Q's original story/stage greeting with Anno [split]

[Kendrix]

i think right after 2.0 we did have a few ppl wondering if Shinji would appear at all or if he would be MIA for a significant portion of it

i wish i could recall who it was to award them a cookie

[Konja7]

Thank you very much for your translations Nuclear Lunchbox.

Editing in tweet three:

Near-Third Impact in Ha → Gendo ousted → Kaworu and Kaji assume command in Gendo's absence, aid in the preservation of NERV and in protecting Misato and co. → Gendo somehow reassumes command at NERV → Gendo uses SEELE, another battle occurs, starts Third Impact → Kaji dies to stop Third Impact → WILLE is born → Q begins

Editing in tweet four:

Regarding Kaworu, Kaji, and the reason they assumed command and assistance duties at Nerv, Kaworu did it for Shinji, while Kaji did it to take care of his seed research and to help Misato plus the WILLE faction. Both of them had their own interests to take care of, as well as the people they loved and wanted to see happy, and worked together to that end.

So, the chain of events in tweet three seems to be based in the information that Anno gives in the greeting, right?


I hadn't read the tweet four before, but it's pretty interesting how Kaji and Kaworu end up working together. And they protect Misato and the others.

I think my theory that Kaworu was protecting WILLE during the 14 years timeskip has become stronger.

[Szmitten]

- Q was supposed to not feature Shinji at all
- ultimately Anno thought it would be bad for the film if the main character wouldn't appear at all and hence Q's start was changed to when Shinji "wakes up", giving birth to lost 14 years

I don't remember where I said this so I can't dig up and say I called it but I'm amazed I was proved right by having Anno literally say it.

[TyroLuuki]

Regarding Kaworu, Kaji, and the reason they assumed command and assistance duties at Nerv, Kaworu did it for Shinji, while Kaji did it to take care of his seed research and to help Misato plus the WILLE faction. Both of them had their own interests to take care of, as well as the people they loved and wanted to see happy, and worked together to that end.

That's so sweet, I really wish we got to see more of Kaworu and Kaji's friendship. Thanks for the translations!

[BusterMachine4]

We've... speculated about this since before you hit puberty.

Yeah, I know that. It's kind of mind-boggling to think about just how long the Rebuild series has been going on. It's just that the sweet taste of vindication was too good to pass up.

And those human-translated tweets do clarify a lot. So Gendo didn't just leave NERV for some reason, he was actually kicked out for causing the Near Third Impact. I assume that he was able to retake control by regaining SEELE's favor in some way, although how still remains a mystery.

Finally, editing in the tweet showing the image from episode 20:

At the final stage greeting for Shin Eva, Director Anno said that in episode 20 of NGE, in the scene with Kaji and Misato where the camera focuses on the dresser, he told TV Tokyo, "It's a massage scene" in order to get permission to broadcast it.

Apparently the crowd went nuts.

LOL, that's pretty funny. I do feel like the maturity level of the original series was restricted by TV Tokyo's censorship, though. Not just how they weren't allowed to directly show sexual stuff (leading to the featureless breasts in Episode 20 and the original Episode 23), but also how they weren't allowed to have children die in the series (leading to a last-minute rewrite of Episodes 18 and 19 to have Toji survive). That's one of the reasons why EoE is my preferred ending to the series: being a theatrical movie instead of a prime-time series allowed it to tackle taboo subjects much more effectively. That's a bit off-topic, though.

[ElMariachi]

Editing in tweet three:

Near-Third Impact in Ha → Gendo ousted → Kaworu and Kaji assume command in Gendo's absence, aid in the preservation of NERV and in protecting Misato and co. → Gendo somehow reassumes command at NERV → Gendo uses SEELE, another battle occurs, starts Third Impact → Kaji dies to stop Third Impact → WILLE is born → Q begins

So when you say "Gendo uses SEELE, another battle occurs, starts Third Impact", do you mean that Gendo uses SEELE, then there's a battle, then Gendo starts Third Impact, or that Gendo used SEELE, then there was a battle and Third Impact happens somehow?

Finally, editing in the tweet showing the image from episode 20:

At the final stage greeting for Shin Eva, Director Anno said that in episode 20 of NGE, in the scene with Kaji and Misato where the camera focuses on the dresser, he told TV Tokyo, "It's a massage scene" in order to get permission to broadcast it.

Apparently the crowd went nuts.

... how the hell did he pulled it off!? There's an opened condom on the drawer ffs!

[BernardoCairo]

Regarding Kaworu, Kaji, and the reason they assumed command and assistance duties at Nerv, Kaworu did it for Shinji, while Kaji did it to take care of his seed research and to help Misato plus the WILLE faction. Both of them had their own interests to take care of, as well as the people they loved and wanted to see happy, and worked together to that end.

I like this weird side of Kaworu. He is definitely different from his other versions. That said, he gives me similar vibes to his older selves. That's probably because of the "loop" and its implications.
He did all this for a guy who didn't even know him at the time. That's a crazy and a bit creepy, to be honest. He's almost like one of those rabid fans (lol). It's an interesting dynamic.

[Kendrix]

It's just a consequence of the multiverse thing - Kaworu arguably did know him, possibly for very long depending on how many loops there were, & likely very intimately if Shinji went & spilled his sorrows & life story every time. (& Shinji likely does remember everything by the end)

Certainly Kaworu has this error of trying to make others happy to get a vicarious joy or just simply their attention/affection instead of openly communicating his own needs, but that's a pretty common problem for people to have even if there's normally no time-travel involved, especially as a response to adversity.

[FelipeFritschF]

This is why I really lament the timeskip not being shown. I feel it's a waste of Kaworu's character to not see him interact with characters other than Shinji. I'm particularly interested in how he'd handle Asuka. Perhaps Tsurumaki or someone else will make 3.0-1.0 (g-get it) one day. NTE's Shinji-centrism always annoyed me, even though I understand it was necessary. I don't like seeing the other characters without autonomy.

[Pluto]

I'm glad this was brought up at the stage greeting. The 14 year timeskip movie [without Shinji] would be something I'd really like to see so it's nice that we have some details now.

[Nuclear Lunchbox]

So when you say "Gendo uses SEELE, another battle occurs, starts Third Impact", do you mean that Gendo uses SEELE, then there's a battle, then Gendo starts Third Impact, or that Gendo used SEELE, then there was a battle and Third Impact happens somehow?

The Japanese says that Gendo uses/utilizes SEELE, and starts Third Impact through a "joint struggle", which I think implies that SEELE was on Gendo's side. It's not "Third Impact is started", it's "Gendo starts Third Impact".

[Kendrix]

aha, thanks for the clarification. So there was a bit of an "enemy mine" situation when it looked like the good guys would win.
SEELE probably realized that neither Kaworu nor Kaji were truly on their side & were forced to resort to their old henchmen.

Certainly a low point/ even horizon for Gendo, since he supposedly started all this to stop SEELE, but it seems he wants the world saved in the exact way that he wants (that just so happens to be the option that lets him meet his wife), though its possible that he nominally believed the third option simply doesn't exist, refusing to believe his lying eyes like the fanatic he is.

I wonder when exactly Ritsuko defected. That would have been interesting too to see how Misato won her over.

[Konja7]

aha, thanks for the clarification. So there was a bit of an "enemy mine" situation when it looked like the good guys would win.
SEELE probably realized that neither Kaworu nor Kaji were truly on their side & were forced to resort to their old henchmen.

Yeah. SEELE's plan needed Mark-06 and Kaworu for the Third Impact. That plan was ruined from the start, since Kaworu was never on their side.

Maybe SEELE don't dicovered (at that point) that Kaworu wasn't on their side, but Kaworu sabotaged SEELE's plan so much that it was impossible to use it.

In that situation, Gendo likely return to "help" SEELE. I guess he uses the Near Third Impact (somehow) to start the Third Impact.

[LightDragonman]

Gotta say, all these details would've really made the film easier to swallow. Leaving it out just for the sake of "feeling like Shinji" isn't an even trade imo.

[Kendrix]

In that situation, Gendo likely return to "help" SEELE. I guess he uses the Near Third Impact (somehow) to start the Third Impact.

That's a very good idea, actually.
In 2.0 it's clear that they meant for the Mk. 6 to be "The True Evangelion", but it must have become unusable, either because of Kaworu's betrayal or some unforeseen circumstance, something to do with how it came to be "modified to be autonomous" and possibly merged with Sweatervest Rei.

So, like in EoE, they resort to using EVA 01 after their own plans fail.... and Gendo would definitely want EVA 01 unsealed to the point of doing SEELE's bidding to get at it. Not only is it his trump card, his whole family is stuck in there lol

...poor Kaworu, though. He rebels, probably overcoming much of his inner fatalism to do so (I presume, with Kaji's help), he thinks he's making a difference, but then things turn out even worse, ending with his mentor figure dead and Shinji stranded in space and otherwise an utter failure. (the silver lining being that Misato & co lived & took over the Wunder due to their actions)
I can just see Kaji stepping up to take the bullet in Kaworu's stead ("It's the grownup's job") hence why Kaworu says that Kaji "saved" him.

I wouldn't be surprised if Kaworu blamed himself for the third impact as much as Shinji, further building on the symmetry that we see when each puts the fourth completely on himself.

Now I've previously stated that I don't want more material that would be tacked-on cashcowism, but as long as it were based on the original plans, I would actually very much welcome a timeskip movie if khara ever runs out of moneys. Or at least publish a draft!

Bonus points if Mari & Asuka double pilot against the 11th angel.

[Konja7]

I wonder if Rei II's soul could have been extracted from Eva-01 and put in a new body in this Q movie that never happened.

In Shin, it is never explained why Rei's soul has long hair.

[BernardoCairo]

It's just a consequence of the multiverse thing - Kaworu arguably did know him

Sure, it's a weird scenario. However, as you said, Kaworu's flaws are pretty common in real life. He just takes it to the extreme. I wonder if he has always been like this or if it's something he developed after meeting Shinji again and again. I also wonder if they ever had time to get to know each other properly (since Kaworu dies too quickly in all the realities we've seen).

I wonder when exactly Ritsuko defected

Yeah, this is something that I've always been curious about! We don't know if Ritsuko felt something for Gendo in NTE. That said, it all boils down to how much she knew about what was going on. The original Ritsuko was a key player in the preparations for Human Instrumentality. That may not be the case here. It's possible that she was just as surprised as everyone else when the "truth" was revealed. It's also possible that Misato deftly took advantage of their friendship to secure Ritsuko's help. We'll never know.

I wonder if the Curse of Eva would have been introduced in this movie or if they would have saved it for FINAL. That's so important to Asuka's character and, in turn, Shin as a whole. Perhaps it would have been wise to explore the early stages of Shikinami's condition here. I wonder how she initially reacted to these "bodily changes". She also has to deal with an angel in her eye, of course.
I wonder what it was like to get out of confinement. Did Mari try to help her? I mean, she's an expert when it comes to the Curse of Eva. What about Misato? How did she handle Asuka? Again, we'll never know.

[ElMariachi]

The Japanese says that Gendo uses/utilizes SEELE, and starts Third Impact through a "joint struggle", which I think implies that SEELE was on Gendo's side. It's not "Third Impact is started", it's "Gendo starts Third Impact".

Thanks for the precision. I always thought that the whole thing with Mark.06 and the spears had all the trapping of a ritual to control an Impact, unlike the "wild" one that was N3I.

This movie would had answered quite a lot of questions about the circumstances surrounding Third Impact, such as when exactly was Unit 01 yeeted in space, how did SEELE circumvent Kaworu's lack of cooperation (and more importantly, why did they keep him around after he ruined their initial plan) or what the hell that weird magitech seal around Lilith's Chamber.

[Konja7]

Certainly a low point/ even horizon for Gendo, since he supposedly started all this to stop SEELE, but it seems he wants the world saved in the exact way that he wants (that just so happens to be the option that lets him meet his wife), though its possible that he nominally believed the third option simply doesn't exist, refusing to believe his lying eyes like the fanatic he is.

I suspect Gendo's manipulation make the Third Impact go against SEELE's plan at some point (even before Kaji sacrificed to stop it).

In the Third Impact, humans were becoming FoL creatures (Infinity), which was SEELE's goal. However, these creatures lost their heads and become Failures of the Infinity at some point in the Third Impact.

I think Gendo manipulated things so the Fourth Impact (to "purify" souls) would be necessary for SEELE.

how did SEELE circumvent Kaworu's lack of cooperation (and more importantly, why did they keep him around after he ruined their initial plan)

SEELE needs Kaworu for the Fourth Impact. So, even if they notice Kaworu isn't on their side, they would need to keep him around.

Unlike Rei, it doesn't seem NERV could create another Kaworu.

[Giji Shinka]

So 3.0 preview at the end of 2.0 is indeed still canon.