Thread by @HaitamHbt

Neon Genesis Evangelion original series climax - Ep 25, 26 Explanation Thread;

Evangelion has been operating on a metaphysical plane long before it’s final episodes. Often turning inwards to explore some of the shows more heavy beats.

#Evangelion

But when the show closed with a hour long deep dive into the human condition instead of some grand fight battle. Fans were outraged.

Some theorized that budget and time constraints the deconstructed nature of the shows finish. But Anno has long maintained that it was always the intended ending for Evangelion.

Anno stated that a repeated shot sometimes was a budget card. And sometimes it’s not.

Throughout the series it’s quickly impairment that Anno’s vision is an unique and calculated one.

The finale is no different. Whilst those last two episodes garnered diehard defenders who speak to the personal way Eva’s poetic, artistic and hopeful way touched them.

At that time it seemed like no one was happy. Which coincidentally was kind off what Evangelion was saying all along. And the sense meant the franchise would double on in the years to come.

No one is ever happy...

The original series ending was about Shinji overcoming his notion of failure and finding his own identity and the combination of this comes with the Freedom scene.

We see Shinji in a world of nothingness, a world of freedom. Freedom of not having to worry about anything or anyone. Of no society of not having to do anything at all. Just being entirely alone.

Which in turn creates a feeling of insignificance to Shinji. Thus he creates an area, an existing dimension where he is able to stand on.

This makes him feel grounded to a sense of reality but removes an aspect of freedom he once had.

And through this existential moment of his with Misato, Rei, Asuka, Kaworu, his father and even his mother.

Explain the perception of reality. He comes to the the following conclusion. That for him to having a perception of himself he needs a world and people around him to perceive him as a form of existence.

And trough that perception and his own it’s similarities and differences. He finds in the many forms of himself that he exist through him and everyone else he becomes who he is...

Shinji.

This is all shown with very little use of animation. And a very simple drawing with Shinji.

And creating that sense of reality. The ground that is simply a drawing of a line. To which he slowly starts to take the form of other shapes to explain more the perception that he has of himself.

Once he realizes this conclusion. The simple drawing of him becomes more define and we see a closeup on his face him speaking about this realization.

The realization of who he is.