I agree with Shinji for rejecting it at the end . The entire message of the show can be summed up in the phrase , I mustn ' t run away . Human Instrumentality was Shinji and the rest of humanity running away into a false reality because they couldn ' t handle living as a real individual . But they didn ' t realize that although living as a real individual is often a painful experience , it ' s also paradoxically the only way one can experience true joy . The feelings they felt in instrumentality weren ' t real , because it was simply a false substitute for reality . Shinji realized that he couldn ' t run away from his problems anymore , and that he must face reality one step at a time , no matter how painful . In a way it ' s also a commentary on escapism in general , as we as viewers go into the show expecting to escape into a fantasy world of giant cartoon robots and monsters , but Anno masterfully tries to bring us away with the same sense of resolve as Shinji st the end and bring us back into reality . This is symbolized by the live action scene in End of Eva where the movie instantly cuts to the scene of the empty theater , symbolizing that we as viewers have lost ourselves in this escapism of anime and movies and need to find our way back into reality where we can feel real , meaningful joy . Shinji is both a completely developed character and a conduit for what we as viewers are experiencing watching the show , and as Shinji is guided through by Reihis mother , we too are guided through by Anno . I fucking love Evangelion man I could analyze this all day long .