Commentary: Episode #02

[Soluzar [ANF]]

I don't think she knows she can do the AT field untill Kaworu shows up. He tells her that they are the same and she wonders how and then he goes and does his little thing and she realizes what he means. Thats what I think.

Hmph. One of the fan-pages that I had read seemed to suggest the following analysis.

Point A: Each of the EVA manifest an AT field by, 'the light of the soul within'. Unit 1 contains the soul of Shinji's mom, Unit 2 contains the soul of... was it Asuka's mom, or her dad?

Point B: Unit 0, they said, manifested an AT field from the light of Rei's own soul.

Now I don't claim to have 100% got all the metaphysical aspects of NGE down pat, in fact I've only seen the series all the way through twice, and the movies only once, so far. Have I got anything like the right idea?

Oh, and by the way...

The Literal Translation Project has a full explanation:

Link? Sounds like interesting reading... Would this be a web-based project open to public viewing?

Originally posted on: 28-Aug-2004, 10:26 GMT

[Shin-seiki [ANF]]

Link? Sounds like interesting reading... Would this be a web-based project open to public viewing?

http://plaza.harmonix.ne.jp/~onizuka...vangelion.html

Originally posted on: 28-Aug-2004, 11:20 GMT

[Keisuke-kun [ANF]]

Hmph. One of the fan-pages that I had read seemed to suggest the following analysis.

Point A: Each of the EVA manifest an AT field by, 'the light of the soul within'. Unit 1 contains the soul of Shinji's mom, Unit 2 contains the soul of... was it Asuka's mom, or her dad?

Point B: Unit 0, they said, manifested an AT field from the light of Rei's own soul.

Now I don't claim to have 100% got all the metaphysical aspects of NGE down pat, in fact I've only seen the series all the way through twice, and the movies only once, so far. Have I got anything like the right idea?

Oh, and by the way...


Link? Sounds like interesting reading... Would this be a web-based project open to public viewing?

Yeh but Rei's soul and the Rei inside of Eva-00 are seperate. Its just the same case as kyoko. The soul is existing in two places at the same time.

Originally posted on: 28-Aug-2004, 11:51 GMT

[Reichu [ANF]]

I thought that it had been firmly established that Rei was capable of generating her OWN AT field, independantly of the EVA unit? I was certainly under that impression. Although my understanding of the latter part of the series is patchy, to say the least, I was under the impression that she, and not her EVA was the source of the AT field that she employed. I run the risk of looking irretrievably stupid here...

I think if Rei 2 had the level of self-awareness/independence that Rei 3 does, they could have just sent HER out to battle Angels, without the Eva!

At any rate, the relationship between Rei and her Eva is a hotly-debated one and certainly not something we want to start getting into as early as episode #02; if you would like to pursue the matter further, I would recommend starting a new thread. (There have been so many Rei/Eva threads in the past, what harm is there in another one? )

Regarding some of these issues, though, you can see some of my recent conjecture on the matter here and here. I still have a lot of work to do there, since there seem to be a lot of misconceptions floating around on that other board... (Personally, I think the chances of me getting anywhere with those people is pretty damn low. I lack the persuasive power of a certain Shin-seiki.)

This will be my last post in a few days... Time to finish packing for college!

Originally posted on: 28-Aug-2004, 14:42 GMT

[Keisuke-kun [ANF]]

Hope it goes well.

Since some of the participators don't post on other Eva threads its best to make one here (or bump an old one if I can find it.)

Originally posted on: 28-Aug-2004, 17:03 GMT

[Soluzar [ANF]]

I think if Rei 2 had the level of self-awareness/independence that Rei 3 does, they could have just sent HER out to battle Angels, without the Eva!

At any rate, the relationship between Rei and her Eva is a hotly-debated one and certainly not something we want to start getting into as early as episode #02; if you would like to pursue the matter further, I would recommend starting a new thread.

Yes. You have my apologies. This is not the place.

Originally posted on: 28-Aug-2004, 17:30 GMT

[Sharp-kun [ANF]]

Well, why I prepare for my new PC (christened Omoikane) to be bought, I may as well start:

190 Random trivia: In Super Robot Wars MX, there's a great moment where Vega (Gear Senshi Dendoh) stands in for Misato when EVA-01 launches ^^

Vega: EVA Unit-01, LAUNCH!!
Shinji: Yes ma'am!
Vega: ...well, how about it? Do I sound enough like her?
Shinji: V... Vega-san!?

190 Unit can be used to refer to many things, including people (soldiers for example), so I don't see any real issues with it

211 One of the things I used to argue with EvaOtaku over was how far the link between pilot and Eva actually goes. Obviously as we can see here they feal what the Eva does, with the "strength" depending on the sync rate. What would happen if it was sufficiently high though? Would the physical injury be carried on to the pilot. I've always thought it would, based on Asuka's arm in 26', though the counter to that was that it was purely for effect, and nothing else.

223B I'm amazed it lasted as long as it did.

230 Anyone who's watched Go Nagai super robot series (most recently Mazinkaiser: Death! Ankou Daishogun!) will be very familiar with robots "bleeding".

012 The comittee are the "respectable" arm of SEELE. They deal with all the annoying things like the UN etc, while SEELE itself remains in the shadows.

013 At this point, SEELE's need for EVA-01 is still minimal - the Lance is still within their grasp. If it was central to their plans they wouldn't talk about it possible being a "waste".

014 As above. I would say he's refering to EVA-01 in the contect of it being an Angel killer, not as the cornerstone of their plan.

015 One of the many subtle hints that NERV isn't all it seems to be. Feeding the masses propoganda?

021B Such as? I've never quite worked out what they mean here. Instrumentality is the obvious other use, but its too early in the schedule for that.

022 More evidence of the differences between the comittee and SEELE. SEELE I doubt would be concerned about costs, while I suspect the comittee has to do some reporting to the UN, even if its just a sham.

023 Do they know about EVA-01, and that Shinji is technically the only one who can pilot it?

026 Major plot point.

089 Anyone else think "Stingray!"?


More to come...

Originally posted on: 29-Aug-2004, 12:50 GMT

[Ark [ANF]]

In reference to 026 how is the HI project Gendo's responsibility?

Originally posted on: 29-Aug-2004, 13:18 GMT

[Shin-seiki [ANF]]

In reference to 026 how is the HI project Gendo's responsibility?

Cuz he's got Lilith down in his basement, for one thing...

Originally posted on: 29-Aug-2004, 13:48 GMT

[Shin-seiki [ANF]]

001-004:






Here we see Shinji do the "wake with a start, shirt soaked with sweat" deal typically used to depict the notion of waking from a bad dream. Cut 001 is recycled a few times over the course of the series; including (sort of) this moment from #26'. "Woah! I just had a bad dream that I initiated Third Impact! Oh, wait; don't tell me..."

006


Get used to seeing this shot (or variations thereof) recycled over and over, too.

008:


Not to nit-pick or anything, but an explosion sufficient to excavate a crater that size would have vaporized the surrounding buildings. It is interesting to note the artificial-looking layer exposed at the center; the first layer of armor over the Geo-front, perhaps?

015 and 019 serve to indicate that BS is an important component of what NERV is about. Misato will find out over time that , despite her rank in the organization, she is being BSed just as much as anyone...

Originally posted on: 29-Aug-2004, 15:45 GMT

[Keisuke-kun [ANF]]

190 Unit can be used to refer to many things, including people (soldiers for example), so I don't see any real issues with it

Well when used in those kind of references the word "unit" refers to groups of soldiers/tanks in most cases (not planes. I thing those are called wings). It's not usually used to refer to a single object but can of course.

211 One of the things I used to argue with EvaOtaku over was how far the link between pilot and Eva actually goes. Obviously as we can see here they feal what the Eva does, with the "strength" depending on the sync rate. What would happen if it was sufficiently high though? Would the physical injury be carried on to the pilot. I've always thought it would, based on Asuka's arm in 26', though the counter to that was that it was purely for effect, and nothing else.

hmm... At first I though that the pilots had a chance of recieving nerve damage but there really is no occurence of that. I think that the higher the sync ratio the more "real" it is. Like in the battle between Eva-01 and Eva-03. Sinzi was actually being strangled and Fuyutuki's solution was to lower his sync ratio (40% I think) at which we would assume that strangulation would provide no problem (besides the feeling of pressure on your neck maybe)

012 The comittee are the "respectable" arm of SEELE. They deal with all the annoying things like the UN etc, while SEELE itself remains in the shadows.

So the faceless monoliths are the real SEELE? I always wondered why there are a lot more monoliths than the physical members we see.

013 At this point, SEELE's need for EVA-01 is still minimal - the Lance is still within their grasp. If it was central to their plans they wouldn't talk about it possible being a "waste".

However shouldn't SEELE be more thoughtful about it? What if something happens to the Lance? They'd be up a creek without a paddle. I doubt they would be that foolish. Actually from the movie when Eva-01 gets pierced by the lance Fuyutuki says "The Angles posses the fruit of life, Man the fruit of wisdom. Eva-01 now posses them both; And therefore becomes like God" (Its not exact. I go it off the top of my head). Anyway that means Eva-01 needs the S2 engine engine to carry out 3I. SEELE is smart but I doubt they would predict that Eva-01 would take in an S2, so to them, at this moment, it is useless (besides angel busting).

021B Such as? I've never quite worked out what they mean here. Instrumentality is the obvious other use, but its too early in the schedule for that.

Become the Iron Chef champion?

022 More evidence of the differences between the comittee and SEELE. SEELE I doubt would be concerned about costs, while I suspect the comittee has to do some reporting to the UN, even if its just a sham.

Costs don't matter. SEELE and Nerv could bankrupt all the countries they want. The world is gonna end in less than a year.

023 Do they know about EVA-01, and that Shinji is technically the only one who can pilot it?

Well they do (or should) know that Yui got sucked into the Eva. And tehy know that Asuka has her mom in the Eva. I think they are just trying to find something to get mad at Gendo about. Throughout the whole series it is pretty clear that SEELE does not like Gendo and would rather have him killed...if they could afford it. I think they are just trying to give him a hard time. Like "Gendo! Why isn't your shirt tucked in! We'll kill you if you do it it again! AND WE MEAN IT THIS TIME!" However, all in all its just empty threats until EoE. Gendo knows they can't afford to get rid of him this early in the game so he kinda does what he wants. Like when he got rid of the Lance.

Originally posted on: 29-Aug-2004, 15:49 GMT

[Keisuke-kun [ANF]]

001-004:






Here we see Shinji do the "wake with a start, shirt soaked with sweat" deal typically used to depict the notion of waking from a bad dream. Cut 001 is recycled a few times over the course of the series; including (sort of) this moment from #26'. "Woah! I just had a bad dream that I initiated Third Impact! Oh, wait; don't tell me..."

006


Get used to seeing this shot (or variations thereof) recycled over and over, too.

008:


Not to nit-pick or anything, but an explosion sufficient to excavate a crater that size would have vaporized the surrounding buildings. It is interesting to note the artificial-looking layer exposed at the center; the first layer of armor over the Geo-front, perhaps?

015 and 019 serve to indicate that BS is an important component of what NERV is about. Misato will find out over time that , despite her rank in the organization, she is being BSed just as much as anyone...

I find it kinda of interesting that the light quality in the hospital is always te same.

About the discolored center. I always thought they layed out a tarp. Armor plating does sound better.

Originally posted on: 29-Aug-2004, 15:53 GMT

[Ark [ANF]]

From what Keel said it is suggested that Gendo was working on the HI project before Sachiel appeared. Why is it taking him so long to get the lance and initiate the process?

Originally posted on: 29-Aug-2004, 15:58 GMT

[Shin-seiki [ANF]]

From what Keel said it is suggested that Gendo was working on the HI project before Sachiel appeared. Why is it taking him so long to get the lance and initiate the process?

In #21 we find out that it was Gendo himself that proposed the HCP to Keel. As for the "Lance" (Spear is the more correct term, btw), they don't retrieve it from Antartica until #12; I can't help but wonder how, if it took that long to find and retrieve something that size, was SEELE able to find and retrieve the Adam embryo in the immediate aftermath of 2I...

Originally posted on: 29-Aug-2004, 16:12 GMT

[Ark [ANF]]

In #21 we find out that it was Gendo himself that proposed the HCP to Keel. .

I never really understood that.

I don't see the connection between a giant creature blowing up in Antarctica and the unity of all human souls. Were the dead sea scrolls some sort of instruction manuel e.g "How to become one with God in just 15 years"?

Originally posted on: 29-Aug-2004, 16:25 GMT

[Shin-seiki [ANF]]

I never really understood that.

I don't see the connection between a giant creature blowing up in Antarctica and the unity of all human souls. Were the dead sea scrolls some sort of instruction manuel e.g "How to become one with God in just 15 years"?

Just what the hell the "Secret Dead Sea Scrolls" actually are, is one of the biggest mysteries in NGE. Reichu has suggested that, like the Spear of Longinus, the DSS are an Artifact of the ancient, alien civilization that sent Adam and Lilith to Earth billions of years ago. Is this shot from the OP supposed to be a sample of the Scrolls?


That doesn't look like any known Earth language...

Originally posted on: 29-Aug-2004, 16:40 GMT

[HeWhoPostsStuff [ANF]]

211Would the physical injury be carried on to the pilot. I've always thought it would, based on Asuka's arm in 26', though the counter to that was that it was purely for effect, and nothing else.

Actually, doesn't blood pour out of Asuka's eye in the entry plug after one of Eva-02's eyes is skewered by the spear right before the thing shuts down? I always took that as proof that actual injuries to the pilot could correspond to those taken by the Eva under certain circumstances...

Originally posted on: 29-Aug-2004, 17:31 GMT

[NeonZ [ANF]]

But that probably happened only because she had a very high synch rate. Remember, in the movie, she did move Eva-02's arm even after the battery had ended.

Originally posted on: 29-Aug-2004, 22:53 GMT

[xin [ANF]]

That doesn't look like any known Earth language...

Well, actually that is...looks like traditional chinese, but im 99.9% sure its Japanese.

Originally posted on: 30-Aug-2004, 00:41 GMT

[Shin-seiki [ANF]]

Well, actually that is...looks like traditional chinese, but im 99.9% sure its Japanese.

Umm... Are those kanji or kana? If so, what do they say?

Originally posted on: 30-Aug-2004, 01:54 GMT