I am excited to see this proven wrong, as all long fan theories always are to some extent. This delves into full-on conspiracy theorist territory though, even for a theory focused on the lore. Lore was never a priority for Evangelion and was produced solely as the plot dictated.

eldomtom2 wrote:Lore was never a priority for Evangelion and was produced solely as the plot dictated.

Where the hell did you get that from? Are you 100% sure we've been watching the same movies?

Blockio wrote:

eldomtom2#911587 wrote:Lore was never a priority for Evangelion and was produced solely as the plot dictated.

Where the hell did you get that from? Are you 100% sure we've been watching the same movies?

All the evidence from the production of the series? We have Anno admitting he didn't have any idea what Instrumentality/Complementation would be when he dropped it into episode 2!

You could argue that the lore wasn't the "priority" in the way that obviously Anno cared more about the characters and themes, but NGE and NTE do have in-depth lore stuff as well (NTE even more than NGE) and him saying he didn't know what Instrumentality would mean isn't indicative of the lore not mattering, it's just indicative of him taking the "gardener's approach" to creative writing-he goes ahead and sees how things develop without a concrete fixed plan. Just because something isn't the most important thing about an artwork, doesn't mean it doesn't matter.

eldomtom2 wrote:All the evidence from the production of the series? We have Anno admitting he didn't have any idea what Instrumentality/Complementation would be when he dropped it into episode 2!

Now, there are two things wrong with that statement.
1) that is a severe misrepresentation of what he actually said. Yes, he didn't know the exact specifics of Instrumentality, but just the name alone tells you that the basic idea was there from the start.
2) NTE is not NGE. The movies go out of their way to show that. The staff involved go out of their way to say that, and have been doing so since the start. Even under the incorrect assumption that "there never was any meaning in NGE", that is well and truly not the case anymore

Blockio wrote:Even under the incorrect assumption that "there never was any meaning in NGE", that is well and truly not the case anymore

I don't think people saying that lore came second in NGE are saying it had no "meaning". The formal experimentation alone in NGE is enough meaning for me. Many of the most interesting movies and directors decide to intentionally subvert their own film worlds, or play with a heightened sense of subjectivity.

and that is perfectly fine! But it's not what eldotom is saying, he is firmly in some anti-intellectual denial about everything.
"NO THIS CAN'T POSSIBLY HAVE MEANING I REFUSE TO SEE IT EVEN WHEN PEOPLE POINT IT OUT TO ME"

Blockio wrote:1) that is a severe misrepresentation of what he actually said. Yes, he didn't know the exact specifics of Instrumentality, but just the name alone tells you that the basic idea was there from the start.

You can't take anything away from the use of the term instrumentality because it's a fucking back translation!

Yet the original Japanese is even more damning for whatever the fuck your point here is.

人類補完計画 - Jinrui Hokan Keikaku
Key phrase here being 補完, Hokan. Let's put this into Google translate and see what we get, shall we?

Google Translate wrote:complement, completion

So he ended up making something that fit with what it was called. That proves nothing.

Dude, I just gave you evidence that contradicted your claim, and all you can think of is "but this doesn't prove anything". If you aren't looking for proper, in-depth debate then you are in the wrong place. If you just want your little echo chamber telling you that your fanwank is perfect then get the fuck off here and go back to twitter. Jesus fucking christ that was the dumbest thing I read all day and I'm dealing with loopers in another thread.