^ And it shows; ep26 even feels as though Anno is speaking from the heart through Shinji's mouth.
It's been a long time since I watched NGE but I distinctly remember ep26 revolved solely around Shinji and his version of instrumentality; as his soul and personality merged with everyone he knew and they all, collectively broke him out of his own mental state and he obtained peace, happiness and well being.
"Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!" ...etc
For anyone with depression or anxiety, that sounds like heaven; to be free of those thoughts of uselessness or inadequacy and to just be happy and confident all the time.
In ep26 we see this; through all the trippy inner mind sequences we see Shinji grappling with his own mind, challenging his thoughts, and breaking the circle of thought->feeling->behaviour-> that has been plaguing him and he literally shatters and breaks out of his own mental state and obtains happiness.
It sounds very similar to the kinds of self help techniques a psychologist might suggest a patient try; I never really understood the metaphor so profoundly before now.
It works out for Shinji and he's now free... To enjoy a life as part of an ocean of tang
but he's still free! A happy end!
EoE doesn't!
In a world of order, chaos rules.