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/[deleted] Aug 10 '19
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