Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.26

The Beast that Shouted 'I' at the Heart of the World

Shinji imagines all sorts of things. He wonders about all sorts of things. He imagines another version of his life. He finally seems to learn to be comfortable with himself.

This episode is like the previous one in that there are a lot of quick images flashing across the screen. This is the end of the original series. There have been more than a few movies that retold or revised the original series. I think I've had enough. I think that there are plenty of other less confusing series for me to watch.

I don't care how many people enjoyed this series or rate it highly. There is something to the way it is put together that I like but it is just too much for me. I don't feel like spending any more time on it than I already have.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.25

The Ending World

Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Misato, and other characters' lives are examined but primarily it is just the four that I just named. All four suffer distress when they look back at their lives up to this point. They try to help one another see that life isn't as simple as they want it to be. The focus shifts from one character to another.

Once again I am at a loss. I don't fully understand what this is all about. It seems that the Angels are gone but I'm not certain about that. I'm not sure that everything will be resolved in the final episode. I'm pretty sure there will be quite a bit left on the table unfinished.

I feel as though I've been handed a basket full of yarn of various colors that is all tangled together. I'm supposed to untangle it all but I don't see what's to be gained by doing that.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.24

The Last Cometh

Another pilot arrives, Kaworu Nagisa. He spends time with Shinji but he later presents a threat to Nerv. He takes control of Unit 02. Shinji goes after his in Unit 01. Readings seem to indicate that Kaworu is an Angel. Shinji stops him in Unit 01 but he later regrets it.

Thoughts

They keep talking about things that I don't understand. They keep talking about people or things that haven't been shown, as far as I can tell. I don't understand what they are going on about. It is almost like there is another show that I should have watched before watching this one or that I should be watching in parallel with this one.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.23

Tears

Another Angel attacks. Rei tries to deal with it in Unit 00. The Angel overwhelms Unit 00 and Rei. Asuka tries to help but she can't make Unit 02 function. Shinji is sent out in Unit 01. The Angel has merged with Unit 00 and Rei. She destroys Unit 00 which also destroys herself and the Angel.

Everyone is sad. Rei is gone but then she's back. It's a clone of the Rei who was just killed. Ritsuko shows Shinji and Katsuragi the secret chamber where the spare versions of Rei are kept. Ritsuko is disgusted with herself. She pulls the plug on the spare versions of Rei in the secret chamber.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.22

Staying Human

Asuka flashes back to her childhood and reflects on many things. She is filled with all sorts of feelings, chief amongst them seems to be anger. She is angry at Shinji and Rei mostly. She seems to be angry at Rei for following orders. She seems to angry at Shinji for surpassing her as a pilot.

An angel launches an attack from space. Asuka insists on being the one to take it on. She is no match for it. She uses up all her ammunition and then does nothing as her vital signs start to drop, Rei is sent out in Unit 00 with the Spear of Longinus. It is the only weapon that can reach the Angel in orbit of the Earth. Rei hurls it at the Angel and destroys it but the spear is lost.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.21

The Birth of Nerv

There are a lot of flashbacks in this episode. Yui, Shunji's mother, makes her first appearance. Gendo, Shinji's father, plays a much bigger role in this episode than he has in many previous ones. Katsuragi appears in many flashbacks as everything from a young girl to a teenager to an adult. There is more talk of the discoveries made in Antarctica. Shinji only appears briefly. There is more evidence that Rei is a clone, possibly of Yui.

This episode moved too fast for me to follow everything. It has a very choppy pace.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.20

Of the Shapes of Hearts and Humans

Shinji is still inside Unit 01. They don't know how to retrieve him. He isn't dead but the exact state he is in isn't clear. Unit 01 and the others are revealed not to be a giant robots but some sort of creatures that were found in Antarctica. They have been kept in check up until now.

Shinji spends a lot of time trying to make sense of his life up to that point. He imagines Katsuragi, Asuka, and Rei individually coming to him naked. Shinji is eventually retrieved from within Unit 01. It takes a little over a month to get him out.

The episode ends with a scene in which Katsuragi and Ryoji together in bed. They are talking but then it sounds like they are starting to have sex.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.19

A Man's Battle

Shinji decides that he's had enough of Nerv and being a pilot. His father allows him to leave the program. He has left Nerv HQ and is waiting for a train when an Angel attacks.

Shinji watches the fight between Asuka in Unit 02 and the Angel. Asuka is no match for the Angel. Nerv attempts to send Rei in Unit 01 but it rejects her. Nerv attempts to send Unit 01 with the dummy plug inserted but it rejects the dummy plug.

Shinji watches Asuka get badly beaten and decides that he must return and pilot Unit 01. He returns, has another confrontation with his father and takes off in Unit 01. Shinji is filled with rage and expresses it in how he pilots Unit 01.

Unit 01 runs out of power in the middle of the fight. Shinji begs and pleads until miraculously Unit 01 comes back online. It does more than beat the Angel, it eats part of the Angel.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.18

Life and Death Decisions

Preparations are made for the announcement of the identity of the pilot of Unit 03. None of other pilots seem to know who it will be.

Some tests are run on Unit 03 but something goes wrong. Unit 03 takes off without authorization. It seems that the pilot isn’t able to control Unit 03 and that it may be controlled by an Angel. 

The other three unit’s are sent out to deal with Unit 03. They are given orders to take it out. Shinji asks about the pilot of Unit 03 and is told not to worry about it. Shinji refuses to fight. A switch is flipped back at Nerv HQ and the his unit is remotely controlled from there.

Shinji watches in horror as Unit 01 stops Unit 03, practically destroying it. Somehow the pilot, Tohji, survives.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.17

The Fourth to be Qualified

The council wants to question Shinji about the most recent encounter with an Angel but Katsuragi denies their request. They interrogate her in his place. An accident happens in the United States. Preparations are made for the arrival/addition of a new pilot. 

Thoughts

Not a whole lot seemed to happen in this episode. Things happened but I'm not sure how it all adds up or how it is moving the plot forwards. Maybe there will be another battle with an Angel in the next episode. 

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.16

The Sickness unto Death, and then...

Katsuragi is very happy about her relationship with Ryoji. Asuka doesn't like it.

An Angel materializes over Tokyo-3 without the usual detectable signature. The three units are sent out to deal with it. Asuka suggests that Shinji take the lead because he did so well on tests earlier in the day. Shinji is feeling confident and takes the lead only to be sucked into a pocket dimension.

Nerv and the other units lose all contact with Shinji. He is stuck for hours. His life support systems run out of energy. The episode ends with Shinji's unit coming to life, basically on its own and breaking out of the trap.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.15

Silence and Lies

Katsuragi, Ritsuko, and Ryoji go to a wedding. Asuka goes on a date with a classmate's brother but she doesn't like him and ends the date early. Shinji stays home and plays the cello. Asuka gets bored after returning home and kisses Shinji. She decides after the fact that it was a mistake. Ryoji helps Katsuragi get home safely.

Shinji visits his mother's grave on the anniversary of her death. Gendo, his father, meets him there. They share a few awkward words. 

The episode ends with Katuragi finding Ryoji in the sub-basement at Nerv. He opens a compartment which reveals that Nerv has the remains of the first Angel.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.14

Seele, the Seat of the Soul

The governing council interrogates Gendo Ikari, the head of Nerv. They fail to find to find any evidence that anything improper is happening at Nerv.

Rei and Shinji are tested in one another's units. Rei doesn't experience any problems. Everything goes well with Shinji's tests, at first, but then Unit 00 goes berserk and has to be shut down while Shinji is still inside.

Thoughts

Major Katsuragi and some of the other regular supporting cast are also in this episode.

The first half of this episode was basically a recap of the battles with the angels from the first 13 episodes of the show.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.13

Angel Infiltration

Nerv is in the process of running some tests when an angel infiltrates Nerv HQ. It comes in through the computer system like a virus. It spreads and spreads. Everything they attempt seems to have no effect on it but in the end they figure out what needs to be done.

Thoughts

I found this episode to be hard to follow. It felt very technical. I understood the basic idea of what was happening but there were lots of descriptions and terms that went right over my head. Accordingly, I wasn't crazy about this episode. I fail to see how it expands the world in which this story takes place.

This might be a good place to pause my viewing of this series. I haven't decided yet.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.12

A Miracle's Worth

The episode opens up with a flashback to Katsuragi's youth, fifteen years earlier, when her father sacrificed himself and made sure that she survived a very large (possibly nuclear) explosion.

In the present, Captain Katsuragi was recently promoted to the rank of major. Shinji and Asuka throw a small party for her. They invite Rei but she doesn't come.

Katsuragi is left in charge of Nerv HQ when Shinji's father leaves for a trip to Antarctica. An angel attacks Tokyo-3. Katsuragi takes the initiative and uses Special Declaration D-17 to order the evacuation of Tokyo-3.

The Angel drops from the sky like a bomb. The three pilots in their EVA units have to catch it and use their force fields to keep it from causing too much damage.

They are successful and for the first time Shinji's father congratulates him. Katsuragi takes the pilots out for ramen to celebrate the successful mission.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.11

In the Still Darkness

Most of the power goes out in Tokyo-3. Everyone is affected by it. Those in Nerv HQ are affected the most. The three pilots have to make their way there by foot. Eventually they do but even then they face other obstacles when it comes to dealing with the Angel.

Thoughts

Much of what happens here is in how the story is told. Asuka is still hot tempered and selfish. Will she ever change / soften?

This is a pretty good episode. It doesn't advance the plot forward as much as provide a different perspective on life at Nerv HQ.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.10

The Magma Diver

Shinji, Asuka, and Rei are forced to stay behind when their class goes on a trip to Okinawa. Shinji expected it. Rei doesn't comment on it. Asuka is angry she isn't doesn't get to go.

An Angel egg is found in the heart of a volcano. Asuka is tasked with retrieving it. She refuses until Rei offers to go in her place. Shinji is Asuka's backup.

Asuka descends into the magma in Unit 02. She picks up the egg but before she can get it to the surface it hatches. She fights the newly hatched Angel as she ascends. She almost doesn't make it but Shinji steps in and helps her.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.09

Mind, Matching Moment

Asuka transfers to the same school as Rei and Shinji. She tries talking to Rei but Rei isn't very responsive. 

Shinji and Asuka take on an Angel together, for the first time each in their own units. Their first attempt to destroy the Angel doesn't go very well. They have seven days until the Angel returns. Katsuragi makes them train by playing a dancing game and by sharing a room. 

Katsuragi has problems of her own with Ryoji who won't stop hitting on her.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.08

Asuka Arrives in Japan

Katsuragi, Shinji, and his two classmates get helicopter ride out to a fleet of ships that is bringing an Evangelion to Japan from Germany. Asuka Langley Soryu, the pilot, greets them when they board the aircraft carrier. Katsuragi gets a nasty surprise when she discovers that Kaji is traveling with Asuka. He asks some rather personal questions which make is clear that they have know each other intimately.

Asuka is showing Shinji her Evangelion when the fleet comes under attack from an Angel. Asuka and Shinji suit up. He has to wear one of her suits. They take off with permission from Katsuragi despite orders from the fleet's commander forbidding them to do so. Katsuragi comes up with a plan for how to deal with the Angel. Asuka and Shinji are forced to work together in the cockpit of her Evangelion in order to lure the Angel into the trap that Katsuragi has set for it.

Kaji doesn't stick around. He leaves early and flies to Nerv headquarters where he delivers a special package to Shinji's father. The next day Shinji's class welcomes a new student, Asuka.

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.07

The Works of Man

Shinji can't get over how big of a slob Katsuragi can be. Katsuragi and Akagi go to a conference where a new giant robot is demonstrated. Akagi expresses some doubts about the design of the giant robot. During the demonstration something goes wrong. Nerv is forced to step in and save the day. Shiji in Unit 01 and Katsuragi team up to stop the other giant robot.

Thoughts

This was decent. It helped to expand the world in which this story is taking place, a little bit. Shinji develops a new appreciation for Katsuragi. It looks like a new character, another pilot, is going to get introduced in the next episode.