Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

In the rating system, for me, this jumped from 4 to 3, to 5, to 1, back to 3, then plummeted to 1 at the end and never recovered. I appreciate anime's style and substance, and this series had both, sometimes enough of both to justify it's classic status. Fabulously scary, those Angels are. And what a back story--half the Earth's population killed in the second impact--that's the stuff of epics. Some of the battle sequences are breathtaking. Yet for all this, we've got the most whiny, annoying and unlikable wuss for a "hero". Shinji, shut up. Daddy doesn't love you? I don't blamehim, you scrawny little creep. Take this plus an anticlimactic, largely incomprehensible finale (to me, anyway, kudos to anyone who could understand it), the deterioration of the primarily jovial, lively co-stars into moping basket-cases, and the oh-never-mind disposal of the last Angel. What a let-down. "Congratulations," they yammer at the end. Well, thanks. I guess that's for making it through those last three episodes. This one's all over the map, and while it's got qualities to recommend it, it's got others that'll make you gnash your teeth in frustration.