EoE Clarification

[Invincible Kaji]

This is in regards to the JSSDF operation that occurs in EoE.

1. How long after Kaworu's death did the events of the movie begin?

2. Under whose command were the JSSDF forces? Seele's or the Japanese governments?

3. They had orders to eliminate the pilots. Who would give such orders?

[ChronoX]

i would say that seele had an operative in the JSSDF ranks that influenced both of the last 2 questions

[The Eva Monkey]

1. How long after Kaworu's death did the events of the movie begin?

I don't know exactly, but it is supposed to be very shortly afterwards, possibly the next day. Directly after the events of episode 24 basically.

2. Under whose command were the JSSDF forces? Seele's or the Japanese governments?

Seele has its hands in many governments around the globe. They don't "control" the Japanese government, but they do have the credential and presence to spur governments to action. They told the Japanese government that Nerv intended to wreak destruction with the Evas, and cause a disaster similar to Second Impact, hence why the JSSDF attacked Nerv. The JSSDF forces were under the direct control of the Japanese government, while the MP Evas were under the direct control of Seele.

3. They had orders to eliminate the pilots. Who would give such orders?

Their superiors, or whoever is in charge of the operation. You kill the pilots, you destroy Nerv's ability to cause Third Impact. Its effective... cruel, but effective.

[Hexon.Arq]

1. How long after Kaworu's death did the events of the movie begin?

It would almost have to be right after the end of Episode 24. There is nothing to indicate that more time passed. I believe that after his exchange with Misato, Shinji simply chose not to move from that spot on the lakeshore, and that is where we find him. This would explain what he explicitly means when he says, "Misato... scares me." After all, how could he have possibly slept that night?

3. They had orders to eliminate the pilots. Who would give such orders?

I don't know... or care, really. My guess would be that it would have been an order issued by SEELE, except that when they initiate T.I., the pilot of Unit-01 becomes an integral instrument in their incantation. I'm sure somebody has some kind of explanation, but as for me, I'll just say that either: A.) It was a sloppy forwarding of orders, and the fault of someone in the JSSDF, or B.) nobody was thinking abou that when the movie was written.

[The Eva Monkey]

I don't know... or care, really. My guess would be that it would have been an order issued by SEELE, except that when they initiate T.I., the pilot of Unit-01 becomes an integral instrument in their incantation.

My assumption would be that Seele had not ordered them, otherwise it would have ruined their intend form of Third Impact. The JSSDF chose to terminate the pilots at their own discretion.

[Dave]

Perhaps Seele really did intend to kill the pilots and perform their own third impact later on. If this is true than after Shinji boarded Unit 01 the old men must have said something along the lines of "Fuck. Ok fine we'll use the little bastard if we have to."

[Hexon.Arq]

...And now the question becomes even more valid, because the answer seems to make less sense. :(

Maybe the destruction of the Pilot's Ego is simply an esoteric countermeasure in the initiation ritual. Maybe Shinji wasn't so much an instrument as much as a germ. After all, why would SEELE commit to a ritual that could so easily be foiled by Shinji? His active participation would almost have to be an unexpected inconvenience.

Of course, without Shinji, how would Unit-01...

Oh, forget it.

[Invincible Kaji]

Now, Kaji was working for the Japanese government as well, was he not?

So, could he have given the government information concerning the necessity of the pilots, thus leading to a conclusion soley on the part of the JSSDF that the pilots must be eliminated?

[Esion]

I like Hexon's explination. I am fairly certain that only Shinji and Asuka were to be eliminated. They only needed Rei and the MP eva to get the job done. Shinji screwd the entire thing up when he became involved.