You Never See Anything Just Once - NTE Edition

[Reichu]

All of the plugsuits have a core analogue in NTE, though... (Aside from Asuka's first two suits, because... something something foreshadowing full-body core something.)

[ShinjiStranglesAsuka]

This is a shot of when Shinji is fighting with Asuka in 3.33 where he's adamant that grabbing the spears would fix everything. Does anyone know of any other shots that show the SDAT whenever Shinji is attemtping to reject reality?

[Zusuchan]

About Shinji using his SDAT to escape from reality, he does that plenty of times in NGE, with him running away in ep. 4 as the best example. He tends to do that to also insulate himself from others, as is well illustrated in 1.11, when he is shown entering the classroom with his earplugs on, insulating himself from the rest of the class.
Accidentally though, your screenshot reminded me of this image from 2.22.

Don't know the exact threads Anno is trying to pull here, but the 3.33 image is similar enough to be intentional, I think. Maybe it's just that the SDAT is important to Shinji and the one thing he has arguably left of Rei. Or maybe they're both hanging on to unrealistic dreams (Rei intends to make it so Shinji won't have to pilot anymore, while Shinji attempts to repair the world)? I have nothing but guesses, but I feel there's something here.

[ShinjiStranglesAsuka]

Nice these two are definitely parallel shots. I'm not sure what Anno is trying to say, either. As above, I'm tempted say that the SDAT is like Shinji's own AT Field that he can use to block out reality. But then he throws it away after the 9th Angel incident, where it should have been the moment when he needed it the most.

I'm waiting for somebody smarter than me to explain what the SDAT is supposed to represent and how it connects Shinji to Gendo, Rei & Kaworu.

[robersora]

I know we love to find meaning, connections and patterns, but maybe Anno is just juxtapose them in opposition for added interest due to a junction of layers in meaning? Like a visual red herring? Or maybe just because the composition looks cool?

[Reichu]

You don't know unless you actually look. The visual density and content-richness if NTE means that audience effort will typically be paid off in some way. Meaning, connections, patterns -- it's not as if, for an artist so predisposed, including such things requires such a monumental and begrudging effort that the audience must constantly be skeptical such things could possibly be there.
Speaking from personal experience, a creative mind that thinks associatively cannot help but build a work where everything is connected. It's a compulsion, and the force behind it is so strong that connections will happen entirely of their own accord. (Ones that are, yes, completely organic to everything else and can be built further upon once noticed.)

If your mind isn't set up in quite the same way, it might be difficult to appreciate fully. But Anno's associative leanings are paraded quite openly -- even ostentatiously. Instead of saying "well, maybe it doesn't really mean anything, just because", it would IMHO be more productive/helpful to focus on suggesting why a particular interpretation is less likely, and try to offer alternative possibilities.

[Zusuchan]

Robersora: It's possible, but like Reichu said, Anno is far smarter than that. And the SDAT seems to have a far grander importance in NTE than it ever had in the originals. I've thought about it and it's very possible that it's a way for Anno to showcase the emotional connections between the characters (at least). Think about it: Gendo leaves the SDAT behind and Shinji picks it up because he still has an emotional connection with his father he wants to keep, then after Shinji leaves the SDAT behind when running away in 2.22, it's picked up by Rei because she still has an emotional connection to Shinji she wants to keep, then in 3.33, the SDAT is the only thing Shinji has left of his previous life and has, in a sense, been left behind by Rei for Shinji to pick up, then Shinji gives the SDAT to Kaworu because he trusts him and Kaworu is the one with whom he has the largest emotional connection right now and then Kaworu fixes it and gives it back to Shinji because he loves and cares for him and then after Kaworu's death as he is picked up by Asuka, Shinji leaves the SDAT behind because he is in such a horrible place he can't even think about emotional connections (and has perhaps metaphorically forsaken them), with Rei Q then picking it up because she is curious about emotional connections and is discovering her identity.
The SDAT is very important in NTE and I don't think that these parallel shots are just there because Anno thinks they look nice; we should have more trust in the man.

[dzzthink]

In the opening of evangelion 3.33, Eva-01 destroys Mark.04 unit with a purple beam of light from its eyes. This resembles the final fight in evangelion 2.22 when Shinji battles the tenth angel. Could be that this is Shinji's special kamehameha or something. He seems to use it when trying to save somebody he cares for (Rei and Asuka)

[ShinjiStranglesAsuka]

Eye lazor does seem to be Unit-01's preferred weapon of choice after awakening.

[andreh]

Maybe it was already posted, but...:

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[Gendo'sPapa]

Good catch!

No one has shown image parallels I think but this backs up what I said earlier in this thread how the opening of 3.0+1.0 redoes the ending of 1.0 in a new context. I wouldn't be surprised if we'll see a lot of this happen in the final film.

[dzzthink]

Robersora: It's possible, but like Reichu said, Anno is far smarter than that. And the SDAT seems to have a far grander importance in NTE than it ever had in the originals. I've thought about it and it's very possible that it's a way for Anno to showcase the emotional connections between the characters (at least). Think about it: Gendo leaves the SDAT behind and Shinji picks it up because he still has an emotional connection with his father he wants to keep, then after Shinji leaves the SDAT behind when running away in 2.22, it's picked up by Rei because she still has an emotional connection to Shinji she wants to keep, then in 3.33, the SDAT is the only thing Shinji has left of his previous life and has, in a sense, been left behind by Rei for Shinji to pick up, then Shinji gives the SDAT to Kaworu because he trusts him and Kaworu is the one with whom he has the largest emotional connection right now and then Kaworu fixes it and gives it back to Shinji because he loves and cares for him and then after Kaworu's death as he is picked up by Asuka, Shinji leaves the SDAT behind because he is in such a horrible place he can't even think about emotional connections (and has perhaps metaphorically forsaken them), with Rei Q then picking it up because she is curious about emotional connections and is discovering her identity.
The SDAT is very important in NTE and I don't think that these parallel shots are just there because Anno thinks they look nice; we should have more trust in the man.

Although not a direct parallel, there is a scene in 1.11 with Rei's holding onto Gendo's glasses before fighting the 6th Angel, Ramiel. The fact that she is now holding onto Shinji SDAT instead of the glasses when fighting an Angel in 2.22 is symbolic of her choosing Shinji over Gendo. Note that in the scene where she sacrifices herself, she does it so that Shinji 'doesn't have to pilot an Eva anymore', so she is doing this for Shinji's sake and not just following Gendo's orders. Her original connection with Gendo (glasses) has been replaced with her connection with Shinji (SDAT).



Similarly, by the end of 3.33, we see ReiQ begin to question her identity and her allegiance to Gendo and we are left with the possibility that she will pick up the SDAT that Shinji drops in the end. This will be crucial to how instrumentality will turn out in the final movie since, just like in EoE, it may be the case that the Rei clone will hand over fate of humanity to Shinji, not Gendo, if she merges with Adam. There were some theories that the original Rei's soul is in the SDAT, so ultimately if ReiQ keeps the SDAT, she becomes connected to the original Rei (and therefore indirectly connected to Shinji) so perhaps this will determine how things will play out in the final movie. I also want to reference a scene in episode 23, where the Rei clone's eventual betrayal of Gendo in EoE is hinted at when she almost crushes Gendo's glasses. In EoE, it was rather ambiguous as why the Rei clone (who doesn't interact with Gendo or Shinji that much) would favour either Shinji or Gendo, unless there was some sort of methaphyscial reason behind it (the orginal Rei's soul resides within her somehow). Hopefully this can be explained a bit better in the Rebuild, and it could be connected with the SDAT.

[Zusuchan]

Good catch, dzzthink! That is some nice story parallelism right there. (And more proof of the SDAT's importance in NTE.)

On another manner, I'll give off these shots. Not exactly parallel, either, but seeing how people are actively posting story parallelism here as well and the nature of the shots/scenes meaning Anno intends the parallelism/intertextuality, I think they're good to post here.

In NGE ep. 24...



And then in 3.33...

[dzzthink]

The next one is also Misato-related, and pertains to the changing dynamic in her and Shinji's relationship.

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In both 1.0 and 3.0, Shinji is asking question(s) from his father, but in 3.0 Shinji does not appear to be resentful towards Gendo in this parallel and he just wants answers about the 14 year gap instead of anything related to their relationship like in 1.0.

I noticed that throughout this thread, most of the Rebuild comparisons have been with eva 3.33. This is the movie that strays away from the orginal story and takes place after a huge 14 year time skip, so the visual call-backs almost re-introduces some of the characters again. Below are some other symmetrical parallels of characters encountered in their early scenes and when they reappear in 3.33:

Rei nekkid after a bath in 1.11 and 3.33


Asuka taking the high ground in 2.22 and 3.33


Due to the lack of linearity in character development, much of what we know about the characters has been changed so that they may need to be viewed in a different light. Misato, one of the more consistent and positive characters in eva, has changed dramatically and is possibly haunted by the events of third impact. The redness in the scenes for 3.33 reflect her hostility and darker character. Asuka and Rei retain much of their personalities as Asuka is still aggressive and Rei is unfazed by nudity. However, we get get the sense some things have changed: Asuka in wearing a bandaged plug suit and eyepatch showing her past trauma, whereas Rei's lack of familiarity with Shinji is because she is now a clone.

[ShinjiStranglesAsuka]

Top image is Shinji yelling at his father at the end of 2.22 to let him pilot.

Bottom image is Shinji yelling at Misato at the beginning of 3.33 to let him pilot.

He thought that he did a good thing at the end of 2.22 by piloting and "saving" Rei, so he's once again eager to get into the robot in an attempt to make up for not helping Asuka in the 9th Angel incident. But of course Eva isn't quite so kind towards the notion of magically undoing your mistakes.

The dark red oppressive framing that's present in Reichu's early posts in this thread is also present here.

[Joseki]

I'm surprised no one posted the many Shiki/Shinji similarities in 1.0/2.0 yet

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[ShinjiStranglesAsuka]

I'm surprised no one posted the many Shiki/Shinji similarities in 1.0/2.0 yet

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I wonder if they are going to retread the whole "Shinji & Asuka are two sides of the same coin" dynamics of the original. Also noted by Sachi is that Shiki has her Gameboy as a means of escapism to parallel Shinji's SDAT.

[dzzthink]

I think there are some odd moments where there are scenes in the rebuild that copy similar scenes from the series. Quite imaginative how Rebuild is a copy and paste of the same scene but takes out or puts in the same people

Rebuild 2.0: Rei's unit 0 is eaten by the angel but then turns into that red Rei giant
series: In ep 23, before exploding Rei's unit 0 turns into a Rei giant

Rebuild 3.0: Asuka self-destructs unit 2
series: Rei self-destructs unit 00

Rebuild 2.0: Asuka gets ripped apart by dummy plug unit 1
EoE: Asuka gets ripped apart by mass production eva

Rebuild 2.0: Asuka loses her left eye
EoE: Asuka loses her left eye

Rebuild 2.0: Asuka gets infected by ninth angel
series: Asuka gets infected by zeruel

Rebuild 3.0: Shinji is stuck in Eva1 in the beginning of 3.33
series: Shinji is stuck in Eva1 in episode 20

Rebuild 3.0: Asuka is present in eva 2.0 when Kaworu descends to Lilith and fights unit 13
series: Asuka is absent in eva 2.0 when Kaworu descends to Lilith and fights unit 01

[GhostlyOcam]

There's a lot of fun parallels of NGE in Rebuild.

EoE: A Third Impact happens involving a Giant Naked Rei and Eva-01, set to a happy-sounding music.
2.0: Same as above, but with a wildly different context.

EoE: The Third Impact ends and Lilith dies, her body decays and the decapitated head falls off to the empty red Earth.
3.0: The real Third Impact already happened and turned the Earth into an uninhabitable red wastland at some point during the timeskip, presumably halted with Lilith's decapitation. I see this as Anno saying "Yes, we've gone past THAT point in NGE and we won't repeat it in Rebuild."

NGE: Kaworu's body is crushed by Shinji and only his head remains.
3.0: Kaworu's head explodes while the rest of his body mostly intact.

[robersora]

I don't know where else to put this or if anybody has ever pointed this out before, but I was looking up birthdays of the Eva cast and...

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huh.