As a cultural powerhouse that has spawned one of the most obnoxious, egregious communities on Earth and which has become a depressing commodity across the board, Evangelion transcends its own legacy by actually being really good. It is a triumphant salute to the long legacy of mecha anime and tokusatsu in its stead, playing back tropes from Ultraman, Gundam, Ideon, and Devilman completely straight.

Evangelion's ability to dissect and unpack characters in Anno's typical introspective fashion allow it to consistently stand out in having exquisite character work. There aren't quite any equivalent mecha anime that are able to fire off on every cylinder like it does (trust me, I've gone through a lot). Shinji is a powerfully meek protagonist in a post-Gundam world that has absolutely zero confidence in anything he does, as Anno seeks to bridge the audience to his own story through him.

Evangelion has a quiet admiration of Japanese might and nation. This is something that is drowned out a touch by the aggressive sekai-kei tropes Anno deploys with Shinji and the incredibly interpersonal, individualized stakes the anime centers around. However, this is the guy that wrote Gunbuster and his fetish for Japanese Power leaks through the narrative. During the middle of the Lost Decade, he portrays Japan as a globally revered technological hub in which pilot children are given duty and purpose to contribute back to state. If you look past Shinji, or even examine the material circumstances behind his construction, you see a deep frustration with the passivity of modern Japan, a quiet admiration for the Old Days.

Evangelion does not position itself as revolutionary -- no, its central arc for Shinji is to first capitulate into Instrumentality and THEN realize he ought to properly re-integrate with society. It is wholly centered around his and the other cast members' individualized needs and bouts of personal growth, disregarding the extreme material circumstances surrounding them to provide a thorough therapy lesson about loving oneself. I would be lying if I said this was poorly handled or didn't evoke strong emotion out of me, but when you take a step back it is incredibly obvious Evangelion is not saying anything particularly of value in its commentary on Japan-as-system. To Anno, the World is irrelevant and secondary to our ability to reconcile with ourselves.

Evangelion's vague commentary on interpersonal communication and struggle finds itself completely shadowed by its biggest direct inspiration. Tomino's Space Runaway Ideon delves into the inherent militarism and bigotry inherent in such extenuating circumstances, providing deliberate systemic dissatisfaction with Japan as a whole. When comparing the two shows directly, one, frankly, was always going to sell and do better. Eva has drop-dead gorgeous animation, soundtrack, and more unchallenging ideas that appealed to audiences in the 90s. Ideon has stiff, primitive 70s animation and aimed to touch on the concerns of Buff Clan/Earth racism and the struggles in communication that came from them. In Ideon, the conflict is encompassing, whereas Evangelion is unique in the entire genre by -- past a certain point -- having the entire narrative held hostage and centered around the pilots' psychology. This is why it is the most notable sekai-kei project of all time.

Evangelion's usage of kaiju-like enemies as Angels frames them as an obvious threat to humanity which can be overcome by pure strength, resolve, and lock-step militarism. Kaworu, of course, is the exception. It is not a space that the hedgehog's dilemma musings on human connection can carry to -- it is in a sense an isolated, separate genre where Big Monsters must be put down like a dog. This is not a bad framework, but in a contemporary era where interpersonal political conflict is so rampant and destructive, Evangelion's legacy has become a series of redundant digitally animated sequel films, a litany of shitty toys, and mediocre video essays clamoring at a nonexistent "deconstruction". This is the fate of most popular mecha anime, but Evangelion as an intellectual property has become so massive any slightly subversive commentary is drowned out by its continual reinforcement as depoliticized therapy material or big budget animation.