No. When I first watched it in my teens, don't know exactly when or why, it was just a cool anime that was way better than the competition (maybe except Berserk), and when I rewatched it half a year ago, it made me remember some things I had forgotten. For a few days it made me think I had discovered something new about myself, that I had the epiphany that I was somehow different than I thought all along, but that turned out to be self-deception. Maybe a subconcious need to fit in with the crowd or overidentification with the characters, I don't really know.

So if anything, it reaffirmed who I am, or made me more self-aware. Made me pick up writing again as well, so thats a plus. I think I haven't changed much at all as I grew older, my defining features were there from the very start.

I think it's too early to say. I'm still reeling from EoE, reading decades of analysis, and starting to rewatch NGE with the knowledge its ending provided. Any lasting effect Evangelion will have on me is still in an embryonic state. It's certainly given me a lot to think about.
I guess the most accurate way to describe Eva's effect on me so far is that it has me questioning everything. Stuff I used to take for granted, like "I love my parents." Questioning morality. Questioning my identity. If my identity is my choice.
Even when this metamorphosis has "ended," it will be hard to pin down how much of it can be attributed to Evangelion. The themes from this show are already mixing and interacting with Steins;Gate, therapy, and the massive transitioning period that is the transition from childhood to adulthood.

It certainly did redefine me as an artist and creator.
It's not often you see a story that stays completely true to itself and its world. Usually there needs to be something big or a distinctly out-of-character action to bring about a satisfying ending, but Evangelion really made me ask myself "What is an ending?"

I attempted suicide my third and (hopefully) final time about three months before I first saw Evangelion in 2006.
I was 21, lost, lonely, had given up on being an artist, had no idea how I could continue with my life and was very VERY close to my fourth attempt when I saw an episode on AdultSwim one night - Episode 5: Rei, Beyond the Heart - and was so captivated by the tone, look and feel of it that even though I had no money at the time and had never cold bought a series before I drove to a Best Buy the very next day and bought their last copy of the Platinum Collection & the Manga Movie Collection. I bought them because I KNEW I wasn't going to live long enough to see the whole thing if I had watched it aired.

I binged the series twice over the next four days, cried a lot, read a lot, thought a lot and because of one silly sci-fi series I found a whole new grasp on life in that while life can be oh so hard at times and people can be mean, that there is also hope and a way to express yourself as a human and through art.

I've had dark, very dark, moments since but I've never made a fourth attempt.

I'm still here.

Yeah, Eva redefined me.

^
That's powerful, glad you're still here, I enjoy reading your posts, fwiw.
I also had some dark, dark times, I know it might sound hokey, and a little bit embarrassing; but for a time, I felt like Evangelion Q would be the last thing I'll ever experience in my life. I sunk deeper and deeper into depression, and I always was like... There's still Evangelion... By the time I decided to board the plane to go to Japan I was through the worst of it, but it still was a powerful experience watching it in cinemas... Like being set free, or smth... it's hard to explain, since it's been long ago and that time feels like a different me, like very out of body... I can't really tell you in a linear fashion.
Either way, yes, it redefined me a lot! I'm very confused thinking about this right now... lmao

The first time I watched Eva was during one of the best year's of my life. Though I could still relate to what it was telling. The years after were hard, and the show has definitely helped me through all of that. I would go as far as saying that I'd be worse if I hadn't watched it, since it helped me understand myself, and that maybe it was OK being what I was.

I also connected to some people thanks to the show.

Redefine is a big word, but I guess it's true.

Had someone asked me this question when I first watched Eva, more than 8 years ago, I probably would have answered no. I loved it when I watched it, and it still stands as one of my favourite anime ever, especially the movie, but I didn't feel it's influence in my tastes and personality until much later.

Only now, in the last year or so, have I fully noticed how Evangelion impacted me. Not just through the show itself, but also because of all the anime and other media I watched because of it after. This forum itself changed me in some ways.

And, well, I'm fortunate to say Evangelion didn't save from depression, something I've never felt, but it makes me happy it had such a positive effect on others here.

robersora wrote:That's powerful, glad you're still here, I enjoy reading your posts, fwiw.
I also had some dark, dark times, I know it might sound hokey, and a little bit embarrassing; but for a time, I felt like Evangelion Q would be the last thing I'll ever experience in my life. I sunk deeper and deeper into depression, and I always was like... There's still Evangelion... By the time I decided to board the plane to go to Japan I was through the worst of it, but it still was a powerful experience watching it in cinemas... Like being set free, or smth... it's hard to explain, since it's been long ago and that time feels like a different me, like very out of body... I can't really tell you in a linear fashion.

Thank you. I enjoy reading your posts on here too.
That trip sounds like quite a journey.
I've only passed through the Tokyo Narita airport and have never been to the country proper and had things all mapped out to make a similar, though not as emotional/spiritual maybe, trip to Japan this summer to see Thrice Upon A Time in theaters but then this fucking Covid messed everything up. I still hope I'll be able to make that trip but a lot of the deciding factors - when is the movie coming out, will it even be safe to fly then, are people in my f'ing country going to start wearing masks and properly social distance until it's more manageable - are out of control at the moment.

Very much. It hasn't been as much of a life-changing experience as it's been for some others here, but it did speak to me. I too have had psychological issues and Eva's ways of discussing them certainly mattered to me and made me rethink a lot of things about (my) life and also art. It has very much redefined me.

eva is really unique and powerful because anno really painted a vivid picture of himself, his depression, and the people around him in an easily accessible format, and in a non-pretentious but still artful way. and if you can look into that, you can be personally affected, especially when dissecting the themes here. it distances itself from a lot of tv tropes in how it doesn't try to resolve itself like it's a tv show or a movie. it tries to just put the place he and others ended up emotionally into a visual format we can understand, so the ending resonates on a mental level rather than a plot level. that's why it's so important. you can tell he didn't sit down and write a show, he sat down and structured a sort of, well, vent.
also eva completely changed the way i watch anime thanks anno