Same here. It's telling that one of the most meaningful scenes doesn't even have anything to do with mecha... just two guys on a boat talking about the world after the Cold War. "The line between a just war and an unjust peace"
That reminds me of the Asimov quote: "Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinded critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction, its essence, has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all."
Mine too. The soundtrack is spectacular as well. Doesn’t appear to everyone’s cup of tea but I think it’s a masterpiece. For me it had more replay values than Akira or ghost in shell. I must’ve watched it 10 times.