Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Animation at all
Review: Dear all Friends overseas who love this series. I have to admit that the original ending of the TV series (DVD 0-8) is quite difficult to understand since it never continue the story from chapter 24. However, it was the ideal of the creator to use another view to explain the so-called (HUMAN REPAIR PROGRAM). However, the coming two movies (actually part one is the summary of chapter 1-24; part II is the real ending) actually described the truth of the Evangelion. However, we are lucky that we have many web sites and books to further explain all our unknown in the series rather than just watching the show. However, they are all usually in CHINESE and JAPANESE, sorry for those who can't read CHINESE and JAPANESE. My conclusion is the real greatest animation in this century.
Rating: 
Summary: What a lame ending to an awesome series...
Review: Evangelion was a great series. It started off fast paced with excellent art and drawing. The story was odd, different, and had lots of bizzare imagry and symbolism that hooked it's audiences. Everything is going great until the LAST DVD! If you're looking for an explanation for the ending of this series, or in fact ANY of the imagry in the series, you won't find it.
And if you're waiting for an explanation from the 2 movies, don't bother. "End of Evangelion" is just like the series, brilliant until the ending (brilliant enough to watch, just beware). The last quarter of the movie (and espically the ending) really stunk. Bottom line, the series rocks, the end [stinks]. Big time.
Rating:
Summary: NOT WHAT I EXPECTED, UNTIL .....
Review: When I first saw the last two episodes in the series I was a little dissapointed. It was great but twisted and out of place, What happend to Shinji and the others? There was a third impact or not? So, I rented both movies:
Death and Rebirth: it' s a resume of the series and a little more after the last angel, it's good to understand the plot a little more.
The end of Evangelion: the conclution. This movie show with detail what really happend in the end, the third impact, has a lot of shocking deaths, Shinji finding himself, the meaning of the eva's, and of course a lot of action! I recomend to see the movies to fully enjoy the series.
Now I feel satisfied! Evangelion is the best animated series I've ever seen! (with the movies)
Rating:
Summary: The End of an Epic
Review: In what I consider to be pieces of art, the final episodes of Evangelion live up to the quality of the series and, in my mind, far surpass it. However, many people have brought up the quite valid fact that they fail to answer questions raised during the course of the story and are an unforgivable departure from the artistic style of the rest of the series. Although it is hard to address these issues with most of the general viewing group not having seen the Evangelion movies, I feel that the best overall understanding of this series comes from watching both endings. While some would argue that they cannot or should not be viewed as co-existing entities, this is the only way I feel that you can get the complete picture of the series. The last two episodes contained on the 8th disc are more of the mental ending to the series, with the physical ending being left for the movie(which by the way will be released on Oct. 29th give or take a day). I gave this DVD 5 stars because I feel it is an important one for all fans to see, BEFORE seeing the movies. While some will not find them the most enjoyable of episodes they provide a very interesting look at the world of the Evangelion from the perspecitve of a character within its boarders. Shinji is without a doubt the most human-like character ever to exist within an animated world because of these last to episodes, and I feel that this fact made the series overall, but more importantly the two movies, much more enjoyable. As for the quality of the animation, while many would disagree with my views, I thought it was intersting that it shared the same disassembled and broken look as did the Shinji and the other characters. The one aspect of this DVD that I will speak against is the quality of ADV's work. The lack of extras and the "jumpyness" of the film do detract from the quality of the DVD, but I still gave the DVD 5 stars because these errors do not detract from the quality of the story contained on the DVD.
Rating:
Summary: One end to an amazing series
Review: After hearing all sorts of comments on this last DVD ranging from people who hated it (the majority) to people who loved it (the minority). But after sitting down and watching it I have to conclude that this end is one of my favorites. Despite the fact that Gainex's budget for the series was slashed (which is evident from some of the later animation and scene choice) I think that this end of the series was done well. It provided not only some anwsers, but also the psycosis that the series was always famous for in large quantities. Another point it its favore was the HAPPY ENDING. I have seen the other end to the series (End of Evangelion - coming soon I hope) and while the animation, plot, and nearly everything else is far superior, its ending is so sad that its an emotional drain to watch it. I recomend this ending (and the other) to ANY fan of the series, and the DVD is well worth the money. To any fans of anime that haven't watched eva yet, what are you waiting for? This is (in my opionion) the greatest anime series ever created, and it doesnt look any better then when its on DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Better appreciated when you ask the questions to yourself
Review: Watching the first few episodes of the whole series, my first impressions overall were that I didnt like it. I thought the story was badly paced and at times, later on, played out like an incoherent dream. There were so many questions that kept piling up one after another that took so long before they got answered. Where did the Angels come from? What is the purpose of the Angels? Who or what is behind them? What is their ultimate goal? Why are they attacking Tokyo-3? Why use 14 year old pilots? What's so special about them? What's the history behind Shinji and his father's relationship? Why is Rei so lifeless and unfeeling? More and more kept popping up. When some of the answers finally came, they weren't all that satisfying and crystal clear and still many questions lingered unresolved. It was irritating because you didnt feel gratified or rewarded for sticking around. I kept thinking that the episodes could have been leaner and meaner. There were parts that that got too much focus and attention making them unnecessarily long. And there were parts that could have used better and clearer exposition. It had interesting moments that were funny and explored the personality of the characters, but my interest level kept rising and falling and wasn't consistently maintained that I almost didnt finish the series. But Im so happy I did!After episodes 21 right thru the final 26th, I saw the beauty of it. The ending still threw me off because I was used to expecting a definite closure and resolution to most stories, but I finally saw the real beauty of it. I stopped thinking about Evangelion mainly as just a story with developing characters and a developing plot. More importantly, I've come to realize and appreciate the powerful messages that the creator, Anno Hideaki, is trying to tell. Now, I see it as a modern Aesop's fable. An allegorical, philosophical, self-analysis essay disguised as a mecha anime. In the later episodes, Shinji is bombarded by questions that challenge his old perceptions about identity, value, self-worth and reality itself. Questions that analyze himself, how he thinks, how he perceives and how he creates his own reality. By the end, he breaks out of his old shell. He transcends into a new way of thinking, a new way of looking at things, a new and better way of perceiving his reality. He is transformed. He is reborn. A new genesis. To me, in the end, the profound messages and the lessons learned were all that really mattered. When you ask yourself the questions that Shinji asked and make some effort to really think about the answers and relate them to your own experiences in life, you'd have a better appreciation of the series and overlook it's weaknesses.
Rating:
Summary: Video Poetry at it's Best
Review: So people say that the last 2 episodes are complex, but the sad part is that your brain is too linear to comprehend this absteact peice of Video Poetry that incoporates the plot, the theme, and the ending to the TV series. I absolutely hate poems that are linear or following the formal structure, but Eps 25 and 26 break the structure by quite a lot. It does not have a logical order to it's diagloge; well... let me rephrase that. It HAS a logical order but it's is in the order of a "disturbed" mind and not that of something you would find in some formal poetry book. The Plot is hidden (Yes there is a plot, you just need to pay attention), and this plot is the EXACT same as that of the movie, they "seem" different but mark my words they are exactly the same. In the movie the characters are still "technically" alive, just as in the TV series. The only reason Evangelion came to america was because it had action scenes that are pretty and fun to watch, while most people don't actually comprehend the theme or the message it was "trying" to convey. If the last two eps does not and will never make sence to you, then you are one of those who just like the action and the characters but the theme went over your head. For those who did comprehend the last 2 episodes of the TV series; congragulations! You people are the minority who hunger for more complex films to be released into the big screens, and dis-like society in the way it works. Especially America. People say america is a haven, but guess what, you are miserable in america. You just don't realise it, if you weren't miserable, why are you trying to achive the american dream? why are you spending vast amounts of money to satisfy your self?
Rating: 
Summary: Sometimes its good and sometimes its not
Review: This series is a bit Confusing at times. The fight scenes are superb but rare. I was expecting more fighting. Most of the time the characters are dealing with mental problems or thinking about sex. If you like weird twisted anime, then you will love this. The first disc was great. However, it slowly started to change.
Rating:
Summary: Messes With Your Mind
Review: Forget that most people say the ending is terrible. In a way, the last two episodes are a shock compared to the rest of the series, but I personally liked them. However, it is worth paying the entire price or more just to get episode 24, the appearance of the seventeenth Angel and of Kaworu Nagisa. (The subs on this tape say Kaoru, but the official merchandise spelling is Kaworu, which is actually pronounced identically to Kaoru.) When I saw episode 24 from my friend's videotapes from the local broadcast station that aired the subtitled version a few years ago and is currently re-airing it, Episode 24 left me sitting on the couch, tears in my eyes, crying for half an hour. It is life-changing. I was fourteen at the time, and I think fourteen is probably the youngest you can be and appreciate the tragedy of the twenty-fourth episode. Episode 24 and the rest of the DVD can either leave you sobbing, feeling like your mind is messed with, or it can leave you going "Huh?" if you aren't sympathetic and open. Watch with an open mind, and it is rewarding. Watch with a closed mind, and it's useless to buy the DVD. If you have an open mind, I recommend this DVD to anyone who has ALREADY SEEN THE OTHER EVANGELION EPISODES! Otherwise it would be horrible. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: The Emporer's New Clothes
Review: I was initially attracted to the Evangelion series due to its wonderful mixture of sexual tension, happy-go-lucky feeling, awesome battle sequences, humorous sections, and mystical undertones. If the first eps had been like these final ones, then chances are, I would never have bought into the series in the first place. Continuing with the downward, darker trend of the second half of the series, in which Anno started writing like a demented cross between William Gibson, Mary Shelly, and Alleister Crowley, these final episodes are devoid of any comic relief, and are very depressing to watch. It gets worse. At least in eps 14-22, the characters still seemed somewhat realistic and multi-dimensional, if disturbed. However in these final episodes, the characters take on a disappointed one-dimensionality, seeming hollow and fake. The final two episodes are a great example of this: the characters seem completely devoid of personality, trapped in a schizophrenic void of text and imagery. As a thought-experiment, and as a work of literature, these final two eps could be seen as highly artistic and interesting; however, in following with the rest of the series, they suck as anime. They were obviously written for Anno's personal motives, without regard for what the viewers wanted to know, or hoped to see. In fact, he almost seems to intentionally antagonize us with the last line: "And to all the children, congratulations." Congratulations for what?! Having stayed awake through an hour of boring psychobabble? He even anticipates that you will fall asleep during it: during one scene, Asuka yells, "Wake up!" and Shinji finds himself in a humorous alternate reality, sort of a dream-world. This is probably the only interesting part in the whole thing. Summary Anyone who expected an interesting explanation of the mystical and secret elements will be sorely disappointed, and even more confused. We are left with only vague notions of who Rei really is, what the thing on the cross is (Adam or Lilith?), what the Human Instrumentality project is, etc. It seems as though Anno himself did not know, either -- his prolific use of the phrase "all to convenient" (Misato often says it) is sadly coincidental with how convenient of an ending he gives the series: convenient for the animators, since there was almost no work to be done for the final two eps. Just like the ending of 2001: A Space Odessy, the ending of Evangelion is a true cop-out. It's an example of a story-teller giving up, dodging his narrative responsibility to provide an end to the story, by throwing a bunch of abstract, poorly-thought-out B.S. up on the screen. To all those who think this was a good ending: I think it's like the emporer's new clothes. Everyone can see that it leaves the story naked and imperfect, but it takes a child to stand up and say: these new clothes SUCK, in fact they aren't clothes at all: he's NAKED. Somebody please give me the REAL final episodes!
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