I think it's one of these beautiful, flawed shows, like Kare Kano was, only better and more solid. I think, as a Superflat anime, EVA, like it's director, is probably the ultimate misunderstood show. And it just doesn't feel complete without watching "End of Eva". It's an apocalypse film after all, and Anno rather unnervingly, maybe terrifyingly, omits the actual apocalypse from the series, like some kind of twisted cliff-hanger. Don't be fooled by the music and the "congratulations" Everybody knows that was Misato's bloody body on the ground. It was kind of a cop-out ending without the "End-of" so I can understand if the fans hate him, but I think he largely redeems himself with the appended film.

I'd say it's a classic. There just aren't that many anime directors willing to screw around and try new things. Maybe Anno screws around a bit too much, like with other people's material in Kare Kano, but I still respect the guy as a funny satirist. In many ways, Eva is a gross joke, a good example of how anime no matter how rich, is a paper-thin, ultimately aesthetic, ephemeral, beautiful, and empty. So I hate it when the "fans" say such ridiculous things like that Eva is "deep". It's anything but. The whole point of Superflat is that it ONLY has a face value.