The depiction of Instrumentality in EoE is one of the most stunning and beautiful pieces of art I’ve ever seen

The first time I saw EoE, I perhaps inadvisably watched it without seeing the show first, but it was coming to a theater, and my partner and I both really wanted to see it. I remember initially thinking I might have made a mistake watching it without context, but by the mid roll credits (which definitely confused me), I was locked in. The second half of the movie essentially becomes a full on LSD trip, and I loved it. The entire section of the movie with the “tumbling down” song playing in particular really moved me. It was such a creative, and beautifully animated depiction of Armageddon, and I find the song they used during this section to be absolutely beautiful and captivating. It’s somehow both incredibly sad, and incredibly hopeful. Which is really what Evangelion to me is in a nutshell. The song sounds huge, like it’s the climax to humanity. I really don’t think they could have used a better needle drop for this sequence. I was almost moved to tears by the theater fourth wall breaking scene. Rei’s monologue about people escaping into fantasy and fiction in order to circumvent connecting with others really touched me.

I’ve since watched the show, and rewatched EoE. Having context for what’s even happening, and becoming attached to the characters really helped me appreciate the first half of the movie, and how awesome the action is. It was also just a really nice bonding experience watching the whole show with my partner, and getting to re-experience the movie in a completely different context. I think watching the film before watching the series is definitely a bad idea, but the philosophical themes are so universal that I still found it incredibly moving.