History YMMV / NeonGenesisEvangelion

* CriticalDissonance: Has been almost unanimously positively reviewed by professional anime/manga critics, yet it's a ''very'' divisive series within the world of anime fandom (in the west anyway), partly due to the ''[[AngstAversion very]]'' [[AngstAversion dark tone]], [[DysfunctionJunction a dysfunctional cast]], and [[GainaxEnding an ending that was hard for many to understand]], among others. In fact, saying you like it in certain places, you might as well call yourself a snob. Once again, [[AmericansHateTingle this is mostly a western phenomena]], as in Japan it's still extremely popular and highly praised.

* ValuesResonance: The series' premiere on Netflix was well-timed with TheNewTens' destigmatization of mental health and depression and increased awareness of the effects of parental negligence and abuse; while the cast's DysfunctionJunction doesn't necessarily excuse some characters' more questionable actions, the anime still takes the time to explore several main characters' backstories and show why they ended up the way they did. Some even jokingly call Eva "the best antidepressant on the market" as many depressed people claim that the anime got them out of a funk.

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: Shinji was [[BaseBreakingCharacter extremely divisive]] when the anime first released, with his detractors vocally decrying him as overly {{wangst}}y. However, his reputation would improve over the decades due to a number of factors: the ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' movies made him a stronger character in response to audience criticism, TheNewTens saw increased awareness on mental health and the harmful effects of emotional abuse and toxic masculinity, and fans would increasingly point out how the image of him as [[AchillesInHisTent unwilling to take action]] was much rarer, more justified, and closer to other mecha protagonists [[CommonKnowledge than was often believed]]. Consequently, Shinji is now seen as an effective {{deconstruction}} of standard [[ShonenDemographic Shōnen]] and mecha protagonists, and while some still see him as overly maudlin, most modern audiences are considerably more sympathetic towards him than they were in the '90s and 2000s.

** The first English dub. It was highly acclaimed at the time for being full of {{woolseyism}}s and adapting the original script very well. Additionally, most televised anime in the West was aimed at children at the time,[[note]]headlined by ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' and ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''[[/note]] which made the uncensored, adult-oriented ''Evangelion'' dub stand out more along with other highly acclaimed shows such as ''Anime/CowboyBebop''. However, it also suffered from a few awkward translation and pronunciation issues compared to modern anime. Because many viewers at the time were unacquainted with Japanese culture, some lines were translated awkwardly for easier understanding, such as "oni, a Japanese devil" in the first episode [[LogicBomb despite the show taking place in Japan]]. Additionally, many characters have a slight [[UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents Texan accent]] due to Creator/ADVFilms being located in Houston, and almost all Japanese names are pronounced with an American accent as well (rather than attempting the Japanese pronunciation as modern anime dubs do). Finally, some characters, such as Ritsuko, can come across as overacted or underacted. And the voice acting when it comes to the extras are, well, a ''really'' mixed bag to put it politely. All of these problems would be addressed in later anime (including ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'') by Creator/{{FUNimation}} and other dubbing companies, which also have the benefit of larger budgets for dubbing than during TheNineties. As a result, the ADV dub can feel slightly dated to some people, and is a more of a polarizing case than it was during the show's heyday, especially with a more sophisticated Internet bringing easier access to the original Japanese versions of shows.