In the apocalyptic landscape of *The End of Evangelion*, "better" and "worse" are defined more by psychological growth and autonomy than by physical comfort or survival. The film concludes with the world in ruins, but the internal state of several characters undergoes a profound shift.
### **Who Ends Up Better**
**1. Shinji Ikari**
* **At the Start:** Shinji is at his absolute nadir. He is catatonic with grief after being forced to kill Kaworu, and in a moment of extreme self-loathing and sexual desperation, he violates a comatose Asuka in the hospital. He is a passive object waiting for the world to end.
* **At the End:** While the final scene on the beach is haunting, Shinji has achieved a monumental breakthrough. He is the one who initiates—and then rejects—Instrumentality. He chooses a reality where he can be hurt and rejected over a "fake" peace where individual souls are merged. By the end, he has regained his agency and the "will to live," accepting that even if life is painful, it is real.
* **Verdict:** Better, because he moved from a state of total nihilistic paralysis to a state of active (albeit traumatized) existence and self-actualization.
**2. Asuka Langley Soryu**
* **At the Start:** Asuka is in a deep depressive stupor, hiding in a hospital bed with no will to live, her "sync rate" with Eva-02 having bottomed out. She is effectively a shell of her former self.
* **At the End:** During the battle against the JSSDF, Asuka experiences a spiritual epiphany, realizing that her mother’s soul has been protecting her within Eva-02 all along. She regains her pride and fights with legendary ferocity. Though she is physically "killed" by the Mass Production Evas, she is the first person (alongside Shinji) to manifest back into reality from the Sea of LCL. Her final act—a compassionate caress of Shinji’s face—shows a level of maturity and emotional connection she lacked at the film's start.
* **Verdict:** Better, because she overcame her lifelong trauma of abandonment and regained her sense of self.
**3. Rei Ayanami**
* **At the Start:** Rei III is a "doll" for Gendo, existing only as a tool for his version of the Third Impact. She has no personal desires and follows his orders without question.
* **At the End:** Rei achieves ultimate autonomy. She rejects Gendo’s hand (literally taking his arm with her), merges with Lilith on her own terms, and gives the power of the Third Impact to Shinji instead of Gendo. She transcends her role as a vessel to become a guide for humanity, finally exercising her own will.
* **Verdict:** Better, as she transitioned from a slave to a sentient being with her own agency.
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### **Who Ends Up Worse**
**1. Gendo Ikari**
* **At the Start:** Gendo is the master manipulator, seemingly steps ahead of everyone, confident that he will finally be reunited with his deceased wife, Yui.
* **At the End:** He fails utterly. Rei betrays him, and his plan to control Instrumentality is stripped away. In a hallucinatory sequence, he is confronted by his own failures as a father and a man. He is "consumed" by Unit-01 (Yui), and unlike Shinji and Asuka, there is no indication that he is welcome in the "new world." He dies in regret, acknowledging that he "was afraid of the bonds between people."
* **Verdict:** Worse; he lost his power, his goal, and his dignity.
**2. Misato Katsuragi**
* **At the Start:** Misato is struggling to maintain her professional duty while being emotionally shattered by Kaji’s death and Shinji’s breakdown.
* **At the End:** She dies a violent death during the JSSDF invasion. While she goes out heroically, sacrificing herself to get Shinji to Unit-01 and giving him a "grown-up" kiss to jar him into action, she never gets to see the world she hoped for. Though her soul enters Instrumentality, her physical life is cut short in a cold, concrete hallway.
* **Verdict:** Worse physically, as she is dead, though she achieved some closure regarding her mission.
**3. SEELE**
* **At the Start:** The secret committee is the shadow government of the world, on the verge of forcing humanity into their version of "evolution" (a state of permanent, soulless unity).
* **At the End:** Their plan is hijacked. While they "ascend" into the LCL as they intended, the outcome is dictated by Shinji—who chooses to let individuals return if they wish. SEELE’s goal of a permanent, forced collective consciousness is undermined by Shinji's choice for individuality.
* **Verdict:** Worse; they failed to achieve the specific "perfect" end they had spent centuries planning.
**4. Humanity at Large**
* **At the Start:** Most people are living in a post-Second Impact world, but a functioning civilization still exists.
* **At the End:** Every human on Earth has been reduced to "orange juice" (LCL). While the film states they *can* return if they have the will to imagine themselves, the world they return to is a literal wasteland with red oceans and a shattered moon.
* **Verdict:** Worse; even if they return, they must now survive in a post-apocalyptic hellscape.