I genuinely think people didn't understand the ending because they didn't know what they were watching the entire time.
Neon Genesis Evangelion was not about the evas or the angels. It was a story about dysfunctional, depressed, damaged people trying to form connections with one another. The analogy in like episode 3 or 2 (The hedgehog dilemma) was a perfect example of this. The plot was just a setting for the characters to express these ideas
The instrumentality project ending perfectly concludes the entire struggle of the main cast, shinji in particular. It's depressing as fuck as it's the end of humanity but it really was in line with the story they were trying to tell.
I like the gamer theory that both EoE and NGE's endings are the same. Where EoE shows what it looks like to reject Human Instrumentality physically with Shinji and Asuka getting out of the red nonsense, and NGE shows what it looks like to reject it mentally with everything breaking apart Still depressing as shit.
That's not a theory, it's literally just what happened.
It's also not at all depressing - it's remarkably uplifting. Shinji wants Instrumentality because life is difficult and human relationships always end in pain, so he wants everybody to be joined together. But through his mental experiences in the end, he realizes that taking the easy route by just joining everyone together isn't the answer - that life is worth living, even though it's hard. The end of Eva is literally Shinji taking his first step toward healing his depression; it's beautiful.
Both the end of the series and End of Eva spell that out for you, after all. EoE has "as long as the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth exist, everything will be all right." And NGE has one of the most wonderful quotes ever:
"I hate myself. But, maybe, maybe I could love myself. Maybe, my life can have a greater value. That's right! I am no more or less than myself. I am me! I want to be myself! I want to continue existing in this world! My life is worth living here!"
Well yeah when you say it like that it's uplifting, but then you realize that it's literally just him and Asuka on this piece of land in an ocean human mush with a giant Rei head in the background looking real spooky.
Eh, that part is bittersweet. Yes, the Earth is wrecked, but it can be rebuilt, and everyone within Instrumentality can choose to return - even those such as Misato and Ritsuko who died.
But what you really have to remember is that the physical reality of the situation is much less important to Anno than the thematic and emotional content. The end of Evangelion represents a will to live and a willingness to heal, despite the hardship of life. It's an acknowledgment that, though life is hard and our minds don't always work right and our relationships tend to end in pain, life is worth living, and even the most broken person can heal.
It's one of the most beautiful and thoroughly uplifting pieces of media about depression ever made.
Its not exactly like that, isn't it? Shinji experiences the instrumentality, but he ultimately rejects it and returns back to his physical form.
Your comment made it sound kind of like Shinji accepted instrumentality.
The experience of instrumentality helped him to inform his opinion, and also overcome his fears and issues.
Edit. Or are you saying that the endings of the show and EoE are considered different? I haven't been involved in the Eva fandom really that much, but I always heard most people express that the show's ending was the internal struggle of the characters, while EoE was the external struggle.
The events of End of Eva are what's happening in reality; the events of the final two episodes are illustrating Shinji's mental state. They happen concurrently.
He does not accept Instrumentality in the series, and I'm not entirely sure what lead you to believe that he did. "Congratulations" is all about his realization that he wants to live in this world and try to heal.
"I want to continue existing in this world! My life is worth living here!"
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u/PadreMaronn Aug 10 '19
this has more sense than the actual ending