Evangelion Blossay featuring Episode 23

              

Shin Seki Evangerion (Japanese translation) or Neon Genesis Evangelion (English translation) is a Japanese animated television series which debuted from October 1995 to March 1996. The series was produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Productions and was broadcasted on TV Tokyo. The series was directed by Hideaki Anno. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, this series mainly follows three teenagers as they combat monstrous beings known as Angels using bio-machine mechas called Evangelions or EVAs for short. The inspiration for this series came from Anno’s four years of depression. In the proposal phase, the project discussed Evangelion as a film, television series, or OVA; to which the producer decided on a whole television series. It was eventually covered by those three mediums after it became a hit with the public. Anno carried certain scenarios and the use of introspection as a narrative device from some of his previous works including; Gunbuster and Nadia. He wished to increase the number of otaku (anime fans) through this anime. Anno based the personalities of some of the characters to reflect parts of his own including; traumatic past events, personal problems, and relationship struggles. The anime was classified under the genres of; action, sci-fi, mecha, psychological, drama, with common themes stemming from tragedy, military, and post-apocalyptic society. For this blog post, I decided to analyze Neon Genesis Evangelion, episode 23, Rei III, Namida (tears), originally released March 6, 1996.  

         

Photographed at Universal Studios Osaka by Amanda Palladino 

       Why did I choose this anime? I chose this anime because as an avid anime watcher, I have heard good reviews about Neon Genesis but have never watched it due to the fact that mecha is not my favorite genre. Having been to Japan this past summer, I was able to travel to Universal Studios Osaka where they displayed a section of the park dedicated to Japanese anime including Neon Genesis Evangelion. Since returning, my Japanese anime course featured it, which I found as a sort of sign to research it a little.

                The episode starts out with a gloomy atmosphere. Misato is found draped over her desk in her cluttered room with the lights turned off listening to a final message left to her from Kaji.   

The next scene follows Asuka who is also in a depressed state but instead she is handling it by playing video games, skipping school, and running away from home. Her recent loss to the Angel Arael sent her into a state of depression, making her question the reason for her existence. Ritsuko receives a phone call from her grandmother informing her that her cat has died. Elsewhere, Gendo is getting grief from Seele for having used the Spear of Longinus to destroy an Angel. The meeting is interrupted due to an incoming Angel alert. NERV then decided to send out EVA-00 piloted by Rei to intercept the Angel. While Rei is in position, they decide to also deploy EVA-02 with Asuka as backup. 

The Angel bio-fusing with Rei

The Angel Armisael appears and attacks Rei, it erodes her EVA’s AT field and begins to bio fuse with the EVA. This immediately caused the call for an immediate deployment of EVA-02 but Asuka is unable to come to her comrade’s aid due to the fact her disturbed psyche has reduced her synch levels so low, to which she cannot pilot her EVA. After bio fusing with EVA-00, the Angel invades Rei consciences. There they discuss loneliness and the meaning of it. Gendo lifts the suspension on EVA-01 leaving Shinji to rush to Rei’s aid. The Angel then locks on to Shinji and attacks him, also breaking his EVA’s AT field and bio fusing with him. Rei realizes unconsciously that she wants to be with Shinji. She then stops the bio fusion happening with EVA-01 by containing the Angel within her EVA. Gendo and Misato order Rei to abandon her EVA, but she refuses; she ends up sacrificing her life by self-destructing with the Angel in order to save Shinji.

EVA-00 exploding with Rei inside

 NERVE later searches for her remains and her entry plug. Shinji returns home and is found in utter shock listening to his music, wondering why he can’t find himself to cry. Misato tries to comfort him but is shooed away in the process. Misato gets a call and informs Shinji that Rei is alive. At the hospital, Shinji and Rei chat about the previous events that transpired earlier, to discover Rei has no recollection. She comes to the conclusion that it may be because she is “the third one”.

 The following scene cuts to the third Rei in her apartment finding a pair of glasses that belonged to Gendo, with no recollection of the battle, she questions why tears seem to be falling from her eyes. Seele is upset with Gendo for the additional loss of EVA-00, to which he offers them Ritsuko as collateral. Ritsuko stands before them naked as Seele explains to her that she was offered up in the replacement of Rei. She then calls Shinji to meet her at NERV HQ, to which Misato also finds herself heading in accordance to Kaji’s microchip he gave her. There she holds Ritsuko at gun point demanding her to reveal the secrets she has been hiding. Ritsuko agrees on the condition that Shinji joins them, as he appears from hiding in the shadows. They begin to descend the underground floors of the facility and first stop at a room which reminds Shinji of Rei’s room; having Ritsuko explain that this is where Rei was born and raised. She then shows them the EVA graveyard, where the failed Evangelion experiments are disposed of, on their way to discover the dark secret of the dummy system.

They stand before the core of the dummy plug system to find that with a switch of a light, they discover a tank full of Rei clones. Ritsuko explains that these soulless clones of Rei are the core components of the dummy plug. After finishing her explanation, she presses a button which destroys the clones of Rei right before their eyes. Misato points the gun at her asking if she realizes what she has just done. Ritsuko explains she did this out of rage for her unrequited love for Gendo choosing Rei over her. She then asks Misato to kill her but she refuses. The last scene cuts to Seele awaiting for the last Angel.

                

              In our anime course, we watched and discussed episode one and two. Comparing the three episodes you can see a change in the character development and the narrative. One can also see similar themes and scenes that are conveyed both in the beginning and toward the end. In the first two episodes, Shinji is very hesitant at piloting the EVA but by episode 23 he seems more comfortable and is able to pilot it better. Throughout the series he has gained more knowledge and battle experience in dealing with his EVA, showing that he has developed as a character.

Shinji listening to music

 Within the first two episodes, you can also see that Shinji is fond of music as he is shown listening to music during his free time. His fondness continues throughout the series as he is shown in episode 23 listening to music as he grieves the loss of Rei. When Shinji’s father Gendo calls him to pilot the EVA it seems as though he doesn’t care about his son’s well-being only that he can pilot the EVA; this makes it seem as though he doesn’t care about sacrificing individuals in order to achieve his goals. This same mentality carries to episode 23 where he willingly offers up his assistant, Ritsuko, to Seele as an offering instead of giving them what they requested which was Rei. When we are first introduced to Rei she is seen as hurt and has not had much contact with Shinji, causing them to not have a very strong relationship. Skipping to episode 23 we can see the progression of their relationship, in addition to seeing Rei injured again. Their relationship has grown to the extent that Rei ends up sacrificing herself in order to save Shinji. She went from barely knowing him to having the will to sacrifice her life for him, which shows how much they have grown.

Some themes that have carried over from the beginning to end of the series include; psychological trauma, self-worth, anxiety, and fostering connections. While characters do develop as a series goes on, parts of the individual do remain the same. While Shinji gradually becomes more comfortable piloting the EVA, his reliance on music as a way to cope does not change. Watching the first two episodes with the addition to a later one, one can see differences and similarities between them. Although by skipping episodes we miss additional information to help explain the development of the characters, so it would be interesting to now watch the entire series to see how they got there and by what means made them change.       

Works Reviewed:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_Genesis_Evangelion

http://evangelion.wikia.com/wiki/Episode:23

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=49

http://wiki.evageeks.org/Episode_23

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/NeonGenesisEvangelionEpisode23Tears