Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

Hi, this is my first review even though I have watched over 300 different animes. But I had to leave a review after going through this anime because it is the worst ever thing I had to go through. (1/10) — “Evangelion is not deep, it’s just noise.” I don’t care how many essays people write about this show. But to me Evangelion felt like a random compilation of meaningless clips with no structure, no plot, and no emotional payoff. People say it’s “psychological” but random monologues and confusing symbolism don’t automatically equal depth. True psychological stories actually develop characters and give you a reason to care. Here?Everyone is just depressed for no reason, talks in circles, and ends worse than they started.
•Shinji never grows.
•Asuka stays broken.
•Rei is a cardboard cutout.
•Misato becomes a mess.
•And Gendo is just… there.

The “worldbuilding”? Barely explained. The “Angels”? All vibes, no logic. The organizations like NERV and SEELE? Don’t even get me started. It’s like the show hides its own plot to feel smarter than it really is.

What plot? It starts off pretending to be a mecha-versus-alien show, then slowly devolves into a therapy session written by ChatGPT on mushrooms. Half the “lore” isn’t even explained, it’s buried in interviews, side materials, or vague flashbacks that make zero sense. Angels? Adam? Lilith? SEELE? Instrumentality? Cool words, bro. Too bad no one bothered to explain any of it in the actual show.

Sure, there are psychological themes — depression, loneliness, ego, fear of rejection. But guess what? Themes are not a substitute for storytelling. You can’t just shove “I’m afraid of human connection” into every other sentence and call it profound. Every episode after a point feels like someone cracked open a psychology textbook, threw in some religious imagery, and hit shuffle.

And the movie? That was like watching a dream after getting high. random visuals, screaming, more screaming, then silence. I wish i could watch this after getting stoned (I would atleast be able to enjoy the lucid imagery and visuals it offers lol)

I went in expecting a deep, emotional, philosophical anime.
What I got was confusion, disappointment, and 26 episodes of wasted potential.

If this show helped you through something personal, I respect that. But from a storytelling, character, and world-building point of view, this was empty.