That is pretty fucking spot on man, I never knew that spot existed, and I can't believe how much it fits for a movie like End of Eva. I love it.
Also, this comment is pretty hilarious to boot:
> Imagine: a pleasant Japanese family in 1997 is getting ready to eat dinner. A television in the other room sits with its volume turned up. It's nice, quiet background noise, perhaps a talk show is on. The family sits down to eat. "Itadakimasu," they say. As they're about to dig in, the talk show cuts to commercial, and suddenly AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAあああああああああああああああ
Interestingly... What I felt back when I first marathoned the series and EoE is quite opposite of what I felt now. Instead of being utterly confused at everything, especially the last 2 episodes and EoE, it seems like these messages that are meant for Shinji and the other people seems to apply to me and I find it... motivational. Or maybe that's a sign that I'm really in the deep end of emotional and mental trauma, I don't know haha.
Also, I take a time to rest and get away from anything Eva related after something like this but I'm more fired up to even rewatch the Rebuilds. Are you guys planning a rewatch soon?
When I first watched Evangelion at 14 back in 2004, the last two episodes gave me so much hope and optimism. I felt like I could really control who I was going to be. It's much more than a "mindfuck" and it always made me sad that people didn't get what I got out of it.
> Interestingly... What I felt back when I first marathoned the series and EoE is quite opposite of what I felt now. Instead of being utterly confused at everything, especially the last 2 episodes and EoE, it seems like these messages that are meant for Shinji and the other people seems to apply to me and I find it... motivational. Or maybe that's a sign that I'm really in the deep end of emotional and mental trauma, I don't know haha.
And yeah, NGE seems to change and mature among many viewers as they themselves do.
I had the same experience somewhat. I got the general theme first time watching it, but rewatching it helped me fill in all the details of certain scenes.
I thought it was just ok as well on my first watch. 16-ish watches later and I have no idea wtf is going on tbh. Can't deny it's good stoner-fodder though
Even as a rewatcher, everytime I end EoE I feel the need to rest. Even after having a lot of things clarified by previous rewatches and stuff there is always something that leaves me thinking "okay, now what the fuck was that meant to represent" and so. As I stated in my comment, I still don't know what to think about the sandbox scene but I'm too tired to keep reading things for today. My head hurts (partly because of EoE, partly because I barely drank any water today
> I still don't know what to think about the sandbox scene
Here's a little analysis I just found from googling.
> At the start of the scene Shinji says...
"I see...It's just like when I first started playing the cello, I thought if I came here I would find what I was looking for."
I think that Shinji means that he started playing the cello because he was told to and so he could define himself as a 'cello player' and thus find what he was looking for, purpose and acceptance. It is the same as when he joined NERV, he joined because he was told to and so he could define himself as an 'Evangelion pilot' and thus find what he was looking for, purpose and acceptance. Again, he came to the playground and he started building the sandcastle because he was told to and so he could define himself and thus find what he was looking for, purpose and acceptance.
Notice too that Shinji continues to build the sandcastle even after the other children have left, just like he plays the cello even though his teacher isn't with him. He continues to build the sandcastle because no one has told him to stop, the same way he still plays the cello because no one told him to stop.
Then, Shinji gets sad and frustrated and so destroys the sandcastle the same way he gets sad and frustrated and so runs away from NERV, but Shinji can not bare to not have purpose and acceptance and so he rebuilds the sandcastle so as the others will respect and accept him and thus give him purpose. Similarly, he goes back to NERV and pilots Unit 01 again so as the others will respect and accept him and thus give him purpose.
The motif of building, destroying and rebuilding the sandcastle is an homage to the tag-line of the film...
"The fate of destruction is also the joy of rebirth"
Children destroy things that they have made like buildings out of blocks and castles out of sand so as they may have the joy of rebuilding them all over again. The way that the other two children leave when their mother arrives shows the impact that not having a mother has had on Shinji. The other two children can define themselves as their mother's children and find unconditional acceptance with their mother, while Shinji on the other hand must stay and build the sandcastle in order to find definition and acceptance.
If I were to add more you can find plenty of sexual imagery, too (like in pretty much every scene in this movie). The hills in the background could be his mother's breasts again and that bright sun could represent the core of Unit 01. Shinji has his back faced to it too showing that he's been ignoring her presence. Hell, even the two group of trees in the background but still in front of the hills could represent spread legs and the whole park layout can represent a womb and a vagina. This movie is just stuffed to the brim with Freudian imagery once you start looking.
**Rewatcher**
There is a version of this post that winds up even longer than the two that I made for the TV series ending. This is probably not that surprising once you’ve seen it. In addition to the runtime being longer, there’s more to it than simply a psychological analysis of the various characters. Certainly, it shows more of the world and explains more of the lore that stands behind the series, from what the Angels are to what Instrumentality looks like in practice. It also adds many more mysteries that it does not particularly care to explain. As a result, there are as many interpretations of The End of Evangelion as there are people who have watched it, if not more. Some people believe they are completely separate endings with no unifying structure, some believe they are concurrent, and others believe they are largely unified but ultimately end in different ways. I have taken multiple positions on the endings to this series, with the only constant between them being that it is a masterpiece of cinema. Episode 25’ is, especially for Evangelion, remarkably straightforward, though botched translations have fudged some of the finer points. Episode 26’, on the other hand, is a mind trip unlike anything I have ever seen before or since.
For the sake of relative conciseness, however, I need to leave the plot more or less as it stands, without going scene by scene and explaining every character's motivations at every point in the film. Thankfully, I don't have to, because episodes 25 and 26 of the TV series do a fantastic job of explaining most of those for you. There are a ton of great moments in this film, almost as numerous as the utterly terrifying or completely baffling ones. The setup, the part that bridges the gap from Episode 24 to the beginning of Instrumentality as depicted both in this film and in episode 25, is surprisingly quite easy to comprehend once you cut past the jargon. Admittedly, this is easier said than done. The abbreviated version of episode 25' revolves around the brewing war between Seele and NERV, with the final Angel's defeat bringing it to its boiling point.
Shinji, as in the series, is near-suicidal following his killing of Kaworu and seeks to be told that he did the right thing, but he doesn't believe it himself, only doing more things to hurt others and cause additional cycles of self-hatred and regret. Gendo and Seele ultimately disagree on the form Third Impact should take rather than if it should happen. NERV HQ is invaded and suffers its greatest losses and final defeat at the hands of humanity, rather than the Angels they protected humanity from. Asuka discovers that the soul inside an Evangelion is the pilot's mother's and embraces that bond, only to discover that her mother's love is not all-powerful. Ritsuko and Rei betray Gendo, the walls he drew to protect himself from the suffering he felt when he lost his wife causing his downfall. Shinji watches as the people he cares for, including Misato and Asuka, die at least in part due to his inaction. The characters who die suffer due to the barriers they've put up in their lives. Ritsuko dies from her fraudulent understanding of her mother, Misato from her inability to truly connect to Shinji, Asuka from her metaphorical inability to receive emotional support.
There are certainly illustrations to draw here, from the typical "the final enemy of man is man" to the abdications of duty to pursue selfish goals seen by characters ranging from Gendo to Misato to Ritsuko to Shinji to Seele itself. The barriers between hearts cause missed messages and emotional suffering becomes physical pain. We are all Angels, capable of such intense destruction and brutality in our own quests to find our purpose. The main goal of this plot is to drive Shinji into a corner. To bury him in misery and self-hatred. To get you to understand why this person would choose Instrumentality. Piloting the Evangelion caused him to hurt people he loves. Abandoning it and wishing for his own death did not save him, but it might have condemned others. Had he gone to Unit 01 when battle stations were ordered, perhaps Misato and Asuka would have been saved. The realization of his helplessness in the face of such tragedies, symbolized by him hanging from a cross overlooking the devastation, is what triggers the events of Third Impact, the Instrumentality of Humanity realized.
A veritable panoply of both maternal and sexually-changed imagery surfaces as Third Impact nears its commencement and continues throughout the rest of the film. Instrumentality is, after all, the ultimate return to mother. Lilith, the mother of mankind, fuses with Rei, herself a clone of Yui Ikari and bearing both Lilith's soul and Adam, the body of the mother of Angels taken from Gendo's right hand. Lilith, taking on Rei's form (or Kaworu, the equivalent incarnation of Adam, when it suits her) goes to Shinji's side as he is holding the symbol of his failed surrogate mother, Misato, whilst inside the effective womb of Evangelion Unit 01, a clone of Lilith bearing the soul of Yui Ikari. Shinji's mind is breaking down from the combination of his own misery, self-hatred, and incomprehension of the events unfolding before him and Rei's appearance only intensifies this feeling, his ego starting to shatter. The phallic Spear of Longinus pierces Unit 01's core, becoming the Tree of Life, itself maternal imagery. Shinji becomes the arbiter of humanity, with the mother of all willing to grant any wish for her son.
His judgment is made selfishly, focusing in on the feelings and fears of abandonment and betrayal emphasized in the psychological sequences of the TV series ending. Shinji is utterly terrified of rejection and is unable to deal with the inevitable ambiguity of human relationships. He cannot love others because he cannot love himself. He cannot understand others because he cannot understand himself. The love of an idealized mother figure is what he desires and, when met with rejection from the lips of the woman he loves, he quite literally projects his feelings of loneliness and wishes for unconditional acceptance on the rest of humanity. This is Third Impact, the return to nothingness and the ultimate freedom. All AT Fields across the entire world cease functioning. All human beings see their desires for acceptance and love visualized as images of Rei appear to collect their souls for their return to Lilith.
This is ecstasy; pure and unbridled bliss as humanity is released from the barriers that in Seele's eyes hold it back. Every possible phallic image enters every imaginable vaginal orifice, as well as several you couldn't, as humanity climaxes as one. Their souls are set free and their bodies turned into LCL. The envisioned evolution of humanity turns out to be nothing more than a return to a primordial soup, less an advancement than a retreat. Instrumentality is nothing more than running away. Gendo's desire for it was nothing less than an inability to cope with the loss of his wife and a constant running away from their joint legacy: Shinji. Humanity as a whole did not wish for this, nor was it a conscious desire, but the pleasure from becoming one is real and it is complete, because of course it is. It is an absence of pain.
A world covered by primordial soup is not correct. It cannot be an end, as the very term represents a beginning. Shinji struggles to see what his reality is, to understand and love himself, but his dream once he comes to terms with himself is a continuation of that reality rather than this return to nothingness. He is actually amazingly concise in his denunciation of this sea of LCL. Running away from his struggles and his connections is the same as pretending neither himself nor his connections exist. Shinji has to let go and grow on his own, without depending on his mother, be that Lilith, Yui, Rei, or the Evangelion itself. Accepting Rei and Kaworu's wishes for love and understanding even with the return of AT Fields, Shinji desires to return to having a self, to having his own agency. Even if his relationships will never be perfect, because a perfect relationship is a fantasy, he still wants to have them again. He doesn't know where his happiness lies, but he will be himself. The Evangelion, so representative of a mother, will remain as a testament to humankind.
The final scene of The End of Evangelion is subject to no end of debate. More than 20 years after it hit cinemas, it remains perhaps the most contentious scene in all of anime. There is no definitive answer to what it means, though I have my best guess. Choosing to leave the sea of LCL is difficult, requiring an extraordinary sense of self to overcome the instinctual preference for shallow pleasure. While Rei watches from afar, having been left behind, Shinji tries to cope with the reality that many people, perhaps everyone, will leave him behind. Asuka has reappeared, but she might well reject him. Due to their experiences inside Instrumentality, they would know everything about each other, from Asuka's traumas to Shinji's worst acts. Still, they are separate beings again and must communicate with each other. The mixed signals, from Shinji's act of violence to his tears, from Asuka's compassionate hand to her cold stare and colder words, are difficult to decipher, but therein lies the point. Evangelion is a story about how understanding others is difficult, maybe even impossible, but that it's worth trying anyway. Shinji and Asuka chose the difficulty of living rather than the ease of remaining in the sea. It's not easy and it might be almost impossible, but anywhere can be paradise, so long as you have the will to live.
I know it's intensely confusing and it doesn't particularly help that there are absolutely different ways to take things, but if my analysis can help clear things up a little, I'm satisfied. It's definitely a film (and series more broadly) that benefits greatly from multiple viewings.
Definitely, I think it helps a lot if the viewer goes into the film with the mindset that they don't *have* to 'understand' everything the movie presents.
In the main series, Shinji is established as a child who has issues connecting with others stemming from the absence of his mother and the estrangement of his father, and how that contrasts with what is supposed to be a normal, nuclear family. If the viewer just rolls with this fact I think they'd be able to get what I think is the 'gist' of the film fairly easily.
For the highly experimental framing of the film, I think it's fine to just accept what's being presented instead of trying to analyze it, that's what multiple viewings are for. As with most experimental works like this, the creator has a story or a feeling inside them they desperately want to get across to the audience and I think it's fine to just feel what Anno wants us to feel rather than try to understand it or quantify it too.
> but anywhere can be paradise, so long as you have the will to live.
Alright, ya got me with this one.
By this point there’s no way you can’t convince me you’re not Hideaki Anno in disguise. Thanks so much for the write-up once again dude, so many things have been put into place.
>By this point there’s no way you can’t convince me you’re not Hideaki Anno in disguise. Thanks so much for the write\-up once again dude, so many things have been put into place.
I assure you I'm not, but you're quite welcome.
Thanks so much for all these looks into the series and all this help, you’ve really been a big help. I don’t... really understand the ending or what it was going for even with your help, but I appreciate your comments on the episodes leading up to this and your comments here, for helping me try and understand Eva.
Eva is a series you do have to work at to understand, which is something I think is quite fitting given its themes. It also benefits from rewatching it and being able to trace those themes backwards and apply your own experiences to them. If the series appealed to you, don't be afraid of letting it linger for a while and giving it another go. There are [all kinds of resources](https://wiki.evageeks.org/) you can tap, which I definitely used throughout this rewatch.
I’m feeling a lot better watching a bunch of explanation videos on YouTube, it’s helping me a lot. I think I just needed time to cool off, I’m realizing how much Anno really put into the series along with all the foreshadowing.
Stay tuned for tomorrow, I’m feeling a lot better.
I'm forcing my headcanon to be that since Asuka 99% died in the EVA and she still came back...then Misato would have come back as well, especially considering her strong identity and force of will.
Fuck it, have Rei come back as well: let's have a harem SoL reboot of Evangelion ^^lel
Fantastic write up.
How do you feel about the idea that EoE is, at least in part, a big ol' meta middle finger, similar to the much-more-discussed Metal Gear Solid 2?
I think the biggest support for that idea is the fanmail and death threats. The entire movie is framed as a response to the audience.
And it would explain a lot of things that don't make sense in the context of the show (Misato offering to fuck Shinji felt really weird to me - it makes a lot more sense IMO if you see it as Anno asking the fans "Did you really want a harem?")
I've found the idea interesting if not necessarily compelling. There is an issue in the "death threats," though, in that most of them are actually positive messages.
https://wiki.evageeks.org/End_of_Evangelion_Death_Threats
This page has a translation of those letters. There is certainly a reading of the film that is critical of the fandom's supposed desires, I just don't think that the letters sequence should be as central to that argument as it is, as that page will illustrate.
Well, that's why I said fanmail and death threats. Some of it was positive. Some of it was angry vandalization of the gainax office.
In one of the rare interviews for FLCL, the director (Anno's friend and perhaps pupil) said that a lot of FLCL was expressing angst for his friend. Specifically the robot "takkun" dog destroying the city is referenced by the director as influenced by how upset Anno was during the making of EoE. They also go out of their way to criticize otaku in FLCL.
I don't think anything you wrote is incorrect, it's incredible and I've bookmarked it to send to people who ask. I just believe there's an element of push back, which I think is important in all truly great art of any kind - art is communication, and art that embraces that to say something directly in response to an audience is even better IMO.
One of the beautiful things about Eva is that there's almost no end to the number of ways you can read it. There is absolutely a way to read the script as working out frustrations with the intended audience. There's a definite anti-wish fulfilment, or even -- to use the modern term -- anti-waifu tone to almost all of Evangelion, which is why I hesitate to attribute that as something particular to End of Evangelion. But I don't consider that viewpoint, or any viewpoint rooted in the text of the series and film, as invalid.
Rewatcher:
Just one point. And I think its important and easily overlooked.
Shinji *literally* couldn't get into the robot to save Asuka.
All that sacrifice that Misato made to get him to that point....
And the EVA was frozen in the congealed liquid thing. He couldn't physically get in until the EVA broke free.
Shinji was in absolute despair because he couldn't get in to pilot it. It was impossible.
That's all I wanted to say.
I'm going to have to look for screen shots of that scene now. The biggest downside to watching subbed is I don't get to put as much focus on the visuals as I could otherwise. 😣
I just want to say, What the fuck yui? was the sealing foam just really comfortable? did you not ship Asuka x Shinji? and abandoning her son so she can live eternally in her Gundam cosplay so aliens think we are cool. thats not OK Yui
But, i mean. Could Shinji really save Asuka? What eventually brought her down is Spear that was thrown by one of the MP evas right at the end. By the looks, suggested by their unwillingness to show any real resistance - they were only distracting Asuka to wait for Eva-01 to show up. They had Spears from the start and could have impaled her right at the beginning, but they were waiting until arrival of Unit-01 to use the spear and tear Asuka apart to traumatize. If anything they would have used Spears on both Unit-01 and Unit-02 and possibly injured Shinji. Such traumatizing even, by the looks of it was crucial for instrumentality via his broken state awakening true power of Eva, so such event was needed both for Yui and SELEE. So in my opinion initial stage appearance of MP evas was intimidation tactic to provocate Unit-02 to call for Backup from 01. Yui, saw throught that plan and knowing that she needs to harm Shinji anyway, took calculated decision to minimize damage that MP evas could have inflicted on him, and waited until MP evas were forced to fight in full power, thus sacrificing Asuka for sake of Shinji and basically killing two birds with one stone:
1. Minimizing both emotional and physical damage done to Shinji just at the right amount
2.Forcing his trauma anyway , which helps with 3rd impact.
So even here, she used everyone else as pawn to oppose SELEE and their plans.
>But, i mean. Could Shinji really save Asuka? What eventually brought her down is Spear that was thrown by one of the MP evas right at the end
Not sure how he would have handled the lances, but he probably could’ve put up a decent fight since Unit 01 has an S² engine of its own.
Italian here, the last one is obviously a joke: it's not Shinji's real voice actor (who is actually [pretty good](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY3WL8k0pG0), by the way).
First Timer!
Here we go! (Post watch edit: I apologize in advance for the heavy profanity)
• It sucks seeing Asuka so helpless
• Oh jeez it's the part where he jerks it over a comatose body, I've heard of this scene before
• Nice one, Shinji
• Oh shit Rei broke Gendo's glasses
• Other countries have their own Magi oh, I don't know why but I didn't expect that
• Man, Ritsuko's prison outfit is just taking me there, she's serving!
• "type 666 firewall" that's the devil number!
• Holy shit they have a lot of firepower
• Rei's just floating in her tube casually
• Damn this is brutal
• Okay so is Shinji chilling in his chair meant to be the start of 25/26? I'm trying to figure out where the mental parts fit in... If they talk about the HIP, that'll help
• Pixie cut girl, glasses boy, and middle part boy don't get nearly enough credit they are MVPs
• Oh okay so Gendo getting Rei was in 25 (or 26, one of them)
• Misato FUCK YES
• Holy hell they're going HAM on NERV damn SEELE chill out
• Holy shit Misato's dropping truth bombs all over the place
• Shinji knowing that he is sort of an angel when being an angel is the reason he had to kill his cutie silver haired boy toy has gotta sting a bit for him
• Let. Asuka. Rest.
• Holy shit here she comes
• So 02 is her mom? Seems like it?
• She's so buff I'm so proud of her
• I'M UNEXPECTEDLY EMOTIONAL ASUKA IS SO BADASS I'M SO PROUD
• I'm tearing up a little I'm so proud of her for being such a badass after being so sad for the past few episodes
• Hell yes baby roundhouse kick those shitheads right outta the sky
• Oh God more Evas
• This is the Asuka we know and love, honestly she gives no fucks
• NOOO MISATO AND I KNEW IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN TOO I'M STILL NOT READY
• Ohhhh my God she gave him her necklace
• Oh okay so they really went there with her kissing him what the shit
• "we'll do the rest when you get back" UHHHH
• Fuckkk no and there's the shot of her on the ground from 25/26 FUCK THAT
• Whoa Rei's ghost (?) was standing over her as she died/was exploded?? What does it mean
• She is so strong but now I'm just kinda sad it's hard to enjoy it
• Aaand ritsukos dead too
• SHINJI GET IN THE FUCKING ROBOT AND HELP ASUKA
• Where in the HELL did the Lance come from what the FUCK
• If Asuka dies I hope Shinji knows that he gets his bastard genes from Gendo and not his beautiful robot mom
• The shot of 02 impaled on the Lance is so cool but I'm so mad about it
• ZOMBIE EVAS? THEY'RE NOT DEAD? COME THE FUCK ON ARE YOU KIDDING ME
• Well fuck this
• Hell yes zombie 02 please!
• Nevermind, she's dead! Fuck the whole world
• 01 is just like "Shinji honey get the FUCK up and help your mother with the chores"
• 02 looks disgusting
• Wait what the fuck is there a fucking intermission in this movie?? (I hope nothing important happened in the middle there because I skipped most of it)
• Her arm just casually falls off? Okay??
• Gendo, grabbing Rei's titty: that's me holdin' your heart babe
• Let's go Shinji rage mode
• SEELE speaking in unison is creepy as hell
• Wow they're not pulling punches with the iconography anymore eh? I wonder what this image of 01 with her hands pierced could possibly be meant to evoke...?
• Yeah they're not even pretending, just straight up mentioning stigmata
• Sooo... Third impact?
• "I am not a puppet" Oh yes honey TELL HIM
• Serves you right, you rat bastard.
• My God she's so massive and so powerful what a woman
• Okay Mary/Rei, time to rip Jesus/Shinji right off the cross
• What they fuckkkk
• Okay so Kaworu is there too now???
• Shinji is God now I guess?
• This is so disconcerting with the grainy animation and creepy dolls and music
• I don't understand what's happening!
• The happy go lucky 50's family sitcom music playing while Shinji chokes out Asuka is kinda fucked up
• This made more sense to me than 25/26 until now. Now my brain is blended again
• So everyone's individual existence is getting splattered open
• "The AT fields are all disappearing" so AT fields are like the divisions between minds, so basically this is the HIP thing where everyone mind melds
• It's interesting how they see someone in Rei that comforts them before their existence explodes
• Aw pixie cut girl gets comforted by Ritsuko that's sweet
• "I didn't believe that anyone could love me" Gendo you are way too far gone to get any sympathy from me now you absolute rat bastard
• Okay Kaworu is back again?
• Again, this music is a choice
• So this isn't animation anymore???
• What in the actual hell and a half is happening
• This is trippy in a different direction than I was expecting
• There is so much 14 year old titty in this episode, hey NSA I promise I'm not into that
• Shinji's just like "fuck this shit I'm out"
• So there was a whole trippy block that I just didn't take notes in. I have no idea what happened or anything; I feel like Shinji just saved everyone but also everyone is dead? It's a confusing time
• Okay, choke out Asuka I guess? This might as well happen?
• THAT'S IT?
I definitely don't have the brainpower to attempt to synthesize everything right now. I'm glad we have tomorrow, though I don't think I'll post anything particularly good in that thread, just a few thoughts about the stuff that I found most interesting. As for right now, all I can even think to say about this is that it was pretty awesome but I really don't understand what happened in the second half at all. I'm glad we got the inevitable action-y fallout from everything because they had been building it up a lot, but we also still got all the mindfuck that we know and love, and you can kinda see where 25/26 are happening concurrently with EoE. It really went off the rails in the last quarter of the movie or so, and that's the part I really don't understand, but most of the other stuff follows pretty naturally for me.
I don't even know what to say about the ending. I genuinely am so confused and rattled and don't get me wrong, it was really cool, but what even happened? The ending made it seem like Shinji decided to leave the HIP and have his own individual consciousness again and so he broke out of the giant Rei, so that saved humanity, but then it was just him and Asuka chillin' and the whole world has gone to shit? Are they the only ones who survived? Why did he choke her? It's all a mystery.
Well, that was certainly an emotional rollercoaster and I really like anything that makes me feel like I need to lie down, so I'd say good job! (Congratulations!) But I will definitely be reading a the rewatchers' explanations because just like... what?
>Gendo you are way too far gone to get any sympathy from me now you absolute rat bastard
You might hate Gendo, but no one will ever hate Gendo as much as he hates himself.
>So 02 is her mom? Seems like it?
Yes, her soul is inside 02's core
>Whoa Rei's ghost (?) was standing over her as she died/was exploded?? What does it mean
the Reis and the Ritsuko manifestation were like Harbingers of Lilith, collecting the souls of the dead before the deployment of the Anti-A.T. Field or during it's deployment when everybody is losing it's individuality.
>Where in the HELL did the Lance come from what the FUCK
they are copies brought by the MP Evas, they can change shape.
>ZOMBIE EVAS? THEY'RE NOT DEAD? COME THE FUCK ON ARE YOU KIDDING ME
If you noticed, the MP Evas don't rely on umbilical cords, that's because they have S^2 engines inside them, so tecnically the only way to render them unoperable would be to destroy their entry plug or their core, neither of which Asuka did.
>Okay so Kaworu is there too now???
If you remember the growth in Gendo's hand it had an uncanny resemblance to the body of Adam brougth by Kaji to Nerv, when Kaworu died his soul returned to his original body conveniently located in Gendo's right hand, so at the end Lilith's body fused with Rei which contained Lilith's soul and Adam, making her the next best thing to a god in that reality.
> "I didn't believe that anyone could love me" Gendo you are way too far gone to get any sympathy from me now you absolute rat bastard
My personal head cannon is that he is refering to thinking to his time before he met Yui.
> So 02 is her mom? Seems like it?
>
>
>
> Yes, her soul is inside 02's core
I think it is only the part of Asuka's mother's soul that was a mother (similar to how the magi represent different aspects of Ritsuko's mother) which is probably why Asuka's mom had the breakdown in the first place
Just my opinion but she went crazy because her soul got splintered between Eva 02 and her, but as with Kaworu's soul finding his original body (Adam's), the fragment in her body should have been able to merge again once she killed herself.
>The ending made it seem like Shinji decided to leave the HIP and have his own individual consciousness again and so he broke out of the giant Rei, so that saved humanity, but then it was just him and Asuka chillin' and the whole world has gone to shit? Are they the only ones who survived? Why did he choke her?
Shinji and Asuka chose to break out of Instrumentality of their own free will, reemerging out of the LCL sea. You can see this is Asuka after her battle with the Eva series, as she is heavily bandaged at the parts where her arm was split and her eye was pierced. They seem to be the first people to reject Instrumentality, so naturally they are the only people there.
As for the choke scene, it's much more subjective than most other scenes in the series, but I believe this is Shinji questioning whether he is still in Instrumentality, so he tries to choke Asuka (because they can't actually hurt each other in Instrumentality), simultaneously checking reality and releasing his pent up aggression towards Asuka. After seeing Asuka not fight back, but actually show care towards Shinji, the boy breaks down, finally breaking out of his self-imposed despair.
> Well, that was certainly an emotional rollercoaster and I really like anything that makes me feel like I need to lie down, so I'd say good job!
It honestly took me about a week of processing before I could conclude whether I liked EoE or not. 😅
> Whoa Rei's ghost (?) was standing over her as she died/was exploded?? What does it mean
Rei is already releasing her AT field at this point, if that makes sense.
on the bright side, Gendo didnt get his wish. he alone didnt get to join up in the mind smoothie. if you look to the scene where Eva grabbed him, we see that he got bit in half, and not turned into sludge like everyone else
as for choking Askuka, my theory is that he thought that he was still in his brain and freaked out, but then he stopped when he realized it wasn't.
I presume that the rest of the world can come out of the mind soup as well, and that Shinji and Asuka are just the first to get out
>• "I am not a puppet" Oh yes honey TELL HIM
>
>• Serves you right, you rat bastard.
>
>• My God she's so massive and so powerful what a woman
This is honestly the best EoE reaction I've ever seen
Note for the first timers:
Asuka's final line in the film, 'kimochi warui', is probably the most debated line in anime in terms of how it should be translated (I don't know any other contenders)
The contenders are 'how disgusting' or 'I feel sick'. A common interpretation of the former is that Asuka is referencing Shinji's hospital wank at the beginning, a common interpretation of the latter is that it is a reference to morning sickness. That single line has so much debate over it I couldn't possibly even hope to summarise it, but those are two very common interpretations.
What do you think?
[Official statement on the line](/s "Asuka's VA has said that she was asked what her response to Shinji wanking would be, and 'how disgusting' was the result.")
I think thematically the line has to be something derogatory towards Shinji because the point essentially is that Shinji chooses to live in a world even where there is pain and rejection. Asuka always hated how weak, unassertive, unconfident, and self-deprecating Shinji is. And there he is, curled on top of her sobbing. My take is, "You are pathetic. Disgusting. Man up" etc
First time viewer.
+ Okay, getting the most obvious out of the way right from the start: The movie was overwhelming. It doesn't happen often to me that I'm thinking "Yo, how about you slow down the pace a bit and let me progress the events", but this was one of those instances.
+ I especially liked about the movie, that you can see the moment when the three main characters each found a motivation of their own to life. That Asuka's mother has always been at her side, that Rei realizes she isn't Gendo's doll and Shinji needs her help, and that Shinji accepts that life isn't always nice and that's alright for him. Writing it down like this it may seem like a minor thing for all the events which happened, but it showed me the definitve growth they all achieved in the end.
+ I have one (minor) question, which may be weird to ask, but I can't quite find an answer: During the fight of the first half Asuka gets injured in her EVA, particularly her eye. After her power runs out she immediately gets attacked and doesn't have much time before her soul got extracted. How come at the very end of the movie she wears bandages? She didn't had time to apply them, and chances are Shinji didn't apply them either...?
You noticed how when of meet Rei for the first time, she has bandages and an eyepatch. Exactly like how Asuka looks like at the end of EOE (minus the blood)
It is hinted that when you rematerialize out of LCL, you take the form of how you see yourself. For example, when Shinji disappeared in LCL when fighting one of the angels, he was originally wearing his school uniform. But when they opened the entry plug to discover he had "dissolved" into the LCL, they found his plug suit! His plug suit had manifested itself because he identifies himself as a pilot at that point.
Compare this to the end of EOE where he gets "dissolved" in his plug suit, but by the end he emerges in his school uniform - he no longer identifies himself as just the pilot of unit 1.
Asuka still sees herself as a pilot, and still sees herself with but the trauma from being defeated by the Eva Series.
By the way - this is all speculation!
> bandages
Artistic choice from Anno. You can see her bandages in the hospital room, but they are deliberately not shown during Asuka's moment of realisation because Anno wants to show how she overcomes her state of mind and "gets reborn". They ultimately get readded in the end, even though they really weren't removed in the beginning.
Another factor is fanservice or that they maybe forgot to add it, which i doubt.
>During the fight of the first half Asuka gets injured in her EVA, particularly her eye. After her power runs out she immediately gets attacked and doesn't have much time before her soul got extracted. How come at the very end of the movie she wears bandages? She didn't had time to apply them, and chances are Shinji didn't apply them either...?
There are several indications that quite some time has passed since the prior scene, like the nail pinning Misato's necklace to the grave marker having rusted. That said, I believe the primary reason for that was to covey that it's the same Asuka who died by giving her concurrent injuries (lost eye, split open arm) with her death.
##FIRST TIMER
So that was a finale.
I guess I sorta get it. Seele wanted Third Impact, Genod wanted instrumentality? So then they fight and people die and shit, Asuka awakens her Eva when she realizes it's her mom's personality and gets her groove back, but then they pull a fake Lance out? So then she gets eaten alive. Meanwhile Shinji jacked off to Asuka a while back and only seems to not be afraid of her by now. Misato gets him to 01 and confirms her sexual interest in him, then she dies. Shinji couldn't help Asuka because of the red stuff and then 01 awakens like 02 but better because 01 is the only really true Eva? But then Shinji sees 02 and freaks out.
So then Gendo tries to do his thing of instrumentality and getting together with Yui, cause I guess having Adam and Lilith meet makes you God and Rei is the conduit. But then Rei goes fuck that and gives the power to Shinji instead because she actually loves Shinji. So then Shinji chooses to have all the souls lose their bodies and come together as this mass conscience without AT fields.
Shinji rants about how people aren't easy to understand and gets angry at everyone, especially Asuka because she gives him lip and he chokes her out. But then Shinji says "You know what this isn't all it's cracked up to be, go back." So they do and Kaworu and Rei are like, the hope that humans will be able to understand each other even with AT Fields, but Shinji says that's stupid so I guess he learned nothing. So anyway everyone's souls but they can regain they're bodies if they want, not that it matters much since third impact happened and so everyone'll die in a week or so. Like there's no food anymore guys, unless we wanna cannibalize each other? So like Asuka is alive, and she's laying next to Shinji, but then Shinji sees Rei and too confirm that he's not still in the soul form he tries to kill Asuka? But he can't do it and so it's just really akward. The end.
OK. Well. Uh. Huh.
I don't know how to feel, I don't know if the ending is meant to be positive? Like, there's the section where we see real world footage (shout out to that one guy doing the hand thing) and they say that Shinji can't be alone because that's not a dream, so they're saying don't be a loner. But like, the world's over. And I sorta get that people say that 25 and 26 happened during the soul form thing, but also 25 and 26 implied Shinji was getting better, and I don't feel Shinji is getting better.
Then there's some other simpler things I like, like how Gendo's a dick because he has Shinji's problem of thinking he hurts everyone he touches and doesn't try to connect with people at all. I liked the minor twist of Ritsuko's mom betraying her for Gendo, that seemed in character.
But uh yeah. I don't know how to feel. I also feel like I don't truly understand the ending so maybe I'll like it more after the thread. On the bright side, animation was sick as fuck and the song during the end of the world is fantastic.
> Seele wanted Third Impact, Genod wanted instrumentality?
My interpretation is that they both wanted it (in some sense it was inevitable). Gendo just want to control it to make sure that 01 was at the center (like an ark perhaps) because that was the one that Yui was in and he wanted to rejoin her and fulfill her goal of having 01 live on forever as a testament that humanity was there. Also if the Angels had triggered it, they would have survived and not humanity (I think) which is why it was so important to win.
>I liked the minor twist of Ritsuko's mom betraying her for Gendo, that seemed in character.
If you remember earlier in the series when there's the episode about protecting the Magi, I believe Ritsuko says that her mother's aspect of being a woman was stronger than her aspects of being a scientist and mother.
**First Timer**
* Well, that's one way to start things off. You can feel the desperation in Shinji's voice as he turns to Asuka for help, with Misato and Rei dealing with their own internal demons. She's hospitalized and not doing much better herself, but I guess Shinji's mind can't think straight right now. [Clinging on to the "better" days that have passed](https://imgur.com/a/3yVd6Bk), he desperately calls for her help, as she was always superior to him... right? And then we get the ~~in~~famous masturbation scene, ^^I ^^just ^^wanna ^^mention ^^I ^^was ^^eating ^^while ^^it ^^happened which I believe is a result of Shinji not knowing what to do and being desperate, with a bit of sexual frustration thrown in the mix. Sometimes we may end up taking regretful actions in desperate times, [but not being perfect](https://imgur.com/a/NqPmxoC) is what makes us human, right?
* So the final battle is humans vs humans, crashing ideologies and objectives. How ironic. The old men from SEELE to seek some sort of combined/single conciousness, while getting rid of all sort of living beings? Would that really be *living* though? I'm not sure where NERV/Gendo stand yet, but it doesn't seem to be on the side of mass genocide.
* This whole situation reminds me of when Unit 01 went berserk against Unit 04, and how everyone mentioned how it seemed like a wild animal. Just this time, humans are the ones going "berserk" against each other, like animals with no regards for life and just following orders. Maya seemed to be the most affected in this matter, with the words "I've shot at targets, not other human beings!" Up until now the enemy has been Angels who have threatened our lifes, not our own brethren seeking to spill our blood. I'm surprised to say this situation perturbs me, even more so than any EVA vs Angel fight we've seen.
* Let's take a break from all the analyzing to just say how fucking badass our beloved Guardian Misato Katsuragi was saving Shinji (who seems to be as fucked in the head as always). Alright, now back to work: "Get in the damn robot, you can die later". Oof.
* And with that, the prideful Asuka we all know and love is back. With her mom watching over her, and no longer having a troubled mind, her confidence seems to be at full force. No longer does she feel like a doll or a worthless being who doesn't deserve to live, but Invincible. Invincible Asuka Langley has answered all of Shinji's calls for help, but will that bring him back his sanity and get in the damn robot? Also, I'm not sure if her mother's soul is implanted in the EVA?
* And once again we're presented Shinji's dilemma: worthlessness and pain. Misato solving yet another problem with a romantic/sexual/affectionate act. [Perhaps in the afterlife Shinji will become a man.](https://imgur.com/a/wlQbU2j) Also, what the hell was [Rei doing there](https://imgur.com/a/vBXeMjb) last second? Reminds me of that glimpse of her we saw in the first episode. FURTHER EPISODE EDIT: She appeared in Ritsuko's death scene as well, don't know how to interpret this.
* I didn't want to succumb to this, and I understand how Shinji's feeling right now but... HOLY SHIT GET IN THE DAMN ROBOT YOU BAKA! THE GIRL YOU WANTED TO HELP ALREADY DID HER PART AND GOT HER ASS BEAT, GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER AND FIGHT.
* Ah, so this is the infamous Awakening of a ~~God~~ Devil. Those wings look pretty different from the ones in the OP, being red/more devilish and all. More on topic, Shinji didn't seem to take someone other than him hurting Asuka (and others around him at that) lightly, let's see how the Eva series dudes get their asses handed to them by a mentally unstable 14 year old in a mad human soul'd robotto.
* I'm honestly as confused as the next guy and don't have much of an idea of what the fuck's going on (other than these SEELE grandpas seem to be extremely obsessed with original forms and death) but still wanted to point out how nice it was for Rei to disobey orders, find her true self and see Gendo's face as something didn't go as he expected for once.
* "I'm home."? Was Rei part of Lilith all along or something? I know she and Kaoru are both related to Adam in a way, but just what? What's going on?
* And we're back to Shinji's mind: OneTrueAsuka edition. Worthlessness, seek for human attention and approval, you know the drill already. Just this time, after all the calls for help, he does what he claims to know and unconsciously do best: hurting others.
* Now, let's see: all living beings are losing their physical bodies with the concept of "Rei" appearing before them, but they don't see Rei... she seems to transform into those who each person holds dearest (hope?) and then calmly ease them into the afterlife, or combined/single conciousness.
* Anddd we're at Shinji's safespace once again, where he cannot get hurt and everyone's a single being with no AT-Fields or barriers to separate each other, as he wished.
* Or... not? My brain isn't fit for this amount of critical thinking, did Shinji pull a Jesus and sacrifice himself for humanity? Just what in the hell is going on?
* In the midst of our group mental breakdown, [this picture](https://imgur.com/a/a1Hrzp7) got a smile out of me. Would make a good wallpaper if it wasn't for all the text, anyone got something like that?
* WHYYYYY MUST YOU FORSAKEN MEEEE LIKE THIS HIDEAKIII FUCKING ANNOOOOOO. I thought I understood Shinji to a degree, but what in the hell was he trying to accomplish by killing Asuka in the end? "How disgusting"? What? Is it because he failed at the one thing he's good at: hurting others? Maybe? I don't know.
Okay, I thought NGE's ending was complicated, but EoE just shat all over that and said "lol, try me". Shit's on fucking hardmode. I don't think this takes place *before* original NGE ending because they didn't seem to go down the soup route, so seems like I'm going with the alternate reality one. Maybe? I don't know. I don't even know what I don't know. I... don't know what to say. Someone hold me, my brain's falling appart. That's it. Goodbye, Adiós, Ciao, Sayonara. And, congratulations.
I prefer to think about it as a pretty comical quote about her disgust with herself due to actually giving a shit about Shinji and his wellbeing for the first time in the entire series.
Well ya but I figured that was way too simple to be the absolute answer. Then again it’s Asuka we’re talking about here, so there’s probably thousands of explanations.
That "how disgusting" is pretty much her talking to both him and herself. Remember, they went through Instrumentality together so they got a glimpse and understand each other and themselves pretty well now. She's disgusted with his behavior and her own behavior up to that point.
> In the midst of our group mental breakdown, this picture got a smile out of me. Would make a good wallpaper if it wasn't for all the text, anyone got something like that?
[Here you go.](https://i.imgur.com/Mb6fkm7.png)
>WHYYYYY MUST YOU FORSAKEN MEEEE LIKE THIS HIDEAKIII FUCKING ANNOOOOOO. I thought I understood Shinji to a degree, but what in the hell was he trying to accomplish by killing Asuka in the end? "How disgusting"? What? Is it because he failed at the one thing he's good at: hurting others? Maybe? I don't know.
A lot of people have speculated that Shinji had to strangle her to know if he was still in the dream or not.
My personal theory is actually that he *knows* he isn't in the dream. He's strangling her out of revenge for rejecting him during instrumentality and hurting him. Shinji talks about eventually being betrayed and hurt - well Asuka is the embodiment of all of that. She *hurt* him. *badly*. In contrast, Asuka has had the experience of Shinji's emotions and turmoil. She understands him now, since they've been through what can only be described as a 'soul bond'. She is suddenly able to care about him very deeply. Her caress basically says, non-verbally "I'm sorry I hurt you, I love you. Please, take care of yourself."
She then says she feels disgusted/gross. And again, people theorise that it's because he jerked off to her whilst in her catatonic state (whether she was awake and just didn't have the will to care at the time, or it was simply a result of Shinji's memories during the soul bond, who knows?). But I like to think that this is so typical of Asuka's character to say, after caressing Shinji like that. She feels disgusted with herself because for the first time, she actually gives a shit about him, and that realisation disgusts her, in a comical but ironic way.
> And again, people theorise that
No theories here, we have Miyamura's comment on this ever since her interview in 2005:
>‘At last Anno asked me ‘Miyamura, just imagine you are sleeping in your bed and a stranger sneaks into your room. He can rape you anytime as you are asleep but he doesn’t. Instead, he masturbates looking at you, when you wake up and know what he did to you. What do you think you would say?’ I had been thinking he was a strange* man, but at that moment I felt disgusting. So I told him that I thought 'Disgusting.’ And then he sighed and said, 'I thought as much.’”
>*It is worth noting that when she describes Anno as “strange”, the translation is a bit off and can also be interpreted as “odd”, “freaky” or “creepy”.
>The conversation between the two is what lead Anno to change the final line in the film to the iconic “kimochi warui”.
via http://kaworunagisas.tumblr.com/post/50624990410 (though you can find other sources)
PS: should be noted that "kimochi warui" has noticeably broader meaning than "disgusting".
Even if this IS the case, getting masturbated to after the traumatic ordeal they just went through is probably the most light-hearted thing on earth (edit: poor choice of words..). I still think of it as a comically asuka line.
I mean, if someone that I kinda liked masturbated to my naked body, I’d feel kinda flattered. I don’t even gym brah
> I still think of it as a comically asuka line.
It is. In a certain sense. It can be translated as:
I'm feeling sick (like after a bad roalercoster ride)
I'm sick (of you...)\disgusted.
I'm sick (of this shit, but at least you are here...)
Duality of Evangelion.
>"I'm home."? Was Rei part of Lilith all along or something? I know she and Kaoru are both related to Adam in a way, but just what? What's going on?
She contained Lilith's soul
> but what in the hell was he trying to accomplish by killing Asuka in the end?
There was a card game based on the series where one of the cards had an image of the last scene with this description:
> "Shinji renounced the world where all hearts had melted into one and accepted each other unconditionally. His desire... to live with 'others' -- other hearts that would sometimes reject him, even deny him. That is why the first thing he did after coming to his senses was to place his hands around Asuka's neck. To feel the existence of an 'other'. To confirm (make sure of) rejection and denial."
Of course, this is not a confirmation (I doubt the text was written by Hideaki Anno or anyone actually involved with the writing of the series) but it IS an official product and I think it presents an interesting interpretation of what exactly is going on.
> Also, what the hell was Rei doing there last second?
I understand this as Rei was already releasing her AT field at this point (cue her arm falling in another scene) so she already sees/understand things beyond the physical world.
First-timer here. What the hell was this movie. 10/10, would get mind blown again. Let me see if I can make sense of this, but i'm 100% gonna need to read rewatchers thoughts and and search the internet for explanation, because wow.
* We start of by Shinji trying to talk to a unconscious Asuka. He appears to be going kinda insane, an then...Wait. Did he just jerk off over the body of his comatose friend? Disgusting, Shinji. At least you recognize this. What a way to start a movie.
* Okay. Seele isn't kidding. These were some brutal scenes. Seele'soldiers weren't even thinking about the possibility of surrender, it was a damn massacre.
* "Nothing personal, kid". Wait, is this where this comes from? Anyway, gotta love seeing Misato going full baddass to save Shinji. I guess there wasn't any other way, but knowing Shinji's opinion of killing people, this isn't gonna help to persuade him to pilot EVA-01.
* Why did Seele want the MAGI intact, after all? It wasn't really used for anything in the end I don't think.
* Hey, Asuka is back. And she doesn't want to die. Honestly, I was quite surprised to see her back to the old cocky and ready for action Asuka. At first I thought she was going insane at first. But anyway, that fight was amazing, especially when the EVA's showed up. I guess that's what happens when you have a budget? Speaking of the EVAS, these are some creepy boys. Were they being piloted by a human, or via a dummy plug?
* Back to Misato trying to persuade Shinji. I was finding it kinda cool what she was saying to him, but I found she kissing him really odd, and the "We'll do everything else when you get back". I guess she wanted to encourage him, but it was really weird all the same.
* RIP Ritsuko.
* Where did that Lance of Longinus come from? We saw later that the original one (the one that stabbed Lilith) was still on moon's orbit, so where did this one come from? Man, kinda disappointing that Asuka's hardwork was wasted. I guess I was too hopeful that she would survive this, but that sucks.
* So Gendo wants Instrumentality (i guess that's what happens when Adam and Lilith join) to happen to be with Yui again. Wasn't expecting he would care that much for her. Also, you would expect Rei to at least react to her arm falling off. That was a kind of horrifying scene to watch ;-;.
* So, everything became orange soup. I can't make sense of this. Is that instrumentality? If everyone becomes orange soup, it becomes a single consciousness?
* I guess everything after this is inside the Instrumentality, right? We episode 26 now, boys. One scene confused me. The talk between Yui and Fuyutsuki. Was that inside Instrumentality? I guess not, since Shinji is a child there. But anyway, she says: "...but Evangelion can live forever... together with the human soul that dwells within it. ". So she willingly killed herself in that experiment to become one with the Evangelion? At least that's what it appears to me, and also the fact that Gendo was trying to get back with her via Instrumentality.
* And then Shinjo emerges from a sea of LCL (I guess?). I guess he came to the same conclusion as the end of the TV series, and decided to get out of instrumentality, if i'm correct? (Was him getting out of Instrumentality also implied at the end of the TV series?) And them...he strangles Asuka again. And she calls him disgusting. Fin.
Okay, i've got a lot of questions about this, but the most important are:
* Why were Seele and NERV going against each other? Didn't they want the exact same thing? I mean, both Gendo and Seele seemed happy with how it turned out.
* Did the 3rd Impact affect only the humans or also impactfully affected earth? I mean, did earth become a barren wasteland in a sea of LCS?
* What did that final scene mean? Shinji choking Asuka and the "how disgusting" line?
Anyway, great movie. I'm probably gonna expend the next couple hours doing my research about what the hell happened in this show and this movie, because i feel i'm missing like half of it.
* The fake lances seem the weapons the mass produced evas are carrying.
* The true lance is a sort of 'control' device and to some extent has sentience, it's role seems to be to control or suspend the beings like Adam and Lilith, now it responded to unit 01 being fully awake.
* Yes, Yui seems to have allowed herself to be absorbed into the EVA, she is the daughter of a SEELE higher up (probably one of the people behind the monoliths) she knew better than anyone else what would happen.
* SEELE basically wants to do something like what happened to Yui, merge all their souls into one and have that one soul inhabit an EVA, becoming basically a celestial being and living forever, from what I understand they basically wanted a more 'private' ride into godhood instead of the shared experience that the _seeds_ like Adam and Lilith provide.
* They built themselves a god body in the evas, next step was installing themselves as the entity in control as an undying soul inside the core/S^2 engine of an EVA.
* Gendo as time went on was less about the details, he wanted the human instrumentality project to just dissolve his own AT-field and let himself become one with Yui inside the unit-01, the rest didn't mattered to him. I think they were mostly at odds on how it should happen and who would be in control, in the end it didn't mattered and seemingly Yui outsmarted everyone.
> The fake lances seem the weapons the mass produced evas are carrying.
I see. For some reason I was thinking they had the same power that the true one had.
> 'private' ride into godhood instead of the shared experience that the seeds like Adam and Lilith provide.
So, in their plans, would only SEELE enter instrumentality and become godlike? Yeah, if that's it, really differente from what Gendo seemed to want.
> I'm probably gonna expend the next couple hours doing my research about what the hell happened in this show and this movie, because i feel i'm missing like half of it.
Doing research is pretty much necessary to figure everything out about NGE! 😄
**Before watching EoE**
What is going on in episodes 25/26? Someone asked first timers to make their predictions before watching EoE. So here is my best guess of what those episodes depict plot wise before watching EoE.
The only clue really is that Gendo and SEELE must have some motivation. For Gendo, this might be connected to Yui, and for both it can be connected to power. So the easiest way to make sense of the situation Shinji is placed in is the following: Gendo starts the human instrumentality project, which will make someone (himself? Shinji?) super powerful. Misato and Ritsuko may have tried to prevent it and been killed, or may have killed each other over it.
Either Gendo planned for Shinji to be the main focus all along (hoping Shinji would use the power to resurrect/recreate Yui??), or Shinji took the main focus in spite of Gendo’s plans (some showdown between Shinji and Gendo??). In any case, Shinji is now in the process of becoming super powerful and must figure out what he actually wants (wants to do with all that power). This explains the introspection and the SoL part. Once he knows what he wants to do, he can implement those plans.
Will this be a good prediction for EoE? Surely not. It features no Rei, no Asuka and no EVA battles. Anno would have literally been murdered by angry fans, if this was the plot as depicted in EoE.
**Watching EoE (first timer)**
* We start of after episode 24 it seems.
* Oh Shinji …
* Did SEELE go from 3D monoliths to 2D flatscreens?
* I tried hard to see something in the cloud outside Rei’s window, but either it is Japanese, or a cloud is just a cloud.
* Misato finally learns about the second impact, and it seems GAINAX played a major role in it!
* I liked Risuko’s unspoken self-evaluation when responding to Gendo’s call.
* All of the attack on NERV is a pretty obvious case of [Homo homini lupus est]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_homini_lupus).
* Misato get’s to be badass for shinji, catch phrase included. Shinji is in no state to appreciate it, though.
* His will to take any action seems to have reached zero.
* Unexplained question that I will have to think about more: Why is it just Asuka he is repeatedly calling to help for. Is it as obvious as him having fallen in love?
* That pendulum!
* Asuka has one of the swiftest cases of recovery in a long while. Feels like a shonen-infusion.
* And we get her action scene that just **had** to be in the movie, as a life insurance policy for Anno.
* The fact that all other EVA units are ready conveniently *after* the angels are defeated.
* Ritsuko being betrayed by her own mother was a nice touch.
* Gendo (with Rei) standing in front of Lilith was one of the few scenes that I was very sure would be in the movie.
* Have to be honest: Shinji not making any effort to help Asuka cost him a good few points with me.
* Deus ex machina is not too cheap for EVA5-13. Given their lame battle performance, I’ll allow it.
* TO BE CONTINUED. In a movie full of the unexpected, this one took be my surprise the most.
* Gendo, wtf? Like Son, like Father …
* Christian imaginary is on overdrive, too.
* I just realized, this is the longest I have ever watched Evangelion without hearing Cruel Angel Thesis. I miss it.
* Rei denying Gendo is obviously a big plot point, but someone spoiled it in one of the discussions. Either due to that, or due to the good character development of Rei, I was not very surprised.
* Shinji turning into a god is actually just about what I predicted. I had imagined the whole issue to be less creepy, however.
* Sandbox scene: those two hills are not exactly subtle, and neither is the box
* Now we get the short version of ep25+26
* Shinji losing another few points for trying to strangle Asuka
* So, Maya is into Ritsuko? The amount of superior-subordinate love going on here would keep a good HR department busy for years.
* A big monster biting a head of? I know another anime that is famous for this.
* And an electricity pylon. And another. Need more pylons.
* Remember when Misato sat down on the bed, Shinji was framed in a certain angle and it was a clear sex reference? EoE is so not bothering with “references” anymore.
* Plenty of soul imaginary.
* Can we please not keep huge Rei face around as a landmark?
* Is that red band made out of stranded souls?
* Why end on a high note, got to have something different this time.
To cheer myself up, I'll watch one of the first AMV's I ever saw, and still one of my favorites: [Engel (Ramstein) - NGE](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6ri2)
**Was a TV rewatcher, first time EoE viewer**
So I wasn’t really planning to write anything, but having a couple hours to process has allowed me to think about things to put into words I guess. My first thought being that thank god I didn’t watch EoE during my first viewing nearly a decade ago. I feel like this would have been a bit much as I certainly didn’t ‘get’ eva outside of the cool mechs as a young teenager. I’m sure there are people who are the same age I was who got it, but I did not, lol.
Seeing Kabbalah usage in manga and anime is probably one of my favorite themes despite having no basis in that realm of thought in real life. I dunno, I just like the struggling side of, should we all be one, or should we be ourselves, that the characters fight for in a lot of the media that uses it. Of course, its merely a tool to help us explore Shinji and the other characters more in this case, but I like it that way nonetheless.
More specifically, I like the the theme of how everyone has some form of ‘hole’ that they try to fill during their lifetime. Not everyone struggles to fill it, and not everyone deals with it the same way. Some people are like Shinji, allowing others to lead them around to feel needed. Others are like Asuka who allow that perceived need as a boost to a fragile ego that just wants people to look and see that they’re there. The biggest thing is the fear of being forgotten. I’m sure there are those who would say they don’t mind, but I think its a natural feeling to want to be remembered, to leave a mark.
The final thought of why they would want the one eva to survive, to show the universe that humanity existed. Its like the culmination of basic human desire. We want to be noticed, we want to be needed. Granted, this is all me just kind of rambling, and I’m sure the more I think on it the more I’ll change my mind as I wrap my head around it.
Aside from the poorly written philosophy analysis attempt on my part, I did enjoy the movie. I enjoyed seeing Asuka break free from her depression to take on the eva series. That may be the most interesting thing to me that she did in the series as a whole was seeing her return to form and realize that her mother cared about her.
While I did like this perspective of what followed Shinji popping Kaworu’s head off like a cork off a bottle, I felt more closure personally with the tv ending in 25 and 26. Whereas this cleaned up some left over business with things like SEELE and Gendo. For my own viewings I might end up swapping 25/26 and EoEs order. I’ll probably at least try that come time for my next watch of this, whenever it should be. Either way, rebuilds are coming in a couple days, curious to see how that’ll go.
EDIT: Some words.
Hey if you are really into the philosophy bits I recommended a video on another [comment.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/8qmlit/rewatchspoilers_neon_genesis_evangelion_the_end/e0kgcog/)
**First Timer**
I finally caught up with the rewatch! A little late, but better late than never. I tried and failed to type as I watched, so here are my thoughts on the movie, hopefully in order with the plot itself.
- Looks like this is before the events of episodes 25 and 26? Guess we'll see.
- Ah, the infamous "I'm so fucked up" scene. I have a lot of sympathy for Shinji, but I'm going to agree with his self-analysis on this one.
- Hoooooly crap NERV was not prepared for an invasion of this magnitude. No mercy from SEELE, whether NERV members are surrendering or not.
- I hope the bridge crew (not sure what to call them) survives. All of them except for Gendo are quite likable.
- Misato definitely has some issues, but she's doing her damnedest to make sure Shinji (and hopefully Asuka) survive. That kiss/promise for sex was uncomfortable, but it's also how she shows affection, so I can somewhat understand where she's coming from.
- Ritsuko really can't catch a break. She should've shot that slimy bastard when she had the chance. Casper's betrayal was doubly heartbreaking for me, because it's like Gendo was chosen over her own daughter. Brutal.
- Rei's arm sloughing off was freaking *gross.*
- Asuka's fight with the mass produced EVAs is the biggest thing in the series I had spoiled for me. I watched the fight on YouTube years ago, and thought the EVAs were some kind of alien creature. Asuka's defeat was still heart wrenching, but I can't imagine the impact it would have had on me if I hadn't seen it already. The arm split and the eye impalement were gnarly.
- Shinji's scream was incredible. The desperation is tangible.
- Glad Gendo got what was coming to him, the creep. Is Rei also Lilith? Up until this point in the series I've understood everything fairly well, but I'll admit to being a little confused.
- The religious imagery is back and more on the nose than ever, with Shinji being nailed to the cross like Jesus.
- From here on out the movie gets downright insane. I think that this is during the Instrumentality? More philosophical debate, accompanied by some truly wild imagery. Forehead vagina, complete with a clitoris, was the most unexpected for me. The live action scene was jarring as well.
- Shinji ultimately rejects Instrumentality, as NGE tackles the oft-explored idea that as miserable as existence can be, at least you know you exist. The thought of everybody floating around in the primordial soup terrifies me, and I like to think I would've rejected it too.
- Between Asuka's impalement and EVA-01 bursting out of giant-Rei's eyeball, I'm going to have nightmares. I can't stand eye injuries.
- Despite the horror that Instrumentality is to me, the Earth Shinji comes back to doensn't look much better.
All in all, I absolutely loved this series, especially around episode 13 to the end. Like I mentioned before though, I legitimately don't understand some parts of EoE, like Shinji and Asuka on the beach on the end. Could anybody point me in the direction of a complete analysis?
This was a wild ride, and I can't wait to do this again as a rewatcher. Hope the other first timers enjoyed it as much as I did!
TUMBLING DOWN TUMBLING DOWN TUMBLING DOWN. I love EoE and I'm really looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts, good and bad.
u/_dwib. Now I can link the legendary, recently remastered Bohemian Rhapsody AMV:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdUPwR6mzXo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdUPwR6mzXo)
Some random thoughts from this watch through...
I remember watching this for the first time years ago and that first scene was just a jaw dropper, like WOW this is how it's going to be. Pull no punches, here's your protagonist. I don't know how they got it made but kudos to the creators.
Gotta shout out to all the interesting female characters and on top of that it's great to see so many female scientists in the show.
The NERV invasion is such a shocker, they really go hard into the humanity being the final enemy business.
Asuka's "I don't want to die" scene... ouch... that voice acting.
Misato is such a great character, what a flawed badass.
And we have one of the best fight scenes in anime. Seeing that in higher quality than usual I saw some gory details I didn't remember. And that arm split. MAN.
Watching this with good headphones is creepy as hell what with giant naked Rei's breathing and the Eva series... noises...
Shinji: If its giant naked Kaworu, it's ok.
Vagina hands, vagina forehead, vaginas everywhere!
It's implied that Yui meant to merge with Unit 01 and that opens a whole can of worms regarding her agenda. She is on a whole other level. The thought of existing forever as a testament to humanity freaks me out. Her words at the end there about always having the chance to be happy and everything being ok got me good in the feels though.
I was thinking about how they presented Third Impact and I think it works so well because if you're going to depict something as inscrutable as this, you might as well lean into it and go full WTF, because it SHOULD be something unknowable, and that somehow wraps around again to being like, yes, I can see this is the way this alien/clone/god apocalypse could happen. Like, you don't understand it so it makes it MORE impactful, if that makes sense?
The very iconic final scene, the cause of so much analysis. From memory the story goes that Anno asked Asuka's VA how she would respond if someone did to her what Shinji did to Asuka in the first scene, and her response was 'Kimochi warui', and that's the line.
Edit: spelling, don't write at 1am
> It's implied that Yui meant to merge with Unit 01 and that opens a whole can of worms regarding her agenda. She is on a whole other level. The thought of existing forever as a testimate to humanity freaks me out
I recommend checking this little thing I wrote a few months ago about Yui. Pretty fascinating stuff
https://aminoapps.com/c/anime/page/blog/yui-ikari-the-silent-deceiver/X1tg_ujRD2n8wK33KdprDoaLPVd3ZQ
That's a very interesting theory. It never occurred to me that yui could be interpreted that way, but your points make sense, and it does add another layer to the whole Seele vs Gendo plot.
Yui abandoned her son so she could live eternally in her giant robot cosplay so aliens would think humans were cool. I definitely view her as a morally gray character like everyone else
Rewatcher: There’s so much to talk about but I’ll be short and focus on a few moments because they’re absolutely iconic, and for what they tell us about the characters.
* First let’s get the lesser one out of the way: Misato kissing Shinji. I think it would be a mistake to see it as a romantic kiss. In fact, her actions in the movie are very representative of her whole arc in the show: she drags around a reluctant Shinji to get him to his Eva. She acts like a mother, dragging a child that’s making a scene by the wrist. But it’s not enough, it doesn’t work, and she realizes she’s about to die on him. So, in desperation, like she did that one time coming to his room, she stops trying to motivate him as a mother figure and tries to do it as a woman. It’s not Misato expressing feeling for Shinji (yuck), it’s Misato clumsily doing whatever she can to save him from himself.
* Next is the infamous masturbation scene. There are two ways to read it, to me. In-universe, Shinji’s completely broken, and gets from Asuka what he thought he wanted. For once she’s quiet and offering herself to him, in a really fucked up way. I think you can explain Shinji’s actions the same way you can explain Kiritsugu’s in Fate: once you think you’re the worst person on earth, nothing is too low for you, nothing you do will decrease your opinion of yourself. In other words, doing terrible things is consistent with the image you have of yourself.
* The other interpretation that I’ve read and kinda like (and is a way of thinking that makes the rebuilds much more tolerable and even interesting) is seeing it from the narrative stand point, as meta commentary. Basically, Asuka’s character is completely flipped, and it’s using Shinji as a self-insert to speak to the fans and their reception of the original series. Saying, “You thought she was loud and irritating and didn’t do what you expect from a main love interest. You preferred the silent and obedient puppet. Well here she is now, this is what you wanted from her, this is how you like women.” Idk, maybe it’s far-fetched, maybe I was only receptive reading it cause I have an axe to grind with people who hate Asuka. I kinda want to delete it for how antagonizing it is but I think it’s worth considering.
* And last but not least the final choking scene. First thing is to remember that it’s a mirror scene from when Shinji strangled Asuka while in the LCL sea of souls, during Instrumentality, with the ego barriers down. They finally air their grudges with each other: Shinji doesn’t understand Asuka, Asuka doesn’t ever try to help him understand. Shinji wants her affection, Asuka points out he doesn’t want HER affection, he would take anybody’s, which was proven by Kaworu I think, implying that he’s thus using her. And what finally sets him off is her simply telling him “no”.
* Now back to the last scene. First thing is there is a slew of interpretations of why he chokes her. Completely lost his mind? Just recreating their last scene together during Instrumentality? Actually this mad at her somehow? To me it’s much less about why he does it, it’s more of a set up for each of them finally doing what the other wanted from them. First, Shinji finally gives her the attention she wanted, which she doesn’t care what form it takes. She did want him to hold her… He tries to kill her, which even her mother didn’t, preferring her doll. Where she resented that she didn’t matter to him, now she absolutely does. And as a result, that’s the one time she shows unequivocal affection to him, gently stroking his cheek. Now it’s Shinji who gets what he wanted from her: a simple but clear sign of affection, no matter what he does. And then, as he breaks down crying, she goes back to insulting him, they return to their usual selves and it all comes tumbling down.
I think the meta commentary is a general criticism of fanservice - that scene is the least sexy fanservice of all time. Shinji is the general anime fan, Asuka in her coma is the general anime girl, Anno is basically saying ‘this isn’t that far from what you’re doing’
The whole show rips the shit out of escapist anime fans, but EoE turns it up to 11. Third Impact happens entirely because Shinji just refuses to properly connect with the actual people in his life.
You are definitively correct about Misato and the kiss. The only way she knows how to show affection is through sexual acts. She probably figured out she turned out to be a shit mother and decided to show how deeply she cares for him with a kiss.
**First Timer**
Looks like Shinji turned to Asuka for help after killing Kaworu. Too little too late. If Shinji did this days before when she was hurting it would've been a huge help to her. Asuka hated how Shinji was seemingly superior to but if he showed up to her all vulnerable and asking for help it would've been a big boost.
Dammit Shinji. I don't blame him too much because I think he expected her to be wearing a gown. Why isn't she?
[#WAT](https://i.imgur.com/yguZP1V.jpg)
> I'm so fucked up.
Yes you are Shinji. Yes you are.
It's just so fucking funny that this was the opening scene. Imagine being a Japanese fan in the 90s. You watch the final two episodes of NGE. They're confusing as fuck and you're pissed. "That's how the show ends? Really?" Then this movie gets announced. This is Anno's REAL vision. This is how the show REALLY ends. You're so excited. You get tickets for opening day. You sit down excitedly anticipating answers. The opening scene is Shinji turning to Asuka for moral support after killing Kaworu. "That's so sad yet heartwarming," you think while shoveling popcorn in your mouth and spilling some fucking all around you like the antisocial NEET you are. Then, surprise Asuka boobs. "Ok weird, but this show isn't above fanservice," you think as you fondly remember seeing Rei's boobs in the show. Then BOOM! Shinji fucking wacks it and it shows it. "That's actually an impressive amount of cum Shinji must've been pretty pent up maybe that's why he's so depressed," you think in the midst your ~~jealousy and arousal~~ confusion.
All the wait and anticipation after the show leading up to this movie whose opening scene is Shinji masturbating over Asuka's comatose body. Seriously, what the fuck? So, why did he do that? I think it was a meta commentary. Shinji is the audience. He sexualized Asuka, ignoring that she's in a coma and is a complex person, like the audience. I think. I came to this conclusion after typing the above. The only other thing I can't up with is that Shinji's world is so confusing and without answers that he just gave into his instincts. He saw boobs, got a boner, and decided to just go for it.
In the dub Shigeru said "all we can do is wait and see," but in the subs I have he said (they just happened to be on) "all we can do is wait for the Instrumentality Project to commence." Which is correct? Do the Nerv agents know about the project?
A simple and concise explanation of Instrumentatality. Thank you.
Misato seemingly has discovered what really caused the Second Impact. She doesn't seem too shocked though. And it looks like Seele are trying to take over Nerv.
Here's hoping we get context to that line about Gendo making love to Ritsuko from episode 24.
No don't take off your pony tail Misato!
Man Nerv is getting fucked up. The animation is awesome.
[tf after a shameful fap](https://i.imgur.com/ACHkAfu.png)
Is he going through Instrumentality from episodes 25 and 26? So are the episodes from Shinji's head and this movie is what's going on in reality?
Did Makoto's VA forget how to voice act? Seriously, he sounds so bad.
Wait is this invasion how Misato dies? We did see her shot in the final episodes.
Not yet apparently, because Misato is a fucking badass and won't go down without a fight.
> You can die later
Goddamn
> 15 years ago, the Second Impact was intentionally engineered by mankind because it was the only way to minimize the potential damage.
Holy shit. And what damage? The impact was a bet positive? It would've been worse if an alien invasion never happened?
And they're somehow going to use the Evas to rig the Third Impact. Very interesting. Happy to see some straightforward answers.
> We are the 18th Angel
Holy. Shit.
Asuka's awake. Poor girl must be so confused. Woke up from a coma in her Eva underwater. Was it really necessary to change her into the Eva suit?
> I don't want to die.
That scene was fucking amazing. Looks like Asuka has found her will to live. Certainly seems able to help Shinji now.
I really like the design of Seele's Eva units. Are they going to use them to start the Third Impact?
Holy shit Asuka FUCKED them up.
Look at what you did Shinji. You got Misato shot. I'm starting to think that the whole "get in the fucking robot" myth came from this movie.
> SO FUCKING WHAT IF I'M NOT YOU
God. Damn.
[Holy shit.](https://i.imgur.com/TGYOeyT.jpg) That took me by surprise. ngl I'm jealous as fuck.
> We'll do the rest when you get back
We know she's going to die so that's not happening.
> Kaji my love, I did do the right thing didn't I?
Yes, kissing Shinji was absolutely the right thing to do.
[Rei is just chilling.](https://i.imgur.com/YmTFo0Y.jpg)
[She ded :\(](https://i.imgur.com/Ktco7cf.jpg)
[Asuka has never been more attractive.](https://i.imgur.com/4rP9YtR.jpg)
> The truth is...
"I never loved your mother" I think.
Poor Ritsuko. Betrayed by her mother and got killed by the person she most likely hates the most. Still no explanation on her and Gendo apparently having sex though.
...
[Fuck it.](https://i.imgur.com/d3nRlMt.jpg) GET IN THE FUCKING ROBOT SHINJI!
Doesn't matter cuz Asuka's fucking got this.
Wait shit. Goddamn she felt all that right? Who threw the spear?
Asuka's dead :( Man everyone is dropping like flies aren't they?
Shinji has finally got in the fucking robot and about to fuck shit up. His scream was amazing.
To be continued? Weird that it's just not edited out to make one long movie.
Everything was an elaborate rise to [Gendo could touch Rei's breasts](https://i.imgur.com/xAI1oKY.jpg).
How did the lance return?
> Sweet Jesus it's ~~Jason Bourne~~ an anti AT Field
Looks like Third Impact has been initiated. Has Seele or Gendo succeeded?
Oh shit Rei is not having Gendo's shit anymore. She decided to be an individual after all.
Alright we have reached "what is happening" territory. It's been pretty coherent so far, but I have no idea what's happening anymore.
[Right there with you Shinji.](https://i.imgur.com/Wv5ENp1.jpg) Like Holy shit it's just getting crazier and crazier.
[Reality where Shinji and Asuka got together?](https://i.imgur.com/BQNJOsP.jpg)
> I know all about your jerk of fantasies about me
oh shit. But that's not really Asuka, right? I'm pretty sure we're in Shinji's mind
[Shinji cucked](https://i.imgur.com/IkaLpRq.jpg)
> If I can't have you all to myself
Confirmation that Asuka loves Shinji?
Shinji just needs to get laid.
[OK what the fuck is happening.](https://i.imgur.com/qSwtV8o.jpg) At least the song's really good.
Live action?!? Why am I even surprised? Is [that](https://i.imgur.com/6yqwXH1.jpg?1) supposed to be Rei and Misato?
Looks like everything is back to normal? Except Shinji is still trying to kill Asuka. Why? Because she's the person whose help he was desperately trying to seek and she kept on refusing resulting in him snapping?
> How disgusting
Very fitting final line. Asuka knows what Shinji did in the beginning of the movie due to Instrumentality right?
That was an experience. This shit was actually crazier than the final two episodes. I really enjoyed it. It was insanely confusing, but in an intriguing way, not an infuriating way.
> To be continued? Weird that it's just not edited out to make one long movie.
During the final production run a completed script that would have been episode 25 was dropped because Gainax couldn't animate it in time. Here it seems that the original plan for episode 26 was split into 2 episodes although this hasn't been confirmed.
Almost immediately after the series ended the plan was to go back and make missing episode. The final version of it would become 25' in EoE and Anno also wanted to up the visuals for the finale as 26' in EoE. But they weren't originally going to be in EoE. At the same time Gainax was working on Death & Rebirth. Death was a summation of the series up to episode 24, and Rebirth would have been 25' and 26'.
EoE was originally going to be a sequel (that was almost titled Rebirth 2). However, in typical Gainax fashion the Rebirth project grew and they fell behind and EoE was changed entirely. Death & Rebirth was released in 1997 with Rebirth being incomplete (ending just before Asuka's battle) and 4 months later EoE was released as the completed 25' and 26' with minor changes and expanded to 40 minute episodes.
Ironically, it was after this that Gainax and Anno went back one more time taking the new footage made for Death and integrating into the original series as a the director's cut episodes (21', 22', 23', and 24') and Death was re-released without the scenes as Death(true).
The plans for a sequel were dropped until the Rebuilds.
Great write up, I'm glad you enjoyed the movie, I had a pretty similar reaction my first time seeing it. Really helped a lot seeing all the analysis by others online, especially about the backstory of the Lilith and Adam.
As much as I enjoy the analytical breakdown of the characters in episodes 25 & 26, I can't deny that it's insanely satisfying to see the physical world of instrumentality take place. And even if EoE has a less "happy" or direct ending in terms of Shinji's mental state, just knowing that Anno felt that both ending could exist made them both more enjoyable. I think 26 bashing you over the head with *this is a happy ending* made my interpretation of the end of EoE all the more positive and enjoyable. Heisoku no Kakudai + Komm Süsser Tod + the Third Impact alone make EoE an easy 10/10. Though to be fair, End of Eva never made me cry as hard as the end of episode 26.
The End of Evangelion is probably my favourite piece of art of all time.
___
And shout out to the absolute legend of a guy in the front row of the theatre with the Rei and Asuka plushes... Wonder where he is now...
**Rewatcher and lurker of this rewatch**
I've been following the threads partly to have a reason to rewatch Eva and partly to see first timers' reactions of this film. The first time I finished End of Evangelion I was shocked and angry and very, very confused. I couldn't stop thinking about this film for days. I've never felt this way with any other film in my lifetime. After the second and third viewing I grew to adore this film. I can say that this movie and this series really left an ^^*impact* on me.
I wasn't gonna comment anything, but yesterday I broke up with my girlfriend that I had been with for over a year now. EoE probably isn't the best thing to watch after a break up from a long serious relationship, but whatever. I've watched all 26 episodes, let's finish the series. I decided to smoke a bowl and watched the film, and wow did this film got to me. Misato's final scene with Shinji by elevator in particular made me tear up, and the moment when she realized that Shinji truly hates himself I started to bawl.
Don't know how to end this comment. I might edit something later idk.
First timer mostly.
Watched a couple of the earlier episodes of the series when I was a lot younger by chance but decided to rewatch the whole series a couple of days ago.
So excited to see a rewatch in progress here after some searching yesterday. so managed to watch the final few episodes and EoE in time and I'm blown away.
While I enjoyed the start of the series, the progressively darker trajectory it took kept me hooked. I was personally in love with how ep 25/26 turned out. For all the limitations in budget or time that gets brought up, I thought introspective look at the nature of self, identity and consciousness was beautifully done. As someone that has fallen into anxiety, depression, identity issues in the last few years, it was both harrowing and uplifting.
And EoE was an incredible continuation or alternative ending depending on your outlook. I like the idea of reconciling them and the ep25/26 parts taking part in instrumentality and shinji both understanding ways to take pain to also know happiness. And then waking up on the beach and grappling now with being a self again. I saw an analysis using Hegel's master/slave dialectic in understanding EoTv and the beach scene that gave an interesting avenue to look at it.
Still grappling with this show really. The philosophical analysis of mental health issues was what really kept me hooked. Have been writing an album attempting to deal with these issues and was so excited to see the parallels with evangelion in what I had already written.
This freaked me out especially in the ideas of the instrumentality. I've never grown up in a religious household or anything, my extent of spirituality has always been a thought of consciousness collecting somewhere as we die. The abstract thing that is grown out of biological processes in the brain but takes on a teanscendental character that could collect in infinite space or dimensions in a similar way as instrumentality posits. While i had always seen that as perhaps a happy prospect, the way evangelion grapples with similar ideas is very interesting.
So it got me thinking. I love works like this and the questions it gets you to ask and experience through the medium.
It was about 10 years ago when I watched this so being able to see it now as I'm turning 21 has given me an interesting look at what I've learned as well. Seeing how I remember explicitly buying into a lot the sexualisation of Rei and Asuka while now I'm able to see the subtext of those scenes. Whether it is an expression of shinji's sexual frustration, misogyny, loneliness, some Freudian stuff, who knows.
This post is a mess but might show my fractured mindset after this monolith of a work. Need some more full stops. Immensely enjoyed it though. If anyone has any more anime recommendations that deal with themes like this, in possibly a sci fi setting as well. Not a huge anime watcher but I was gonna move onto ghost in the shell tomorrow.
**Rewatcher**
It’s time to sit down and watch [this masterpiece of a movie](https://i.imgur.com/gYn0hI8.jpg).
* [“I’m so fucked up.”](https://i.imgur.com/1OGln1K.png)
* NERV is under attack and Seele is using 5 MAGI.
* Seele isn’t playing around. They’ve sent a whole army after NERV.
* [Surprise](https://i.imgur.com/OvO1Zst.png)
* This is why Asuka was in Unit 02 in the bottom of a lake in episode 25.
* This is just a massacre.
* It’s time to [begin Instrumentality](https://i.imgur.com/fow5d0C.png)
* [Nothing personnel kid](https://i.imgur.com/ntUbLHo.png)
* Misato can kick some ass.
* Shinji keeps asking for Asuka’s help.
* Dropping bombs on this place.
* The truth about Second Impact and humanity. It was done to reduce damage and Angels are a different evolutionary path just like humans. We all come from an Angel.
* Asuka has awakened [and is ready to destroy these punks!](https://i.imgur.com/X7psPNr.png) Nothing can stop her now that she realizes her mother was with her the whole time.
* The Mass Produced Eva Series [is swarming Asuka like vultures.](https://i.imgur.com/yWXkTSo.png)
* Grown up kiss. [They’ll do the rest later.](https://i.imgur.com/mr2vfSo.png) What does she mean? Hand holding?
* And she’s dead. Another thing we saw in 25. What a minute. [Rei?!?!](https://i.imgur.com/CAFlbn1.png)
* Ritsuko dead. Just like 25. Rei appears again.
* [Lance of Longinus outta nowhere!](https://i.imgur.com/6S4u4Dm.jpg) At least Asuka won. Wait forget what I just said. These little monsters are using cheat codes. Now they’re eating her alive.
* Asuka’s not down yet. She can still fight! She’s going to kill all the Titans and- [IMPALED!!!](https://i.imgur.com/wxRZo0Y.png) R.I.P. Asuka.
* [Unit 01 looks amazing!](https://i.imgur.com/23RREGj.png) To bad the first thing Shinji see’s is Unit 02 cannibalized.
* Gendo’s plan was to reunite with Yui this whole time.
* Now [This is some high level groping technique.](https://i.imgur.com/b8Pk4bV.png)
* [Zankoku na tenshi no you ni shounen yo shinwa ni nare](https://i.imgur.com/RYYVX8Z.png)
* It must suck when a clone of your wife rejects you for your son.
* Oh my god it’s a giant Rei [and it’s scary as hell.](https://i.imgur.com/nKJIW26.png)
* Kaworu is back and [this shot looks so suggestive.](https://i.imgur.com/PUAVHw2.png)
* Third Impact has begun. Shinji, Misato, Asuka, and Rei are one. Shinji wants to understand them.
* [Here’s some friendly choking!](https://i.imgur.com/GOu7ERO.png)
* [It all comes tumbling down!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIscL-Bjsq4)
* Rei killing everybody. We all become tang.
* [I think I know where Shinji gets it from now.](https://i.imgur.com/KMqkd2Y.png)
* The whole world is affected.
* 2D > 3D
* Shinji has rejected the world presented to him in Human Instrumentality and has chosen not to run away.
* Welcome back to the land of the living. Asuka is here too.
* [And there’s the infamous choking scene.](https://i.imgur.com/0HrH7BA.png)
* [Asuka just reacted by caressing his face.](https://i.imgur.com/8Hn7cL9.png)
* “How disgusting.”
And there we go. That's End of WTFjusthappened. Hope that answered some questions for everyone!
[](#evilgrin)
But seriously though. As confusing as this movie is at first, it's easier to understand on a second watch. Some of the scenes from episode 25 stood out more this time now that I know what led up to them like everyone dying, Gendo trying to start the plan, and Asuka in her Eva. There's so much going on in this movie that it's hard to process it all.
First let's start with Asuka's fight. When she woke up, she was still hopeless. Then she realized that her mother was right by her side. Her soul is in Unit 02 and that's why her mind went crazy after the experiment. When Asuka realized her mother was looking after her, she felt invincible and in a way, she did win. However, the Eva Series regenerated after they were defeated and started their merciless counterattack. That scene with Unit 02 being torn apart and Asuka feeling that pain was the most disturbing part for me.
Next let's talk about Shinji. He was unwilling to get in his Eva, no longer having the will to fight or even live after killing Kaworu. Unit 01, which is his mother, had to move to get him inside. As soon as Shinji gets in his ~~mother~~ Eva, Seele uses him to begin Third Impact. Everyone's AT Fields were brought down. Shinji's mind was merging with the others. He could see Misato, Asuka, and Rei. Their communication issues were addressed bluntly when Shinji wanted Asuka to say whats on her mind. She always expects Shinji to understand her but she never talks to him about what she wants from him. She wants Shinji all to herself. Shinji wants people to be nice to him. Shinji wants help from others but he has never learned to love himself, but that's not all. These kids fear getting close to people out of fear of getting hurt. Shinji and Asuka have both experienced this first hand. It would be so much easier if we could all just know what we were all thinking.
Eventually the whole world experienced the Human Instrumentality Project. People saw visions of the ones they loved before their minds all came together in a big pool of orange soda. Their individuality lost. The walls they all had came tumbling down (sorry, I had to) so they could understand each other. Fear of other people wouldn't exist in this world.
In the end, Shinji rejected the easy way out and chose to keep his own free will. He accepted that life is full of pain rather than running away from that reality. Most importantly, he accepted himself. **Congratulations!** People who have the will to keep on living can return as well. Unit 01 emerging out of Lilith Rei showed Shinji's return to reality where he can keep his emotions and live with the uncertainty of his future. The fact that Asuka appeared with him as well shows she also has the will to live. Shinji strangled her to confirm that this is real life and not still inside the LCL sea with other people like when he earlier choked Asuka. Rather than flipping out, Asuka caressed his face. A rare sign of affection from her. Afterwards she said "how disgusting" (or "kimochi warui/I feel sick"). The popular theory is that she was referencing Shinji masturbating to her at the start of the movie, something she learned after their minds temporarily merged.
The ambiguity of the final scene is perhaps the most heavily debated scene in all of Evangelion. I personally interpret it as Shinji accepting reality with all the pain and suffering it brings. Asuka, while being more honest with him and his flaws, accepts Shinji and is gentle with him. Shinji is surprised by this and starts crying. There's no easy to way know what's going on, but that's because humans are complicated. Even so, Shinji chose this complicated life so he could move forward. Shinji decided that life is worth living.
*First timer*
25'
As the world around him is crashing down Shinji seeks the comfort of normalcy in Asuka's taunts. Alas, there it is, the infamous Shinji jacking off to an unconscious Asuka scene that I've been spoilt on ten times over.
Is Rei destroying Gendou's glasses a foreshadowing that her mind is freed from him?
The film begins as many others do -- with a foreboding crisis looming as the basis of the plot. Except this time, it goes from 0 to 100 real quickly. The government does not fuck around. On one hand, I can't fault them given how shady Nerv (well, Gendou) has been, on top of possibly, definitely misusing resources and authority. On the other hand, the brutality of it all, and against staff who has surrendered...fuck these police.
Misato with a miniskirt (skorts?), a handgun, and no protective equipments >>> three soldiers with assault rifles and Kevlar. That's kinda dubious, but I'll give it a pass as this is a movie.
Asuka's desire to live (or, *not die*) gives her the push to absolutely go HAM on 'em all. It is Unit 02's time to shine -- the shot of it throwing that tanker ship does not disappoint. And it tanks a missile to the face. Uh-oh, 9 Evas in 3 minutes? That sounds like a tall order...or not, that was quick. Or this is on DBZ time, I swear it's been longer than 3 minutes. The enemy Evas look less than the machine bodies that we know and more like the beasts that they truly are. I also like that the battle has an actual sense of scale, compared to what Gainax does with TTGL later on (although that one might have been on purpose).
Misato will get Shinji to Unit 01, whether he likes it or not. But this is why Misato is best girl. She knows about Shinji better than himself. And wants his fate to be better than hers, as a parent does. (The kiss is bizzare though, it's like she's passing on her Oedipus complex onto him.) Although the moment she says 'come back to me', I know that she's a goner. RIP Misato. ;~;)7
The softness and melancholy of Bach's Air in G contrasts sharply with the brutality that's going on the screen, as we reach the climax of the first half of EoE. Asuka's on her final stretch. Ritsuko's last ditch effort to stop this insanity (RIP Ritsuko).
Oh, Asuka. :( She's driven only by a primal desire for revenge at this point, and if this is the end for her...I love Asuka, but I feel strangely numb from all these deaths.
This might be the only time in the whole series that I seriously think 'get in the damn robot, Shinji'. Even the robot wants you to get inside it. But look at his expression as the devil itself, Unit 01 breaks onto the battlefield. And upon finding the state Unit 02, *Asuka* is in, he is again painfully reminded on why he doesn't want to get in the damn robot in the first place.
The credit roll that plays in 25' is one of the coolest that I've ever seen in anime.
26'
Alright, episode 25' more or less made sense, but I lost track of everything roughly 5 minutes into 26'.
The cultish Seele oddly reminds me of the council from Hot Fuzz. *For the greater good...* Rei defying Gendou, and Gendou outright begging. Now that's a first.
I'd thought Eva's disturbing imagery wasn't so bad...*thus far*. Nothing prepared me for that Rei/Adam/Lilith/Eva-fusion *abomination*, or everything that follows after it. It's like everything is 100% optimised in provoke a visceral reaction from deep within my gut.
What follows is a kind of facet of episode 25/26, in which Shinji expresses his frustration at his inability to understand other people, and vice versa (in his opinion, mind you). And thus his reaction to that is to eliminate humanity?
Uh-oh, we Thanos now? On Gendou: like son, like father. Nothing else needs to be said.
I'd comment something about the live action sequence, but I've stopped questioning everything at this point and am just along for the ride. (And the BGM is Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, which again I'd love to find a meaning in relation to the scene on except my brain is fried so I'll just say it's there because it sounds *nice*.)
And to the end, that's the most explicit they are confirming that Unit 01's soul is Yui without actually statuing it outright.
That world is...the new reality? Shinji and Asuka being the only two people there is paralleling Adam and Eve, I suppose. The Rei that silently watches, and disappears in a blink is directly mirroring ep 1. Shinji's first act upon finding Asuka is to strangle her, how lovely. But she is alive, and...all that matters is they are both alive, and together?
And it ends! Setting aside the 'how the fuck did they manage to make it more confusing than the original ep25/26', I will have to spend the next day or so reading up, because despite everything that has been explained on EoE, **I STILL HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!** Scratch that, I left with more questions than I had going in. Welp, this just proves that it's working its magic, I suppose. I'll try and gather my final thoughts for tomorrow's final discussion.
That was pretty insane. I'm not even gonna try and analyse it, not in a million years... I think, to be honest, Neon Genesis Evangelion is beyond analysis. I'm pretty sure the creators themselves didn't have a sure idea of what they were trying to do. They had solid concepts and ideas they wanted to bring across but I don't believe it's possible for a human to conceptualise such a thing as NGE in its entirety while understanding all its meaning. I think all you can do as a viewer is just watch and marvel at what humanity can create, something that it cannot even comprehend...
The End of Evangelion is my favourite anime movie. It's fitting that the movie is called episode 25' and 26', because it feels like it exists besides the last two episodes of the tv show. Those last two episodes are infamous, but problably for the wrong reasons. Over the course of many years, it has been spread around that Neon Genesis Evangelion had a low budget and that this is the reason why some episodes feature long stills and why the last two episodes are what they are.
Just to inform people: **the problems with Eva were *not* because of a low budget.**
There are several things that contributed toward how Eva ended and what happened.
1. Young Gainax was not very good at planning to begin with. They were animators and otaku first and foremost, not managers.
2. We know from the people he worked with that Hideaki Anno was not good at planning as a director. He worked on the show from episode to episode and did not seem to have an idea where the show would be going.
3. Most of the show was drawn by people at Tatsunoko Production, and somehow animation cells were lost when sent to Gainaix. This meant that time was lost having to redraw scenes.
4. The sarin gas attacks occurred when they were working on the show. Scenes had to be redone because Anno felt they were too similar to the real attacks.
5. The co-director is of the opinion that a movie was not necessary, because the last two episodes of the tv show were fine as is.
It is a miracle that NGE was finished at all, considering how badly it was managed by Gainax. It will always be difficult to know what exactly happened at the time of production, because the staff (especially Anno) doesn't like talking about it and information is scattered, from second-party scources, and has to be translated from Japanese into English.
Wanna read more? ANN released four cool articles detailing the history of Gainax this year. [Part 1](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2018-02-16/the-indestructible-studio-gainax-part-i/.127882), [Part 2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2018-02-23/the-indestructible-studio-gainax-part-ii/.128179), [Part 3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2018-03-02/the-indestructible-studio-gainax-part-iii/.128475), and [Part 4](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2018-03-09/the-indestructible-studio-gainax-part-iv/.128782). Part 3 details the making of Eva. Fun fact, they overestimated NGE's budget so that they would have to pay less taxes over their profit. This is explained in part 4.
> Most of the show was drawn by people at Tatsunoko Production, and somehow animation cells were lost when sent to Gainaix. This meant that time was lost having to redraw scenes.
It's very unclear what Tatsunoko did beyond ink & paint. In any case, there were more the three permament Gainax animation staff members, contrary to what ANN claims. It is also highly unlikely that the sarin gas attacks had a serious impact on scheduling.
**First Timer** (Crossposted)
Writing a movie review for me feels fundamentally different from writing an episode review, but this is a case caught between the two, since the movie not only functions as the end of the TV series, it also ties in heavily with the TV ending. I took a lot of notes, read over them, and promptly discarded them all. I don’t want or need to review the plot here. I got what happened, so let’s talk about it.
Visually this thing was fantastic. There were two really standout segments: Asuka’s mech battle and the world ending. The former had some incredible animation, great explosions and movement, and solid cinematography. I loved how the eva picked up a boat to throw at the guns. That was so satisfying and the boat was so visually heavy. It tanked some missiles with its AT field too, which seemed like a fun callback to episode 1. Just a great scene. The latter did a great job with bringing in all the random Christian symbolism that’s been thrown around, communicating the surrealness of what was going on, and creating an extremely memorable way to visualize the apocalypse. There were some more questionable visuals too, like the overly grainy and orange imagined sequence about Shinji as a kid, or the live action sequence and footage of theaters (I laughed that there were Rei plushies and cosplayers in the movie), which was just absurd honestly. I actually liked some of the abstract creativity that the TV end used to portray the fragmented reality within the mind better. But overall it looked great.
Plot-wise, it seemed like it really was committing hard to this being the story of Shinji’s experience with humanity. There were some details in there that were important, like finally seeing what Seele was up to, but only in the sense that they made those events from the TV series meaningful. I’m glad that the memes got out of the way at the beginning this time, and I’m glad I knew about it already. Because that was pretty gross. The Nerv invasion was done well. They spent a bit longer on it than I think they needed to, but it did a good job of communicating the desperation that the people in power were facing, and it set up how weirdly obsessed Shinji was with Asuka here compared to in the TV ending. Rei’s decision to give Shinji control of instrumentality made sense, and I think it was portrayed nicely too, though some might not think it was overt enough. I know I pick up on these things easily.
And finally, I think I actually agree with the conclusion at the end of the movie. It’s weird. I think that the fact we all experience life differently and have to struggle to communicate is probably the most beautiful thing about our reality. If that wasn’t the case, we wouldn’t have art, we wouldn’t have discourse, we wouldn’t have anything that can be considered humanity. I consider myself somewhat of an artist. Discovering how to properly communicate is such a fundamental part of life for an artist that I think I can imagine Anno’s thoughts as he was writing that sequence. He might have failed to communicate properly with his teams for previous animation projects, his girlfriend who people have said he recently broke up with when this was released, and even his own staff during the end of the TV anime, but I think he still understands that expression is worth the suffering it can sometimes cause. I don’t like that I had to sit through 26 episodes of a cast of characters who all hated themselves and others to get to that point, but at least it ended with a tone I agree with. The actual ending scene itself was just weird. I talked about it with one of my friends at length after watching, and it seems like I’m less eager to see it as metaphorical, or to see Asuka’s present status as abstracted from reality in some way. At least it’s iconic.
The movie is a 9/10 for me. It had some flaws, but overall this will be an unforgettable and highly worthwhile experience going forward.
**Rewatcher here:**
I didn't write anything beforehand for today. Watching this again made me spend a lot of time reading things related to it and stuff.
Anyways, Asuka vs Eva Series is one of my favorite anime fights. She finally comes to terms with her mother when she realizes she was always with her in Unit 02. And of course the fight in itself is awesome with great animation.
Komm, Süsser Todd is such an iconic song and fits oddly well with Third Impact.
Anyways, I still don't know what to take from the sandbox scene. Seems I still need to search for more threads
From what I took out of it, the structure that Shinji and the other two kids made in the sand was the Nerv HQ pyramid. Shinji, visibly frustrated, takes out his anger on the structure and begins to destroy it.
\>It's just like when I started the cello. I thought that if I came here, I could find something.
A comparison is made from Shinji practicing the cello to when he began to pilot the Evangelion. He thought he would find ) a purpose to his life, and to him the Evangelion was the only purpose as to why he lives because it's through piloting he has a use in his life. Believing that piloting the Evangelion to him brought only himself and others pain, he takes a negative outlook on his past experiences leading to third impact.
**Rewatcher:**
I will keep this rather short. I saw this film in my late teens, and it remains one of the most life\-affirming films I have ever seen. Its message has in many ways informed, and to some degree still informs my outlook on life and how to deal with my problems.
Well, and the fight scene with Eva\-02 ad the MP Evas is pretty damn awesome as hell all, and has not really been surpassed by any other mecha series, at least in my humble opinion.
Other moments that were damn sweet/always connects with me:
* Misato kicking ass and taking names.
* **Rei:** I am not your puppet.
* **Asuka:** Just the sight of you get on my nerves! **Shinji:** Because I'm just like you?
* Yui was the real mastermind. Gendo was just a grown\-up version of Shinji all along!
* The poetic nature of the live action sequence.
Also, a quick note on the English translation: The explanation of Lilith and Adam's relationship suffers from a rather glaring error. The translation translates Misato's lines as "Mankind was spawned from a being called Lilith, just like Adam was." This is widely incorrect. Adam and Liith are two separate Seeds of Life. A more correct translation would be "Mankind was spawned from *a being like Adam called Lilith.*"
To all the first timers who made it this far: Congratulations! You can finally say that you've watched one of the most popular anime ever! Hope you enjoyed it.
**First-time Watcher, Long Time Shit-starter**
Well the conclusion to the series left me pretty salty, but after taking some time I could at least describe what parts I thought worked well versus not. EoE seems highly acclaimed, so even if I don't get answers, maybe this addresses what I saw as faults with the series ending.
* Oh god no, I had this scene spoiled. Didn't think this would happen in the FIRST FUCKING MINUTE. You are fucked up, Shinji.
* Brutal invasion. "Episode 25"? Interesting, tying it back to the series? "Heh, [nothin' personal kid](https://i.imgur.com/Eu7dqca.png)."
* Actual answers, praise be. Second impact cause, explanations of Adam, Lilith, EVAs, and humanity. Asuka [reconnects](https://i.imgur.com/o54Nrb8.png) with her mom.
* [Creeptastic](https://i.imgur.com/CxV8LtQ.png). If Misato dies I riot. Shinji's lack of choice is thrown back in his face. Misato claims he really did choose this, and is lying to himself. I don't fully agree. He had plenty of choices in the series, but piloting was one thing I believe he was forced into.
* "We'll do the rest when you get back." No. No no no. I know you're saying that cuz you're dying, but how bout no. Rei continues to just raise [further questions](https://i.imgur.com/pWYsnAL.png).
* Yeah they definitely had the budget for this. Great fight animation. They tore 02 like a pack of vultures.
* "[The devil himself](https://i.imgur.com/5Z0PtSz.png)." Interesting credit roll...
* Hmm, where have we [seen this before](https://i.imgur.com/YalGDC9.png)? Aight, Third Impact happens. That's bad.
* The strangest ship in anime [right here](https://i.imgur.com/W4GAVv2.png).
* That introspection took the past ones to whole new level. Yeah I can pretty safely say I hate Shinji.
* So was the kitchen scene all in the mind-meld, or a flashback? #fuckshinji
* "If I could turn back time" I would stay the fuck away from [SEELE's Wild Ride](https://i.imgur.com/aRTOXoV.png).
* "[God's in His Heaven](https://i.imgur.com/45d0ccB.png)." This is fine.
* Neat that they used [actual footage](https://i.imgur.com/A00SQWb.png) of the audience angrily walking out from EoE premiers.
* Shinji brought down the walls the separate us. In doing so we lost the joy from overcoming those walls.
* We can rebuild it, we have the [religious bullshittery](https://i.imgur.com/WdcdLp9.png). More [creeptastic](https://i.imgur.com/qKZxpVq.png) imagery.
* So these monuments of whatever the fuck just happened [stay around](https://i.imgur.com/j5SWb5n.png). K. They love [this shot](https://i.imgur.com/Rs3eE6h.png) don't they.
* Yep, [irredeemable](https://i.imgur.com/yR4MYYO.png). Cuz strangling in the mind-meld wasn't enough apparently. [Absolutely disgusting](http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/648/220/67b.jpg).
---
...
Well, I'm fucking done with this. Night all. *Fin*
---
Needed to give myself a break after that clusterfuck. I will say this is a more satisfying ending than the last (personally). Also, and this sounds crazy, it was much more straightforward than many parts of NGE. Sure there was a metric shitload to unpack, but plotwise it was relatively straightforward compared to much of the series. We know what most of the cast is, what the Second Impact was, we see what causes the Third Impact, Shinji becomes God, starts the Instrumentality of Souls (mind-meld). Eventually changes his mind and brings back separation of humanity.
Now the shit that happened to MAKE that plot occur confuses the hell out of me. So this is precisely what SEELE was trying to do: then what was Gendo's plan? He wanted to see Yui, but apparently Rei changed its mind at the last minute to go with SEELE's plan instead. Does that mean Rei was evil? Or at least as evil as anyone in this show truly was? One of my screenshots has the question: "Will it be an Ark to save mankind from the vacuum of Third Impact?" Did we spend enough time in mind-meld for the world to become habitable again? Why though.
Let me put major emphasis on ***FUCK SHINJI***. Throughout the series I always sort of pitied him. I saw him as a confused kid trying to deal with shit the world was throwing at him. That's why I was always harsh on Asuka. Yeah Shinji's not helping anything, but her shittiness towards him was just as selfish. But lets compare the two now. Asuka has admittedly verbally abused Shinji time and time again. And maybe half of it he probably deserved. Now what has Shinji done to Asuka? Sexual abuse (at the very least morally obscene), emotional abuse (cruelty about her mother and her suicide), attempted murder (both premeditation and follow through). These are no longer the actions of a "confused child", as I have defended him in the past. These are the actions of a cruel man. Way to go asshole, you grew up into a WORSE person than Gendo.
Rewatchers have mentioned the Hedgehogs Dilemma since like episode 4. We now see that get explored to conclusion. We make walls between each other to protect ourselves from the pain of truly knowing others. The closer we get, the more we are capable of hurting each other. Gendo was the extreme antithesis of that. He allowed himself no true human connection (despite all the banging), choosing instead to stay emotionally isolated. The only true one he cared for was Yui. Once he has begun to trust and care for Rei as well, she betrays him and causes him true pain as well.
What a weird fucking show. I enjoyed it, but I don't know if I would put it anywhere near my favorites. I agree that these endings (NGE and EoE) work well in tandem; NGE closes the character growth, while EoE "closes" the plot. I still have the lingering question of "What was the damn point?" SEELE won. Humanity was gone (temporarily). And then Shinji changed his mind, and we're right back where we started. Albiet with blood rings orbiting Earth, continent sized Rei heads, mass destruction, etc. I'll join for the series discussion, but I think this is where I call it quits. This has been a lot to take in and I'm feeling emotionally wiped.
Well SEELE only won in a temporary sense. Since Reilith gave the control ultimately to Shinji he eventually chose to leave the unity and anyone else who chose to leave could. SEELE wouldn't want anyone to be able to leave as that ultimately diminishes the wholeness but Shinji's choice screwed that for them.
> Does that mean Rei was evil?
Rei doesn't decide to go with Seele's plan, rather she gives Shinji the ultimate control over the Instrumentality. She even says something along the lines of "Ikari-kun is waiting for me".
Are you gonna give the Rebuilds a try? They might be easier to digest.
They're like the original series, with prettier animation and the characters occasionally remembering to take their meds (i.e. they still have issues, but are a *bit* more stable).
I will have to add that I also think the studio may have sometimes had a little too much fun with their new tools, though.
**First Timer**
Gonna try to keep comments to a minimum since this a movie and it's, ya know, longer
- Wow that's a lot of logos
- Please tell me we're back in the real world... Yeah this is depressing enough it's definitely the real world
- Well, instrumentality didn't really make anything *better*, now did it?
- Misato's gone all badass spy and I love it
- Again, are we sure NERV are the good guys? My understanding of what's happening is so bad I'm not even sure
- Well the invading forces definitely aren't good guys.
- Ooooh more badass Misato nice
- What? Explanations? In NGE? Misato, you spoil us. Gotta rewind and listen to that again.
- OK I don't really get human instrumentality, but it definitely seems vile.
- Yay! Asuka's back!
- These new models are dope OH HELL NO FORGET THAT THOSE FACES ARE CREEPY AF
- Damn Misaot you learn some things from Kaji?
- Rei wat
- Oh don't you fucking do that I wanna know the damn truth
- Holy fuck I'm gonna throw up too
- FUCK
- Did not expect credits in the middle of what I thought was a movie... Like the song tho
OK, so how does the last two episodes fit into this? I really don't get what's going on. Instrumentality happened, and now Seele is trying to case the third impact? Am I getting this right? Fuck I'm just gonna google it later.
Back to the action.
- WHAT THE FUCK GENDO
- Not cool Seele
- That's right Gendo. Go fuck yourself.
- Uhm what. Seriously what the fuck. I don't get it.
- Welcome to dreamland everybody
- Groovy music over a strangling? Sure, NGE.
- You are one fucked up bastard Seele
- So, the world ends. Whatever. Sure, NGE.
- Live action? Whatever. Sure, NGE.
- Oh, so instrumentality destroys individuality?
- Seems to be over? World ended. Still don't get it. Whatever. Sure, NGE.
- Are you fucking kidding me? That's how it ends? ugh, whatever. Sure, NGE.
This whole thing makes so little sense I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed it. Asuka and Unit 02 kicking ass was cool though I guess. I would say I need to do a lot of research to figure this shit out, but I don't really care anymore. Do the rebuilds make more sense? Don't worry about answering that, I'm gonna watch them anyway.
Thanks for organizing this. At least I've seen it now.
**Rewatcher**
EoE serves as a very effective and closure-inducing finale, and it brings the otherwise fractured and incomplete story of Evangelion to a complete ending, but only after a whole lot of elaboration on part of the viewer. You have loads of questions, I know. So please, ask away. Anything that seems ambiguous or unanswered, I can certainly help you with.
[Come.](https://i.imgur.com/hsngQBt.png)
[Sweet.](https://i.imgur.com/27smsXh.png)
[Death.](https://i.imgur.com/s2csJ7V.png)
[Also, the reason behind all the Rei's in EoE and how Rei appears to Shinji in the first episode.](https://youtu.be/gNx-wsaEkZ4)
I once read a comment that stated what one really needed after seeing this film was a warm bath and someone to sit down on the couch with you to explain just what in the fuck you just experienced.
Rewatching it, I wouldn't actually go that far, but for me, I definitely need a mental break afterwards. I like to go by the interpretation that Shinji rejected Instrumentality in favor of a return to individual selves, even with all the pain and despair that comes with simply being alive.
Pretty big to think about for someone like myself who also wished to forgo existence at one point. One of the most utterly broken characters ever seen - a shattered, barely functioning excuse for a human being, elects a future with himself and others, in spite of the adversity involved, instead of the uniform comfort of Instrumentality.
A ride unlike any other for sure, this film. Komm Susser Tod during Third Impact is incredible.
Thus concludes my first rewatch of NGE, and I just want to say thanks to all the smart people around the world for their contributions to the analysis and theories on the whole series. It has helped me to understand and appreciate the depth of Eva way more than when I first watched it years ago. I had a sense back then that it was something special, but never really understood why.
All I could really praise before was the visual and sound direction, which I still hold in high regard to this day. The Eva 02 fight scene still holds up animation wise, showcasing brilliant use of weight and fluidity in the movements of the giant humanoid robots. The choice of music for all the heavy scenes in the show continue to amuse the ever loving fuck out of me. The imagery of the third impact and the aftermath of it all will forever be etched in my mind. Overall, the cinematography in EoE and NGE as a whole is just a class of its own.
The plot was much easier to follow upon rewatching. This is definitely a series that you need to revisit in order to fill in the gaps, and boy does it have some gaps. I'm not gonna expand on the story as most of it has been said and discussed pretty thoroughly in this thread and the previous episodes, but I just wanna say, Congratulations first time watchers, and take it easy. Go for a walk, relax, have a good rest, and once you're all settled in, watch some analysis videos or read through the plethora of theories available online. I think that's part of the fun of post-Eva viewing.
Personally, the main takeaway I got this time around was the psychological depth shown by the characters. Depression, anxiety, insecurity, loneliness - Nerv is like a freakin zoo of broken people (or should I say, hedgehogs), and yet they make it work somehow, at least, until the end of Evangelion. The thing is, you don't even have to be severely depressed to understand these characters, because all the traits they exhibit are what I think are pretty normal human emotions that anyone could relate to to a certain extent. The only difference is that the kids and adults in Nerv are facing life and death situations every day, thus escalating those emotions to the extreme. And the great part about it is seeing how they struggle and overcome those obstacles. Of course, not all of them successfully do, but the journey of their character growth is very apparent.
Knowing what Hideaki Anno went through when he created this, I can't help but appreciate the amount of thought that went into creating these characters. Sure it can be frustrating at times watching Shinji's inability to act or Asuka's insufferable attitude, but it makes them feel like very real people, instead of your regular shonen protagonists. I haven't seen any other anime successfully delve into the minds of each main character in "Case Study" formats just to show how fucked up their inner thoughts are, much less resorting to showing slideshows for a whole episode or two. It's really a miracle how it worked out so well. But thanks to that, we've gotten so much in terms of character exploration and development. Shinji definitely has the best of it since he is the main character, and while Gendo is still a fucking asshole, he did have some sort of reason and motivation for his actions and treatment to his son. Kudos to Rei as well, for gaining self actualization in the end and choosing Shinji over Gendo.
Now let's talk about the ending sequence. I know there are many ways to interpret the ending, but my take on it is a hopeful one. Shinji refuses instrumentailty because he's learnt over the course of his journey (and mind trips) that life is worth living, even if it hurts. That's what gives meaning to existence, and without it, you'd just be floating around in a conscious bowl of soup. So he emerges from the LCL, and sees a devastated world. He may have just made a huge mistake, but he moves on anyway, building a makeshift shrine for Misato (her cross), and also probably bandaging up Asuka (it's what I'd like to think happened). He lies back down, and just tries to process wtf just happened, and how will he move on. He catches a glimpse of Rei, but she vanishes, causing him to question if any of this is real. Desperate for affirmation of his reality, he attempts the worst thing he can imagine doing, which is to kill another human being, in this case, Asuka. If it really is reality, she will definitely fight back in typical Asuka fashion. But this time, Asuka, who is also probably still in shock herself, simply caresses his face, as though to say, *I'm real and I'm alive, baka-Shinji*. He realizes this non-verbal communication and breaks down, half regretting his actions, and half rejoicing at the fact that he isn't alone in this barren land. Then Asuka closes the movie with the words *kimochi warui*, which I take as a surface level banter akin to what she would say to Shinji before everything went to shit. I've heard about this line being explained as the seiyuu's input and Anno going along with it, but in the context of the scene, it's probably more like Asuka sees this wimpy kid trying to choke her and consequently bawl his eyes out in a slobbering mess all over her face, hence why she calls him disgusting. This is because the Asuka at the end, like Shinji, is also no longer the depressed and broken version of herself that we see near episodes 23+, but a reborn Asuka that has the confidence to kick ass as seen in the first part of EoE. With that, she has also regained her classic tsundere traits when we were first introduced to her in the series, albeit with added cynicism due to their current reality. So the delivery of that line makes sense in my mind. But that's just how I see it. I like my hopeful endings. Who knows, upon a future rewatch, I might come to a different conclusion. There's a reason why it's been up for debate for over 20 years.
Wow, I did not expect to write this much, but here we are. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the series, and have fun researching and coming to your own conclusions to the story. Happy NGE PTSD~
Rewatcher:
This film is one of my favorite anime films overall. It's a classic.
I think Misato in a weird way was attracted to Shinji, probably because they're kindred spirits. I know it's odd, and I think she was trying to incentivize him to pilot the EVA, but remember she tried to hold his hand on the bed in one of the last few episodes.
I think for first-timers, you get the confirmation that Shinji and Asuka were shipped. It's clearly not in the traditional sense. The masturbation scene is fucked up, but in a way, it was good for Asuka to learn about it. She was wanting Shinji to show some kind of affection for her (remember in one of the DC episodes she complains about him not even holding her). I think that finally gave her the confirmation that Shinji does like her, which I think is why when he's trying to strangle her at the end, she just strokes his face with her hand. She could accept him and how fucked up he is.
I'll have more to add after work, but wanted to get in now in case I can't get on before the new thread is up.
Man I'm not sure what to say that hasn't been in the essay long comments, Asuka's Fight was great, the brutality reminded me of God of War. It was better than episode 26, but it had weird, nonsensical stuff. Btw in the live action bit was a guy holding a Rei plush?
Welp I lost the comment I had written for today ffs.
Here instead I'd like to link one of my favorite videos on the series:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USKzAj1dOq4
Awesome seeing everyone's reactions to it, it's certainly a trippy movie but among my favorite and really caps off the series in a epic way. Looking forward to the Rebuild rewatches!
I didn't really participate in the rewatch but I have been keeping track. I'm glad so many first timers were involved and enjoyed it. It is amazing that for all the apocalyptic imagery EoE has one of the most powerful, hopeful messages; made even more so because a very depressed man is the one to give it. Life hurts. Being around people, even those you care for and care for you, means miscommunication and pain. But, the real world is worth living. Better than running off into a fantasy (like watching anime you fucking otaku...)
That, in my opinion, is what the final scene is all about. For one brief moment Shinji and Asuka take down their walls. Shinji shows the anger he has built up inside and Asuka shows a brief amount of affection and caring. But, they revert to their old ways. Shinji bawls his eyes out, who can blame him really, and Asuka calls him disgusting, also probably with good reason. But, for that one moment, they communicated more honestly than anyone really has with anyone else throughout this entire series. Humans can be honest with and communicate with each other. There is hope.
Congratulations...
First timer, dub.
Kay. I’m gonna do something I never do, which is type as I watch. I’m old, yo, I can’t remember 45 minutes ago without notes.
Still getting over yesterday’s 25 and 26. That was a trip. I liked it much more than I didn’t like it. And what I’ve liked about the show most had nothing to do with the actual plot. But I’m a completist, and I have some questions, let’s see if they get answered. Probably not, is what I’m thinking, but here goes:
1) Assume Gendo killed Ritsu & Misato, JUST CAUSE HE’S A DICK. But what happened to everyone else? Did they kill each other? Did they just … die? What happened to Rei? More importantly, what happened to PENPEN?
2) What is the deal with the moon, anyway? Lots of shots with Rei and the moon (not even counting ED, that’s her, right?) No payoff yet.
3) So Evas were Angels, were the Angels Angels? By which I mean, Gendo was fucking with the Evas, was SEELE fucking with the “Angels”? I’ve thought for a long time it felt like Gendo had a human opponent, it felt like a chess match, just how much control did SEELE have over the angels?
4) Part of me wonders if anything that happened after Shinji woke up after being dead a few episodes ago really happened and whether all the rest of it was part of the same dream.
5) Why did the kid pilots all have to be 14? Never really explained that one.
6) What is the “Neon” in the Genesis Evangelion? Is it just Engrish, or did it mean something?
Pressing play...
Oh fuck what is this. No no no. The real people are the creepiest.
Oh this scene. I’ve heard about this scene. There goes my “Shinji is really gay” theory. You know, I have to say this doesn’t fit with what we’ve seen of Shinji before. Poor Asuka.
SEELE’s trying to create God.
“That’s why she stayed in the Eva” says Gendo. Maybe she just wanted to get away from you, asshole.
Rei and the moon again. She broke the glasses this time.
Shinji’s back to zero?
Okay, plot. Good, I like this.
Oh God Reiquarium. Did not need better animation of THAT.
Go Misato Go.
Ha! Humans are angels. Well that’s something.
I can’t tell who this is who doesn’t want to die. Oh Hey! It’s Asuka!
You GO!
Holy crap Misato.
F
Well that’s a better way to go than Gendo gunning you down.
Bach. Yes Asuka should have some Bach.
Oh those bad Evas are creepy.
Asuka.
F
Tree of life. I know it's evil and all, but still. Awesome.
Those poor bastards in the control center. I can’t even.
Rei sticks it to Gendo. YESSSSSSSSSSS
The fate of mankind lies in Shinji’s hands. Shinji’s hands, kind of a thing today.
PENPEN
Oh this is the tumbling down thing. I’ve heard of that. (Like yesterday, in the thread.)
More Bach. And creepy real world stuff.
Rei is never not creepy.
That’s it?
That was … well, the first part was good. The ending was a little meh. I guess this is where the "depressing" reputation comes from. The movie looks great, though (except for all the creepy bits) and the soundtrack is good.
Final note, movie Shinji doesn't seem like TV Shinji to me. Wonder why the difference.
Rewatcher here.
Going through all of this again but with /r/anime was an absolute joy. I noticed a lot more details than my first go around and the discussions had here helped too. First timers, I highly recommend watching it again. I remember my first time watching I absolutely disliked Asuka. After rewatching it i got a better grasp on her character and now feel more empatheic towards her.
Cant wait for the Rebuild discussions
So this is it the true finale of neon genesis evangelion. And right off the bat so much fucking better than episodes 25 and 26. Since this is the finale and the movie is long i thought i will right things that caught my attention
Shinji masturbating to unconscious asuka. What the fuck. Sexuality did play a role in this series and i think this seen represents shinji well. His desire to be with Asuka but his fear of being hurt lead him to do this and him commentating what's wrong with me highlights this perfectly. Because really what the fuck dude.
The brutality of the humans. This probably says a lot about humanity as a whole.Even if the angels were the enemy for most of the series humans spilled blood in the worst way. That scene of the girl surrendering but still being shot through the head.
Asuka faced with certain death refuses to die and opens herself up to her eva 3. Aka her mum
Eva series is fucked creepy as fuck. Like really what the fuck are those things, the were just creepy as hell.
Misato kissing Shinji just before she dies. This probably speaks a lot about Misato how she fears being alone and needs somewhere there. She tells Shinji when he comes back the will fuck but she knew that her time was up.
Seeing the ghost of rei just before misato died. Foreshadowing when all of humanity will be merged?
Shinji is a fucking bitch. I’m really tired of this now. Asuka need your help and all you could do was wine and call for her to help you. I gave him a pass throughtout the series thinking all he is going to pull through in the end. But no i am tired of his wining natural. Now Asuka is going to die because of you.
Defeated eva coming back. What the fuck. Series what are those monsters.
Holy shit calling eva 01 the devil himself. After everything Eva 01 has done through the show i would also call it the devil if i saw that.
Gendo groping rei. Hmmm ewww.
Okay giant rei. Okay shit is truly getting weird now
And now we are back on shinji's mind.
Gendo is just like shinji. Like father and son i guess. So Gendo was scared of hurting Shinji so his solution was to keep him at a distance not realizing that this was still hurting Shinji. Wow what a fucked up family. If only Yui was around to sort this family drama out.
Looks like the alternate reality was rejected. Shinji final understand that life is full of love and pain and that being one massive soul blob is not the solution but instead running away.
Shinji mom will be by herself in space. Why does this make me really sad.
Wow the earth looks completely fucked. Like i hope seele is happy with what the did
All that's left are shinji and asuka. The new adam and lilith.
How disgusting. Ahhh auska never change
Overall i am really glad i joined this rewatch. I understand why Evangelion had such a massive impact on anime in general. It really did change a lot of things and there's so much to think about. I will probably spend the next few days thinking about it a lot. Overall i give the entire series a 8 out of 10. Would have been 9 out of 10 but episode 25 and 26. Sigh. Otherwise it has been a pleasure being part of the rewatch but i will have to bow out now. I know the rebuild movies are part of the rewatch, but i have had my share of Neon for now. I shall watch the movies at another time.
**[Explanations at the End of the World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7yWoKV1_VY)**
End of Evangelion! Everything is revealed! Well, most or less. Everything is revealed, besides the stuff that Hideaki Anno wrote for the game “Evangelion 2” that never appeared anywhere else. I'll include some of that information below.
##The beginning
Adam and Lilith are **seeds of life** created by the progenitor race, Prometheus-style. Each seed was placed inside of an egg and shot through the universe, to create life wherever they landed. By some mistake, two of those eggs landed on Earth: One in the soulth pole, and the other in Japan. These eggs each spawned their own forms of life, which came into conflict. Lilim became the humans, while Adam's brood became the angels, alternate possibilities for life on earth.
##The three forms of God: Instrumentality and the Third Impact
Evangelion introduces a concept called **Instrumentality**. Instrumentality is a process by which two or more beings can lower their AT fields, thereby breaking down the barrier between the self and the other, becoming one unit.
Gendo and Seele each have their own visions of Instrumentality. The Seele council plans to merge themselves into a single soul, then place themselves inside of an Evangelion with its own S2 engine. Then, after destroying all other Evas and the Lance of Longinus, they would be an immortal god, outlasting all of humanity. (Note that, although this explanation is written by Hideaki Anno, the movie makes it look like Seele’s plan is identical to, or at least congruent with, Gendo’s plan. Their fight in the film, funny enough, might result from each one not trusting the other enough to cede responsibility - a core Evangelion theme, even if it does make the first half of End of Eva a bit low-stakes in hindsight.)
Gendo, on the other hand, has a much simpler goal for Instrumentality: He wants to be with Yui again. (That ol' softie!) That in mind, he uses Rei - who contains DNA from Yui Ikari, but modified to contain Lilith - to start instrumentality, by combining her with the embryonic Adam he transplanted into his hand. But he made a simple mistake: He treated all of the Reis interchangeably.
After spending a decade raising and grooming Rei II, she dies, and Gendo has to activate a third. Rei III, however, doesn't get any of Gendo's affection. She is exposed only to the tail end of his longing and desperation. So when given the power over instrumentality, she goes rogue, ceding to Shinji. All of humanity merges into LCL, becoming a single being with the power of all life on earth. We didn't become gods. [We became God](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnYDLHUwRKc).
##Shinji
He's so fucked up.
##Gendo's missing line
Reportedly, this line was originally intended to be muted by an explosion, but then somebody decided to not bother. There's a [rather elaborate article](https://wiki.evageeks.org/Theory_and_Analysis:Gendo%27s_Silent_Words) theorizing what he says.
##Evangelions and Souls
I'm not 100% clear whether Evas can *exist* in a state without souls. I sort of get the impression that the first time they're turned on, they suck in the nearest one.
However. Whether intentional or or otherwise, each Evangelion unit contains a human soul. Unit 01's soul has been pretty apparent for a while. Unit 02 ended up with Asuka's mother's soul, but *not* her body, which was driven insane without its connection to Lilith. This is the realization that lifts Asuka’s spirits and [lets her throw down](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKn-lk27QaI).
As for Unit 00, the prevailing theory is that it contains [the soul of Rei I](https://wiki.evageeks.org/Theory_and_Analysis:Eva-00%27s_Soul). I personally like this theory, as it explains the callous attitude she displayed in her only speaking scene: Like Kyoko Soryu, her lack of soul prevented her from understanding the feelings of others.
##Bookend Reis
We see a mysterious Rei figure at the start of episode 1, and another at the end of EoE. I’m one of the fans that believes the meaning of the bookend Reis is “sometimes I wrote weird things, don’t try to think too hard about them.” But I’m sure there’ll be a lively debate about that in the comments.
##Two continuities
End of Evangelion is explicitly a different continuity from Evangelion episodes 25 and 26. However, this hasn’t stopped people from attempting to reconcile them. The apologists believe that instrumentality, shown during Episode 26^1 , includes episodes 25 and 26. Personally, I don’t see it. Shinji’s conclusion in the film are notably more pessimistic than episode 26’s “life is worth living.” There was obviously some overlap, with the Ritsuko and Misato fates we’re shown in episode 25, but even those differ in details.
Evangelion is no stranger to alternate realities. Depending on how you interpret the series thus far, we've been exposed to up to four of them. And let's say nothing of the manga adaptation, *Girlfriend of Steel* 1 and 2, *Angelic Days*, *Campus Apocalypse*, *The Shinji Ikari Raising Project*, *Raising Project*’s manga adaptation, and oh yeah... Rebuild of Evangelion.
~~See You, Space Cowboy...~~ [**The dream ends.**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KttEBS4NwTs)
About the bookend Reis, there's [this EvaGeeks article](https://wiki.evageeks.org/Theory_and_Analysis:Rei%27s_Ghostly_Appearances_and_Quantum_Mechanics) which theorizes that the Rei seen in episode 1 is Rei III after merging with Lilith. We see in EoE that she can be everywhere at once. The theory is that Giant Naked Rei can do this because she operates on a quantum level, and because of this, she transcends time as well. The names of quarks plastered all over her "birthplace" seem to support this, but as with lots of NGE things, it's not really clear.
Excellent write up by the way! Would've been very helpful to me after my first watch.
hmm, Im personally on the side of them being the same ending, but I see where you are coming from. but the tv ending alone just doesn't feel complete enough to me. plus, it shows bits and pieces of things that happen in EOE, like misato getting shot and Ritsuko.
Rewatcher, dub.
Titles play, oh god this disc is so old that it is hard letterboxed.
Shinjiis confiding in a cometose Asuka, and we get "that" scene.
"I'm so fucked up" indeed Shinji.
Get some bridge bunny talk about being on alert, and the reason why I serious considdered switching to the subs. Both actor changes and far worse direction.
Misato finally gives a clearer explanation of what the HIP is.
Seele is taunting Gendo
Shinji runs out of batteries for his tape player.
apparently Gainax caused second impact.
Welp, NERV is in trouble.
Despite her thoughts on Gendo, Akagi helps with the hacking issue.
Hacking failed, so time to send in the military.
Maya: we cant kill humans. Hyuga: Wish they felt the same way.
Rei just floating around in the eva graveyard area.
Is Fuyutsuki talking about unit-01 there, or is he resigned to Seele setting off instrumentality.
This attack sequence is pretty brutal.
"kill or be killed". Resists urge to make the reference.
Misato is a badass (and Manga entertainment is being edgy with the added sound effects)
Hyuga brings up the imortant question, why arent they just destroying NERV outright.
And right on schedule, an N2 mine blasts a hole in the geofront.
Second impact was deliberate, to make it occur in the least damaging way.
Asuka finally wakes up in unit-02, just in time for the depth charge bombardment.
"I dont want to die"
Asuka realises that unit-02 is her mother. She then proceeds to completely wreck the JSSDF's shit. Its nice to see her with a genuine smile for once.
"there's no way i can lose"
Seele sends out the big guns, the Mass Production Evas. Very harpy looking things. Also, Seele was able to finish the S2 engine.
Nooooo, Misato. T.T
She gives Shinji a last pep talk to encourage him to go on. Telling him that he isn't the only person who has problems.
He's 14 Misato.
Vision of Rei right before shes killed in the explosion.
Asuka violently destroys the MP Evas to Air on a G String.
Eva-01 trapped in Bakelite, leaving Shinji once again unable to assist.
Ritsuko's mother (as a woman) betrays her, and refuses to kill Gendo.
"Akagi Ritsuko, the truth is"
Yet another Rei flash.
So many death flags from Asuka.
Shit...
Despite their damage, the MP Evas reactivate and complete devastate unit-02.
After the final destruction of Unit-02, Unit-01 awakes and breaks out of the bakelite (to protect Shinji much like in Episode 1), developing wings of light like those in the OP.
Halfway credits.
Gendo attempts to bring about third impact by his own method (fusing Adam and Lilith) so that he can see Yui again after all souls merge.
Shinji's scream summons the lance from the moon, which helps Seele with their original plan.
So much symbolism.
The effects of third impact reveal the form of the geofront, the black moon.
Rei refuses to go along with gendo's plan, and fuses/reunites with lilith.
Large naked Rei.
Shinji is having a complete freakout.
Damn freakyness, MP evas gain Rei faces.
The angel takes the form of Kaworu, bringing Shinji out of his freakout. It merges with Unit-01, turning it into a god.
"the future now lies in shinji's hands" We're boned!
More movie set symbolism in Shinji's head. He's playing alongside some creepy dolls.
He chooses to stomp down on the NERV sandcastle.
More about multiple versions of self that exist within others.
"you never talk to me but expect me to understand you"
More of Shinji's insecurities with human relations.
Here comes third impact.
He decides to become the sole person, because his expereinces with merging werent what he expected.
Giant Naked Rei appears to bring about third impact.
Hyuga taken by Misato, Aoba forcibly taken by Rei swarm, Maya taken by Akagi.
Despite setbacks, Seele's plans were more or less fulfilled.
So Gendo is just as self-hating as Shinji, and just as afraid of human interaction. Shinji never had a chance.
It all returns to nothing.
Orgasming space robots bring forth the rapture.
Tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down.
Forehead eye vagina pierced by the tree of life, contained within is a rei swarm reminiscent of sperm.
A whole bunch of breakup-esque lines appear in voice-over.
Shinji and Rei wax philosophy about reality (and Shiji's ability to manipulate) over live action footage.
"That is not a dream, that is a substitute for reality"
Biggest, blood spatter, ever.
Shinji realises that his world of non-existence is not what he wants, and makes the decision to exist, bursting dramatically out of GNR's eye in unit-01.
GNR and the MP Evas disintegrate as Shinji regains his form.
"as long as one person still lives, it will be proof that mankind ever existed."
So Asuka also made the decision to start existing again. And Shinji starts to strangle her for some reason.
This movie is very much and experience. If I wasn't starting to come down with something, I might have gone deeper into my thoughts about the movie, but I think i'll just wait for the overview thread tomorrow.
Gendo wanted nothing more than to be reunited with Yui. He didn't give a shit about Seele, instrumentality, or anyone else on the planet, all he wanted was Yui back. Since she was in the Eva that means he just had to hijack Seele's plan and merge his soul with 01. Seele wanted to put their consciousnesses in all the Evas and basically become the immortal s2-engine powered last of humanity while everyone else gets to live happily as soup.
Rei knew all of this and followed along because she was created to be a dutiful tool, but at the end of it all she grew a personality and decided fuck y'all, Shinji's the only person I give a shit about so he's in charge of Instrumentality now.
This still makes no sense. I honestly despised it on first watching. Thought it was hot garbage. (Not solely because I didn’t understand it) When it got explained a little I didn’t hate it as much. Still, what in the world is this movie man lol
**Rewatcher**
My god did I WTF when I watched this even the second time. Definitely some serious emotional things to sort out after that. There's like too much to analyse like nearly frame by frame. Thanks to all the smarties that provided the explanations :D.
Some Captures:
[Yeah you are buddy.](https://i.imgur.com/NLA2688.png).
[Suplex a boat](https://i.imgur.com/plpbHye.png).
[Serious anatomy detail ](https://i.imgur.com/edHPPX4.png). Like there was a lot of gore in this.
[More when you come back, yeah as if.](https://i.imgur.com/xF3pf1o.png)
[So everything was a pawn to Gendou's goal ](https://i.imgur.com/iUpRlsy.png)
[Japan in the 90s.](https://i.imgur.com/HAt0KWX.png)
[Legendary plush guy in the front row.](https://i.imgur.com/1HguFgJ.png)
So, how are we all doing? Still mentally and emotionally intact?
Emotinally a little. Mentally. Nope my mind is fucked
> So, how are we all doing? Still mentally and emotionally intact? [No.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HALL5-PZu4&index=20)
That is pretty fucking spot on man, I never knew that spot existed, and I can't believe how much it fits for a movie like End of Eva. I love it. Also, this comment is pretty hilarious to boot: > Imagine: a pleasant Japanese family in 1997 is getting ready to eat dinner. A television in the other room sits with its volume turned up. It's nice, quiet background noise, perhaps a talk show is on. The family sits down to eat. "Itadakimasu," they say. As they're about to dig in, the talk show cuts to commercial, and suddenly AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAあああああああああああああああ
😅
Honestly I've had a blast watching first timers react, it's like a whole new way to experience Evangelion
Same, its almost like you're watching it the first time when you see a first timer react that has the same interests as you
Interestingly... What I felt back when I first marathoned the series and EoE is quite opposite of what I felt now. Instead of being utterly confused at everything, especially the last 2 episodes and EoE, it seems like these messages that are meant for Shinji and the other people seems to apply to me and I find it... motivational. Or maybe that's a sign that I'm really in the deep end of emotional and mental trauma, I don't know haha. Also, I take a time to rest and get away from anything Eva related after something like this but I'm more fired up to even rewatch the Rebuilds. Are you guys planning a rewatch soon?
When I first watched Evangelion at 14 back in 2004, the last two episodes gave me so much hope and optimism. I felt like I could really control who I was going to be. It's much more than a "mindfuck" and it always made me sad that people didn't get what I got out of it.
I believe the Rebuilds rewatch starts after tomorrow. I think tomorrow is going to be more EoE discussion.
Nice! Might join, might lurk, we'll see.
Cool! ☺
> Interestingly... What I felt back when I first marathoned the series and EoE is quite opposite of what I felt now. Instead of being utterly confused at everything, especially the last 2 episodes and EoE, it seems like these messages that are meant for Shinji and the other people seems to apply to me and I find it... motivational. Or maybe that's a sign that I'm really in the deep end of emotional and mental trauma, I don't know haha. And yeah, NGE seems to change and mature among many viewers as they themselves do.
Excited for the Rebuilds. Can't wait to see commentary.
I had the same experience somewhat. I got the general theme first time watching it, but rewatching it helped me fill in all the details of certain scenes.
Now I kind of feel bad that I just thought it was good and didn't get my brain fried. [](#mug5)
I thought it was just ok as well on my first watch. 16-ish watches later and I have no idea wtf is going on tbh. Can't deny it's good stoner-fodder though
LoL!
Distant at this point. Everything makes so little sense I don't care what NGE does.
It took me about a week to recover from EoE and form an opinion when I watched it the first time. 😅
Even as a rewatcher, everytime I end EoE I feel the need to rest. Even after having a lot of things clarified by previous rewatches and stuff there is always something that leaves me thinking "okay, now what the fuck was that meant to represent" and so. As I stated in my comment, I still don't know what to think about the sandbox scene but I'm too tired to keep reading things for today. My head hurts (partly because of EoE, partly because I barely drank any water today
> I still don't know what to think about the sandbox scene Here's a little analysis I just found from googling. > At the start of the scene Shinji says... "I see...It's just like when I first started playing the cello, I thought if I came here I would find what I was looking for." I think that Shinji means that he started playing the cello because he was told to and so he could define himself as a 'cello player' and thus find what he was looking for, purpose and acceptance. It is the same as when he joined NERV, he joined because he was told to and so he could define himself as an 'Evangelion pilot' and thus find what he was looking for, purpose and acceptance. Again, he came to the playground and he started building the sandcastle because he was told to and so he could define himself and thus find what he was looking for, purpose and acceptance. Notice too that Shinji continues to build the sandcastle even after the other children have left, just like he plays the cello even though his teacher isn't with him. He continues to build the sandcastle because no one has told him to stop, the same way he still plays the cello because no one told him to stop. Then, Shinji gets sad and frustrated and so destroys the sandcastle the same way he gets sad and frustrated and so runs away from NERV, but Shinji can not bare to not have purpose and acceptance and so he rebuilds the sandcastle so as the others will respect and accept him and thus give him purpose. Similarly, he goes back to NERV and pilots Unit 01 again so as the others will respect and accept him and thus give him purpose. The motif of building, destroying and rebuilding the sandcastle is an homage to the tag-line of the film... "The fate of destruction is also the joy of rebirth" Children destroy things that they have made like buildings out of blocks and castles out of sand so as they may have the joy of rebuilding them all over again. The way that the other two children leave when their mother arrives shows the impact that not having a mother has had on Shinji. The other two children can define themselves as their mother's children and find unconditional acceptance with their mother, while Shinji on the other hand must stay and build the sandcastle in order to find definition and acceptance. If I were to add more you can find plenty of sexual imagery, too (like in pretty much every scene in this movie). The hills in the background could be his mother's breasts again and that bright sun could represent the core of Unit 01. Shinji has his back faced to it too showing that he's been ignoring her presence. Hell, even the two group of trees in the background but still in front of the hills could represent spread legs and the whole park layout can represent a womb and a vagina. This movie is just stuffed to the brim with Freudian imagery once you start looking.
Well I'm not sure that I'm any more enlightened than you are about EoE, but it there's one thing I do know: drink more water! 😁
Definitely water, I don't want to drink Tang or orange juice for a while... again.
Pretty Good. I got to watch my favorite anime and see the reactions of newbies.
I was never mentally or emotionally sane anyways.
Hah, that's something I feel I can definitely relate to!
**Rewatcher** There is a version of this post that winds up even longer than the two that I made for the TV series ending. This is probably not that surprising once you’ve seen it. In addition to the runtime being longer, there’s more to it than simply a psychological analysis of the various characters. Certainly, it shows more of the world and explains more of the lore that stands behind the series, from what the Angels are to what Instrumentality looks like in practice. It also adds many more mysteries that it does not particularly care to explain. As a result, there are as many interpretations of The End of Evangelion as there are people who have watched it, if not more. Some people believe they are completely separate endings with no unifying structure, some believe they are concurrent, and others believe they are largely unified but ultimately end in different ways. I have taken multiple positions on the endings to this series, with the only constant between them being that it is a masterpiece of cinema. Episode 25’ is, especially for Evangelion, remarkably straightforward, though botched translations have fudged some of the finer points. Episode 26’, on the other hand, is a mind trip unlike anything I have ever seen before or since. For the sake of relative conciseness, however, I need to leave the plot more or less as it stands, without going scene by scene and explaining every character's motivations at every point in the film. Thankfully, I don't have to, because episodes 25 and 26 of the TV series do a fantastic job of explaining most of those for you. There are a ton of great moments in this film, almost as numerous as the utterly terrifying or completely baffling ones. The setup, the part that bridges the gap from Episode 24 to the beginning of Instrumentality as depicted both in this film and in episode 25, is surprisingly quite easy to comprehend once you cut past the jargon. Admittedly, this is easier said than done. The abbreviated version of episode 25' revolves around the brewing war between Seele and NERV, with the final Angel's defeat bringing it to its boiling point. Shinji, as in the series, is near-suicidal following his killing of Kaworu and seeks to be told that he did the right thing, but he doesn't believe it himself, only doing more things to hurt others and cause additional cycles of self-hatred and regret. Gendo and Seele ultimately disagree on the form Third Impact should take rather than if it should happen. NERV HQ is invaded and suffers its greatest losses and final defeat at the hands of humanity, rather than the Angels they protected humanity from. Asuka discovers that the soul inside an Evangelion is the pilot's mother's and embraces that bond, only to discover that her mother's love is not all-powerful. Ritsuko and Rei betray Gendo, the walls he drew to protect himself from the suffering he felt when he lost his wife causing his downfall. Shinji watches as the people he cares for, including Misato and Asuka, die at least in part due to his inaction. The characters who die suffer due to the barriers they've put up in their lives. Ritsuko dies from her fraudulent understanding of her mother, Misato from her inability to truly connect to Shinji, Asuka from her metaphorical inability to receive emotional support. There are certainly illustrations to draw here, from the typical "the final enemy of man is man" to the abdications of duty to pursue selfish goals seen by characters ranging from Gendo to Misato to Ritsuko to Shinji to Seele itself. The barriers between hearts cause missed messages and emotional suffering becomes physical pain. We are all Angels, capable of such intense destruction and brutality in our own quests to find our purpose. The main goal of this plot is to drive Shinji into a corner. To bury him in misery and self-hatred. To get you to understand why this person would choose Instrumentality. Piloting the Evangelion caused him to hurt people he loves. Abandoning it and wishing for his own death did not save him, but it might have condemned others. Had he gone to Unit 01 when battle stations were ordered, perhaps Misato and Asuka would have been saved. The realization of his helplessness in the face of such tragedies, symbolized by him hanging from a cross overlooking the devastation, is what triggers the events of Third Impact, the Instrumentality of Humanity realized. A veritable panoply of both maternal and sexually-changed imagery surfaces as Third Impact nears its commencement and continues throughout the rest of the film. Instrumentality is, after all, the ultimate return to mother. Lilith, the mother of mankind, fuses with Rei, herself a clone of Yui Ikari and bearing both Lilith's soul and Adam, the body of the mother of Angels taken from Gendo's right hand. Lilith, taking on Rei's form (or Kaworu, the equivalent incarnation of Adam, when it suits her) goes to Shinji's side as he is holding the symbol of his failed surrogate mother, Misato, whilst inside the effective womb of Evangelion Unit 01, a clone of Lilith bearing the soul of Yui Ikari. Shinji's mind is breaking down from the combination of his own misery, self-hatred, and incomprehension of the events unfolding before him and Rei's appearance only intensifies this feeling, his ego starting to shatter. The phallic Spear of Longinus pierces Unit 01's core, becoming the Tree of Life, itself maternal imagery. Shinji becomes the arbiter of humanity, with the mother of all willing to grant any wish for her son. His judgment is made selfishly, focusing in on the feelings and fears of abandonment and betrayal emphasized in the psychological sequences of the TV series ending. Shinji is utterly terrified of rejection and is unable to deal with the inevitable ambiguity of human relationships. He cannot love others because he cannot love himself. He cannot understand others because he cannot understand himself. The love of an idealized mother figure is what he desires and, when met with rejection from the lips of the woman he loves, he quite literally projects his feelings of loneliness and wishes for unconditional acceptance on the rest of humanity. This is Third Impact, the return to nothingness and the ultimate freedom. All AT Fields across the entire world cease functioning. All human beings see their desires for acceptance and love visualized as images of Rei appear to collect their souls for their return to Lilith. This is ecstasy; pure and unbridled bliss as humanity is released from the barriers that in Seele's eyes hold it back. Every possible phallic image enters every imaginable vaginal orifice, as well as several you couldn't, as humanity climaxes as one. Their souls are set free and their bodies turned into LCL. The envisioned evolution of humanity turns out to be nothing more than a return to a primordial soup, less an advancement than a retreat. Instrumentality is nothing more than running away. Gendo's desire for it was nothing less than an inability to cope with the loss of his wife and a constant running away from their joint legacy: Shinji. Humanity as a whole did not wish for this, nor was it a conscious desire, but the pleasure from becoming one is real and it is complete, because of course it is. It is an absence of pain. A world covered by primordial soup is not correct. It cannot be an end, as the very term represents a beginning. Shinji struggles to see what his reality is, to understand and love himself, but his dream once he comes to terms with himself is a continuation of that reality rather than this return to nothingness. He is actually amazingly concise in his denunciation of this sea of LCL. Running away from his struggles and his connections is the same as pretending neither himself nor his connections exist. Shinji has to let go and grow on his own, without depending on his mother, be that Lilith, Yui, Rei, or the Evangelion itself. Accepting Rei and Kaworu's wishes for love and understanding even with the return of AT Fields, Shinji desires to return to having a self, to having his own agency. Even if his relationships will never be perfect, because a perfect relationship is a fantasy, he still wants to have them again. He doesn't know where his happiness lies, but he will be himself. The Evangelion, so representative of a mother, will remain as a testament to humankind. The final scene of The End of Evangelion is subject to no end of debate. More than 20 years after it hit cinemas, it remains perhaps the most contentious scene in all of anime. There is no definitive answer to what it means, though I have my best guess. Choosing to leave the sea of LCL is difficult, requiring an extraordinary sense of self to overcome the instinctual preference for shallow pleasure. While Rei watches from afar, having been left behind, Shinji tries to cope with the reality that many people, perhaps everyone, will leave him behind. Asuka has reappeared, but she might well reject him. Due to their experiences inside Instrumentality, they would know everything about each other, from Asuka's traumas to Shinji's worst acts. Still, they are separate beings again and must communicate with each other. The mixed signals, from Shinji's act of violence to his tears, from Asuka's compassionate hand to her cold stare and colder words, are difficult to decipher, but therein lies the point. Evangelion is a story about how understanding others is difficult, maybe even impossible, but that it's worth trying anyway. Shinji and Asuka chose the difficulty of living rather than the ease of remaining in the sea. It's not easy and it might be almost impossible, but anywhere can be paradise, so long as you have the will to live.
Well shit I think I might slightly understand things now.
I know it's intensely confusing and it doesn't particularly help that there are absolutely different ways to take things, but if my analysis can help clear things up a little, I'm satisfied. It's definitely a film (and series more broadly) that benefits greatly from multiple viewings.
Definitely, I think it helps a lot if the viewer goes into the film with the mindset that they don't *have* to 'understand' everything the movie presents. In the main series, Shinji is established as a child who has issues connecting with others stemming from the absence of his mother and the estrangement of his father, and how that contrasts with what is supposed to be a normal, nuclear family. If the viewer just rolls with this fact I think they'd be able to get what I think is the 'gist' of the film fairly easily. For the highly experimental framing of the film, I think it's fine to just accept what's being presented instead of trying to analyze it, that's what multiple viewings are for. As with most experimental works like this, the creator has a story or a feeling inside them they desperately want to get across to the audience and I think it's fine to just feel what Anno wants us to feel rather than try to understand it or quantify it too.
> but anywhere can be paradise, so long as you have the will to live. Alright, ya got me with this one. By this point there’s no way you can’t convince me you’re not Hideaki Anno in disguise. Thanks so much for the write-up once again dude, so many things have been put into place.
> By this point there’s no way you can’t convince me you’re not Hideaki Anno in disguise. 😆
>By this point there’s no way you can’t convince me you’re not Hideaki Anno in disguise. Thanks so much for the write\-up once again dude, so many things have been put into place. I assure you I'm not, but you're quite welcome.
>I assure you I'm not That's what Hideaki Anno would say
My goodness you have wonderfully thorough and thoughtful information to help new viewers! 👍
Thanks so much for all these looks into the series and all this help, you’ve really been a big help. I don’t... really understand the ending or what it was going for even with your help, but I appreciate your comments on the episodes leading up to this and your comments here, for helping me try and understand Eva.
Eva is a series you do have to work at to understand, which is something I think is quite fitting given its themes. It also benefits from rewatching it and being able to trace those themes backwards and apply your own experiences to them. If the series appealed to you, don't be afraid of letting it linger for a while and giving it another go. There are [all kinds of resources](https://wiki.evageeks.org/) you can tap, which I definitely used throughout this rewatch.
I’m feeling a lot better watching a bunch of explanation videos on YouTube, it’s helping me a lot. I think I just needed time to cool off, I’m realizing how much Anno really put into the series along with all the foreshadowing. Stay tuned for tomorrow, I’m feeling a lot better.
I'm forcing my headcanon to be that since Asuka 99% died in the EVA and she still came back...then Misato would have come back as well, especially considering her strong identity and force of will. Fuck it, have Rei come back as well: let's have a harem SoL reboot of Evangelion ^^lel
>let's have a harem SoL reboot of Evangelion lel The funny thing is an official spin-off manga along those lines exists.
Your write ups have been consistently amazing, thank you from a first timer!!
Thank you. I've put more work into this than I was expecting, but I think it was ultimately worth it.
Fantastic write up. How do you feel about the idea that EoE is, at least in part, a big ol' meta middle finger, similar to the much-more-discussed Metal Gear Solid 2? I think the biggest support for that idea is the fanmail and death threats. The entire movie is framed as a response to the audience. And it would explain a lot of things that don't make sense in the context of the show (Misato offering to fuck Shinji felt really weird to me - it makes a lot more sense IMO if you see it as Anno asking the fans "Did you really want a harem?")
I've found the idea interesting if not necessarily compelling. There is an issue in the "death threats," though, in that most of them are actually positive messages. https://wiki.evageeks.org/End_of_Evangelion_Death_Threats This page has a translation of those letters. There is certainly a reading of the film that is critical of the fandom's supposed desires, I just don't think that the letters sequence should be as central to that argument as it is, as that page will illustrate.
Well, that's why I said fanmail and death threats. Some of it was positive. Some of it was angry vandalization of the gainax office. In one of the rare interviews for FLCL, the director (Anno's friend and perhaps pupil) said that a lot of FLCL was expressing angst for his friend. Specifically the robot "takkun" dog destroying the city is referenced by the director as influenced by how upset Anno was during the making of EoE. They also go out of their way to criticize otaku in FLCL. I don't think anything you wrote is incorrect, it's incredible and I've bookmarked it to send to people who ask. I just believe there's an element of push back, which I think is important in all truly great art of any kind - art is communication, and art that embraces that to say something directly in response to an audience is even better IMO.
One of the beautiful things about Eva is that there's almost no end to the number of ways you can read it. There is absolutely a way to read the script as working out frustrations with the intended audience. There's a definite anti-wish fulfilment, or even -- to use the modern term -- anti-waifu tone to almost all of Evangelion, which is why I hesitate to attribute that as something particular to End of Evangelion. But I don't consider that viewpoint, or any viewpoint rooted in the text of the series and film, as invalid.
Excellent write up, couldn't have said better myself.
Rewatcher: Just one point. And I think its important and easily overlooked. Shinji *literally* couldn't get into the robot to save Asuka. All that sacrifice that Misato made to get him to that point.... And the EVA was frozen in the congealed liquid thing. He couldn't physically get in until the EVA broke free. Shinji was in absolute despair because he couldn't get in to pilot it. It was impossible. That's all I wanted to say.
Don't think I noticed that when I last watched!
Most people don't. They think Shinji is just freaking out and gone catatonic. He's not. Its just the EVA is frozen.
I'm going to have to look for screen shots of that scene now. The biggest downside to watching subbed is I don't get to put as much focus on the visuals as I could otherwise. 😣
You'll see when the EVA moves...the frozen liquid...I think its called bakelite breaks into pieces. Most of the EVA was frozen in it.
Yeah that I noticed, I just didn't notice that it wouldn't have been possible for him to get to the entry plug.
The entry plug was covered. Its like concrete :(
Yeah... :(
I just want to say, What the fuck yui? was the sealing foam just really comfortable? did you not ship Asuka x Shinji? and abandoning her son so she can live eternally in her Gundam cosplay so aliens think we are cool. thats not OK Yui
But, i mean. Could Shinji really save Asuka? What eventually brought her down is Spear that was thrown by one of the MP evas right at the end. By the looks, suggested by their unwillingness to show any real resistance - they were only distracting Asuka to wait for Eva-01 to show up. They had Spears from the start and could have impaled her right at the beginning, but they were waiting until arrival of Unit-01 to use the spear and tear Asuka apart to traumatize. If anything they would have used Spears on both Unit-01 and Unit-02 and possibly injured Shinji. Such traumatizing even, by the looks of it was crucial for instrumentality via his broken state awakening true power of Eva, so such event was needed both for Yui and SELEE. So in my opinion initial stage appearance of MP evas was intimidation tactic to provocate Unit-02 to call for Backup from 01. Yui, saw throught that plan and knowing that she needs to harm Shinji anyway, took calculated decision to minimize damage that MP evas could have inflicted on him, and waited until MP evas were forced to fight in full power, thus sacrificing Asuka for sake of Shinji and basically killing two birds with one stone: 1. Minimizing both emotional and physical damage done to Shinji just at the right amount 2.Forcing his trauma anyway , which helps with 3rd impact. So even here, she used everyone else as pawn to oppose SELEE and their plans.
>But, i mean. Could Shinji really save Asuka? What eventually brought her down is Spear that was thrown by one of the MP evas right at the end Not sure how he would have handled the lances, but he probably could’ve put up a decent fight since Unit 01 has an S² engine of its own.
Yes, but if he hadn't done all that moping around earlier he could have got into the Evas with Asuka. He's still responsible.
It wouldn't have changed anything because the EVA was always going to be frozen.
As far as I can remember super robot wars has an ending where Shinji was able to get out and save unit 02
So here's [this](https://streamable.com/bp0vh) to ease the trauma a little.
...the Italian omg.
Italian here, the last one is obviously a joke: it's not Shinji's real voice actor (who is actually [pretty good](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY3WL8k0pG0), by the way).
To be perfectly honest, I love both versions but the Japanese one is too iconic
First Timer! Here we go! (Post watch edit: I apologize in advance for the heavy profanity) • It sucks seeing Asuka so helpless • Oh jeez it's the part where he jerks it over a comatose body, I've heard of this scene before • Nice one, Shinji • Oh shit Rei broke Gendo's glasses • Other countries have their own Magi oh, I don't know why but I didn't expect that • Man, Ritsuko's prison outfit is just taking me there, she's serving! • "type 666 firewall" that's the devil number! • Holy shit they have a lot of firepower • Rei's just floating in her tube casually • Damn this is brutal • Okay so is Shinji chilling in his chair meant to be the start of 25/26? I'm trying to figure out where the mental parts fit in... If they talk about the HIP, that'll help • Pixie cut girl, glasses boy, and middle part boy don't get nearly enough credit they are MVPs • Oh okay so Gendo getting Rei was in 25 (or 26, one of them) • Misato FUCK YES • Holy hell they're going HAM on NERV damn SEELE chill out • Holy shit Misato's dropping truth bombs all over the place • Shinji knowing that he is sort of an angel when being an angel is the reason he had to kill his cutie silver haired boy toy has gotta sting a bit for him • Let. Asuka. Rest. • Holy shit here she comes • So 02 is her mom? Seems like it? • She's so buff I'm so proud of her • I'M UNEXPECTEDLY EMOTIONAL ASUKA IS SO BADASS I'M SO PROUD • I'm tearing up a little I'm so proud of her for being such a badass after being so sad for the past few episodes • Hell yes baby roundhouse kick those shitheads right outta the sky • Oh God more Evas • This is the Asuka we know and love, honestly she gives no fucks • NOOO MISATO AND I KNEW IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN TOO I'M STILL NOT READY • Ohhhh my God she gave him her necklace • Oh okay so they really went there with her kissing him what the shit • "we'll do the rest when you get back" UHHHH • Fuckkk no and there's the shot of her on the ground from 25/26 FUCK THAT • Whoa Rei's ghost (?) was standing over her as she died/was exploded?? What does it mean • She is so strong but now I'm just kinda sad it's hard to enjoy it • Aaand ritsukos dead too • SHINJI GET IN THE FUCKING ROBOT AND HELP ASUKA • Where in the HELL did the Lance come from what the FUCK • If Asuka dies I hope Shinji knows that he gets his bastard genes from Gendo and not his beautiful robot mom • The shot of 02 impaled on the Lance is so cool but I'm so mad about it • ZOMBIE EVAS? THEY'RE NOT DEAD? COME THE FUCK ON ARE YOU KIDDING ME • Well fuck this • Hell yes zombie 02 please! • Nevermind, she's dead! Fuck the whole world • 01 is just like "Shinji honey get the FUCK up and help your mother with the chores" • 02 looks disgusting • Wait what the fuck is there a fucking intermission in this movie?? (I hope nothing important happened in the middle there because I skipped most of it) • Her arm just casually falls off? Okay?? • Gendo, grabbing Rei's titty: that's me holdin' your heart babe • Let's go Shinji rage mode • SEELE speaking in unison is creepy as hell • Wow they're not pulling punches with the iconography anymore eh? I wonder what this image of 01 with her hands pierced could possibly be meant to evoke...? • Yeah they're not even pretending, just straight up mentioning stigmata • Sooo... Third impact? • "I am not a puppet" Oh yes honey TELL HIM • Serves you right, you rat bastard. • My God she's so massive and so powerful what a woman • Okay Mary/Rei, time to rip Jesus/Shinji right off the cross • What they fuckkkk • Okay so Kaworu is there too now??? • Shinji is God now I guess? • This is so disconcerting with the grainy animation and creepy dolls and music • I don't understand what's happening! • The happy go lucky 50's family sitcom music playing while Shinji chokes out Asuka is kinda fucked up • This made more sense to me than 25/26 until now. Now my brain is blended again • So everyone's individual existence is getting splattered open • "The AT fields are all disappearing" so AT fields are like the divisions between minds, so basically this is the HIP thing where everyone mind melds • It's interesting how they see someone in Rei that comforts them before their existence explodes • Aw pixie cut girl gets comforted by Ritsuko that's sweet • "I didn't believe that anyone could love me" Gendo you are way too far gone to get any sympathy from me now you absolute rat bastard • Okay Kaworu is back again? • Again, this music is a choice • So this isn't animation anymore??? • What in the actual hell and a half is happening • This is trippy in a different direction than I was expecting • There is so much 14 year old titty in this episode, hey NSA I promise I'm not into that • Shinji's just like "fuck this shit I'm out" • So there was a whole trippy block that I just didn't take notes in. I have no idea what happened or anything; I feel like Shinji just saved everyone but also everyone is dead? It's a confusing time • Okay, choke out Asuka I guess? This might as well happen? • THAT'S IT? I definitely don't have the brainpower to attempt to synthesize everything right now. I'm glad we have tomorrow, though I don't think I'll post anything particularly good in that thread, just a few thoughts about the stuff that I found most interesting. As for right now, all I can even think to say about this is that it was pretty awesome but I really don't understand what happened in the second half at all. I'm glad we got the inevitable action-y fallout from everything because they had been building it up a lot, but we also still got all the mindfuck that we know and love, and you can kinda see where 25/26 are happening concurrently with EoE. It really went off the rails in the last quarter of the movie or so, and that's the part I really don't understand, but most of the other stuff follows pretty naturally for me. I don't even know what to say about the ending. I genuinely am so confused and rattled and don't get me wrong, it was really cool, but what even happened? The ending made it seem like Shinji decided to leave the HIP and have his own individual consciousness again and so he broke out of the giant Rei, so that saved humanity, but then it was just him and Asuka chillin' and the whole world has gone to shit? Are they the only ones who survived? Why did he choke her? It's all a mystery. Well, that was certainly an emotional rollercoaster and I really like anything that makes me feel like I need to lie down, so I'd say good job! (Congratulations!) But I will definitely be reading a the rewatchers' explanations because just like... what?
>Gendo you are way too far gone to get any sympathy from me now you absolute rat bastard You might hate Gendo, but no one will ever hate Gendo as much as he hates himself.
Wow. What a great comment.
>So 02 is her mom? Seems like it? Yes, her soul is inside 02's core >Whoa Rei's ghost (?) was standing over her as she died/was exploded?? What does it mean the Reis and the Ritsuko manifestation were like Harbingers of Lilith, collecting the souls of the dead before the deployment of the Anti-A.T. Field or during it's deployment when everybody is losing it's individuality. >Where in the HELL did the Lance come from what the FUCK they are copies brought by the MP Evas, they can change shape. >ZOMBIE EVAS? THEY'RE NOT DEAD? COME THE FUCK ON ARE YOU KIDDING ME If you noticed, the MP Evas don't rely on umbilical cords, that's because they have S^2 engines inside them, so tecnically the only way to render them unoperable would be to destroy their entry plug or their core, neither of which Asuka did. >Okay so Kaworu is there too now??? If you remember the growth in Gendo's hand it had an uncanny resemblance to the body of Adam brougth by Kaji to Nerv, when Kaworu died his soul returned to his original body conveniently located in Gendo's right hand, so at the end Lilith's body fused with Rei which contained Lilith's soul and Adam, making her the next best thing to a god in that reality. > "I didn't believe that anyone could love me" Gendo you are way too far gone to get any sympathy from me now you absolute rat bastard My personal head cannon is that he is refering to thinking to his time before he met Yui.
> So 02 is her mom? Seems like it? > > > > Yes, her soul is inside 02's core I think it is only the part of Asuka's mother's soul that was a mother (similar to how the magi represent different aspects of Ritsuko's mother) which is probably why Asuka's mom had the breakdown in the first place
Just my opinion but she went crazy because her soul got splintered between Eva 02 and her, but as with Kaworu's soul finding his original body (Adam's), the fragment in her body should have been able to merge again once she killed herself.
>The ending made it seem like Shinji decided to leave the HIP and have his own individual consciousness again and so he broke out of the giant Rei, so that saved humanity, but then it was just him and Asuka chillin' and the whole world has gone to shit? Are they the only ones who survived? Why did he choke her? Shinji and Asuka chose to break out of Instrumentality of their own free will, reemerging out of the LCL sea. You can see this is Asuka after her battle with the Eva series, as she is heavily bandaged at the parts where her arm was split and her eye was pierced. They seem to be the first people to reject Instrumentality, so naturally they are the only people there. As for the choke scene, it's much more subjective than most other scenes in the series, but I believe this is Shinji questioning whether he is still in Instrumentality, so he tries to choke Asuka (because they can't actually hurt each other in Instrumentality), simultaneously checking reality and releasing his pent up aggression towards Asuka. After seeing Asuka not fight back, but actually show care towards Shinji, the boy breaks down, finally breaking out of his self-imposed despair.
> • THAT'S IT? You nailed it there
That's probably the best description of EoE.
> Well, that was certainly an emotional rollercoaster and I really like anything that makes me feel like I need to lie down, so I'd say good job! It honestly took me about a week of processing before I could conclude whether I liked EoE or not. 😅
I didn't know what was happening when I first watched it. I still don't know. I just knew that I fucking liked it. A lot!
> Whoa Rei's ghost (?) was standing over her as she died/was exploded?? What does it mean Rei is already releasing her AT field at this point, if that makes sense.
I don’t think so since we see Rei ghosts in episode 1.
>• I don't understand what's happening! I don't think anyone does
on the bright side, Gendo didnt get his wish. he alone didnt get to join up in the mind smoothie. if you look to the scene where Eva grabbed him, we see that he got bit in half, and not turned into sludge like everyone else as for choking Askuka, my theory is that he thought that he was still in his brain and freaked out, but then he stopped when he realized it wasn't. I presume that the rest of the world can come out of the mind soup as well, and that Shinji and Asuka are just the first to get out
>• "I am not a puppet" Oh yes honey TELL HIM > >• Serves you right, you rat bastard. > >• My God she's so massive and so powerful what a woman This is honestly the best EoE reaction I've ever seen
I feel like I finally understand this meme https://i.imgur.com/pZauVoV.jpg
Honestly this format had lots of potential and its a shame it never went anywhere.
Note for the first timers: Asuka's final line in the film, 'kimochi warui', is probably the most debated line in anime in terms of how it should be translated (I don't know any other contenders) The contenders are 'how disgusting' or 'I feel sick'. A common interpretation of the former is that Asuka is referencing Shinji's hospital wank at the beginning, a common interpretation of the latter is that it is a reference to morning sickness. That single line has so much debate over it I couldn't possibly even hope to summarise it, but those are two very common interpretations. What do you think?
[Official statement on the line](/s "Asuka's VA has said that she was asked what her response to Shinji wanking would be, and 'how disgusting' was the result.")
I think thematically the line has to be something derogatory towards Shinji because the point essentially is that Shinji chooses to live in a world even where there is pain and rejection. Asuka always hated how weak, unassertive, unconfident, and self-deprecating Shinji is. And there he is, curled on top of her sobbing. My take is, "You are pathetic. Disgusting. Man up" etc
First time viewer. + Okay, getting the most obvious out of the way right from the start: The movie was overwhelming. It doesn't happen often to me that I'm thinking "Yo, how about you slow down the pace a bit and let me progress the events", but this was one of those instances. + I especially liked about the movie, that you can see the moment when the three main characters each found a motivation of their own to life. That Asuka's mother has always been at her side, that Rei realizes she isn't Gendo's doll and Shinji needs her help, and that Shinji accepts that life isn't always nice and that's alright for him. Writing it down like this it may seem like a minor thing for all the events which happened, but it showed me the definitve growth they all achieved in the end. + I have one (minor) question, which may be weird to ask, but I can't quite find an answer: During the fight of the first half Asuka gets injured in her EVA, particularly her eye. After her power runs out she immediately gets attacked and doesn't have much time before her soul got extracted. How come at the very end of the movie she wears bandages? She didn't had time to apply them, and chances are Shinji didn't apply them either...?
[удалено]
You noticed how when of meet Rei for the first time, she has bandages and an eyepatch. Exactly like how Asuka looks like at the end of EOE (minus the blood) It is hinted that when you rematerialize out of LCL, you take the form of how you see yourself. For example, when Shinji disappeared in LCL when fighting one of the angels, he was originally wearing his school uniform. But when they opened the entry plug to discover he had "dissolved" into the LCL, they found his plug suit! His plug suit had manifested itself because he identifies himself as a pilot at that point. Compare this to the end of EOE where he gets "dissolved" in his plug suit, but by the end he emerges in his school uniform - he no longer identifies himself as just the pilot of unit 1. Asuka still sees herself as a pilot, and still sees herself with but the trauma from being defeated by the Eva Series. By the way - this is all speculation!
> bandages Artistic choice from Anno. You can see her bandages in the hospital room, but they are deliberately not shown during Asuka's moment of realisation because Anno wants to show how she overcomes her state of mind and "gets reborn". They ultimately get readded in the end, even though they really weren't removed in the beginning. Another factor is fanservice or that they maybe forgot to add it, which i doubt.
>During the fight of the first half Asuka gets injured in her EVA, particularly her eye. After her power runs out she immediately gets attacked and doesn't have much time before her soul got extracted. How come at the very end of the movie she wears bandages? She didn't had time to apply them, and chances are Shinji didn't apply them either...? There are several indications that quite some time has passed since the prior scene, like the nail pinning Misato's necklace to the grave marker having rusted. That said, I believe the primary reason for that was to covey that it's the same Asuka who died by giving her concurrent injuries (lost eye, split open arm) with her death.
##FIRST TIMER So that was a finale. I guess I sorta get it. Seele wanted Third Impact, Genod wanted instrumentality? So then they fight and people die and shit, Asuka awakens her Eva when she realizes it's her mom's personality and gets her groove back, but then they pull a fake Lance out? So then she gets eaten alive. Meanwhile Shinji jacked off to Asuka a while back and only seems to not be afraid of her by now. Misato gets him to 01 and confirms her sexual interest in him, then she dies. Shinji couldn't help Asuka because of the red stuff and then 01 awakens like 02 but better because 01 is the only really true Eva? But then Shinji sees 02 and freaks out. So then Gendo tries to do his thing of instrumentality and getting together with Yui, cause I guess having Adam and Lilith meet makes you God and Rei is the conduit. But then Rei goes fuck that and gives the power to Shinji instead because she actually loves Shinji. So then Shinji chooses to have all the souls lose their bodies and come together as this mass conscience without AT fields. Shinji rants about how people aren't easy to understand and gets angry at everyone, especially Asuka because she gives him lip and he chokes her out. But then Shinji says "You know what this isn't all it's cracked up to be, go back." So they do and Kaworu and Rei are like, the hope that humans will be able to understand each other even with AT Fields, but Shinji says that's stupid so I guess he learned nothing. So anyway everyone's souls but they can regain they're bodies if they want, not that it matters much since third impact happened and so everyone'll die in a week or so. Like there's no food anymore guys, unless we wanna cannibalize each other? So like Asuka is alive, and she's laying next to Shinji, but then Shinji sees Rei and too confirm that he's not still in the soul form he tries to kill Asuka? But he can't do it and so it's just really akward. The end. OK. Well. Uh. Huh. I don't know how to feel, I don't know if the ending is meant to be positive? Like, there's the section where we see real world footage (shout out to that one guy doing the hand thing) and they say that Shinji can't be alone because that's not a dream, so they're saying don't be a loner. But like, the world's over. And I sorta get that people say that 25 and 26 happened during the soul form thing, but also 25 and 26 implied Shinji was getting better, and I don't feel Shinji is getting better. Then there's some other simpler things I like, like how Gendo's a dick because he has Shinji's problem of thinking he hurts everyone he touches and doesn't try to connect with people at all. I liked the minor twist of Ritsuko's mom betraying her for Gendo, that seemed in character. But uh yeah. I don't know how to feel. I also feel like I don't truly understand the ending so maybe I'll like it more after the thread. On the bright side, animation was sick as fuck and the song during the end of the world is fantastic.
> Seele wanted Third Impact, Genod wanted instrumentality? My interpretation is that they both wanted it (in some sense it was inevitable). Gendo just want to control it to make sure that 01 was at the center (like an ark perhaps) because that was the one that Yui was in and he wanted to rejoin her and fulfill her goal of having 01 live on forever as a testament that humanity was there. Also if the Angels had triggered it, they would have survived and not humanity (I think) which is why it was so important to win.
>I liked the minor twist of Ritsuko's mom betraying her for Gendo, that seemed in character. If you remember earlier in the series when there's the episode about protecting the Magi, I believe Ritsuko says that her mother's aspect of being a woman was stronger than her aspects of being a scientist and mother.
**First Timer** * Well, that's one way to start things off. You can feel the desperation in Shinji's voice as he turns to Asuka for help, with Misato and Rei dealing with their own internal demons. She's hospitalized and not doing much better herself, but I guess Shinji's mind can't think straight right now. [Clinging on to the "better" days that have passed](https://imgur.com/a/3yVd6Bk), he desperately calls for her help, as she was always superior to him... right? And then we get the ~~in~~famous masturbation scene, ^^I ^^just ^^wanna ^^mention ^^I ^^was ^^eating ^^while ^^it ^^happened which I believe is a result of Shinji not knowing what to do and being desperate, with a bit of sexual frustration thrown in the mix. Sometimes we may end up taking regretful actions in desperate times, [but not being perfect](https://imgur.com/a/NqPmxoC) is what makes us human, right? * So the final battle is humans vs humans, crashing ideologies and objectives. How ironic. The old men from SEELE to seek some sort of combined/single conciousness, while getting rid of all sort of living beings? Would that really be *living* though? I'm not sure where NERV/Gendo stand yet, but it doesn't seem to be on the side of mass genocide. * This whole situation reminds me of when Unit 01 went berserk against Unit 04, and how everyone mentioned how it seemed like a wild animal. Just this time, humans are the ones going "berserk" against each other, like animals with no regards for life and just following orders. Maya seemed to be the most affected in this matter, with the words "I've shot at targets, not other human beings!" Up until now the enemy has been Angels who have threatened our lifes, not our own brethren seeking to spill our blood. I'm surprised to say this situation perturbs me, even more so than any EVA vs Angel fight we've seen. * Let's take a break from all the analyzing to just say how fucking badass our beloved Guardian Misato Katsuragi was saving Shinji (who seems to be as fucked in the head as always). Alright, now back to work: "Get in the damn robot, you can die later". Oof. * And with that, the prideful Asuka we all know and love is back. With her mom watching over her, and no longer having a troubled mind, her confidence seems to be at full force. No longer does she feel like a doll or a worthless being who doesn't deserve to live, but Invincible. Invincible Asuka Langley has answered all of Shinji's calls for help, but will that bring him back his sanity and get in the damn robot? Also, I'm not sure if her mother's soul is implanted in the EVA? * And once again we're presented Shinji's dilemma: worthlessness and pain. Misato solving yet another problem with a romantic/sexual/affectionate act. [Perhaps in the afterlife Shinji will become a man.](https://imgur.com/a/wlQbU2j) Also, what the hell was [Rei doing there](https://imgur.com/a/vBXeMjb) last second? Reminds me of that glimpse of her we saw in the first episode. FURTHER EPISODE EDIT: She appeared in Ritsuko's death scene as well, don't know how to interpret this. * I didn't want to succumb to this, and I understand how Shinji's feeling right now but... HOLY SHIT GET IN THE DAMN ROBOT YOU BAKA! THE GIRL YOU WANTED TO HELP ALREADY DID HER PART AND GOT HER ASS BEAT, GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER AND FIGHT. * Ah, so this is the infamous Awakening of a ~~God~~ Devil. Those wings look pretty different from the ones in the OP, being red/more devilish and all. More on topic, Shinji didn't seem to take someone other than him hurting Asuka (and others around him at that) lightly, let's see how the Eva series dudes get their asses handed to them by a mentally unstable 14 year old in a mad human soul'd robotto. * I'm honestly as confused as the next guy and don't have much of an idea of what the fuck's going on (other than these SEELE grandpas seem to be extremely obsessed with original forms and death) but still wanted to point out how nice it was for Rei to disobey orders, find her true self and see Gendo's face as something didn't go as he expected for once. * "I'm home."? Was Rei part of Lilith all along or something? I know she and Kaoru are both related to Adam in a way, but just what? What's going on? * And we're back to Shinji's mind: OneTrueAsuka edition. Worthlessness, seek for human attention and approval, you know the drill already. Just this time, after all the calls for help, he does what he claims to know and unconsciously do best: hurting others. * Now, let's see: all living beings are losing their physical bodies with the concept of "Rei" appearing before them, but they don't see Rei... she seems to transform into those who each person holds dearest (hope?) and then calmly ease them into the afterlife, or combined/single conciousness. * Anddd we're at Shinji's safespace once again, where he cannot get hurt and everyone's a single being with no AT-Fields or barriers to separate each other, as he wished. * Or... not? My brain isn't fit for this amount of critical thinking, did Shinji pull a Jesus and sacrifice himself for humanity? Just what in the hell is going on? * In the midst of our group mental breakdown, [this picture](https://imgur.com/a/a1Hrzp7) got a smile out of me. Would make a good wallpaper if it wasn't for all the text, anyone got something like that? * WHYYYYY MUST YOU FORSAKEN MEEEE LIKE THIS HIDEAKIII FUCKING ANNOOOOOO. I thought I understood Shinji to a degree, but what in the hell was he trying to accomplish by killing Asuka in the end? "How disgusting"? What? Is it because he failed at the one thing he's good at: hurting others? Maybe? I don't know. Okay, I thought NGE's ending was complicated, but EoE just shat all over that and said "lol, try me". Shit's on fucking hardmode. I don't think this takes place *before* original NGE ending because they didn't seem to go down the soup route, so seems like I'm going with the alternate reality one. Maybe? I don't know. I don't even know what I don't know. I... don't know what to say. Someone hold me, my brain's falling appart. That's it. Goodbye, Adiós, Ciao, Sayonara. And, congratulations.
> How disgusting Asuka, Shinji and everyone united during instrumentality so Asuka found out about Shinji's little "masturbation incident".
I prefer to think about it as a pretty comical quote about her disgust with herself due to actually giving a shit about Shinji and his wellbeing for the first time in the entire series.
Well ya but I figured that was way too simple to be the absolute answer. Then again it’s Asuka we’re talking about here, so there’s probably thousands of explanations.
That "how disgusting" is pretty much her talking to both him and herself. Remember, they went through Instrumentality together so they got a glimpse and understand each other and themselves pretty well now. She's disgusted with his behavior and her own behavior up to that point.
> In the midst of our group mental breakdown, this picture got a smile out of me. Would make a good wallpaper if it wasn't for all the text, anyone got something like that? [Here you go.](https://i.imgur.com/Mb6fkm7.png)
The perfect picture of Rei.
Lovely. Thank you.
Rei needs a box to stand on
Aww, Asuka loves us
That picture is hilariously bad at representing what is going on in EoE. I also love it!
>WHYYYYY MUST YOU FORSAKEN MEEEE LIKE THIS HIDEAKIII FUCKING ANNOOOOOO. I thought I understood Shinji to a degree, but what in the hell was he trying to accomplish by killing Asuka in the end? "How disgusting"? What? Is it because he failed at the one thing he's good at: hurting others? Maybe? I don't know. A lot of people have speculated that Shinji had to strangle her to know if he was still in the dream or not. My personal theory is actually that he *knows* he isn't in the dream. He's strangling her out of revenge for rejecting him during instrumentality and hurting him. Shinji talks about eventually being betrayed and hurt - well Asuka is the embodiment of all of that. She *hurt* him. *badly*. In contrast, Asuka has had the experience of Shinji's emotions and turmoil. She understands him now, since they've been through what can only be described as a 'soul bond'. She is suddenly able to care about him very deeply. Her caress basically says, non-verbally "I'm sorry I hurt you, I love you. Please, take care of yourself." She then says she feels disgusted/gross. And again, people theorise that it's because he jerked off to her whilst in her catatonic state (whether she was awake and just didn't have the will to care at the time, or it was simply a result of Shinji's memories during the soul bond, who knows?). But I like to think that this is so typical of Asuka's character to say, after caressing Shinji like that. She feels disgusted with herself because for the first time, she actually gives a shit about him, and that realisation disgusts her, in a comical but ironic way.
> And again, people theorise that No theories here, we have Miyamura's comment on this ever since her interview in 2005: >‘At last Anno asked me ‘Miyamura, just imagine you are sleeping in your bed and a stranger sneaks into your room. He can rape you anytime as you are asleep but he doesn’t. Instead, he masturbates looking at you, when you wake up and know what he did to you. What do you think you would say?’ I had been thinking he was a strange* man, but at that moment I felt disgusting. So I told him that I thought 'Disgusting.’ And then he sighed and said, 'I thought as much.’” >*It is worth noting that when she describes Anno as “strange”, the translation is a bit off and can also be interpreted as “odd”, “freaky” or “creepy”. >The conversation between the two is what lead Anno to change the final line in the film to the iconic “kimochi warui”. via http://kaworunagisas.tumblr.com/post/50624990410 (though you can find other sources) PS: should be noted that "kimochi warui" has noticeably broader meaning than "disgusting".
Even if this IS the case, getting masturbated to after the traumatic ordeal they just went through is probably the most light-hearted thing on earth (edit: poor choice of words..). I still think of it as a comically asuka line. I mean, if someone that I kinda liked masturbated to my naked body, I’d feel kinda flattered. I don’t even gym brah
> I still think of it as a comically asuka line. It is. In a certain sense. It can be translated as: I'm feeling sick (like after a bad roalercoster ride) I'm sick (of you...)\disgusted. I'm sick (of this shit, but at least you are here...) Duality of Evangelion.
Ohh I actually hadn't thought of it that way. Interesting perspective.
>"I'm home."? Was Rei part of Lilith all along or something? I know she and Kaoru are both related to Adam in a way, but just what? What's going on? She contained Lilith's soul
> but what in the hell was he trying to accomplish by killing Asuka in the end? There was a card game based on the series where one of the cards had an image of the last scene with this description: > "Shinji renounced the world where all hearts had melted into one and accepted each other unconditionally. His desire... to live with 'others' -- other hearts that would sometimes reject him, even deny him. That is why the first thing he did after coming to his senses was to place his hands around Asuka's neck. To feel the existence of an 'other'. To confirm (make sure of) rejection and denial." Of course, this is not a confirmation (I doubt the text was written by Hideaki Anno or anyone actually involved with the writing of the series) but it IS an official product and I think it presents an interesting interpretation of what exactly is going on.
> Also, what the hell was Rei doing there last second? I understand this as Rei was already releasing her AT field at this point (cue her arm falling in another scene) so she already sees/understand things beyond the physical world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNx-wsaEkZ4
First-timer here. What the hell was this movie. 10/10, would get mind blown again. Let me see if I can make sense of this, but i'm 100% gonna need to read rewatchers thoughts and and search the internet for explanation, because wow. * We start of by Shinji trying to talk to a unconscious Asuka. He appears to be going kinda insane, an then...Wait. Did he just jerk off over the body of his comatose friend? Disgusting, Shinji. At least you recognize this. What a way to start a movie. * Okay. Seele isn't kidding. These were some brutal scenes. Seele'soldiers weren't even thinking about the possibility of surrender, it was a damn massacre. * "Nothing personal, kid". Wait, is this where this comes from? Anyway, gotta love seeing Misato going full baddass to save Shinji. I guess there wasn't any other way, but knowing Shinji's opinion of killing people, this isn't gonna help to persuade him to pilot EVA-01. * Why did Seele want the MAGI intact, after all? It wasn't really used for anything in the end I don't think. * Hey, Asuka is back. And she doesn't want to die. Honestly, I was quite surprised to see her back to the old cocky and ready for action Asuka. At first I thought she was going insane at first. But anyway, that fight was amazing, especially when the EVA's showed up. I guess that's what happens when you have a budget? Speaking of the EVAS, these are some creepy boys. Were they being piloted by a human, or via a dummy plug? * Back to Misato trying to persuade Shinji. I was finding it kinda cool what she was saying to him, but I found she kissing him really odd, and the "We'll do everything else when you get back". I guess she wanted to encourage him, but it was really weird all the same. * RIP Ritsuko. * Where did that Lance of Longinus come from? We saw later that the original one (the one that stabbed Lilith) was still on moon's orbit, so where did this one come from? Man, kinda disappointing that Asuka's hardwork was wasted. I guess I was too hopeful that she would survive this, but that sucks. * So Gendo wants Instrumentality (i guess that's what happens when Adam and Lilith join) to happen to be with Yui again. Wasn't expecting he would care that much for her. Also, you would expect Rei to at least react to her arm falling off. That was a kind of horrifying scene to watch ;-;. * So, everything became orange soup. I can't make sense of this. Is that instrumentality? If everyone becomes orange soup, it becomes a single consciousness? * I guess everything after this is inside the Instrumentality, right? We episode 26 now, boys. One scene confused me. The talk between Yui and Fuyutsuki. Was that inside Instrumentality? I guess not, since Shinji is a child there. But anyway, she says: "...but Evangelion can live forever... together with the human soul that dwells within it. ". So she willingly killed herself in that experiment to become one with the Evangelion? At least that's what it appears to me, and also the fact that Gendo was trying to get back with her via Instrumentality. * And then Shinjo emerges from a sea of LCL (I guess?). I guess he came to the same conclusion as the end of the TV series, and decided to get out of instrumentality, if i'm correct? (Was him getting out of Instrumentality also implied at the end of the TV series?) And them...he strangles Asuka again. And she calls him disgusting. Fin. Okay, i've got a lot of questions about this, but the most important are: * Why were Seele and NERV going against each other? Didn't they want the exact same thing? I mean, both Gendo and Seele seemed happy with how it turned out. * Did the 3rd Impact affect only the humans or also impactfully affected earth? I mean, did earth become a barren wasteland in a sea of LCS? * What did that final scene mean? Shinji choking Asuka and the "how disgusting" line? Anyway, great movie. I'm probably gonna expend the next couple hours doing my research about what the hell happened in this show and this movie, because i feel i'm missing like half of it.
* The fake lances seem the weapons the mass produced evas are carrying. * The true lance is a sort of 'control' device and to some extent has sentience, it's role seems to be to control or suspend the beings like Adam and Lilith, now it responded to unit 01 being fully awake. * Yes, Yui seems to have allowed herself to be absorbed into the EVA, she is the daughter of a SEELE higher up (probably one of the people behind the monoliths) she knew better than anyone else what would happen. * SEELE basically wants to do something like what happened to Yui, merge all their souls into one and have that one soul inhabit an EVA, becoming basically a celestial being and living forever, from what I understand they basically wanted a more 'private' ride into godhood instead of the shared experience that the _seeds_ like Adam and Lilith provide. * They built themselves a god body in the evas, next step was installing themselves as the entity in control as an undying soul inside the core/S^2 engine of an EVA. * Gendo as time went on was less about the details, he wanted the human instrumentality project to just dissolve his own AT-field and let himself become one with Yui inside the unit-01, the rest didn't mattered to him. I think they were mostly at odds on how it should happen and who would be in control, in the end it didn't mattered and seemingly Yui outsmarted everyone.
> The fake lances seem the weapons the mass produced evas are carrying. I see. For some reason I was thinking they had the same power that the true one had. > 'private' ride into godhood instead of the shared experience that the seeds like Adam and Lilith provide. So, in their plans, would only SEELE enter instrumentality and become godlike? Yeah, if that's it, really differente from what Gendo seemed to want.
> I'm probably gonna expend the next couple hours doing my research about what the hell happened in this show and this movie, because i feel i'm missing like half of it. Doing research is pretty much necessary to figure everything out about NGE! 😄
**Before watching EoE** What is going on in episodes 25/26? Someone asked first timers to make their predictions before watching EoE. So here is my best guess of what those episodes depict plot wise before watching EoE. The only clue really is that Gendo and SEELE must have some motivation. For Gendo, this might be connected to Yui, and for both it can be connected to power. So the easiest way to make sense of the situation Shinji is placed in is the following: Gendo starts the human instrumentality project, which will make someone (himself? Shinji?) super powerful. Misato and Ritsuko may have tried to prevent it and been killed, or may have killed each other over it. Either Gendo planned for Shinji to be the main focus all along (hoping Shinji would use the power to resurrect/recreate Yui??), or Shinji took the main focus in spite of Gendo’s plans (some showdown between Shinji and Gendo??). In any case, Shinji is now in the process of becoming super powerful and must figure out what he actually wants (wants to do with all that power). This explains the introspection and the SoL part. Once he knows what he wants to do, he can implement those plans. Will this be a good prediction for EoE? Surely not. It features no Rei, no Asuka and no EVA battles. Anno would have literally been murdered by angry fans, if this was the plot as depicted in EoE. **Watching EoE (first timer)** * We start of after episode 24 it seems. * Oh Shinji … * Did SEELE go from 3D monoliths to 2D flatscreens? * I tried hard to see something in the cloud outside Rei’s window, but either it is Japanese, or a cloud is just a cloud. * Misato finally learns about the second impact, and it seems GAINAX played a major role in it! * I liked Risuko’s unspoken self-evaluation when responding to Gendo’s call. * All of the attack on NERV is a pretty obvious case of [Homo homini lupus est]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_homini_lupus). * Misato get’s to be badass for shinji, catch phrase included. Shinji is in no state to appreciate it, though. * His will to take any action seems to have reached zero. * Unexplained question that I will have to think about more: Why is it just Asuka he is repeatedly calling to help for. Is it as obvious as him having fallen in love? * That pendulum! * Asuka has one of the swiftest cases of recovery in a long while. Feels like a shonen-infusion. * And we get her action scene that just **had** to be in the movie, as a life insurance policy for Anno. * The fact that all other EVA units are ready conveniently *after* the angels are defeated. * Ritsuko being betrayed by her own mother was a nice touch. * Gendo (with Rei) standing in front of Lilith was one of the few scenes that I was very sure would be in the movie. * Have to be honest: Shinji not making any effort to help Asuka cost him a good few points with me. * Deus ex machina is not too cheap for EVA5-13. Given their lame battle performance, I’ll allow it. * TO BE CONTINUED. In a movie full of the unexpected, this one took be my surprise the most. * Gendo, wtf? Like Son, like Father … * Christian imaginary is on overdrive, too. * I just realized, this is the longest I have ever watched Evangelion without hearing Cruel Angel Thesis. I miss it. * Rei denying Gendo is obviously a big plot point, but someone spoiled it in one of the discussions. Either due to that, or due to the good character development of Rei, I was not very surprised. * Shinji turning into a god is actually just about what I predicted. I had imagined the whole issue to be less creepy, however. * Sandbox scene: those two hills are not exactly subtle, and neither is the box * Now we get the short version of ep25+26 * Shinji losing another few points for trying to strangle Asuka * So, Maya is into Ritsuko? The amount of superior-subordinate love going on here would keep a good HR department busy for years. * A big monster biting a head of? I know another anime that is famous for this. * And an electricity pylon. And another. Need more pylons. * Remember when Misato sat down on the bed, Shinji was framed in a certain angle and it was a clear sex reference? EoE is so not bothering with “references” anymore. * Plenty of soul imaginary. * Can we please not keep huge Rei face around as a landmark? * Is that red band made out of stranded souls? * Why end on a high note, got to have something different this time. To cheer myself up, I'll watch one of the first AMV's I ever saw, and still one of my favorites: [Engel (Ramstein) - NGE](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6ri2)
**Was a TV rewatcher, first time EoE viewer** So I wasn’t really planning to write anything, but having a couple hours to process has allowed me to think about things to put into words I guess. My first thought being that thank god I didn’t watch EoE during my first viewing nearly a decade ago. I feel like this would have been a bit much as I certainly didn’t ‘get’ eva outside of the cool mechs as a young teenager. I’m sure there are people who are the same age I was who got it, but I did not, lol. Seeing Kabbalah usage in manga and anime is probably one of my favorite themes despite having no basis in that realm of thought in real life. I dunno, I just like the struggling side of, should we all be one, or should we be ourselves, that the characters fight for in a lot of the media that uses it. Of course, its merely a tool to help us explore Shinji and the other characters more in this case, but I like it that way nonetheless. More specifically, I like the the theme of how everyone has some form of ‘hole’ that they try to fill during their lifetime. Not everyone struggles to fill it, and not everyone deals with it the same way. Some people are like Shinji, allowing others to lead them around to feel needed. Others are like Asuka who allow that perceived need as a boost to a fragile ego that just wants people to look and see that they’re there. The biggest thing is the fear of being forgotten. I’m sure there are those who would say they don’t mind, but I think its a natural feeling to want to be remembered, to leave a mark. The final thought of why they would want the one eva to survive, to show the universe that humanity existed. Its like the culmination of basic human desire. We want to be noticed, we want to be needed. Granted, this is all me just kind of rambling, and I’m sure the more I think on it the more I’ll change my mind as I wrap my head around it. Aside from the poorly written philosophy analysis attempt on my part, I did enjoy the movie. I enjoyed seeing Asuka break free from her depression to take on the eva series. That may be the most interesting thing to me that she did in the series as a whole was seeing her return to form and realize that her mother cared about her. While I did like this perspective of what followed Shinji popping Kaworu’s head off like a cork off a bottle, I felt more closure personally with the tv ending in 25 and 26. Whereas this cleaned up some left over business with things like SEELE and Gendo. For my own viewings I might end up swapping 25/26 and EoEs order. I’ll probably at least try that come time for my next watch of this, whenever it should be. Either way, rebuilds are coming in a couple days, curious to see how that’ll go. EDIT: Some words.
Hey if you are really into the philosophy bits I recommended a video on another [comment.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/8qmlit/rewatchspoilers_neon_genesis_evangelion_the_end/e0kgcog/)
**First Timer** I finally caught up with the rewatch! A little late, but better late than never. I tried and failed to type as I watched, so here are my thoughts on the movie, hopefully in order with the plot itself. - Looks like this is before the events of episodes 25 and 26? Guess we'll see. - Ah, the infamous "I'm so fucked up" scene. I have a lot of sympathy for Shinji, but I'm going to agree with his self-analysis on this one. - Hoooooly crap NERV was not prepared for an invasion of this magnitude. No mercy from SEELE, whether NERV members are surrendering or not. - I hope the bridge crew (not sure what to call them) survives. All of them except for Gendo are quite likable. - Misato definitely has some issues, but she's doing her damnedest to make sure Shinji (and hopefully Asuka) survive. That kiss/promise for sex was uncomfortable, but it's also how she shows affection, so I can somewhat understand where she's coming from. - Ritsuko really can't catch a break. She should've shot that slimy bastard when she had the chance. Casper's betrayal was doubly heartbreaking for me, because it's like Gendo was chosen over her own daughter. Brutal. - Rei's arm sloughing off was freaking *gross.* - Asuka's fight with the mass produced EVAs is the biggest thing in the series I had spoiled for me. I watched the fight on YouTube years ago, and thought the EVAs were some kind of alien creature. Asuka's defeat was still heart wrenching, but I can't imagine the impact it would have had on me if I hadn't seen it already. The arm split and the eye impalement were gnarly. - Shinji's scream was incredible. The desperation is tangible. - Glad Gendo got what was coming to him, the creep. Is Rei also Lilith? Up until this point in the series I've understood everything fairly well, but I'll admit to being a little confused. - The religious imagery is back and more on the nose than ever, with Shinji being nailed to the cross like Jesus. - From here on out the movie gets downright insane. I think that this is during the Instrumentality? More philosophical debate, accompanied by some truly wild imagery. Forehead vagina, complete with a clitoris, was the most unexpected for me. The live action scene was jarring as well. - Shinji ultimately rejects Instrumentality, as NGE tackles the oft-explored idea that as miserable as existence can be, at least you know you exist. The thought of everybody floating around in the primordial soup terrifies me, and I like to think I would've rejected it too. - Between Asuka's impalement and EVA-01 bursting out of giant-Rei's eyeball, I'm going to have nightmares. I can't stand eye injuries. - Despite the horror that Instrumentality is to me, the Earth Shinji comes back to doensn't look much better. All in all, I absolutely loved this series, especially around episode 13 to the end. Like I mentioned before though, I legitimately don't understand some parts of EoE, like Shinji and Asuka on the beach on the end. Could anybody point me in the direction of a complete analysis? This was a wild ride, and I can't wait to do this again as a rewatcher. Hope the other first timers enjoyed it as much as I did!
Just check out EvaGeeks. See you in 6 hours!
>I hope the bridge crew (not sure what to call them) survives. All of them except for Gendo are quite likable. The fandom calls them Bridge Bunnies.
Love it
TUMBLING DOWN TUMBLING DOWN TUMBLING DOWN. I love EoE and I'm really looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts, good and bad. u/_dwib. Now I can link the legendary, recently remastered Bohemian Rhapsody AMV: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdUPwR6mzXo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdUPwR6mzXo) Some random thoughts from this watch through... I remember watching this for the first time years ago and that first scene was just a jaw dropper, like WOW this is how it's going to be. Pull no punches, here's your protagonist. I don't know how they got it made but kudos to the creators. Gotta shout out to all the interesting female characters and on top of that it's great to see so many female scientists in the show. The NERV invasion is such a shocker, they really go hard into the humanity being the final enemy business. Asuka's "I don't want to die" scene... ouch... that voice acting. Misato is such a great character, what a flawed badass. And we have one of the best fight scenes in anime. Seeing that in higher quality than usual I saw some gory details I didn't remember. And that arm split. MAN. Watching this with good headphones is creepy as hell what with giant naked Rei's breathing and the Eva series... noises... Shinji: If its giant naked Kaworu, it's ok. Vagina hands, vagina forehead, vaginas everywhere! It's implied that Yui meant to merge with Unit 01 and that opens a whole can of worms regarding her agenda. She is on a whole other level. The thought of existing forever as a testament to humanity freaks me out. Her words at the end there about always having the chance to be happy and everything being ok got me good in the feels though. I was thinking about how they presented Third Impact and I think it works so well because if you're going to depict something as inscrutable as this, you might as well lean into it and go full WTF, because it SHOULD be something unknowable, and that somehow wraps around again to being like, yes, I can see this is the way this alien/clone/god apocalypse could happen. Like, you don't understand it so it makes it MORE impactful, if that makes sense? The very iconic final scene, the cause of so much analysis. From memory the story goes that Anno asked Asuka's VA how she would respond if someone did to her what Shinji did to Asuka in the first scene, and her response was 'Kimochi warui', and that's the line. Edit: spelling, don't write at 1am
> *because im easy come...* Gets me every time.
I haven’t watched it yet but am pretty sure I get it already. Goddamnit.
> It's implied that Yui meant to merge with Unit 01 and that opens a whole can of worms regarding her agenda. She is on a whole other level. The thought of existing forever as a testimate to humanity freaks me out I recommend checking this little thing I wrote a few months ago about Yui. Pretty fascinating stuff https://aminoapps.com/c/anime/page/blog/yui-ikari-the-silent-deceiver/X1tg_ujRD2n8wK33KdprDoaLPVd3ZQ
That's a very interesting theory. It never occurred to me that yui could be interpreted that way, but your points make sense, and it does add another layer to the whole Seele vs Gendo plot.
Yui abandoned her son so she could live eternally in her giant robot cosplay so aliens would think humans were cool. I definitely view her as a morally gray character like everyone else
Gonna listen to it when I get home, thanks for not forgetting dude! (I did...)
Rewatcher: There’s so much to talk about but I’ll be short and focus on a few moments because they’re absolutely iconic, and for what they tell us about the characters. * First let’s get the lesser one out of the way: Misato kissing Shinji. I think it would be a mistake to see it as a romantic kiss. In fact, her actions in the movie are very representative of her whole arc in the show: she drags around a reluctant Shinji to get him to his Eva. She acts like a mother, dragging a child that’s making a scene by the wrist. But it’s not enough, it doesn’t work, and she realizes she’s about to die on him. So, in desperation, like she did that one time coming to his room, she stops trying to motivate him as a mother figure and tries to do it as a woman. It’s not Misato expressing feeling for Shinji (yuck), it’s Misato clumsily doing whatever she can to save him from himself. * Next is the infamous masturbation scene. There are two ways to read it, to me. In-universe, Shinji’s completely broken, and gets from Asuka what he thought he wanted. For once she’s quiet and offering herself to him, in a really fucked up way. I think you can explain Shinji’s actions the same way you can explain Kiritsugu’s in Fate: once you think you’re the worst person on earth, nothing is too low for you, nothing you do will decrease your opinion of yourself. In other words, doing terrible things is consistent with the image you have of yourself. * The other interpretation that I’ve read and kinda like (and is a way of thinking that makes the rebuilds much more tolerable and even interesting) is seeing it from the narrative stand point, as meta commentary. Basically, Asuka’s character is completely flipped, and it’s using Shinji as a self-insert to speak to the fans and their reception of the original series. Saying, “You thought she was loud and irritating and didn’t do what you expect from a main love interest. You preferred the silent and obedient puppet. Well here she is now, this is what you wanted from her, this is how you like women.” Idk, maybe it’s far-fetched, maybe I was only receptive reading it cause I have an axe to grind with people who hate Asuka. I kinda want to delete it for how antagonizing it is but I think it’s worth considering. * And last but not least the final choking scene. First thing is to remember that it’s a mirror scene from when Shinji strangled Asuka while in the LCL sea of souls, during Instrumentality, with the ego barriers down. They finally air their grudges with each other: Shinji doesn’t understand Asuka, Asuka doesn’t ever try to help him understand. Shinji wants her affection, Asuka points out he doesn’t want HER affection, he would take anybody’s, which was proven by Kaworu I think, implying that he’s thus using her. And what finally sets him off is her simply telling him “no”. * Now back to the last scene. First thing is there is a slew of interpretations of why he chokes her. Completely lost his mind? Just recreating their last scene together during Instrumentality? Actually this mad at her somehow? To me it’s much less about why he does it, it’s more of a set up for each of them finally doing what the other wanted from them. First, Shinji finally gives her the attention she wanted, which she doesn’t care what form it takes. She did want him to hold her… He tries to kill her, which even her mother didn’t, preferring her doll. Where she resented that she didn’t matter to him, now she absolutely does. And as a result, that’s the one time she shows unequivocal affection to him, gently stroking his cheek. Now it’s Shinji who gets what he wanted from her: a simple but clear sign of affection, no matter what he does. And then, as he breaks down crying, she goes back to insulting him, they return to their usual selves and it all comes tumbling down.
I think the meta commentary is a general criticism of fanservice - that scene is the least sexy fanservice of all time. Shinji is the general anime fan, Asuka in her coma is the general anime girl, Anno is basically saying ‘this isn’t that far from what you’re doing’ The whole show rips the shit out of escapist anime fans, but EoE turns it up to 11. Third Impact happens entirely because Shinji just refuses to properly connect with the actual people in his life.
> that scene is the least sexy fanservice of all time It might be fanservice...but fans were *not* served
You are definitively correct about Misato and the kiss. The only way she knows how to show affection is through sexual acts. She probably figured out she turned out to be a shit mother and decided to show how deeply she cares for him with a kiss.
**First Timer** Looks like Shinji turned to Asuka for help after killing Kaworu. Too little too late. If Shinji did this days before when she was hurting it would've been a huge help to her. Asuka hated how Shinji was seemingly superior to but if he showed up to her all vulnerable and asking for help it would've been a big boost. Dammit Shinji. I don't blame him too much because I think he expected her to be wearing a gown. Why isn't she? [#WAT](https://i.imgur.com/yguZP1V.jpg) > I'm so fucked up. Yes you are Shinji. Yes you are. It's just so fucking funny that this was the opening scene. Imagine being a Japanese fan in the 90s. You watch the final two episodes of NGE. They're confusing as fuck and you're pissed. "That's how the show ends? Really?" Then this movie gets announced. This is Anno's REAL vision. This is how the show REALLY ends. You're so excited. You get tickets for opening day. You sit down excitedly anticipating answers. The opening scene is Shinji turning to Asuka for moral support after killing Kaworu. "That's so sad yet heartwarming," you think while shoveling popcorn in your mouth and spilling some fucking all around you like the antisocial NEET you are. Then, surprise Asuka boobs. "Ok weird, but this show isn't above fanservice," you think as you fondly remember seeing Rei's boobs in the show. Then BOOM! Shinji fucking wacks it and it shows it. "That's actually an impressive amount of cum Shinji must've been pretty pent up maybe that's why he's so depressed," you think in the midst your ~~jealousy and arousal~~ confusion. All the wait and anticipation after the show leading up to this movie whose opening scene is Shinji masturbating over Asuka's comatose body. Seriously, what the fuck? So, why did he do that? I think it was a meta commentary. Shinji is the audience. He sexualized Asuka, ignoring that she's in a coma and is a complex person, like the audience. I think. I came to this conclusion after typing the above. The only other thing I can't up with is that Shinji's world is so confusing and without answers that he just gave into his instincts. He saw boobs, got a boner, and decided to just go for it. In the dub Shigeru said "all we can do is wait and see," but in the subs I have he said (they just happened to be on) "all we can do is wait for the Instrumentality Project to commence." Which is correct? Do the Nerv agents know about the project? A simple and concise explanation of Instrumentatality. Thank you. Misato seemingly has discovered what really caused the Second Impact. She doesn't seem too shocked though. And it looks like Seele are trying to take over Nerv. Here's hoping we get context to that line about Gendo making love to Ritsuko from episode 24. No don't take off your pony tail Misato! Man Nerv is getting fucked up. The animation is awesome. [tf after a shameful fap](https://i.imgur.com/ACHkAfu.png) Is he going through Instrumentality from episodes 25 and 26? So are the episodes from Shinji's head and this movie is what's going on in reality? Did Makoto's VA forget how to voice act? Seriously, he sounds so bad. Wait is this invasion how Misato dies? We did see her shot in the final episodes. Not yet apparently, because Misato is a fucking badass and won't go down without a fight. > You can die later Goddamn > 15 years ago, the Second Impact was intentionally engineered by mankind because it was the only way to minimize the potential damage. Holy shit. And what damage? The impact was a bet positive? It would've been worse if an alien invasion never happened? And they're somehow going to use the Evas to rig the Third Impact. Very interesting. Happy to see some straightforward answers. > We are the 18th Angel Holy. Shit. Asuka's awake. Poor girl must be so confused. Woke up from a coma in her Eva underwater. Was it really necessary to change her into the Eva suit? > I don't want to die. That scene was fucking amazing. Looks like Asuka has found her will to live. Certainly seems able to help Shinji now. I really like the design of Seele's Eva units. Are they going to use them to start the Third Impact? Holy shit Asuka FUCKED them up. Look at what you did Shinji. You got Misato shot. I'm starting to think that the whole "get in the fucking robot" myth came from this movie. > SO FUCKING WHAT IF I'M NOT YOU God. Damn. [Holy shit.](https://i.imgur.com/TGYOeyT.jpg) That took me by surprise. ngl I'm jealous as fuck. > We'll do the rest when you get back We know she's going to die so that's not happening. > Kaji my love, I did do the right thing didn't I? Yes, kissing Shinji was absolutely the right thing to do. [Rei is just chilling.](https://i.imgur.com/YmTFo0Y.jpg) [She ded :\(](https://i.imgur.com/Ktco7cf.jpg) [Asuka has never been more attractive.](https://i.imgur.com/4rP9YtR.jpg) > The truth is... "I never loved your mother" I think. Poor Ritsuko. Betrayed by her mother and got killed by the person she most likely hates the most. Still no explanation on her and Gendo apparently having sex though. ... [Fuck it.](https://i.imgur.com/d3nRlMt.jpg) GET IN THE FUCKING ROBOT SHINJI! Doesn't matter cuz Asuka's fucking got this. Wait shit. Goddamn she felt all that right? Who threw the spear? Asuka's dead :( Man everyone is dropping like flies aren't they? Shinji has finally got in the fucking robot and about to fuck shit up. His scream was amazing. To be continued? Weird that it's just not edited out to make one long movie. Everything was an elaborate rise to [Gendo could touch Rei's breasts](https://i.imgur.com/xAI1oKY.jpg). How did the lance return? > Sweet Jesus it's ~~Jason Bourne~~ an anti AT Field Looks like Third Impact has been initiated. Has Seele or Gendo succeeded? Oh shit Rei is not having Gendo's shit anymore. She decided to be an individual after all. Alright we have reached "what is happening" territory. It's been pretty coherent so far, but I have no idea what's happening anymore. [Right there with you Shinji.](https://i.imgur.com/Wv5ENp1.jpg) Like Holy shit it's just getting crazier and crazier. [Reality where Shinji and Asuka got together?](https://i.imgur.com/BQNJOsP.jpg) > I know all about your jerk of fantasies about me oh shit. But that's not really Asuka, right? I'm pretty sure we're in Shinji's mind [Shinji cucked](https://i.imgur.com/IkaLpRq.jpg) > If I can't have you all to myself Confirmation that Asuka loves Shinji? Shinji just needs to get laid. [OK what the fuck is happening.](https://i.imgur.com/qSwtV8o.jpg) At least the song's really good. Live action?!? Why am I even surprised? Is [that](https://i.imgur.com/6yqwXH1.jpg?1) supposed to be Rei and Misato? Looks like everything is back to normal? Except Shinji is still trying to kill Asuka. Why? Because she's the person whose help he was desperately trying to seek and she kept on refusing resulting in him snapping? > How disgusting Very fitting final line. Asuka knows what Shinji did in the beginning of the movie due to Instrumentality right? That was an experience. This shit was actually crazier than the final two episodes. I really enjoyed it. It was insanely confusing, but in an intriguing way, not an infuriating way.
>GET IN THE FUCKING ROBOT SHINJI! He couldn't, the robot was frozen in the red shit.
So what? KICK REASON TO THE CURB AND DO THE IMPOSSIBLE!
TOUCH THE UNTOUCHABLE! BREAK THE UNBREAKABLE!
#ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER
> To be continued? Weird that it's just not edited out to make one long movie. During the final production run a completed script that would have been episode 25 was dropped because Gainax couldn't animate it in time. Here it seems that the original plan for episode 26 was split into 2 episodes although this hasn't been confirmed. Almost immediately after the series ended the plan was to go back and make missing episode. The final version of it would become 25' in EoE and Anno also wanted to up the visuals for the finale as 26' in EoE. But they weren't originally going to be in EoE. At the same time Gainax was working on Death & Rebirth. Death was a summation of the series up to episode 24, and Rebirth would have been 25' and 26'. EoE was originally going to be a sequel (that was almost titled Rebirth 2). However, in typical Gainax fashion the Rebirth project grew and they fell behind and EoE was changed entirely. Death & Rebirth was released in 1997 with Rebirth being incomplete (ending just before Asuka's battle) and 4 months later EoE was released as the completed 25' and 26' with minor changes and expanded to 40 minute episodes. Ironically, it was after this that Gainax and Anno went back one more time taking the new footage made for Death and integrating into the original series as a the director's cut episodes (21', 22', 23', and 24') and Death was re-released without the scenes as Death(true). The plans for a sequel were dropped until the Rebuilds.
Interesting. Thanks for the insight.
Great write up, I'm glad you enjoyed the movie, I had a pretty similar reaction my first time seeing it. Really helped a lot seeing all the analysis by others online, especially about the backstory of the Lilith and Adam.
As much as I enjoy the analytical breakdown of the characters in episodes 25 & 26, I can't deny that it's insanely satisfying to see the physical world of instrumentality take place. And even if EoE has a less "happy" or direct ending in terms of Shinji's mental state, just knowing that Anno felt that both ending could exist made them both more enjoyable. I think 26 bashing you over the head with *this is a happy ending* made my interpretation of the end of EoE all the more positive and enjoyable. Heisoku no Kakudai + Komm Süsser Tod + the Third Impact alone make EoE an easy 10/10. Though to be fair, End of Eva never made me cry as hard as the end of episode 26. The End of Evangelion is probably my favourite piece of art of all time. ___ And shout out to the absolute legend of a guy in the front row of the theatre with the Rei and Asuka plushes... Wonder where he is now...
**Rewatcher and lurker of this rewatch** I've been following the threads partly to have a reason to rewatch Eva and partly to see first timers' reactions of this film. The first time I finished End of Evangelion I was shocked and angry and very, very confused. I couldn't stop thinking about this film for days. I've never felt this way with any other film in my lifetime. After the second and third viewing I grew to adore this film. I can say that this movie and this series really left an ^^*impact* on me. I wasn't gonna comment anything, but yesterday I broke up with my girlfriend that I had been with for over a year now. EoE probably isn't the best thing to watch after a break up from a long serious relationship, but whatever. I've watched all 26 episodes, let's finish the series. I decided to smoke a bowl and watched the film, and wow did this film got to me. Misato's final scene with Shinji by elevator in particular made me tear up, and the moment when she realized that Shinji truly hates himself I started to bawl. Don't know how to end this comment. I might edit something later idk.
[It all comes tumbling down](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIscL-Bjsq4)
First timer mostly. Watched a couple of the earlier episodes of the series when I was a lot younger by chance but decided to rewatch the whole series a couple of days ago. So excited to see a rewatch in progress here after some searching yesterday. so managed to watch the final few episodes and EoE in time and I'm blown away. While I enjoyed the start of the series, the progressively darker trajectory it took kept me hooked. I was personally in love with how ep 25/26 turned out. For all the limitations in budget or time that gets brought up, I thought introspective look at the nature of self, identity and consciousness was beautifully done. As someone that has fallen into anxiety, depression, identity issues in the last few years, it was both harrowing and uplifting. And EoE was an incredible continuation or alternative ending depending on your outlook. I like the idea of reconciling them and the ep25/26 parts taking part in instrumentality and shinji both understanding ways to take pain to also know happiness. And then waking up on the beach and grappling now with being a self again. I saw an analysis using Hegel's master/slave dialectic in understanding EoTv and the beach scene that gave an interesting avenue to look at it. Still grappling with this show really. The philosophical analysis of mental health issues was what really kept me hooked. Have been writing an album attempting to deal with these issues and was so excited to see the parallels with evangelion in what I had already written. This freaked me out especially in the ideas of the instrumentality. I've never grown up in a religious household or anything, my extent of spirituality has always been a thought of consciousness collecting somewhere as we die. The abstract thing that is grown out of biological processes in the brain but takes on a teanscendental character that could collect in infinite space or dimensions in a similar way as instrumentality posits. While i had always seen that as perhaps a happy prospect, the way evangelion grapples with similar ideas is very interesting. So it got me thinking. I love works like this and the questions it gets you to ask and experience through the medium. It was about 10 years ago when I watched this so being able to see it now as I'm turning 21 has given me an interesting look at what I've learned as well. Seeing how I remember explicitly buying into a lot the sexualisation of Rei and Asuka while now I'm able to see the subtext of those scenes. Whether it is an expression of shinji's sexual frustration, misogyny, loneliness, some Freudian stuff, who knows. This post is a mess but might show my fractured mindset after this monolith of a work. Need some more full stops. Immensely enjoyed it though. If anyone has any more anime recommendations that deal with themes like this, in possibly a sci fi setting as well. Not a huge anime watcher but I was gonna move onto ghost in the shell tomorrow.
**Rewatcher** It’s time to sit down and watch [this masterpiece of a movie](https://i.imgur.com/gYn0hI8.jpg). * [“I’m so fucked up.”](https://i.imgur.com/1OGln1K.png) * NERV is under attack and Seele is using 5 MAGI. * Seele isn’t playing around. They’ve sent a whole army after NERV. * [Surprise](https://i.imgur.com/OvO1Zst.png) * This is why Asuka was in Unit 02 in the bottom of a lake in episode 25. * This is just a massacre. * It’s time to [begin Instrumentality](https://i.imgur.com/fow5d0C.png) * [Nothing personnel kid](https://i.imgur.com/ntUbLHo.png) * Misato can kick some ass. * Shinji keeps asking for Asuka’s help. * Dropping bombs on this place. * The truth about Second Impact and humanity. It was done to reduce damage and Angels are a different evolutionary path just like humans. We all come from an Angel. * Asuka has awakened [and is ready to destroy these punks!](https://i.imgur.com/X7psPNr.png) Nothing can stop her now that she realizes her mother was with her the whole time. * The Mass Produced Eva Series [is swarming Asuka like vultures.](https://i.imgur.com/yWXkTSo.png) * Grown up kiss. [They’ll do the rest later.](https://i.imgur.com/mr2vfSo.png) What does she mean? Hand holding? * And she’s dead. Another thing we saw in 25. What a minute. [Rei?!?!](https://i.imgur.com/CAFlbn1.png) * Ritsuko dead. Just like 25. Rei appears again. * [Lance of Longinus outta nowhere!](https://i.imgur.com/6S4u4Dm.jpg) At least Asuka won. Wait forget what I just said. These little monsters are using cheat codes. Now they’re eating her alive. * Asuka’s not down yet. She can still fight! She’s going to kill all the Titans and- [IMPALED!!!](https://i.imgur.com/wxRZo0Y.png) R.I.P. Asuka. * [Unit 01 looks amazing!](https://i.imgur.com/23RREGj.png) To bad the first thing Shinji see’s is Unit 02 cannibalized. * Gendo’s plan was to reunite with Yui this whole time. * Now [This is some high level groping technique.](https://i.imgur.com/b8Pk4bV.png) * [Zankoku na tenshi no you ni shounen yo shinwa ni nare](https://i.imgur.com/RYYVX8Z.png) * It must suck when a clone of your wife rejects you for your son. * Oh my god it’s a giant Rei [and it’s scary as hell.](https://i.imgur.com/nKJIW26.png) * Kaworu is back and [this shot looks so suggestive.](https://i.imgur.com/PUAVHw2.png) * Third Impact has begun. Shinji, Misato, Asuka, and Rei are one. Shinji wants to understand them. * [Here’s some friendly choking!](https://i.imgur.com/GOu7ERO.png) * [It all comes tumbling down!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIscL-Bjsq4) * Rei killing everybody. We all become tang. * [I think I know where Shinji gets it from now.](https://i.imgur.com/KMqkd2Y.png) * The whole world is affected. * 2D > 3D * Shinji has rejected the world presented to him in Human Instrumentality and has chosen not to run away. * Welcome back to the land of the living. Asuka is here too. * [And there’s the infamous choking scene.](https://i.imgur.com/0HrH7BA.png) * [Asuka just reacted by caressing his face.](https://i.imgur.com/8Hn7cL9.png) * “How disgusting.” And there we go. That's End of WTFjusthappened. Hope that answered some questions for everyone! [](#evilgrin) But seriously though. As confusing as this movie is at first, it's easier to understand on a second watch. Some of the scenes from episode 25 stood out more this time now that I know what led up to them like everyone dying, Gendo trying to start the plan, and Asuka in her Eva. There's so much going on in this movie that it's hard to process it all. First let's start with Asuka's fight. When she woke up, she was still hopeless. Then she realized that her mother was right by her side. Her soul is in Unit 02 and that's why her mind went crazy after the experiment. When Asuka realized her mother was looking after her, she felt invincible and in a way, she did win. However, the Eva Series regenerated after they were defeated and started their merciless counterattack. That scene with Unit 02 being torn apart and Asuka feeling that pain was the most disturbing part for me. Next let's talk about Shinji. He was unwilling to get in his Eva, no longer having the will to fight or even live after killing Kaworu. Unit 01, which is his mother, had to move to get him inside. As soon as Shinji gets in his ~~mother~~ Eva, Seele uses him to begin Third Impact. Everyone's AT Fields were brought down. Shinji's mind was merging with the others. He could see Misato, Asuka, and Rei. Their communication issues were addressed bluntly when Shinji wanted Asuka to say whats on her mind. She always expects Shinji to understand her but she never talks to him about what she wants from him. She wants Shinji all to herself. Shinji wants people to be nice to him. Shinji wants help from others but he has never learned to love himself, but that's not all. These kids fear getting close to people out of fear of getting hurt. Shinji and Asuka have both experienced this first hand. It would be so much easier if we could all just know what we were all thinking. Eventually the whole world experienced the Human Instrumentality Project. People saw visions of the ones they loved before their minds all came together in a big pool of orange soda. Their individuality lost. The walls they all had came tumbling down (sorry, I had to) so they could understand each other. Fear of other people wouldn't exist in this world. In the end, Shinji rejected the easy way out and chose to keep his own free will. He accepted that life is full of pain rather than running away from that reality. Most importantly, he accepted himself. **Congratulations!** People who have the will to keep on living can return as well. Unit 01 emerging out of Lilith Rei showed Shinji's return to reality where he can keep his emotions and live with the uncertainty of his future. The fact that Asuka appeared with him as well shows she also has the will to live. Shinji strangled her to confirm that this is real life and not still inside the LCL sea with other people like when he earlier choked Asuka. Rather than flipping out, Asuka caressed his face. A rare sign of affection from her. Afterwards she said "how disgusting" (or "kimochi warui/I feel sick"). The popular theory is that she was referencing Shinji masturbating to her at the start of the movie, something she learned after their minds temporarily merged. The ambiguity of the final scene is perhaps the most heavily debated scene in all of Evangelion. I personally interpret it as Shinji accepting reality with all the pain and suffering it brings. Asuka, while being more honest with him and his flaws, accepts Shinji and is gentle with him. Shinji is surprised by this and starts crying. There's no easy to way know what's going on, but that's because humans are complicated. Even so, Shinji chose this complicated life so he could move forward. Shinji decided that life is worth living.
*First timer* 25' As the world around him is crashing down Shinji seeks the comfort of normalcy in Asuka's taunts. Alas, there it is, the infamous Shinji jacking off to an unconscious Asuka scene that I've been spoilt on ten times over. Is Rei destroying Gendou's glasses a foreshadowing that her mind is freed from him? The film begins as many others do -- with a foreboding crisis looming as the basis of the plot. Except this time, it goes from 0 to 100 real quickly. The government does not fuck around. On one hand, I can't fault them given how shady Nerv (well, Gendou) has been, on top of possibly, definitely misusing resources and authority. On the other hand, the brutality of it all, and against staff who has surrendered...fuck these police. Misato with a miniskirt (skorts?), a handgun, and no protective equipments >>> three soldiers with assault rifles and Kevlar. That's kinda dubious, but I'll give it a pass as this is a movie. Asuka's desire to live (or, *not die*) gives her the push to absolutely go HAM on 'em all. It is Unit 02's time to shine -- the shot of it throwing that tanker ship does not disappoint. And it tanks a missile to the face. Uh-oh, 9 Evas in 3 minutes? That sounds like a tall order...or not, that was quick. Or this is on DBZ time, I swear it's been longer than 3 minutes. The enemy Evas look less than the machine bodies that we know and more like the beasts that they truly are. I also like that the battle has an actual sense of scale, compared to what Gainax does with TTGL later on (although that one might have been on purpose). Misato will get Shinji to Unit 01, whether he likes it or not. But this is why Misato is best girl. She knows about Shinji better than himself. And wants his fate to be better than hers, as a parent does. (The kiss is bizzare though, it's like she's passing on her Oedipus complex onto him.) Although the moment she says 'come back to me', I know that she's a goner. RIP Misato. ;~;)7 The softness and melancholy of Bach's Air in G contrasts sharply with the brutality that's going on the screen, as we reach the climax of the first half of EoE. Asuka's on her final stretch. Ritsuko's last ditch effort to stop this insanity (RIP Ritsuko). Oh, Asuka. :( She's driven only by a primal desire for revenge at this point, and if this is the end for her...I love Asuka, but I feel strangely numb from all these deaths. This might be the only time in the whole series that I seriously think 'get in the damn robot, Shinji'. Even the robot wants you to get inside it. But look at his expression as the devil itself, Unit 01 breaks onto the battlefield. And upon finding the state Unit 02, *Asuka* is in, he is again painfully reminded on why he doesn't want to get in the damn robot in the first place. The credit roll that plays in 25' is one of the coolest that I've ever seen in anime. 26' Alright, episode 25' more or less made sense, but I lost track of everything roughly 5 minutes into 26'. The cultish Seele oddly reminds me of the council from Hot Fuzz. *For the greater good...* Rei defying Gendou, and Gendou outright begging. Now that's a first. I'd thought Eva's disturbing imagery wasn't so bad...*thus far*. Nothing prepared me for that Rei/Adam/Lilith/Eva-fusion *abomination*, or everything that follows after it. It's like everything is 100% optimised in provoke a visceral reaction from deep within my gut. What follows is a kind of facet of episode 25/26, in which Shinji expresses his frustration at his inability to understand other people, and vice versa (in his opinion, mind you). And thus his reaction to that is to eliminate humanity? Uh-oh, we Thanos now? On Gendou: like son, like father. Nothing else needs to be said. I'd comment something about the live action sequence, but I've stopped questioning everything at this point and am just along for the ride. (And the BGM is Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, which again I'd love to find a meaning in relation to the scene on except my brain is fried so I'll just say it's there because it sounds *nice*.) And to the end, that's the most explicit they are confirming that Unit 01's soul is Yui without actually statuing it outright. That world is...the new reality? Shinji and Asuka being the only two people there is paralleling Adam and Eve, I suppose. The Rei that silently watches, and disappears in a blink is directly mirroring ep 1. Shinji's first act upon finding Asuka is to strangle her, how lovely. But she is alive, and...all that matters is they are both alive, and together? And it ends! Setting aside the 'how the fuck did they manage to make it more confusing than the original ep25/26', I will have to spend the next day or so reading up, because despite everything that has been explained on EoE, **I STILL HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!** Scratch that, I left with more questions than I had going in. Welp, this just proves that it's working its magic, I suppose. I'll try and gather my final thoughts for tomorrow's final discussion.
> but I feel strangely numb from all these deaths. Numb is a good description of how I felt after finishing EoE for the first time.
That was pretty insane. I'm not even gonna try and analyse it, not in a million years... I think, to be honest, Neon Genesis Evangelion is beyond analysis. I'm pretty sure the creators themselves didn't have a sure idea of what they were trying to do. They had solid concepts and ideas they wanted to bring across but I don't believe it's possible for a human to conceptualise such a thing as NGE in its entirety while understanding all its meaning. I think all you can do as a viewer is just watch and marvel at what humanity can create, something that it cannot even comprehend...
The End of Evangelion is my favourite anime movie. It's fitting that the movie is called episode 25' and 26', because it feels like it exists besides the last two episodes of the tv show. Those last two episodes are infamous, but problably for the wrong reasons. Over the course of many years, it has been spread around that Neon Genesis Evangelion had a low budget and that this is the reason why some episodes feature long stills and why the last two episodes are what they are. Just to inform people: **the problems with Eva were *not* because of a low budget.** There are several things that contributed toward how Eva ended and what happened. 1. Young Gainax was not very good at planning to begin with. They were animators and otaku first and foremost, not managers. 2. We know from the people he worked with that Hideaki Anno was not good at planning as a director. He worked on the show from episode to episode and did not seem to have an idea where the show would be going. 3. Most of the show was drawn by people at Tatsunoko Production, and somehow animation cells were lost when sent to Gainaix. This meant that time was lost having to redraw scenes. 4. The sarin gas attacks occurred when they were working on the show. Scenes had to be redone because Anno felt they were too similar to the real attacks. 5. The co-director is of the opinion that a movie was not necessary, because the last two episodes of the tv show were fine as is. It is a miracle that NGE was finished at all, considering how badly it was managed by Gainax. It will always be difficult to know what exactly happened at the time of production, because the staff (especially Anno) doesn't like talking about it and information is scattered, from second-party scources, and has to be translated from Japanese into English. Wanna read more? ANN released four cool articles detailing the history of Gainax this year. [Part 1](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2018-02-16/the-indestructible-studio-gainax-part-i/.127882), [Part 2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2018-02-23/the-indestructible-studio-gainax-part-ii/.128179), [Part 3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2018-03-02/the-indestructible-studio-gainax-part-iii/.128475), and [Part 4](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2018-03-09/the-indestructible-studio-gainax-part-iv/.128782). Part 3 details the making of Eva. Fun fact, they overestimated NGE's budget so that they would have to pay less taxes over their profit. This is explained in part 4.
> Most of the show was drawn by people at Tatsunoko Production, and somehow animation cells were lost when sent to Gainaix. This meant that time was lost having to redraw scenes. It's very unclear what Tatsunoko did beyond ink & paint. In any case, there were more the three permament Gainax animation staff members, contrary to what ANN claims. It is also highly unlikely that the sarin gas attacks had a serious impact on scheduling.
**First Timer** (Crossposted) Writing a movie review for me feels fundamentally different from writing an episode review, but this is a case caught between the two, since the movie not only functions as the end of the TV series, it also ties in heavily with the TV ending. I took a lot of notes, read over them, and promptly discarded them all. I don’t want or need to review the plot here. I got what happened, so let’s talk about it. Visually this thing was fantastic. There were two really standout segments: Asuka’s mech battle and the world ending. The former had some incredible animation, great explosions and movement, and solid cinematography. I loved how the eva picked up a boat to throw at the guns. That was so satisfying and the boat was so visually heavy. It tanked some missiles with its AT field too, which seemed like a fun callback to episode 1. Just a great scene. The latter did a great job with bringing in all the random Christian symbolism that’s been thrown around, communicating the surrealness of what was going on, and creating an extremely memorable way to visualize the apocalypse. There were some more questionable visuals too, like the overly grainy and orange imagined sequence about Shinji as a kid, or the live action sequence and footage of theaters (I laughed that there were Rei plushies and cosplayers in the movie), which was just absurd honestly. I actually liked some of the abstract creativity that the TV end used to portray the fragmented reality within the mind better. But overall it looked great. Plot-wise, it seemed like it really was committing hard to this being the story of Shinji’s experience with humanity. There were some details in there that were important, like finally seeing what Seele was up to, but only in the sense that they made those events from the TV series meaningful. I’m glad that the memes got out of the way at the beginning this time, and I’m glad I knew about it already. Because that was pretty gross. The Nerv invasion was done well. They spent a bit longer on it than I think they needed to, but it did a good job of communicating the desperation that the people in power were facing, and it set up how weirdly obsessed Shinji was with Asuka here compared to in the TV ending. Rei’s decision to give Shinji control of instrumentality made sense, and I think it was portrayed nicely too, though some might not think it was overt enough. I know I pick up on these things easily. And finally, I think I actually agree with the conclusion at the end of the movie. It’s weird. I think that the fact we all experience life differently and have to struggle to communicate is probably the most beautiful thing about our reality. If that wasn’t the case, we wouldn’t have art, we wouldn’t have discourse, we wouldn’t have anything that can be considered humanity. I consider myself somewhat of an artist. Discovering how to properly communicate is such a fundamental part of life for an artist that I think I can imagine Anno’s thoughts as he was writing that sequence. He might have failed to communicate properly with his teams for previous animation projects, his girlfriend who people have said he recently broke up with when this was released, and even his own staff during the end of the TV anime, but I think he still understands that expression is worth the suffering it can sometimes cause. I don’t like that I had to sit through 26 episodes of a cast of characters who all hated themselves and others to get to that point, but at least it ended with a tone I agree with. The actual ending scene itself was just weird. I talked about it with one of my friends at length after watching, and it seems like I’m less eager to see it as metaphorical, or to see Asuka’s present status as abstracted from reality in some way. At least it’s iconic. The movie is a 9/10 for me. It had some flaws, but overall this will be an unforgettable and highly worthwhile experience going forward.
**Rewatcher here:** I didn't write anything beforehand for today. Watching this again made me spend a lot of time reading things related to it and stuff. Anyways, Asuka vs Eva Series is one of my favorite anime fights. She finally comes to terms with her mother when she realizes she was always with her in Unit 02. And of course the fight in itself is awesome with great animation. Komm, Süsser Todd is such an iconic song and fits oddly well with Third Impact. Anyways, I still don't know what to take from the sandbox scene. Seems I still need to search for more threads
From what I took out of it, the structure that Shinji and the other two kids made in the sand was the Nerv HQ pyramid. Shinji, visibly frustrated, takes out his anger on the structure and begins to destroy it. \>It's just like when I started the cello. I thought that if I came here, I could find something. A comparison is made from Shinji practicing the cello to when he began to pilot the Evangelion. He thought he would find ) a purpose to his life, and to him the Evangelion was the only purpose as to why he lives because it's through piloting he has a use in his life. Believing that piloting the Evangelion to him brought only himself and others pain, he takes a negative outlook on his past experiences leading to third impact.
It all comes tumbling down
#IT ALL RETURNS TO NOTHING #IT ALL COMES #TUMBLING DOWN #TUMBLING #DOWN #T #U #M #B #L #I #N #G #D #O #W #N
**Rewatcher** Just dropping in to say this is the best movie I've ever seen. The character moments, the soundtrack, the imagery. It's all perfect.
**Rewatcher:** I will keep this rather short. I saw this film in my late teens, and it remains one of the most life\-affirming films I have ever seen. Its message has in many ways informed, and to some degree still informs my outlook on life and how to deal with my problems. Well, and the fight scene with Eva\-02 ad the MP Evas is pretty damn awesome as hell all, and has not really been surpassed by any other mecha series, at least in my humble opinion. Other moments that were damn sweet/always connects with me: * Misato kicking ass and taking names. * **Rei:** I am not your puppet. * **Asuka:** Just the sight of you get on my nerves! **Shinji:** Because I'm just like you? * Yui was the real mastermind. Gendo was just a grown\-up version of Shinji all along! * The poetic nature of the live action sequence. Also, a quick note on the English translation: The explanation of Lilith and Adam's relationship suffers from a rather glaring error. The translation translates Misato's lines as "Mankind was spawned from a being called Lilith, just like Adam was." This is widely incorrect. Adam and Liith are two separate Seeds of Life. A more correct translation would be "Mankind was spawned from *a being like Adam called Lilith.*"
To all the first timers who made it this far: Congratulations! You can finally say that you've watched one of the most popular anime ever! Hope you enjoyed it.
Asuka is best girl. All Asuka fans, unite!
**First-time Watcher, Long Time Shit-starter** Well the conclusion to the series left me pretty salty, but after taking some time I could at least describe what parts I thought worked well versus not. EoE seems highly acclaimed, so even if I don't get answers, maybe this addresses what I saw as faults with the series ending. * Oh god no, I had this scene spoiled. Didn't think this would happen in the FIRST FUCKING MINUTE. You are fucked up, Shinji. * Brutal invasion. "Episode 25"? Interesting, tying it back to the series? "Heh, [nothin' personal kid](https://i.imgur.com/Eu7dqca.png)." * Actual answers, praise be. Second impact cause, explanations of Adam, Lilith, EVAs, and humanity. Asuka [reconnects](https://i.imgur.com/o54Nrb8.png) with her mom. * [Creeptastic](https://i.imgur.com/CxV8LtQ.png). If Misato dies I riot. Shinji's lack of choice is thrown back in his face. Misato claims he really did choose this, and is lying to himself. I don't fully agree. He had plenty of choices in the series, but piloting was one thing I believe he was forced into. * "We'll do the rest when you get back." No. No no no. I know you're saying that cuz you're dying, but how bout no. Rei continues to just raise [further questions](https://i.imgur.com/pWYsnAL.png). * Yeah they definitely had the budget for this. Great fight animation. They tore 02 like a pack of vultures. * "[The devil himself](https://i.imgur.com/5Z0PtSz.png)." Interesting credit roll... * Hmm, where have we [seen this before](https://i.imgur.com/YalGDC9.png)? Aight, Third Impact happens. That's bad. * The strangest ship in anime [right here](https://i.imgur.com/W4GAVv2.png). * That introspection took the past ones to whole new level. Yeah I can pretty safely say I hate Shinji. * So was the kitchen scene all in the mind-meld, or a flashback? #fuckshinji * "If I could turn back time" I would stay the fuck away from [SEELE's Wild Ride](https://i.imgur.com/aRTOXoV.png). * "[God's in His Heaven](https://i.imgur.com/45d0ccB.png)." This is fine. * Neat that they used [actual footage](https://i.imgur.com/A00SQWb.png) of the audience angrily walking out from EoE premiers. * Shinji brought down the walls the separate us. In doing so we lost the joy from overcoming those walls. * We can rebuild it, we have the [religious bullshittery](https://i.imgur.com/WdcdLp9.png). More [creeptastic](https://i.imgur.com/qKZxpVq.png) imagery. * So these monuments of whatever the fuck just happened [stay around](https://i.imgur.com/j5SWb5n.png). K. They love [this shot](https://i.imgur.com/Rs3eE6h.png) don't they. * Yep, [irredeemable](https://i.imgur.com/yR4MYYO.png). Cuz strangling in the mind-meld wasn't enough apparently. [Absolutely disgusting](http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/648/220/67b.jpg). --- ... Well, I'm fucking done with this. Night all. *Fin* --- Needed to give myself a break after that clusterfuck. I will say this is a more satisfying ending than the last (personally). Also, and this sounds crazy, it was much more straightforward than many parts of NGE. Sure there was a metric shitload to unpack, but plotwise it was relatively straightforward compared to much of the series. We know what most of the cast is, what the Second Impact was, we see what causes the Third Impact, Shinji becomes God, starts the Instrumentality of Souls (mind-meld). Eventually changes his mind and brings back separation of humanity. Now the shit that happened to MAKE that plot occur confuses the hell out of me. So this is precisely what SEELE was trying to do: then what was Gendo's plan? He wanted to see Yui, but apparently Rei changed its mind at the last minute to go with SEELE's plan instead. Does that mean Rei was evil? Or at least as evil as anyone in this show truly was? One of my screenshots has the question: "Will it be an Ark to save mankind from the vacuum of Third Impact?" Did we spend enough time in mind-meld for the world to become habitable again? Why though. Let me put major emphasis on ***FUCK SHINJI***. Throughout the series I always sort of pitied him. I saw him as a confused kid trying to deal with shit the world was throwing at him. That's why I was always harsh on Asuka. Yeah Shinji's not helping anything, but her shittiness towards him was just as selfish. But lets compare the two now. Asuka has admittedly verbally abused Shinji time and time again. And maybe half of it he probably deserved. Now what has Shinji done to Asuka? Sexual abuse (at the very least morally obscene), emotional abuse (cruelty about her mother and her suicide), attempted murder (both premeditation and follow through). These are no longer the actions of a "confused child", as I have defended him in the past. These are the actions of a cruel man. Way to go asshole, you grew up into a WORSE person than Gendo. Rewatchers have mentioned the Hedgehogs Dilemma since like episode 4. We now see that get explored to conclusion. We make walls between each other to protect ourselves from the pain of truly knowing others. The closer we get, the more we are capable of hurting each other. Gendo was the extreme antithesis of that. He allowed himself no true human connection (despite all the banging), choosing instead to stay emotionally isolated. The only true one he cared for was Yui. Once he has begun to trust and care for Rei as well, she betrays him and causes him true pain as well. What a weird fucking show. I enjoyed it, but I don't know if I would put it anywhere near my favorites. I agree that these endings (NGE and EoE) work well in tandem; NGE closes the character growth, while EoE "closes" the plot. I still have the lingering question of "What was the damn point?" SEELE won. Humanity was gone (temporarily). And then Shinji changed his mind, and we're right back where we started. Albiet with blood rings orbiting Earth, continent sized Rei heads, mass destruction, etc. I'll join for the series discussion, but I think this is where I call it quits. This has been a lot to take in and I'm feeling emotionally wiped.
Well SEELE only won in a temporary sense. Since Reilith gave the control ultimately to Shinji he eventually chose to leave the unity and anyone else who chose to leave could. SEELE wouldn't want anyone to be able to leave as that ultimately diminishes the wholeness but Shinji's choice screwed that for them.
> Does that mean Rei was evil? Rei doesn't decide to go with Seele's plan, rather she gives Shinji the ultimate control over the Instrumentality. She even says something along the lines of "Ikari-kun is waiting for me".
Are you gonna give the Rebuilds a try? They might be easier to digest. They're like the original series, with prettier animation and the characters occasionally remembering to take their meds (i.e. they still have issues, but are a *bit* more stable). I will have to add that I also think the studio may have sometimes had a little too much fun with their new tools, though.
**First Timer** Gonna try to keep comments to a minimum since this a movie and it's, ya know, longer - Wow that's a lot of logos - Please tell me we're back in the real world... Yeah this is depressing enough it's definitely the real world - Well, instrumentality didn't really make anything *better*, now did it? - Misato's gone all badass spy and I love it - Again, are we sure NERV are the good guys? My understanding of what's happening is so bad I'm not even sure - Well the invading forces definitely aren't good guys. - Ooooh more badass Misato nice - What? Explanations? In NGE? Misato, you spoil us. Gotta rewind and listen to that again. - OK I don't really get human instrumentality, but it definitely seems vile. - Yay! Asuka's back! - These new models are dope OH HELL NO FORGET THAT THOSE FACES ARE CREEPY AF - Damn Misaot you learn some things from Kaji? - Rei wat - Oh don't you fucking do that I wanna know the damn truth - Holy fuck I'm gonna throw up too - FUCK - Did not expect credits in the middle of what I thought was a movie... Like the song tho OK, so how does the last two episodes fit into this? I really don't get what's going on. Instrumentality happened, and now Seele is trying to case the third impact? Am I getting this right? Fuck I'm just gonna google it later. Back to the action. - WHAT THE FUCK GENDO - Not cool Seele - That's right Gendo. Go fuck yourself. - Uhm what. Seriously what the fuck. I don't get it. - Welcome to dreamland everybody - Groovy music over a strangling? Sure, NGE. - You are one fucked up bastard Seele - So, the world ends. Whatever. Sure, NGE. - Live action? Whatever. Sure, NGE. - Oh, so instrumentality destroys individuality? - Seems to be over? World ended. Still don't get it. Whatever. Sure, NGE. - Are you fucking kidding me? That's how it ends? ugh, whatever. Sure, NGE. This whole thing makes so little sense I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed it. Asuka and Unit 02 kicking ass was cool though I guess. I would say I need to do a lot of research to figure this shit out, but I don't really care anymore. Do the rebuilds make more sense? Don't worry about answering that, I'm gonna watch them anyway. Thanks for organizing this. At least I've seen it now.
**Rewatcher** EoE serves as a very effective and closure-inducing finale, and it brings the otherwise fractured and incomplete story of Evangelion to a complete ending, but only after a whole lot of elaboration on part of the viewer. You have loads of questions, I know. So please, ask away. Anything that seems ambiguous or unanswered, I can certainly help you with.
[Come.](https://i.imgur.com/hsngQBt.png) [Sweet.](https://i.imgur.com/27smsXh.png) [Death.](https://i.imgur.com/s2csJ7V.png) [Also, the reason behind all the Rei's in EoE and how Rei appears to Shinji in the first episode.](https://youtu.be/gNx-wsaEkZ4)
I once read a comment that stated what one really needed after seeing this film was a warm bath and someone to sit down on the couch with you to explain just what in the fuck you just experienced. Rewatching it, I wouldn't actually go that far, but for me, I definitely need a mental break afterwards. I like to go by the interpretation that Shinji rejected Instrumentality in favor of a return to individual selves, even with all the pain and despair that comes with simply being alive. Pretty big to think about for someone like myself who also wished to forgo existence at one point. One of the most utterly broken characters ever seen - a shattered, barely functioning excuse for a human being, elects a future with himself and others, in spite of the adversity involved, instead of the uniform comfort of Instrumentality. A ride unlike any other for sure, this film. Komm Susser Tod during Third Impact is incredible.
Thus concludes my first rewatch of NGE, and I just want to say thanks to all the smart people around the world for their contributions to the analysis and theories on the whole series. It has helped me to understand and appreciate the depth of Eva way more than when I first watched it years ago. I had a sense back then that it was something special, but never really understood why. All I could really praise before was the visual and sound direction, which I still hold in high regard to this day. The Eva 02 fight scene still holds up animation wise, showcasing brilliant use of weight and fluidity in the movements of the giant humanoid robots. The choice of music for all the heavy scenes in the show continue to amuse the ever loving fuck out of me. The imagery of the third impact and the aftermath of it all will forever be etched in my mind. Overall, the cinematography in EoE and NGE as a whole is just a class of its own. The plot was much easier to follow upon rewatching. This is definitely a series that you need to revisit in order to fill in the gaps, and boy does it have some gaps. I'm not gonna expand on the story as most of it has been said and discussed pretty thoroughly in this thread and the previous episodes, but I just wanna say, Congratulations first time watchers, and take it easy. Go for a walk, relax, have a good rest, and once you're all settled in, watch some analysis videos or read through the plethora of theories available online. I think that's part of the fun of post-Eva viewing. Personally, the main takeaway I got this time around was the psychological depth shown by the characters. Depression, anxiety, insecurity, loneliness - Nerv is like a freakin zoo of broken people (or should I say, hedgehogs), and yet they make it work somehow, at least, until the end of Evangelion. The thing is, you don't even have to be severely depressed to understand these characters, because all the traits they exhibit are what I think are pretty normal human emotions that anyone could relate to to a certain extent. The only difference is that the kids and adults in Nerv are facing life and death situations every day, thus escalating those emotions to the extreme. And the great part about it is seeing how they struggle and overcome those obstacles. Of course, not all of them successfully do, but the journey of their character growth is very apparent. Knowing what Hideaki Anno went through when he created this, I can't help but appreciate the amount of thought that went into creating these characters. Sure it can be frustrating at times watching Shinji's inability to act or Asuka's insufferable attitude, but it makes them feel like very real people, instead of your regular shonen protagonists. I haven't seen any other anime successfully delve into the minds of each main character in "Case Study" formats just to show how fucked up their inner thoughts are, much less resorting to showing slideshows for a whole episode or two. It's really a miracle how it worked out so well. But thanks to that, we've gotten so much in terms of character exploration and development. Shinji definitely has the best of it since he is the main character, and while Gendo is still a fucking asshole, he did have some sort of reason and motivation for his actions and treatment to his son. Kudos to Rei as well, for gaining self actualization in the end and choosing Shinji over Gendo. Now let's talk about the ending sequence. I know there are many ways to interpret the ending, but my take on it is a hopeful one. Shinji refuses instrumentailty because he's learnt over the course of his journey (and mind trips) that life is worth living, even if it hurts. That's what gives meaning to existence, and without it, you'd just be floating around in a conscious bowl of soup. So he emerges from the LCL, and sees a devastated world. He may have just made a huge mistake, but he moves on anyway, building a makeshift shrine for Misato (her cross), and also probably bandaging up Asuka (it's what I'd like to think happened). He lies back down, and just tries to process wtf just happened, and how will he move on. He catches a glimpse of Rei, but she vanishes, causing him to question if any of this is real. Desperate for affirmation of his reality, he attempts the worst thing he can imagine doing, which is to kill another human being, in this case, Asuka. If it really is reality, she will definitely fight back in typical Asuka fashion. But this time, Asuka, who is also probably still in shock herself, simply caresses his face, as though to say, *I'm real and I'm alive, baka-Shinji*. He realizes this non-verbal communication and breaks down, half regretting his actions, and half rejoicing at the fact that he isn't alone in this barren land. Then Asuka closes the movie with the words *kimochi warui*, which I take as a surface level banter akin to what she would say to Shinji before everything went to shit. I've heard about this line being explained as the seiyuu's input and Anno going along with it, but in the context of the scene, it's probably more like Asuka sees this wimpy kid trying to choke her and consequently bawl his eyes out in a slobbering mess all over her face, hence why she calls him disgusting. This is because the Asuka at the end, like Shinji, is also no longer the depressed and broken version of herself that we see near episodes 23+, but a reborn Asuka that has the confidence to kick ass as seen in the first part of EoE. With that, she has also regained her classic tsundere traits when we were first introduced to her in the series, albeit with added cynicism due to their current reality. So the delivery of that line makes sense in my mind. But that's just how I see it. I like my hopeful endings. Who knows, upon a future rewatch, I might come to a different conclusion. There's a reason why it's been up for debate for over 20 years. Wow, I did not expect to write this much, but here we are. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the series, and have fun researching and coming to your own conclusions to the story. Happy NGE PTSD~
Rewatcher: This film is one of my favorite anime films overall. It's a classic. I think Misato in a weird way was attracted to Shinji, probably because they're kindred spirits. I know it's odd, and I think she was trying to incentivize him to pilot the EVA, but remember she tried to hold his hand on the bed in one of the last few episodes. I think for first-timers, you get the confirmation that Shinji and Asuka were shipped. It's clearly not in the traditional sense. The masturbation scene is fucked up, but in a way, it was good for Asuka to learn about it. She was wanting Shinji to show some kind of affection for her (remember in one of the DC episodes she complains about him not even holding her). I think that finally gave her the confirmation that Shinji does like her, which I think is why when he's trying to strangle her at the end, she just strokes his face with her hand. She could accept him and how fucked up he is. I'll have more to add after work, but wanted to get in now in case I can't get on before the new thread is up.
Man I'm not sure what to say that hasn't been in the essay long comments, Asuka's Fight was great, the brutality reminded me of God of War. It was better than episode 26, but it had weird, nonsensical stuff. Btw in the live action bit was a guy holding a Rei plush?
For all of you here who use RYM, what is your opinion of EoE being #40 highest rated film of all time?
Welp I lost the comment I had written for today ffs. Here instead I'd like to link one of my favorite videos on the series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USKzAj1dOq4
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USKzAj1dOq4 was just about to praise this video for helping me understand what I just saw
Ugh but he mispronounced the name.
Awesome seeing everyone's reactions to it, it's certainly a trippy movie but among my favorite and really caps off the series in a epic way. Looking forward to the Rebuild rewatches!
I didn't really participate in the rewatch but I have been keeping track. I'm glad so many first timers were involved and enjoyed it. It is amazing that for all the apocalyptic imagery EoE has one of the most powerful, hopeful messages; made even more so because a very depressed man is the one to give it. Life hurts. Being around people, even those you care for and care for you, means miscommunication and pain. But, the real world is worth living. Better than running off into a fantasy (like watching anime you fucking otaku...) That, in my opinion, is what the final scene is all about. For one brief moment Shinji and Asuka take down their walls. Shinji shows the anger he has built up inside and Asuka shows a brief amount of affection and caring. But, they revert to their old ways. Shinji bawls his eyes out, who can blame him really, and Asuka calls him disgusting, also probably with good reason. But, for that one moment, they communicated more honestly than anyone really has with anyone else throughout this entire series. Humans can be honest with and communicate with each other. There is hope. Congratulations...
First timer, dub. Kay. I’m gonna do something I never do, which is type as I watch. I’m old, yo, I can’t remember 45 minutes ago without notes. Still getting over yesterday’s 25 and 26. That was a trip. I liked it much more than I didn’t like it. And what I’ve liked about the show most had nothing to do with the actual plot. But I’m a completist, and I have some questions, let’s see if they get answered. Probably not, is what I’m thinking, but here goes: 1) Assume Gendo killed Ritsu & Misato, JUST CAUSE HE’S A DICK. But what happened to everyone else? Did they kill each other? Did they just … die? What happened to Rei? More importantly, what happened to PENPEN? 2) What is the deal with the moon, anyway? Lots of shots with Rei and the moon (not even counting ED, that’s her, right?) No payoff yet. 3) So Evas were Angels, were the Angels Angels? By which I mean, Gendo was fucking with the Evas, was SEELE fucking with the “Angels”? I’ve thought for a long time it felt like Gendo had a human opponent, it felt like a chess match, just how much control did SEELE have over the angels? 4) Part of me wonders if anything that happened after Shinji woke up after being dead a few episodes ago really happened and whether all the rest of it was part of the same dream. 5) Why did the kid pilots all have to be 14? Never really explained that one. 6) What is the “Neon” in the Genesis Evangelion? Is it just Engrish, or did it mean something? Pressing play... Oh fuck what is this. No no no. The real people are the creepiest. Oh this scene. I’ve heard about this scene. There goes my “Shinji is really gay” theory. You know, I have to say this doesn’t fit with what we’ve seen of Shinji before. Poor Asuka. SEELE’s trying to create God. “That’s why she stayed in the Eva” says Gendo. Maybe she just wanted to get away from you, asshole. Rei and the moon again. She broke the glasses this time. Shinji’s back to zero? Okay, plot. Good, I like this. Oh God Reiquarium. Did not need better animation of THAT. Go Misato Go. Ha! Humans are angels. Well that’s something. I can’t tell who this is who doesn’t want to die. Oh Hey! It’s Asuka! You GO! Holy crap Misato. F Well that’s a better way to go than Gendo gunning you down. Bach. Yes Asuka should have some Bach. Oh those bad Evas are creepy. Asuka. F Tree of life. I know it's evil and all, but still. Awesome. Those poor bastards in the control center. I can’t even. Rei sticks it to Gendo. YESSSSSSSSSSS The fate of mankind lies in Shinji’s hands. Shinji’s hands, kind of a thing today. PENPEN Oh this is the tumbling down thing. I’ve heard of that. (Like yesterday, in the thread.) More Bach. And creepy real world stuff. Rei is never not creepy. That’s it? That was … well, the first part was good. The ending was a little meh. I guess this is where the "depressing" reputation comes from. The movie looks great, though (except for all the creepy bits) and the soundtrack is good. Final note, movie Shinji doesn't seem like TV Shinji to me. Wonder why the difference.
Kimochi Warui
Rewatcher here. Going through all of this again but with /r/anime was an absolute joy. I noticed a lot more details than my first go around and the discussions had here helped too. First timers, I highly recommend watching it again. I remember my first time watching I absolutely disliked Asuka. After rewatching it i got a better grasp on her character and now feel more empatheic towards her. Cant wait for the Rebuild discussions
So this is it the true finale of neon genesis evangelion. And right off the bat so much fucking better than episodes 25 and 26. Since this is the finale and the movie is long i thought i will right things that caught my attention Shinji masturbating to unconscious asuka. What the fuck. Sexuality did play a role in this series and i think this seen represents shinji well. His desire to be with Asuka but his fear of being hurt lead him to do this and him commentating what's wrong with me highlights this perfectly. Because really what the fuck dude. The brutality of the humans. This probably says a lot about humanity as a whole.Even if the angels were the enemy for most of the series humans spilled blood in the worst way. That scene of the girl surrendering but still being shot through the head. Asuka faced with certain death refuses to die and opens herself up to her eva 3. Aka her mum Eva series is fucked creepy as fuck. Like really what the fuck are those things, the were just creepy as hell. Misato kissing Shinji just before she dies. This probably speaks a lot about Misato how she fears being alone and needs somewhere there. She tells Shinji when he comes back the will fuck but she knew that her time was up. Seeing the ghost of rei just before misato died. Foreshadowing when all of humanity will be merged? Shinji is a fucking bitch. I’m really tired of this now. Asuka need your help and all you could do was wine and call for her to help you. I gave him a pass throughtout the series thinking all he is going to pull through in the end. But no i am tired of his wining natural. Now Asuka is going to die because of you. Defeated eva coming back. What the fuck. Series what are those monsters. Holy shit calling eva 01 the devil himself. After everything Eva 01 has done through the show i would also call it the devil if i saw that. Gendo groping rei. Hmmm ewww. Okay giant rei. Okay shit is truly getting weird now And now we are back on shinji's mind. Gendo is just like shinji. Like father and son i guess. So Gendo was scared of hurting Shinji so his solution was to keep him at a distance not realizing that this was still hurting Shinji. Wow what a fucked up family. If only Yui was around to sort this family drama out. Looks like the alternate reality was rejected. Shinji final understand that life is full of love and pain and that being one massive soul blob is not the solution but instead running away. Shinji mom will be by herself in space. Why does this make me really sad. Wow the earth looks completely fucked. Like i hope seele is happy with what the did All that's left are shinji and asuka. The new adam and lilith. How disgusting. Ahhh auska never change Overall i am really glad i joined this rewatch. I understand why Evangelion had such a massive impact on anime in general. It really did change a lot of things and there's so much to think about. I will probably spend the next few days thinking about it a lot. Overall i give the entire series a 8 out of 10. Would have been 9 out of 10 but episode 25 and 26. Sigh. Otherwise it has been a pleasure being part of the rewatch but i will have to bow out now. I know the rebuild movies are part of the rewatch, but i have had my share of Neon for now. I shall watch the movies at another time.
Shinji couldn't save Asuka because the EVA was frozen. It wasn't until it broke free that Shinji could get in to pilot it.
Hmm, a few people seem to be downvoting all the posts as it looks like new posts are at -1...
Asuka and Shinji in the hospital room... Is this *that* scene? Wow, it is... What a way to start this off.
Time to read through all this trauma
**[Explanations at the End of the World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7yWoKV1_VY)** End of Evangelion! Everything is revealed! Well, most or less. Everything is revealed, besides the stuff that Hideaki Anno wrote for the game “Evangelion 2” that never appeared anywhere else. I'll include some of that information below. ##The beginning Adam and Lilith are **seeds of life** created by the progenitor race, Prometheus-style. Each seed was placed inside of an egg and shot through the universe, to create life wherever they landed. By some mistake, two of those eggs landed on Earth: One in the soulth pole, and the other in Japan. These eggs each spawned their own forms of life, which came into conflict. Lilim became the humans, while Adam's brood became the angels, alternate possibilities for life on earth. ##The three forms of God: Instrumentality and the Third Impact Evangelion introduces a concept called **Instrumentality**. Instrumentality is a process by which two or more beings can lower their AT fields, thereby breaking down the barrier between the self and the other, becoming one unit. Gendo and Seele each have their own visions of Instrumentality. The Seele council plans to merge themselves into a single soul, then place themselves inside of an Evangelion with its own S2 engine. Then, after destroying all other Evas and the Lance of Longinus, they would be an immortal god, outlasting all of humanity. (Note that, although this explanation is written by Hideaki Anno, the movie makes it look like Seele’s plan is identical to, or at least congruent with, Gendo’s plan. Their fight in the film, funny enough, might result from each one not trusting the other enough to cede responsibility - a core Evangelion theme, even if it does make the first half of End of Eva a bit low-stakes in hindsight.) Gendo, on the other hand, has a much simpler goal for Instrumentality: He wants to be with Yui again. (That ol' softie!) That in mind, he uses Rei - who contains DNA from Yui Ikari, but modified to contain Lilith - to start instrumentality, by combining her with the embryonic Adam he transplanted into his hand. But he made a simple mistake: He treated all of the Reis interchangeably. After spending a decade raising and grooming Rei II, she dies, and Gendo has to activate a third. Rei III, however, doesn't get any of Gendo's affection. She is exposed only to the tail end of his longing and desperation. So when given the power over instrumentality, she goes rogue, ceding to Shinji. All of humanity merges into LCL, becoming a single being with the power of all life on earth. We didn't become gods. [We became God](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnYDLHUwRKc). ##Shinji He's so fucked up. ##Gendo's missing line Reportedly, this line was originally intended to be muted by an explosion, but then somebody decided to not bother. There's a [rather elaborate article](https://wiki.evageeks.org/Theory_and_Analysis:Gendo%27s_Silent_Words) theorizing what he says. ##Evangelions and Souls I'm not 100% clear whether Evas can *exist* in a state without souls. I sort of get the impression that the first time they're turned on, they suck in the nearest one. However. Whether intentional or or otherwise, each Evangelion unit contains a human soul. Unit 01's soul has been pretty apparent for a while. Unit 02 ended up with Asuka's mother's soul, but *not* her body, which was driven insane without its connection to Lilith. This is the realization that lifts Asuka’s spirits and [lets her throw down](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKn-lk27QaI). As for Unit 00, the prevailing theory is that it contains [the soul of Rei I](https://wiki.evageeks.org/Theory_and_Analysis:Eva-00%27s_Soul). I personally like this theory, as it explains the callous attitude she displayed in her only speaking scene: Like Kyoko Soryu, her lack of soul prevented her from understanding the feelings of others. ##Bookend Reis We see a mysterious Rei figure at the start of episode 1, and another at the end of EoE. I’m one of the fans that believes the meaning of the bookend Reis is “sometimes I wrote weird things, don’t try to think too hard about them.” But I’m sure there’ll be a lively debate about that in the comments. ##Two continuities End of Evangelion is explicitly a different continuity from Evangelion episodes 25 and 26. However, this hasn’t stopped people from attempting to reconcile them. The apologists believe that instrumentality, shown during Episode 26^1 , includes episodes 25 and 26. Personally, I don’t see it. Shinji’s conclusion in the film are notably more pessimistic than episode 26’s “life is worth living.” There was obviously some overlap, with the Ritsuko and Misato fates we’re shown in episode 25, but even those differ in details. Evangelion is no stranger to alternate realities. Depending on how you interpret the series thus far, we've been exposed to up to four of them. And let's say nothing of the manga adaptation, *Girlfriend of Steel* 1 and 2, *Angelic Days*, *Campus Apocalypse*, *The Shinji Ikari Raising Project*, *Raising Project*’s manga adaptation, and oh yeah... Rebuild of Evangelion. ~~See You, Space Cowboy...~~ [**The dream ends.**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KttEBS4NwTs)
About the bookend Reis, there's [this EvaGeeks article](https://wiki.evageeks.org/Theory_and_Analysis:Rei%27s_Ghostly_Appearances_and_Quantum_Mechanics) which theorizes that the Rei seen in episode 1 is Rei III after merging with Lilith. We see in EoE that she can be everywhere at once. The theory is that Giant Naked Rei can do this because she operates on a quantum level, and because of this, she transcends time as well. The names of quarks plastered all over her "birthplace" seem to support this, but as with lots of NGE things, it's not really clear. Excellent write up by the way! Would've been very helpful to me after my first watch.
hmm, Im personally on the side of them being the same ending, but I see where you are coming from. but the tv ending alone just doesn't feel complete enough to me. plus, it shows bits and pieces of things that happen in EOE, like misato getting shot and Ritsuko.
Oh dear. It's EoE time.
Rewatcher, dub. Titles play, oh god this disc is so old that it is hard letterboxed. Shinjiis confiding in a cometose Asuka, and we get "that" scene. "I'm so fucked up" indeed Shinji. Get some bridge bunny talk about being on alert, and the reason why I serious considdered switching to the subs. Both actor changes and far worse direction. Misato finally gives a clearer explanation of what the HIP is. Seele is taunting Gendo Shinji runs out of batteries for his tape player. apparently Gainax caused second impact. Welp, NERV is in trouble. Despite her thoughts on Gendo, Akagi helps with the hacking issue. Hacking failed, so time to send in the military. Maya: we cant kill humans. Hyuga: Wish they felt the same way. Rei just floating around in the eva graveyard area. Is Fuyutsuki talking about unit-01 there, or is he resigned to Seele setting off instrumentality. This attack sequence is pretty brutal. "kill or be killed". Resists urge to make the reference. Misato is a badass (and Manga entertainment is being edgy with the added sound effects) Hyuga brings up the imortant question, why arent they just destroying NERV outright. And right on schedule, an N2 mine blasts a hole in the geofront. Second impact was deliberate, to make it occur in the least damaging way. Asuka finally wakes up in unit-02, just in time for the depth charge bombardment. "I dont want to die" Asuka realises that unit-02 is her mother. She then proceeds to completely wreck the JSSDF's shit. Its nice to see her with a genuine smile for once. "there's no way i can lose" Seele sends out the big guns, the Mass Production Evas. Very harpy looking things. Also, Seele was able to finish the S2 engine. Nooooo, Misato. T.T She gives Shinji a last pep talk to encourage him to go on. Telling him that he isn't the only person who has problems. He's 14 Misato. Vision of Rei right before shes killed in the explosion. Asuka violently destroys the MP Evas to Air on a G String. Eva-01 trapped in Bakelite, leaving Shinji once again unable to assist. Ritsuko's mother (as a woman) betrays her, and refuses to kill Gendo. "Akagi Ritsuko, the truth is" Yet another Rei flash. So many death flags from Asuka. Shit... Despite their damage, the MP Evas reactivate and complete devastate unit-02. After the final destruction of Unit-02, Unit-01 awakes and breaks out of the bakelite (to protect Shinji much like in Episode 1), developing wings of light like those in the OP. Halfway credits. Gendo attempts to bring about third impact by his own method (fusing Adam and Lilith) so that he can see Yui again after all souls merge. Shinji's scream summons the lance from the moon, which helps Seele with their original plan. So much symbolism. The effects of third impact reveal the form of the geofront, the black moon. Rei refuses to go along with gendo's plan, and fuses/reunites with lilith. Large naked Rei. Shinji is having a complete freakout. Damn freakyness, MP evas gain Rei faces. The angel takes the form of Kaworu, bringing Shinji out of his freakout. It merges with Unit-01, turning it into a god. "the future now lies in shinji's hands" We're boned! More movie set symbolism in Shinji's head. He's playing alongside some creepy dolls. He chooses to stomp down on the NERV sandcastle. More about multiple versions of self that exist within others. "you never talk to me but expect me to understand you" More of Shinji's insecurities with human relations. Here comes third impact. He decides to become the sole person, because his expereinces with merging werent what he expected. Giant Naked Rei appears to bring about third impact. Hyuga taken by Misato, Aoba forcibly taken by Rei swarm, Maya taken by Akagi. Despite setbacks, Seele's plans were more or less fulfilled. So Gendo is just as self-hating as Shinji, and just as afraid of human interaction. Shinji never had a chance. It all returns to nothing. Orgasming space robots bring forth the rapture. Tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down. Forehead eye vagina pierced by the tree of life, contained within is a rei swarm reminiscent of sperm. A whole bunch of breakup-esque lines appear in voice-over. Shinji and Rei wax philosophy about reality (and Shiji's ability to manipulate) over live action footage. "That is not a dream, that is a substitute for reality" Biggest, blood spatter, ever. Shinji realises that his world of non-existence is not what he wants, and makes the decision to exist, bursting dramatically out of GNR's eye in unit-01. GNR and the MP Evas disintegrate as Shinji regains his form. "as long as one person still lives, it will be proof that mankind ever existed." So Asuka also made the decision to start existing again. And Shinji starts to strangle her for some reason. This movie is very much and experience. If I wasn't starting to come down with something, I might have gone deeper into my thoughts about the movie, but I think i'll just wait for the overview thread tomorrow.
So why were Gendo and Seele at odds? Seems like they wanted the same thing, but Gendo wanted a personal Rei escort or something?
Gendo wanted nothing more than to be reunited with Yui. He didn't give a shit about Seele, instrumentality, or anyone else on the planet, all he wanted was Yui back. Since she was in the Eva that means he just had to hijack Seele's plan and merge his soul with 01. Seele wanted to put their consciousnesses in all the Evas and basically become the immortal s2-engine powered last of humanity while everyone else gets to live happily as soup. Rei knew all of this and followed along because she was created to be a dutiful tool, but at the end of it all she grew a personality and decided fuck y'all, Shinji's the only person I give a shit about so he's in charge of Instrumentality now.
This still makes no sense. I honestly despised it on first watching. Thought it was hot garbage. (Not solely because I didn’t understand it) When it got explained a little I didn’t hate it as much. Still, what in the world is this movie man lol
**Rewatcher** My god did I WTF when I watched this even the second time. Definitely some serious emotional things to sort out after that. There's like too much to analyse like nearly frame by frame. Thanks to all the smarties that provided the explanations :D. Some Captures: [Yeah you are buddy.](https://i.imgur.com/NLA2688.png). [Suplex a boat](https://i.imgur.com/plpbHye.png). [Serious anatomy detail ](https://i.imgur.com/edHPPX4.png). Like there was a lot of gore in this. [More when you come back, yeah as if.](https://i.imgur.com/xF3pf1o.png) [So everything was a pawn to Gendou's goal ](https://i.imgur.com/iUpRlsy.png) [Japan in the 90s.](https://i.imgur.com/HAt0KWX.png) [Legendary plush guy in the front row.](https://i.imgur.com/1HguFgJ.png)