I know this isn't the crowd, but yeah Eva is a really good show and it only gets better in comparison to what came after it.
Then again, I watched it at the perfect age (13) and can really relate to Shinji and Gendo's cold relationship compared to my own. I actually watched Eva again when my dad died and it was something that really helped me through that time. So for me it was one of those first things you watch as a teenager, that feels mature, different, strange, and very relatable to a nerdy low self-esteem male teenager. I mean I don't like Shinji as a character, but I relate to him in more ways then most fictional characters. Also it was something I discovered for myself so it was even more important.
I mean it is a slightly mature show with grounded characters that are actually flawed in realistic ways beyond what you see in most anime. Even Rei feels more human and grounded then the Rei clones in other anime where I guess the answer is to simply write a mystery girl with no emotions. Rei has plenty of emotions and personality, the writers trying to make their own Rei's missed the point.
Also the show is uneven, which makes it more interesting. It feels raw like an actual creators work and not something mass produced ala Rahxephon. It does feel strange and jarring, like Gainax was making it up as they went along because they were. So you feel thier craft. While all the mysterious at the end are kind of pointless, it was really cool to ponder and read about what everything meant.
Then just on top is the cool mechanical designs. Seriously, Eva has great designs for pretty much everything. The tech, the mechs, the costumes, characters, and so on. Everyone put in their all there. Beyond that there is some really good directing behind it. The scale of the Evas always feels right. Something a lot of mech shows fail at conveying. The visual act of destruction has lead to so many iconic shots from this show. Eva unit 1's fight between Eva 6 may not be the most epic moument, but I'll always remember it because of how well it was conveyed with the black darkness and the strange long alien arms of the Angel mutated Eva. It's just cool. Or in episode 16 when Eva 1 goes beast mode and looks like a creepy dog. Just so much good visual design and direction. It just feels like a show with actual care and passion put into it.
It's not for everyone. You don't have to like it, but I don't believe you can really call it a bad show.
