LogFAQs > #970772531

I definitely think Evangelion got a massive boost because it was a surreal "adult" anime and had well designed waifubait characters right in time for internet fandoms to develop. That, plus mechs, Shinji resonating a lot with Japanese people and the meme potential because of all the super dumb stuff put it in a pretty good spot. Also, the merch. There's so much of it in Japan and I think having a controversial ending probably marketed it a ton too.

I think anyone who plans to see a lot of anime should watch it just because of its massive impact on the medium. That said, I can't blame anyone who refuses to finish it because it's just not very fun for a lot of its runtime (just about all of it, if you don't like surreal shit).