Asuka infecting the 9th Angel vs The 9th Angel infecting Asuka

[BusterMachine4]

Split off from here: Reichu's Trailer Edit -Derantor


Most of this video's scene order seems fairly reasonable. However, there are some decisions I question. For example, why is Gendo with a bullet hole in his visor placed so early in the video? Is Reichu implying that Fuyutski betrays him so early in the movie? Because if she is, that would be pretty underwhelming.

And this might be off topic, but I couldn't find a better place to put it: What is Reichu even thinking with her fan theories right now? Her theories were somewhat coherent until very recently. But right now, she seems to just be spouting bizarre theories at random. Like, some of her latest theories include "The 8th Angel is actually a reincarnation of Misato's dad" and "The 9th Angel choking Unit 1 is actually a reflection of Asuka's desire to have kinky BDSM sex with Shinji." They sound like some deranged fan theories that Matt Greenfield or Amanda Winn-Lee would come up with.

[ShinjiStranglesAsuka]

Last time I talked to Reichu she was working on some theories involving Misato and her father in the Eva13 + Unit 01 orgy. Kinda hot.

[BusterMachine4]

the Eva13 + Unit 01 orgy.

I don't think I want to know what that is...

[EscapismIsBad]

Well, it's a valid interpretation whatsoever, we for a fact know Eva13 and Gendo (along with some birthing and Yui fusing with the EVA parallels) are going to appear early in the movie, we also know that Nerv is going to inject/extract (Key of Nebuchadnezzar?) something directly into Eva13 eyes and even torture it like there's someone inside it, also, EVA 13 may or may not power the Evil Wunder which looks like there's quite a load of screentime in the movie (Examples: Naval fight with the Wunder, Cocoon reveal scene and Fifth Impact proper). Although there's certainly some holes in that interpretation of course as you suggested.

The interpretation of the Eight Angel being composed of Misato father and the scientists crew is just a joke based on that NTE theory which states the Angels were created in Second Impact and are composed of the souls of the scientists which caused SI, the Asuka thing is just a joke too.

[BusterMachine4]

we also know that Nerv is going to inject/extract (Key of Nebuchadnezzar?) something directly into Eva13 eyes and even torture it like there's someone inside it

That was concept art, it might not be reflected in the final movie. And just because Unit 13 has an important role doesn't mean that the climax is going to be all the main characters getting absorbed into 01 and 13 and then flying into space, like Reichu seems to imply.

The interpretation of the Eight Angel being composed of Misato father and the scientists crew is just a joke based on that NTE theory which states the Angels were created in Second Impact and are composed of the souls of the scientists which caused SI, the Asuka thing is just a joke too.

I don't think it was a joke. It's hard to read tone on the internet, but the way she described the theories made it sound like she was being entirely serious.

[Derantor]

Well, the theories are serious; the joke that Asuka is deepthroating Shinji in that scene is ... a joke. In essence, from what I understand, Asuka is trying to form a (pretty violent) connection. She's creating wounds, but notice those little clamps? Like from a stapler; this is used in medicine, too. So the wounds are being tended to. It's a representation of the hedgehogs dilemma, in broad terms: get close, get hurt, but you can also learn from that and heal. Both is happening at the same time, here.

Twitter is a rather poor medium trying to convey complex theories. If you're curious, you could just ask her about it.

Anyway, we're getting off topic here - lets focus on the actual edit of the trailers.

[BusterMachine4]

Well, the theories are serious; the joke that Asuka is deepthroating Shinji in that scene is ... a joke. In essence, from what I understand, Asuka is trying to form a (pretty violent) connection. She's creating wounds, but notice those little clamps? Like from a stapler; this is used in medicine, too. So the wounds are being tended to. It's a representation of the hedgehogs dilemma, in broad terms: get close, get hurt, but you can also learn from that and heal. Both is happening at the same time, here.

Well, whether Asuka is kinky or not, I still find it hard to believe that she had much control over the Angel's actions. The reason the Angel was choking Unit 1 is pretty simple in my opinion: just like in the original series, its top priority was to destroy anything in the way of its goal. The blue scars in the Rebuild version seem to have an added purpose: to possess Unit 1, just like Unit 3 before. Fuyutski explicitly refers to the Angel as "a contamination-type Angel."

Twitter is a rather poor medium trying to convey complex theories. If you're genuinely curious, you could just ask her about it.

True, true. A shame Reichu has stopped updating her blog: her theories would probably be a lot more coherent in that format.

Anyway, we're getting off topic here - lets focus on the actual edit of the trailers.

Also true. Maybe we could create a new thread for those theories?

[Heaven Piercing Man]

What happened, did the Blake theories get too boring?

[Derantor]

@BM04: I'm not actually sure that the 9th is "infecting" Asuka in that sense. If you look closely, the scene where her face blows up into blue goo, that blue goo comes out from the inside, while the blue light (that is most likely the angel, who is also reflecting her image back to her) hasn't reached her yet. Asuka is associated with that deep blue stuff; the gem on her new plugsuit in Q, her eye ... in essence, the angel is bringing out her true nature.

Edit: stuff in spoiler was me being utterly stupid; I mixed up NGE and NTE ...

SPOILER: Show

Also, Unit 03 is going after Shinji, very deliberately. Completely ignores Rei, or rather, finishes her off fast: with Shinji, she takes much longer. Why? She also doesn't try to "infect" 00 - again, why? True, Bardiel did the same, ignoring Units 00 and 02. Special connection between Toji and Shinji? Their friendship directing Bardiel? Anyway, that's another topic.

One of the reasons I'm not so sure it is the 9th infecting her is because NTE deliberately uses stuff from NGE for misdirection. So, yeah, the initial assumption is "Asuka is being taken over" - but is that actually the case? Couldn't it be something else? And remember, it's that that there are "no signs of contamination" when Asuka is put in de-con. Why? Maybe because she was never "infected" to begin with.

[BusterMachine4]

One of the reasons I'm not so sure it is the 9th infecting her is because NTE deliberately uses stuff from NGE for misdirection. So, yeah, the initial assumption is "Asuka is being taken over" - but is that actually the case? Couldn't it be something else? And remember, it's that that there are "no signs of contamination" when Asuka is put in de-con. Why? Maybe because she was never "infected" to begin with.

But if the 9th Angel didn't infect her, then what even happened in that scene? All the rules of cinema suggest that the Angel infected Asuka:

We see a blue light spreading from the front of the entry plug towards Asuka. It drags Asuka towards it, and then tears her face off in a blink-and-you-miss-it scene. That shot is immediately followed by Unit 3's eyes turning red, indicating that the Angel infected it. In the next movie, Asuka's left eye glows blue, the same color that has been repeatedly associated with that Angel.

Ritsuko did say that there's no signs of contamination, which is weird. But maybe part of the Angel managed to find a peaceful co-existence with Asuka? I don't know. It seems like something that might be resolved in the final movie, so I'll just wait.

[Arcadia's legacy]

and then tears her face off in a blink-and-you-miss-it scene.

IIRC, her face is fine (save for a freaky deleted scene where it does get torn off and speaks back to her), it's just covered in this blue goo substance with staples around the edges

[BusterMachine4]

Well, it's kind of ambiguous if the substance covers Asuka's face, or Asuka's face gets torn off to reveal the substance. Given the deleted scene where it being torn off is made explicit, I assumed it was the latter.

[Derantor]

@BM04: I guess I already said why I believe the infection didn't happen that way around. If the 9th found a way to co-exist with her, she would still be contaminated. And what you point out is exactly what I mean by misdirection: of course we assume that the angel infected her; all the signs are there. The rules of cinema are followed. Except that Eva does not necessarily follow those rules to begin with.

But you're right; we'll have to wait for the final movie and hope for confirmation one way or another. I definitely lean towards scepticism regarding the "obvious" interpretation, because a lot of things in NTE aren't obvious at all.

[Arcadia's legacy]

SPOILER: Show

Looking at the frame, it appears to be more of that goo we see later
Interestingly, the texture resembles the core material that's so prevalent in these films, only blue

[BusterMachine4]

The rules of cinema are followed. Except that Eva does not necessarily follow those rules to begin with.

But Anno doesn't seem like the kind of person to ignore basic rules of editing that have been around since Battleship Potemkin. In fact, he uses those rules to his advantage: NGE's psychological sequences use it pretty much constantly. I think if the editing suggests Asuka getting absorbed into the Angel, then she got absorbed. Maybe she was somehow absorbed without it contaminating her? I don't know, but it doesn't seem to mesh with Asuka's glowing eye patch.

And about the screenshot, you can clearly see Asuka's face stretching and distorting in the areas where the blue goo is. So it does seem like her face is being torn off, just in a really surreal way. Maybe her entire body dissolved when she was absorbed? We don't know.

[EscapismIsBad]

we also know that Nerv is going to inject/extract (Key of Nebuchadnezzar?) something directly into Eva13 eyes and even torture it like there's someone inside it

That was concept art, it might not be reflected in the final movie. And just because Unit 13 has an important role doesn't mean that the climax is going to be all the main characters getting absorbed into 01 and 13 and then flying into space, like Reichu seems to imply.

It might or might not but let's not forget the Khara Expo material revealed important plot details for the final movie which are just being confirmed now. Excuse me but I haven't reached that part yet, it's interesting though, doesn't mean it isn't questionable

[kuribo-04]

In 2.0, since stuff is lifted from NGE we don't know what was carried over just because it worked, but I would say a fair way of interpreting it is to assume everything is in the film for a reason. What I mean to say is, whatever stuff from the Bardiel scene is lifted from NGE, it should still also be seen as "It's Asuka piloting it". And some stuff is gonna feel different.

I don't know how literally Reichu means the kinky sex stuff, but as symbolical hints at the character's psychology I can really see it. I can't talk that much about her "go down quitely" line in 3.0 since I don't speak Japanese, but the way 03 attacks Eva-01 I can take very much as visual representation of Asuka's frustration

With this I don't mean Asuka is literally controlling the Angel (though maybe her state of mind did fuel it) but I think it's a hint to remind us of the charcter. Just think what her situation is at that point. Making a sacrifuce basically so her crush can go eat with another girl, and then this happens.

I also gotta say, I always saw the Evas almost as equivalent to their pilots. When I see 01, I see Shinji, when I see 02 I think Asuka. This is also driven home by hiw they basically sgare a body, feel the Evas pain, etc.

So even with 03 being a rampaging Angel, I can't help but see Asuka as well.

Basically it's similar to how Eva-01's berserk mode could also be seen (I see also because it's Yui obviously) as the more agressive, hidden side of this shy, quiet person.

And then tgere's the fact that 03 lines up pretty well with how Asuka "greets" Shinji in 3.0 lol.

I'm just improvising at this point, but aren't those Rebuild exclusive extra arms 03 grows red? Almost as if Asuka wete helping from inside to strangle Shinji.

Am I saying that's what was intended? No, but it's one way of seeing it.

[bladerj]

One of the reasons I'm not so sure it is the 9th infecting her is because NTE deliberately uses stuff from NGE for misdirection. So, yeah, the initial assumption is "Asuka is being taken over" - but is that actually the case? Couldn't it be something else? And remember, it's that that there are "no signs of contamination" when Asuka is put in de-con. Why? Maybe because she was never "infected" to begin with.

But if the 9th Angel didn't infect her, then what even happened in that scene? All the rules of cinema suggest that the Angel infected Asuka:

We see a blue light spreading from the front of the entry plug towards Asuka. It drags Asuka towards it, and then tears her face off in a blink-and-you-miss-it scene. That shot is immediately followed by Unit 3's eyes turning red, indicating that the Angel infected it. In the next movie, Asuka's left eye glows blue, the same color that has been repeatedly associated with that Angel.

Ritsuko did say that there's no signs of contamination, which is weird. But maybe part of the Angel managed to find a peaceful co-existence with Asuka? I don't know. It seems like something that might be resolved in the final movie, so I'll just wait.

its been too long but im pretty sure ritchan says no signs of mental contamination as in, its is still Asuka and not some entity in a puppet meat. they had her in a isolation chamber made for angels like the one that scapes, so its clear there was some biological shenanigans, she has an eye patch, so im almost sure she is capable of mikuru beam the shit of any angel.

[Arcadia's legacy]

In regards to the thread's original post:

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— twitter-user (@username) date

[BusterMachine4]

Personal stuff that is said in private conversation should stay in private conversation. Also, talking to third parties about the personal issues of a person that has just publicly complained that people talk about her but not with her is ... (You did talk to her, and that's good, of course.) Anyway, let me take this opportunity to remind everybody of basic rules of decency:

DO NOT POST PERSONAL INFORMATION PUBLICLY WITHOUT EXPRESS CONSENT OF THE OTHER PARTY!

-Derantor