Welcome back to EVERYDAY EVA, the blog series where I aim to cover one episode of Evangelion every single day for Mecha March 2022!

SEELE heralds the arrival of the final messenger. Shinji meets Kaworu, the fifth child. The destiny they share causes Shinji to rethink everything.

Asuka’s descent opens this pivotal, groundbreaking episode of the series. Misato pieces together SEELE’s plans for the apocalypse. Ritsuko confronts Gendo about her dead cat, her killing of Rei’s clones, and her rejection of his touch. Shinji, with no one else to turn to, encounters Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child, on the flooded sands of a Tokyo-3 lakebed. It’s an episode of fated meetings, tragic partings, conspiracy, and pain. Truly one of the highest points in the series—and the immediate drop afterwards plunges us to Eva’s lowest. From this episode on, paying special attention to the classical scores selected as part of the soundtrack will yield immense insight about the themes at play.

Kaworu meets up with Shinji again after his tests. He’s seen listening to his SDAT player, which instantly reminds me of a similar shared encounter in 3.33. From Kaworu’s intimate stares to Shinji’s anxious smiles, the ties that bind them are obvious. The bath scene gets straight to the point: Shinji’s underlying fears and his inability to connect with others. Kaworu’s directness is charismatic. I love this scene. Misato’s parting with Pen Pen immediately drives home the bittersweet sorrow of this episode. Her suspicions of Kaworu (no doubt her “woman’s intuition”) end up being just as dooming as Ritsuko’s forecast.

Suspense continues to amass as Kaworu, Unit-02, and Shinji in Unit-01 plummet to the lowest depths of Central Dogma. This is the closest any Angel has come to “Adam,” and just as Misato and Hyuga prepare for the worst, a new identity is detected. “Adam” is actually Lilith, implying that humanity (SEELE) does not seek the power of destruction, but rather the rejoining of all mankind into one body—reunion, harmony, order. We don’t realize this in its fullest clarity just yet, but Kaworu’s allusions and well wishes to mankind leave Shinji with a horrifying predicament. “That was the first time someone told me they liked me,” Shinji tearfully mumbles to Misato. “Kaworu should’ve been the one who survived.” Misato’s remark that Kaworu sought death instead of life is too cruel for Shinji.

Kaworu’s lyrical musings on the human mind open Shinji’s heart and wound him gravely. “Humans can’t permanently be free of loneliness. Because man is ultimately alone.” The drama and themes, as outlined in the production notes, are fully explored in the final episodes to come. Herein, the story homes in exclusively on the solitary mind of Shinji Ikari before unfolding to show the world around him in the film. Shinji’s decisions will yield prophetic and catastrophic consequences, many of which fans find difficult to interpret. We’ll try to unpack what we can, together. Thanks for reading, and ‘til then!

– Takuto

Welcome back to EVERYDAY EVA, the blog series where I aim to cover one episode of Evangelion every single day for Mecha March 2022!

The penultimate 16th Angel fuses with Unit-00, and, in Ritsuko’s tearful outburst, the truth of Rei Ayanami is finally disseminated to Misato and Shinji.

Kaji’s dying message opens the dismal Episode 23: “Rei III.” Misato’s sealed herself off in her room, and with Asuka’s retreat to Hikari’s house, Shinji and Pen Pen are left to fend for themselves. The only thing that can bind the once happy family now is an Angel attack. Fortunately or unfortunately, the 16th Angel arrives, but its immediate contact with Rei and Unit-00 catches everyone off guard. Fusion with others reemerges as one of the motifs deeply connected to the greater themes in Eva. This episode, as the previous was for Asuka, must be about her. It’s finally time to crack into the mystery of Rei Ayanami.

Try as she might, Rei is unable to completely contain the 16th Angel within Unit-00’s body. Thus, Unit-01 is launched to protect her. Asuka’s realization that NERV didn’t send out Unit-01 (AKA Shinji, the savior) when she was in trouble is immediately a poignant one. As Unit-00 ascends into its final angelic form, a burst of light from the halo shining above its head reveals Unit-00 quickly shift into the form of Rei herself. A “vessel of hope” for Gendo—that’s what Rei represents. What her sudden return “to life” does, then, is force us to challenge Rei’s existence. Does she serve a greater purpose in Gendo’s plan?

Speaking of replacements, Ritsuko finds out that she was sent to SEELE as just a proxy for Gendo himself. This is also upsetting news. Ritsuko has been the lynchpin for the entire Evangelion project, and her removal from power allows her to detach herself from the bindings of the organization. In the process, she exposes all of NERV’s darkest secrets to Misato and Shinji and destroys all of Rei’s soulless clones. Ritsuko cries, having realized she could not compete with “property,” and that she had fallen for the same trick of Gendo’s affection that her mother before her did. “This is the tragedy of those associated with the EVAs,” Misato remarks. “And I am no different.”

The women in Shinji’s life have all but crumbled in their individual hubris, self-loathing, and jealousy. Thankfully, love still has one final chance to bloom for Shinji with the arrival of a saint in Episode 24: “The Beginning and the End, or ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.’” Thanks for reading, and ‘til then!

– Takuto

Welcome back to EVERYDAY EVA, the blog series where I aim to cover one episode of Evangelion every single day for Mecha March 2022!

The first pilot to fall in the final act is none other than the girl who once stood at the very top of her game.

For the longest time, Asuka has been my favorite character in anime. Episode 22: “Don’t be” spells out much of her past, and the discovery that she’s from just as messed up a family as Shinji’s and Misato’s and Ritsuko’s and everyone else comes as little surprise. Her interaction with her stepmother over the phone—that is, her German speaking—kicks off the beginning of a bigger rift growing between her and the rest of the world. In a phenomenal breakdown, Asuka curses the bath, the washer, the toilet, and the space she shares with Misato and Shinji. She hates them both, but she hates the Rei even more. She hates her mom. She hates her dad. But the person she hates most of all is herself. Across the hall, Misato is unable to do anything to remedy Asuka’s situation, and so she continues to decline. Asuka’s pride is in shambles, and her toppling from such a high position is utterly heartbreaking.

Rei is a doll, Asuka declares, but Unit-02 is supposed to be just that. “I hate you! I hate all of you!” She screams before the elevator door seals Rei inside. Asuka’s last chance is coming, and she feels it too. For the entire world to fail her—for her EVA-02 to crumble under the 15th Angel’s power—is to reverse all the fortifications she walked into the series with to fall in one go. Anno’s use of rapidly flashing black, white, and red Japanese and German text showcases the stunning realm of Asuka’s psychology. Fear, anxiety, and severe distress form kaleidoscopic visions of suicidal ideation, rejection, and isolation in her heart. What she needs most of all, despite her own claims, is touch and affection. Shinji’s refusal to give her anything is revealed to have only furthered her suffering.

With the 15th Angel having “defiled” Asuka’s mind—and to the classical melody of Handel’s “Messiah,” no less—EVA-02 and its pilot are rendered completely useless. Gendo calls upon a weapon of the apocalypse, the Spear of Longinus, to salvage a victory, much to Misato and Fuyutsuki’s passionate disapproval. EVA-00 takes aim and vaults the spear, and as the 15th Angel destructively funnels inward, Longinus is left adrift in lunar orbit. What appalls the fallen Asuka most of all, though, is that it was Rei who had to save her. The curtain closes on her screams and shouts.

Asuka’s “mind rape” (as it has been called) and subsequent fall from grace strongly parallels the death of the 15th Angel itself. She’ll have another chance to redeem herself in the film, but like Misato, all we can do for now is helplessly watch. More cries are shed for the pilots in Episode 23: “Tears.” Thanks for watching, and ‘til then!

– Takuto

Welcome back to EVERYDAY EVA, the blog series where I aim to cover one episode of Evangelion every single day for Mecha March 2022!

We travel back to the past to see how the world came to hang in the precarious balance that it does. Unsurprisingly, NERV’s history holds the answers.

Episode 21: “He was aware that he was still a child” opens without our angelic opening—that’s how you know things are starting to get serious. The “real-time” footage of the 2000 incident in the Antarctic sets a serious tone, but also once again adds unique directorial flare to this treasure box of cinematic animation tricks. SEELE’s ominous floating prisms are also introduced in the interrogation of Gendo’s right hand, Fuyutsuki. It’s about time we got spotlight on the one man who can rightfully criticize and critique NERV’s reclusive commander. Arguably the most needed episode at this point in the series, if you ask me.

These rare shots of the world between 1999 and 2015 have been a treat for Eva fans for decades. They satisfy that which we’ve been dying to see, incidents about the past that construct our precarious present, the conspiracies and the science alike. Fuyutsuki’s life is intricately woven with Yui’s, Gendo’s, Misato’s, and NERV’s own histories. At the heart of it all lie the secrets of the geofront, the Magi, and Naoko Akagi—the woman who coded the foundation of NERV HQ. As eternal summer shines on Japan, information becomes power and a curse for those tied to the shadowy side of the organization.

Naoko Akagi, to me, holds within her the darkest aspect of NERV’s history. The organization, formally known as Gehirn, literally wipes this old name away following her shocking and mysterious suicide, as if to sweep the evil under the rug. Absolutely chilling the way the scene pans out to show the white tape marking the body and the trail of blood dripping from the Magi. Watching this episode again, I am inspired to propose a new way to watch Eva for those who intend to only stick to the Rebuild films. I’ll probably write more about this in a future post, though you can definitely count on this episode making the cut.

The future looks bleak as Kaji sacrifices himself for Misato. From here on out, only one hue paints the path ahead: red, the color of blood. Action returns to this fourth and final part of the series in Episode 22: “Don’t be.” Thanks for reading, and ‘til then!

– Takuto

Welcome back to EVERYDAY EVA, the blog series where I aim to cover one episode of Evangelion every single day for Mecha March 2022!

As Dr. Akagi tries to reconstruct Shinji’s body from outside the entry plug, Shinji plunges into the world of his mind.

Gendo’s act of placing an S2 Engine into the core of Unit-01 goes against SEELE’s scripts, surprising not only everyone at NERV but the Human Instrumentality Council too. Misato lashes out at Ritsuko to “fix the machine” that she built, but the science of the EVA is more complex than that. Along with being a clone of “something they found in the Antarctic,” EVA also resembles a human and has a soul. Shinji’s 400% sync rate causes his assimilation with the L.C.L. in the cockpit, and while he plunges deeper into the primordial liquid swirling in the entry plug, everyone else’s relationships with one another start deteriorating.

Like the previous “Weaving a Story” episode, most of Episode 20 utilizes recycled footage to convey a narrative. We are reminded of how far Shinji has come in his story, and also how his relationships with Misato, Asuka, and Rei comprise the main image of “woman” in his mind. This episode’s commitment to exploring the human mind in visual form involves the usage of new animation tactics—rapidly flashing images, overlaid sequences, and intentionally washed out details. Dramatic soundtrack cuts add to the drama of the episode. Days pass on the outside, yet Shinji maneuvers through a constant dream.

Misato’s screams to have Shinji back are painful, especially as Ritsuko is the target of her anger. After he is “reborn” from the L.C.L., Ritsuko notices how Misato is content with running off to her “secret lover.” After all, desiring intercourse is “especially” okay when the child has returned home safely. Eva is hypocritical and cruel like this. (Note how she doesn’t blame Misato for acting on lust here, though . . . Is she hiding her own secret affair?) Misato’s love scene with Kaji is definitely bold, enough to make a person flush red, and the reliance on dialogue alone to carry this spicy scene is a genius tactic.

With this critical episode behind us, the birth of NERV is disclosed in Episode 21: “He was aware that he was still a child.” Some of our biggest questions finally receive answers. Thanks for reading, and ‘til next time!

– Takuto

Welcome back to EVERYDAY EVA, the blog series where I aim to cover one episode of Evangelion every single day for Mecha March 2022!

While Shinji vows to never pilot EVA again after his father’s betrayal, the 14th Angel carves a path of devastation to NERV HQ.

By the start of Episode 19: “Introjection,” Shinji has already committed to acting against his father’s orders. His dream sequence in the train car reveals that he tried to understand his father, but the Rei in his mind insists otherwise. This marks the second time Shinji runs away from piloting, and he seems more certain this go round. He’s realized that his want to please everyone cannot be satisfied at NERV. Misato’s earnest wishes to keep Shinji in Tokyo-3 are rendered moot by is resolution.

With even Unit-01 refusing Gendo, mankind’s hopes are left to up to Asuka. The way she cradles her shoulders after EVA-02’s arms are sliced clean off ignites a phantom pain in me every time. Thankfully, Ritsuko is quick enough to sever nerve connections before the unit is beheaded. As Rei plans to sacrifice herself to their greatest threat yet, Kaji reveals to Shinji that an Angel’s contract with the giant sleeping under NERV will trigger the end of everything. Kaji admits that there is little he can do now, and that Shinji should endeavor to live without regrets, to do only what he can do. The image of the 14th Angel breaking through the familiar walls of Central Dogma’s command center is another image that looms in my mind. You’d never think an Angel would dare to reach such an intimate location for the viewer, yet the 14th is a cut above the rest.

The Angel continues to assault a deactivated Unit-01, and the core of the EVA—the secret behind the machine—becomes abundantly clear to Misato: the armored plating around the EVA isn’t for strength, but for restraint. Everyone watches in horror as the Beast is unleashed. Unit-01’s glowing eyes and cannibalistic behaviors evoke wonder and disgust alike. What is NERV really trying to accomplish with the EVAs? The answers are soon to come.

Shinji left to escape the ‘hurtful things’ that come with piloting EVA, but he returns after realizing that some things can be even more painful. This episode ends the ‘Fourth Children trilogy’ and temporarily pauses ‘the story of Shinji’s maturation’, according to the production notes. His body may be detached from him, but his mind wanders in Episode 20: “WEAVING A STORY 2: oral stage.” Thanks for reading, and ‘til then!

– Takuto

Welcome back to EVERYDAY EVA, the blog series where I aim to cover one episode of Evangelion every single day for Mecha March 2022!

EVA-03’s startup test goes horribly wrong, and Shinji is torn between surrendering his life or eliminating the enemy EVA—along with the pilot inside.

Episode 18: “Ambivalence” opens with an eerily striking image: an enormous military plane carrying a crucified EVA-03 through a sparking cumulonimbus cloud. Surely, this is a bad omen for all. Another ominous cue for Shinji befalls him when Misato announces she’ll be away for four days, and that Kaji will be watching over him. Asuka’s temper is hotter than normal, which Misato chalks up to a feminine matter (that glosses right over Shinji’s head), and then she’s off to lead the large test operation ahead.

This short introductory sequence reveals that Shinji is still the only one in the dark about most affairs concerning his life, including that Tohji is set to pilot EVA-03. What makes Tohji different from the other pilots is that his motive is noble and clear—his sister will be transferred to NERV’s superior hospital unit should he agree—whereas the motives of Shinji and Asuka are intrinsically complex. Speaking of, Shinji tries to further understand his father (his motive) by asking Kaji directly about the man. Kaji’s answers are unhelpful to Shinji, however, who still refuses to understand the actions of adults. It would seem that even when Shinji endeavors to understand someone, a separate part of him instantly detaches from any kind of “normal” sympathetic urge. He might be more like his father than he wants to admit.

The next day, dramatic irony holds everyone in suspense as the startup test for EVA-03 fails horribly. This is where Shinji comes face-to-face with the horror that has been brewing. One Eva is ordered to take down another as the 13th Angel takes over Unit-03. In other words, Shinji must defeat Tohji or face his own demise. Shinji would rather die than be a murderer, though, leading Gendo to order the initiation of the Dummy Plug System, another terrible experiment that Gendo has been working on. The scene is painted red by the evening glow, and the tense, vivid battle in the mountains begins. At its end, we witness one of the most brilliantly animated yet gruesome scenes in the entire series: EVA-01 tears apart EVA-03 limb by limb, and it is Gendo using Shinji’s hands to do it. It’s awful, really, and we are left with a totally distraught Shinji as he finally discovers who the Unit-03 pilot was.

To everyone’s concern, Tohji lives, but no one is pleased with the means used to accomplish the day’s victory. The ‘Fourth Children trilogy’ wraps up in Episode 19: “Introjection” with the arrival of ‘the most powerful’ Angel yet. Lots more action await us as this new Angel tears through Tokyo-3. We’ll have to see if Shinji returns to the cockpit. Thanks for reading, and ‘til then!

– Takuto

Welcome back to EVERYDAY EVA, the blog series where I aim to cover one episode of Evangelion every single day for Mecha March 2022!

The next phase of the Drama Arc rolls out over a trilogy of episodes, and this first stages the tragedy to come.

As laid out in the production notes, Episodes 17-19 comprise the ‘Fourth Children trilogy,’ which serves as the grand climax for the middle part of the series—also known as the Drama Arc. Tohji is chosen as the Fourth Child, and this first episode shows his coming to terms with his selection. Shinji continues to mature, and Hikari’s love for Tohji blossoms. Meanwhile, NERV’s entire U.S. branch explodes in a catastrophic accident along with EVA-04 and thousands of lives. The S2 Engine, known as the core of the Evas and the Angels, is under immense scrutiny here, much as it was with the Jet Alone project. If this is the ‘calm before the storm’ as the production notes describe, one can only imagine the potential outcomes doomed for Shinji ahead.

Interestingly, Gendo also becomes more of a key player in these episodes. He continues to use Ritsuko, exploiting her knowledge and desire to complete Project E to suit his own plans. It’s transparent to us, and Ritsuko is only now starting to question his ambitions. Of course, Gendo’s invitation for a dinner date with Rei is what triggers this realization. Afterwards, Rei discovers a hint of feelings for Shinji after he cleans up her “Spartan” apartment (quoted by Tohji), and Tohji himself calls out the Eva pilots for what they are: a bunch o’ weirdos. Prepare to join the club, my friend.

When Misato swindles info from Kaji, we discover that the Marduk Institute is yet another construction for NERV’s own end, a facade just like the city itself. Naturally, the same goes for Shinji’s school. This insight made more relevant now given that Ritsuko just denied Misato of any recent word from Marduk. Suspicious. Shinji and Kaji take a different discussion on what it means to enjoy something and endure pain outdoors as they water Kaji’s melons together. (If that wasn’t innuendo enough, Shinji had denied a tea-date with the man. For shame, Kaji, for shame.) Still, we’ll have to remember this scene not only for later episodes (since it mirrors the inner-space scene of Episode 16), but also how it impacts the decisions made in the Rebuild tetralogy. Between flirting with Misato and playfully chatting with Shinji, however, Kaji seems to have no time for Asuka, much to her dismay.

And now the groundwork is set for the action to ramp up once again over the next few episodes. A new disaster awaits Shinji in Episode 18: “Ambivalence,” but with tragedy also comes more answers about NERV’s mysterious plots. Thanks for reading, and ‘til then!

– Takuto

Welcome back to EVERYDAY EVA, the blog series where I aim to cover one episode of Evangelion every single day for Mecha March 2022!

As the 12th Angel swallows Unit-01 and parts of Tokyo-3 into its shadow, Shinji is pulled into the space of his mind.

If the first arc is the Prologue and the second is the Action, the third arc of the series is the Drama. The human mind, a prominent theme in Eva, especially becomes present in the Drama Arc (as stated in the production notes). Episode 16: “Splitting of the Breast” is an especially psychological episode for its prenatal imagery and metaphors for childbirth, making it a highly symbolic episode as well. This is most noted especially when Unit-01 breaks out of the 12th Angel’s spherical body and blood sprays everywhere in a grotesque display of the Eva’s power, but perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. After all, the mystique of the 12th Angel itself is the real intrigue of this episode.

As the 12th Angel expands the shadow lurking underneath its floating body, Shinji and several buildings of Tokyo-3 are pulled under into the darkness. Its body is an abyss of space, a “Dirac sea,” and outside interference is rendered useless. Women are pitted against one another in their differing opinions on whether to salvage Shinji, Asuka vs. Rei and Misato vs. Ritsuko. These dichotomies aren’t new, but the disparities heighten as part of the stirring drama. Shinji, meanwhile, confronts the self hiding in his mind in a symbolic train ride that becomes emblematic of the entire franchise. His real battle here isn’t with the Angel, rather it is with his conflicting desires.

Anno implements lots of visual tactics to create the world of Shinji’s mind. White stripes representing character dialogue flash against a stark black backdrop. We really get a feeling for how Shinji views himself through the viewpoints of others—how he internalizes mistakes even beyond his reach as his own and sees himself as a failure. Meanwhile, new images from Shinji’s past are flashed before us, providing us with more info about Shinji’s mother. It’s an intense and creative visual design that will come to occupy other episodes of the series’ second half, for better or worse.

“The secret of the Evas” is the other main item addressed by Episode 16. Misato’s suspicions are reared several times, adding to her slow distancing from Ritsuko and NERV itself. Episode 17: “Fourth Children,” more closely explores the true purpose of the Evas, and more horror is unleashed. Thanks for reading, and ‘til next time!

– Takuto

Welcome back to EVERYDAY EVA, the blog series where I aim to cover one episode of Evangelion every single day for Mecha March 2022!

Kisses are swapped and secrets are shared in this otherwise unsuspecting episode.

Episode 15: “Lies and Silence” (it has a longer subtitle, but I find this one more fitting anyway) isn’t one with much action, but it’s still worth watching. Important terms like Marduk Institute and SEELE are tossed around by a covert Kaji, though what matters more to us is finding out more about his divided associations. Misato and Ritsuko share woes about all of their friends and coworkers getting married which I always found relatable, even as a teenager. Trust me, it hurts even harder going into my twenties.

Another standout moment is Shinji and Gendo’s visiting of Yui’s grave. It’s just a stone, no body buried underneath, but as Gendo remarks, “Everything I need I keep in my mind and heart, and that will have to do for now.” With little else to say, they depart, and Shinji returns to Misato’s to play the cello. This is interesting. Not so much that he plays an instrument, but that the reason he never quit was because no one told him to stop. Very Shinji-like indeed, Asuka retorts.

On the adult side, Misato, Ritsuko, and Kaji share their first drinks as a trio in years. “I make it a point not to talk about myself” is what Ritsuko lays down. Misato, however, can only overshare about herself, as seen in her drunk walk home with Kaji. It’s emotional, being forced to watch our beloved captain fold in on herself and confess to all her flaws, but it ends in a kiss so hey. Speaking of kiss, Asuka dares Shinji to pucker up as she lays one on him. Their experience is less than romantic, but Asuka’s reaction to the whole exchange is hilarious.

At the end of this episode, a new curse is cast upon us by NERV’s shadow, Kaji: the secrets of “Adam” are revealed to Misato, though even she is unsure of what to make of NERV’s secret-keeping. Although we return to the battlefield in Episode 16: “Splitting of the Breast,” we certainly will be coming back to the haunting image lurking in Central Dogma’s lowest depths. Thanks for reading, and ‘til then!

– Takuto