I do wonder though, is it better to never have heard of NGE, or what I see in too many online communities, where people regurgitate NGE-related memes, and think they don't need to watch it because it exists to such an extent in the public space, while not actually knowing what it's like, and spreading misinformation about it?

But yeah, I think watching NGE helps a lot with understanding and watching the anime series that followed it.