You can (not) move on

[Smokey]

I can't get over Eva

Even after watching the full series, movies and playing some of the games, I just can't seem to get over it.

Many people have told me that the sadness of a show ending fades as you pick up a new one. I have felt that many a time with anime, TV shows and games alike but not this time. Although the conclusions were satisfying and I feel that milking the series to death(Why they did do as far as I can tell which they are still doing to this day) I feel like the show is ingrained within me and I cannot get enough.

I've thought about rewatching the show but I feel like it would be better to put it to rest. So I tried watching some other classic animes like Cowboy Bebop which I finished yesterday. Yet throughout watching the show and going about my day Eva was still there, in the back of my mind. When Cowboy Bebop finished, I still felt that same hollowness I felt after cycling through everything Evangelion had to offer.

Now maybe it's important to answer why the show is so important to me. Currently, I've got exams around the corner and I'm going through my teenage years(I did not grow up with the show like I'm sure many of you reading this did). Being only a year older than Shinji made me connect with the characters maybe more than if I were, say, an adult. I'm not saying that I completely am like Shinji or Rei and lack a lot of social skills but the series just makes me think. There is so much to analyse, discuss and think about. It's a shame that I wasn't around for the days when there would've been more active discussion.

I do think there's a lot of things I can take from Evangelion to help with my everyday life. The end of Evangelion told me that I should cherish the life I have, the original ending gave so many existential thoughts at once that I got lost within the workings of the show. Something about each of the endings click for me in some way, yet they don't go away. Every ending I've watched sticks in my head. The characters are stuck there. Everything's stuck.

To think it's been 2 months since I completed the show and I've watched other shows since then. This one just isn't going away, whether that is good or bad.

Maybe I just need to give the show more time? Maybe I'm just rambling away at midnight as I let my thoughts spill onto this forum... who knows...

[Blockio]

When I first watched it, my situation was very much the same. I'd actually argue that it's a good thing to have something you're really invested in when you've got exams coming up and are studying a lot, having a little distraction like that in my experience helps a lot in keeping you grounded and not going crazy over the amount of work tha you have to do. Especially in the case of Eva, it even helped me focus, because I finally understood why some things I subconsciously did are happening.

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

You don’t get over Evangelion. You just learn to live with it.

[Zoop]

You don’t get over Evangelion. You just learn to live with it.

Amen to that, I saw it around the same age and it impacted me deeply.
Now, almost 20 years later I'm still not over it :p

[天使 | Nyo | 天使]

I feel the EXACT same way. I've tried watching both My Hero Academia AND Death Note and I still just think "it's not Evangelion."

I've rewatched the show multiple times now, I'm watching the Netflix Dub now, making it the third time I'd be watching the show (and EoE.)

Ever since I watched the show, it's all I've been able to think about, every time I do LITERALLY ANYTHING. I feel like though for me, it bizarrely affected my sexuality the most, I don't what I am anymore and I'm starting to even not just question that.

Like Shinji in Episodes 25 & 26, I've questioned everything, my ability to do things in life, the people around me, my emotions, everything.

I'll probably sound biased for saying this but I don't think there's anything above Evangelion now. It's done something no other anime has ever done to me before, it's affected more than just my taste for anime, it's also affected me as an individual.

I LITERALLY can (not) move on. I'm unhealthily obsessed with this show, send help plz!

[pwhodges]

The message of the show is to love yourself, not the show!

[Reichu]

Not mutually exclusive. Letting yourself enjoy the things you like is an important part of loving yourself.

[FelipeFritschF]

The irony of Anno making a show about overcoming fantasies and obsessions and creating a new obsession in its place is never lost.

[Chuban64]

i think going through the same atm lol. i finished watching it for the first time a couple months ago and yes for a few days eva was all i was thinking about, then i got into other anime and picked up on manga again, every time i see an eva meme on Instagram i enjoy it. until anime weekend Atlanta came and it re ignited my love for EVA and made my love even more stronger, so a few days before the convention, i watched EoE on my cpu to have closure on the characters deaths, make the memes more enjoyable for me so i wont get a little emotional, next couple days i bought the platinum edition off ebay, and when the convention arrived, i went ballistic and bought posters and figures, and now im broke and now im yearning outta nowhere for the next rebuild movie to come out. and a hr ago, i just made an account for this site lol.