that happens, because this is a film that you absolutely have to see to believe and understand. By no means is this a movie that you'd want to watch over and over again, though, but it certainly is a MUST-watch. Wanting to get a better comprehension of this movie, I decided to watch it over again, and I decided to look at this movie through an analytical standpoint. And, my God, this movie is amazing. Not just for its narrative, but for its artistic direction. Think of it like this: if Akira showed what animation was capable of, End of EVA far surpassed that capability, several times over. Gainax and Production IG created a visual masterpiece, both in the far-improved-from-the-show action animation and in the images of apocalypse, in the film's second half. Then there's the nightmare fuel. Oh, God, the nightmare fuel... For the sake of summarizing, this whole movie is filled with nightmare fuel. And I can't find the heart to describe all the absolutely terrifying images in this movie. Just take my word for it. But if you have a weak heart, or you don't like horror movies, then don't watch End Of EVA. However, if you've seen the series and want a better resolution for Evangelion, watch this movie. But be warned: it is one of the most disturbing movies you will ever see, but also one of the greatest. I give this movie a 10 out of 10 – it is THAT good. It's not something I can watch with a smile on my face, but it damn sure is something I can respect as a completely disturbed masterpiece.

(This review will also cover the TV series and "Death & Rebirth." It'll also cover the "Rebuild" series while I'm at it.) This needs to be said: The Evangelion franchise is basically what's wrong with anime today. And why it's known as "animu." * I'll start with the now-generic self-insert nobody known as Shinji Ikari. After him, discussions about "what makes a man" or "manliness" are now jokes. The kid is just pathetic; not even suicide can cure it. Him masturbating over a comatose girl (during End of Eva) was the last straw for me. * Then we have this BITCH (because there's no other way of describing her) Asuka. She's "tsundere;" but she'd be one of those super-powered villain if she starred in a Marvel/DC comic. She's annoying, sadistic, and evil... And only the reality-challenged would cry over, or fap to, her lifeless body. * Then there's Ayanami Rei. This girl is a doll with no personality whatsoever. * Then there's Gendou Ikari. He'd be another super-powered villain; "the villain behind the villain," if he starred in a Marvel / DC comic. Why Superman or Wolverine didn't sock his face in while his crap was destroyed, I do not know. * But the main blame goes to Hideaki Anno, Gainax, and the people behind this franchise for turning it into what it is today and keeping it alive for that long. Tapping into the darkness of the otaku-base (and squeezing money out of 'em) is very sneaky of these people. Taking the cherished "giant robot" theme and turning it into a mind-raping "snuff flick" / giving it a "glorified bad end" is very "deconstructionist" as well. During that time; Anno said he was having issues, depressed, and considering suicide. (Based on what I saw from "Otaku no Video,") I thought he was some retarded super-otaku who was so full of it that an explosion was eminent. So with all the current talk over how "anime needs to be saved..." Even though everybody's copying off of Evangelion, then Haruhi... And Mamoru Oshii had already said that anime now is "A copy of a copy of a copy." The animu industry, as of right now, can't even save itself as long as the people behind / around it fear and hate the outside world. And although ADV / Section 23 / "Snickering Fat Guy" failed at trying to make a live-action Eva movie for the US; I can still see the babies latching on to Evangelion. Their umbilical cords are still attached to it, and they are unable to grow and mature. Sad, really.

The most confusing watching experience you'll ever have. The Evangelion movie was a very carefully planned out movie but the main area it lacks in is it's explanation of the story. Overall the story, depth and message are really good and even the characters are interesting in this path of Evangelion however this is only if you can understand it while watching. Since the review is strictly on the movie I have to give it a bad rating, the movie doesn't explain basically anything going on and just expects you to follow the many random and odd events. If you went and searched up everything on google later you'd realize that the movie was actually good and well made but google shouldn't have to be used to understand it and the movie itself should be explaining what, how or why all this is happening. All the hardcore Evangelion fans are going to come after me for this but I had full focus on the movie and anime but they simply never explain anything at all which ruins the entire experience. Overall the movie had potential to be amazing but since it requires you to search up everything it just ruins it all and makes everything feel random especially near the end.

i just finished the movie, finished the series earlier today, i dont know how to feel about this series, i was like really enjoying the anime and starting to get with the character development and the way the series worked, then by the end i got all confused again, watching the movie today cleared my mind about some stuff, but i guess this anime really wasnt it for me, i dont think shinji is a bad character like every one says, but at the same time i find it very difficult to pity him or have any positive feelings towards him at all (mostly after the hospital scene) i do think he is a little bitch besides all the problems and traumas he has to deal with, but man did it upset me, its not a bad series by anyway, i mean i've been thinking about the series nonstop since i finished it and this is my very first time reviewing something, so that gotta say something by itself, why to summarize it, i do recomend the series and think its worth watching all the way. you might have a different take on the series since i think it has a lot of stuff that its very personnal about everyone so i guess its a different experience for each, i just guess it wasnt what i was expecting but at the same i enjoyed most of it, as the review says, mixed feelings about this, sorry if this got a little confusing, as i said this is my first review and english is not my primary language, by all means watch it and i would love to read other takes about it.