[Daikaijuman54]

Evangelion is said to be guaranteed to give you depression and an existential crisis, which ironically enough, I've already been through that way before I watched it.

That said, it is a really good show.

Sure, I've yet to watch the Rebuild movies, but just from what I've seen (Neon Genesis Evangelion and End of Evangelion), I can definitely see what makes this series deserving of its reputation. As someone who was familiar with Ultraman, the thing Anno adores immensely and inspired Evangelion, the influence really hit me upon watching it to the point it almost felt like an Ultra show in some places (the musical tag-team battle with EVA-01 and 02 comes to mind), and just overall, has a very Ultra-like feel in general from its non-traditional mech designs, NERV, and some of the Angels that would almost feel right at home in the Ultra Galaxy.

And perhaps one of my absolute favorite mech design in Anime, EVA-01, of which I would absolutely get a figure of. It has an insane design from its gangly humanoid form, monstrous head, standout color scheme, to the magnificent moments it has on screen, like that shot in the opening with the wings. Speaking of openings, Cruel Angel's Thesis (Zankoku Na Tenshi No Teeze) is a masterpiece! And of course, we can't forget Fly Me to the Moon, just more proof that the best Anime have English Endings (well, not all, but quite a few).

Sure, it has Shinji being Shinji, and End of Evangelion exists (gosh, the things I felt, and I still don't know whether they were good or bad, but I don't ever want to see that happen in real life), but it's an absolutely wild experience, and certainly influenced me in my projects, so I am absolutely glad I saw this, and one day, I'll get around to the Shin Evangelion Films.

Of course, my only regret is that I saw this after Gurren Lagann.