Joke's on you, I'm genuinely interested to hear that argument.
Both redefined their respective genres in the nineties. Both Cloud and Shinji carry a lot of repressed teen angst (even if it was for different reasons) and have been traumatized since before the start of the story, after a forgotten tragedy where someone close to him died (Zack for Cloud, and Yui for Shinji)
Waifu Wars:
- Rei and Aerith are related to ancient supernatural elements (Lilith and the Cetra), and die before the end of the story, but they remain present in the story after that in a certain way (Clones, or ascension to the lifestream) and both are right there, in a supernatural, magnificent way, as Giant Naked Rei/Aerith guiding Holy at the very end of the story, in the center of the Third Impact/Meteorfall.
- Both Asuka and Tifa end up both alone with the main character in a desolate landscape at a point very late in the story, where their relationship goes through an important moment: Asuka finally shows Shinji some affection, and Tifa and Cloud admit their feelings.
There's a secondary trio of characters, a girl and two guys, one of them loud and the other more calm, who are pushed aside when tragedy strikes: Jessie/Biggs/Wedge and Hikari/Toji/Kensuke.
Sephiroth and Kaworu: white haired angelic guys, related to different, antagonistic supernatural extraterrestrial elements coming from one of the planet's poles (Jenova and Adam), said elements taking the shape of horrific abominations (The Jenova bosses and cell mutations in FF7; the Angels in NGE). Cloud and Shinji have experiences with the angelic guys that lead them to crippling catatonic depression, and a female character very close to them (Tifa/Misato) has to snap them out of it.
The Weapons and the Angels are a series of mysterious abominations that have to be destroyed one by one. One of each are killed by a huge cannon powered by an entire chunk of the land people live in (Sister Ray powered by Midgar kills Diamond Weapon, and the Positron Cannon powered by all of Japan kills Ramiel).
There's mind-rape sequences where characters get haunted by memories and revelations and questioning their own existence. Both Jenova and Lilith arrived through a giant impact on the surface of the planet that took place long before humans were ever a thing,
LCL and the Lifestream: lifeforce substances of a certain persistent signature color, present all over the story. At the end of the second act of both stories (Vs. Zeruel in NGE, and after the first visit to the Northern Crater in FF7) the main characters disappear into the substance, leading to a trippy mental journey into their own psyche and memories while the rest of the cast has to go on without him for a while.
Gendo and Hojo: men with glasses going all "JUST AS KEIKAKU" from behind the scenes with a personal stake on all the biologically supernatural stuff, and during the final act they combine themselves with a sample of these elements. SEELE and Sephiroth seek to ascend to godhood through the lifeforce of the earth at the cost of everyone else's life.
Third Impact involves an asteroid coming out of the Earth wrecking Tokyo 3.
Meteorfall involves an asteroid falling onto Earth wrecking Midgar.
The Remakes have the angelic guys completely in full awareness of being in a Remake, and they talk to the main character like so. They show up much earlier in the story this time, too.
