everyone who defends it is a herd animal or saw it when they were a stupid and impressionable teenager

I watched it 2-3 years ago with low expectations and I was 25 or so

Here's the reality:

You didn't pay enough attention to what was going on. Then again most people didn't so you can't really be faulted too much for that.

Evangelion is an anime that doesn't directly tell you what its core messages and themes are, as that's part of its point.

Many people mistook this as Evangelion being open to interpretation (and while some aspects of it are indeed that, the core messages are concrete). The average person, as it turns out, isn't very perceptive, which is probably why the Rebuilds exist.

everyone who defends it is a herd animal or saw it when they were a stupid and impressionable teenager

I watched it 2-3 years ago with low expectations and I was 25 or so

Here's the reality:

You didn't pay enough attention to what was going on. Then again most people didn't so you can't really be faulted too much for that.

Evangelion is an anime that doesn't directly tell you what its core messages and themes are, as that's part of its point.

Many people mistook this as Evangelion being open to interpretation (and while some aspects of it are indeed that, the core messages are concrete). The average person, as it turns out, isn't very bright, which is probably why the Rebuilds exist.