Do all Evas have thrusters?

[Kamon-san]

Hey everyone,

I have been rewatching the series lately, trying to take screen captures of the different locations, Evas, props and other details in the series. While I was doing that I noticed something in Episode 11, ''The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still''.

When the Evas fight Matariel, Eva 00 fires up thrusters located in her shoulder pylons.

SPOILER: Show

I'm pretty sure this never shows up in the series again, but I was wondering if anyone was aware of other media in which these thrusters were shown? Is this feature unique to this specific episode? Is is unique to Eva 00?

I scanned the Soul of Chogokin booklet to show you guys; it makes no mention of these thrusters either.

SPOILER: Show

(It is a nice touch that it mentions Eva 00 having the ''Needle Gun'' in her right shoulder pylon, a feature we only see Eva 02 use in the movie)

If anyone has seen these thrusters in any other Evangelion story/game/media in general, I'd be interested to know!

[TMBounty_Hunter]

I'm pretty sure the pylons are just equipment bays that you can swap for whatever the mission requires.

Alternatively you can just swap for whatever looks cool and the plot requires.

[Kamon-san]

Alternatively you can just swap for whatever looks cool and the plot requires.

That's the answer I feared/expected. I'm all too aware of convenient story writing and things only popping up in one episode, never to be shown again.

Still...maybe someone here saw this feature appear in an obscure game or spinoff manga?

[Monk Ed]

That's the answer I feared/expected. I'm all too aware of convenient story writing and things only popping up in one episode, never to be shown again.

It's not an answer to be feared. In-universe it even makes sense. The only part that's "whatever's convenient" is the fact that we don't know what modular component was picked to be in the pylon until it becomes relevant.

I don't know if I should find what I'm about to say ironic or not, but I've always found that in most cases where something is described as "convenient to the plot", it's nearly always something that I thought was much better that way. When I was reading the entry on TV Tropes for New Powers as the Plot Demands (before I stopped going to that site habitually), I found the examples to be cases where I actually liked that the thing in question wasn't explained, because that made it just so much cooler. (Of course TV Tropes is quick to point out that Tropes Are Not Bad, but I'm used to "It's convenient to the plot" being considered at best an accepted flaw implying that having an ironclad justification properly foreshadowed is always better.)

The example that comes most immediately to mind is Goku in the Freeza arc of DBZ using a mind-meld technique to learn everything he needs to know from Krillin to get him up to speed after he shows up on Namek. It was a new power as demanded by the plot, one he didn't even know he had until he just kinda did it and it worked... and that was the best way it could possibly have been presented. Not only did it (of course) facilitate the plot by removing an uninteresting complication, it really made an impression, expertly selling Goku as the holder of mysterious power even he doesn't know about yet understands intuitively when it comes to him -- because he's the natural. (And it was thus an excellent buildup event to his SSJ transformation.)

[TMBounty_Hunter]

I think it's useful to consider the ENT iteration in this case. For the new movies they had a lot more time to think this through and design things and work through most of their sequences with animatics before finalizing things. Both the old and the new sets of thrusters serve the same purpose: not flight but controlled descent. The problem is in the TV series you just barely fit the thrusters into the pylons and then no way you'll have anywhere to put fuel. New iteration gives you just enough bulk to pretend there's room to have fuel for that short burst we see.

[Kamon-san]

I don't know if I should find what I'm about to say ironic or not, but I've always found that in most cases where something is described as "convenient to the plot", it's nearly always something that I thought was much better that way.

Monk Ed: I have to agree with you on that one, I find myself feeling the same way a lot of the time.

TMBounty_Hunter: I can't believe I didn't think of 2.22! You are so right! The thrusters are different (and make more sense, yeah ) but at least it's a similar concept!

Did the ''retro'' or ''original'' thrusters appear in any combat based Eva game?

[Bagheera]

(It is a nice touch that it mentions Eva 00 having the ''Needle Gun'' in her right shoulder pylon, a feature we only see Eva 02 use in the movie)

That strikes me as bizarre, as I always thought that was a feature that came with the production model Eva. But, then again, perhaps it was installed on Rei's unit as well when it got the armor upgrade. That would make sense; Unit 02 gets all the bells and whistles right off the bat, but they're integrated into other units as circumstances provide/demand.

I think it's useful to consider the ENT iteration in this case. For the new movies they had a lot more time to think this through and design things and work through most of their sequences with animatics before finalizing things. Both the old and the new sets of thrusters serve the same purpose: not flight but controlled descent. The problem is in the TV series you just barely fit the thrusters into the pylons and then no way you'll have anywhere to put fuel. New iteration gives you just enough bulk to pretend there's room to have fuel for that short burst we see.

Yeah, I'm with you there. I don't like the new Evas much but that thruster design is pretty solid.

[Compiling_Autumn]

When I was reading the entry on TV Tropes for New Powers as the Plot Demands (before I stopped going to that site habitually), I found the examples to be cases where I actually liked that the thing in question wasn't explained, because that made it just so much cooler. (Of course TV Tropes is quick to point out that Tropes Are Not Bad, but I'm used to "It's convenient to the plot" being considered at best an accepted flaw implying that having an ironclad justification properly foreshadowed is always better.)

I'm sure that you know as well as I do that TV Tropes is just the worst website. A bunch of pseudo-analytical lames trying to slap a label on every plot twist that has ever happened in an anime.

[Guy Nacks]

I'm sure that you know as well as I do that TV Tropes is just the worst website. A bunch of pseudo-analytical lames trying to slap a label on every plot twist that has ever happened in an anime.

It is a pretty addicting site, though. But I haven't used it regularly in a couple years, so maybe not.

[Sailor Star Dust]

Did the ''retro'' or ''original'' thrusters appear in any combat based Eva game?

Don't recall seeing 'em in NGE2. But maybe Battle Orchestra? Which I haven't played.