Neon Genesis Evangelion – 6 [Decisive Battle in Tokyo-3/Rei II] – Throwback Thursday

Once again, I am late for this week’s Neon Genesis Evangelion post. It’s becoming a bad habit really, and yet something about Evangelion makes it difficult to write about. I need look no further than this week for proof of that. As here we see a competent governmental body, Rei stepping up to the plate, and Shinji getting in the damn robot. So let’s jump in!

As always, we have to start with the production, and this time I think Evangelion managed to impress. Say what you want about Anno’s… odd tastes in still shots, but the action is great. From the tanks to what is just a giant floating cube, I enjoyed it all. There was even a number of nice environmental animation to go along with the tank or Angel shots. And in general things like melting metal look fantastically fluid. Part of it is no doubt the dated, nostalgic charm that is cell animation. But I don’t think that really takes away from it at all. If I had one complaint though, it would have to be with the odd lighting at times. Like during Rei’s visit to Shinji’s room, I understand the time of day they were shooting for, it just looked weird to me. Minor squibbles aside though, onto the meat!

The first big thing I want to mention that I liked is the tactics of it all. Sure, you could chalk it up to just monster of the week style monsters. But the Angels sent something seemingly tailored to deal with the Eva units. Something stupid, automated, but strong and fast. So yes, while it may be “monster of the week” style when you boil it down, Evangelion is at least clever about it. Meanwhile Evangelion also shows us the humans coordinated response, which I quite liked. There was a game of chess here as our leads poked, prodded and tested the Angel to try and figure out the best way to take it down. From dummy Eva dolls, to long range tank shells, they experimented. Yes, the 10 hour drill is pretty convenient. However it made for a fun episode.

Meanwhile Misato’s final plan basically sniping it from a distance was good. It’s rather amusing that they had all of the materials for it on hand so easily of course. From an untested high powered laser cannon to space ships blast shield. Both of which had never been used in this manner before and so had no promise of working. But hey, it was fun. And it’s not like Evangelion didn’t acknowledge the difficulty of it all. They rerouted the entire countries power grid into it for one, maybe 2 shots. Plus it was also a good excuse for Rei to get involved and stop being just a passive observer! We got to see her dedication to the mission. Her willingness to put aside her seeming distaste for Shinji, to get the job done. You could call her a wet blanket for that, but everyone works with someone they hate.

On the topic of Rei and Shinji, I am actually a bit conflicted about them this week. It’s all structured as a rather obvious parallel between Shinji and his father. Perhaps to show that they are more alike than they think, leading in to the eventual reconciliation. However the much more concerning part of it for me is Rei. We already knew she probably had a thing for Gendo after how he saved her. But now that Shinji has done the exact same thing, and is basically just a younger Gendo? Evangelion has all but guaranteed that Rei is going to fall for our lead now and that worries me abit. Not cause “I hate romance” but because I know Asuka eventually arrives, and I fear the harem route. Not to mention how Rei is in no way mentally prepared to start pursuing any kind of romance.

That said, Rei herself was kinda interesting this week, what with her explanation for why she does what she does. The whole idea that she is “Bound to everyone”. Now to me, that means one of two things. A) She is dedicated to saving everyone, and loves other people more than herself. Or the far more likely option B) Gendo told her that, and now she has taken it to heart. Regardless, if we can strip away the whole romance subplot Evangelion is probably starting, there’s some decent stuff with her. From the exploration of dedicating yourself to the “collective” to a leaders relationship with his subordinates. Evangelion has a lot of options when it comes to Rei, and I really hope it makes use of them. It’s already surprised me once with Shinji and Misato, so I think it’s more than possible here.

Finally, I want to talk about some slight world building we got this week. As there were a number of allusions, either this week or last, to the rest of the world. Such as the zoom out shot of Japan’s power grid going down, or references to other countries. Either way, it tells us that Japan is not the only country left, that the world is not lost. It also means that there are more cities than just the one we see now, though we have known that for awhile. So the question then becomes, is everyone dealing with these Angels? Are they a world-wide threat, or is Japan just sort of the bastion defending the world? It’s a question that is probably out of scope for Evangelion, but I think would be interesting to ask none-the-less.

So, how was Evangelion this week? I found it enjoyable. From the well animated fight scenes, which I am always a sucker for, to the buildup around our leads. A lot happened in the short amount of time, and with what little I know of the series before going in, I am actually a little surprised. For instance I said earlier that I was aware that Asuka exists and is in the story, but I had no idea she came in this late. I thought we would have met her far earlier, such as when Shinji ran away and she was brought in to replace him or something. So for us to be a quarter of the way through and not know her surprises me. If anything that’s a good thing, as it means I don’t know what to expect. Regardless, I am looking forward to where it goes.