Remember how, ever since Evangelion came out, we had countless Evangelion knock-offs that try to be the next Evangelion? Well, what if Power Rangers, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or some other toy-based kids' cartoon also had the following:
1. Characters who angst so much over their dark pasts that they never bother to grow or develop as characters.
2. Obscure Judeo-Christian references up the butt and around the corner.
3. Supposed "good guy" organizations actually being as evil as the alleged "villains" they fight against, and possessing such convoluted evil schemes.
4. Trying so hard to be serious that it almost never bothers with actual humor to break up the seriousness.
5. Unsatisfying, anti-climactic endings where the world/universe is destroyed and nothing is actually gained, only lost.
In my opinion, if those kids' shows from the 80's and 90's tried to be like Evangelion, their original core essences would've been destroyed, and it would've also caused a lot more controversy than they once did when they first aired in their respective times, back when they were controversial over the violence they show to children. They would also feel pathetic, like the fat kid trying to join a crowd of "cool kids" and ending up rejected or even bullied as a result.