You Never See Anything Just Once - NTE Edition

[EscapismIsBad]

*Air by Bach starts playing*
Deep down we all know this scene, I won't even describe it.

SPOILER: Show

http://imgur.com/gallery/xFgELEi

[GunmetalSnail429]

*Air by Bach starts playing*
Deep down we all know this scene, I won't even describe it.

SPOILER: Show

http://imgur.com/gallery/xFgELEi

Anno pls no

[ohno2100]

Just thought of this now: I'm not sure if anyone has noticed this, but I feel like the shot in 2.0 where Awakened Unit 01 grows that Golden AT-Field Arm is a callback to the shot where Berserk Unit 01 heals its arm in 1.0.

Unit 01 in 1.0

SPOILER: Show

Unit 01 in 2.0

SPOILER: Show

Like mother, like son I suppose, huh?

[ChaddyManPrime]

I just want to say I am proud of everyone who avoided spoilers, you guys are the real heroes.

[AWinters]

Do cross-dimensional parallels count?

[Lickitung]

SPOILER: Show

[nerv bae]

When the shutdown plug is introduced in 3+1 for Asuka to use against Unit 13, I thought "well there's some fun new technobabble."



But of course that was wrong, you never see anything just once! On 1.11 rewatch I realized that shutdown plugs are referenced in dialog for use with Unit 01:



And a bit later in 1.11 in flashback visual for use with Unit 00 (this cruciform object is not identified in dialog as a shutdown plug but what else could it be?):



(Edit on 11/20/2021: ah, I see over in this thread that Unit 01 has a shutdown plug installed during maintenance in this 1.11 screenshot, neat!)

As far as I know it's still a mystery what Asuka meant in 3+1 by her belated realization about Unit 13's entry plug configuration:



I nursed a theory that her shutdown plug would only work with a traditional single entry plug system, but that doesn't make much sense because Wille should have already understood Unit 13's dual entry plug configuration after the events in 3.33.

[kuribo-04]

I guess it's possible Asuka and Mari only ever thought Shinji piloted 13 alone.

Nice catch btw!

[Konja7]

I guess it's possible Asuka and Mari only ever thought Shinji piloted 13 alone.

Nice catch btw!

I'm pretty sure Mari knows there are two pilotw inside Eva-13. In 3.0, she even discovered Shinji was SEELE's back-up to mantain the Gates of Guf open (after Eva-13 started to fall).

[kuribo-04]

But maybe she didn't know the 13th Angel was an actual pilot.
Uh who knows lol. Or she didn't tell Wille for whatever reason.

[Pluto]

I just noticed this browsing the info on the new Hideaki Anno Exhibition by my house. The poster for Shiki Jitsu (式日/ ritual day) and the poster for 3.0+1.0.

[kuribo-04]

Shiki-Jitsu was set and shot in Ube, Anno's hometown, same as that poster and the last scene from Shin Eva.

[Zoop]

But maybe she didn't know the 13th Angel was an actual pilot.
Uh who knows lol. Or she didn't tell Wille for whatever reason.

She pulls Shinji's entry plug out manually, surely she would have noticed it was positioned off-center, and that there's another one on the other side. Also, she knew which to pull.
Maybe didn't know the 13th Angel was an actual pilot, sure, could have been a dummy, but still, thats very visually obviously not a single entry plug system.
So Asuka's line is still weird...

[ElMariachi]

But maybe she didn't know the 13th Angel was an actual pilot.
Uh who knows lol. Or she didn't tell Wille for whatever reason.

She might had kept that discovery that EVA-13 is a dual-entry for herself for whatever reason, since she tends to keep her cards very close to her chest and is running her own secret plan behind WILLE's back.
Mind you, Asuka is technically not wrong that at this moment EVA-13 is a single entry-plug configuration, since there's no information that Shinji's entry plug was replaced between Q and Shin, but WILLE would had probably made plans for the case it was replaced and used with a back-up pilot if they knew about its configuration, so I think that indeed, they genuinely though that it was a single-entry Eva. Which could also mean that their plan was screwed before it even began, if only they had one of its pilots that they could had interrogated about its specifications...

[kuribo-04]

It is weird though, isn't it? Something that could have been avoided if Asuka took two of those crosses to the battle or something lol.
Or if it was stated that plugging one was enough. But they went out of their way to make clear Asuka was surprised by the fact.

[Axx°N N.]

Is there any reason for Wille to believe that Gendo would reconfigure 13 as a single-entry plug system? Maybe it's not so much that they have been erroneously believing it was single-entry, which contradicts everything they encounter in Q, but rather that for some reason it would have been logical that Gendo wouldn't need a dual system with how he intends to use 13?

Otherwise, it's just not computing in my head.

[nerv bae]

Maybe it's a translation issue. The Reichu translation gives:

(Beast Eva-02's A.T. Field body ruptures.
The two spears impaling Eva 13's chest smoothly slide out, and they fly toward [Eva-02's?] body.
Both hands that were fixed to the pedestal come out of the restraints, and Eva 13 stands up.
When it seizes Eva-02 -- which has returned to normal -- by the neck, its four glowing eyes turn towards Asuka.)

[01:27:56, 1378]

Asuka:
Wasn't it single-entry?

[[Reichu] NOTE: Presumably she's operating on the assumption that four open eyes = two active pilots.]

Under this translation, Asuka isn't surprised about the dual-entry configuration, but about the presence of two pilots at that moment in Unit 13. 3.33 established that the Ayanami type is not suitable for use in Unit 13 in some circumstances (okay, retrieving spears, but let's extend this to Impacting too) and that neo-Nerv's only pilot choices are Ayanamis and Nagisas; if Wille knows these facts then they must go into this battle believing Unit 13 has either zero pilots (if Kaworu is dead) or one pilot (if Kaworu has been zombified). But Wille never guessed that neo-NERV had Asuka's original up its sleeve, enabling the two pilots to be present.

[DantesInferno]

Maybe it's a translation issue. The Reichu translation gives:

(Beast Eva-02's A.T. Field body ruptures.
The two spears impaling Eva 13's chest smoothly slide out, and they fly toward [Eva-02's?] body.
Both hands that were fixed to the pedestal come out of the restraints, and Eva 13 stands up.
When it seizes Eva-02 -- which has returned to normal -- by the neck, its four glowing eyes turn towards Asuka.)

[01:27:56, 1378]

Asuka:
Wasn't it single-entry?

[[Reichu] NOTE: Presumably she's operating on the assumption that four open eyes = two active pilots.]

Under this translation, Asuka isn't surprised about the dual-entry configuration, but about the presence of two pilots at that moment in Unit 13. 3.33 established that the Ayanami type is not suitable for use in Unit 13 in some circumstances (okay, retrieving spears, but let's extend this to Impacting too) and that neo-Nerv's only pilot choices are Ayanamis and Nagisas; if Wille knows these facts then they must go into this battle believing Unit 13 has either zero pilots (if Kaworu is dead) or one pilot (if Kaworu has been zombified). But Wille never guessed that neo-NERV had Asuka's original up its sleeve, enabling the two pilots to be present.

Two pairs of eyes, interesting. Not so much the arms; in 3.0, Shinji alone is able to operate the two pairs of arms in order to pull the two spears. Granted, Kaworu is still in there in his entry plug, but his controls have been severed...

But this is the first meaningful explanation I hear for Asuka's surprised reaction. Time and again it feels like Anno is ruthlessly ahead, moving forward and expecting us to do the impossible and just catch up...

[Axx°N N.]

But doesn't this present the same problem? Why wouldn't Wille foresee that Gendo would have another pilot at-hand?

[nerv bae]

But doesn't this present the same problem? Why wouldn't Wille foresee that Gendo would have another pilot at-hand?

I think there's an accepted theory that NTE establishes only five pilots available, period: Ayanamis (as many as you want!), Nagisas (only one coffin's worth at a time, please), Ikaris (just one), Shikinamis (only one still active -- or so we thought!), and Makinamis (who knows lol). Unlike in NGE, where there's an entire Marduk class of pilot candidates, we just get these five in NTE. Under that restriction, neo-Nerv after the timeskip only has access to the first two, because Shinji, Asuka, and Mari are out of its reach (and protected by lots of explosive collars, etc.). Wille thus believes that neo-Nerv cannot operate Unit 13 with two pilots because 1) Ayanamis don't work and 2) Nagisa is a one-off / dead. The surprise appearance of Asuka's original shows this belief by Wille to be tragically wrong.