Kaworu says he has to relive the story again and again, so doesn't this support the idea that somehow the rebuilds follow the original in a recurrence of some sort?

He keeps his memory in every cycle apparently, so doesn't this imply that NGE and EOE already happened somehow and have been repeated an unknown number of times until this alternate reality came along?

If it's not a recurrence of THAT version of the story (though now tweaked) what is your theory?

Shinji says he won't reset the universe or unwind time, but does that perhaps suggest that in a previous incarnation he DID?

Any thoughts are welcome, but I assumed that the whole story was actually *recurring* but in a divergent way,

Do you disagree or agree and why?

Darth Plato wrote:Kaworu says he has to relive the story again and again, so doesn't this support the idea that somehow the rebuilds follow the original in a recurrence of some sort?

He keeps his memory in every cycle apparently, so doesn't this imply that NGE and EOE already happened somehow and have been repeated an unknown number of times until this alternate reality came along?

If it's not a recurrence of THAT version of the story (though now tweaked) what is your theory?

SOME sort, yes. But what kind is the important question.

There isn't any concrete evidence or explanation of the looping theory as of now. Rebuild films delve deep into the meta aspect of things, much more so than the original. The whole Adams thing being a callback to Ultraman and nothing more is just one example, among other things. Anno didn't try to tie it all together lore-wise in a single narrative, very likely purposefully avoiding anything concrete.

Why? Well, probably not to piss off fans who don't want to connect the original and the NTE. At least we can thank Anno for giving us a way out.

Besides, you can't really connect EOE and Rebuild. Just because Shinji said that he will not rewind time or reset the world, doesn't mean that he did it before. Certainly, we see how in the end of EOE, he chose not to do that in Instrumentality, nor was a reset on the table. As far as we know, at the end of EOE, Shinji had no power to change the world, as by the time of the ending scene, EVA-01 was out in space with the only true spear, and Lilith was dead. So, no rewind or reset was possible.

There are multiple ways to explain the looping without the need to sequelise the NTE.

1. The Eternal Recurrence. The universe is infinite, and that means everything within it will repeat itself an infinite amount of times in all possible combinations. In that way, Kaworu can be reborn, wait until the heat death of the universe, and be reborn again in a new, slightly changed universe.

2. Multiverse Theory. Every time Third Impact happens, a parallel universe is created (with or without the help of Shinji's imaginary worlds), and Kaworu simply jumps into the new universe, with the moon being the constant in each universe. Re-Take style.

3. My own theory and headcanon. Yui said that EVAs can't die. That means Evangelion will exist forever. That makes it a godlike being with an infinite energy source, the S² engine. There is a theory that there could exist universes inside supermassive black holes. I imagine EVA-01, with Yui being the mother of a new universe, creating it within the S² engine. And many universes are created within each universe, within each Yui, making it like a Russian doll scenario. Folded universes. I like it because it's more fun and interesting.

4. Rebuild being an alternate universe with its own set of loops. To me, this is probably the more reasonable explanation. The laws of the Rebuild universe are so different that thinking of the original and the Rebuilds being the same universe or timeline just doesn't add up. Many remakes in Japanese media like Gundam basically do the same thing. Just an alternate universe, with looping happening only in the Rebuild version of events.

The Minus Space can be a space where all universes connect, and all constants merge into their respective unified selves.

There is no cycle.

There are parallel universes.

If Kaworu dies in one, he shows up in another.

He's the only one who's been through any sort of repetition.

Some of the main characters gain knowledge of other worlds - Gendo presumably did after using the Key of Nebukadnezzar, he has a flashback of Rei rejecting him in EoE, and knows that Shinji "rejected" instrumentality previously, for example. And once Shinji gets to minus space he also gains some knowledge - he references interactions with other versions of his fellow pilots, for example, he tells Kaworu he recalls meeting him before, & the beach scene reads a bit like Shinji making up for how the last time went, his interaction with Rei parallels previous ones during previous instrumentality versions with the "i want to see them again" picture appearing when he makes his decision for example.
But this affects only their Rebuild versions.

TV Shinji is still on the blue orb, EoE Shinji is still on the beach and we dunno where they went from there (neither does Kaworu presumably) Those events weren't erased & it's never suggested that they were undone.

The idea of being able to see/picture "other possible worlds" during instrumentality appears as early as ep 26 but its alternatives, not repetitions.

Kendrix wrote:If Kaworu dies in one, he shows up in another.

He's the only one who's been through any sort of repetition.

I think there is some hints that Shinji is also in this sort of repetition (albeit without memories), but I admit that it is ambiguous.

That said, even if Shinji is in this repetition, I'm not saying he is the same from TV show or EoE.

Well though i would be pretty disappointed cuz loop theory was introduced in eva mainly to depict cycle of death and rebirth imo and maybe some meta commentary cuz there's a lot....,and what happened in the end of rebuild to be a nirvana that is breaking of that cycle.like in budhism and maybe Sikhism too.

That means the soul of the character has to be drifting through universes with eva.
Or which ever character is related to eva
Idk it's just confusing

But on an honest level.It does looks like only Shinji and kowuru are traveling through this.
Shinji's dialogues confirm it.or maybe yui too?or Rei also?
Hard to say for Asuka.Though it's shown that Shikinami and Soryu are different... In the new short film.. but i still wanna doubt that(ye call me biased).cuz they can be same souls from different timeline of multiverse(if let that multiverse is a bubble where every universe resides)


Again the new short film has come.
And it looks like according to it..... It's multiversal.Because Nge+Eoe Asuka is asking for her own good ending and if that's the case,maybe It's indeed multiversal because her character arc should have been over in the end of the rebuild .
That actually confirms it's something related to multiverse .so.. maybe Soryu is really a different sould from Shikinami.Thats upon you.


However again if anybody has interest universe related theories.One such theory is that that universe splits itself whenever there is like 50/50 chance etc.Like Schrodinger's cat experiment.
But it's unaplicable.. since there's a change from start in the rebuild.Like Asuka is a clone.....


So one thing is for sure.There is indeed a loop or maybe traveling of the souls from one eva universe to other similar eva universe (ye sounds nonsens).But not for every character...
Or ... Maybe every character related to Shinji


So according to my theory.Either Shinji,kowuru etc characters or all characters related to eva ,there souls Travels to a different universe which has Evangelion and they have same or similar roles, personality and past and events whenever they Die in a current eva universe.

We know that minus space can be said to be a multiverse in a sense of its own but also can be a meta dimensional layer that connects or transcends universes.

When Shinji made eva disappear in minus space.The effect uccoured in every universe connected to minus space since it is a meta dimensional layer that connects or transcends universes.Hence eva in every universe suddenly disappeared.And hence maybe book of life? Because it's also related to eva.



Another theory of mine is that.Onlu Shinji and kowuru are in a loop.Rest are just copies of there NGE+Eoe counterparts.And only those characters are born similar or same as there NGE+Eoe counterparts which are related to Shinji and kowuru and maybe eva too.

Since come on.... Book life should have something related dto that....


Or another theory....
This time I am mixing a theory called Heat death .idk search urself it's too hard to explain here.

So there's another where an entire universe can be born through quantum fluctuations randomly ...... Yep .. even now it can born out of nowhere .

So whenever universe gets into it's death.A new universe is born.And if someone's name is written in the book of life.They have to be born again,same or similar.And similar is the fate of other people connected to that person.and here it's Shinji.

Yup this is baseline shit but fun to imagine

Either way I know i might have written nonsense somewhere But what's ur view?