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My Rating - 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Synopsis:
Genesis 0:1/Episode 01 - Angel Attack
The Angels have returned with their third messenger of death, Sachiel, who is
laying waste to Tokyo-3, home to NERV HQ, and the feeble resistance put up by
the entire UN force present. All of which, however, proves to be of no avail,
even the devastating power of the UN's latest addition to their arsenal, the N2
non-nuclear mine, proves to be laughable when faced with the wraith of the
Angels. As a result of the UN's ineffectiveness, command of the defence
operation is transferred to NERV.
NERV respond to the dire situation by preparing the launch of mankind's last
hope for survival; Evangelion, a bio-mechanical giant specialising in close
combat and capable of generating its own AT, Absolute Terror, field. EVA-01 is
ready, all that NERV require now is a pilot. Only children born in the aftermath
of the second impact, exactly nine months after the massacre, have the ability
to synchronise with an Evangelion and thus pilot it. The first child was found
and underwent the process of synchronising with her Eva, however, the doomed
test pilot, Rei Ayanami, lost control of her prototype Eva, EVA-00, in a
mysterious accident which left her seriously injured.
All is not lost, however, as a potential new pilot is found, the third child
Shinji Ikari, estranged son of Gendo Ikari; Commander and head scientist at NERV.
Shinji is picked up by Captain Misato Katsuragi on the day of Sachiel's attack,
however, both are caught up in the cross fire between the Angel and the UN
whilst enroute to NERV HQ. Fortunately though both Shinji and Misato make it
through with only a few scratches and Shinji is brought before his father for
the first time in three years.
Despite his reluctance to pilot EVA-01, Shinji finds himself being railroaded
into synchronising with the Eva having been alerted to backup pilot Rei's
critical condition. The synchronisation process between Shinji and EVA-01 goes
surprisingly well, Unit 01 is activated and the battle for Tokyo-3 is set.
Genesis 0:1/Episode 02 - The Beast
Shinji finally awakens, only to find himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling
from a hospital bed, but with no idea as to how he came to be there. He has no
recollection of the recent past events, including that of his battle with the
third Angel.
Whilst Shinji recovers from his ordeal, Misato and Ritsuko Akagi, one of NERV's
leading scientists, head up the salvage operation for the battle of Tokyo-3 in
which Unit 01 sustained moderate damage. Meanwhile Gendo defends himself and the
existence of NERV against extensive criticism from the UN committee who believe
that Eva was used inefficiently, and that certain top secret projects associated
with NERV are falling behind schedule.
With emotions still running high between Shinji and his father due to past
events, Shinji chooses instead to accept the sisterly Misato's invitation to
stay with her, despite Ritsuko's dim view of the whole idea. Misato takes Shinji
to get his first real glimpse of Tokyo-3, mankind's fortress against the Angels,
the city he saved, after which she takes the third child to his new home. It
soon turns out, however, that Misato isn't quite the ideal roommate Shinji had
in mind.
Later that evening, having drowned his sorrows in the bathtub, Shinji starts to
reflect on his stressful first day at NERV. In doing so he abruptly starts to
recall the memories of his first sortie in Unit 01; the battle that took place
in Tokyo-3, the heavy damage sustained to Unit 01's arm and head component and
how it eventually went berserk killing Sachiel in an all out killing frenzy. Now
his only comfort are those few words from Misato, telling him to hang in there,
as she turns in for the night.
Genesis 0:2/Episode 03 - A Transfer - The Phone That Never Rings
In order to improve his combat skills, Ritsuko's having Shinji participate in
simulated training exercises in Unit 01. It would seem though, that Shinji isn't
really interest in piloting Unit 01, he simply does as he is told, it seams to
be his way of dealing with what life has to offer. This kind of attitude towards
life and people in particular is starting to worry Misato.
Shinji turns up for his first day at his new school, however, it appears that
most of his classmates have either transferred schools or remained at home due
to the latest attack on the city. Toji Suzuhara isn't one of them though,
despite having been away for several days caring for his little sister who was
injured during the attack and hospitalised as a result. Toji is by far from
being impressed with NERV's efforts to protect the city; he blames the pilot of
Unit 01 for his sister's current condition.
Word of Shinji piloting Unit 01 soon gets out, which puts Shinji in the
spotlight having to deal with all kinds of awkward questions from his
classmates, something that he's not accustomed to and finds hard to deal with.
Meanwhile war enthusiast Kensuke Aida takes note of Shinji's every word in an
attempt to learn more about NERV. Later that day Toji catches up with Shinji,
now knowing him to be the pilot of Unit 01, and expresses his anger towards
Shinji, but not just in a verbal way.
Last time humanity had fifteen years to prepare for the return of the Angels,
now only three weeks since the third Angel's attack the fourth Angel, Shamshel,
is headed towards Tokyo-3 resuming the Angels' attack on the city. Knowing this,
NERV once again launch Unit 01 to engage the enemy and evacuate the city's
inhabitants to the designated underground shelters. They are not, however,
prepared for the intervention of Toji and Kensuke, who intend on getting a
little closer to the action, and that of the awesome new power displayed by the
latest Angel.
Genesis 0:2/Episode 04 - Rain, Escape & Afterwards - The Hedgehog's Dilemma
Misato lectures Shinji after ignoring and going against a direct order issued by
her during his last encounter with an Angel. Rather than dealing with the
situation though, Shinji chooses instead to escape his problems by running away
from them. Having taken the Tokyo-3 loop line, he wanders aimlessly around the
city and then up into the foot hills surrounding Tokyo-3 where he
unintentionally meets up with Kensuke who's out camping alone. Shinji accepts
Kensuke's hospitality and the two talk for quite some time before turning in for
the night.
The following morning NERV intelligence agents arrive to pick up Shinji and
escort him back to NERV HQ. There he finds himself again having to answer to
Misato, however, this time it would seam that she's more or less given up on
him. Misato feels that she is unable to help a child who is unwilling to adapt
to new situations, if Shinji is unwilling to continue to pilot Unit 01 then
forcing him to do so would be a waste of time.
Due to his reluctance to pilot Unit 01, Shinji chooses to leave NERV and is
formally dismissed from the organisation. But before heading off to the train
station intent on taking the next train out of Tokyo-3, Shinji is caught up by
Toji and Kensuke who wish to see him off. Toji regrets his earlier behaviour
towards Shinji and apologises.
Now preparing to leave Tokyo-3, Shinji finds himself running away from reality
yet again. Misato realises that letting Shinji leave is a mistake and so heads
off to the station hoping to catch up with him, but arrives too late only to see
the train pull away from the platform. To her delight, however, the train pulls
away leaving Shinji standing opposite her on the station's departing platform.
They stand opposite each other for quite some time before Shinji breaks the
silence with a couple of well chosen words, 'I'm home'. Misato welcomes Shinji
back with a smile and the two head back home.
Genesis 0:3/Episode 05 - Rei, Beyond Her Heart
It's been twenty two days now since the pilot of the Eva prototype, EVA-00,
mysteriously lost control of her Eva during her first attempt to synchronise
with the Unit. Twenty two days since Rei was seriously injured, despite having
been rescued by commander Ikari who opened the super heated hatch on Rei's entry
plug with his bare hands, a courageous action which left his hands permanently
scared. Now Rei is preparing herself to re-undergo the synchronisation process
with Unit 00.
Ritsuko heads up the salvage operation for the fourth Angel which, due to the
manner in which the Angel was disabled, NERV have been fortunate enough to
obtain as it's a near perfect specimen for which to study. Analysis of the Angel
reveals its structural composition, although being composed of different matter,
to be almost identical to that of humans. Whilst Ritsuko and Misato analyse the
data, Shinji notices the scaring on his father's hands whilst he examines the
Angel's corpse. Misato arrived at NERV after the incident with the prototype
Eva, however, Ritsuko knows all to well the events in question and agrees to
fill Shinji and Misato in on the details.
Later that evening, having agreed to join Misato and Shinji for dinner, Ritsuko
gives Shinji Rei's new security card to pass on. Apparently Ritsuko's forgotten
to pass on the card in person, at least that's the story, and so Shinji gets the
job, along with an excuse to go over to Rei's place. The following day Shinji
takes the card over to Rei's, however, it doesn't quite go as planed when the
third child manages to elegantly end up on top of a naked Rei on her bedroom
floor. Matter aside though, the two of them proceed together to NERV HQ where
Shinji discovers that Rei appears to have the kind of relationship with his
father that he has always longed for.
The fifth Angel, Ramiel, arrives in Tokyo-3. As the successful synchronisation
between Rei and Unit 00 has only just been completed, it's decided that Rei is
still unfit to fight and so Shinji in Unit 01 is launched. With little or no
data on the new Angel, however, this soon proves to be a huge mistake.
Genesis 0:3/Episode 06 - Showdown In Tokyo-3
The fifth Angel fires upon Unit 01 immediately after having surfaced. The attack
is made using an extremely high powered energy discharge which, due to Misato's
quick thinking to retrieve the Eva, manages to only burn through Unit 01's front
defensive armour melting it down to the third layer. Given three more seconds
though, would have resulted in the Angel shooting right through the Eva,
fortunately, however, the rest of Unit 01 remains undamaged and Shinji looks set
for a quick recovery.
To learn more about the new Angel's offensive and defensive capabilities, Misato
has UN forces move an inflatable to scale sized Unit 01 decoy into the Angel's
estimated firing range. She also has the Angel attacked with a German type 12
self-propelled mortar, both of which are vaporised instantly. The results show
the Angel to be equipped with a large firing radius and an exceptional AT field.
It's also learned that the Angel is positioned directly above the geo front,
home to NERV HQ, and is boring towards the instillation intent on attacking NERV
directly.
Due to the Angel's remarkable offensive and defensive capabilities, Misato comes
up with a plan to attack the Angel with a sniper. Commander Ikari approves the
plan and Misato is put in charge of the operation. As NERV's positron rifle is
unable to handle the massive output required to penetrate the Angel's AT field,
Misato requisitions the SSDF's new prototype self-propelled positron cannon,
meanwhile Ritsuko comes up with a novel form of temporary shielding against the
Angel's fire.
Besides the poor estimated success rate for the mission, there is also another
drawback to Misato's plan. With so much electricity being required to power the
positron cannon, at half past eleven that night the whole of Japan is scheduled
for a large scale power blackout so that NERV can get enough power to the
cannon.
With Shinji now ready as the sniper and Rei providing the defensive backup, the
plan is set and put into operation, but in a war against the Angels, even a
predicted eight point seven percent success rate isn't guaranteed.
Genesis 0:4/Episode 07 - The Human Creation
Spending so much time around the sisterly Misato is starting to have an
influence on Shinji's behaviour, he's now become accustomed to her ways, is
starting to express his feelings more freely and has even gained a little self
confidence. Again Toji and Kensuke arrive that morning with the hope of catching
a glimpse of Misato before they and Shinji, who can't understand their love
towards Misato, head of to school.
Whilst sitting in the cockpit within Unit 01's entry plug during routine tests,
Shinji becomes distracted with his past experiences with Eva and finds himself
questioning Eva's existence. Later Ritsuko reveals the truth behind the second
impact, in that a mere meteorite striking Antarctica wasn't the cause. She
states that man discovered the first Angel in Antarctica and that this discovery
lead to the second impact caused by the Angel. After the disaster NERV was
established to prevent a probable third impact and knowledge of the Angel's
existence was covered up, Misato still, however, isn't convinced that NERV's
definition of the truth is to be trusted.
On behalf of NERV, Misato and Ritsuko attend the initial activation of the Jet
Alone project, an intended low budget replacement for project Eva. The creators
of the potential Eva substitute boast its one hundred and fifty days of
continuous power supplied by an on board nuclear reactor, however, Ritsuko is
far from being impressed with the idea of a walking nuclear bomb.
NERV's scepticism is soon proved well justified as the activation of the Jet
Alone unit goes horribly wrong. It fails to respond to the commands of its
creators, which leads to the monster walking through the observation building
intent on heading towards the centre of Tokyo. With nuclear melt down imminent,
the unit out of control and failing to respond, Misato soon finds herself
heading up an operation to prevent the destruction of the city. As ordered by
Misato, Shinji piloting Unit 01 is flown in to carry out her plan, that is
Shinji will place Misato on the Jet Alone and attempt to restrain it whilst she
dissables the machine manually from within. Misato is soon in for a surprise,
however, as Jet Alone's on board computer rejects its password meaning only one
thing, sabotage!
Genesis 0:4/Episode 08 - Asuka Strikes!
Misato's put in charge of over seeing the safe arrival of EVA-02, along with its
new pilot Asuka Langley Soryu, to NERV HQ in Tokyo-3. The new cargo is being
transported aboard a UN destroyer, which in turn is being escorted by a massive
UN fleet. Shinji has also been assigned to the escort as a backup pilot and
Misato kindly agrees to let Toji and Kensuke tag along for the voyage.
Having exchanged reluctant pleasantries with the fleet's admiral, Misato has the
misfortune of running into old flame Kaji Ryoji, who's also along for the ride
on urgent business, but when he starts bringing up the past in his own
charismatic way, Misato's day can only go from good to bad. This is true also
for Asuka who has her eyes set firmly on Kaji. To make matters even worse, the
sixth Angel, Gaghiel, shows up, or rather under as it's an aquatic type, in
search of Adam.
Despite the wishes of the fleet's admiral, Asuka, along with Shinji, engage the
new Angel in EVA-02, although all does not go quite according to Asuka's plan
when Unit 02 is knocked off of its transport's flight deck and sinks into the
ocean. Submerged and equipped only with B-type equipment, Unit 02 becomes
unresponsive and is subsequently eaten by the Angel leaving the Eva's umbilical
cable trailing out of the Angel's mouth up to the flight deck.
This bizarre situation gives Misato a novel idea as to defeating the Angel. She
plans to force open the Angel's mouth with Unit 02 whilst sinking the two
remaining battle ships in line with the Eva's umbilical cable and reeling in the
Angel. Once inside the Angel's body the battle ships will then fire all barrels
before detonating. Unusual is an understatement, but the plan is put into
operation with the successful sinking of the two ships, now all Misato needs is
for Unit 02 to prise open the Angel's mouth.
Genesis 0:5/Episode 09 - With One Accord In A Flash
It would seam that Asuka is proving to be quite popular amongst Shinji's
classmates, however, he, Toji and Kensuke know better having had to put up with
her constant arrogance during their last Angel encounter, but it's not a
complete loss. Fortunately for them Asuka's photos don't reveal her personality,
meaning a further source of income for the three. Whilst Asuka attends her first
day at a Japanese school, Kaji is shamelessly attending to his own personal
interests. Having given up the doomed battle to rekindle the flame between
himself and Misato, he's now taken a shine to Ritsuko much to Misato's
annoyance.
The seventh Angel, Israfel, is making its way towards Tokyo-3, however, due to
recent damage incurred to the city's intercept system, NERV are forced to engage
the Angel at the water's edge just before it reaches land. It is also decided to
launch Units 01 and 02, much to Asuka's dislike, to limit further damage to the
city. Both pilots are soon in for a shock, however, when they discover the
Angel's ability to duplicate its self. Consequently both pilots, unprepared,
confused and unwilling to co-operate together, loose the confrontation in an
embarrassing manor and so NERV are forced to withdraw and rethink their plan of
attack.
Fortunately the damage caused by Unit 02 and the N2 mine detonated on the Angel
by the UN buys NERV some time whilst it regenerates. NERV have six days until
the Angel fully regenerates and resumes its attack on Tokyo-3. Misato therefore
has Asuka stay with her and Shinji in order to get them to co-operate before
NERV implement their second attack on the Angel, however, the process of getting
Asuka to work with Shinji turns out to be a tricky one, not to mention
embarrassing.
Day six finally arives and as predicted the Angel resumes its attack on the
city, now Asuka and Shinji must put aside their differences and work together
for NERV to stand any hope of defeating the Angel.
Genesis 0:5/Episode 10 - Magma Diver
Asuka's hopes of attending a school trip are dashed when she learns that
herself, Shinji and Rei are on permanent standby as ordered by Misato, matters
are also made worse when she learns that Misato has got hold of hers and
Shinji's report cards. Due to their poor academic records, Misato has them both
use the free time to catch up on their studies, obviously Asuka objects.
NERV learn of the possible existence of the eighth Angel, Sandalphon, an unborn
Angel deep within the crater of mount Asama, it is therefore decided to descend
a probe into the crater to verify the chrysalis's existence. NERV's speculation
is soon proved correct and so preparations are made for the Angel's capture.
This time NERV plan to take on the offensive as opposed to their usual defensive
role, however, the events leading up to the second impact are all to familiar
for certain NERV personnel, should they fail a possible third impact could be
imminent. Commander Ikari's intentions to capture a living specimen for which to
study also has the UN committee concerned; the last thing they need is a replay
of the second impact.
Despite the controversy surrounding the plan, Ikari is given the go ahead to
carry out the operation, though should any complications arise, NERV are under
strict orders from the UN committee to terminate the Angel immediately. Much to
Shinji's surprise, Asuka is chosen to carry out the operation in Unit 02. With
Kaji still lurking around NERV HQ, Asuka is more than happy to take on the task,
though her enthusiasm is soon lost when she gets her first glimpse of her new
embarrassingly heat resistant entry plug suit. Unit 02's D type equipment is
also laughable, designed to cope with extreme conditions rather than the latest
fashion, which leads to Asuka coming close to aborting the mission, however, her
pride forces her onwards.
Due to the extreme pressures encountered during the descent, Unit 02's
progressive knife is lost, but this is the least of NERV's problems when, having
captured the chrysalis, the Angel hatches prematurely attacking Unit 02. With no
weaponry with which to take on the Angel and submerged within molten lava, Asuka
soon finds herself in dire trouble.
Genesis 0:6/Episode 11 - In The Still Darkness
Having picked up their laundry, Ritsuko and Maya Ibuki, one NERV's scientists,
unintentionally meet up with Commander Kouzou Fuyutsuki on their way home via
the Tokyo-3 loop line. Fuyutsuki's on important business due to represent
Commander Ikari in a city council meeting. Ritsuko makes small talk by casually
mentioning the city's up coming election, but soon learns from the Commander
that the election is effectively irrelevant. Apparently the MAGI, the same three
super computers that NERV use, are now responsible for most of the city's
decision making.
Without any warning all power to the geo front and NERV HQ is suddenly cut and
the three backup power supply systems fail to respond leaving NERV crippled. For
all three systems to fail is unheard of and a near impossibility implying one
thing; they didn't go on their own accord. This leaves NERV defenceless and
vulnerable to an Angel attack, the situation is even worse for Misato who's
trapped inside an elevator along with Kaji as her only source of company. Asuka,
Rei and Shinji, however, are stranded out side NERV HQ struggling to gain access
to the complex, fortunately Asuka's leadership skills, based heavily on Rei's
guidance, sees the party headed in the right direction.
The ninth Angel, Matariel, is headed towards Tokyo-3. With NERV unaware of the
Angel's presence and all communications with them lost, the JASDF fly directly
over the city informing the inhabitants of the imminent Angel attack. NERV
eventually learn of the situation and so Commander Ikari has Units 00, now
having finished being upgraded, 01 and 02 prepared for manual launch, the pilots
also finally arrive in their usual argumentative manor.
All three Units are launched and engage the Angel, which is positioned directly
above them and NERV HQ. It's attacking using some kind of extremely corrosive
acid, which is melting through the geo front's defensive armour and also that of
the Evas'. With the Angel's strange offensive capabilities, an all out frontal
assault is out of the question, however, Asuka has a half descent plan of her
own for a change, one which might actually work.
Genesis 0:6/Episode 12 - The Value Of A Miracle Is
Misato has a flashback to 2000 AD, 15 years ago, and the exact point in time
when the second impact struck Earth. She recalls how her fatally injured father
hurriedly secured her within an escape pod before contact with the impact's
shock wave, and then looking out from sea back on the horrific devastation
caused by the first Angel.
The latest harmonics test reveals Shinji to be somewhat of a talented Eva pilot,
his harmonics and synchronisation ratios are rapidly catching up with Asuka's
much to her disgust, however, Misato knows that this isn't really what Shinji
wants. Later whilst being driven home after the test, Shinji congratulates
Misato on her promotion to the rank of Major, but it would seem that Misato
isn't to thrilled about the idea. Nevertheless the celebrations go ahead, as
ordered by Kensuke, and even Kaji manages to turn up, although accompanied by
Ritsuko.
Whilst Commanders Ikari and Fuyutsuki attend business in Antarctica, home now to
the true dead sea, Misato's left in charge of NERV for the very first time.
Unfortunately though, her debut as head of NERV's operations isn't going to be
an easy one as the tenth Angel, Sahaqiel, shows up, this time in space directly
above the Indian ocean. The Angel's effectively a huge living bomb and is
targeting NERV HQ by dropping small fragments of its self on to the Earth whilst
steadily correcting its error ratio. Once the Angel has acquired its target,
NERV suspect that the Angel its self will descend on to NERV HQ effectively
wiping it off the map, therefore Misato is now faced with the near impossible
task of preventing such an event from taking place.
By expanding their AT fields, Misato intends for all three Evas to catch the
Angel before it strikes the ground. To describe the plan as futile would be an
understatement, but with the only other option being to sit back and watch the
third branch of NERV being destroyed, Misato is willing to risk all three Evas.
Prior to the operation, Misato confides in Shinji revealing her true feelings
towards her father and her reasons for joining NERV, this in turn reveals her
hatred towards the Angels and why she's willing to risk sacrificing the Evas.
Genesis 0:7/Episode 13 - Angel Invasion
With the advance of time comes the need for Eva technology to advance as well,
therefore Ritsuko is running a new harmonics test, however, this time the pilots
must undergo the test naked to avoid their entry plug suits from interfering
with the results. Ritsuko needs the data to create an emergency auto pilot
system for the Evas, but this still doesn't change the awkward situation that
the pilots find themselves in.
The test starts successfully according to plan, but concern is soon raised when
corrosion is detected in the protein wall above the test room. Unwilling to
abort the test due to a minor technicality, Ritsuko allows the test to continue,
however, this soon turns out to be a mistake when contamination within the test
room is suddenly detected. Analysis of the corrosion reveals that it is in fact
a living organism, blood type blue; the eleventh Angel, Ireul. Having
infiltrated NERV HQ, the Angel starts rapidly expanding contaminating everything
within its path, including the Eva simulation test bodies. To this end the
pilots' entry plugs are ejected and all three Evas launched to prevent them from
being contaminated and taken over by the Angel.
NERV soon discover that the Angel has the ability to evolve at an astounding
rate, its defence mechanism is that of achieving total adaptability. To make
matters even worse, the Angel's effectively an organic computer and hacks into
NERV's computer system with ease, it then goes on to hacking into the MAGI but
succeeds only in gaining control of Melchior and partly Balthasar before Ritsuko
devises a plan temporarily halting the Angel's progress.
Ritsuko buys NERV around two hours before the Angel continues its infiltration
of the MAGI, fortunately Casper, the third MAGI, remains uncontaminated which
gives Ritsuko her starting point in defeating the Angel. She plans to hack into
the Angel using Casper followed by uploading an auto self-destruct program
leading the Angel to an evolutionary dead end. For the plan to succeed, however,
NERV must first reprogram Casper in time to carry out the task and Ritsuko must
place all her faith in her late mother, creator of the MAGI, and Casper's
ability to work faster than the Angel.
Genesis 0:7/Episode 14 - SEELE, Throne Of Souls
This episode commences with a brief recap on most of the Angels encountered to
date starting with the third Angel and the first battle of Tokyo-3. The recap
also includes excerpts from characters' personal diaries and the manner in which
each Angel was destroyed.
Commander Ikari is summoned to the UN committee which is alarmed at the rumoured
Angel invasion of NERV and central Dogma. As the incident was not in accordance
with the committee's predictions, based on the dead sea scrolls discovered in
Antarctica, they are understandably panicked by the rumour that they know to be
true, despite Ikari's denial of such events claming that the committee was
misinformed. With no real evidence to throw at Ikari, however, the committee
drops the issue.
Whilst sitting within the cockpit of Unit 01, Rei experiences several surreal
dreamlike ramblings mainly concerned with her existence and purpose in life. The
reason for Rei's presence in Unit 01 is due to a series of new tests being
carried out by Ritsuko who is experimenting with pilot/Eva compatibility. Rei's
test proceeds nicely, however, Shinji's goes horribly wrong for unknown reasons
leading to a repeat of Rei's failed first attempt to synchronise with Unit 00.
Fortunately this time, however, the pilot isn't harmed physically by a
malfunctioning auto ejection system, though Shinji does mentally relive some of
Rei's past memories.
Again Shinji awakens in hospital, this time to find himself staring at a now
familiar ceiling. With no mental contamination he'll be fine, but he doesn't
remember the events which took place during the test. The last time this kind of
incident occured it was suspected that the cause was due to mental instability
within the pilot, however, this latest incident reveals that the instability
came infact from the Eva!
Genesis 0:8/Episode 15 - Lies And Silence
Kaji, whilst investigating yet another company supposedly affiliated with the
Marduk institute, an advisory body established under the control of the human
instrumentality commitee for the purpose of selecting Eva pilots, meets up with
one of his informants. His informant reveals that all the companies investigated
to date have so far turned out to be dummies, and that Kaji's latest assignment
is likely to be no different. Kaji's actually a spy secretly investigating NERV
on behalf of the Japanese government, however, he also works for NERV special
inspections as part of his cover.
Tomorrow's Shinji's big day, he's arranged to visit his mother's grave along
with his father, however, he's not sure as to how to handle the situation or
what to say. It's been a while since Shinji last spoke to his father properly,
and the two haven't exactly been on speaking terms since the day Shinji ran
away. On several occasions now Gendo's been seen talking happily with Rei, they
have the kind of relationship that Shinji has always sought after, but why this
relationship exists between them is unknown to Shinji, with this in mind he
seeks advice from Rei.
Kaji, Misato and Ritsuko go out for the night to relax and relive old memories.
In Misato's temporary absence, Kaji learns from Ritsuko that there is still hope
for him and Misato yet, he's also given a friendly piece of advice cautioning
him to keep his nose out of NERV's more delicate matters. Ritsuko claims to have
important work to complete and so leaves the others to finish off the night,
however, Misato ends up finishing off a little too much drink instead. Kaji
escorts a drunken Misato home, actually he carries her. On the way she confides
in her exlover revealing her true feelings towards her father and generally
drowning her sorrows, but when she starts putting herself down Kaji intervenes
with a kiss. It would seem that Misato still cares a great deal about him and
that Ritsuko might just be right after all.
The following morning Misato catches Kaji breaking into the very heart of NERV,
terminal Dogma. With a gun pointed to his head, Kaji has few options, though
Misato's soon left stunned when he reveals one of the many truths kept hidden
from her, the first Angel; Adam.
Genesis 0:8/Episode 16 - Sickness Unto Death, And...
The latest set of results from NERV's now routine harmonics tests reveal that
Shinji's synchronisation ratio has now surpassed that of Asuka's, obviously this
pisses her off to no end. Knowing this gives Shinji a lot more confidence in
himself, so much so that when the twelfth Angel, Leliel, shows up, Shinji gladly
accepts the option to take up the point position for the mission.
Unfortunately Shinji's new found self confidence leads to him taking on the
Angel alone, however, this is a huge mistake with an outcome which no one could
have predicted. Shinji's volley of fire at the Angel suspended above the city
has no effect, the Angel merely vanishes, after which a large shadow forms under
Unit 01 which pulls Unit 01 in completely engulfing it whilst Shinji can only
scream in terror. Currently unable to defeat such an adversary and with the loss
of Unit 01, Misato, with extreme reluctance, orders Units 00 and 02 to fall
back.
Based on what little data NERV are able to establish from the Angel, Ritsuko
concludes that the object seen above the city is in fact the Angel's shadow, and
that the expanding void on the city floor is the actual Angel. The Angel's only
three nano meters in depth, but contained within the ultra thin space in an
inverted AT field containing the Angel's body. Ritsuko takes control of the
operation with a plan to drop all nine hundred and ninety two existing N2 mines
into the Angel's body with the hope of completely destroying it, but this is
hardly a rescue plan. So much explosive power would also be likely to destroy
Unit 01 along with Shinji, but Ritsuko would rather see the Eva destroyed as
opposed to loosing it to the Angel. Misato's disgusted with the fact that the
Evas take priority over the pilots, however, she has no say in the matter. Again
Misato is left in the dark, what's so special about the Evas?
With Shinji capable of surviving for only sixteen hours, in minimal life support
mode, without external power and his time nearing the end, Ritsuko decides to
advance the operation with the slim chance of rescuing him in mind. But as the
order is issued to drop all N2 mines something extraordinary, and yet also
horrifying, occurs inside the Angel's body.
Genesis 0:9/Episode 17 - The 4th Child
Misato is summoned before the UN committee where she is questioned directly on
the events that took place during the last mission and whether she believes the
pilot of Unit 01 to be fit to resume active duty. Meanwhile, whilst this is all
happening within NERV HQ, Toji makes his daily visit to the hospital to check on
the progress of his little sister who was injured during the first battle of
Tokyo-3.
All hell breaks out at NERV as they learn that the second branch of NERV in the
Nevada desert, America, has just vanished from the face of the Earth along with
EVA-04, its newly installed experimental S2 engine and thousands of people.
Ritsuko believes the disappearances to be related to the manor in which Unit 01
was engulfed by the twelfth Angel, but without any clues as to what caused the
disaster, Ritsuko can only speculate at best what happened. Therefore the US
government, unwilling to risk NERV's first branch, force EVA-03 onto the third
branch of NERV in Tokyo-3, of course the decision to unload all their problems
on to branch three is proving very unpopular with Misato.
With the arrival of Unit 03, NERV find themselves with the prospect of having to
activate the Eva for the first time. Ritsuko believes the use of the prototype
dummy plug autopilot system would be ill advised, and so a fourth Eva pilot is
found, but the speed at which the fourth child is found causes Misato to become
extremely suspicious. Unable to get any answers from Ritsuko, Misato decides to
seek help from Kaji who later reveals to her that the Marduk institute doesn't
even exist, and that NERV its self is responsible for Eva pilot selection.
Knowing the fourth child to be another of Shinji's classmates, Toji Suzuhara,
makes Misato's task of informing Shinji of the new pilot very difficult indeed.
Shinji's been through some tough stages recently, even depression, therefore
Misato is understandably weary of exposing him to any more stress, but with
Shinji bound to find out sooner as opposed to later, Misato figures she'll have
no choice but to tell him regardless. Asuka's also not looking forward to the
arrival of the new pilot, the last thing she needs is more competition.
Genesis 0:9/Episode 18 - The Judgement Of Life
Misato, who reveals the rumours to be true, finally confirms Shinji's suspicions
concerning the second branch of NERV and EVA-04 along with its experimental S2
engine. Apparently Unit 03's scheduled for arrival at the Matsushiro test
facility today and so Misato's off to over see the initial activation of the
Eva, however, she assures Shinji that all will be ok, and that she'll be back in
the afternoon. Again she can't bring herself to reveal the identity of the
fourth child who will pilot the Eva during its first activation test.
Toji reluctantly accepts the responsibility of becoming the pilot for Unit 03,
however, he only does so on the condition that his little sister be transferred
to one of NERV's private hospitals where she'll receive specialist care and
treatment. Although Toji attends school as usual, he spends most of the day out
of class contemplating what he's let himself in for, his new behaviour also
arouses suspicion in both Shinji and Kensuke who's desperate to be chosen as a
future Eva pilot.
Unit 03 finally arrives at Matsushiro and the test gets immediately under way
despite Misato's lack of enthusiasm, but what would normally be a routine test
by now, turns into a nightmarish disaster when the thirteenth Angel, Bardiel, is
detected within the Eva's body! With Unit 03 out of control and running amok
Commander Ikari classifies the Eva as the thirteenth Angel and orders its
destruction. Asuka takes a severe beating failing to stop the Eva, Rei also
aborts the mission when the Angel merges with Unit 00's arm forcing NERV to cut
it off, however, Shinji just can't bring himself to attack the Eva, he doesn't
want to risk harming the pilot whoever he or she may be.
With Units 00 and 02 out of action and Shinji at the mercy of the Angel,
Commander Ikari orders the activation of Unit 01's dummy plug. Despite having
carried out no prior testing of the dummy plug system and vigorous objections
from Maya, the order to initiate the system is carried out. With the dummy plug
active Shinji can only scream and look on in horror as he is unable to prevent
Unit 01 from literally ripping Unit 03 apart.
Genesis 0:10/Episode 19 - A Man's Fight
Seeing the wounded pilot being pulled from the Unit 03 wreckage to be Toji is
too much for Shinji to cope with, as a result Shinji's mind finally lets go and
almost snaps. He refuses to leave the cockpit of Unit 01, starts threatening to
level NERV with the remaining battery power he has available to him and almost
goes so far as to telling his father face to face that he hates him. In the end
Shinji is forcedly removed from the cockpit as ordered by an impatient Commander
Ikari who Shinji later finds himself answering to. Though instead of confronting
his father and letting go of his anger, Shinji chooses again to run away and
resigns as the pilot of Unit 01.
Fortunately Toji recovers and is visited by Hikari Horaki, supposedly the
concerned class representative of class 2-A, but there's more to her visit than
mere concern. Hikari has recently become extremely fond of Toji, however, she
still can't seem to find the right time to express her feelings towards him.
The fourteenth Angel, Zeruel, arrives along with all its destructive power
intent on reaching Adam in terminal Dogma. With one shot it's able to penetrate
eighteen layers of the defensive armour plating surrounding the geo front. Due
to the Angels awesome power, Misato has Asuka intercept the Angel directly in
front of NERV HQ, however, despite Asuka's valiant effort in trying to stop the
Angel, Unit 02 is completely ripped apart and its head sent crashing into the
nearest shelter. Unable to synchronise with Unit 01, Rei goes out in Unit 00
minus one arm. She takes with her an N2 mine and attempts to penetrate the
Angel's AT field blowing it to hell and back. Unfortunately Rei fails.
Having not yet left, Shinji witnesses the whole horrific battle. Unable to sit
back and watch as his friends are mercilessly butchered, coupled with a few
words from Kaji, who for some reason is out watering melons whilst everyone else
is busy evacuating, Shinji races back to NERV demanding to pilot Unit 01. As the
dummy plug fails to respond, NERV send out Shinji in Unit 01, but they couldn't
have predicted the events to come as Shinji achieves a synchronisation ratio of
four hundred percent finally awakening the savage Eva beast.
Genesis 0:10/Episode 20 - Form Of The Mind, Form Of The Man
With the savage Eva beast of Unit 01 now fully aware, it starts to mercilessly
devour its fallen opponent; the fourteenth Angel, and in doing so takes the
Angel's S2 engine into itself. It then starts tearing off its armour, which was
installed by NERV purely to contain the Eva binding it to their will thus
allowing them to control it. With these restraints now partially removed, NERV
find themselves facing the possibility of their own creation, or rather their
adapted copy, running wild in side the geo front.
Fortunately NERV are able to freeze the Eva allowing them to work on repairing
it whilst in stasis. Also both Units 00 and 02 sustained serious damage during
the Angel's onslaught and as for the pilots, whilst Asuka and Rei survived the
incident, Shinji still remains trapped inside Unit 01. With NERV HQ partially
destroyed and part of central Dogma exposed, NERV decide to temporarily move
location to their secondary control centre where they can continue to operate.
Of course none of this was in accordance with SEELE's, otherwise known as the UN
committee, predictions and the committee becomes somewhat disturbed by the
recent events.
Unable to get Shinji out of Unit 01's entry plug, Ritsuko's staff engage the
plug's internal monitors allowing then to check on Shinji's status. But when the
monitors reveal the plug to be empty, Ritsuko finds herself admitting to the
truth behind the four hundred percent synchronisation ratio, and the fact that
it's not the first time that an accident like this has occurred. She reveals
that the first time this exact incident occurred was during her mother's era,
and that the pilot underwent some form of change due to the LCL, Link Connection
Liquid, in the plug.
Although the late Naoko Akagi, Ritsuko's mother, came up with a way to recompose
the pilot with the MAGI's support, their rescue attempt was unsuccessful and the
pilot's soul lost within the Eva, however, Misato isn't just about to give up on
Shinji and so the operation goes ahead. But when all's said and done, Shinji can
only return to his material existence if he wants to. Though considering what
he's been through recently, this may well not be the case.
Genesis 0:11/Episode 21 - The Birth Of NERV
It would appear that Gendo has almost pushed NERV's fragile relationship with
SEELE to the limit. The committee becomes outraged with NERV's latest
unauthorised creation, a God, that is Unit 01 equipped with an S2 engine. In
response to this the committee kidnap Kouzou in an attempt to learn of Gendo's
true intentions. Meanwhile NERV's second intelligence section begins a thorough
investigation into the vice commander's disappearance. With Kaji kicked off the
combat roster after his true occupation became somewhat public knowledge and his
present where a bouts unknown, Misato finds herself the prime target of NERV's
investigation.
With the relationship between SEELE and their implementation organisation, NERV,
now breaking down, the committee forcefully insist that Kouzou drag up the past
thus allowing them to attempt to build a profile of the man they mistakenly put
in charge of NERV, and the human instrumentality project.
Kaji manages to track down Kouzou and sets the vice commander free from SEELE's
hold. This kind of action is not without its drastic consequences, but all that
Kaji is interested in is uncovering the mysteries behind the second impact, Adam
and the arrival of the Angels. He realises that distinguishing between the lies
and the truths surrounding NERV is far too overwhelming for one man, and an
almost impossibility in the little time remaining in SEELE's scenario. He
therefore risks seeking information from Kouzou first hand. NERV intelligence
finally catch up with Kaji, though not before he is able to pass on his
knowledge. Kaji is killed.
With her artificial family falling apart around her and her lover dead, Misato
breaks down in tears. Shinji is unable to comfort her, he still finds it hard to
open up to others and to confront his emotions, all he can do is bury his
feelings and run away from them, again.
Genesis 0:11/Episode 22 - At Least, Be Humane
Asuka's self confidence takes yet another beating as she comes under pressure
from Ritsuko following her latest set of poor synchronisation results. What with
yet another defeat under her belt, the latest being from the fifteenth Angel,
and being saved again by Shinji, Asuka's mind sinks into a state of depression
dragging up her troubled past, in particular her mother's, Kyoko Zeppelin
Souryu, suicide.
Misato learns that the go ahead for the construction of Units 05 to 13 has just
been approved by the committee, and that the immediate construction of the Evas
is taking place at seven different locations around the world. Considering the
committee's past reluctance in increasing the existing budget for the
construction of Evas, Misato suspects SEELE's up to something without consulting
NERV first.
Asuka's synchronisation ratio hits rock bottom and at the worst possible moment
as the fifteenth Angel, Arael, shows up, that is in orbit. Despite Misato's
orders Asuka takes up the point position in Unit 02, with Unit 00 as backup,
determined not to fail yet again. Unit 01, however, is held back as ordered by
Gendo without given reason. NERV's plan it to snipe the Angel with a positron
rifle as soon as it enters Unit 02's range, but this is quickly amended as the
Angel psychically attacks Asuka's mind crippling Unit 02. Direct hits from Unit
00 on the Angel's AT field have no effect from such long distance, therefore
Gendo orders the use of the Lance of Longinus held within NERV's LCL
manufacturing plant.
Despite objections from both Kouzou and Misato, and without prior approval from
the committee, Gendo's order stands and so Rei heads down to terminal Dogma in
Unit 00 where she pulls the lance from the chest of, the so called, Adam. NERV
claim the third impact to be the result of an Angel coming into contact with
Adam, but then why risk the outcome of what NERV apparently were setup to avoid
in obtaining the lance, and why risk setting Adam free along with the probable
loss of the lance? These unanswered questions arouse Misato's suspicions
further, but with Unit 00 now in possession of the most powerful projectile
known to man, time is finally up for the sixteenth Angel.
Genesis 0:12/Episode 23 - Tear
With the latest Angel confrontation adding further to the extent of damage to
Tokyo-3, all of Shinji's classmates leave, along with most of the city's
inhabitants, for the fear of losing their lives. To add to Shinji's loneliness,
Asuka goes missing, and Misato continues to shut her self off from the outside
world. The only person that Shinji can still talk to is Rei, but this soon
changes as the sixteenth Angel, Armisael, arrives.
NERV send in both Units 00 and 02, now having tracked down Asuka, again Unit 01
is held back as ordered by Gendo. The latest Angel has the ability to change its
form at will, and as a result of this is able to outmanoeuvre and come into
direct contact with Unit 00, where upon it starts to merge with the Eva. The
Angel's invasion of Unit 00 proceeds at a frightening rate, and when NERV learn
of Asuka's inability to synchronise with her Eva due to her current mental
state, Gendo is left with no other choice but to sortie Unit 01, however, this
action doesn't help at all as the Angel is just too agile for any Eva to combat.
Unwilling to allow the Angel to merge with Unit 01, Rei initialises Unit 00's
self destruct sequence whilst remaining in the Eva maintaining its AT field,
that is its grasp on the Angel. The Angel is destroyed, the mission completed
though at a price, Unit 00 is lost and Rei is killed.
It is later revealed that Rei was in fact not killed, however, she now seems
like a completely different person. What with the loss of Unit 00 as well as the
lance of Longinus and Gendo's newly found God, Unit 01, SEELE mark the beginning
of the end of their fragile relationship with NERV by demanding the pilot of
Unit 00 delivered to them, presumably to replace the loss of their last catspaw,
Kouzou. Instead though, Gendo sends Ritsuko to be indecently interrogated by
SEELE.
Like mother like daughter, Ritsuko learns of Gendo's betrayal of love towards
her in that her secret lover saw fit to recreate Rei ultimately proving his
ongoing love for Yui. Out of vengeance Ritsuko reveals the truth about Rei to
Misato and Shinji, that Rei is in fact the core of the dummy plug system, that
Gendo has created multiple copies of her body and how all of which are no more
than empty husks. Revenge driven, Ritsuko destroys the entire dummy plug system.
Genesis 0:12/Episode 24 - The Final Messenger
Due to Asuka's inability to pilot Unit 02, NERV plan for the arrival of a new
pilot, the fifth child, Kaoru Nagisa. Whilst at the same time Ritsuko finds her
self subjected to interrogation whilst being detained for her actions by NERV.
The fifth child arrives and immediately takes a liking to Shinji, however, NERV,
in particular Misato, are more than a little suspicious concerning the boy's
arrival. Like Rei, all of his past records have been erased, except for one
detailing his date of birth, and furthermore NERV determine the fact that he is
capable of achieving any synchronisation ratio with Unit 02, even before they
reconfigured the Eva for the child.
With Asuka now being treated for depression in NERV's hospital, and the third
copy of Rei busy contemplating the reason for her existence, Shinji is now
utterly alone. He can't even talk to Misato who has now immersed herself in
investigating NERV aided by information from her late lover, and Ritsuko has
disappeared too. Though his loneliness isn't to last as he becomes very close
with Kaoru; Shinji inexplicably finds him self talking to Kaoru about his past
and what he's been through. In fact Shinji takes an extreme risk, for him that
is, in that he places his trust in Kaoru, however, his trust soon turns out to
have been well and truely misplaced.
Unit 02 mysteriously activates and starts descending towards terminal Dogma.
Asuka is still in hospital though, and the Eva unmanned! NERV soon identify the
person in remote control of Unit 02 to be Kaoru, the seventeenth Angel! SEELE
have sent the final messenger directly to NERV! Unit 01 is immediately rolled
out to prevent the Angel from reaching terminal Dogma, but it's too late as
Kaoru breaches the final security seal, thus opening heavens door.
Finally, an Angel reaches Adam, or so it would have been the case were the giant
in terminal Dogma actually Adam, not in fact Lilith, that is humanity's mother.
Realising this distracts Kaoru, giving Shinji enough time to defeat Unit 02 and
restrain Kaoru. Now Shinji must carry out the last wish of his newest friend, an
end to life eternal, else let humanity suffer the consequences.
Genesis 0:13/Episode 25 - The End Of The World
With the third Angel through to the sixteenth destroyed, SEELE took it upon
themselves to instigate the third impact using the seventeenth Angel, Kaoru,
created in humanity's image by the secret organisation its self, thus allowing
it to realise and manipulate the outcome of the instrumentality of man. With the
death of Kaoru, crushed to death at the hands of Unit 01 piloted by Shinji,
however, came the death of SEELE's attempt to bring about their goal.
Now that the seventeenth Angel has been eliminated, there's no longer anything
to prevent Gendo form achieving his own secret agenda. When Yui died whilst
attempting to synchronise with Unit 01, Gendo made use of NERV's resources to
contain his wife's soul within a body created in part from an Angel. That body
and soul became what is known as Rei. Rei was not created solely for the purpose
of acting as a dummy plug for the Eva series, or indeed to fill the emptiness in
Gendo's life after his wife's death, Rei was in fact created primarily for the
sole purpose of instigating the third impact.
With both the key elements required to initiate the artificial instrumentality
of man, that is both Lilith and Rei, and with all seventeen Angels destroyed,
Gendo gets set to bring about his own vision of the third impact, that is the
creation of a single perfect entity formed from the unity of all human souls. In
this way Gendo intends to be reunited with his wife, Yui, once more, a selfish
act, yet an act blinded by love.
And thus the instrumentality of man begins...
Genesis 0:13/Episode 26 - The Beast That Shouted "I" At The Heart Of The World
To successfully summarise what goes on in this particular episode, and to a
large extent the previous one as well, without writting an essay is almost
impossible. Both episodes 25 and 26 comprise of a selection of brief animated
sequences, static images and text which are mostly pulled from the other
previous episodes.
GAINAX has managed to successfully take a firm grasp of its audience's attention
from the very beginning of the series, subjecting them to the experiences of
each of the series's characters in great detail, in particular those of Shinji,
and ultimately promises an ending to end all endings. But is this what you get?
Well...sort of.
Writer/director Hideaki Anno twists and turns the plot around completely in the
series's final hour delivering a finale with a chronic difference to anything
you or I have likely to have seen before. To quote part of an interpretation of
the series' finale from an article written by Jonathan Clements in Manga Max
(formally known as Manga Mania to us Brits) issue 3 on page 30, because I'm
stuck for words on this one,
'And the evil, invading Angels? Oh, they've gone. This was never about them, it
was about Shinji, the pilot sent to fight them. These episodes take place inside
his head, as he thinks through his place in the universe.'
and there you go. I can't really sum up the goings on in this final installment
of such a fantastic series, you'll just have to take a risk and go out and
buy/rent it and make up your own mind as to whether or not it was worth
waiting/paying for. What I can say though, is that if you are expecting all the
loose endings to be delt with and neatly tied up, along with a fight sequence to
end all Anime giant robot genre fight sequences, a little romance, as well as
the vital odd bit of death and destruction, then...you ain't gonna get it.
That's what 'The End Of Evangelion' is intended for.
The End Of Evangelion
The End Of Evangelion is a re-edit of the final 2 episodes of Neon Genesis
Evangelion both written and directed by Hideaki Anno to keep at bay those fans
whom felt that the original ending was somewhat lacking. I for one appreciate
the original ending for what it was - an exceptionally cleaver piece of Anime,
but in the interrests of completeness I have attempted to write a synopsis for
The End Of Evangelion below. I have refused, however, to get bogged down in
religous concepts, myths and or legends therefore the synopsis is exactly that,
it's not an explanation to the end of the world as Anno wrote it...so if you're
at all unhappy with it then please don't send me death threats.
The End Of Evangelion - Air
With no one else to turn to Shinji decides to check up on Asuka's condition,
though it's not looking good for the second child. Having sunk into such a deep
state of depression, Asuka now lays comatose within NERV's hospital. Shinji
shakes Asuka violently to try and get her to respond, though he only succeeds in
tearing her clothes away from her body...as if he's got nothing better to do
Shinji then proceeds to masturbate in the presence of Asuka's lifeless body.
With the Lance of Longinus lost, SELEE turns its attention from Lilith to
Lilith's true off spring, Eva Unit 01, in its attempt to complete the human
instrumentality project any way it can. To this end, SELEE launch the first
stage of their assault on NERV. In an attempt to take NERV peacefully SELEE has
five other MAGI super computers from across the globe systematically hack into
NERV's original MAGI computer system...the attempt is thwarted, however, as NERV
drag Ritsuko out of confinement to lock down the system buying NERV sixty-two
hours thinking time.
Failing the peaceful invasion of NERV, SELEE initiate stage two of their assault
on NERV. As such SELEE commence heavy shelling of NERV before sending in a
special forces ground invasion team. The fall out is immense with NERV personnel
being gunned down, torched and stabbed left, right and centre. Since NERV were
setup up defensively to deal with the threat of Angel invasion, not human, the
death toll rises dramatically.
Misato has Asuka stowed away at the bottom of the lake, just outside NERV
headquarters, within Unit 02 to try and conceal her whereabouts from the enemy,
though Shinji's no where to be found having given up the ghost and taken to his
usual sulking within the depths of NERV. Shinji may have given up on himself,
but Misato's hasn't...in her usual flamboyant kick ass style Misato rescues
Shinji before his death wish comes true, however, Shinji has become so withdrawn
now that Misato has little choice but to drag him to safety.
With Shinji literally in tow, Misato heads towards Unit 01..along the way she
decides to clue him in on a few well kept truths. Humanity caused Second Impact,
and they did this to minimise the potential damage caused by an Angel
instigating Third Impact through contact with Lilith from whom both the Angels
and humanity, i.e. the 18th Angel, were born. Second Impact resulted from
reducing the Angel Adam to an embryonic state, prior to the awakening of the
other Angels as depicted in the Dead Sea scrolls, thus ultimately giving rise to
the Eva series through the study of Adam.
SELEE's forces locate Asuka and proceed to drop depth charges into the lake in a
vain attempt to take out Unit 02. The attack is futile...though amongst all the
chaos and destruction raining down around her, Asuka finally realises the true
meaning of the Eva's AT Field. It is not simply a new feat of shielding
technology, the AT Field stems from the soul of the Eva itself...in the case of
Unit 02 Kyoko Zeppelin Souryu i.e. Asuka's mother. As Asuka finally realises
that her mother is watching over her, protecting her, Asuka's confidence
rockets, Unit 02 reactivates...surfaces from the depths of the lake and
annihilates SELEE's forces.
SEELE fight fire with fire unleashing the remainder of the Eva series, Units 05
through 13, equipped with Kaoru's dummy plug. With Unit 02's umbilical cable
severed and only three and a half minutes of remaining battery time available,
Asuka's looking at downing an Eva every twenty seconds! But what does she
care...with her new found confidence and her mother protecting her SELEE can
kiss her ass and book passage to hell.
Having taken a bullet whilst rescuing Shinji, it's finally the end of the road
for Shinji's substitute mother. Misato's last actions are to leave Shinji with a
few choice words, a farewell kiss of an adult nature and finally the act of
forcing him into an elevator destined for cage seven where Unit 01 is located.
This final moment of separation is too much for Shinji, as the elevator departs
Shinji breaks down in tears. Misato dies...
Whilst Asuka continues to tear apart the Eva series bent on her destruction,
Ritsuko catches up with both Gendo and Rei deep within Terminal Dogma. In the
presence of the mother of all things, Lilith, Ritsuko executes her plan, the
destruction of the original MAGI super computer along with NERV. In the dying
seconds of her bitter sweet revenge against Gendo, however, Ritsuko is betrayed
by her deceased mother, developer of the MAGI system. The self-destruct fails to
initiate...and with her mind momentarily distracted Gendo pulls his gun on her,
utters a few callus words and pulls the trigger. Ritsuko dies...
Asuka finishes off the final two Eva's with seconds to spare before Unit 02
shuts down. To the horror of NERV, however, the mangled Eva series reactivates!
The mutilated and contorted abominations spread their wings and take to the air
before converging on Unit 02. Their revenge is hideous and one of bloodlust as
Unit 02 is completely and utterly torn apart amidst a frenzied sustained assault
from Units 05 through 13. Asuka dies...or so it seems.
The End Of Evangelion - My Purest Heart For You
The devil awakens as Shinji, at the helm of Unit 01, breaks out of the confines
of NERV HQ spreading forth its new found angelic wings. And as it does so the
original Lance of Longinus is returned to the rightful side of Unit 01. The
reactivated Eva series, under the control of SELEE, seize the moment to capture
Unit 01 hoisting the man made god over twelve thousand metres above the surface
of the Geo Front housing NERV HQ. The Eva series are now set to begin the Third
Impact purification ceremony and indeed do so as the remaining Eva series
initiate an Anti-AT Field.
The shockwave from the Anti-AT Field melts away the top most layers of the
Earth's crust surrounding the Geo Front thus revealing its true form...indeed
the Geo Front is more than it would appear, it is Lilith's egg, the source from
which the primordial soup, LCL, flows from containing life itself. With the
purification ceremony under way, and having merged his right hand with Adam,
Gendo plunges his hand into Rei's chest pulling it down to her womb. Though in
these final moments Rei at last breaks free from her creator's hold over her
refusing to be a mere puppet for Gendo to control. She absorbs Gendo's right
hand, already merged with Adam, and as the empty husk she was designed to be
transports the embryonic Adam to Lilith initiating the forbidden merger.
As the merger takes place Lilith takes on Rei's appearance as she rises up above
the surface of the Black Moon i.e. her egg, coming face to face with Unit 01.
Shinji has now completely lost his mind and is unable to comprehend anything,
and when the Eva series circling around him begins to merge with Lilith, Shinji
screams as his mind and ego are completely obliterated. The decision as to the
fate of humanity now lies in Shinji's hands as he is confronted by Lilith, does
he wish for the continued survival of humanity or does he simply wish for an end
to it all. Does he want to endure, to suffer the pain of heart break and the joy
of happiness or is it better to simply not exist at all?
Lilith's egg rises to meet both Lilith and Unit 01, meanwhile the Anti-AT field
continues to expand enveloping the entire Earth. With the collapse of an
individual's AT field ensues the release of their soul from the burden of their
solid form and as such humanity returns to its original state, the primordial
soup known as LCL. Humanity's sorrow and loneliness is finally released as the
Earth's inhabitants relinquish hold over their solid form giving rise to the
unity of all human souls i.e. the human instrumentality project. A world of no
AT Fields, A world devoid of individualism. A world where you exist nowhere, yet
everywhere all at once. The beginning and the end are all one in the same, all's
right with the world.
But this isn't what Shinji wants...it's not real, he wants the pain, he wants
the chance of real happiness. He needs that sense of realism and as such rises
out of the sea of LCL, the Dead Sea, and makes his way back to shore ready to
face the challenges of his new life. Whether others choose to follow in his
footsteps is down to them...and thus life goes on.
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