Gendo's Mysterious Induction, or, How I Ate My Husband

[cat42]

Never is it stated that plants and/or animals are Lilith, or even Adam-based...

19 C. Confidential Information

The white giant crucified in Terminal Dogma, who bore life such as monkeys and
dolphins, and, as the final form, Lilim -- that is, humankind...

[Katayoku no Tenshi]

Futhermore:

D. In-Depth Information (Revised)

The other Seed of Life, Adam, was awakened by humankind. The Katsuragi Investigation Team frantically attempted to reseal her using the Spear of Longinus, but failed. Ultimately, through the phenomenon of the S2 Engine apparently going into overdrive by artificial means (details are vague due to the team's complete annihilation), it became that only an absolute catastrophe -- the resetting of all life due to the disappearance of A.T. Fields, and the construction of an ecosystem with an Adam base -- was prevented. This is called the Second Impact. The incident blew Adam completely apart.

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

How is there no motive with Yui? In 19, Gendo says that she's rejected him. Plus he abandoned his son for some bullshit reason! Yui would know this, and of course not approve. Would you paint Yui as a flippant mother and Naoko-esque? Even bad mothers would be pissed off.

I've heard the vengeful mother theory before. My biggest problems with it are:

a) Yui herself abandoned her son for her duty, and so is in a weak position for moral grandstanding.
b) Yui appears to listen to and understand Gendou's reasons for "running away" from Shinji only moments before he is dispatched. The transition between "Saint Yui" and Demonic Unit-01 is incongruous.
c) With Yui as his dispatcher, Gendou's punishment outweighs his crime. If indeed he is excluded from instrumentality, evidenced by the lack of tangification, then his punishment is too severe for simply being a terrible father.

So if DU-01 is Yui, then she is a hypocritical judge, sympathetic jury and overzealous executioner. Yui simply does not fit smoothly into the sequence of events presented. Shinji on the other hand has been building up to this moment for 26 episodes.

Also, how do you explain the "Thank you to my father" (26.) Because of the "I'm sorry, Shinji"?

To be honest. I have no idea how Gendou's presence in the "Congratulations" scene is reconcilable with just about anything in End Of Evangelion.

[Mr. Tines]

Never is it stated that plants and/or animals are Lilith, or even Adam-based.

There is the implication, given the date of First Impact, confirmed by the CI. But don't worry, Anno's no worse off than Larry Niven, and the problem of human ancestry in his Known Sapce setting.

[Nukie]

I'll address your points here as best I can.

a) One could say that she only temporarily left him, and only did it to ensure his "brighter future." Although you are right, it is hypocritical.

b) To me, Yui seemed pleasantly, almost suspiciously neutral. She is shown talking down to Gendo, and lecturing to him along with Kaworu and Rei about his mistakes. She also changes into her purple shirt. What is the reason for this? It could be nothing, or it could be a subtle hint of whats to come.

In addition, the demon/saint dichotomy of Yui has been established in the show. As a human, she is shown as kind, soft spoken and loving toward her son. As an Eva, she is primal, blood thirsty and incredibly violent. In #16, she both embraces her son and roars in triumph while bathing in the blood of her enemy. While not as blatantly obvious as it is in #26, this dual nature of Yui is established (in my eyes.)

c) I'd agree with you here, especially if she allowed all of Seele to join in the soul orgy. The only thing I can think of is Gendo hurt her child, the one she loved the most, and thus rationality was not a factor; it was a revenge driven munch.

While I am a personal fan of the Vengeful Mother theory, I'm really just playing devils advocate. Your theory is much more interesting.

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

She also changes into her purple shirt. What is the reason for this? It could be nothing, or it could be a subtle hint of whats to come.

My opinion is that the changing shirt is the visual equivilent of the distant sound of an oncoming train, or rolling thunder. As Yui is physically still Unit-01, I would see this as her somehow "resonating" with DU-01's foreboding approach.

In addition, the demon/saint dichotomy of Yui has been established in the show. As a human, she is shown as kind, soft spoken and loving toward her son. As an Eva, she is primal, blood thirsty and incredibly violent.

Though the contrast between Yui and the Eva is clear, what we see in episode #26' is something substantially different from all other appearances of Unit-01. Even in episode #19, the Eva skins is still pink and intact, with the fingernails neat and trim, as in episode #03. DU-01 is a substantially different affair, with no skin at all and an exposed muscle structure. The fingernails on the hands are also long and sharp in classic "claw" style. We are a step far above the normal bestial eva, and the transition from Yui to DU-01 is sharper and faster than anything perviously encountered.

c) I'd agree with you here, especially if she allowed all of Seele to join in the soul orgy. The only thing I can think of is Gendo hurt her child, the one she loved the most, and thus rationality was not a factor; it was a revenge driven munch.

I'm in disagreement with the view that Yui harboured deep resentment towards Gendou for his rejection of Shinji. She does not suggest this in her tone or words to him beforehand, and even sympathises to a degree. It's a popular opinion that Yui is a vengeful mother, but I don't see any real evidence for this. Yui never comes across as the vengeful type. And as has been mentioned, she herself is not entirely blameless in the matter. And even if this is the case, once again does the punishment fit the crime?

While I am a personal fan of the Vengeful Mother theory, I'm really just playing devils advocate. Your theory is much more interesting.

I think it fits more smoothly into the scene, the episode and especially into the shows overall framework. A confrontation between Shinji and Gendou has been brewing since episode #01. EoTV never really addressed this, but I don't think Anno has left it out of EoE either. I have a very "Shinji centric" view of Evangelion, but I think I'm justified in this instance.

[C4]

Remember, at the advent of third impact, the distinction between reality and the dreamscape are becoming blurred. I think it's clear that the real Unit-01 is still floating above the Geofront. This Demonic Unit-01, along with the Rei's, Yui and Kaworu, seems to be a kind of projection, but I think it's a very powerful one. But rather than get into specifics about the actual physical reality of the scene, I will argue that the events depicted in can also be sen as allegorical in nature. A kind of dreamscape made flesh, or at least a dreamscape interpretation of some event in reality, namely, Gendou's rejection from complementation.

What we are seeing may or may not be "real". But the events we do see are a representation of underlying events in reality.

As this scene being a "projection", I'm more inclined to believe in this; but as far as whose projection this is:

Yui: Never been a big fan of the "Vengeful Mother" theory; she was Gendo's wife before she was Shinji's mother, so I would imagine that she cares just as much for Gendo as she does for Shinji, and wouldn't choose one over the other. I also don't believed that Yui stopped loving Gendo because he was a bad father. Ultimately, all he wanted was to be reunited with Yui, and I think she understands why he did the things he did.

Shinji: Shinji hates his father, or at least, part of him does. Seeing him as finally getting even with his father makes sense. He did wish that "everybody should just die," so another way to look at it was that since he hates everyone, he had them all meet the same fate. Since he hates his father more than everyone else, he met the same fate in a harsher way.

Gendo: Though there is support for Shinji, there's as much support, in my view for Gendo being causing this vision to occur. The dialogue before the scene is all about how Gendo rejected the hearts of everyone around him, and set up barriers to be safe from the bonds that people form. Outside, he knows that instrumentality is happening; AT fields, the barriers that we construct to divide ourselves, are disappearing; and all mankind is being bonded. It makes the most sense for me, that Gendo, at this moment, chooses to accept the destruction of barrier,(not that he had a choice to keep his barrier, but it's huge character evolution) and accept his bond to humanity, and thus, repents to the two people that he cared about most; Yui and Shinji in Unit-01.

[Anonymous_Evafan]

Those wacky ATF projections are able to interact with the physical world. Case in point, Ritsuko's imposter typing on Maya's labtop.

[Reichu]

c) With Yui as his dispatcher, Gendou's punishment outweighs his crime. If indeed he is excluded from instrumentality, evidenced by the lack of tangification, then his punishment is too severe for simply being a terrible father.

Where's this "exclusion from Tangification" stuff come from?

I pointed out earlier that his top half gets bitten off and spirited away, and the potential significance thereof.

And, quite predictably, the "DU-01/Shinji" stuff really doesn't cut it for me.

I find that the visual parallelism (Shinji/EVA-01 in #25 and Gendo/EVA-01 in #26'), Yui's visual evolution, and whatever else I mentioned earlier isolates Yui as the culprit in a perfectly satisfactory manner. IMHO, you're getting too hung up on the matter of Yui's motivations (why she would partially devour her husband, or whatever). For me, this is really a non-issue.

First of all, my proposal didn't actually (as far as I recall) demand that Yui's own motivations be a prime factor in what happened to Gendo.

And secondly -- let's be perfectly honest here. Yui's motivations are, as a general rule, incomprehensible.

For example: The loving mother takes her little boy headfirst into a living hell in which he will have his ego systematically ripped apart to the point where he'll provide the mortal spark for the fuse to Instrumentality. The loving wife slobberingly bites her husband's upper torso off and leaves the rest to think about all the naughty things it did with the Akagi women. And then she floats off and grows hair, which is bound to look absolutely ghastly on an Eva. What on Earth is this crazy woman thinking?

Who knows. Anno probably doesn't.

To be honest. I have no idea how Gendou's presence in the "Congratulations" scene is reconcilable with just about anything in End Of Evangelion.

I don't see why there needs to be a conflict at all.

"Please forgive me, Shinji." --> "To my father, thank you."

Perhaps a reexamination of your ideas is in order.

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

Where's this "exclusion from Tangification" stuff come from?

I pointed out earlier that his top half gets bitten off and spirited away, and the potential significance thereof.

From Gendou's own mouth. His talk of his "retribution/punishment" implies he is paying some kind of price here, and temporary pain is unlikely currency. If he is in fact going to join Yui forever, then as that is what he probably always wanted, the line does not fit. Such a fate would be a reward, not a punishment. If his fate is simple complementation, the absense of tangification also does not fit.

This is his "retribution". For what? Abandoning Yui's son? She's lost the moral high groud herself in this regard, and moreover was even understanding of the situation. His many and terrible deeds? If so, Chairman Keel and Co have escaped relatively lightly for theirs. No. There's only one person with enough enmity towards Gendou to both take him away from his wife and exclude him from instrumentality, who has both the means and oppertunity to do so. And that's Shinji

And, quite predictably, the "DU-01/Shinji" stuff really doesn't cut it for me.

Could you read over it once more. You're the person I had most in mind as I was writing it.

I find that the visual parallelism (Shinji/EVA-01 in #25 and Gendo/EVA-01 in #26'), Yui's visual evolution, and whatever else I mentioned earlier isolates Yui as the culprit in a perfectly satisfactory manner.

Just on the #25 imagery, something you mentioned before

...where Shinji encounters this dark, looming, stylized Eva against a red backdrop, the visual manifestation of what "EVA-01" means to him at this point.

I think that this is correct. the images we see in #25 are a visual manifestation of what Unit-01 means to Shinji. He views it as a monsterous shadow on a red background. It's unlikely that Yui chose to present herself to him in this form. In other words, if Shinji were to manifest himself as Unit-01, this is how he would "imagine himself"(in his own heart).

On the #25 imagery. I really think is is Shinji's personal view of Eva, and not Yui's doing. Going by concurrency of EoTV and EoE, instrumentality probably hasn't begun yet. We have yet to progress through Misato at the lake, Shinji's suicide attempt, Asuka in Unit-02 and Rei and Gendou's meeting. This is probably either Shinji reflecting on his relationship with the Evangelion and his mother, or some sort of communication with the Eva while still inside it shortly following the death of Kaworu. In either case, this is how Shinji sees the Eva, which is another clue as to the unusually strong appearance of DU-01.

IMHO, you're getting too hung up on the matter of Yui's motivations (why she would partially devour her husband, or whatever). For me, this is really a non-issue.

Isn't that the whole point? If we are to understand this scene at all, we need to know why this is happenning. A motivationless Yui just doing things on a whim doesn't really sound convincing. I think even Gendou deserves a little more showmanship.

I think the problem here is the automatic assumption that Unit-01==Yui, and as such when we see Unit-01 in any form, even this substantially different DU-01, we automatically take it to represent Yui. I think this view is mistaken. While it is true that in the great scheme of things, Yui was in Unit-01 all along, this does not automatically make the two inextricably linked within the show, and especially not within its more psychoanalytic imagery.

Indeed, we have one strong instance of Unit-01 not representing Yui. The episode #20 cut of Shinji blending to become Unit-01 as he attacks Gendou. Here very clearly, Unit-01 is the form that Shinji adopts for himself in his own mind. It's the mantle he dons to show his anger and rage. We are certainly not seeing Yui by proxy here. Unit-01 represents Shinji.

Also along this line of thought, consider the strong emphasis EoTV places on the pilots self image. Specifically how their status as pilots has become their raison d'etre. We have Asuka's breakdown as a direct result of her failure to pilot the Eva, and Shinji's regarding his very purpose in life as being the pilot of Unit-01.

Shinji (OFF):Because right now, the Eva is all I have.

Rei (OFF):Because otherwise, you can't maintain your identity.

Misato (OFF):It's true, Eva Unit 01 is a part of who you are.

RITSUKO (OFF):But if you keep clinging to the Eva, the Eva itself will become you.

Kaji (OFF):The Eva itself will become all you are.

Misato: The real you will cease to exist.

EoTV examines the consumption of Shinji's own identity by the Evangelion. He is in danger of doing what we have done with Yui. Namely, inextricably linking himself with Unit-01. We have his firends warning him that because he basis his sense of self on it, that he is in danger of becoming the Evangelion. It's appropriate then that we would see Shinji represented by what he has slowly become in his own mind since he has been summonned by Gendou to Tokyo-3.

If we saw some great shadowy image, or the Eva we saw was not wearing Unit-01's armour, there would be no reason to associate Yui in any way with the apparition. The only reason we have even considered her as the culprit is because we have unjustifably equated the two seperate concepts of Yui and Unit-01. The two are seperate ideas, as is proven by the episode #20 scene and Shinji identification of himself with Unit-01. He 's identifying himself with the Eva, as a concept distinct from his mother.

We have been over the existance of distinction between Yui and Unit-01 before, and I think this is the biggest problem in the Yui-centric interpretation of this scene.

[Reichu]

I think the problem here is the automatic assumption that Unit-01==Yui, and as such when we see Unit-01 in any form, even this substantially different DU-01, we automatically take it to represent Yui.

Your collective "we" doesn't include this person. I'm not making any sort of automatic assumption -- I've detailed what I think are perfectly logical reasons to associate "freaky EVA-01" (as the script calls her, funnily enough) with Yui. The more blatant ones that get shot off again and again:

Yui's visual evolution in the scene leads up to EVA-01.
The last and only other time we saw this sort of EVA-01 imagery was when she "awakened".
And throw in the paralleled scenes of the Ikari boys encountering bizarre-looking versions of EVA-01 against red, and also the right fist/Shinji left fist/Gendo symmetry.

Indeed, we have one strong instance of Unit-01 not representing Yui. The episode #20 cut of Shinji blending to become Unit-01 as he attacks Gendou. Here very clearly, Unit-01 is the form that Shinji adopts for himself in his own mind.

Mind that this is recycled footage from an episode where Shinji is obviously piloting the Eva in all his Raging Hot-Blooded Angst. Context is oh-so-important.

Also, I find the standard-issue Incomprehensible Ways of Yui-sama rather more acceptable than necessitating irreconcilability by having a disguised Shinji do all sorts of mean stuff to Gendo in EoE like send his soul into limbo or something, whereas Gendo is part of Instrumentality in EoTV and is actually THANKED* by Shinji at the end.

In any case, I really don't want to trot out the case from my initial posts all over again, so I'll say this much: If we had a quantum manifestation of Shinji going down to talk to Gendo, and then a drooling EVA-01 appeared out of nowhere to which he proceeded to say "Forgive me, Shinji", maybe I would grant your idea some credibility. But as it stands I honestly think you're, for lack of a better emoticon...



* And, as I've pointed out, this connects nicely to Gendo's little apology.

[Szmitten]

As this scene being a "projection", I'm more inclined to believe in this; but as far as whose projection this is:

Yui: Never been a big fan of the "Vengeful Mother" theory; she was Gendo's wife before she was Shinji's mother, so I would imagine that she cares just as much for Gendo as she does for Shinji, and wouldn't choose one over the other. I also don't believed that Yui stopped loving Gendo because he was a bad father. Ultimately, all he wanted was to be reunited with Yui, and I think she understands why he did the things he did.

Shinji: Shinji hates his father, or at least, part of him does. Seeing him as finally getting even with his father makes sense. He did wish that "everybody should just die," so another way to look at it was that since he hates everyone, he had them all meet the same fate. Since he hates his father more than everyone else, he met the same fate in a harsher way.

Gendo: Though there is support for Shinji, there's as much support, in my view for Gendo being causing this vision to occur. The dialogue before the scene is all about how Gendo rejected the hearts of everyone around him, and set up barriers to be safe from the bonds that people form. Outside, he knows that instrumentality is happening; AT fields, the barriers that we construct to divide ourselves, are disappearing; and all mankind is being bonded. It makes the most sense for me, that Gendo, at this moment, chooses to accept the destruction of barrier,(not that he had a choice to keep his barrier, but it's huge character evolution) and accept his bond to humanity, and thus, repents to the two people that he cared about most; Yui and Shinji in Unit-01.

I came, thread over, we have a winner, QFT, etc.

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

The more blatant ones that get shot off again and again:

Yui's visual evolution in the scene leads up to EVA-01.
The last and only other time we saw this sort of EVA-01 imagery was when she "awakened".
And throw in the paralleled scenes of the Ikari boys encountering bizarre-looking versions of EVA-01 against red, and also the right fist/Shinji left fist/Gendo symmetry.

My unaddressed counterpoints have been:
1) Yui's changing shirt could well be interpreted as resonance with the approach of Unit-01.
2) The imagery we see here is substantially different from what we have seen previously, going so far as to break the accepted "human" physical form of the Evangelions.
3) The #25 scene is Shinji's own personal interpretation of the Eva. Not Yui's and not Gendou's

Mind that this is recycled footage from an episode where Shinji is obviously piloting the Eva in all his Raging Hot-Blooded Angst. Context is oh-so-important.

What do you mean? That we should view the Unit-01 here as representing Yui? It conflicts completely with the later memory we are shown of her in this very episode, conjugally cooing over Shinji with Gendou. I think the footage is more than simply expiedient reuse. I think there's a very deliberate connection being made here. Shinji is aurally and visually more agressive in this scene than at any other. It makes no sense for him to build himself up to such a fury, only to let another strike the final blow. Unit-01 represents Shinji here. He's the one who strikes gendou, not Yui.

Also, I find the standard-issue Incomprehensible Ways of Yui-sama rather more acceptable than necessitating irreconcilability by having a disguised Shinji do all sorts of mean stuff to Gendo in EoE like send his soul into limbo or something, whereas Gendo is part of Instrumentality in EoTV and is actually THANKED* by Shinji at the end.

The single biggest problem with the Yui==DU-01 interpretation has been Yui's own motives. The image conflicts with her appearance only moments before, and to this day I have never heard a convincing explanation of her reasons, beyond the affective and unconvincing "wrathful mother" argument. But we could as well assume that she's biting off Gendou's as punishment for his torrid affairs with the Akagi's. I think there's as strong a case for "cuckolded lover" as there is for "wrathful mother". In others words, there's really no case at all.

So now, in lieu of providing such an explanation, you're actually suggesting that a rational explanation for Yui's motives is unimportant. I think this is an even bigger cop out. This is one of the most iconic and important scenes in End Of Evangelion, and you're basically passing it off as "Yui felt like it". And is that what Gendou is realising about his "punishment/retribution"? "Oh well. I knew she was like this when I married her. Implusive as a cat. This is what I get I suppose. Sorry for abandoning you to the whims of such a viper Shinji....*CHOMP*". No. I think there's more going on in this scene than that.

As to the "Forgive me Shinji" -> "Thank you Father" argument. I don't think it stands up to heavy scrutiny. I've mentioned myself before that the "Thank you Father" words seem to be a personal message from the director, unless you want to assume that Shinji is congratulating "All the Children" as well.

Apart from this there really is no parallel between Gendou in the Congratulations scene and anything in End Of Evangelion. Apart from the general idea of Intrumentality ending, the only actual parallel with Congratulations in EoE is the "I want to see them again..." image in which Gendou is very conspicuously absent.

Gendou isn't here. Neither are Fuyutsuki and Yui of course. This image probably represents, as Shinji actually says, the people he wants to see again. These are Shinji's loved ones, and note even Asuka's presence. Gendou is not here. There has been no reconciliation.

In any case, I really don't want to trot out the case from my initial posts all over again, so I'll say this much: If we had a quantum manifestation of Shinji going down to talk to Gendo, and then a drooling EVA-01 appeared out of nowhere to which he proceeded to say "Forgive me, Shinji", maybe I would grant your idea some credibility.

But isn't that one of the major problems with Yui as DU-01? She goes down to talk to Gendou. Why would someone bearing a huge animosity towards Gendou, planning to destroy him in such a monsterous form, take a little time out beforehand for a heart to heart? Do we argue for Yui the schizophrenic? She's not displaying any symptoms during their chat. Not even a twitching eyeball.

It's more likely, that anyone with enough with vehemance to dispatch Gendou as DU-01, isn't going to engaging in a little philosphical soul searching with him while they're at it. It's more likely that DU-01 is howling through the Geofront like an angry wind, and in lieu of distant rumbling thunder or an increasing rumbling, it's approach is heralded by a change of blouse. A little bathetic perhaps, but anything more obvious would spoil Yui's quiet moment with her husband.

IBut as it stands I honestly think you're, for lack of a better emoticon...

Actually, I see it more like trying to drive a rather stubborn mule.

[Eva Yojimbo]

This has been a really interesting thread and I just want to add one thing that's probably already been said, but kinda sways my opinion on the "DE-01 is Shinji" side:

That's Gendo's apology to Shinji right before being bitten. Now you could say that he's just apologizing just in general, but doesn't it seem like that line is directed AT someone? And with only Demon Sho there, it would seem, to me, he's apologizing to it, who represents Shinji.

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

That's Gendo's apology to Shinji right before being bitten. Now you could say that he's just apologizing just in general, but doesn't it seem like that line is directed AT someone? And with only Demon Sho there, it would seem, to me, he's apologizing to it, who represents Shinji.

Also there's the insert of DU-01 just as Gendou utters "Shinji", which is another big hint. Here's that clip of the scene again for reference. Gendou say "Shinji" and we have a closeup of DU-01. I think it's a subtle pointer towards the true Identity of the beast.

But apart from that, your point is important. Gendou's apology appears to be directed at someone. It's not something being said into thin air. And as he is facing DU-01 at that moment, and his apology is explicitly utter to Shinji, this is another clue in itself.

[Katayoku no Tenshi]

3) The #25 scene is Shinji's own personal interpretation of the Eva. Not Yui's and not Gendou's

He's complimentated, it's kind of everyone's.

As to the "Forgive me Shinji" -> "Thank you Father" argument. I don't think it stands up to heavy scrutiny. I've mentioned myself before that the "Thank you Father" words seem to be a personal message from the director, unless you want to assume that Shinji is congratulating "All the Children" as well.

Anno's avatar and whatnot.

[Trigger's Elysium]

Gendou isn't here. Neither are Fuyutsuki and Yui of course. This image probably represents, as Shinji actually says, the people he wants to see again. These are Shinji's loved ones, and note even Asuka's presence. Gendou is not here. There has been no reconciliation.

Y HELO THAR

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

He's complimentated, it's kind of everyone's.

Going with the concurrancy with EoE idea, complementation doesn't actually begin until the middle of episode #25. In any case, Yui presents herself as "herself" in complemetation anyway. This is Shinji's opinion of the Eva.

Y HELO THAR

Gendou, Fuyutsuki and Yui aren't in the second images, which is from EoE. The image on the left is from EoTV.

[Trigger's Elysium]

Ah, figured the second image was from the TV ending as well. I guess the endings are totally different, then.

[cat42]

Apart from this there really is no parallel between Gendou in the Congratulations scene and anything in End Of Evangelion. Apart from the general idea of Intrumentality ending, the only actual parallel with Congratulations in EoE is the "I want to see them again..." image in which Gendou is very conspicuously absent.

Gendou isn't here. Neither are Fuyutsuki and Yui of course. This image probably represents, as Shinji actually says, the people he wants to see again. These are Shinji's loved ones, and note even Asuka's presence. Gendou is not here. There has been no reconciliation.

I have a vague problem with the idea of Shinji including the bridge bunnies and Ritsuko among his "loved ones", yet he wouldn't include Fuyutsuki or Yui. While admitedly his relationship with Yui was not that close (her as a regular human, I mean), and neither is his relationship with Fuyutsuki, his relationships with the bridge bunnies were almost non-existent, and while he was friendly with Ritsuko, it was more of a "she's my superior at work" sort of thing. I also find it odd to note how obscured Rei is, and who the hell is behind Maya? I really doubt it is a cloud, given the absence of clouds elsewhere in the picture.

(EDIT)
For that matter, what the hell is that next to Hyuga's head? Is Rei holding a Spear of Longinus?