How Evangelion SHOULD'VE ended

[Black Swordsman]

While I agree in some regard - as I've always wanted Shinji to save Asuka, I realize that it is not in his nature to step up to this task. Doing something like this with his own will, not to mention killing Rei and Gendo considering how anti-death he is... Just doesn't seem like the right outcome.

In the manga Shinji at least tries to save Asuka from the MP Eva's, it worked pretty well I thought.

[Kurairush]

Reminds me.. need to read the manga at some point.

[Tribblepoo]

After watching Evangelion with another person a few months back and after seeing the ending to the N64 game on Youtube (Couldn't get past the Jet Alone mssion. Curse you emulator and keyboard!), I've thought up a different ending, mostly inspired by the N64 game.
(Spoilered anyways.)

SPOILER: Show

The first half up until Asuka's struggle against the Mass-Produced EVAs.
Upon hearing Asuka's voice and fueled by Misato and Kaworu's deaths, Shinji gets up and goes into EVA Unit 01.
Before the "replica" Lance of Longinus could even be stuck into EVA Unit 02's head, Shinji grabs it and moves it away from Asuka. He gains control over it and EVA 01 goes into Berserk mode. With his mother's spirit by his side, Shinji brutally murders all of the Mass-Produced EVAs.

After that, he goes down into the area where Lilith is. Before Gendo can even begin his attempt to fuse with Rei, the Berserk EVA 01 kills Gendo. Since Rei can't be talked out of it, Shinji says farewell and kills Rei. Memories of her flow through his mind during this. Ritsuko and everyone else survives (except for Misato.) Third Impact averted.
Final scenes include Misato's funeral and Shinji visiting Yui's grave (and possibly Gendo's grave?)

+No psychobabble (The other person who viewed it with me thought it was too much.)
+Shinji mans up
+The world is saved
+Asuka lives
-Misato is forever dead

Feel free to disassemble and analyze it, I wrote this up a bit fast without sifting through the Evageeks wiki and stuff.

What might be better is something similar to this, but at the same time, it would actually be worse than EoE. It's the hollow victory scenario.

Shinji does all of the above (perhaps Misato's death causes him to man up). However, it's not all roses. The world is saved, but nothing that Shinji holds dear is preserved. Asuka is saved, but reverts to her self-loathing near-catatonia (due to being saved by Shinji yet AGAIN), and that sort of thing. A poignant ending scene would be that Shinji is at Mistato's funeral and the only other people there are Asuka (in a wheelchair) and the priest/minister/whatever.

Anyway, just my one-fiftieth of a dollar.

[tomrule123]

Damn it! I thought it would be an HISHE vid of the Evangelion franchise!

[chaosakita]

I think Kaworu should've been there with Shinji, not Asuka.

But all kidding aside, I think the ending was fine.

[Mr. Tines]

Of course, the TV series ended just fine, in an ending the likes of which I'd only seen once before, in CS Lewis' The Last Battle.

[Dream]

Sometimes I wish they'd gone with the disembodied arm ending.

Yeah, while it probably wouldn't have been as complete as the ending we got it certainly was a very interesting possibility. Then again i guess Anno either wasn't interested or willing to portray such a hopeless conclusion to the matters raised in NGE.

And on topic, i hope this doesn't come accross as rude but at first i thought OP was kidding. There is nothing wrong with appreciating anime as a source of entertainment of course but attempting to inject standard mecha/"shonen" elements into a series that very clearly isn't interested in that is baffling at the least.

[ChaddyManPrime]

I would have loved to have seen Shinji self destruct Unit 01 for the ending, just to fuck everyone over.

[NemZ]

Of course, the TV series ended just fine, in an ending the likes of which I'd only seen once before, in CS Lewis' The Last Battle.

What about Ideon?

[Mr. Tines]

I didn't even know of Ideon at the time of watching NGE the first time; it didn't get subbed until a couple of years later. And in any case, that looked more like reincarnation in due course.

[EvangelionGodMode]

I liked the ending it was ambiguous and different not your happily-ever-after ending. But now that the anime got a sad ending i liked to see the Rebuild give us a happy just to show us that the characters can be happy and not always repent.

[Rodeo]

With that kind of ending Evangelion would've been another forgotten anime by now.
Also don't forget the part where the opening theme starts playing as Shinji is kicking the MP Eva's asses. Of course he has to deliver an awkward speech while he's at it which would end with him proclaiming "Because... Because... THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A HUMAN BEING!!" right as he's about to deliver the final blow. Cut to Asuka with a big smirk on her face, "Geez Baka-Shinji, you're such a showoff."

You'd trade one of the truly great endings in anime for this schlock?

[Dataprime]

I was actually happy with both endings..

Is it weird of me to think that?

[Mr. Tines]

Cut to Asuka with a big smirk on her face, "Geez Baka-Shinji, you're such a showoff."

But that's when Giant Rei erupts from underfoot and the Lance of Longinus descends from the Moon, and all hell breaks loose, giving us the half hour of 2001-style ending anyway.

[ChaddyManPrime]

@ Dataprime

I like both as well, I'm really hoping that if Rebuild is a sequel, they show that both endings are true. I do not like the idea that one invalidates the other.