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Why is there so much hate towards Evangelion?

I think it's still a valid criticism considering how many Eva fans still consider the TV ending fantastic, or even prefer it. Heck, listen to the Revenge of the 90s podcast. We can't pretend that the TV ending doesn't exist anymore than we can pretend EoE doesn't exist.

Yes, EoE was a better ending (albeit one that many people dislike more than the show itself) but I have some problems with that as well, I may or may not get back to you on that. Suffice it to say, those aren't my only problems with the show, it's just that the last few episodes (to me) made the show's shaky infrastructure up to that point glaringly obvious. By his own admission Anno didn't know how he wanted to end the show when he started it, and there are some definite inconsistencies between the early episodes and the later ones because of that.

And if it really wasn't meant to be conclusive (as you claim) than it still fails as an ending for being, well, inconclusive. No ground to stand on here.

By nihilistic, I mean that the series shifted gears to have the characters believe that life had no objective meaning, value or purpose; the plummeting starting well into the second half of the series starting with the crap that happened with spoiler[Toji]. This was in stark contrast to earlier episodes in the series where it seemed several characters like Shinji and Misato were trying to find meaning in their lives while dealing with circumstances beyond their control, in this case NERV's fight against the Angels, and were slowly coming to grips with their situation until Anno decided that the cast had to suffer setback after setback to force his point onto the audience to reduce the characters you once cared for into pathetic angsting messes. That's not engaging me to care for the characters or the series. It's making me feel like I want to beat up the director for trying to force his beliefs onto the audience.

In answer to the original question of "why people hate Evangelion",

I don’t get what point you’re making. Some Eva fans like the Tv ending better than the film, therefore we should consider the Tv ending as the true ending? No one’s pretending that the TV ending doesn’t exist. The point is it’s not the real ending.

This same issue keeps coming up. Originally what you said gave the impression that you had specific criticisms of how the shift in mood was written ie it happened too fast. Now you seem to be complaining that it appeared to be going in a more positive direction but then went back in a more negative direction. So basically, if a story doesn’t have an inspirational message, then it’s badly written? That’s not a criticism of the writing. That’s just explaining how it didn’t fit your preferences.

Beyond the nihilism, I also have to agree with some folks that the series has no symbolic significance. You get mention of religious elements like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Lance of Longinus and the Angels being named after different angels or religious figures in Judeo-Christian holy texts. But do they have any meaning? Beyond trying to shock audiences with their mention and having explosions shaped liked crosses, the mentions are superficial at best and anyone thinking that they have some sort of deeper meaning are kidding themselves.

My point was that there was no buildup to the nihilist direction that Eva took in its later episodes, which makes the sudden mood shift feel unnatural. Characters were searching for meaning and getting some clear development, yet this was tossed aside just for Anno to apply shocking events, controversial content and psychological evaluations into the characters that had no relevance to the actual series other than to drag things out on many occasions and force the director's beliefs onto the audience.

I think you're confusing nihilism with a sort of existentialism. The fact that reality doesn't care about your wishes and efforts, doesn't mean that life has no meaning. Anno makes his beliefs quite clear in both endings (He was quite blunt in TV ending, don't you think?) when Shinji chooses not to run away (Instrumentality).

As an adult who studies collegiate level books on philosophy, this series is rather childish in its approach to the human condition. The dialogue makes it sounds beautifully poetic, as Japanese is wont to do, but its mostly empty.

My point was that there was no buildup to the nihilist direction that Eva took in its later episodes, which makes the sudden mood shift feel unnatural.

You get mention of religious elements like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Lance of Longinus and the Angels being named after different angels or religious figures in Judeo-Christian holy texts. But do they have any meaning?

Both schools of philosophy still carry similar mindsets in that they have the belief that life has no real objective meaning

Granted, my knowledge of philosophy is nowhere as deep as how JesuOtaku picked apart Anno's preachings in her review.

Both schools of philosophy still carry similar mindsets in that they have the belief that life has no real objective meaning (nihilism seeing it through the failure of various ideologies, existentialism through people having to find their own meaning) and that any sort of meaningful change can only be brought about through radical events (nihilism through the complete destruction of society, existentialism through the complete breakdown of one's personal beliefs). Granted, my knowledge of philosophy is nowhere as deep as how JesuOtaku picked apart Anno's preachings in her review. But both schools of thought still carry similar negative overtones in their philosophizing that Anno carried within the later episodes of Eva and End of Eva.

This is pretty much it. I was heavily intrigued with all the interesting ideas of using the power of divinity against itself, the 'NERV' center for the human race being constantly attacked by evil beings. The Lance of Longinus, the spear which stabbed Christ on the cross, used to keep Adam, the first Angel, paralyzed. And then it amounts to nothing, all of it doesn't even pan out to anything. If I was fourteen, then yeah, this series would have been amazing. The animation is fantastic and the story almost works together and then it doesn't. As an adult who studies collegiate level books on philosophy, this series is rather childish in its approach to the human condition. The dialogue makes it sounds beautifully poetic, as Japanese is wont to do, but its mostly empty.