I think there's a difference between "Don't be a reclusive shut in that has no connections with real people and no life outside of being an anime nerd" and "Don't ever watch any entertainment or be a fan of anything ever again!"

Ringworm128 wrote:I think there's a difference between "Don't be a reclusive shut in that has no connections with real people and no life outside of being an anime nerd" and "Don't ever watch any entertainment or be a fan of anything ever again!"

And I think the series aimed more toward the former than the latter, even if people took it the other way.

Honestly the idea of needing to love yourself before you can love others is dated. Eva came out during the height of the self esteem movement yet establishing a correlation between self esteem and wellness is tenuous at best.

I sometimes wonder if this is why they wanted to do the rebuilds.

It would only become more relevant to this day precisely BECAUSE of the internet going unginhed. People don't know when to say no to it and put it a stop- like a kid who's found his father's gun.

viperzero wrote:Honestly the idea of needing to love yourself before you can love others is dated. Eva came out during the height of the self esteem movement yet establishing a correlation between self esteem and wellness is tenuous at best.

I sometimes wonder if this is why they wanted to do the rebuilds.

Do you have any sources on that? That hasn't been my experience. Low self-esteem contributes to feelings of depression and anxiety. I think finding ways to love yourself is a good way of attracting others.

I don't think people want to hang out with Eeyores, they want to hang out with Tiggers or Owls. Not to say the Eeyores of the world don't deserve compassion and love, but I think that starts out with self esteem.

Well i think both are not outdated.

The fact that you can still use that till this date.Because internet is mini world of fiction that anno hated people escaping to,They get pseudo validation for there deep desires through media,Instead letting it go or struggling for it,The biggest effect of social media is upon our self image or we stop having self analization,these are the same effects that one can be caused from fiction.Sideeff. of internet =side effects of fiction(that's why it is still up to date).That's a another reason for Eoe(Fan message they were sending anything),the fact there is a space for a meta commentary solely for and for otaku's(that tv lacked),That's why otaku's and there backlash is indeed part of a reason for making of eoe(because it showed how much they were into it,though it's not the main reason). there's a quote by bulleshah i don't remember it correctly but he says that instead of reading books,spritual guides,holly books other people read yourself.Thats why budha says in a nutshell,FIRST FIND YOURSELF THEN TRY TO FIND GOD.
So what i want to say in this paragraph,Due to people spending time on internet( or fiction in 1990's Japan),they don't try to understand the selves which makes them ignorant and that ignorance lead to a bad society.
2nd reason for eoe
Both endings are pleas to people to please look at there lives please see how are you affecting you loved ones(eoe....).Orignal tv ending is saying that softly and addressing others also,but eoe is aggressive and only conc. On Shinji.Orignal tv perfectly concludes Shinji's arc,I think better than eoe not because I have sympathy but it perfectly counters what was his problem.I mostly see eoe as our mirror,Of how otaku's are destroying there lives.(Or simply anno is sharing his own experience through this media).
Third reason for eoe,
I have infinite empathy for Shinji for many reasons.i don't want to go to my past but I am not that much traumatized.But the fact he is ignoring his problems like other characters is also true.It leads to self destruction,Thanks to extra ordinary outcomes it also affected others.
Though I think most his problems comes from one point,His self worth,though @OneShotPunch, i don't think the reason for not helping women is because he is afraid to see himself it should be something else (actually I didn't found such dialogues in eoe which validate what you said.).And one thing I think you should treat them seperately, because each women have seperate role in his life,but he expects the same thing,Affection in the end.

So it's very simple.Even if you are not otaku or anything.If you have problem with connecting to people,Evangelion still has many elements which makes it ultimate motivator to make connection and not be afraid of them.I really like Evangelion for that.

I think the message can very easily work for people who spend too much time online, which is a real issue these days. At least to me it feels relevant because of that. While it is not aimed specifically at that, still can resonate with someone who sees that they have this issue and would be inspired to work on it. It worked for me.

Anno himself has said in interviews a lot of people did not get the message when the show originally came out so there's that too. I guess someone can argue that in the convoluted way that the message is presented it can diminish it. What I mean by that is that people would be left too confused as to what exactly happened in the story and lore, while not focusing on what the show is trying to say.