Commander Nagisa and Kaji 2.22

[Pluto]

Introduction

Welcome to the second of Edition of Commander Nagisa and Kaji, where we try to figure out what the hell happened in that last scene with Kaji and Kaoru as well as the events of the Third Impact.

I’ve been scouring Japanese youtube for clues and while I don’t think we have a definitive conclusion or even general consensus, the observations, connections, and clues gathered from the previous films have been detailed and consistent.

Please scroll down to the spoiler text at the bottom if you missed Part 1.

Table of Contents
1. Context of the Scene (Added 4/7)
2.The Kaji-Kaoru Conversation
3.The 14 Year Time Skip Timeline
4.Part 1

Context of the Scene

SPOILER: Show

Update April 7
I also received a great clarification about the whole context of the scene in terms of the movie from a fellow EGF user Xiel. With her permission, I'm posting what she sent below and this makes total sense within the context of the overall themes of the movie. I honestly could not have worded it better.

The one who says the friendship spell (the spell to grow close, which has been a theme since the village) is young Shinji, not Kaji. When Kaworu talks about his existence, there's a brief scene that continues his farewell with Shinji (Just Instrumentality things making nonlinear narration). Kaworu comes out of another coffin but suddenly, instead of the moon surrounded by other endless loops of coffins, he's on the shore he meets Shinji who is a child and both hold hands, and Kaworu cries. And Shinji tells him "this is a spell so we can become good friends/grow close to each other."
It seems to symbolize Shinji finally ending his miserable repetition and endless loop curse as an integral part of his goodbye. He was thusly reborn and starting fresh instead of going to a new loop to die miserably again. This scene is in the pamphlet:


Kaji's saving him seems to be emotional, like Kensuke was to Asuka. "You too saved me" (with Shinji in context). There is a strong emphasis on the three original pilots (Asuka, Kaworu, and Rei) moving on from Eva because they bond with other people in a story that was very Shinji-centric and the three were affected by it. As Kensuke said at the beginning of the movie: Sometimes love comes from unexpected places. Asuka has her scene with Kensuke before Shinji's goodbye and she is returned to his house because her emotional issues were wrapped up by Kensuke. Kaworu's goodbye is interlaced with Kaji reassuring he did a good job so he can "retire" and be happy (leaving along with Kaji) after Shinji releases him from his repetitive cycle because Shinji's now finally happy. Rei has a doll in her hands that is shaped like Toji's and Hikari's daughter when she wonders what kind of place she can belong to in a world without Evas. She doesn't have an Instrumentality scene about this, because the movie already explored Rei Q wanting to stay with that family earlier. The three children found their homes. Shinji needed the three to leave the Evangelions so he can end them, and the three did by finding a place they can be outside their Evas.

I just thought to put this on the perspective of the character rather than any juicy lore (and I wish they would have given us flashbacks of Kaji and Kaworu, but Kaworu knowing Kaji's watermelon's patch in 3.0 shows they went there together and maybe he was taught to take care of it by him). In my opinion, what Asuka said about Shinji (not needing a lover but a mother) actually applied to herself, Rei and Kaworu. Not specifically a mother, but like, family, you know? The three of them in Rebuild never had a family, and Shin Eva has a "family flavor" with Gendo and Shinji reconciliation.

They need a found family and a place to belong rather than a romantic relationship, at least before the ending (Shinji's potential romantic relationship with Mari is too when both are adults). Shinji's definitely important to them and the one who helps them after falling to their repetitive roles due to "Eva" but alone he couldn't have done this, it was in the bonds they made outside Shinji that gave them the emotional support and closure to grow up, also a place to stay outside Eva. They were trapped in Eva, their roles, symbolically, because there had nothing else in a sense. Asuka's more in your face about what she wants (she envied Shinji's family) in her Instrumentality scene, but if you think about it, it's the first time Kaworu leaned on someone instead of being the one leaned to, sometimes that's all he needed. Because nobody has ever done this to him, other than Shinji in NGE, nobody has invited him to stay anywhere (whether or not Kaworu goes to plant watermelons, he was given that option and invitation) Rei has a full exploration in the village, with her dying wish was to remain longer with her loved ones there.

They no longer needed the Evas, their isolation is over.

The Kaji - Kaoru Conversation
[spoiler]
There could be a whole topic on the meaning of this conversation alone. The few Japanese youtube videos I’ve watched emphasize the setting and scenes within their conversation but not the actual dialogue. I was able to pull the raw quote from a speculation video on this topic but it really doesn’t talk about the meaning of their conversation.

Below is the conversation in Japanese followed by a translation from the leaked script, an excerpt of Reichu’s translation, my own half-assed attempt at a translation, then an analysis on a few of the tricky lines.

I had a Japanese person who saw the movie look over the conversation and they were utterly perplexed. The only thing I asked was for their impressions on the conversation and the answer I got was:

“if Kaoru makes Shinji happy, then he will be happy and Kaji saved Kaoru at some point, I didn’t understand the rest”

Certainly anyone who has more expertise in Japanese feel free to add your own comments and I will certainly add them to this.

The Original Conversation

Kaji:
それはあなたの幸せです　「渚令」
あなたは「シンジ君」を幸せにしたいじゃない、
それにより、あんたが幸せになりたかったんです。
Kaoru:
僕の存在を消せるのは真空崩壊だけだ。
だから僕は定められた円環の物語の中で
演じることを永遠に繰り返さなければならない。
Baby Shinji:
仲良くなるおまじないだよ
Kaoru:
相補性のある世界を望む、変わらないなシンジ君は。
Kaji:
だからこそ、あなたが彼を選び、生命の書に名を書き連ねた。
Kaoru:
ありがとう、りょうちゃんにも救われたよ。
Kaji:
光栄です。「渚同令」
Kaoru:
いやだなりょうちゃん、そろそろカヲルって呼んでよ
Kaji:
まだは預けです、渚令。
「渚」とは海と陸の間。
第１の使徒あり、第１３の使徒となる、
人類の間彷徨う、あなたらしい名前だ。
あなたは十分に使命を果たした。
あとは彼に引き継いてもらってもいいでしょう。
葛城と一緒に、老後は畑仕事でもどう？
Kaoru:
そうだね。それもいいね

Leaked Translation
[spoiler]

Kaji: Yes, that was your happiness, Commander Nagisa. (??)
<Don't you want Shinji's happiness?>
<I(?) to make you happy.>
Kaworu: <The deletion of my existence will just be a vacuum collapse.>
<So I will have to forever repeat my part within the prescribed circular story.>
(?): It's a magic formula to become good friends.
Kaworu: (I?) desire a world of complementarity. You never change, Shinji.
Because of that you choose him, you write down (his) name in the Book of Life. (2048)
Kaworu: Thank you. I was also saved by Ryou-chan.
Kaji(?): It's an honor, Commander Nagisa.
(?): I don't like "Ryou-Chan"(?), please start calling me "Kaworu".
Kaji: I'll leave you to it, Commander Nagisa.
Kaji: The shore (nagisa) is the space between the sea and the land.
He is the first Angel, he'll become the 13th Angel.
It's a name very much like you, who weave the intervals of humanity.
You've carried out your duty well.
Now, even if you hand it over to him, it should be fine.
What about working the fields with Katsuragi in your old age?
Kaworu: Yeah, that's also good.

Reichu Translation

SPOILER: Show

Kaworu:
Thank you for helping me out, Ryo-chan.
Kaji:
It was an honor, Commander Nagisa.
Kaworu:
Please no, Ryo-chan.

Just call me "Kaworu" already.
Kaji:
Hehe. I'll hold off for now, Commander Nagisa.
Kaji:
The shore [nagisa] is the interstice between sea and land.
You, the 1st Angel, become the 13th.
Weaving together the space between humanity. [Spaces? Humanities?]
A name most becoming of you.
You carried out your mission in full.
It's alright to pass the rest onto him, don't you think?
Kaji:
How about spending your golden years with Katsuragi working the fields?
Kaworu:
Might as well. I'm fine with that.

SPOILER: Show

My translation with commentary

Kaji:
That's what you wanted, Commander Nagisa
Didn’t you want to make Shinji happy,
Thereby, you wanted to become happy.

Kaoru:
Only a vacuum collapse can erase my existence.

真空= vacuum like the vacuum of space
崩壊 = crumbling, collapse, destruction, etc

Therefore, inside the tale of an inscribed circle,
I must repeat an eternal performance

Shinji:
This is a spell so we can become good friends

おまじない= good luck charm

Shinji who won’t change, will wish for a complimentary world.

相補性のある世界を望む、変わらないなシンジ君は。

相補性= complementarity
Two ways to interpret this:
1. Like a completement akin to pairing bonds of DNA
2. Quantum Physics Related Terminology. This is really complicated, so I’ve linked to the relevant wiki page.

Kaji:
For this reason, you chose him and continued to write his name in the book of life.

Kaoru:
Thank you, Ryou-chan also saved me.

Kaji:
It was an honor, Commander Nagisa.

Kaoru:
That’s no good Ryou-chan, you can call me Kaoru any time now

Kaji:
I’ll still leave it to you, Commander Nagisa.
“Nagisa” is the space between the sea and the shore.
The first angel has become the 13th angel.
Wandering around the space between Humanity, a name befitting you.
You’ve carried out your mission well.
He can take over from here after this.
How about working the fields with Misato even in your old age?

Kaoru:
Yeah. That’s also good.

Commentary

I assume that Kaworu says Kaji saved him too, because Kaji stopped the Third Impact. In 2.0, it is implied the Third Impact will destroy all humanity (which fits the "cleaning of land" mentioned in 3.0+1.0).

Kaworu tends to have these heavy philosophical lines after all. Personally I'd consider that part about "weaving together the spaces between humanity" as being about his role in SEELE's instrumentality plan

The 14 year Timeskip Timeline

I put together a summary of interesting facts and pieces of information from Eye’s Only Youtube video on this subject.

The key information garnered from this is a consistent timeline, a little information about the Anti-L technology, and Euro Nerv’s possible role in this whole thing.


Kaoru and Kaji

Kaji called Kaoru “Commander Nagisa.” In the movies, only Gendo is called “Commander” and we can consider Gendo as Nerv’s commander. (There’s a quote from Kaji in “Ha”) From their uniforms, we can see that Gendo and Fuyutsuki wear the same type of particular uniform.

So is Kaoru Nerv’s commander?

When did this happen?

In “Q”, when Shinji returns to Nerv headquarters, Gendo’s already there, so there’s a limited time period for Kaoru to be Nerv’s commander. At the end of “Ha” during Near Third Impact, we know who is Nerv’s commander, so it has to be in the 14 years between “Ha” and “Q.” Moreover, if we think about Near Third and Third Impact, we can narrow things down a little more.

14 year time skip? 空白の14年 (I think the phrase just looks cooler in Japanese)

What kind of things were said about the time skip between “Ha” and “Q”? At this time, the remaining survivors who lived faced almost certain death. It was said in Q that the path to Lilith’s chamber where the third impact occurred was sealed off for 14 years.

To paraphrase the quote from Kaoru:
“We’ve almost arrived at Lilith's chamber. The main shaft has been sealed off and no one has been permitted to intrude for 14 years.”


That is to say, the Third Impact didn’t occur in the 14 years between “Ha” and “Q,” the incident happened 14 years before Q. Moreover, Kaji died to stop the third impact so Kaji died 14 years before Q. Therefore, the possibility for Kaji and Kaoru to have a relationship is limited to the time he awakens in Jo to the time of the third impact (14 years before Q). It seems the approximate series of events is that third impact occurs shortly after near third. At the end of “Jo” near third happens and after that, Third Impact happens, and then 14 years pass until “Q” and “Shin’s” setting.

Near Third and Third Impact

We know at the end of “Ha” Kaoru uses the lance of Cassius to pierce Eva 01 in order to stop Near Third. There are no connecting scenes that show what happens in between Near Third and Third. We can understand this by looking at the scene where Misato says goodbye to Kaji.

At the time of Near Third, Misato’s injuries from the Unit 03 incident had not yet healed and her arm was wrapped in a sling.


However, in the scene where she separates from Kaji, her arm is healed.


We can’t know a completely accurate timeframe of when Near Third and Third happened, but the time between is less than a year. Conclusion: there’s a short time lag between near third and third time impact.

The Birth of Wille

When was Wille founded?
Let’s assume the founding of Wille and the third impact are two different events/
Takao says to Misato that Kaji entrusted Wille to her.

「加持がwilleを託した人物であると言っていた。儂はどこまでも艦長を信じる」

So when we consider the timeline, it can be said that the founding of Wille happened before Kaji died and before the third impact ended. That is to say, if Wille did not exist before the third impact it’s a contradiction/inconsistent.

Again, Wille’s highest rank was entrusted to Misato. So, either Kaji is the person who founded Wille or else he had a predecessor who held the highest rank. When the third impact ended, Wille was already an organization. Therefore, either Kaji founded Wille or there was someone else who held the highest rank.

AAA Wunder

How was Wille’s flagship called the Wunder created?

AAA stands for Autonomous Assault Ark. In Shin, there’s a conversation between Misato and Ritsuko where they say evacuating the remaining life forms on the planet is their top priority. [e.g. when they launch the satellites scene]. It’s not an ark to preserve life [original intent], it’s a battleship to save lives [current function]. Wille didn’t build the Wunder, Nerv built the Wunder, and Wille stole it.

Kaji plays a role akin to Noah's in the story of Noah’s Ark. His goal is to preserve the existence of the species. For Kaji’s goal, he stole the Wunder from NERV so naturally he was alive during this time. At the time of Near Third, Nerv’s battleship hadn’t appeared so it was built during the time between Near Third and Third Impact.

There’s a line in Shin where Misato Says.

But in the end, by giving up his own life, he stopped the Third Impact. He was an incredibly troublesome man who died a self-contradicting self-serving death.

Again in this line, Misato says she inherited Kaji’s MO but it doesn’t say anything about stealing the wunder. So we can say that the theft of the Wunder happened when Kaji was alive. Wunder was Kaji’s goal. He stole it from nerv for the ark project. It occurred somewhere between near third and third impact.

Wille’s Members

We’re told about how Wille’s members gathered in Shin. Takao says how they wrapped a blue bandana around their arms to represent their fallen allies. Nagara says it was used to identify their allies at the time of the rebellion.
[Note: this arm bandana seems to be a common anime troupe in coup d’etas (eg Attack on Titan, etc). For more on this, watch the latest episode of attack on titan]
Misato is holding Kaji’s blood soaked bandana. Clearly, this wasn't an easy separation/breakup due to a difference of opinion.

You can see the remains of the battle at NERV HQ in Q. We can infer this from Takoa’s statements.

Commander Nagisa
Seele sent Kaoru from the moon. So Kaoru knows Seele’s plan and they are in a position to put him in charge at Nerv. Kaji also probably knows Seele’s intentions as well.
Kaoru became Nerv’s commander while Gendo was away with Fuyutsuki in 2.0 preview as per Seele’s command.

[NOTE: There’s another observation that Kaoru is not in a destroyed command room in this scene with Kaji so we can’t confirm “where” the setting of this conversation occurs.

Anti L System

Kaji’s data helped create the anti-L system according to Takao. The data probably came from the Marine Research institute. Kaoru also knows about Seele’s plan. Kaji was Mari’s Euro Nerv contact when she secretly entered Japan in 2.0 The Anti-L system was already in place in the Paris operation. So, Euro Nerv was already doing Anti-L system research. There’s a high probability that Euro Nerv was working in opposition to the Human Instrumentality Project.

Summary

The events of the timeskip aren’t completely unknown. We know the important facts and events.

It seems the only time when Nerv’s commander [Ikari] was not present was between the Third Impact and Near Third.

It’s difficult to surmise the relationships and key people involved when Kaoru was commander when the third impact happened.

For a short time, Kaji took the “unknown technology” that Wille holds.

Kaji, Mari, and the Anti L system are all linked to Euro Nerv

There’s a high probability that Wille grew out of Euro Nerv.

Moreover, Kaji calls him Commander Nagisa because he might have been the commander of Wille or Euro Nerv.

Part 1

SPOILER: Show

Hi all,

First off, A big thank you goes to evageeks founder Reichu for finding the Q connections, translation efforts, and connections.

Background
Recently I watched a really interesting Japanese youtube video from a channel called "Tsuchi's movie log" who has seen the movie four times and has offered some interesting insight into one of Shin Eva's biggest mysteries. Below I'm going to post an excerpt of his theory which I've translated along with some of my own commentary from the movie. Now, I can't say I 100% agree with with his speculation but the clues he brings up are consistent in all NTE films and although, I don't think he solves the mystery, he certainly pushes the ball forward than anyone else has thus far. Again, I know most of you haven't seen the movie but I know there will be tons of speculation on certain key scenes towards the end of the movie when secrets are revealed (my favorite part).

You can view the Youtube video here. Right now, there are tons of Japanese youtube videos giving theories and synopses about the movie but this one seemed quite interesting to me.

So by far one of the biggest mysteries in Shin Eva is Commander Nagisa and Kaji. This is what Tsuchi-san had to say.
[Note: I split each part into sections so that it's easier to read.]



Introduction

When Kaji has an intimate conversation with Kaoru, many people were thinking: What does this mean? Until the DVD/Blu-Ray scenes come out, I think we can only speculate about this mystery. I only connected the dots and from there, drew a conclusion. However, I tried thinking about it overnight and it makes sense.

Synopsis from the movie

First, let's consider the place where Commander Nagisa and Kaji talk. In that place, there is an event in the spiritual world where the instrumentality centered around Gendo occurs. Here, the souls of various people are united. Gendo finds Yui in Shinji and he gets out of instrumentality. Next, Kaoru and Shinji go through their own instrumentality.

After that, there are conversations that emerge from the eva pilots and a sequence of conversations with the souls that are inside Unit 01 and Unit 13. Asuka’s soul is rescued, Kaworu’s soul is rescued, and finally, Rei’s soul is rescued.

Commander Nagisa and Kaji

However, the question here, mentioned earlier, is why Kaji suddenly came out and had a conversation with Kaoru as if there was a relationship between the two unfolds. This is the first time in the Evangelion series that Kaoru and Kaji speak. I think this part is also fan service but it seems there are other scenes [to consider]. Why did someone other than the children [Kaji] appear? It seems Kaji’s soul remained in Eva 13 or inside Kaoru. Why was Kaji’s soul left there? Why is Kaoru called Commander Nagisa? With this, I think I was able to make a connection.

Actually, this is not the first appearance of Commander Nagisa. In the preview from 2.0 to Q, the
“children of destiny” appear in front of Kaoru who is wearing a commander’s uniform.
It seems during these blank 14 years, Nagisa somehow became an organization’s commander. Here, I think Mark 06 becomes the key focus which I’m going to arrange things around.

The Mark 06 and Q connection

Or how Kaji's ended up in Eva 13

After that, Eva 06 descends into Dogma with its pilot, the quickening of the corresponding unit 08 and its pilot. [exact words from the preview for Q]. Then in Q, it is said to Kaoru that Unit 06 was used by the Lilin (people) who rebuilt it for autonomous use. After that, in Q, Shinji says “I will return to the world as it was before” and pulls out the two spears from Lilith. Then, Unit 06 appears and it turns out that it was the 12th angel. Unit 06 which was the 12th angel, surrounds Unit 13, becomes a core, and eventually is eaten by unit 13. By incorporating the fruit of knowledge and the fruit of life from the angel, Unit 13 has become nearly a god. The transformation into a Pseudo-deified form (擬似神化形能) (Pseudo evolved form) is achieved.

In Shin Evangelion:
Third Impact Flashback

Next, I will jump to Shin Evangelion. In the flashback scene, leaving Misato behind, Kaji puts his life on the line to stop the third impact. At this time, I think there is an image of Lilith fused with Unit 06. At this stage, I don’t think the two spears that were in Lilith in Q pierced Lilith or Unit 6.

[editor’s note: There’s a scene where Kaji says goodbye to Misato and he takes off in the Nerv Helicopter thing. Then it shows Lilith rising during the third impact and it’s head is the Mark 06 body and all (we’ve seen the dead version in Q). Also, in 3.333 there’s a shot of the helicopter with Wille painted on it. I’m pretty sure this was Kaji’s!!!]


To add more detail, we see the fused Mark 06 holding Lilith's severed head as it rains giant skulls in Dogma.

[ 3/15 CONFIRMED:]It is Kaji's Helicopter in 3.333. There's a screenshot on page 50 of the theatrical pamphlet of the interview with Kaji's VA. It clearly shows the "Wille" painted over the NERV logo on the Helicopter.





Marine Research Institute

Moreover, in the last conversation between Kaoru and Kaji in Shin, Kaoru says “Ryo-chan was able to help me.” In this image, there was also a scene of a conversation between the two at the Marine Research Institute (from 2.0). Let’s reconstruct the parts scattered here. After 2.0, Kaoru succeeds in stopping the third impact by flying in from the moon with the mark 06. A new word in Shin Evangelion is mentioned, the Book of Life. I think Kaoru whose role to play was to loop through the world of evangelion, probably knew Kaji as well.

[The goals of ] Kaji who wishes to preserve seeds and the survival of the species, and Kaoru who wants to make Shinji happy align. Kaji-san is a spy for Seele and Gendo, but I think it is highly possible that the marine research institute is actually the most likely organization he works for.

For now, it can be said that the Marine Research Institute, which restores the red sea to the blue, is the organization that became Wille.

During the 14 year timeskip, Kaoru and Kaji may have come into contact with each other to form an organization called Wille from the marine research institute.

Kaji and Kaoru's conversation happens at the marine research facility. It seems like it was a reused shot from 2.0 with Kaji standing outside with his back on the railing.

Also notice in 2.0's preview where we see a shot of battleships in BLUE water when it is mentioned that Nerv personnel were imprisoned. Was this at the marine research institute as well?

This seems to be in line with Kaji's motivations for the founding Wille in the film as well.

Ritsuko: Misato, when alone, is always here.
The plate of the Captain's room. It might be better to change/switch to this.
You won't break your thoughts of Ryou-chan that easily.
Misato: It's not about Kaji. Being here is just relaxing/calming.
Ritsuko: This block was the original purpose of this battleship.
The preservation of the seeds/species of all life.
An ark to protect that, with the possibility of operating semipermanently, an unmanned fully-automated model, the AAA (three A) Wunder's original form.
Misato: About Kaji, the continuation of the seeds/species of humanity wasn't much of an issue.
Getting involved with and erasing Instrumentality Project; the most important thing is leaving this world in its natural state for a variety of life- forms.
Ritsuko: For this purpose, we'll have to evacuate as many species of life as possible from the range of the Earth.
It was in construction to realise this plan, this ship that we stole from Nerv.
We thought it impossible, the obstruction of the Instrumentality Project with our own power.
Misato: But in the end, by giving up our own life, we stopped the Third Impact.
An incredibly troublesome man died a self-contradicting self-serving death.

Kaji, Kaoru, Wille and failed instrumentality with the Mark 06

When speaking with Kaoru, Kaji’s standing position strongly resembles Fuyutuski’s standing position.

[context: shots when you see Fuyutsuki with Commander Ikari, Kaji and Kaoru have the same standing posture and position]

Moreover, the founding of Wille for Shinji’s happiness and the preservation of life somehow utilizes this plan. With Instrumentality, again it’s a bit of a different thing that’s carried out with unit 06. [Wille’s Coup d'etat or Seele’s instrumentality or near third happens with Shinji as the trigger]. Also the lance that stabbed Lilith was pulled out by Unit 06. Then Wille’s coup plan should have worked but it failed for some reason.

It is said that Unit 06 had a special manufacturing method and as I said earlier, it is also autonomous [dummy plug system], the 12th angel has also contaminated [invaded/possessed] it. Therefore, I think there was a mistake. Or in Q, the third impact was triggered by Shinji. In the final scene of 2.0 when Shinji saves Rei, why is there a memorable close up of Lilth’s face. Moreover her eyes are shining red. Lilith accidentally awakens when Shinji has an “awakening”. I think that also caused the failure of their plan.

[NOTE: "The glow in the eyes is from the illuminated Seele crest, which isn't actually any brighter than it was in 1.0. So Lilith's eyes aren't glowing, even if it is clear that there's something going on with her".-UrsusArctos]

Final Speculation, the location of Kaji's soul, and Kaji's sacrifice

I think, in Shin Evangelion there is also [the theme of] adult responsibility and resolution. In the redemption of our group’s failed plan, Kaji uses a helicopter and goes on a suicide attack.

[note: again reference to the crashed Wille VTOL in 3.333]

There is only one way to suddenly stop the third impact which is by using the lance.　Kaji takes the spear then goes on a suicide attack, and dies. At that time, the spear has the ability to penetrate AT Fields. AT fields are the walls of human’s hearts, spirits, and souls. When the third impact was stopped, Kaji’s soul was also captured inside Mark 06. Furthermore, in Q, Unit 06 becomes the 12th angel, turns into core, and Unit 13 absorbs it. In Q, Kaji’s soul is now absorbed into Unit 13 via Unit 06. His soul is now with Kaoru after his head explodes. The two were having their last conversation in the spiritual world and they depart together. Anyways, since Commander Nagisa has already appeared once in 2.0’s preview for 3.0, it clears things up.

Kaji's Sacrifice
[Added 3/18]
It is mentioned that Kaji's sacrifice was needed to stop third impact.
In this scene Kensuke is explaining what happened during the second impact in his Jeep on a highway drive after they meet up with Kaji Jr.
From the script:

Shinji: Then... what of Kaji?
Kensuke: He died. Someone had to be sacificed to stop the Third Impact. Kaji chose that. Misato allowed it

.

Konja7's analysis:

It sounds like a sacrifice is a requirement to stop the Third Impact, but it could be ambiguous.

Another translation I found is "Someone had to be sacrificed in order to stop the Third Impact").

The first time I read that I definitely though a sacrifice is a necessary requirement to stop an Impact (it would fit that a sacrifice seems to be part of the process to stop Fourth Impact). However, as you say, it could be a way to talk about a suicidal mission.

It would be good to have the words in Japanese. Maybe we could know if the words are literal or a way to talk.

[Update 3/22] I asked my friend about this part in the movie and she said the meaning whether Kaji's sacrifice was a condition/requirement to stop the impact. She replied that the meaning was unclear so until we have an official version, we'll have to wait for the Blu-Ray.

The Melon Faucet
[Added 3/18]
Evageek's founder Reichu found this scene in Q when Kaoru takes Shinji into the ruins of Nerv HQ

Reichu's quote:

This quick sequence of shots in Q was always so goddamned mysterious. And now it's not. Now we know why Kaworu goes there. This is right after he showed Shinji the post-Third Impact world, and he's thinking about Kaji's sacrifice.

In the film there are several shot's of Kaji's melon faucet in Kaoru's instrumentality scene (as well as flashbacks in 2.0). This is revealed when Kaji is having the infamous conversation in with Kaoru in the melon field.

There are actual multiple faucet shots (I remember one in the third village at Touji and Hikari's house). I wonder if there's some symbolism in which the water faucet represents life.

[Update 3/22] In Kaoru's scenes, all of his animations from 1.0, 2.0, and many from 3.0 are reused. In these pictures posted by Reichu above, Kaji is also in the scene in the middle picture with Kaoru.

The Infamous Conversation
[Update 3/20] Reichu has provided a better translation based on the original script at The Arqa Apocrypha
When Kaoru and Kaji are talking in his melon field they have a certain exchange below.

Kaji:
How about spending your golden years with Katsuragi
working the fields?

Kaworu:
Might as well. I'm fine with that.
[NOTE: For these last two parts, the Japanese is

葛城と一緒に
老後は 畑仕事でもどうです?
(カヲル) そうだね それもいいね

Reichu commentary

Those who have seen the movie and can also actually speak the language have shared the impression that Kaji is implicitly including himself when he says this to Kaworu. I just don't know what to think about this part in general, since Kaworu is obviously present in the epilogue, but neither Kaji or Misato are.]

The feeling I got from this exchange was something like a hypothetical wouldn't it be nice scenario.
My interpretation from the tone was something along the lines of
Kaji: wouldn't it be nice to be working the fields with Katsuragi in your old age?
Kaoru: Yeah, that would be nice.

It kind of reminded me from NGE with Shinji and Kaji in the melon patch and Kaji making a remark about how he'd rather be between Misato's melons.

[Update 3/22] I saw the scene again and to be honest I think Reichu's translation explains it well. The dialogue and scenes are kind of weird even in Japanese so until we have an official translation or blue-ray, I'm going to go with that. I did ask my friend who is a fan and she really wasn't sure but she did bring up something I haven't thought of...

Kaoru and Kaji's Instrumentality
Update 3/22
Unlike Asuka and Gendo who are alive when the instrumentality scenes begin, Kaji and Kaoru have already passed on. My friend mentioned that the scene was strange because it could just be Shinji's memories of them or their spirits because both characters have already died. Again, I'm going to refrain from any speculation until we get an official release and the time to examine some of these parts more closely.

I hope you enjoyed this post! What you do you think?

EDIT:
1. Fixed some english, added some photos, changed title
2. Added some more detail, added Reichu's find with the faucet section and the infamous conversation section.
2.5 Added Reichu's quote
3. Added a few quotes and commentary, added the Kaoru and Kaji's instrumentality part.

EDIT:
1. Added "Context" part, fixed a translated part.

[IsAnnoGodOrATroll]

Lots of interesting tidbits there!

The helicopter in Central Dogma being Kaji's and him using it to stop the Third Impact is actually something I can see! Maybe the Blu-Ray might have some more additional scenes/shots related to this, or at least I hope there are. The original 3.0 preview does come true in a lot of ways huh...

Thanks for the translation! The JP fandom really are starting their deep dives. Wish I could fully understand Japanese and see what's going over there but alas, I don't speak the language.

[ChaddyManPrime]

Would have been more interesting if Kaji had hijacked Gendo's donkey and used it to stop 3rd impact.

[UrsusArctos]

Very interesting and the idea that Kaji's soul in Mark.06 does raise interesting possibilities! I'll have to think about all this.

Moreover, in the last conversation between Kaoru and Kaji in Q, Kaoru says “Ryo-chan was able to help me.”

This is a little confusing. Shouldn't it be "In the last conversations between Kaworu and Kaji in Shin"?

Also, there's no need to mark a thread title with [spoilers]. Since the spoiler subforum is password-protected, spoilers in thread titles here are entirely permitted!

[Konja7]

The dialogue in 3.0+1.0 strongly implies that Near Third Impact was the cause of the terrible state of Earth in 3.0.

So maybe Kaji or Wille wanted Instrumentality (or something similar), so he could repair the state of the Earth, but Third Impact was unleashed for some reason.


It seems the Third Impact (like the Fourth Impact) don't seem to harm people or Earth at the end. I guess it's because there were sacrifices to stop it (a sacrifice is needed to stop an Impact).


PS: In the translation I read, Kaworu says "Thank you. I was also saved by Ryou-chan". Was that a mistake?

[melonpan]

Thank you for this post! I think this is something that will keep getting brought up and expanded upon as time passes and as we get more accurate source material to work with (the blu-rays). Very exciting. I have a feeling that the connection between the preview for Q and what is revealed in Shin in regards to Kaji and Kaworu will mean we can possibly look at other shots in that preview to connect some dots, since it definitely doesn't seem like all of that was scrapped or irrelevant.

[Zusuchan]

Thanks for this, Pluto! Kaji being inside Mark.06 is exactly the sort of thing I could see Anno doing and it does create several interesting possibilities. For example, I believe some have already pointed out that Misato in Shin has several parallels to NGE!Gendo-now Kaji has parallels to NGE!Yui, too! (I'm specifying "NGE" here because I'd rather wait until I've seen Shin in whatever way before saying Misato, Kaji and Kaji Jr. are parallels for the Ikari family of NTE, too.)

[TheFriskyIan]

And this time I will jump to Shin Evangelion. In the flashback scene, leaving Misato behind, Kaji puts his life on the line to stop the third impact. At this time, I think there is an image of Lilith fused with Unit 06. At this stage, I don’t think the two spears that were in Lilith in Q pierced Lilith or Unit 6.

I'm sorry but I'm a bit confused. It was my understanding that Shin didn't have a flashback scene?

[Ah Q]

[editor’s note: There’s a scene where Kaji says goodbye to Misato and he takes off in the Nerv Helicopter thing. Then it shows Lilith rising during the third impact and it’s head is the Mark 06 body and all (we’ve seen the dead version in Q).

Holy moly, this is the first I've heard of this scene in 3.0+1.0. There's a flashback to Third Impact? And it shows Lilith rising with Mark.06 as the head? Wow.

[Blockio]

That's some galaxy brain stuff right there. Thanks for sharing it, this makes a ton of sense!

[Pluto]

Moreover, in the last conversation between Kaoru and Kaji in Q, Kaoru says “Ryo-chan was able to help me.”

This is a little confusing. Shouldn't it be "In the last conversations between Kaworu and Kaji in Shin"?

Also, there's no need to mark a thread title with [spoilers]. Since the spoiler subforum is password-protected, spoilers in thread titles here are entirely permitted!

Noted and fixed. I also cleaned up the writing a little bit now as well. I remember when Q came out and coming to this message board as a great resource for information. Thanks for letting me know we can go on with spoiler-related discussion. Especially since i think there is a lot to discuss.

The dialogue in 3.0+1.0 strongly implies that Near Third Impact was the cause of the terrible state of Earth in 3.0.
So maybe Kaji or Wille wanted Instrumentality (or something similar), so he could repair the state of the Earth, but Third Impact was unleashed for some reason.
It seems the Third Impact (like the Fourth Impact) don't seem to harm people or Earth at the end. I guess it's because there were sacrifices to stop it (a sacrifice is needed to stop an Impact).
PS: In the translation I read, Kaworu says "Thank you. I was also saved by Ryou-chan". Was that a mistake?

The second impact was the cleanse (purify) the ocean, the third was to purify the land, and the fourth is to purify the souls [to become core], IIRC.
[EDIT: here I'm going to just post what Gendo in the movie about the impacts]

Misato: The transformation of every soul into Core, being turned into Eva Infinity, the beginning of the Fourth Impact?!
Gendo: The sea was cleansed by means of the Second Impact.
The earth was cleansed by means of the Third.
And then, the souls will be cleansed by the Fourth.
The materialization of the souls, with Core shaped as the Eva Infinity.
To throw away the vessel of the human species, to invite to a stain-free heaven that collective intelligence, the final ritual.
It's the Human Instrumentality Project, that was proposed by your father, who was able to verify our hypotheses via the Second Impact.

It seems maybe Wille planned a coup and something went wrong with respect to Shinji's awakening. Then again, we don't know how long it was from when Unit 01 was pierced by the lance to the awakening of Lilith.

[EDIT: I think it was a short time after Shinji's awakening because when Kaji gets on the helicopter, the background looks like the last scene from 2.0. Moreover, at the end of 2.0 before the credits, Ritsuko says something about how the end of the world is beginning]

I haven't read the Japanese script but the line from the video and my notes, it says:
「りょうちゃんには助けられたよ」= Ryou-chan was able to help me so I can't give you a concrete answer on this one.

However, if I said りょうちゃんを助けられたよ, it means I was able to help Ryou-Chan.
Similarly, I would say りょうちゃんは助けてくれた, to mean Ryou-chan helped me. Case in point here is that the auxiliary verb is used to denote giving and receiving [the benefit of something]. Then again, maybe I'm missing something.

Thank you for this post! I think this is something that will keep getting brought up and expanded upon as time passes and as we get more accurate source material to work with (the blu-rays). Very exciting. I have a feeling that the connection between the preview for Q and what is revealed in Shin in regards to Kaji and Kaworu will mean we can possibly look at other shots in that preview to connect some dots, since it definitely doesn't seem like all of that was scrapped or irrelevant.

As much as I would have loved to see what happened between 2.0 and Q, we do get little sprinkles in the film that may indeed satiate our desires when the time comes for a physical release.

I'm sorry but I'm a bit confused. It was my understanding that Shin didn't have a flashback scene?

Yes, there were two that I can think of offhand. One, where Misato says goodbye to Kaji (which is the origin of the blue armband for Wille) and two, when they show the giant Lilith attached to Mark 06.

Holy moly, this is the first I've heard of this scene in 3.0+1.0. There's a flashback to Third Impact? And it shows Lilith rising with Mark.06 as the head? Wow.

Yeah I was pretty shocked when I saw it myself. So much happened so fast toward the end (especially with Kaoru). I was just thinking to myself: Secrets Revealed!

[Konja7]

The second impact was the cleanse (purify) the ocean, the third was to purify the land, and the fourth is to purify the souls [to become core], IIRC. It seems maybe Wille planned a coup and something went wrong with respect to Shinji's awakening. Then again, we don't know how long it was from when Unit 01 was pierced by the lance to the awakening of Lilith.

It shouldn't be so much time, since Kaji's son would born after Kaji died.

Yeah. The Third Impact should clean/purify the land (which would likely destroy humanity), but it seems Kaji sacrificed to stop that.


The dialogue of the characters in 3.0+1.0 seems to imply the Near Third Impact was the big problem humanity needs to face during the timeskip (unless the translation is wrong). Some examples:

"At that time, I didn't think the old man, who survived the Near Third Impact, would die like that in an accident."

"That kid (Shinji) caused the Near Third Impact and killed my whole family!"

"We survived even the Near Third Impact. Have trust in our own luck and in Misato's Wille."

[UrsusArctos]

By the way about Lilith -



The glow in the eyes is from the illuminated Seele crest, which isn't actually any brighter than it was in 1.0. So Lilith's eyes aren't glowing, even if it is clear that there's something going on with her.

[Pluto]

By the way about Lilith -



The glow in the eyes is from the illuminated Seele crest, which isn't actually any brighter than it was in 1.0. So Lilith's eyes aren't glowing, even if it is clear that there's something going on with her.

Agreed, I just checked the image and yes, it is indeed the Seele crest. It seems he (as well as myself) didn't catch that in the image. I'll make an edit in my original post Thanks for catching that detail!

Moreover, it does seem like there's definitely something going on with Lilith. Anyone who's interested in the scene in question can catch it here at the 6:37 mark. I'm not sure if it's just me but it sounds like a a rumbled grown is coming from Lilith low in the background when the close up occurs.

[DantesInferno]

[editor’s note: There’s a scene where Kaji says goodbye to Misato and he takes off in the Nerv Helicopter thing. Then it shows Lilith rising during the third impact and it’s head is the Mark 06 body and all (we’ve seen the dead version in Q).

Holy moly, this is the first I've heard of this scene in 3.0+1.0. There's a flashback to Third Impact? And it shows Lilith rising with Mark.06 as the head? Wow.

Not only that, you can briefly see Lilith’s head already dettached, floating in the air and dripping blood/LCL from the neck stump, with the Zachiel mask still on. So the head turns into Rei sometime after that (and the skulls are raining from above, all along).

I think it was Reichu who mentioned somewhere that the FoI losing their heads represented losing the Fruit of Life, but to me it is more likely the Fruit of Knowledge (think about it; where is the brain located? Where do the angels have the FoI/s2 engine?)

The part where Kaji says farewell looks pretty much like N3I near the end of 2.0 (the background, the red vortex in the sky, Misato and ritsuko side by side, and what they’re wearing unless I'm mistaken); this is quite confusing since third impact proper is supposed to happen long after N3I.

[DantesInferno]

Off-topic, another thing I noticed is how the core-ified train car that floats in the air just outside the village (as well as the power line towers) has some “strings of light” passing through it, very much like the ones Wunder uses to lift other objects in the air (Eva Unit-08, the warships, etc.), although these are red, not white.

This seems to suggest that the same physical principle would be responsible for the “antigravity” effect in both cases. Not sure what would be the “source” of the antigravity (or for that matter, what keeps the earth core-ified after the impact, in the absence of an active anti-L system).

[Konja7]

The part where Kaji says farewell looks pretty much like N3I near the end of 2.0 (the background, the red vortex in the sky, Misato and ritsuko side by side, and what they’re wearing unless I'm mistaken); this is quite confusing since third impact proper is supposed to happen long after N3I.

In 3.0+1.0, it is said that Kaji sacrificed to stop the Third Impact. Also, I think it's implied he died before his son was born, right?

So, the time difference between Near Third Impact and Third Impact would be few months at most.

[Pluto]

SPOILER: Show

The part where Kaji says farewell looks pretty much like N3I near the end of 2.0 (the background, the red vortex in the sky, Misato and ritsuko side by side, and what they’re wearing unless I'm mistaken); this is quite confusing since third impact proper is supposed to happen long after N3I.

In 3.0+1.0, it is said that Kaji sacrificed to stop the Third Impact. Also, I think it's implied he died before his son was born, right?

So, the time difference between Near Third Impact and Third Impact would be few months at most.

It is implied that Misato was pregnant with Kaji's son and that's why she wouldn't go on the helicopter with him to stop third impact and he gives her the blue armband of Wille. I think this is in one her scenes. (She might be looking at a picture of Shinji and Kaji JR during her flashback but I'm not 100% on this)

[Heaven Piercing Man]

Also, when and why were the NHGs built? Was the birth of WILLE related to the theft of the NHG Buße before it was renamed Wunder?

[DantesInferno]

Also, when and why were the NHGs built? Was the birth of WILLE related to the theft of the NHG Buße before it was renamed Wunder?

The arks might have started construction as far back as during 1.0 for all we know. It is made evident that their original purpose is to participate in the final impact at the south pole (this is depicted in 3.0 + 1.0), each “manned” by its corresponding Adam’s vessel (Mark 09, 10, 11 and 12).

Wille stole one of them and retrofitted it to serve as an “ark” to preserve the various seeds of life on Earth for posterity, in the event of instrumentality succeeding. Misato changes this into a “warship” to outright fight back and prevent instrumentality from ever happening in the first place.