ShikinamiBogard wrote:Following the path of science fiction we could say that there is a being that is the only one capable of traveling through these parallel universes, Kaworu the first and last angel (Yes, if you can use the phrase "this time I will show you true happiness") being this The one who always meets Shinji in each of the different paths (NGE / Manga / Rebuild), does not necessarily have to be the same Kaworu, it may be others before or after him, with the probability that he has a notion of what that is going to happen and tries to guide Shinji to happiness, however who always defines that destiny is Shinji since he always changes external circumstances, changes his way of acting since we can appreciate 3 slightly different Shinji both in NGE, Manga and Rebuild, using as an example his acting in Rebuild when he saves Ayanami changes everything with a simple action.
I too put weight on the : | sign at the end of :3.0+1.0, and feel that we're experiencing a loop in which Shinji is trying to find the right path to what truly will make him happy, or perhaps some lesson (like the lesson that if you want things done right you must do them yourself/personal responsibility for your own life), or will satiate both he and the rest of humanity, which is what we see during Instrumentality during EvaTV.
In the image above I have a sidenote about "Artifacts," pieces of the old world that were left over from the last loop. Things such as the outline of a dead angel in 1.0 would be artifacts; in your theory, perhaps these would be some sort of projection or redo of events that bled through the multiverse.
Kaworu and Rei/Lillith are both artificial artifacts; they are somehow able to retain their memories even beyond a time loop. It's my belief that they can do this because they are the two responsible for the original instrumentality and are attempting to bring their combined knowledge to Shinji to help him not repeat the same mistakes. They are also the tools or puppets of the two major organizations in play; Seele and NERV. Those organizations ensure them that they are present in every timeline (as long as they hold value).
Kaworu is loaded into new bodies by Seele, otherwise we'd see him appearing as an apparition as we do Rei II throughout the series; they have an engram of his soul and can summon it into a physical body any time. The same is true with Rei being implanted with Yui, and we know that ReiQ does not have Yui's data, which is why we still have the ghost Rei in 3.0. There are also the "new model" Ayanami series, which we may or may not see in action.
As for the "The first has become the last" idea, that also puts some weight to why we'd meet Kaworu in Eva13 in the new timeline created after the events of "Another Impact." Kaworu would then change from the last to the first. He would face off against Shinji immediately. I believe that Kaworu will have retained his memories and will manipulate Shinji into unlocking his latent potential and perhaps coach him on where to go to initiate the Final Impact.
This Shinji will have retained his memories because he has not had them wiped by Nerv/Seele, because they did not consider he would be able to start an impact in whichever Eva he's in, or that he didn't have the capability whatsoever. There is even some evidence that Misato retained some of her memories from EvaTV, and then EoE imagery we've seen in this last trailer makes me think that we'll see an instrumental state of all the characters helping Shinji figure out what he needs to do in order to set the record straight and cleanse the world of sin (or whatever it is he chooses to do).
There's a good vid that came out recently which discusses the titles, and I did use the analyses for the basis of my ideas as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ops28EQoEM
This is kind of an underlying idea in Loop theory; Shinji did not make the right decision to rebuild the world. No impact to date has lead Shinji to the world he envisioned, whether he remembers things consciously or subconsciously. It's likely he hasn't envisioned the world correctly at all, and is using Instrumentality to experiment with different emergences of potential to see how they play out. Asuka tells Shinji something along the lines of "All of that for a girl," and if we think back to not only 2.0 but also EoE, both 3rd Impact event was started because Shinji was reacting to losing Rei or Asuka. You could also argue that this Shinji overcame the barrier and "saved" Rei II (he is certain he saved her, unlike Asuka) because he still held some trauma through his mind-wipe of Asuka being torn apart by the Eva Series.
Shinji has learned a lot from his repeated loops. Even if his mind has been wiped, the effects of the events prior to each new beginning (Neon Genesis?) is burned into his subconscious, or soul. A Shinji-initiated, intentional Impact/Instrumentality will allow him to loop without having his mind wiped, retain knowledge all all previous iterations of himself, and make a choice free from outside influence. If Shinji is able to start instrumentality when he wants to, and for a specific reason; this is what Shinji was made for.
I view it roughly like:
EvaTV/EoE - Gendo wins
2.0/3.0: Seele wins
Thrice: Shinji/Yui/Humanity wins??
After that, [EvaTV]
and
THE END. [EoE]
NOT, [1.0, 2.0, 3.0 titles all contain (Not)]
and
ANTI. [Undoing? Rebellion?]
While characters may not have active memories, they are different. For example, Shinji is much quicker to get involved in the Eva project and is even able to change the sequence of events that lead up to the 3rd Impact because this version of Shinji was incarnated with the idea that the way to save his friends was to become stronger/more astute. This is not the way events played out, but instead we see N3I initiated long before the end-game and Kaworu played early to actually stop 3I and start the 14 year setup to what is termed 4th Impact (or the continuation of 3I from 2.0). It is possible that the 14 year "gap" between 2.0 and 3.0 was just a timeloop [13 years] + 1 year reborn, in which Shinji was not reincarnated (because he is trapped in Eva01, another artifact according to conditions in 3.0). The extra year was the time after the missing loop that Wille and NERV are reincarnated and gather Shinji from space, hoping that bringing him back because a world in which he did not exist lead to the same reality. Perhaps, in that reality, their Shinji is Mari, and Mari is an artifact of that world alongside the state of the planet and everything else. Perhaps when Shinji is not reincarnated there is no Kaworu, which is why he does not retain memories from 2.0 but rather from the original series (EoE).
