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Even when they aren't being confronted directly, the BETA make their presence felt in TE. This series revolves around building weapons to fight BETA, and characters who were affected by fighting BETA, and people who are fighting for the sake of refugees who were mistreated after being dislocated by BETA. I find it quite easy to see how audience members could feel they were missing something if they were simply told "the BETA are scary and inhuman and relentless" as opposed to being given a glimpse of how the BETA are scary and inhuman and relentless. Showing is more effective than telling.
Ditto the stuff with Imperial Japan. I can easily see the audience feeling like they were missing something if the show just said "this is Yui, she's from the Imperial Japanese Army." Thankfully the show gave us a brief glimpse of the Imperial Japan that Yui comes from and which has greatly shaped her outlook on the world.
Speaking of Yui, there was a prologue type thing someone translated that I think comes from one of the fandisks. In it, Yui participates in a simulation where powerful new weapons are deployed during a hive assault. Before its revealed that the event is a simulation, the text basically explains that Yui can keep it together despite extreme psychological stress because of her will. The anime can't simply state things like that, and even if it could, simply saying that she has a strong will is vastly less effective than showing that she's the type of person who can find the will to keep fighting even after seeing her friends and comrades get crushed, blown up, and eaten around her.
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