Despite the success of End of Evangelion, its ending was considered controversial by many fans. Some believe that it was a manifestation of Anno's frustrations with the fan culture that attacked his original ending, and used End of Evangelion as revenge against those. Others have argued that Anno intended End of Evangelion to be the proper climax all along but that he was unable to show it because of budget restraint and television content laws. It is possible that Anno attempted a succès de scandale, purposely ending the TV series the way he did because he anticipated the frustration of EVA fans. This would help ensure the success, popularity, and controversy of End of Evangelion. Another theory that is not commonly talked about is that it was to supplement the last two episodes; some believe the last two episodes occur in Shinji?s mind, while the movie showed the events occurring to the world. Yet another theory is that neither endings are what Anno initially planned for the conclusion. Due to budget, he was unable to produce this ending for the TV series; due to the negative response of fans, he did not feel the obligation to share the "true" ending when given the opportunity to. Thus, this hypothetical "true" ending was never to be witnessed. Ultimately, many have come to the conclusion that it will be up to the viewer to decide the finale, as everyone has different interpretations. A final theory based on this requires a deeper understanding of the television show. It proposes that the final episodes of the TV series represented one path a being (namely, Shinji) could take upon the finalization of the Human Instrumentality Project. The "choice" depicted in the TV series consists of Shinji becoming one with others.
