At 7:50 p.m., fans of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' across the country took their positions.
For the final episode's live broadcast, many fans put aside whatever they were doing and parked themselves in front of the TV.
Shinji Ikari may be a frustrating protagonist, but characters like Asuka and Rei Ayanami were just too beloved!
To be honest, anyone still watching by this point was sticking around to see what kind of ending these characters would get.
Misato Katsuragi was caught in an explosion last episode, sure—but hey, it's a TV drama. Who says an explosion guarantees death? Maybe she got lucky?
Asuka's Unit-02 was torn apart, but she was still in the cockpit. There's a chance she survived. Mass-produced EVA units don't eat people—maybe they left the cockpit alone. It's fiction. If you don't see a body, there's always hope for a comeback.
As for Rei Ayanami…
Who even cares anymore that she's the third clone?
Look down on clones all you want—at least this third-generation Rei is physically there, a beautiful girl with a body. Compared to the others, that's already a huge win.
"Rei Ayanami forever!"
"Sure, she's not the second-generation Rei from the beginning, but even this third-gen Rei is better than Asuka and the rest!"
"It hurts, but yeah… at least she's still around."
"You traitors! Have you already forgotten how second-generation Rei died?! Way worse than Misato!"
"Damn it—guys, stop fighting. Rei Ayanami is the true heroine, no doubt about it. She's not a fake—she's the real deal!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Check Jing Yu's company site—he's up to something."
"New lore drop: Rei Ayanami was cloned from Shinji's mom, Yui, and the Angel Lilith. Apparently, her body carries Lilith's soul. The third-generation Rei may have lost her memories, but her soul is still the same."
"Human body, divine soul—that's why she's always on meds and wrapped in bandages. Her body can't handle Lilith's soul."
"Plus, when she dies, her soul transfers to the next body. The memories get fuzzy, but her emotions remain."
"Wait—where are you guys getting all this from?"
"Jing Yu himself. He just posted a ton of lore on the Blue Star Media & Film Company site ten minutes ago. I just finished reading it."
"For real? So the third-gen Rei is the original Rei? From one to three, same soul?"
"If the soul's the same, then yes."
"Damn?! Is that what's going on? Jing Yu's way of avoiding heroine wars is to kill off the others and make Rei the one and only heroine?"
"I'm speechless. I thought we were heading for a 'kill all four heroines' ending, but turns out only Rei makes it out untouched?"
Just before episode fourteen aired, the lore drop on the official BlueStar Film site set off a firestorm on forums and fan groups.
The site's homepage lagged under the traffic of people rushing in to read the lore.
Inside Yunteng TV, Jing Yu watched all this unfold online and shook his head. 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' was just that kind of show. The lore was all there in the story—subtle, hidden in plain sight—but viewers missed it. Most fans thought the third Rei was a fake, so he had no choice but to make it official.
It was the final episode, after all.
He had planned to let viewers digest the lore after the episode aired, but clearly, fans couldn't wait even two more minutes.
And then, episode fourteen began.
The most mind-bending, highest-budget, most abstract episode of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' was finally here.
It picked up right where episode thirteen left off—Shinji Ikari piloting Unit-01 into battle.
The story was oppressive and heavy. Asuka got wrecked in Unit-02, and Shinji didn't fare much better in Unit-01.
Both were defeated by the enemy's specialized weapons.
Then came the part no one saw coming.
The Human Instrumentality Project began.
Unit-01 became its vessel. Deep underground, Lilith awakened.
And at the critical moment, third-generation Rei Ayanami betrayed Gendo Ikari.
Lilith's power engulfed the world. Humanity was swept into the Human Instrumentality Project.
The SEELE organization—mentioned since the beginning—was revealed to have only one goal: to complete the Human Instrumentality Project.
And the truth behind it was shocking.
The distance between people is the distance between hearts. To evolve, humanity must discard its physical bodies and return to Lilith's womb.
In simple terms: abandon the flesh, merge all human consciousness into Lilith's body. Everyone's weaknesses would be "completed" by the strengths of others. The result? A single, perfect being, born from the fusion of all human souls.
And the process feels good. Because your flaws are erased, your pain healed, your existence made whole.
Lilith and Unit-01 merged into a colossal being larger than the Earth itself.
Humanity, one by one, dissolved into orange juice-like liquid—their minds merging into a collective.
No more lies. No more deception. Everyone's inner thoughts are completely exposed.
And Shinji Ikari's mind? Bared to the audience.
For nearly twenty minutes, the show delved into the internal conflicts between Shinji, Rei, Asuka, Misato, and the others.
Shinji's darkest, ugliest thoughts were fully revealed.
Across the world, each person saw their most beloved memory in a vision—and then dissolved.
The plot was utterly mind-blowing.
No one imagined this was what the Human Instrumentality Project was all along.
"Holy shit. This is insane."
"What is this story? I'm too dumb to get it."
"Wait… all humanity merges into one soul?"
"This is terrifying. If this happened to me, and all my dark thoughts were exposed to everyone I know and don't know… I'd die."
"Before I die, I'm definitely wiping all my phone and computer data. Now they wanna plug my brain into the cloud and let everyone read it?!"
"This is insane. Why would anyone agree to this plan? SEELE's full of psychos. All this effort just to turn into orange juice?"
"Some people just live too long and go mad, I guess."
"Wait, why does Shinji have to make the final decision? Why does everything hinge on him?"
"After Adam and Lilith fuse, the choice is his: let everyone merge into a perfect, eternal being—or return to a real world full of pain, misunderstanding, and cruelty."
"This story's crazy. Shinji—the one person most crushed by the world—gets to decide whether humanity continues or disappears?"
"Is this the message Jing Yu's been building toward all along?"
In Shinji's mind, everyone he knew appeared to confront him. His weakness, self-loathing, and dark impulses—all exposed.
Any "normal" person, if their full inner self were laid bare, would appear terrifying.
The human mind is full of strange, disturbing thoughts—most of which go unspoken because they are morally or legally unacceptable.
But a person is judged by what they do, not what they think. You can have thoughts darker than a murderer's—but if you control them, you're still normal.
That's why, in reality, no one reveals their true inner self. Not even in dramas.
But 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'—at least in the case of Shinji Ikari—did.
Hideaki Anno designed him with all this darkness, and somehow got most viewers in Jing Yu's past life to accept it.
So maybe, this story isn't about Shinji's completion—but about the audience staring into his darkness and asking themselves:
Am I just like him?
Shinji rejects others, yet yearns for them.
And now, he held humanity's fate in his hands.
Lilith and Adam gave him the choice:
Merge everyone into a perfect being, forever united…
Or cancel the process, and let everyone return to individual, broken lives.
Right now, with the power of the Angels, Shinji was a god.
But not everyone wanted to merge.
Gendo Ikari, his father, refused the plan.
Like Shinji, he believed he was unlovable. He didn't want to be exposed, didn't want to merge, didn't want to become juice. So before the world could hurt him again, he rejected it.
Unit-01 devoured him.
And the rest of humanity, smiling with joy, turned to orange liquid.
This plot…
"Is this even real?"
"I watched fourteen episodes. What did I just watch?"
"Did it crash and burn? Or is this genius?"
"I don't even know if the plot broke or not. But I can't say it was bad. It blew my expectations away. Let's say you had a choice—to merge with everyone, have your flaws filled in, and live in a perfect, pain-free mind-collective. Would you say yes?"
"Hell no. I'm not becoming a cell in someone else's brain."
"A cell?"
"Think about it. Our bodies are made of trillions of cells. Our consciousness is just neural activity. What if every cell had its own mind? That's what this Instrumentality thing is. I'd rather struggle as a broken human than be a cog in a perfect god-being."
"Damn. That's deep."
"Exactly. Why should I be understood—or understand others? And merge into one being with them? That's beyond comprehension."
But not everyone agreed to merge.
At the very least, Asuka refused.
She hated Shinji. Even in death, she wouldn't fuse with him.
And after all his screaming and breakdowns, Shinji finally rejected Instrumentality, too.
He hated others. He hated being misunderstood. But he didn't want to merge with them either.
So the orange juice—the liquid humans—began to separate.
Anyone who didn't want to merge was free to return to physical form.
The plan failed. Humanity began to revive.
The first to return?
Shinji Ikari and Asuka, on a beach.
Shinji woke up, saw Asuka beside him, and began to strangle her.
Back in the real world after that divine mind-fusion, Shinji reverted to fear, distrust, and rejection. He tried to erase the presence of others.
But… he stopped, crying.
Asuka looked at him gently.
Unlike her harsh words during Instrumentality, now she showed understanding.
She still rejected Shinji—but she understood him.
With a soft gaze, she touched his cheek and said:
"You're disgusting."
And that was it.
'Neon Genesis Evangelion – The End' appeared on screen.
At that moment, the vast majority of viewers were utterly confused.
Who am I?
What did I just watch?
What was the point of this show?
Was that a trash ending or a masterpiece?
Did Jing Yu go too deep into his artsy nonsense, or am I just not smart enough to get it?
Yet somehow, no one felt like it was a bad ending.
A strange, unnameable emotion lingered in everyone's minds.
Not joy. Not sadness. Not anger.
But reflection.
Looking back on the entire story—on Shinji's dumb decisions, Asuka and Rei's trauma—
Suddenly, just maybe…
You could understand the protagonist.