Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion, the one mecha anime that's technically not a mecha anime. It's more like psychological or, as some would say, a mindraep. But who cares about that? It's just an anime. Unless you don't like psychological anime. You'd rather have something fanservice-y like MM! or My Sister Can't Be This Cute. Or something manly like Fist of the North Star.

It will stay an anime until the Japanese government starts the funding of the construction of these massive artificial… human… things… (SPOILERS, STOP HIGHLIGHTING HERE… too late) that turn out to be Copies of the 1st Angel, Adam, or, in the case of Eva-01, the Copy of the 2nd Angel, Lilith.
Personally, I thought this was pretty cool when it started. For the first several episodes, there was nothing to know and nothing to understand for Shinji. All he had to do was board the Evangelion Unit 01 and kill Angels, monsters that constantly attack Tokyo-3. Basically, it was your everyday mecha anime: kid is a pilot of a mecha, kills stuff and has weapons at his disposal that can be repaired or built in several hours. Except with Godzilla.

However, along the way, we see into the mind of Shinji through his nightmares and experiences. At first, I thought, "So who cares about the pilot? As long as he boards the EVA, we're good." like every other character in the anime. Eventually, though, everything prior to the anime is revealed to us. Why Shinji "hates" his dad so much. Why Shinji's the only one able to pilot the EVA-01. And just why the whole anime starts off with water everywhere. At that point, everything becomes more interesting. What is NERV really up to? What is Human Instrumentality? Why do Angels keep attacking Japan, specifically Tokyo-3 and NERV headquarters? Why are the pilots middle school students? There are other questions and I can't guarantee they will all be answered even after watching the anime a number of times. One question that will be answered for sure is "Just what the hell does Rei mean when she says that there will be replacements of her when she dies?"
I say the casting was well done. Well, for the Japanese dubs. I'm not so sure about the English dubbing. The animation was decent, if not great, for an anime of its time. The story could be a little less vague about its plot points. But then it just wouldn't be the same. I mean, this anime's like an onion. But rather than peel it quickly like people want to, you want it peeled slowly. So nothing's missed and there won't be no action in the latter half of the series.

The Rebuild movies, I say, are a waste of money. Not only for viewers, but also for the producers. Seriously. What gives? It's like an abridged Evangelion… WITH FANSERVICE. Yet they make big cash with it. Sure, the animation quality's been boosted with all the CG. But seriously. What's with the hinting at a ShinjixRei coupling? It's very awkward in many different ways if you've actually seen the series.

The original manga, I say, are far more worth seeing than the Rebuild movies. We get more to see. Like more Shinji talking and retorting. And I'll say, less fanservice and less filler. We actually move along the plot more smoothly as well. Some characters aren't generic too! Like, they have some sort of backstory! … Well, maybe it's just Ryoji Kaji, a somewhat generic character in the anime.

I'll just say that Neon Genesis Evangelion, despite all its vagueness and unanswered questions and original animation quality, is an anime that's a must watch if you're searching for something that isn't 1) fanservice and 2) mecha that involves the killing of 9000+ pilots. However, if you're looking for a fanservice-y anime, try MM!. Although it's full of masochist jokes and whatnot, eh, it was decent.