The end of episode 8,where the three suicidal friends, realizing they succeeded and are all ghosts now, join hands and head down the street, singing loudly, off to presumably start a fresh new unlife, their friendship seemingly stronger than ever.
As sad as they are, many moments between Ikari and his wife. The way they talk about how devoted the other is, as well as Misae's final farewell.
Because of Misae's long-term illness, there have been a lot of hardships in her marriage to Ikari, including her unable to have children and Ikari ultimately having to take multiple jobs in order to cover her medical bills; Misae even initially encouraged Ikari not to marry her because she was afraid she would just be a burden. Despite all this, Ikari married Misae anyway, and always promised her that no matter what life chose to throw at them, they would face it together. Remembering his own encouraging words to Misae is what helps Ikari break out of the Lotus-Eater Machine Maromi put him in.
Kawazu's last meeting with Tsukiko at the end of the series. How much he has changed and whether he recognizes Tsukiko is unclear, but when they just happen to cross paths she immediately recognizes him; At this, he simply acknowledges her with a friendly smile without a hint of his earlier sleaziness and the two go their separate ways.
There's something very touching, though sad, about Tsukiko apologizing to her poor, long dead dog with a warm hug.
As is Lil' Slugger's reaction when he realizes that the cornerstone to his presence in reality is gone. One suspects that all along, he might have been trying to get Tsukiko to understand that running away from accountability wasn't the right answer.
The ending, as Mind Screw as it is, seems to imply that while something like Lil' Slugger could return once more, considering the background dialogue implied people were taking more responsibility in regards to facing reality (and some really trying to avoid something like Maromi), there's a possibility that, like Ikari said, humans truly will face reality despite everything.
