I watched it when I was just a bit older than Shinji and in a very similar place mentally, so I was very immersed in the series from the beginning, which made it even more mind blowing to watch the series go from kinda generic fun Mecha show with an MC who was basically literally me to completely batshit insane philosophical and psychoanalytical deconstruction of the characters, including Shinji and ergo my own psyche. But that wasn't all, cause then End of Evangelion came around and completely changes how I view art, film, myself, my relationships and life in general. I haven't been exposed up to that kind of shit before that point, especially not something that hit this extremely close to home, I didn't even know how to process it or what to think, so I just kinda hated it for a while LMAO, but it remained on my mind for a long time and I started to appreciate it more as time went on and my puny high school brain managed to digest it all. It legitimately wouldn't be a stretch to say it changed my life.

Now, many years later, yeah I recognize some things don't hold up LOL, especially parts of the original series, but I still uphold End of Evangelion as one of the most meaningful and heartfelt pieces of art I've ever come across, especially when you take into account not just its place in the context of the show, but also how much of it is some very weird meta-commentary about Anno's own mindset as he was making it. If you haven't watched it yet, I 100% recommend you finish the Evangelion TV series just so you can watch this movie, might not be your cup of tea but it's a must watch regardless :epsteingelion: