Rating: 
Summary: 25 good--26 bad
Review: Just to add, i think that the final episodes was what Anno originally invisioned for his masterwork. I know Gainax was running out of money so they really couldn't do much in the end (it shows), but they make up for it in delivering a visually masterfull ending. I also know that alot of the stuff they used were snippets from previous episodes, but the shots that the makers used and the way it is all edited together were really brialant. It fits absolutely perfect in a show such as Shin Seiki Evangelion where a normal "Holywood" ending would have been horrible and degrading. Yes, i would like some questions to be answered--but i would rather see an episode about what the show was truly about, the human experiance. They did also answer the biggest and most important question in the show---just what is the true nature of the HIP.I absolutely loved episode 25, probably the best episode in the series. The editing was great, the shots were awsome, and the entire thing just fit. I also enjoyed how they showed every persons reaction to HIP. Episode 26, however, was all about Shinji-which i have had enough of already in the show. I know that shinji is the paradigm of human weakness--but the HIP was about humans relationships with both themselves and OTHERS. At the end of 26, you are led to believe that this new world was created by and for shinji alone. It was also too happy---Shinji went kinda outta charecter in that one. Also, the clapping was a bit over the top
Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Ending
Review: Not to sound like an intellectual snob, but, to those of you who hate the ending of NGE, you just don't get it. Evangelion was not, at any point in the series, a plot driven piece. It is a study of characters and the psychology of the human mind. Most people who don't like the ending are wishing for some trite hollywood ending where Shinji and Asuka get together. Personally, I'd have put my fist through the TV if they tried to pull something like that on us. But no, they finished this series in the best possible way.
At the very core of NGE is the theme of self-perpetuated issolation. Rei, as the least human of all the characters, issolates herself from everything but her work. Misato, plagued with both love and hatred for her father, issolates herself from men, driving away Kaji many times. Asuka, forced to grow up fast by her family situation, is constantly trying to prove her self worth by being the best, issolating herself from Rei and Shinji. Shinji..ahh Shinji, the most well fleshed out character in all Anime, if not in the history of world Television. Shinji, with a father who pushes him away and a mother who left him, issolates himself from all of society. He can not accept affection from anyone else, or it would shatter his world view.
Episode 25 deals with the self-perpetuated Issolation of these 4 characters, it shows the specific reasons that they became that way. Episode 26 shows us why they continue, what the heart of this psychological alliment is. Some complain that they only show Shinji, but the fact is, Shinji is just an archetype for ALL issolation. The questions posed to and answered by Shinji could be applied to all of the characters in this series (and after you see End of Evangelion you'll see just why Shinji is the character used).
Anyone who tells you to stop before the last two episodes is a fool. The last two episodes are the culmination of the series, the represent every theme dealed with before. But they do require you to think, and they are by no means easy watching. The animation is jarring, the dialouge disturbing. But it is the most fantastic reward possible for the 10+ hours already invested.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful Kaworu...
Review: Don't listen to [fools] who say things like "stop at episode 22"-if you did you would miss the beautiful, yet tragic, Kaworu Nagisa & Shinji Ikari relationship. Episode 24 could be considered a mini shonen ai, but it is one of my favourite episodes which has a brilliant last line (I'm obsessed with good last lines) which makes up for the paltry episode 26 last line. The battle against the 17th angel, in which the AT field is explained, set to Beethoven's "Ode to Joy", is one of the best fights in the series. The very tense "will he, won't he" pause at the end of the fight is nerve wracking, as the fate of all the charachters rests on this fight.
As for eps 25 and 26, well, they're definately different, but this was the whole point of the series: to explore the human mind. Even if the episodes were only made because the other ending was too violent for TV, they are still excellent. But the awful excuse "There is not enough time to show the whole process, so we will focus on Shinji Ikari" ruins episode 26. The ultimate ending would have been better with Shinji in the "alternative existance" kissing Asuka with "THE END" displayed on the screen with Shinji and Asuka singing Fly Me To The Moon over the end credits. But, alas, I was not the director.
The publisher, ADV, really doesn't do the original series justice. The alternative ending could have been added, the directors cut could have been an option, and Shinji's voice actor is quite annoying. And Asuka sounds about as depressed as a 12 year old girl at a Westlife Concert.
Other than that, an excellent ending.
Rating:
Summary: A great ending to a great series!
Review: Although the last episode of evangelion is kind of an anti-climax to the rest of the series. It offers a tasteful and refreshingly different approach to the way most anime series end. Instead of ending with a huge battle with high fatalities this ending foccusses on phylosophical journey of Shinji Ikari and the reason for his existence. This episode is deep and meaningful and a nice change from the stereotypical anime.
It is obvious that Shinji Ikari aswell as many of the people asscociated with NERV are an emotional wreck. Now that the angels are defeated Shinji find his own reason to exist his own purpose in life. This last chapter of evangelion in my mind is a credit to the series but is one of those things that you either love or hate with a passion.
Rating: 
Summary: anti-climactic
Review: I've really enjoyed this series until this last DVD. The detailed characters, mecha design, rich plot, conspiracies, reference to biblical themes, etc. made for a very original and exciting series. If you liked the ending of 2001, you will probably like the last two episodes. Where you expect some kind of real conclusion you're presented with Shinji going through some inner journey of self discovery--dealing with the gambit of philosophical issues from what is truth to the nature of reality. While these episodes are intellectually stimulating, they're a bit too much and definitely make a disappointing ending. After investing 10+ hours with the series, you would like to have some kind of conclusion and some answers to the many questions posed in the movie. Though, I guess there is some kind of conclusion in another NGE movie. Overall, I give high praise to the series, but the ending is just anti-climactic and disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Way cool^^
Review: i have seen all of this series and i absolutely love it. I like this DVD particularily because in this DVD Shinji finaly finds the one for him. His name is Kaworu Nagisa. But then in a twist of fate Shinji must kill the only one who he loves and loves him back.....::sniff sniff:: poor Shinji....
Rating:
Summary: NOT WHAT I HAD IN MIND
Review: If dvd's 6 and 7 had the best mecha action i have ever seen, dvd 8 offered an interesting insight in the characters we all enjoyed so far.I will admit that i did expect more action , but this was just as good.Kaworu handled eva 2 better than Asuka could even have dreamed of and his last scenes were very touching,however many things have not been answered , for instance why did Gendo Ikari wish for the end of the world and what was his plan;Is Ritsuko Akagi and Misato really dead;What happened to the world after the last episode;I know that there are two movies coming so i expect some answers.
I especially enjoyed that alternative shinji because there he was really happy and Rei actually showed emotions.There was a lot of personal information about the characters , and we saw why most of them fight , and their motivation.I am very sad that the show has ended and whatever the ending i wouldn't have been very happy because my favorite show has ended.
Rating:
Summary: anime that brought tears to my eyes
Review: Call me sentimental but yes, it made me cry.
Ever wonder about our eternal question -- where do we come from and where do we go next? or what the heck is reality? or what on earth is the meaning of our existance? ...etc.
I suppose we'll never get a straght answer to those unless you speak directly to God/Creator. This part of the series will boil up your mind with all sorts of philosophical issues. One friend of mine once commented there's not enough blood or explosion as mecha series should be, but if you've been following through up so far, you should know this is not Gundam Wing, right?
In my opinion this DVD is the best of the series with wonderful images and soundtrack. Listening to those wonderfully 3 dimentional characters' dialogues, narratives and thinking process, i'm sure you'll find yourself nodding as they mirror your own thoughts you had some time in your life.
The very last episode is an extremely touching one especially the moment where dear Shinji finds the answer to his tormenting question about painful life, uncertain future, self-hatred, and low self-esteem.
I do get a feeling like... all those battles and long stories just to tell this?? But then considering "why do i pilot eva?" is Shinji's THE perpetual question, every bit of the prior story is more than enough to make up for the $$ i spent for this collection.
A beautiful work! Something that makes you ponder about family, love, human bonding, and attitude on life, behind enterainment of gunfires and futuristic technologies.
Rating: 
Summary: Unwatchable!
Review: First of all, I must admit that the initial two-thirds of this series captivated me more than any other. The characters were interesting and story brisk and exciting, even masterful at times, except for a few hiccups. Some intriguing dark mystery lurked in the background but never got too confusing. And then everything fell apart in the worst possible way. The final third of Neon Genesis Evangelion piles on question upon question while answering none of them. After a while it becomes so much of a tedious chore to keep up that one simply ceases to care, detaches himself emotionally from the material, and continues watching only out of morbid curiosity. Just when a persistent viewer hopes, in the final lap, that some answers will at last be forthcoming, it punches you in the face by throwing out the story altogether and embarking on an abstract, mind-numbing and ultimately pointless mind trip. The last two episodes are so dense and overwhelmingly thick with seriousness that they induce dismayed laughter rather than stimulating thought. The so-called "real ending" in the End of Evangelion movie fares no better and even less comprehensible. Not to mention even more meaningless. There is probably a good story hiding in the the layers of confusion somewhere. But it is undermined by a crazed obsession to keep more from the viewer than is absolutely necessary. No matter what rabid fans might say in its defence, citing originality as a principal argument, leaving your audience totally befuddled is simply not the way to go. Nobody should have to work so ridiculously hard just to understand what is going on, and then to be betrayed by a ludicrous non-ending. Instead of carrying his point across clearly, Hideaki Anno buries it in a putrid swamp and expects you to dive in. Thanks, but no thanks. As it stands, Evangelion seems like a cynical attempt to appeal to a hardcore group who love an intellectual challenge, no matter how hollow and pretentious it really is. Obviously, to them, I belong to those who "just don't get it". Frankly, I'm glad I don't.
Rating:
Summary: I was the Good Story guy, and I've changed my mind
Review: Okay, so I was a little harsh, but to the guy from scotland I think insulting me because my opinion of the ending is different than yours is just uncool. Its obvious to anyone that there are certain aspects of the show that one needs to be creative about when trying to explain. And you have to admit that the last two episodes, although unique and interesting in their own ways, are completely random, no explanation possible except that the writer was trying to get a message across, which he was, thus making the switch from story to expression. And personally I am more interested in the story than the expression, that's all. If, for example, something like what happened in the middle of the series when Shinji "dissolved" into his EVA and we entered his mind had happened then I would've been more satisfied. I don't dislike the last two episodes because I am ignorant of their message or meaning. Shinji is torn by depression from his father's dissertion of him and his ordeal with Kauru. I disagree with you when you say that Shinji's response is hatred, unless of course you are referring to self-hatred. Shinji is depressed and adrift in his own self-pity. He feels as though he has no purpose of his own, that he is a mere tool for others to use as destructively as they want. But eventually he is freed from his self-pity by the realization that he is himself, and he likes it. Now if you ask me, the aplause at the end was a little over the top, but that's just me. I dislike the last two episodes because I feel that the character of Shinji was not as, well, interesting as some of the others. And the fact that he is the only one who actually gets his issues resolved (Asuka, who I believe is in much worse condition than Shinji, is left torn to shreds) kind of bothered me too. However, I cannot escape the fact that the ending is origional and brilliant in its own way, thus I give it four stars now.
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