Thoughts of the Noob. Whole Series. (NO SPOILERS)

[BEsERk EVA01]

Cool, thanks for telling me. Those commentary pages are so interesting to read, and it's lovely to see everyone else's opinions. I wonder how birdyofthemoongoddess is coming along?

[birdyofthemoongoddess]

Thanks for that. Okay. I thought the angel was familiar. Actually, I was more thinking the thing in Revelation about the creatures and the eyes everywhere, though. But, then I remembered the passage in Isaiah.

Lucifer isn't Lucifer??? whatever.

[THE Hal E. Burton 9000]

Originally in Jewish tradition, this was only a reference to a title of a Babylonian god. And the exact phrase "Lucifer" was not coined until the Vulgate (the Latin translation of the Bible) came along. The concept of Lucifer=Satan slowly gained credence during the dark ages and was reinforced with the poetic works of Dante's Inferno and John Milton's Paradise Lost.

[Sailor Star Dust]

4. What is his listening to? He must really like tracks 25 and 26.

See here: http://evacommentary.org/episode-04/episode-04A-scene2A.html#cut036

[slothen]

oh god are you seriously watching NGE on youtube? you deserve better quality. Check your pm box.

[birdyofthemoongoddess]

Episode 4. Act 2.

1. Personally, I think that Misato is rather attractive. She has long legs, dark long hair, a pretty face...

2. Kensuke (right?) is roleplaying, heh, I do that all the time *hey.. a connection!* Roleplay is "da shit". It is so amazing. Helps the time pass quickly

3. Hey, Kensuke smiled when he called out Shinji's name (last name). I think that's a bit sweet. It gives some sort of either polite-ness or care.

4. Why is the episode called Hedgehog's Dilemma?

5. imouto! I learned that word yesterday! Now I am happy because I heard it when I wasn't reading the subs and I knew what it meant! :)

6. That's interesting what Shinji said. At Kensuke's statement of wanting to pilot an Eva, Shinji replys with, "You better not. I think your mother would be worried. A slight foreshadow? (I know about the mother's souls and stuff...)

7. I am a bit fond of Touji's accent. It gives him that "tough" feeling.

8. What do cicadas have to do with telephone poles?

9. He started to cry. He must be... in such despair... Especially after having Misato blow up at him like that. Did that affect him like it is because he actually thought of her as... uh... someone "on his side" or something like that?

[birdyofthemoongoddess]

Episode 4. Act 3.

1. Poor Misato, thinking that Shinji is gone.

2. Oh, when she realizes that he's still there, the look on her face.

3. I can see where Shinji/Misato comes from. The way that they stare at one another for that amount of time.

4. "ta-tadaima..." "Okairi nasai!"

[Sailor Star Dust]

With Misato and Shinji starting at each other in that scene, it's meant to convey how Shinji is unable to express his feelings in words.

[Mr. Tines]

>> Why is the episode called Hedgehog's Dilemma?
That gets explained later on

>> imouto! I learned that word yesterday!
I really must watch the series again, having picked up much more Japanese in the interim.

>>What do cicadas have to do with telephone poles?
There are a lot of them about in Japan

[birdyofthemoongoddess]

>> Why is the episode called Hedgehog's Dilemma?
That gets explained later on

>> imouto! I learned that word yesterday!
I really must watch the series again, having picked up much more Japanese in the interim.

>>What do cicadas have to do with telephone poles?
There are a lot of them about in Japan

yes, it got explained.

Yes, I know that there are a lot in Japan, but... every OTHER anime where cicadas are heard... it only plays the sound while a telephone pole or trafficklight is showing! I mean... what is up with that??? why not play the sound while showing the characters walk down the street... *sigh* I don't know...

[Eva Yojimbo]

1. Personally, I think that Misato is rather attractive. She has long legs, dark long hair, a pretty face...

2. Kensuke (right?) is roleplaying, heh, I do that all the time *hey.. a connection!* Roleplay is "da shit". It is so amazing. Helps the time pass quickly

3. Hey, Kensuke smiled when he called out Shinji's name (last name). I think that's a bit sweet. It gives some sort of either polite-ness or care.

4. Why is the episode called Hedgehog's Dilemma?

5. imouto! I learned that word yesterday! Now I am happy because I heard it when I wasn't reading the subs and I knew what it meant! :)

6. That's interesting what Shinji said. At Kensuke's statement of wanting to pilot an Eva, Shinji replys with, "You better not. I think your mother would be worried. A slight foreshadow? (I know about the mother's souls and stuff...)

7. I am a bit fond of Touji's accent. It gives him that "tough" feeling.

8. What do cicadas have to do with telephone poles?

9. He started to cry. He must be... in such despair... Especially after having Misato blow up at him like that. Did that affect him like it is because he actually thought of her as... uh... someone "on his side" or something like that?

1. No argument from me. Though I've never really been that into anime babes (I'll probably get hell for that).

2. Yep. I did that all the time as a kid. It's nice that we even get a good look at lesser characters' personalities.

3. Interesting.

4. It's a real term, and you might be able to figure it out without looking it up. What dilemma might a hedgehog have in relation to other hedgehogs?

5. I'm constantly learning new Japanese words through series - though I'm not actively trying to learn the language (I probably should though).

6. A bit of a foreshadowing to the significance of motherhood in the series.

7. I've heard it's dead on for whatever region he was trying to portray (I wouldn't know).

8. Huh?

9. I don't think he thought of her like that. I think he was just upset after getting yelled out by his closest friend there.

1. Poor Misato, thinking that Shinji is gone.

2. Oh, when she realizes that he's still there, the look on her face.

3. I can see where Shinji/Misato comes from. The way that they stare at one another for that amount of time.

4. "ta-tadaima..." "Okairi nasai!"

1. Yep.

2. Yep.

3. Sometimes things can't be said in words.

4. The first of many mini-motifs in NGE.

[UrsusArctos]

7. I am a bit fond of Touji's accent. It gives him that "tough" feeling.

8. What do cicadas have to do with telephone poles?

7. That's an Osakan accent. When Toji's and Kensuke's IDs pop up in Episode 04, you can see that Toji has an address in Osaka (Even though he lives in Tokyo-3. Also note another oddity- the birthdates in Japanese and English aren't the same)

8. Cicadas are always heard outdoors to indicate that Japan is in perpetual summer following 2I, since cicadas are heard in summer. Telephone and electrical poles appear to be a motif for civilization, and where there are poles and wires, there's civilization.

[BrikHaus]

Episode 4 bores the crap out of me. Literally. Whenever I watch it I have this immense urge to use the bathroom.

[Shiro]

Guess you're not into the whole "subtle" character development thing. lol.

I really wasn't a huge fan of 4 either though, but I can see that it's a well done episode.

[CitizenGeek]

Episode 4 bores the crap out of me. Literally. Whenever I watch it I have this immense urge to use the bathroom.

I love episode 4, actually! It's great! The last scene with the long pause was one of the first times I realized that Evangelion isn't going to be like other anime.

[THE Hal E. Burton 9000]

Yeah, I felt that way too.

Though I agree with Brik-kun that in the long run and plot-wise it was not a very important episode.

[CitizenGeek]

Though I agree with Brik-kun that in the long run and plot-wise it was not a very important episode.

... Where did BrikHaus say that?

And Shinji runs away in episode 4, running away is a pretty big theme in Eva, I would have thought?

[birdyofthemoongoddess]

Episode 4 bores the crap out of me. Literally. Whenever I watch it I have this immense urge to use the bathroom.

I love episode 4, actually! It's great! The last scene with the long pause was one of the first times I realized that Evangelion isn't going to be like other anime.

Being the romantic I am, that scene shows a sense of... well, to me... my thoughts are:

This is the first time Shinji has actually had someone try to come after him... He tells himself to not run away, yet he still does... a habit? And, everyone knows he's just a "lost cause" anyway... so, he knows that no one will try to get him back... and, when the men come and get him from Kensuke's tent... he doesn't really act too surprised. Seeing as they're just NERV agents, they just want him back because he's a pilot. They don't actually care about him. But, then Misato finally gets it... she starts to understand what's happening. So, when she thinks that she missed Shinji getting on the train, she feels horrible... almost in despair. But, Shinji appears... and when he sees that Misato actually came after him... that she actually cared enough about HIM to try to prevent him from just running away like always... I mean, obviously, she had to since they had already talked about it and she told him just to leave if he was only staying for the reasons he was staying for... To me, that shows that Shinji has found... a friend. Someone who gives a fucking shit about what happens to him (unlike his faggot of a father). Misato has an urge to help him, she cares about him even though he's "not lovable" according to her... Yet, she wants to... keep him safe? She wants to know he's okay. She wants to help him. And, Shinji has never had anyone want that for him before.

That's what I make of it.

8. What do cicadas have to do with telephone poles?

8. Cicadas are always heard outdoors to indicate that Japan is in perpetual summer following 2I, since cicadas are heard in summer. Telephone and electrical poles appear to be a motif for civilization, and where there are poles and wires, there's civilization.

No no... I mean... in ALL ANIME I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!!!!!!!! whenever there are cicada sounds... they are played while a picture of a telephone pole or of streetlights are shown... Every. Single. Time. Why? Not just in EVA!!! In Kare Kano... in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei... WHY WHY?!?!?!

[Mr. Tines]

Cicadas are part of the sounds of summer. Even though it's nearly 40 years since I lived in Australia, which does have cicadas, I still find the silence of a really hot day in this country uncanny. The heat should seethe with the rasping of their call.

Coupled with a static shot of some street furniture, it's a good way of establishing scene for a few seconds (and saving on budget).

[THE Hal E. Burton 9000]

Yeah, those cicadas are often heard in the hotter summer days here in the central plains of the US.