> The real ending of Evangelion is the end of the TV series with the "congratulations" given to Shinji for him realizing he can grow and be better.

Yes. I know. But you seem to be missing the point that this ending is canonically what people all experienced (or something similar) in instrumentality. Shinji experiences that after 3rd impact is achieved and all humans are melted into LCL and experience instrumentality. Without instrumentality, Shinji NEVER could have made those conclusions on those own. He was too broken and couldn't have accepted his own worth or that not everyone will eventually hurt him without the divine help of instrumentality.

That returning to oneness is a theme in tons of religions. In mystic Hebrew teachings, all human souls originate from a singular being "Adam Kadmon".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Kadmon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guf

Lots of mystical thinking revolves around all souls eventually returning to such a place, too. Sometimes it's something like a "Gaia" theory. (Can't find links. Just get endless books and game references.)

So, millions of people obviously don't see it as a nightmare.

Also, I haven't finished Rebuild. That's not what I'm talking about.

Yeah. That's definitely why Shinji immediately tries to strangle Asuka and Asuka calling Shinji disgusting when he stops. Definitely the actions of "whole", self-aware people.

"Sometime later, the rematerialized Shinji and Asuka lie on a post-apocalyptic shoreline. Shinji catches a glimpse of an ethereal Rei before being startled by Asuka. Shinji begins to strangle her, but when she caresses his face, he stops. As Shinji breaks down in tears, Asuka voices disgust."

Literally the end of the movie is Shinji starting to strangle Asuka, giving up, then Asuka calling him disgusting. You can read that a lot of ways, but Shinji and Asuka 100% making the right decision is definitely not one of those ways. But again, it highlights that Shinji and Asuka are just broken.

It doesn't matter if Shinji says, "No, this isn't right." Shinji is fucked in the head. As is Asuka. Looking at any of their decisions as "correct" is very unwise.

My interpretation of Shinji immediately trying to strangle Asuka is that he realizes he made the wrong choice and just wants humanity to end. Asuka has similar feelings, and that's why she's disgusted with him not being able to strangle her.

Again, Shinji and Asuka are fucked in the head. You can NOT view their reasoning as sound.

It's only portrayed that way through the view point of an extremely mentally damaged 14 year old boy.

The end of the original series, before any of the movies or anything, shows the process of instrumentality. It's essentially all consciousness becoming one, and that oneness allowing "holes" people feel in their lives and themselves to be filled with the oneness of everyone else around them.

People obviously still have separate consciousness, while also belonging to the collective unconscious. There's a bit of a duality going on. Duality being heavily present in eastern religion, and Eva obviously being bathed in religious ideas.

Shinji just views this oneness as being wrong because, like I said before, he's just broken. Him and Asuka have known nothing but lonesomeness and separateness their entire lives. They have inherently lost the ability to feel connected to anyone else.

It's been forever since I've watched it, but at the end of End of Evengelion I think Lilith states that anyone can leave the LCL soup if they choose to. The fact that only Shinji and Asuka leave shows how they're just broken and that nearly any other person would choose to remain as the one, singular being.

"Escaping" is a generous way to word it. They were both too fundamentally broken to accept what was essentially heaven in the Eva universe.