NTE characters and their relationships

[FXArmaros98]

So for me it'll be Shinji, maybe when he goes back to the Wunder (if he didn't got out of his catatonia by then) or later in the movie after something happens to him.

ElMariachi maybe, the problem is that for me Misato this time will put Shinji in total isolation because I fear that even some members of the Wille might ask to Misato that Shinji will be executed, and I think even Sakura will now be slightly colder and more suspicious of him. But also I think Shinji will have recovered to some extent, perhaps thanks to seeing Toji and Kensuke again and helping Sakura reunite with her brother.

[JoelcrNeto]

Well I meant that maybe Toji, Kensuke and Hikari are somewhere who knows where, maybe along with Kaji and maybe Pen Pen too in the place where Asuka leads Shinji and Rei Q to get Wille to get them back, what I meant is that if the 3 of them are alive maybe Asuka and Shinji will ask Misato to take them away with them. I believe Toji may be hurt and passed out when he meets Sakura.

Oh, OK. I made a misinterpretation. Sorry.

[FXArmaros98]

You mean the trio's soul is stored on somewhere and WILLE "resurrected" them? It seems plausible

I was slightly upset when I read your post about the possibility of resurrecting the 3 of them, I realy wondered what you must have thought reading my post? Ha, ha, ha, do not be afraid, I understand that everyone can get strange ideas by reading the opinions of others.

[ElMariachi]

So for me it'll be Shinji, maybe when he goes back to the Wunder (if he didn't got out of his catatonia by then) or later in the movie after something happens to him.

ElMariachi maybe, the problem is that for me Misato this time will put Shinji in total isolation because I fear that even some members of the Wille might ask to Misato that Shinji will be executed, and I think even Sakura will now be slightly colder and more suspicious of him. But also I think Shinji will have recovered to some extent, perhaps thanks to seeing Toji and Kensuke again and helping Sakura reunite with her brother.

I think that the WILLE people (especially Misato) are still intelligent and humane enough to realize that with the little information he had, Shinji leaving with the Mark.09 was the logical choice for him and that once he explains himself about what happened in neo-NERV, that he was manipulated and only wanted to help WILLE defeat Gendo and restore the world, they'll show some leniency, not a blank pardon, but I don't see them turning into a pack of jackals ready to hang him to the Wunder's satellite dish.

I do think the relationships between the characters are simpler to understand than the ones in old series. The Rebuild mainly focuses on Shinji and his relationship with others.
I’m really curious about the role of the SDAT. I heard people talking that SDAT is the “bond” of Shinji with others. Do you guys agree?
By the way, I like how Asuka and Mari help and fight along together in the new story line.

Yeah, the SDAT in Rebuild has a double purpose: a symbol of Shinji closing himself from the world (when he use it to isolate himself from the crowd) and also a symbol of his connections to people through the movies:

• at first he kept it as it belonged to his father,
• then he threw it when he left NERV after the EVA-03/9th Angel fiasco...
• to be picked by Rei who use it as good luck charm that she keeps with herself in her entry plug as well as a reminder of the people she connected with and cares about (replacing Gendo's old glasses)
• Shinji then picks it up from Rei when he "saved" her from the 10th Angel, here it symbolize the bond between the two
• in Q it's regenerated alongside his body (and probably his clothes, his school uniform from Shin must come from somewhere) and represent the proof that he saved her (and then the despair when he realize that he didn't saved her, when he threw it against the wall) and also of his new connection with Kaworu when the latter repair it and later give it back to Shinji when they were about to pilot EVA-13
• it's then Shinji who keeps it as a good luck charm in EVA-13, a symbol of his hope to repair the world alongside Kaworu
• finally when Shinji drops it at the end of Q (symbolizing how he lost the bond to everyone who previous held it: Gendo, Rei and now Kaworu), Rei Q takes it, probably as a foreshadowing of her future connection with Shinji (even if she's not "the" Rei)

Interestingly, the SDAT has yet a third symbolic function in the Rebuild: in NGE Shinji always listened to the same two tracks, number 25 and 26, and in Rebuild when the track shown wasn't one of those was when the plot started to derail from NGE (track 27 just before Mari's arriving in Tokyo-3, and track 28 when Shinji was at neo-NERV, point at which the Rebuild story was completely derailed from NGE)

[FXArmaros98]

I think that the WILLE people (especially Misato) are still intelligent and humane enough to realize that with the little information he had, Shinji leaving with the Mark.09 was the logical choice for him and that once he explains himself about what happened in neo-NERV, that he was manipulated and only wanted to help WILLE defeat Gendo and restore the world, they'll show some leniency, not a blank pardon, but I don't see them turning into a pack of jackals ready to hand him to Wunder's satellite dish.

No doubt Misato will be kind to him because she is aware that she too has a share of the blame for what happened and that she is still fond of him. But in one of the trailers Ritsuko seemed to look at her with dissapointment, maybe Ritsuko will ask Misato to kill Shinji because he is too dangerous. Maybe Hyuga, Aoba and Maya will won't bother Misato for asking to killing Shinji but I think the younger members of Wille and those who don't know Shinji will start to have doubts on Misato instead.

Interestingly, the SDAT has yet a third symbolic function in the Rebuild: in NGE Shinji always listened to the same two tracks, number 25 and 26, and in Rebuild when the track shown wasn't one of those was when the plot started to derail from NGE (track 27 just before Mari's arriving in Tokyo-3, and track 28 when Shinji was at neo-NERV, point at which the Rebuild story was its own thing)

Who knows maybe in 3.0 + 1.0 we will also be shown new tracks, but I think that he will begin to face life without the comfort of music anymore it could be a gesture that will be part of Shinji's mental development.

[ElMariachi]

No doubt Misato will be kind to him because she is aware that she too has a share of the blame for what happened and that she is still fond of him. But in one of the trailers Ritsuko seemed to look at her with dissapointment, maybe Ritsuko will ask Misato to kill Shinji because he is too dangerous. Maybe Hyuga, Aoba and Maya will won't bother Misato for asking to killing Shinji but I think the younger members of Wille and those who don't know Shinji will start to have doubts on Misato instead.

I'm tempted to say: "so what?" They're not happy with Misato's decision? Well too bad for them, she's still the commanding officer so if she says no execution and to treat him humanely, then that's what they'll do, or they'll get booted out of the fleet.

Who knows maybe in 3.0 + 1.0 we will also be shown new tracks, but I think that he will begin to face life without the comfort of music anymore it could be a gesture that will be part of Shinji's mental development.

You might be onto something, because actually such a thing already happened in 2.0, we have two shots of Shinji descending from an outside stairs, first earlier in the move (or in 1.0, I don't remember well) with his earpieces on and looking sullen (showing his isolation), and the second time he also has them on, but then see Toji and Kensuke and take them off to go to them and hang out together, symbolizing how he was starting to get out of his shell. (and again we get an example of recurring shots in the Rebuild movies)

[FXArmaros98]

Well too bad for them, she's still the commanding officer so if she says no execution and to treat him humanely, then that's what they'll do, or they'll get booted out of the fleet.

I don't think we will really get to see this, I mean Misato will be in command as well but no one knows when a mutiny or a rebellion might happen because the crew members fear for their own safety. I imagine Misato may decide to prevent Shinji from coming into contact with the other Wille members by allowing him to rest and recover psychologically while he is in quarantine leaving only Mari, Asuka, Sakura and herself to be able to see and talk to Shinji. I still expect there will be at least one questioning from Misato as to why Shinji piloted again only that Shinji may still be unable to speak and Misato will see herself again after 2nd Impact.

You might be onto something, because actually such a thing already happened in 2.0, we have two shots of Shinji descending from an outside stairs, first earlier in the move (or in 1.0, I don't remember well) with his earpieces on and looking sullen (showing his isolation), and the second time he also has them on, but then see Toji and Kensuke and take them off to go to them and hang out together, symbolizing how he was starting to get out of his shell. (and again we get an example of recurring shots in the Rebuild movies)

I am sure that in 3.0 + 1.0 there will be parallels with the previous films. I think Shinji's SDTA Music Player for him is something like Misato's cross. I wonder if Shinji will be wearing Misato's cross maybe read on his arm when he faces Evangelion 13.

[ElMariachi]

I don't think we will really get to see this, I mean Misato will be in command as well but no one knows when a mutiny or a rebellion might happen because the crew members fear for their own safety. I imagine Misato may decide to prevent Shinji from coming into contact with the other Wille members by allowing him to rest and recover psychologically while he is in quarantine leaving only Mari, Asuka, Sakura and herself to be able to see and talk to Shinji. I still expect there will be at least one questioning from Misato as to why Shinji piloted again only that Shinji may still be unable to speak and Misato will see herself again after 2nd Impact.

Well that will depend on where will Shinji end once the three pilots get picked up: all three might be transferred back to the Wunder, or Shinji could be left to that "place where the Lilin are" that the Q "Next Time" trailer mentioned, where Shinji could pick back the pieces of his life. (maybe that's where he'll meet Toji, Kensuke and Hikari?)

I am sure that in 3.0 + 1.0 there will be parallels with the previous films. I think Shinji's SDTA Music Player for him is something like Misato's cross. I wonder if Shinji will be wearing Misato's cross maybe read on his arm when he faces Evangelion 13.

Many of the parallel shots in 1.0 and 2.0 are absent in Q due to the widely different scenery (and also to mark how different everything had become), but if there's part of the movie that'll be in that "Lilin city", I'm sure that we'll get some shots calling back to 1.0 and 2.0, to show how life still endure and goes on.

[Settie]

^ Hmm dunno how to feel about 3 storylines at the same time (WIllie, Shinji and Gendo) i mean it can work but it could also fail. Then there's Misato line right before Shinji left in 3.0, and i'm paraphrasing, that he was under their protection. Which has interesting implications that the Wunder may be the only safe place for Shinji.

[FXArmaros98]

Well that will depend on where will Shinji end once the three pilots get picked up: all three might be transferred back to the Wunder, or Shinji could be left to that "place where the Lilin are" that the Q "Next Time" trailer mentioned, where Shinji could pick back the pieces of his life. (maybe that's where he'll meet Toji, Kensuke and Hikari?)

I believe that Misato will not allow Shinji to be free to do what he wants when she meets him again, I mean who gives her the certainty that even for now Gendo may not need Shinji anymore to continue the Instrumentality does not try to take him back to use him for some plan B or to have him pilot an Evangelion to slow Asuka and Mari down? I think Shinji will be forced to get on the Wunder also because some civilians who survived if they know who he is probably would not hesitate to kill him .. I believe that Shinji and Rei can meet Toji, Hikari and Kensuke right in that place where Asuka is leading them, I I wonder how Misato and the crew of the Wille will react to the feeling that they must now go and get Shinji back?

Then there's Misato line right before Shinji left in 3.0, and i'm paraphrasing, that he was under their protection. Which has interesting implications that the Wunder may be the only safe place for Shinji.

Interesting observation, because indeed it may well be that the surviving civilians perhaps know what Shinji looks like and even attempt some sort of public execution as soon as they see him. I guess maybe Kaji or maybe Toji and Kensuke will offer him shelter and could keep him hidden at least until the Wunder arrives to take him back.

Hmm dunno how to feel about 3 storylines at the same time (WIllie, Shinji and Gendo) i mean it can work but it could also fail.

Can you imagine a situation in which Shinji ends up having a gun in his hand and can decide whether to shoot Misato or Gendo and both will have to talk to him to try to convince him not to go crazy? I honestly don't think Shinji really going to shooting his own dad but maybe Gendo is going to kill Misato and so Shinji has no choice only to do something extreme after obviously Gendo will not listen to him as usual.

[Settie]

^ Shinji getting manipulated by his father again is not something that i think should happened in their final confrontation.

[UltraB116]

ElMariachi

Good explanation about the SDAT!

[ElMariachi]

^ Hmm dunno how to feel about 3 storylines at the same time (WIllie, Shinji and Gendo) i mean it can work but it could also fail. Then there's Misato line right before Shinji left in 3.0, and i'm paraphrasing, that he was under their protection. Which has interesting implications that the Wunder may be the only safe place for Shinji.

It's two storylines really: WILLE and Gendo are tied together as they are the two sides of the same conflict (and I don't expect to see much of the old bastard save a couple of couple of cryptic scenes until the last confrontation), so that leave that one and Shinji's, which will merge for the final confrontation.
It could also be (assuming that Shinji won't stay in the Wunder) that like Gendo, we won't get much of the conflict on WILLE's side (aside a couple of scene) until the final battle when Shinji (and the audience) will get up to speed.
There's also the possibility that actually not much will happen on the WILLE/neo-NERV war between the beginning and the final battle, both side being busy licking their wounds and preparing for the final part of their plan respectively, letting time for the movie to focus on Shinji's recovery and reconnecting with the rest of the world (WILLE included)

I believe that Misato will not allow Shinji to be free to do what he wants when she meets him again, I mean who gives her the certainty that even for now Gendo may not need Shinji anymore to continue the Instrumentality does not try to take him back to use him for some plan B or to have him pilot an Evangelion to slow Asuka and Mari down? I think Shinji will be forced to get on the Wunder also because some civilians who survived if they know who he is probably would not hesitate to kill him .. I believe that Shinji and Rei can meet Toji, Hikari and Kensuke right in that place where Asuka is leading them, I I wonder how Misato and the crew of the Wille will react to the feeling that they must now go and get Shinji back?

Interesting observation, because indeed it may well be that the surviving civilians perhaps know what Shinji looks like and even attempt some sort of public execution as soon as they see him. I guess maybe Kaji or maybe Toji and Kensuke will offer him shelter and could keep him hidden at least until the Wunder arrives to take him back.

That's assuming that all of the remains of humanity knows who he is and made him a sort of Hitler-figure. I don't think that even with all her emotional baggage, Misato would had let his memory to be sullied like that, personally I think that it's more probable that the public at large only know the very broad strokes of what happened: there's this organization called NERV, they fought the Angels but the leaders were actually behind Second Impact and wanted to forcefully transform humanity, the rest of NERV learned of their plans and rebelled to stop them, shit hit the fan and now the world is a giant core, no need to know that at some point there was this guy who was Gendo's son that was manipulated into doing what's the first step of the domino that fucked over the world.
What little of the WILLE crew we saw did know of who he was and what he can do and fear and hate him for that, but those are the bridge crew (who know by virtue of being next of the Captain most of the time), Sakura since she was his assigned medic and the four dudes guarding him, we don't know if the rest of WILLE are aware of the fact that he's here or even who he is.

OTOH, it's very possible that the names of Gendo Ikari and Kozo Fuyutsuki are well know as the leaders of the enemy, so Shinji might need to change his name. In fact, since in the NTE continuity Ikari is his father's surname and not Yui's, it would be interesting if Shinji decides to to take on the name of his mother and become Shinji Ayanami.

As for Gendo's plans for Shinji, I think it's safe to say that he doesn't need him anymore: he only needed him to awake an Evangelion (that's why WILLE initially assumed that neo-NERV was after EVA-01, since they thought that Shinji couldn't pilot anymore), once it's done he can continue his plans on his own, or else he wouldn't had left him leave at the end of Q.

ElMariachi

Good explanation about the SDAT!

Thank you, but I'm not the one to be congratulated, this analysis comes from the other members of the forum and wiki!

[FXArmaros98]

Shinji getting manipulated by his father again is not something that i think should happened in their final confrontation.

Rightly, but I still believe that when Shinji becomes a thorn in the side Gendo will try to make at least one attempt to convince him that he is only acting for the sake of his mother but this time Shinji will not be fooled in any way.

As for Gendo's plans for Shinji, I think it's safe to say that he doesn't need him anymore: he only needed him to awake an Evangelion (that's why WILLE initially assumed that neo-NERV was after EVA-01, since they thought that Shinji couldn't pilot anymore), once it's done he can continue his plans on his own, or else he wouldn't had left him leave at the end of Q.

Gendo may no longer need Shinji to continue with the Instrumentality but maybe if things go wrong for his plans maybe we can see a scene similar to that of the manga, but Shinji instead of being in tears upset could react against Gendo .I am very curious to see how their confrontation will unfold, personally I believe their could be a verbal confrontation that the confrontation between Evangelion 13 and Evangelion Unit 01, this could take place before or after Gendo receives that damage on the visor, maybe even Misato will be involved in this conversation of theirs.

[duppertip]

That's assuming that all of the remains of humanity knows who he is and made him a sort of Hitler-figure. I don't think that even with all her emotional baggage, Misato would had let his memory to be sullied like that, personally I think that it's more probable that the public at large only know the very broad strokes of what happened: there's this organization called NERV, they fought the Angels but the leaders were actually behind Second Impact and wanted to forcefully transform humanity, the rest of NERV learned of their plans and rebelled to stop them, shit hit the fan and now the world is a giant core, no need to know that at some point there was this guy who was Gendo's son that was manipulated into doing what's the first step of the domino that fucked over the world.

Shinji is Gendo's son.
Many personnel from Tokyo-3 did know about Shinji, they wouldn't be able to stay shut up. And the glances at the Wunder's bridge do confirm that Wille knows who is he. I doubt that they would be concealing info about Shinji from remaining civilians.
They also knew that Eva01 was his Eva.

Lastly... no one would ever expect to meet Shinji again. Why would Misato risk her career and reputation to keep Shinji's name clean?

I don't say that he is actively blamed and demonified, there is no evidence for that. But many do know who he is and have their negative opinion about him.

[FXArmaros98]

I don't say that he is actively blamed and demonified, there is no evidence for that. But many do know who he is and have their negative opinion about him.

For this reason I believe that Misato will try to hurry to take him back and put him in isolation, to a certain extent she cares enough about him that she wants to put him in a safe place but does it in a cold and severe way enough to avoid a possible rebellion by his subordinates.I believe that while Maya, Hyuga and Aoba could continue following Misato's orders without giving her any problems, the younger ones and those who didn't know Shinji could start to doubt Misato, so it seems almost impossible to me that we will not see at least a discussion of Misato and Ritsuko about the fact that some Wille's members complaining that Shinji has not yet been executed for what he did and for preventing more disasters. Ritsuko would not mind advising Misato to kill Shinji.

[pwhodges]

Why would Misato risk her career and reputation to keep Shinji's name clean?

Not so much to clean his name, but to show understanding and to treat him humanely.

Misato could easily think common humanity more important than reputation, or indeed believe that in the end it enhances it.

[FXArmaros98]

Not so much to clean his name, but to show understanding and to treat him humanely.

I wonder if Shinji and Misato will come for one reason or another to have a conversation where perhaps they can agree that Shinji is now the only one who can do something will they be alone or will there be someone watching them? I think that if Misato regains trust in Shinji she might even apologize to for pushing Shinji to be the pilot of Evangelion Unit 01 and having discharged all the responsibility for the Near Third Impact on him, giving no importance to the fact that someone is watching them. Also I'm sure that even so much Misato can be angry with Shinji for being the embodiment of her childhood trauma and the one who killed so many people unintentionally giving to the Nerv and SEELE a favor she only acted in that way because she has to continue with "the impore to herself to wear the Captain Nemo mask "and make everyone believe that she is really like that. I think Misato true intention with the DSS Chocker was to scare Shinji, in her heart she knew she would never have the courage to press that button, even though it is quite possible that before seeing Shinji again she was willing to do so but after interacting with him her emotions overwhelmed her.

[ElMariachi]

Shinji is Gendo's son.
Many personnel from Tokyo-3 did know about Shinji, they wouldn't be able to stay shut up. And the glances at the Wunder's bridge do confirm that Wille knows who is he. I doubt that they would be concealing info about Shinji from remaining civilians.
They also knew that Eva01 was his Eva.

And of the people in Tokyo-3 that knew that Shinji was Gendo's son and that EVA-01 was his Eva, how many are still alive? And of those alive, how many know that he came back 14 years after his "death"?
If you drop him in a random Lilin settlement, how many people will be able to tell at a glance that he's Shinji Ikari, especially after 14 years?
The Wunder bridge crew, Asuka, Mari, Sakura and those four guards know who he is and from where they come from, but do the random WILLE personnel we briefly see during the resupplying scene knows about all that?
If Misato orders those in the know to keep the secret, how much can the news that Shinji Ikari returned from "death" spread? Sure maybe a couple of them could spill the beans (and risk their career) but would that be enough for the entire world to know it so Misato won't have the choice but to keep him isolated in the Wunder or else see him torn to shreds the moment he steps a foot outside?

And that's assuming that the rest of the world even know the detail of who this kid is and what did he do 14 years ago.

Lastly... no one would ever expect to meet Shinji again. Why would Misato risk her career and reputation to keep Shinji's name clean?

Because she cared about him enough to not want to see his memory sullied? I mean my grandfather died last year, yet I would still be pissed off if someone talks shit about him.

[FXArmaros98]

And of the people in Tokyo-3 that knew that Shinji was Gendo's son and that EVA-01 was his Eva, how many are still alive? And of those alive, how many know that he came back 14 years after his "death"?If you drop him in a random Lilin settlement, how many people will be able to tell at a glance that he's Shinji Ikari, especially after 14 years?

After the Fourth Impact most likely the only humans who survived for plot's priority could just be Kaji, Kensuke, Toji and Hikari even if maybe in the place where Asuka is taking Shinji and Rei Q there could be human beings. Maybe people know who Shinji is because maybe with the creation of Wille and the birth of a possible ditatura by Gendo, the truth about Nerv and the existence of SEELE have become public domain.Maybe even in those 14 years Shinji's face was made known because maybe Misato could have asked the population to capture Shinji and give him to her if he was spotted.

Because she cared about him enough to not want to see his memory sullied? I mean my grandfather died last year, yet I would still be pissed off if someone talks shit about him.

ElMariachi I'm sure your grandfather was a good person and this makes the difference with Misato and Shinji's situation:the problem is that Misato is not a relative of Shinji and now she is the one who more than anyone else claims that Instrumentality is wrong so unfortunately I don't think that Misato could afford to publicly defend Shinji's reputation otherwise I don't think she could have become the leader of an organization created specifically to stop threats like him.I don't think that some characters really think that Shinji is even an individual who massacres people for fun but almost certainly not even Misato despite being aware of the boy's courage and good-naturedness must have tray teel to somebody that Shinji has more positive qualities than defects. I honestly see Kaji and Mari as the only people who could have defended his reputation and trying to convince Wille and humanity that Shinji was simply being manipulated.