Rebuild 2.22's EVA Unit 03...

[Subliminal]

Hey there everyone. First off, I'd like to introduce myself as a new comer. I stumbled onto the site after falling back into my Eva craze and had an excellent time reading through all the assorted theories and analysis you as a community have devised and built up. A lot of these theories are things I have also thought up, while quite a few completely blew me away! Needless to say, I was very impressed, and I'm excited to maybe be of some help in the future when it comes to some new arguments and discussions.

So then, I actually have a question concerning the new movie, Evangelion 2.22 You May (Not) Advance.. For those of you that haven't had the opportunity to see the movie yet, know that this will obviously bare some spoilers, so if you don't want that, I'd recommending reading no further...
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...OK, so, it has been stated and accepted that all EVA units require a soul to operate, or more specifically I imagine to generate the necessary AT Field. It has also been shown that the souls which inhabit the specific units, with the exception of Unit 00 that is, have been those of the pilots mother's. This is obviously a means to make the units more compatible with the pilot. So then, why is it in this new movie, was Asuka capable of synchronizing with Unit 03? Also following this line of reasoning, why was Mari able to sync with Unit 02? I understand Rei's multiple compatibility due to her connections with Yui, but these two are a mystery to me.

In the series, it has been accepted that Unit 03 contained the soul of Toji's mother. This is the specific reasoning behind Shinji's class after all; the students are all without mothers and at the appropriate piloting age, meaning they are all potential candidates. So, why is it that Asuka was compatible with an Eva that contained Toji's mother? Or, since the movie obviously took a different approach, WHOS soul was contained within the Eva? Now, one can certainly make the argument, perhaps they were capable of transferring Asuka's mother into Eva-03, but even if that were the case, it doesn't explain Mari. She took Eva-02 without any warning or preperation, yet was still somehow compatible.

So, any idea's? Theories? I'm very curious as to see what some of you think.

[Sailor Star Dust]

As a general rule of thumb, NGE and the new film series are separate continuities so the same information isn't going to apply to both.

We know that Yui's soul is in Eva-01, and that core-swapping between the Eva units in the Rebuild-verse is possible, but nothing yet about IF the other units besides Eva-01 have souls.

[Jornophelanthas]

We know that Yui's soul is in Eva-01,

Or at least that Gendo believes so, and Shinji feels a familiarity inside Unit-01 that he associates with both Rei and his mother (of whom he has no conscious memory).

[Azathoth]

Now, one can certainly make the argument, perhaps they were capable of transferring Asuka's mother into Eva-03, but even if that were the case, it doesn't explain Mari. She took Eva-02 without any warning or preperation, yet was still somehow compatible.

Unit 02's core is clearly shown to be removed when Unit 02 was put in storage, and put into Unit 03. After Unit 03's destruction we don't know what happened to it - while it doesn't seem like Unit 01 broke the Eva's core, it's kind of difficult to imagine how it could fuck Unit 03 up so thoroughly without wrecking the core entirely.

When Mari hijacks Unit 02, a new core is put into Unit 02. This is again shown pretty clearly; simply because we don't see any of the people who were helping Mari doesn't mean they weren't there.

[bigbadtyrant]

SPOILER: Show

After Unit 03's destruction we don't know what happened to it - while it doesn't seem like Unit 01 broke the Eva's core, it's kind of difficult to imagine how it could fuck Unit 03 up so thoroughly without wrecking the core entirely.

Well you get to see Asuka in a plugsuit in the 3.0 preview so I'm guessing that maybe Unit 02's core may have miraculously been left intact. But that is just my guess and may not be the case because Rebuild has been a bucket full of twists and screwyness already. There is no way we can tell what has happened to Unit 02's core until 3.0 .

[Azathoth]

Well, in NGE, Unit 00's core blew up so hard it flattened a city, and somehow or other they still got hold of the fragment of Rei's soul that was in it. So even if the core got broken, I'm sure Nerv could use their proton packs to grab Kyoko's soul and stick it in something else.

[bigbadtyrant]

That is also a good suggestion. I guess we will just have to see what they pull outta their asses to explain Asuka being able to pilot again, but i wouldn't doubt that theory being the one they use, it actually kinda makes sense.

[Eva 04]

Or at least that Gendo believes so, and Shinji feels a familiarity inside Unit-01 that he associates with both Rei and his mother (of whom he has no conscious memory).

Why would he believe so when it's true? It's a fact,her soul is in Unit 01.

[Mr. Tines]

somehow or other they still got hold of the fragment of Rei's soul that was in it.

Loitering somewhere in the vicinity if Rei II's crispy baked corpse.

[Azathoth]

Loitering somewhere in the vicinity if Rei II's crispy baked corpse.

Well yeah, the Rei II fragment was probably still in the variety bucket, but where was the Rei I fragment at?

[SaltyJoe]

Unit 02's core is clearly shown to be removed when Unit 02 was put in storage, and put into Unit 03.

The second bit is not even hinted at.

Also, English background chatter when Mari gets Unit-02 out of storage:

Pilot automatic reconfiguration sequence has begun. (...) Entry Plug currently moving into position. 30 seconds to Insertion Lock position. Rewriting access key. The new designated pilot will be registered as Mari Makinami Illustrious. Pass code: zero-five.

Either this refers to rewriting Unit-02's... something to accomodate a new core, or, simply that the access to the already present core is being rewritten. To me, the latter option seems more plausible.

Calling it: the *-nami naming scheme is somehow connected to girls piloting ability (or at least i think that's what Anno and team are going to come up with for the next movie). Shinji can only pilot because Yui is in there. Otherwise he couldn't make the Eva pick it's nose.

Well yeah, the Rei II fragment was probably still in the variety bucket, but where was the Rei I fragment at?

When Unit-00 blew up, Rei II's and Rei I's souls merged, creating Rei III. When they extracted her essence, it was already a two for the price of one deal.

[Reichu]

According to the script in 2.0crc, the dialogue goes like this:

??: Final safety systems have been disabled. Removal of all restraining gear is now complete.
??: Entry plug currently moving into position. Thirty seconds to insertion lock position.
??: Core unit automatic reconfiguration sequence has begun.
??: Rewriting access key. The new designated pilot will be registered as Mari Makinami-Illustrious, pass code zero five.
??: Two minutes forty seconds until activation program start.

[Jornophelanthas]

Why would he believe so when it's true? It's a fact,her soul is in Unit 01.

Gendo calls Unit-01 "Yui" as it rejects the dummy plug. This shows that Gendo either believes or knows something about a connection between Yui and Unit-01. What this connection is, however, is not shown to us.

Therefore, all we have is Shinji's subconscious hunch, Gendo calling Unit-01 "Yui", and Unit-01 appearing to have a will of its own.

Certainly, this hints some kind of connection between Yui and Unit-01, but that does not mean that it has to be the exact same connection in Rebuild as in NGE. In fact, Evangelion technology in general shows subtle but fundamental differences between NGE and Rebuild. Remember, core swapping and plug depth are newly developed concepts in Rebuild, while NGE was all about synchronization rate (which is hardly mentioned in Rebuild).

Until either I've seen all the Rebuild movies, or some part of a future Rebuild movie that actually gives an exposition about the connection between Yui and Unit-01, I will not accept unconditionally that Unit-01 has Yui's soul. For now, I'll only take it as an educated guess.