Has 3.0+1.0 improved or worsened Rebuild for you?

[FryMeTuhDehMuhn]

Now that 3.0+1.0 is out, I was wondering how people's views the Rebuilds have changed since the film's release. Thoughts?

[Konja7]

Most of us haven't seen the film to give a complete opinion about this.

That said, I really like Rebuild movies (especially Ha and Q). It's pretty likely I would like Shin too, since I really like the spoilers.

So, I think my opinion will still be pretty good.

[Raikyu]

Most of us haven't seen the film to give a complete opinion about this.

That said, I really like Rebuild movies (especially Ha and Q). It's pretty likely I would like Shin too, since I really like the spoilers.

So, I think my opinión will still be pretty good.

I subscribe to this opinion. The new approach tried by Anno seems to be an interesting addition to the franchise. All the discussions that we had in the previous weeks were really fascinating and I can't wait to see how they will envolve after the movie is available to us.

[Kendrix]

Well, there's a lot of ppl who say they hated 2.0 but loved Q, or loved 2.0 and hated Q, and I've never gotten either.

Now that the thing is finished some weaknesses in the structure are apparent that would maybe not have been there if the ending had been different & there's some things I would criticise / might've done different, but I got the main things I wanted (Rei gets an arc & narrative importance; Shinji didn't get a "fate worse than death", Mari gets another batshit action scene) & even some I never dared to hope for (Rei & Kaworu LIVE, Shinji gets defended/vindicated/apologized to, Gendo wasn't an 1D villain) so I'm hardly going to ragequit because of a few possible inconsistencies, as much as they do annoy me.

I remember that one interview where Anno described EoE as being like a different ending on a video game with multiple routes. To me, the Rebuilds are like the game got a third route in the anniversary edition or something.

[Axx°N N.]

I don't think now is the time for this thread.

I will say that my impression right now is the same as it ever was; Rebuild is plagued with writing problems and pacing issues.

[Mr. Tines]

Truly there is little meaningful difference at the moment between this topic and that of thread/20799/How-do-you-feel-about-Shinji-ending-up-with-Mari/

I had been waiting for the end to see if what Shin delivered would convince me that it was worth watching the previous two movies and then it. From the generous sample so far leaked, I can't say I feel much desire to sit through the whole thing, a downgrade from "wait and see" to "meh", really.

[wiser3754]

For someone like me who had hedged his bets on the culpability of the red Earth NOT being on Shinji but rather the abomination of what had become of Lilith/Mark.06 with Terminal Dogma being the epicentre of Third Impact -not Near Third Impact-, I was genuinely disappointed.
I was really anticipating another bombshell revelation leaving Shinji in a hopeless, spiteful, distrustful state in which he views humanity as a sickness or a disease in which he believes that Nerv and his father have right motives for it's future.

Call me salty, but with 3.0 throwing contradictions in ragards to the 2.0 post credits and the 3.0 preview and the somewhat covert messaging and bombshell moments in 3.0, the world of 3.0 and 3.0 + 1.0 for me was really confusing.

Near Third Imapct incurs a near wipeout of human, animal and plant life and complete corified Earth yet Third Impact leaves only a headless Lilith, the death of Kaji and skulls falling from the aether. Give me a break!

[swagbuckking1]

For someone like me who had hedged his bets on the culpability of the red Earth NOT being on Shinji but rather the abomination of what had become of Lilith/Mark.06 with Terminal Dogma being the epicentre of Third Impact -not Near Third Impact-, I was genuinely disappointed.
I was really anticipating another bombshell revelation leaving Shinji in a hopeless, spiteful, distrustful state in which he views humanity as a sickness or a disease in which he believes that Nerv and his father have right motives for it's future.

Call me salty, but with 3.0 throwing contradictions in ragards to the 2.0 post credits and the 3.0 preview and the somewhat covert messaging and bombshell moments in 3.0, the world of 3.0 and 3.0 + 1.0 for me was really confusing.

Near Third Imapct incurs a near wipeout of human, animal and plant life and complete corified Earth yet Third Impact leaves only a headless Lilith, the death of Kaji and skulls falling from the aether. Give me a break!

Yeah I second this. Obviously the point of 3.0 was for Shinji to have made a mistake so that he would learn responsibility but the use of the term near third impact implies the damage he caused (or could have caused) was abated by Kaworu. This therefore removes (some) culpability from Shinji which defeats the purpose of the film. However if it is told that Shinji was responsible for the complete devastation that we see in Q, then why use the term "near". It does not help either that we still do not fully know what actually happened with NTI & 3I and what the extent of the damage was for each of the two events. Honestly I believe that there would have been greater benefit if the rebuilds was a series of 6 films instead of 4 just so the writers could correct the pacing and add key narrative details to help make more sense.

[Konja7]

Yeah I second this. Obviously the point of 3.0 was for Shinji to have made a mistake so that he would learn responsibility but the use of the term near third impact implies the damage he caused (or could have caused) was abated by Kaworu. This therefore removes (some) culpability from Shinji which defeats the purpose of the film. It does not help either that we still do not fully know what actually happened with NTI & 3I and what the extent of the damage was for each of the two events. Honestly I believe that there would have been greater benefit if the rebuilds was a series of 6 films instead of 4 just so the writers could correct the pacing and add key narrative details to help make more sense.

The event is called Near Third Impact, because the Third Impact wasn't completed. In Shin, the Near Third Impact seems to be a pretty destructive force

Touji: "We survived even the Near Third Impact. Have trust in our own luck and in Misato's Wille"


It seems the Red Earth is product of the Third Impact, since Gendo mentioned it purified the land.

However, it's really unlikely Shinji is innocent of the Earth's state, since it wouldn't have thematically sense in Shin (a theme in Shin is that Shinji accepts the guilt and responsability).


My theory is the Third Impact between Ha and Q is just a continuation from the (Near) Third Impact Shinji released in Ha.

[bogusman]

This needs to be answered by those lucky folks that have wathced the movie (especially those who watched more than once)
I heard that there was even standing ovation at the premiere in some theaters.

Some said it was beautiful. A lot of praise. Don’t know if it was due to the tone of the movie, the ambience or the overall stories or anything.
I’ve only seen the camrip, but even from that i can see visually it’s amazing, the music is good. I’m guessing it must be amazing to watch in imax theater.

However , been reading all those spoilers & scripts more than twice, i do not agree with some points, in which i think it’s crucial. And somehow it’s feels rushed/forced just for the sake of ending it with happy tones. Presume them as components to end all Eva since more than 2 decades is kinda let down for me. So i won't rush to watch it anymore.
I got my own favorite anyway, the manga.

[swagbuckking1]

It seems the Red Earth is product of the Third Impact, since Gendo mentioned it purified the land.

However, it's really unlikely Shinji is innocent of the Earth's state, since it wouldn't have thematically sense in Shin (a theme in Shin is that Shinji accepts the guilt and responsability).

That's my point. It doesn't make sense thematically for Shinji to not be at least partly responsible for something. However what also does not make sense is the implication that NTI was more devastating than the actual third impact when we can see that Kaworu stops Unit 1 with the spear of cassius.

The event is called Near Third Impact, because the Third Impact wasn't completed. In Shin, the Near Third Impact seems to be a pretty destructive force

Touji: "We survived even the Near Third Impact. Have trust in our own luck and in Misato's Wille"

True, however I interpret Touji's disbelief at his survival to be due to the fact they were residing relatively close to the site of the NTI at the time in comparison to the 3I. We don't know how or when they evacuated and if it was a safe distance from the actual 3I. I don't interpret this as evidence that Touji thinks NTI was more dangerous than 3I. But I think this is a matter of opinion.

My theory is the Third Impact between Ha and Q is just a continuation from the (Near) Third Impact Shinji released in Ha.

This theory makes sense but we (as far as I have seen) are not given much information as to how the actual 3I was started. We saw exactly how Shinji started NTI but 3I still remains a mystery. The preview at the end of 2.0 shows Kaworu descending down with his Mark 6. Does this mean that Kaworu started 3I on behalf of SEELE? Or was he trying to stop 3I with Kaji and him spearing Unit 1 was just a temporary fix? Does this mean that Unit 1's awakening caused Lilith to start walking around and about to cause 3I and it could only be permanently stopped by Kaji's sacrifice? What part did Unit 1 actually play in starting the third impact, if any? I am so confused because we barely get any meat on the bones in Shin and we are still reduced to speculation and theories.

In my mind there are two possibilities:

A: Shinji set the ball rolling however that set another ball rolling (Third impact) and caused more damage despite the first ball (NTI) being stopped.

B: Shinji set the NTI ball rolling but was stopped by Kaworu. Then Seele took another ball (Mark 06) and then continued it for their own purposes (Third impact).

The second option certainly relieves Shinji of some culpability but as we have stated this wouldn't make sense thematically for Shinji to not be responsible. However the first option also has problems. Kaji states that Seele won't take Unit 1's awakening lying down because they wanted to awaken Mark 6. It makes more sense therefore that on behalf of Seele, Mark 6 stopped Unit 1 and then went on to awaken Mark 6 with Lilith and the angel (the partial fusion between the two would indicate this). I think Shinji's culpability in this case was taking their only defense (Unit 1) out of the fight but then again I doubt he predicted he'd be speared in the back. Hopefully everything makes more sense when a subbed version comes out but we will just have to see.

[roblucci01]

This needs to be answered by those lucky folks that have wathced the movie (especially those who watched more than once)

I gotchu (three time viewer here)

Shin has drastically improved how I personally view New Theater Edition as a whole. Now, I would even go as far as to say, had they not ended Rebuild this way I may have been disappointed. With Rebuild, Thrice Upon a Time has a story of its own to tell, one that is different from the Evangelion endings before it. It has themes and core messaging distinct from the rest of the franchise. It has a hell of a soundtrack. Animation wise, it does admittedly have some ups and downs; I'm hoping this can be addressed in future releases.

In December of last year, I was lucky enough to catch road shows of Jo, Ha, and Q in theaters. So sequentially speaking, I was prepared to view and judge Shin in January as part of NTE. Then, sadly, the film got delayed. So I binged Evangelion the TV show, watched both endings, and a few hours before seeing Shin in March, I rewatched Q again on YouTube. I am unsure if this is a great way to experience Shin. To put things into perspective, 1.0 came out before I knew about Evangelion; 2.0 came out shortly after I watched the original series when I was in high school; and 3.0 released when I was in college. 3.0+1.0 came out almost a decade later. In that time between, I lived quite a bit - I graduated university, floated between several jobs, and eventually moved to Japan. So my life experiences and perspective changed a lot between the third and fourth movie. Even my perception of Evangelion changed during that time. The same is likely true for the audience. Anime has also changed. Therefore, with Shin, I am tempted to view it and judge it purely and entirely as its own artistic endeavor separate not just from Neon Genesis Evangelion but also from the rest of Rebuild.

Many people will inevitably hate what I am about to say, but I think if you view Shin as a means to succinctly wrap up all of the loose ends in NTE, and act as a solution to the story-continuity problems brought on primarily by Q, you are doing yourself a disservice and are experiencing the film the wrong way. I recommend not binging the preceding films for that very reason. When you watch the movie, your mind is going to be too busy trying to make sense of the events after Ha and in Q. It takes focus away from the characters, their motives, the themes, and redirects your attention to things like, "Well, did x occur in the Third Impact or the Near Third Impact?"

For what it's worth, 3.0+1.0 actually does tie quite a few loose ends. We finally figured out what happened to the Rei from 1.0 & 2.0; the closure was there on that one and it was handled perfectly, down to Rei even potentially being behind Shinji's 0.00% sync rate in Q... like, damn. Even considerably small details, like Shinji's bento boxes or the trip to the aquarium were seemingly given more value and importance in Thrice - beyond superbly handled, it was Vince Gilligan-esque. These are also details unrelated to NGE and unique to NTE. I think NTE has been worth our time, because we were able to see a side of these characters never seen before. Thematically NTE incorporates the core messages of both NGE endings, that Shinji can live without Eva, and that anywhere can be paradise so long as he has the will to live. It's less overt than it was over twenty years ago, but that's to be expected.

Plus NTE does something different by establishing an underlying problem with the "Curse of Eva" (not as a physical ailment but as a rhetorical device in the story). The way I perceive it, the "Curse of Eva" is a metaphor for societal expectations of conformity that deprive people of their individuality and force them into stereotypical roles. If we consider the real-world place Evangelion originated from, this makes more sense. In particular, Rei, Asuka, and Kaworu in particular are victims of this cycle as Eva pilots. When they are no longer needed to fulfill a certain purpose, they are always discarded. Additionally, this is also a meta commentary on the anime industry. All three of the characters mentioned above embody traits recycled over and over again in animation - the quiet, doll-girl buried in books, devoid of any real personality, only existing so that the protagonist can show them a brighter side to life; the tsundere girl, who frustrates the protagonist, but motivates him, and embodies his rough, aggressive sexual desires; and the mysterious boy, who seemingly has all the answers, can act as a kind of "guide" for the protagonist, but never infringes on the protagonists role, or takes the initiative to solve problems on his own accord. If you can't tell by now, Anno is really tired of these worn out tropes that he helped establish. Just as Rei, Asuka, and Kaworu are part of a "series of clones", so too are all the Yuki Nagatos, Taiga Aisakas, and Itsuki Koizumis.

The solution is the "Neon Genesis" Shinji initiates in 3.0+1.0. He all but tells the other pilots in instrumentality, "I don't need Evangelion anymore, and neither do you. Be your own person from here on out." In other words, be yourself. Don't be a trope, don't try to fit into a stereotype. Shinji figured out how to "be himself" without seeking acknowledgement from others as he did in NGE - this time around cooking bentos, fishing, going to aquariums, learning piano; so did Rei Q. It is incredibly simplistic, but necessary I think for a society where nonconformity and challenging the norm is taboo. That's basically why Mari is a part of Evangelion. She doesn't conform to the rules or conventions established by Evangelion. Thematically, Shin knocked it out of the park in my book.

So once again, getting back to the original question, I think Shin improves NTE as a whole, certainly.

Now, unfortunately, I feel Q alone is devalued by Shin. The point of Q was to tell us that Shinji's actions have consequences. We even see Shinji's horrified expression when he realizes the shirt he is putting on belonged to Suzuhara, and that he may have inadvertently killed him (that was an absolutely brilliant touch at the time). But Toji is alive in Shin, meaning that entire scene in Q was worthless. Essentially, they nerfed the consequences of Shinji's actions in Ha.

There are also plotholes and story consistency problems created by the transition from 2.0 to 3.0 that Thrice Upon a Time could never have solved. The way I see it, when Anno first started NTE, he envisioned it as more or less a remake of the original Evangelion. As time went on, his artistic vision changed more and more, and he eventually wanted to craft a world unrecognizable from NGE, which is how we got Q in the form it ended up in. 3.0+1.0 makes 3.0 feel disjointed from Rebuild, in my opinion. I think had Anno continued production of "Final" consistently after 2012, undistracted by Godzilla, the last Rebuild movie would have released in 2015 or so and would have been completely different.

But it was because so much time passed and Anno's vision changed yet again that Shin Evangelion is what it is, and honestly, I wouldn't change it. Plot consistency aside, Shin does something special that no other Evangelion ending has really done before.

[Axx°N N.]

I feel like this thread is the inappropriate place to debate. But just two nitpicks:

How is cooking bentos, going to aquariums, fishing etc. nonconforming? Those are by all appearances regular things. How is Rei taking up farming a noncomforming task? It's an incredibly essential thing for their community. I don't think anything in Shin is demonstrating nonconformism, in fact it seems to be embracing finding happiness in conformity and what one must do for the greater good.

How is Mari challenging a status quo? She might be unconventional in terms of the rest of the cast, but doesn't society at large compel us to be enthusiastic and unquestioning? How is she any less of a trope?

[Derantor]

The way I perceive it, the "Curse of Eva" is a metaphor for societal expectations of conformity that deprive people of their individuality and force them into stereotypical roles.

I see it as the same thing - but come to the complete opposite conclusion, similar to Axxon. Because those affected by the "Curse of Eva" actually are special; they are not like everybody else. The curse is an artificial limit placed on them, to control that special nature. Until the very end, where they are deprived of their special nature and portrayed as stereotypical normal people, which is supposed to be their salvation. That reads pretty much like pro-status-quo conformity messaging to me. The whole village sequence (and no, I haven't seen the movie outside of the leaks) reads like the typical romanticised view we have of communal living a hundred years ago to me, and even that, a change to the status quo, even if it is regressing back to earlier times, is rejected in favor of the very real, current 3D world we all inhabit. So while it may be anti-escapism, I don't see it as anti-conformity.

[ElMariachi]

@roblucci01: it's a very interesting point of view, thank you for sharing it with us. Looking at how your feel the movie, I can see the difference between how you and me apprehend a movie: you're fine with the worldbuilding left to a minimum and most of the questions about the background events left unanswered because for you what's important is the characters' journey and growth, so for you Shin is (near) perfect as it is, while for me, who put a lot of value on worldbuilding to be able to "enter" in this fictional world and relate to the characters, having the explanations take a backseat to the characters' emotions feel like a step down with what I thought the end of Q promised us (to discover an entirely new world and the people living in it, with Shinji finding his place in this strange new world).
Both way of looking at it are entirely valid, so I'm glad for you that you enjoyed it. (especially since you had the opportunity to actually see it )

It seems the Red Earth is product of the Third Impact, since Gendo mentioned it purified the land.

However, it's really unlikely Shinji is innocent of the Earth's state, since it wouldn't have thematically sense in Shin (a theme in Shin is that Shinji accepts the guilt and responsability).

My theory is the Third Impact between Ha and Q is just a continuation from the (Near) Third Impact Shinji released in Ha.

Thing is, accepting the guilt and responsibility for what: activating a mode that he had no idea existed, in a desperate situation where it was the only way to stop the monster from killing everyone, in a scenario that was engineered by the two guys that want to destroy the world, while being actively cheered by his commanding officer telling him to continue what he was doing until it was too late to stop what's happening?

How do you accurately place your guilt and amount of responsibility on something so nebulous and far-reaching in its consequences without placing an arbitrary amount of guilt on each party? And I think that Shin acknowledge this, when Misato admits that she regrets making him taking all the blame for N3I and that she should had taken the responsibility for is actions (implying that she did scapegoat him) and that she and Shinji's last battle is -in her own words- them cleaning up their respective fathers' mess (instead of working for a "redemption") and that the narration places more importance to the real fuckup that was 100% his fault: when he refused to do anything against the 9th Angel, with the story even giving him a second chance by placing him and Asuka in almost the same situation as 14 years ago, with this time him saving her.

[FelipeFritschF]

Haha.

I was always of the opinion that the Rebuilds would either be justified or damned by 3.0+1.0. I kinda felt they were unnecessary due to the amazing finality AND open-endedness of the EoE ending. Giving it a sequel proper would always feel wrong, and it seems to a degree even Anno and Tsurumaki thought so considering their early statements. Eva had to go somewhere else.

For that reason, I liked 3.0 the most out of them because it actually felt like a new story, doing something bold and innovative. Yet at the same time it was a weird, confusing, unsatisfying movie, so it'd live or die on the conclusion of the series as well. 3.0+1.0 goes into that direction... and it also doesn't. It feels like it needs to live in the shadow of NGE+EoE too much and that Anno's meta-commentary took over the story to an excessive degree.

[Konja7]

Thing is, accepting the guilt and responsibility for what: activating a mode that he had no idea existed, in a desperate situation where it was the only way to stop the monster from killing everyone, in a scenario that was engineered by the two guys that want to destroy the world, while being actively cheered by his commanding officer telling him to continue what he was doing until it was too late to stop what's happening?

Shin could use any of these reasons (not to mention that Shinji is a 14 years old) to excuse the Near Third Impact, and free Shinji from the blame, but it doesn't do that.

That's why I said the story wants and needs Shinji to be guilty, since it conveys the message to accept the guilt and "move on".


I've read Shinji is blamed for his "selfish" wish to save Rei (remember that he knew there was a big risk in Ha). This seems to be a Japanese concept.

How do you accurately place your guilt and amount of responsibility on something so nebulous and far-reaching in its consequences without placing an arbitrary amount of guilt on each party? And I think that Shin acknowledge this, when Misato admits that she regrets making him taking all the blame for N3I and that she should had taken the responsibility for is actions (implying that she did scapegoat him) and that she and Shinji's last battle is -in her own words- them cleaning up their respective fathers' mess (instead of working for a "redemption") and that the narration places more importance to the real fuckup that was 100% his fault: when he refused to do anything against the 9th Angel, with the story even giving him a second chance by placing him and Asuka in almost the same situation as 14 years ago, with this time him saving her.

Misato takes the blame for the Near Third Impact, because Shinji was his subordinante. However, the story seems to present that as an olive branch, not a real release from the blame (that's why Sakura and Midori don't really care about it).

The story has a lot of focus on Shinji repairing his mistakes. One of the first things Shinji said (to Touji) when he recover his conscience is that he needs to help to repair his mistakes.

The narrative doesn't seem to want to free Shinji from that blame at any point. The issue with Asuka and the 9th Angel seems minor by comparison.

[FelipeFritschF]

I've read an analysis that this could be the ultimate reason why Asuka is alone on the other side of the train station and doesn't get a close-up shot. Like Shinjanno still feels guilty but can never truly face it, and this is symbolized over Asuka the most. Him saving Rei was the right thing for the wrong reason - a personal wish that ended up causing damage to the larger world/society. Through a Japanese lens, then, it's just wrong. Asuka is angry at him for not saving her before, which paradoxically enough was "collectively" necessary, and even ordered by Gendo (at least fighting Unit-03, that is), but Shinji just stood there as he was too afraid to take responsibility for maybe hurting her. So later on Shinji accepts this this responsibility and Asuka recognizes it, but he was too late.

Personally I despise this line of thinking of the characters just being stand-ins for real people, but consider Miyamura here:

However, as you can see from the work, Anno is pouring love into every character in "Eva" this time. Other than me, it seems that all the cast members and staff members were also thankful, and Anno has grown up a lot (laughs).

"...but I grew up first."

Hilariously enough I saw a few Japanese comments that Miyamura was like Asuka to an extreme, and they thought she was a bit too loud and immature in the cast stage greeting.

But this begs the question... Anno is just letting go of his guilt over Eva, not actually trying to fix it? Another common analysis even in positive reviews is that in Part D, Anno completely takes over the character. It feels like a bit of a mismatch.

[swagbuckking1]

Shin could use any of these reasons (not to mention that Shinji is a 14 years old) to excuse the Near Third Impact, and free him from the blame, but it doesn't do that.

To be fair 3.0+1.0 could have done a lot of things (like filling us in on the timeskip and third impact) but it didn't. I don't think they would dedicate film-time to absolving Shinji even if he was totally blameless. The film kinda glosses over a lot of stuff.

That's why I said the story wants and needs Shinji to be guilty, since it conveys the message to accept the guilt and "move on".

Accepting "guilt" is not the same as taking responsibility. One is giving up and just allowing your condemners to simply throw the book at you and the other is understanding your mistakes and taking the necessary steps to correct them. However, WILLE didn't want Shinji to do anything, not even menial tasks like cooking; never mind piloting. We found out from Shin that they intended to put Shinji in solitary confinement that is rigged with bombs and that he is taken there whilst restrained on a stretcher even though he came VOLUNTARILY. How people expect Shinji to "repair his mistakes" from inside solitary confinement is beyond me. Also "moving on" is extremely difficult when you have a bomb strapped to your neck and you are locked in a explosively rigged solitary cell. Just saying.

Misato takes the blame for the Near Third Impact, because Shinji was his subordinante. However, the story seems to present that as an olive branch, not a real release from the blame (that's why Sakura and Midori don't really care about it).

The story has a lot of focus on Shinji repairing his mistakes. One of the first things Shinji said (to Touji) when he recover his conscience is that he needs to help to repair his mistakes.

Yes, Shin does emphasize the importance of Shinji correcting his mistakes. However this does not mean that Shinji *has* to be "guilty" to do this. The two ideas are not synonymous. In fact one thing I think 3.0 and 3.0+1.0 do well when juxtaposed to one another is highlight the important differences between condemnation and understanding.

In Q, Shinji leaves due to the hostility and distrust he feels from WILLE. They placed an explosive on his neck and intended to put him in solitary confinement even though they didn't think he'd be NERV's target; a symptom of their condemnation. Because of this he ran straight into his father's arms and caused another impact and lost Kaworu in the process. Even he if hadn't left and Misato successfully kept him in solitary, would Shinji be in any fit state to pilot Unit 1, if we are to assume Gendo successfully defeats Asuka again in this scenario? I have already discussed the effects of solitary confinement and Shinji's fragile mental state in another thread. And even if he is mentally fit, what's to stop Shinji from telling Misato to fuck off when he becomes their last resort? Incarceration breeds resentment.

Let's contrast this with 3.0+1.0. Here Shinji meets with his old friends Touji, Kensuke and Hikari who are warm and compassionate and set him on the road to emotional recovery. In other words Shinji is experiencing understanding. Not blind acceptance, obviously, but here Shinji's friends would have been able to express disapproval of his actions without condemning him like WILLE did. Disapproval =/= condemnation. They understood he never intended to start NTI/3I.

This theme of forcefulness vs understanding is microcosmically emphasised with the differences in how Asuka and Rei get Shinji to eat food.Asuka forcefeeds Shinji only for him to throw it back up again. Asuka failed. Rei however is gentle and understanding and somehow manages to get Shinji to eat again. Rei succeeded.

This little interaction highlights the differences between how WILLE treated Shinji and how Touji and co. treated Shinji; condemnation vs understanding. If Shinji had stayed with WILLE, he would never have piloted Unit 1 against Gendo (either as a "fuck you" or due to mental fragility). On the other hand, due to Rei and Touji's kindness, Shinji found the resolve to go back to the Wunder and fight against his father. In fact it is Rei's death that spurs Shinji on in the film.

Which brings me to my final point. Just because Q emphasizes that Shinji is "guilty" in lieu of WILLE's treatment does not necessarily mean that he completely is to blame. In fact, I am of the belief that Anno wanted WILLE to be so condemning because he could say: "Look guys this is the wrong approach" and then contrast it with Shin in which he shows the correct way to deal with Shinji. When I approach it through this way:

Q = Condemnation = The Incorrect approach.

vs.

Shin = Compassion = The Correct approach.

It suddenly makes a lot of sense to me. So to your final point.

The narrative doesn't seem to want to free Shinji from that blame at any point.

I believe that it kinda does considering that one of the bridge crew (Tama I think?) states that they know Shinji never intended to cause NTI. I think he says this to calm Sakura down after her Frank Reynolds impression but don't quote me on that. The idea that the narrative seeks to blame Shinji as fully culpable comes from a misinterpretation of what Anno is trying to show what happens when a 14 year old kid is unfairly (still up for debate) blamed. I think the compassion Shinji receives in the village from Shin was Anno's way of saying that the events of Q wouldn't have happened if WILLE were a little kinder to him. But that's just my interpretation, everyone is welcome to theirs.

[Konja7]

Accepting "guilt" is not the same as taking responsibility. One is giving up and just allowing your condemners to simply throw the book at you and the other is understanding your mistakes and taking the necessary steps to correct them. However, WILLE didn't want Shinji to do anything, not even menial tasks like cooking; never mind piloting. We found out from Shin that they intended to put Shinji in solitary confinement that is rigged with bombs and that he is taken there whilst restrained on a stretcher even though he came VOLUNTARILY. How people expect Shinji to "repair his mistakes" from inside solitary confinement is beyond me. Also "moving on" is extremely difficult when you have a bomb strapped to your neck and you are locked in a explosively rigged solitary cell. Just saying.

When I mean accepting guilt, I mean that he doesn't try to escape from it anymore. That's needed to take responsability.

In Q, Shinji also wants to repair/erase his mistakes, but he was trying to escape from the guilt. That's why he is so desperate that he takes the lances.

In Shin, he accepts the guilt and doesn't try to escape from the pain/guilt anymore. That's why he is strong enough to face Gendo.

Shinji being blameless wouldn't work for this story.

Which brings me to my final point. Just because Q emphasizes that Shinji is "guilty" in lieu of WILLE's treatment does not necessarily mean that he completely is to blame. In fact, I am of the belief that Anno wanted WILLE to be so condemning because he could say: "Look guys this is the wrong approach" and then contrast it with Shin in which he shows the correct way to deal with Shinji. When I approach it through this way:

In fact, I totally agree with this. I don't think the story tries to justify WILLE's treatment on Shinji either.

It's clear the story wants to present WILLE members as scared and desperated people.

I believe that it kinda does considering that one of the bridge crew (Tama I think?) states that they know Shinji never intended to cause NTI. I think he says this to calm Sakura down after her Frank Reynolds impression but don't quote me on that. The idea that the narrative seeks to blame Shinji as fully culpable comes from a misinterpretation of what Anno is trying to show what happens when a 14 year old kid is unfairly (still up for debate) blamed. I think the compassion Shinji receives in the village from Shin was Anno's way of saying that the events of Q wouldn't have happened if WILLE were a little kinder to him. But that's just my interpretation, everyone is welcome to theirs.

He says this to Midori, but it happened before that scene with the gun. Midori doesn't really care, since his family died in the Third Impact.

It's Midori who calms Sakura. She says they need to focus on the future ("move on").