I honestly don't mind it. Funnily enough I watched NGE only this summer for the first time, and only as an afterthought to wondering why my brother raved about it years back. It was an influential piece that spawned many copycats for a reason.

For something mind-blowing and subversive that I actually like more I would recommend PMMM; yes it's about magical girls, but don't let the genre fool you into thinking it's bland and boring. It is most often compared to NGE due to the similarities in the way it subverts expectations and includes symbolism, Faust being a major example, and Nutcracker in the sequel movie.