Twin Drive Evangelion! I'm calling it now, there will be an Eva Combination!

Temjin wrote:This can only mean one thing. Identical twin pilots....who speak in rhyme.

Or a possible recycling of the Dance Like You Want To Win concept by which two pilots syncronize their actions together to create a more effective attack.

I actually had a concept of a dual piloting EVA a while back, so this is surprising. Come on, Anno! Don't fail us now! We need a number 7 motif for more batshit insanity!

Sachi wrote:Or a possible recycling of the Dance Like You Want To Win concept by which two pilots syncronize their actions together to create a more effective attack.

That could work too. I mean I guess...

As long as there is still rhyming

But seriously, I really liked that episode so I'd love to see Rebuild's take on it.

If Eva-08 is indeed duel piloted, I'm predicting the pair will either be Shinji and Rei or Asuka and Mari.

Sanctus Scorpius wrote:If Eva-08 is indeed duel piloted, I'm predicting the pair will either be Shinji and Rei or Asuka and Mari.

I'm putting money on Asuka and Mari if it does come down to duel pilots.

Or maybe it's the tanged Shinji and Rei?

As we know there was at one point a concept that Asuka and Mari would dual-pilot - I believe for the Sahaquiel battle. But of course Unit 08 is also said to be "quickening" which does imply some kind of correlation with our currently fetal protagonist and his sister. However, I don't know to what extent we can expect to see either of them piloting in Q, or to what extent they'd even require two plugs since the implication of the end of 2.22 is that the distinction between them is becoming insignificant.

I wouldn't retranslate the line as "the quickening Eva-08 and its pilots" yet, particularly given how difficult it is to actually be sure what these supposed entry plug hatches are or where on the Eva they're located. But it is something interesting to think about.

I'd place bets on Shinji & Rei.

Although at this moment for all we know it might be Rei II & Rei III.

I could have sworn somebody (other than Gendo'sPapa I mean ) theorized that not only Shinji would be the Eva-08 pilot (assuming Eva-01=Eva-08 in some fashion in 3.0/Q) but the "twin pilot hatches" meant Shinji and Rei would pilot together. Either way, I agree complete since thematically speaking with "Quickening".....

As well as thematically with "Shinji if a boy, Rei if a girl" and "Ayanami Shinji, Ikari Rei" and Shinji thinking Rei=Yui with scent and Rei = Yui resemblance in the Gendo dinner scene and 2.0 ending scene womb imagery and Shinji and Rei inside Eva-01/Yui... It all just fits, darnit!

(I'm pretty sure that "dual-piloting function" of Eva-08 was mentioned on the Eva-wiki at some point before the speculation was removed...)

Unless, of course, there's some huge unknown swerve coming. (Think along the lines of "predation" from the 2.0 poster (Zeruel munching on Eva-00?! What about Eva-01 munching on Zeruel?!) or that shot of Gendo and Kaji [with what we assumed was Adam embryo].)

Reichu wrote:Here's something to chew on.

I think NemZ made this observation a while ago -- not that I believed him then.

Not to say anyone is wrong or right- but it (double hatches) looks like its part of the head...I could be wrong....

@SSD: Turns out it was Rodeo who first mentioned "dual plug hatches". Human memory, so unreliable... I didn't buy into it until I was screwing around with screenshots in Photoshop, and I ended up paying more attention to the lines in the Eva-08 image than I had before. "Holy shit! Those things really do look like hatch covers!" (Placed to look like wings, too.)

I briefly added the observation to Eva-08's Wiki page, then thought better of it.

Zeruel munching on Eva-00?! What about Eva-01 munching on Zeruel?!

:angrily shakes fist at Anno:

pen-pen wrote:Not to say anyone is wrong or right- but it (double hatches) looks like its part of the head...I could be wrong....

That's what I thought at first, too, but they're definitely on the back. The screenshot is hard to interpret since so many of the lines are faded. The storyboard clears things up here, since the "wings" are clearly positioned behind the outstretched arms (i.e., on the Eva's back).

pen-pen wrote:Not to say anyone is wrong or right- but it (double hatches) looks like its part of the head...I could be wrong....

As amusing as it would be for 08 to have humongous bat ears, those structures seem to be pretty clearly further back than the head - if you brighten the image a little it looks like they're attached in a sort of backpack structure, attached by a sort of harness around the neck, within the pylons. Although I won't say I'm necessarily convinced they're entry plug hatches - their size is kind of over-the-top for such a function; to me they look more like angelic wings in a storage configuration. But Unit 08's proportions and position is so weird in the PV that I could easily be wrong.

I wasted some time trying to emphasize the lines in the two shots of Eva-08. Not perfect -- head/neck area in the long shot especially needs work -- but hopefully they're of some use.





Azathoth is probably right about the harness. Are those tusk/claw-looking things supposed to be part of that?

As for the identity of the big wing doodads: For whatever it's worth, the usual centralized hatch cover is nowhere to be seen. I guess, given the extreme yoga pose, it could be hidden behind the head and harness, although... Well, I'll put the storyboard up later.

Reichu wrote:Are those tusk/claw-looking things supposed to be part of that?

Not sure. Given the general design similarity to Unit 01 I would think they are analogous to Unit 01's tusk vent thingies: in the second pic, at least, they seem to me to be attached to the back of the lower jaw.

Also, what the hell is the big spike directly in between the "wings"? 01/06-styled horn, or umbilical in the background, or what? It seems awfully high up on the helmet for a horn.

Maybe it's wearing a jet pack. Or some other exterior device, anyway.

Azathoth wrote:in the second pic, at least, they seem to me to be attached to the back of the lower jaw.

Sure you're not mistaking the neck for part of the jaw?

Also, what the hell is the big spike directly in between the "wings"? 01/06-styled horn, or umbilical in the background, or what? It seems awfully high up on the helmet for a horn.

:looks at storyboard: It does appear to be a horn; the position is toward the back of the helmet, is all.

@Warren: The Eva is purportedly "under construction" here (according to the caption), so why would it be equipped with a jet pack? Raises the question of what sort of equipment they would put on an Eva that apparently isn't ready to do anything except "give birth".

Temjin wrote:This can only mean one thing. Identical twin pilots....who speak in rhyme.

So that's what happened to Israfel!

Reichu wrote:@Warren: The Eva is purportedly "under construction" here (according to the caption), so why would it be equipped with a jet pack? Raises the question of what sort of equipment they would put on an Eva that apparently isn't ready to do anything except "give birth".

I was clowning around with the jet pack thing, but I do think some type of exterior mount is possible. As Mari's introduction shows, they've been experimenting with that (could it be the engine Unit-04 was testing? We assumed that was the S2, but maybe not. Or maybe S2 actually is an engine this time).

Reichu wrote:I think NemZ made this observation a while ago -- not that I believed him then.

I'm having a hard time swallowing this one myself. This isn't exactly Voltron here.

And if you compare the two shots one might notice that that hatch for Eva-01 is clearly attached to its back where as the two "fins" in questions on Eva-08 are not. They look more like containment bays to me? Perhaps they're holding something in place. Wings perhaps?