quanticle/evangelion_notes.md

## evangelion_notes.md

      
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              evangelion_notes.md
            
          
    Episode 1: Angel Attack


OP is really good; I’d forgotten how good A Cruel Angel’s Thesis was
2015
Flooded city (Tokyo?)
Row of tanks lined up (against what?)
Evacuation order
Boy standing at a phone booth – Shinji Ikari
Sees a blue-haired girl standing out of the corner of his eye; looks agains and she’s gone
Immediately after that – large explosion and we see the giant monster, under attack by a bunch of hover-jets
This is presumably the attacking “Angel”
The illustrations of military equipment are really good
Cut to a military headquarters of some kind, see a Commander and his lieutenant
Military armaments are useless
Angel has an ’AT-field’
Cut back to Shinji
Lady pulls up – Misato Katsuragi
As they’re driving away, the military nukes the Angel
Nuclear mine damages the Angel, but does not kill it
Angel stops and starts to heal
Misato is annoyed that the mission to pick up Shinji has wrecked her car, but she’s doing a good job of hiding it
Angel is referred to as an autonomous weapons (sent by whom)
Allusion to an event 15 years ago (Y2k?)
Misato works for NERV – secret organization under the UN
NERV was created specifically to fight this threat
Commander of NERV is Shinji’s father
To fight the Angel, they will activate Unit 01
No pilot
Elder Ikari says that another pilot is on the way – presumably Shinji
On the train to NERV HQ, Shinji is given a top secret file, which informs him about what NERV is and what it does
Prior to that he was told nothing – his summons were an ID card and a completely redacted report annotated with “Come” and signed by his father
Shinji realizes that the only reason his father sent for him is because he has some use for him – very distant relationship between son and father
Misato says that she doesn’t get along with the senior Ikari either
Train emerges into underground city

Geo-Front
NERV HQ
“Fortress for all mankind”


NERV HQ is a pyramid and an inverted pyramid inside the Geo-Front
Misato is sure acting pretty casual for someone who knows there’s a giant monster which survived a nuclear explosion right outside
Ritsuko Akagi – Head of R&D at NERV
Misato – Head of Operations
According to the Marduk Report, Shinji is the Third Child

Who were the other two


Very small possibility of activating Unit 01
At 13:03, there’s a giant hand in the background – nobody comments on this
I would expect Misato and Ritsuko to be used to it, but I am surprised that Shinji doesn’t speak up – “What is that?”
We finally get to see Unit 01 – giant purple robot from opening sequence
Robot is “mankind’s ultimate weapon” – Synthetic Human - Evangelion 01
Unit 00 is still in cryostasis – they’re planning on using Unit 01 even though there’s a tiny possibility of activation
Rei (who?) can’t pilot
Shinji will be the pilot of Unit 01
Misato asks how Shinji will be expected to pilot Unit 01 when it took Rei 7 months to synchronize
Senior Ikari says that all Shinji has to do is sit in the Evangelion and the rest will take care of itself
This is a last-ditch plan to stop the Angel

It’s weird that an organization specifically created to stop an attack like this would be caught with its pants so far down


Interesting contrast between apparent desperation of Misato and Ritsuko and supreme confidence of the senior Ikari
Shinji has questions

Why was I sent for
Am I going to be expected to fight the angel
Why am I being asked now?
All reasonable questions, IMO


Shinji is convinced he can’t pilot the robot
Father says that either he’ll pilot it or he’ll leave

At this point, I would have said, “You know what? Screw you! I’m out. Have fun saving the world or whatever.”
Shinji’s dad is a tremendous narcissist


At this point the Angel resumes its attack
Ritsuko says that they’re out of time – Shinji has to pilot
Misato tells Shinji to get in
Says that he mustn’t run away
Shiji is still frozen with fear
Shinji’s father’s lieutenant – Fuyutsuki – is asked to go wake up Rei
Rei has been strongly implied to be incapacitated
Elder Ikari makes an audio-only call to Rei – asks if she’ll pilot again
Rei agrees to pilot again
Ritsuko calls for Unit 01 to be reconfigured for Rei
Shinji realizes that he was unnecessary this entire time

Oh really, Shinji? You’re unnecessary? If you were unnecessary, do you think that Misato would have risked her life to go rescue your sorry ass?


Rei (blue-haired girl that Shinji caught a glimpse of in the vision right at the beginning) is wheeled in on a hospital bed with an IV
Heavily bandaged
Angel’s attack finally smashes into the underground base – causes lights to fall from the ceiling and Rei to fall out of her bed
Evangelion moves on its own to protect Shinji
Shinji notices that Rei is bleeding through her bandages
At this point, Shinji reluctantly says that he’ll pilot the Evangelion

You got played, fool!


The pilot of the Evangelion enters the robot via a canister known as an “entry plug”
Entry plug is filled with a liquid called LCL – oxygenates the blood and presumably shields against G-forces
Shinji has a 41.3% synchronization rate, even though he’s never been in the robot before
Eva is launched and episode ends with Eva facing off against the Angel

Episode 2: Unfamiliar Ceiling/The Beast


Starts immediately after Episode 1
Eva is facing off against Angel
Shinji is ordered to concentrate on walking
Takes one step, and then the Eva falls flat on its face in the second
At this point, the Angel attacks the Eva
Is the Angel sentient? Is it thinking, “Really? Really? This is the best you have?
Angel picks up Unit 01 and breaks its arm – Eva and pilot are connected via neural link so Shinji feels as if his arm has also been broken
Angel picks up Unit 01 by its head and starts battering it with its beam weapon
At this point, Misato’s order to Shinji, “Dodge!” makes zero sense – how can he dodge when the Angel has him literally by the face?
Eva gets blasted into a building and starts bleeding – has a hole blasted right through its head
Jump cut to Shinji waking up in a hospital bed
Jump cut to salvage operation where we see the Eva’s head armor being lifted by a crane
I really like the way Anno cuts in this episode – there’s always a clear step forward in the story whenever he cuts
Jump cut to some kind of council meeting (NERV council?) – telepresence, people marked by colored desks

Angels have reappeared after 15 years (see vague reference in episode 1)
Angels are now public knowledge, as is information manipulation

Manipulation by whom, and for what purpose?


NERV must operate quickly and prudently
Senior Ikari starts reassuring the council


Jump cut back to Misato and Ritsuko at the salvage operation

Public scenario B-22 - implication is that NERV has a wide variety of contingency plans for dealing with the aftermath of an Angel attack
Misato says that NERV is covering up the truth once again
Ritsuko replies that people are acting casual when they’re really scared inside
From background:

No danger of contamination
Only samples of Angel were those that clung to the Eva


Jump cut back to council

Senior Ikari is is facing questions about his management
Cost of repairs to Unit 00
Now Unit 01 is completely wrecked
Questions re: his son piloting Unit 01
Reminder that the true priority is the Human Instrumentality Project – even the reappearance of the Angels cannot excuse delays there
At the end of the meeting, most the of council signs off, but one person (the chairman?) remains, and tells Gendo that there is “no turning back”
Ikari agrees, saying “Mankind has no time left”


Cut to Shinji, now in the hallway outside his room

Sees Rei wheeled past
I really like the lack of dialogue and the the slowness of this scene


Cut to Misato and Ritsuko in one of the salvage trucks

Are the vehicles in Evangelion self-driving? Misato and Ritsuko are in the cab of a semitrailer, but there’s no evidence of a steering wheel
Yet Mistato’s car clearly is not self-driving, since she had to drive it manually in Episode 1
Ritsuko hears on a carphone (truckphone?) that Shinji has woken up
No external injuries but his memory is fuzzy
Misato worries about “neural contamination” (from what? the Angel or the Eva?) but is reassured that Shinji is fine
Memory issues are to be expected given the strain on Shinji’s nervous system
To this, Misato replies, “Don’t you mean his heart?” I have no idea what she means by this, but the shot lingered on her, so I can only assume Anno wanted us to notice


Cut to Shinji, who is looking at his arm, surprised that it’s whole (I wonder if Anno had read Dune, because if so, this would be a really neat callback to the gom jabbar scene right at the beginning of that book)
Cut back to Misato and Ritsuko, now back at base

Misato says that if the city and the Eva both fulfill their potential, humanity will make it through this
Ritsuko has her doubts
Misato replies that sometimes a little wishful thinking is what you need


Misato meets Shinji at the hospital
Shinji’s father comes down as well, they do their usual staring at each other awkwardly thing
Shinji is initially assigned a room by himself; Misato intervenes and gets Shinji assigned to her apartment
Buying groceries, Shinji and Misato hear people talking about moving away, now that the city has become a war zone
On the way home, Misato and Shinji watch the buildings rise up out of the Geo-Front, Misato says that Tokyo 3 (finally, the city is named) is a fortress designed to protect its inhabitants against the Angels
Shinji and Misato arrive at Misato’s apartment – it’s a total mess
The slide-out racks in Misato’s fridge are awesome, even if they’re not actually useful for storing food
Fridge has nothing but ice, snacks and a whole lot of beer
There’s an interesting inversion here – here we have a woman living like a stereotypical bachelor
Shinji notices a second fridge; Misato says not to worry about it as “he’s probably sleeping”
Misato appears to subsist entirely off instant food and beer
Shinji doesn’t find it appetizing – says it’s not what he’s used to

Which raises the question, what is Shinji used to? We know nothing about his life prior to that initial scene where Misato comes and picks him up out of a literal war zone


Misato says this is your home now, and you can take advantage of everything in it, clearly including herself, but Shinji is totally oblivious
Shinji goes to take a bath and encounters a penguin!
His name is Pen Pen and he’s the inhabitant of the second fridge
Cut to Ritsuko and elder Ikari in a smashed control room

Outside the control room is Unit 00, which has clearly punched the wall and probably the control room as well
Ikari says that Rei Ayanami (finally, we hear Rei’s last name) will be ready in 20 days
By that time they’ll have Unit 00 out of cryo-stasis


Cut to Shinji listening to an SDAT tape as he goes to sleep remembering the fight
Where we resume, Eva isn’t responding to control signals
Shinji’s vitals have all flatlined
Misato says that preserving the life of the pilot is the first priority; orders ejection
Ejection fails – even the emergency signals aren’t working (of course they aren’t, this wouldn’t be anime if things were engineered and tested well)
Eva reactivates on its own and goes berserk
Elder Ikari seems to have anticipated this – says that they’ve won
Eva heals its arm and shreds the Angel’s AT field with its own
Angel self destructs
The control crew is terrified – “Is this the Eva’s true form?”
Eva’s head armor falls off and Shinji sees the reflection of the face of the Eva in one of the buildings and realizes he’s in a living thing and screams
Cut back to present – Misato tells Shinji that he’s done a very praiseworthy thing