Observations on rewatching again in 2016.

[Maya Ibuki]

1. There are a lot of feminist or female empowerment elements to the narrative - I'm not sure if this was intentional, but I've just come to this realisation:
- Asuka, a female, is the strongest pilot compared to Shinji - at least initially. She's able to do her job when she first comes in and is able to obey the orders of Misato etc. Independent.
- Misato - has a leadership role as a Commander and oversees Shinji's wellbeing. Though she is sexy and there is some fanservice, she is able to do her job and calls the shots - especially in EoE. She blows the head off the guard whereas Shinji was defenseless.
- Ritsuko - understands the Dummy Plug System and MAGI, has some power over the technical aspects of NERV. She destroys the Dummy Plug System. Gendo sets her free to reverse the attack against the MAGI in EoE.
- Naoko - Intelligent. Developer of the MAGI, crucial to the Evangelion units.
- Gendo - wants to be a 'God' on the outside, but really wants to re-unite with Yui, a woman, and needs a 'girl' - Rei - to reach his goal.

2. Asuka, Shinji, Misato and Ritsuko all experience the deaths of their mother/father in some way.

3. At the start of the series, Shinji can't make decisions on his own - needing the help of Misato, or after Kaji's death, begging Asuka. At the end, he makes the greatest decision of all. I think there's a lesson or moral in there to be learned.

What other observations have you picked up on re-watching?

I will mention that upon rewatching EoE, I'm kind of disappointed in Asuka's role. Her death scene was bittersweet, but now I do feel like there could've been a lot more done with her. Anyone else feel the same way? She was a huge lead in the series and all she got was a big fight scene. It was a cool way to go out - doing what she always did so well - but she doesn't interact with any characters.

[Director Black]

I love pieces of work where you can find new things to pick up on (Main reason why I love psychological works).

For me, the biggest ones were Gendo in Antarctica with Fuyutski (Retrieving the spear of longinus). He made a comment about how despite how awful Third Impact was, "Mankind still survives." The more I thought about it when I rewatched it a second time, it showed that even for a cynical man, he obviously took a lot of optimism from Yui.

The reaction that Asuka makes when Kaji tells her that Shinji is syncing amazingly with his Eva is also really haunting.

I know there's much more, but those two come to mind the most. I do plan on watching it with with my family in LA for Christmas (To celebrate 3I).

[CommanderFish]

It was a cool way to go out - doing what she always did so well - but she doesn't interact with any characters.

Does her interacting with Shinji during the pre-instrumentality sequence not count for some reason? There's a lot to be said about her character from those scenes, if I remember correctly.
I was planning on re-watching EoE pretty soon anyways, so I may just come back here later with a better answer.

[Guy Nacks]

Does her interacting with Shinji during the pre-instrumentality sequence not count for some reason? There's a lot to be said about her character from those scenes, if I remember correctly.
I was planning on re-watching EoE pretty soon anyways, so I may just come back here later with a better answer.

I have always wondered about this: To what extent is the Asuka we see in Pre3I actually Asuka and not Shinji's own projection of her? Because at this point in the film she'd been killed pretty decisively by the MP Evas and Rei hadn't gathered everyone's souls into Unit 01. So, how the fuck is the Asuka we see observing Misato and Kaji boning and telling Shinji she knows about his jerkoff fantasies actually the "real" Asuka if the souls hadn't been collected yet?

If it is supposed to be the "real" Asuka in those scenes, it strikes me as a pretty big plot hole, now that I really think about it.

[CommanderFish]

I have always wondered about this: To what extent is the Asuka we see in Pre3I actually Asuka and not Shinji's own projection of her? Because at this point in the film she'd been killed pretty decisively by the MP Evas and Rei hadn't gathered everyone's souls into Unit 01. So, how the fuck is the Asuka we see observing Misato and Kaji boning and telling Shinji she knows about his jerkoff fantasies actually the "real" Asuka if the souls hadn't been collected yet?

If it is supposed to be the "real" Asuka in those scenes, it strikes me as a pretty big plot hole, now that I really think about it.

Well -- I definitely need to give EoE a rewatch in order to sufficiently answer this. But either way, I feel like this is the type of question that would have already sparked multiple debates on these very forums.
I wonder what others have to say about this...

[Reichu]

Guy Nacks: You see Rei watching both Ritsuko and Misato as they die. (She returns later to melt their bodies and collect their souls.) Perhaps not coincidentally, both Ritsuko and Misato are present for the mindscape event that precedes Instrumentality proper. The significance of Rei watching their deaths may therefore be that she is acting as a psychic medium of sorts. Now, with Asuka, the choice was made to NOT depict her death in such a way that we can tell whether or not Rei is there watching. We don't see her soul get collected, either -- and yet we know that the latter definitely happened. I think this is a case not so much of a "plot hole" but of Anno typically assuming his audience possesses deductive abilities and doesn't need to be spoonfed everything.

[Sachi]

I have always wondered about this: To what extent is the Asuka we see in Pre3I actually Asuka and not Shinji's own projection of her? Because at this point in the film she'd been killed pretty decisively by the MP Evas and Rei hadn't gathered everyone's souls into Unit 01. So, how the fuck is the Asuka we see observing Misato and Kaji boning and telling Shinji she knows about his jerkoff fantasies actually the "real" Asuka if the souls hadn't been collected yet?

If it is supposed to be the "real" Asuka in those scenes, it strikes me as a pretty big plot hole, now that I really think about it.

This same question applies to Misato. The point of the sex scene is to expose Shinji to Misato's secret life that he was never aware of before, therefore it's certain that the Misato in this scene is in fact the real Misato. Thus by extension, the Asuka we see should also be the real Asuka.

[NemZ]

1. There are a lot of feminist or female empowerment elements to the narrative"

List needs some amending (assuming we're talking about the EoE branch here)...

Rei - psychologically abused and neglected, she still finds the courage to assert her independence (or at least to choose who holds her leash, if you prefer).

Maya - yes she's a little mousy and subservient, but that's by choice... she is clearly capable of speaking her mind against authority when she disagrees.

Yui - super-scientist, wife and mother, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, overall winner of the game of eva... how the hell did you miss her?

3. At the start of the series, Shinji can't make decisions on his own - needing the help of Misato, or after Kaji's death, begging Asuka. At the end, he makes the greatest decision of all. I think there's a lesson or moral in there to be learned.

Eh, gotta disagree here. What Shinji really does is vote to blow the world up in a pissy fit after he willfully does nothing to improve the situation, then puss out and vote to restore the status quo (though it doesn't go as he hopped, because consequences matter) rather than dare to join a very welcoming Lilith/Rei and explore whatever unfathomable possibilities instrumentality might actually hold. EoE Shinji fails at every turn.

[CommanderFish]

Eh, gotta disagree here. What Shinji really does is vote to blow the world up in a pissy fit after he willfully does nothing to improve the situation, then puss out and vote to restore the status quo (though it doesn't go as he hopped, because consequences matter) rather than dare to join a very welcoming Lilith/Rei and explore whatever unfathomable possibilities instrumentality might actually hold. EoE Shinji fails at every turn.

I don't mean to be rude, but I can't quite tell if you're joking here or not.

[NemZ]

Ah, noobies... I assure you I'm not joking at all. Use the search function if you're curious... Reichu is likely to be annoyed if I accidentally derail yet another thread by stating my views.

[Sachi]

Eh, gotta disagree here. What Shinji really does is vote to blow the world up in a pissy fit after he willfully does nothing to improve the situation, then puss out and vote to restore the status quo (though it doesn't go as he hopped, because consequences matter) rather than dare to join a very welcoming Lilith/Rei and explore whatever unfathomable possibilities instrumentality might actually hold. EoE Shinji fails at every turn.

What EoE does is display Shinji at his lowest point, unwilling to live or do anything, eventually coming to it's climax as he wishes the world would just die. By the end, he reaches an epiphany and decides that he finally is willing to live and do things. His character does a complete 180, and yeah, a valuable lesson is there for us to take away.

Also, he never votes to restore the status quo; he votes to continue living. The world he returns to is analogous to the real world wherein somebody seriously attempts suicide and then has a change of heart; when they come back, their life isn't going to be better than when they left it, in fact, it's likely to be in shambles (friends/family they pushed away, lost job, lack of direction) and it's up to them to rebuild it from the destruction, just as Shinji is going to need to live with the consequences of Third Impact. Basically, it's a lesson in taking responsibility for one's actions as well, which is something that NTE has been focusing on a lot.

[CommanderFish]

Ah, noobies... I assure you I'm not joking at all. Use the search function if you're curious... Reichu is likely to be annoyed if I accidentally derail yet another thread by stating my views.

Huh...
Well, everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinions! Having varied interpretations like this could actually make discussion a bit more interesting, in some cases. Suffice to say, I basically agree with everything Sachi just said 100%.

[silvermoonlight]

Recently re-watched

Never realized how bad Asuka's whole break down was.

Also I kind of missed the fact that Misato was drunk and really messy.

[viperzero]

What EoE does is display Shinji at his lowest point, unwilling to live or do anything, eventually coming to it's climax as he wishes the world would just die. By the end, he reaches an epiphany and decides that he finally is willing to live and do things. His character does a complete 180, and yeah, a valuable lesson is there for us to take away.

Also, he never votes to restore the status quo; he votes to continue living. The world he returns to is analogous to the real world wherein somebody seriously attempts suicide and then has a change of heart; when they come back, their life isn't going to be better than when they left it, in fact, it's likely to be in shambles (friends/family they pushed away, lost job, lack of direction) and it's up to them to rebuild it from the destruction, just as Shinji is going to need to live with the consequences of Third Impact. Basically, it's a lesson in taking responsibility for one's actions as well, which is something that NTE has been focusing on a lot.

Why though? My big pet pev with EOE is we have all this build up Shinji is at his absolute lowest point, he lets the human race come to an end and then... Rei gives a short speech and he changes his mind? It always seemed like great build up and imagery that just kind of fizzles.

[Sachi]

Why though? My big pet pev with EOE is we have all this build up Shinji is at his absolute lowest point, he lets the human race come to an end and then... Rei gives a short speech and he changes his mind? It always seemed like great build up and imagery that just kind of fizzles.

How else does one bring themselves out of such a suicidal funk? One has to change their mentality and believe that things can be better. Ultimately, it's a decision that just needs to be made. Rei shows Shinji what things would really be like if he follows through with his impulse to end the world: it would be nothingness. Rei, Kaworu and Yui demonstrate to Shinji that life is worth living and that it has the potential to get better. Nothing gets better with suicide.

[CommanderFish]

Why though? My big pet pev with EOE is we have all this build up Shinji is at his absolute lowest point, he lets the human race come to an end and then... Rei gives a short speech and he changes his mind? It always seemed like great build up and imagery that just kind of fizzles.

I wouldn't say that Rei's speech solely switched his mindset. Through instrumentality, Shinji was able to experience a world where only he exists--a world without Eva (in other words: the real world, hence the live action scene). I'm almost certain that Shinji's epiphany would originate more from his time within a fundamentally altered reality than it would from a few nice words from Rei.

[viperzero]

I wouldn't say that Rei's speech solely switched his mindset. Through instrumentality, Shinji was able to experience a world where only he exists--a world without Eva (in other words: the real world, hence the live action scene). I'm almost certain that Shinji's epiphany would originate more from his time within a fundamentally altered reality than it would from a few nice words from Rei.

Maybe, but it's not really communicated at least for me. For all the issues the shows ending had I feel it did or at least made a heroic effort to do what your saying. But that's just me BSing

[Tabron89]

Me?

I think we were supposed to realise that both Asuka and Shinji are loners and think hell is other people...while everyone else is living out their fantasy in bliss, so we should, in fact, take any 'life lessons' from -their- point of view with salt and don't expect any hope out of it.

I'm purposefully avoiding the whole 'Shinji hears every human being on the planet going "I hate you", "You are disgusting", "etc"' part.