Turns out that our boy Shinji is after all THE ONE, akin to Neo in the Matrix or every main mecha hero for that matter. He has been chosen, he must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as he has. Sound like I’m complaining, right? Well, I’m not because I think this is a necessity for the series: you have to build the foundation first in order to deconstruct it. You have to establish all the genre tropes first before you crush them, move its parts apart and then assemble the parts again. Why do I think this series is a mecha deconstruction then? Because of the way this episode framed the story. It’s a bold choice to jump-cut from the climax of the battle to the next day where Shinji wakes up quietly in a hospital. The show deliberately hides the outcome of the battle till the end of episode to the point it had fooled me to believe that the battle was a failure, but in a larger sense, this is not unlike a failure. Nobody comes out as happy and excited as we normally expect from the winner side. Gendo, the one seems the most pleased with the outcome, was scolded by the committee for using the budget for his own personal gains (build a toy and let the son plays it); Misato voices her concerns out loud; the citizens in the city were afraid and planned to head out of the city; and certainly our Shinji was not happy about the result, NOT ONE BIT. The ceiling motifs in this episode is a nice touch of symbolism, because it sums up very well the disconnection between Shinji with the rest. Shinji just don’t feel the city as his home, as the place where he belongs. He just wants to be left alone and has nothing to do with the whole mess. There’s already some intrigue moments of the images of the Angels messing with his head, and I appreciate those moments both in terms of the symbolism it conveys, and the visual it possesses. The show really conveys a false sense of security well, indeed it feels more like they are more terrified with the potential of the Eva than satisfied with it. The Eva just literally went berserk and saved the day, but notice that Shinji at that time was unconscious and I do feel like Shinji just become the Eva at that point. Is it the trigger in order to activate the full potential of Eva? Well, I guess I just have to wait until later episodes to find out meself.
Now let’s talk a bit about the world-building of EVA. When Misato shows Shinji about the rising buildings, I think it summarizes the world of EVA the best. The city as a whole looks like a fortress (and as Misato points out, functions like one), this is basically a battlefield. The rising towers and buildings adjusts well with the theme the show establishes so far. Those building, just like our Shinji, hiding underground, waiting for the sun set to raise ahead. The committee also mentions about a certain project that is more important than defensing against Angels. What could be more important than protecting the world from aliens? For now, my guess is that they’re building another perfect city in order to get the hell out of here. Well, I feel like I have caught up too much with all the symbolisms of the show and I think some of my take here might go well off the mark, but really, aside from Utena and Monogatari series, no other show has ever given me that much imageries to chew on and I really appreciate that. All those aside, I really like the Misato’s apartment and the untidy trash, beer cans and takeaway junk foods everywhere really hint a lot about her character. To say that I still can’t put my fingers on what the hell the penguin doing in the episode?
~SuperMario~
