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samasmith23 · 10 months

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Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon — (Part 10)

Neon Genesis Evangelion, “Episode 10: MAGMADIVER”

Continuing my Evangelion re-watch marathon with NGE, "Episode 10: MAGMADIVER”! For my thoughts on the previous episode, click the link to the post below:

Now this is going to be a very interesting episode for me to revisit since for a lot of EVA fans this is widely considered to be one of the weakest/worst episodes in the entire original series. The most common complaints I’ve seen directed towards this episode include that it contributes nothing to the overall series narrative, that the science involved with defeating the Angel in this episode is completely unrealistic and implausible, and most especially that this episode in particular is loaded to the brim with gratuitous and unnecessary fan-service. I remember reading all of these complaints a few years after I first marathoned NGE back in college and to be perfectly honest… I never understood nor agreed with any of them since… I always personally really loved “MAGMADIVER” and think it’s seriously underrated/overhated.

No seriously, “MAGMADIVER” was always one of my personal favorite episodes in the original series, right alongside Episodes 4, 19, 22 & 24! I’ll provide my own counter-arguments the aforementioned fan complaints directed towards this episode as I go through it!

But with all of that out of the way, let’s finally dig into the episode itself!

Oh boy! Right off the bat this episode establishes that it’s going to heavily focus on one of the most important thematic elements surrounding the entire Evangelion franchise: sexuality.

While themes about sex & sexuality have already been heavily present throughout NGE so far, particularly in relation to Misato’s personality and mannerisms as well as the interactions between Shinji & Asuka in the previous episode, “Magmadiver” is particularly notable in how much it emphasizes developmental feelings of sexual desire as a central tenant for characters like Shinji & Asuka.

In relation to Asuka, the themes of adolescent sexuality are effectively conveyed in this opening scene where she’s out shopping with Kaji. In addition to Asuka obsessively clinging onto Kaji as they’re walking down the streets of Tokyo-3, Asuka immediately sets her eyes on a provocative bikini in the local department store which she claims that, “Oh come on Kaji, this is what all the girls are wearing,” in response to Kaji’s understandable concerns that Asuka is still too young to be wearing such a swimsuit.

This interaction not only further establishes Asuka’s adolescent one-sided infatuation with the much older Kaji, but it also feels like a very honest and sincere portrayal of teenage sexuality. In addition to plenty of teens in the real-world often developing one-sided crushes on older individuals, celebrities or even fictional characters (for instance, one of my personal earliest childhood crushes was supermodel/actress Rebecca Romijn’s portrayal Mystique from the live-action X-Men movies), several adolescents will simultaneously struggle with wanting to be perceived as being more “mature” and “adult” than they actually are like with Asuka here.

And skipping ahead a little, but this is something that Kaji acknowledges during a flashback in Episode 22 when he rejects Asuka’s inappropriate advances towards him precisely BECAUSE she is still a 14-year-old girl, stating that she shouldn’t rush into engaging in adult activities like sex BECAUSE she is still a minor who’s developing and learning, and that she should hold onto her youth while it lasts.

“Public middle school?” I thought that Asuka & Shinji were freshmen in high school, since that’s what grade I was in back when I was 14-years-old (they could be in 8th grade, but still)…

I love how naturally the little tidbits of world-building are established throughout this series! We get a glimpse of just how big of an event the Second Impact was, as well as just how much the near-apocalyptic disaster affected the daily lives of every single person on the planet through Kaji’s comment here about how his generation never got to go on school field trips!

While Asuka’s reaction to the news that neither she or Shinji will be allowed to go on their school field trip due to being on standby in case another Angel attacks can definitely come across as overly whiny, I feel that it’s rather effective in highlighting one of the major downsides of being an EVA-Pilot. Namely that because Asuka & Shinji are essentially serving as child-soldiers who pilot giant robots to fight against alien monsters threatening to destroy the world, the two are essentially being forced into adulthood far too early and are unable to enjoy the youth of adolescence like their fellow classmates are. It’s an interesting subversion and deconstruction of the Japanese mecha genre, as while plenty of mecha anime similarly feature teenagers piloting giant robots to combat kaju, EVA actively explores and interrogates the implications of forcing such a heavy burden onto literal children instead of focusing on the escapist power-fantasy elements of the genre.

Additionally, Asuka’s reaction here also conveys an interesting contradiction in her characterization! While the previous shopping scene with Kaji portrayed Asuka’s misguided efforts to “act more grown-up” by wanting to impress the object of her one-sided crush by buying an inappropriate swimsuit, Asuka’s outrage of being unable to go on the scuba-diving field trip highlights some double-meaning behind her earlier excuse of, “This is what all the girls are wearing,” in that she was not only wanting to impress Kaji but that she also wanted to “fit-in” with her classmates. This not only conveys themes of peer pressure, but also a contradiction in Asuka’s facade of “adulthood” since there is a part of her that still wants to engage and participate in the activities of other 14-year-old girls like herself.

Lol! Asuka’s description of Shinji as a “housebroken male” is absolutely hilarious! It makes it sound like she views Shinji more like a pet than as an actual person. I wonder if that was intentional on Anno’s part?

Also, I just noticed that Shinji’s wearing more a more feminine shirt in this scene! Yet further confirmation to the fan-theories that Shinji is a trans-femme egg!

Double lol! Asuka predicted modern debates about the value and effectiveness of numerical grading within the public education system!

As much as I praise the levels of nuanced character writing for the main cast of NGE, credit should also be given for the little bits of development that Anno also provides for the background extras which helps makes EVA’s universe feel more alive and three-dimensional! For instance, this scene within NERV HQ’s Central Dogma during down-time is heavily effective in how it not only portrays the main staff members Maya, Hyuga & Aoba outside of an intense and chaotic action scene, but distinguishes each of them with their own unique personality traits. This information is visually conveyed to the viewer through their reading material and demeanor during casual down-time at the office, as we see Maya intently focused on what appears to be a regular novel (establishing her a steadfast analysis), Hyuga giggling over what appears to be a Shonen Jump manga (making him the more nerdy fan-boy of the group; in other words he’s essentially me…), and Aoba drumming his fingers to punk-rock magazines (which is in line with his more pessimistic attitude that’s later on display in The End of Evangelion)!

I love Misato’s insightful response to Ritsuko’s questioning about the idea of having a school field-trip during the middle of an Angel invasion: “I guess the idea is to let all of the kids to have time to get out and act like kids.”

Not only does she make an incredibly valid point here in-and-of-itself, but her words interestingly parallel the aforementioned themes about youth and adolescence in relation to the expectations of the mecha genre. While one could easily argue that Misato’s words are hypocritical since she’s an leading presence in the militaristic weaponization of the EVA pilots as child soldiers, her insight here helps illustrate how in contrast to other NERV personnel like Ritsuko, Misato is willing to continuously question and doubt the ethics of the methods utilized to combat the threat of the Angels.

Also, because Aoba is tuning out to punk rock in this scene, he is therefore automatically on Batman’s crap-list!

I’ll NEVER… EVER… get tired of referencing the dark knight’s all-consuming hatred for rock-&-roll!

I actually never noticed this before, but this underwater shot of Rei swimming laps beneath the overhead nadatorium light strikingly mirrors the animation from the “Fly Me To the Moon” ending credits segment where Rei’s silhouette is spinning in front of the moon in an underwater setting! In addition to directly evoking both the imagery of the end credits theme (as well as the Ocean of LCL during Human Instrumentality in The End of Evangelion), this scene not only further foreshadows Rei’s true identity as the reincarnated soul of Lilith, but it also reinforces the idea that Rei feels more comfortable when submerged in liquid substances like water or LCL (an idea that will be later expanded upon in one of the stanzas of Rei's poem from Episode 14)!

Speaking of the swimming pool scene… oh boy there is certainly a lot to unpack here!

This scene in particular is easily one of the primary contributors to the negative dismissal of this episode from a sizable portion of the EVA fanbase, as many argue that it exists solely for the purposes of gratuitous fan-service. Specifically, while Shinji is trying to study for a physics exam on a nearby table, Asuka is standing in front of him in the same provocative bikini that she tried and failed to impress Kaji with earlier and was unable to wear on the school field trip, and Shinji can’t help feel uncomfortably embarrassed at the sight of Asuka’s chest as she leans in to help answer his homework questions.

The situation isn’t helped when Asuka answers Shinji’s questions about “thermal expansion,” i.e. the idea that objects will increase in size when heated and contract in size when cooled, since she making a suggestive analogy to the size of her breasts to try and explain the scientific concept to him.

Many critics write off this scene as nothing more than stereotypical anime fan-service tropes being played completely straight, which is sadly symptomatic of a larger criticism that I’ve seen some people direct towards the Evangelion franchise as a whole. Except, while I will concede that the usage of gratuitous fan-service is definitely a problem with the Rebuild movies based on everything I’ve seen and heard about them (which is especially uncomfortable since the characters in question are underage…), I personally heavily disagree with the argument that it’s also problem with the original NGE series and especially The End of Evangelion movie, and that both entries instead actively subvert the usual problematic tropes of fan-service in anime in order to discuss complex themes about sexuality, adolescence, and adulthood. And this scene at the pool is a prime example of this IMO.

The primary reason why I feel that NGE actively avoids perpetuating problematic fan-service tropes largely comes down to framing, and what subjects that the camera chooses to direct the viewer’s attention towards. In the case of the Shinji & Asuka pool scene, the camera & framing makes it very clear that the narrative is critiquing Shinji objectification of Asuka instead of encouraging the audience to do the same. Instead of simply focusing on Asuka’s chest like a lot of other anime do with their female characters, the shots here instead emphasize Shinji’s line of eyesight & POV which directed towards Asuka’s body, along with his visible sense of discomfort and confusion. A motif which is continued after Asuka walks away, as Shinji not only can’t help but continue to stare at Asuka as she bends down to grab her scuba gear, but also blushes and quickly jerks his head away when he witnesses Rei drying herself off. Shinji’s dialogue also accompanies the visual framing, as he attempts to write off Asuka’s innuendo about thermal expansion with, “How should I know?! I don’t think about things like that!”

Essentially, this scene is emphasizing that Shinji is a teenage boy who is struggling with his latent sexuality along with his complicated and borderline sexist views towards women. It also serves to highlight the growing romantic chemistry and toxic tension between Shinji & Asuka which becomes even more prevalent as the series progresses. So while the scene does utilize some close-up shots that you commonly see in fan-service scenes from other anime, EVA’s directing instead places all of the focus and attention onto Shinji’s perspective and reactions.

Additionally, the pool scene also further fleshes out Asuka’s struggles with wanting to grow-up too fast and her developing relationship with Shinji due to the preceding events with Kaji in the episode’s opening. At this point, Asuka is beginning to simultaneously perceive Shinji as both a substitute for her infatuation with Kaji, as a well as a rival who threatens her alleged "superiority" as an EVA pilot.

Essentially, Asuka is overcompensating for these aforementioned insecurities by treating Shinji like a child who’s ultimately beneath her, not only purposefully flaunting her sexuality in order to get a reaction out of him, but also bragging about her more advanced education due to her having previously already graduated college early. And when Shinji dismisses Asuka'sefforts to attempt to feel “more grown-up” than him, she can’t help but disappointedly write off Shinji as a “boring little boy…”

Elements such as these are why I honestly get incredibly annoyed whenever I see others dismiss “MAGMADIVER” as “the disposable fan-service filler episode,” since not only does the framing and blocking of the pool scene instead actively subvert and interrogate the very same problematic fan-service tropes that many people mistakenly believe the episode to be engaging in, but it simultaneously utilizes this subversion of tropes to reveal important information about characters like Shinji, Asuka & Rei in relation to EVA’s overall themes about sexuality.

Also, in addition to all of the rich thematic subtext and character development on display here, the pool scene also establishes the Chekhov’s Gun of this episode, as thermal expansion will come into play 2 more times throughout the course of “MAGMADIVER”! So the scene is also incredibly plot-relevant as well!

Alright! Now we’re getting into the major meat of this episode and why it’s titled “MAGMADIVER”! NERV has just detected the 8th Angel, Sandalphon. Except unlike all of the previous Angels seen so far, Sandalphon is unique in that it is currently still in its embryonic chrysalis-like state. And while Misato & Gendo see this as a golden opportunity to capture and study a live Angel before it hatches, the downside is that Sandalphon’s cocoon is buried deep inside the magma chamber of an active volcano. Which means that Asuka’s EVA Unit-02 will have to dive straight into the lava and enter an environment far too hazardous and pressurized for normal methods of human intrusion to retrieve the Angel egg before it hatches!

I’ve always loved this premise for an Angel battle, as the idea of the Evangelion essentially scuba-diving inside of an active volcano whilst having to contend with increasing pressure and the possibility of the Angel prematurely hatching is not only an insanely creative concept, but also allows for a foreboding sense of tension and peril with multiple ticking-clocks! Weirdly though, the Sandalphon fight seems to be another strong point of contention for “MAGMADIVER” detractors, arguing that the scenario is scientifically implausible. Except I have to ask… how is a giant robot being lowered into a magma chamber any more scientifically implausible than connecting an entire nation’s power lines to a giant sniper rifle within the span of only 10-hours?! This is exactly the kind of silly yet strategic creativity that I love when it comes to EVA’s fight scenes!

Plus, this episode also gives the viewer some insight into the Angel’s life-cycle that’s not explored in previous episodes, revealing that they spontaneously appear in random environments and enter an embryonic chrysalis stage similar to caterpillers before fully maturing into giant kaju, and that each Angel uniquely adapts to its surrounding environment.

Also, it’s rather neat seeing Sandalphon in an embryonic stage since the only other Angel we see like this is their progenitor Adam from back in Episode 8 (Sandalphon’s egg even kind of resembles the Adam fetus now that I look at it…)

I can’t help but find it really fascinating how Gendo adopts Asuka’s mindset from earlier in the episode about shifting from a defensive to an offensive position as soon as Sandalphon’s cocoon is discovered. It makes me wonder whether or not Anno was trying to evoke some parallels between the two characters?

Also, SEELE’s Human Instrumentality Committee makes another brief appearance here as Gendo receives begrudging approval for the plan to capture the Angel egg. Haven’t seen them since Episode 2… and I still maintain my previous theory that they’re all secretly Marvel & DC cosplayers in their spare time!

Yeah… I can’t really blame Asuka’s sense of humiliation when it comes to not only EVA Unit-02 being covered-up with bulky and dull-gray D-Type Equipment to help shield the mecha from the crushing pressure of the lava chamber, but also the fact that Ritsuko’s attempts to make her plug-suit more heat-protected essentially make Asuka look like Violet Beauregarde when she transformed into a humanoid blueberry in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory…

Thankfully there are no Oompa Loompa’s to roll Asuka around… or else this whole situation would be even more embarrassing than it already is for her!

Also, I love how just like in the previous episode, it’s once again Rei who triggers Asuka’s feelings of wounded pride, since when Rei volunteers to operate Unit-02 when Asuka refuses to do the mission while looking like Blueberry-Violet (especially if Kaji’s watching), Asuka immediately refuses to let Rei lay a single finger on her beloved Unit-02!

Did… Misato just say, “God’s gift won’t be coming, he’s got no business here,” when Asuka asked if Kaji was there to watch at the Volcano? A very interesting choice of words for someone whose thus far demonstrated nothing but verbal contempt for Kaji…

Speaking of Kaji though… I’m curious as to who the woman he’s talking to on the gondola about “frozen assents” is? This definitely feels like some serious double/triple agent shenanigans here…

Yet another reason for me to hate Gendo’s guts: he’s willing to have the UN drop N² Mines on Shinji & Asuka if they fail to successfully capture or kill the Angel! What kind of a father would be willing to essentially nuke his own son?!

I love how Asuka telling Shinji to watch her imitate a diving maneuver while Unit-02 enters the lava mirrors the previous scene at the swimming pool, effectively conveying that Asuka is beginning ti crave for attention and acknowledgement from Shinji in particular!

Man oh man do I FREAKING LLLOOOVVVEEE the lava-descent scene! This entire sequence is just oozing to the brim with tension! Not only does Asuka have to deal with intense heat and near-zero visibility, but as she continues to descend deeper and deeper into the lava chamber the environment is becoming increasingly more pressurized and starting to take a visible toll on Unit-02, as not only are visible cracks beginning to form on the protective D-Type Equipment and cooling pipes, but the pressure also forces Asuka to drop her progressive knife! And the tension of this scene is only further enhanced by not only the NERV staff calculating the continuously increasing depth level, but also by the lack of background music as well Asuka being forced to defend even deeper than previously calculated due to the lava flow altering the Angel egg’s position.

This scene also reveals some rather interesting new insight into Misato’s character while she monitors the mission, as she ignores the safety protocols and orders Asuka to continue descending to levels too dangerous for human intrusions. This demonstrates that despite Misato’s previous concern for the safety and well-being for the EVA pilots, there is simultaneously a part of her that is willing to risk the lives of these kids if it means destroying the Angels at all costs. Hyuga’ s look of concern towards Misato perfectly encapsulates the viewer’s feelings right now!

Oh! Two clever bits of foreshadowing here! Not only does Asuka repeatedly express her desire for a shower after the mission is completed (I mean, can ya blame her considering how much of a heat & sweat trap that Blueberry-Violet plug-suit is?), but Ritsuko can’t help but discern how Misato’s aforementioned conviction during the descent and capture of the Angel egg is intrinsically connect to fear of causing another Second Impact! Yup, this will definitely come into play later on in Episode 12!

And things go from bad to worse since the moment Asuka captures the Angel-egg in her electromagnetic cage and begins to ascend back up to the surface, Sandalphon begins to prematurely hatch and escapes from the containment field, immediately shifting this mission from a retrieval-operation into a combat-operation! And to make matters even worser, Asuka is left without a progressive knife as Shinji is forced to drop Unit-01’s knife down into the lava as this Angel with an ultra-thick lava-proof armored-shell along with razor-sharp teeth and tentacles is rapidly swimming towards Unit-02 and begins to bite away at its cooling vents and life-line!

On the subject of Sandalphon itself though, I love how in addition to this Angel being perfectly adapted to this uniquely hostile environment, we never get a real good glimpse at the Angel’s physical appearance in this episode due to it being heavily obscured by both the lava and the heavy red color pallete. I remember being annoyed by this when I first watched it on my original DVD copies due to their fuzzy image-quality, but upon rewatching this scene in HD on the Blu-Ray collection I now feel that this framing helps further add to the suspense of this fight, truly enhancing the zero-visibility conditions of the setting by making obscuring the monster’s appearance to not only Asuka, but to the viewer as well!

But for the sake of interest, here’s what Sandalphon looks like unobscured according to official concept artwork:

In regards to this Angel’s name, according to Wikipedia “Sandalphon (Hebrew: סַנְדַּלְפוֹן Sandalp̄ōn; Greek: Σανδαλφών Sandalfón) is an archangel in Jewish and Christian writings, although not in scripture. Sandalphon figures prominently in the mystical literary traditions of Rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity, notably in the Midrash, Talmud, and Kabbalah and is generally seen as gathering prayers and passing them on to God.”

Additionally, Sandalphon’s name symbolically correlates with the episode’s depiction of the Angel’s life cycle, as some theological texts depict Sandalphon as being “instrumental in bringing about the differentiation of sex in the embry.”

I’ve seen some people criticize method by which Sandalphon is ultimately defeated, wherein Shinji remembers his physics homework about thermal expansion, meaning that if Sandalphon’s thick armor shell is designed to protect itself from the highly pressurized heat of the lava, then extremely cold temperatures will force the armor to contract make it brittle enough for Asuka’s progressive knife to penetrate its core. This gives Asuka the idea purposefully rip open the pipes to her cooling vents and force-feed a stream of liquid-coolant straight down the Angel’s throat, lowering its internal body temperature enough for its exterior armor to contract and for Asuka to stab its core. Detractors have argued that this portrayal of thermal expansion is scientifically inaccurate, but I’m willing to suspend my disbelief as the entire scenario is just so FREAKING cool!

That moment of horrific realization as Asuka looks back up at her life-line beginning to completely break-apart after severing her cooling vents to kill Sandalphon, as well as the lava pressure crushing her exposed D-Type Equipment? Absolute chills! Tiffany Grant once again nails Asuka’s sense of despair as she quickly realizes that despite successfully defeating the Angel she’s still going to die, almost as if she’s simultaneously reluctant yet accepting of her fate!

And her reaction to Shinji & Unit-01 sliding down the remaining life-line into the lava without protective armor to grab Unit-02’s hand before Asuka sinks down into the depths? Absolute perfection! Not only do we get a quick shot of Unit-01’s eye’s glowing (implying that it entered a partial berserker-mode again), but Asuka’s comment to Shinji, “Idiot… you show off!”

Despite being an insult, Asuka says that line in such a grateful, playful, and almost affectionate tone (once again, kudos to Tiffany Grant’s voice acting)! It shows a hidden tenderness to Shinji & Asuka’s relationship that we haven’t seen before!

As much flack as we give Kaji, him mailing Pen Pen to Misato and the EVA pilots for their post-mission hot-springs bath was an incredibly thoughtful gesture on his part… though stuffing a live penguin inside of a box seems counterproductive. Hoped he poked airholes in the box at least…

So umm… Shinji overhearing Misato & Asuka on the other side of the hot springs when he throws the body shampoo over the fence and it accidentally hits Asuka, leading to Shinji overhearing a rather… suggestive… conversation where Misato seems to be teasing and tickling Asuka. I’m curious as to how much of that was real, and how much if that was just Shinji’s imagination over-exaggerating it. I know that Misato is very forward with her own sexuality and that public bathing and standards of privacy are very different in Japan than they are here in America, but I’m really hoping that she was NOT doing anything sexually illicit behind that wall. I instead prefer to believe that a lot of what Shinji was hearing was grossly exaggerated by his own perverted imagination as a teenage boy with complicated feelings towards both Asuka & Misato (the latter being a product of his Oedipus Complex), especially since this leads to the final instance of “thermal expansion” in this episode which understandably embarrasses Shinji and freaks out Pen Pen (the poor penguin was just having a good time swimming).

While critics like to also cite the ending hot springs scene as further evidence of “MAGMADIVER” being “fan-service filler trash,” not only does the aforementioned stuff with Shinji continue to convey the character’s struggles with latent and developing sexuality and complicated attitudes about women, but once we finally see Asuka & Misato on the other side of the wall and the two watching the sunset, we get two major pieces of important foreshadowing for both characters! In addition to Asuka noticing a massive scar which runs straight across Misato’s chest, which the latter reveals was a byproduct of the Second Impact, Asuka asks Misato whether she knows about her own past, leading to Misato stating that it’s “ancient history.”

Not only does this indicate that Misato was directly present in Antarctica during the events of Second Impact, but it also hints at Asuka’s deeply traumatic childhood which serves as the foundation for the character’s struggles for attention as an EVA Pilot and misguided desire to be perceived as an adult instead of the child that she actually is.

Overall, that was NGE, “Episode 10: MAGMADIVER,” and upon rewatching it I still consider this episode to be one of my personal favorites in the series and wholeheartedly disagree with the general criticisms that most other fans lobby against it! Not only does this episode cleverly subvert the usual problematic fan-service tropes that unfortunately plague most modern anime, but through doing so it’s able to effectively communicate interesting and nuanced themes about Shinji & Asuka’s respective struggles with their own developing sexualities, perceptions of adolescence versus adulthood, as well as how the characters perceive themselves and others through this lens. Part of what makes Evangelion stand out among other anime before and after it is how its portrayal of adolescence is so earnest. EVA discusses the more difficult & uncomfortable aspects of teenage growth with careful respect & maturity, instead of creepily fetishizing these issues in a juvenile & gross manner like a lot of other anime sadly do (even the really good ones…).

So while I can definitely understand other people’s discomfort with NGE’s depiction of these uncomfortable themes, I feel like arguing that the series as a whole (as well as this episode in particular) actively perpetuates rather than subverts negative fan-service tropes like I’ve seen a few critics argue misses the mark on a lot of the insightful themes that EVA is trying to convey through these otherwise uncomfortable subjects. Despite Misato’s running gag in the “Next Episode” teasers about “promising more fan-service,” the original NGE and The End of Evangelion are in fact very critical towards the anime fan-service tropes that were popularized by Japanese Otaku subculture.

Additionally, the lava-fight with Sandalphon was FREAKING phenomenal in just how creative and suspenseful it was, even if the weaponization of thermal expansion used to defeat it is somewhat scientifically inaccurate! So yeah, I definitely still really love “MAGMADIVER” and feel that this episode gets far more hate than it deserves!

Next up is Episode 11!

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karizard-ao3 · 19 days

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I know that right after watching the series some of these prompts in the asks might give you some whiplash, but that's maybe bc you're not used to their portrayals in the spin-offs

Like. This is how the series itself portrays them. Honest to god, this is how a tutoring session went (it's exactly the same as canon, like that scene in the pool in magmadiver when she explains thermodynamic expansion to him):

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSXtpJ-7eNgbrdIkxJL8TfBSkP7Xzzl3MVhuBLx740BjqAnQCA-AKcdG5hI&s=10

But he's also just very sweet:

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQy8W_-3RMrB-bpqz_J7Re_JfZCyg3jXK9g8g&usqp=CAU

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTe7mP12LnAp0mds-IqFfKe1NXKfTgIoOzMTQ&usqp=CAU

“I gotta be there for her, you know”

In a normal world, their relationship is all about the bicker-banter, flirting, hormonal horniness. Let them be careless teens for once

But not too careless, or else we'll have some teen parents on our hands!

#ask me things #my asks #answered asks #asuka langley soryu #shinji ikari #asushin

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jinruihokankeikaku · 1 year

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A brief scene of Ritsuko and the two men of the bridge crew playing golf and Ibuki continuing her reading, with Mt. Asama in the background, from Eva Original Vol. 2, Episode 10 ("Magmadiver"). A footnote reads, "The country club scene was cut altogether."

#nge #Eva Original #The Evangelion Annotation Project

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destroyer-of-monsters · 5 years

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#Sandalphon #Sandarufon #Eighth Angel #neon genesis evangelion #Magmadiver #The Magma Diver #Eva-02 #Evangelion

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 4 years

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Neon Genesis Evangelion. Episode 10. “ マグマダイバ Magmadiver / Magma Diver.” Written by Hideaki Anno and Akio Satsukawa. Directed by Tsuyoshi Kaga and Hiroyuki Ishido. Gainax, 12-06-1995.

#neon genesis evangelion #nge #magma diver #gainax #hideaki anno #akio satsukawa #tsuyoshi kaga #hiroyuki ishido #nerv #angel #sandolphon #eva unit 02

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unknown-eva · 5 years

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Ep 11 // Magmadiver

#nge #neon genesis evangelion #evangelion #eva #eva 01 #mech #mecha

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wahbegan · 5 years

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Yeah okay we gotta talk about Magmadiver and what it means for Hideaki Anno’s clear and obvious inflation fetish tho

#Evangelion

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legendaryandroid · 5 years

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Neon Genesis Evangelion Episode 10: The Magma Diver/MagmaDiver

It’s probably pretty clear, but I’m watching this on Netflix. Which is why the two titles. One is the Netflix one, one is the one given from the show.

And while it’s on my mind, it definitely feels like both Ritsuko and Kaji are hiding something from Misato. Like, are they both part of the secret group (Human Instrumentality Project)? And they know Misato wouldn’t approve of its methods? There’s also Ritsuko seeming to have feelings for Kaji and possibly other way around?

Also, now I’m wondering what Misato’s moral alignment would be. Like, initial thought was Lawful Good, but she does kinda try to bend things to the way she wants which seems more Neutral Good? But at the same time she sticks to the letter of the law pretty closely.

I have some respect for Kaji for not wanting to deal with Asuka awkward tween flirting with him.

Of course Asuka and Shinji have bad grades, did they not just skip over a week to train for a battle?

Where is Gendou right now anyway? He’s been gone for awhile. He going to the moon to visit Kaworu?

Early stage Angel looks similar to the Adam specimen. But not exactly surprising? It was established earlier that Angel genome matches humans by like 98%

Ooo, Misato has a sexy scar from Second Impact.

Signing off while laughing too hard at boner jokes. Until Next Time.

#neon genesis evangelion #genesisblog

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evamonkey · 6 years

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As far as I'm concerned, Asuka's smile is the only good thing to come out of Magmadiver.

#evangelion #neon genesis evangelion #Asuka Langley Soryu

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evangelion-world · 2 years

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monogataribr · 2 years

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NOMES DOS EPISÓDIOS DE EVANGELION

JP : Evangelion do Novo Século (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン) [16] EN : Evangelion do Novo Gênese (Neon Genesis Evangelion) [17]

Episódio #01

JP : Apóstolo, Invasão (使徒、襲来) EN1 : Ataque de Anjo (Angel Attack) EN2 : Ataque de um anjo (An Angel's Attack) BR : Ataque do Anjo

Episódio #02

JP : Desconhecido, Teto (見知らぬ、天井) EN1 : Teto Desconhecido (Unfamiliar Ceiling) EN2 : A Besta (The Beast) BR : Ambiente Desconhecido

Episódio #03

JP : Que não Toca, Telefone (鳴らない、電話) EN1 : O Telefone que não Toca (The Phone That Doesn't Ring) EN2 : Uma Transferência (A Transferência) BR : Telefone Silencioso

Episódio #04

JP : Chuva, Depois de Fugir (雨、逃げ出した後) EN1 : Chuva, Depois da Fuga (Rain, After the Escape) EN2 : Dilema do Ouriço (Hedgehog's Dilemma) [19] BR : Chuva Depois da Fuga

Episódio #05

JP : Rei, Além do Meu Coração (レイ、心のむこうに) EN1 : Além do Coração de Rei (Beyond Rei's Heart) EN2 : Rei 1 (Rei I) BR : Rei, Além do Coração

Episódio #06

JP : Batalha Decisiva, Tóquio-3 (決戦、第三新東京市) EN1 : Confronto em Tóquio-3 (Showdown in Tokyo-3) EN2 : Rei 2 (Rei II) BR : Confronto em Neo Tóquio Três

Episódio #07

JP : Criação Humana (人の造りしもの) EN1 : A Criação Humana (The Human Creation) EN2 : Uma Obra Humana (A Human Work) BR : A Criação Humana

Episódio #08

JP : Asuka, Chega ao Japão (アスカ、来日) EN1 : Asuka Chega ao japão (Asuka Arrives in Japan) EN2 : Asuka Ataca! (Asuka Strikes!) BR : Asuka Ataca!

Episódio #09

JP : Momento, Coração, Sobreposição (瞬間、心、重ねて) EN1 : Momento, Coração, Juntos (Moment, Heart, Together) EN2 : Vocês dois, Dancem Como se Quisessem Vencer! (Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win!) BR : Momento de União de Mentes

Episódio #10

JP : Mergulhador de Magma (マグマダイバ) EN1 : Magmadiver (Magmadiver) EN2 : Mergulhador De Magma (Magma Diver) BR : Inferno de Magma!

Episódio #11

JP : Na Constante Escuridão (静止した闇の中で) EN1 : Na Constante Escuridão (In the Still Darkness) EN2 : O Dia em que Tóquio-3 Parou (The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still) [1] BR : Na Escuridão Silenciosa

Episódio #12

JP : O Valor de um Milagre (奇跡の価値は) EN1 : O Valor de um Milagre É... (The Value of a Miracle is...) EN2 : Ela Disse, “Não Faça Os Outros Sofrerem Por Seu Ódio Pessoal” (She Said, “Don't Make Others Suffer for Your Personal Hatred”) BR : O Valor De Um Milagre

Episódio #13

JP : Apóstolos, Infiltração (使徒、侵入) EN1 : Invasão De Anjos (Angel Invasion) EN2 : Atirador Liliputiano (Lilliputian Hitcher) [2] BR : A Invasão dos Anjos

Episódio #14

JP : SEELE, A Sede da Alma (ゼーレ、魂の座) EN1 : SEELE, Trono das Almas (SEELE, Throne of Souls) EN2 : Tecendo uma História (Weaving a Story) BR : SEELE, Um Lugar para a Alma!

Episódio #15

JP : Mentiras e Silêncio (嘘と沈黙) EN1 : Mentiras e Silêncio (Lies and Silence) EN2 : Aquelas Mulheres Ansiavam pelo Toque dos Lábios de Outras e assim Convidavam Seus Beijos (Those Women Longed for the Touch of Other's Lips, and Thus Invited Their Kisses) BR : Mentiras e Silêncio

Episódio #16

JP : Divisão da Mama, e... (死に至る病、そして) EN1 : A Doença até à Morte, e... (Sickness unto death [1], and..) [3] EN2 : Divisão da Mama (Splitting of the Breast) BR : Doença até a Morte

Episódio #17

JP : O Quarto Individuo Qualificado (四人目の適格者) EN1 : O Quarto Individuo Qualificado (The Fourth Qualified Individual) EN2 : A Quarto Criança (FOURTH CHILDRE) [5 BR : A Quarta Criança

Episódio #18

JP : Ambivalência (命の選択を) EN1 : Uma Escolha de Vida (A Life Choice) EN2 : Ambivalência (Ambivalence) [4] BR : O Julgamento da Vida

Episódio #19

JP : Ambivalência (命の選択を) EN1 : Uma Escolha de Vida (A Life Choice) EN2 : Ambivalência (Ambivalence) [4] BR : O Julgamento da Vida

Episódio #20

JP : A Batalha de um Homem (男の戰い) EN1 : A Batalha de um Homem (A Man's Battle) EN2 : Introjeção (Introjection) [6] BR : Forma da Mente, Forma do Homem

Episódio #21

JP : NERV, nascimento (ネルフ、誕生) EN1 : O Nascimento da NERV (The Birth of Nerv) EN2 : Ele Sabia que Ainda era uma Criança (He was aware that he was still a child) BR : O Nascimento da NERV

Episódio #22

JP : Pelo Menos, Seja Humano (せめて、人間らしく) EN1 : Pelo Menos, Seja Humano (At least, be human) EN2 : Não Seja (Don't be) BR : Pelo Menos, Seja Humano

Episódio #23

JP : Lágrimas (涙) EN1 : Lágrimas (Tears) EN2 : Rei 3 (Rei III) BR : Lágrimas

Episódio #24

JP : O Começo e o Fim / O último Shisha (最後のシ者) [7] EN1 : O Último Mensageiro (The Final Messenger) EN2 : O Começo e o Fim, ou “Batendo na Porta do Céu” (The Beginning and the End, or "Knockin' on Heaven's Door") BR : O Mensageiro Final

Episódio #25

JP : O Fim do Mundo (終わる世界) EN1 : O Fim do Mundo (The World Ending) EN2 : Você me Ama? (Do you love me?) BR : O Fim do Mundo

Episódio #26

JP : Apenas Grite “ai” No Centro do Mundo (世界の中心でアイを叫んだけもの) [9] EN1 : A Fera que Gritou Amor no Coração do Mundo (The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World) [8] EN2 : Cuide-se (Take Care of Yourself) BR : A Fera que Gritou “eu” no Coração do Mundo

Filme #1

JP : Morte & Renascimento (シト新生) [10] EN : MORTE & RENASCIMENTO (DEATH & REBIRTH) BR : Morte & Renascimento

Filme #2

JP : O FIM DO EVANGELION (THE END OF EVANGELION) EN : Fim do Evangelion (End of Evangelion) BR : O Fim de Evangelion

Episódio #25′

JP : Ar (エア) EN1 : Ar (Air) EN2 : O Amor é Destrutivo (Love is destructive) BR : Ar

Episódio #26′

JP : De todo Coração, Para Você (まごころを、君に) [18] EN1 : Com Meus Cumprimentos (Yours Sincerely) EN2 : MAIS UM FINAL: Eu Preciso de Você (ONE MORE FINAL: I Need You) BR : Eu Preciso de Você

JP : Evangelion: Nova Edição Teatral (ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版) [20] EN : Reconstrução de Evangelion (Rebuild of Evangelion)

Filme #1.0

JP : Prelúdio (序) EN : Você (Não) Esta Sozinho (You Are (Not) Alone) BR : Você (Não) Esta Sozinho

Filme #2.0

JP : Quebra (破) [12] EN : Você (Não) Pode Avançar (You Can (Not) Advance) BR : Você (Não) Pode Avançar

Filme #3.0

JP : Acelerar (Q) [11] EN : Você (Não) Pode Refazer (You Can (Not) Redo) BR : Você (Não) Pode Refazer

Filme #3.0+1.0 [15]

JP : Fim (||) [13] EN : Era uma Terceira Vez (Thrice Upon a Time) [14] BR : A Esperança

NOTAS REFERÊNCIAS

[1] Referência ao filme de ficção cientifica; O Dia Em Que A Terra Parou (1951), dirigido por Robert Wise. [2] Referência ao romance satírico; As Viagens De Gulliver (1735), escrito por Jonathan Swift. Liliputeanos são uma raça de pessoas minusculas. O anjo Ireul se infiltra na NERV “pegando” carona em um equipamento recém-instalado, assim como no romance o organismo Crichton pega carona em um satélite. [3] Referência ao livro filosófico; O Desespero Humano (1849), escrito por Søren Kierkegaard. O livro diz que não há nada a temer na morte física, mas na mental sim, e relaciona isso a “desespero”—Uma relação errônea entre os elementos físicos e mentais dos humanos. [4] “Ambivalência” é um termo de psicanálise cunhado pelo psicanalista suíço Paul Eugen Bleuler em 1911. É um estado de ter sentimentos simultâneos e conflitantes em relação a uma pessoa ou coisa. Mais especificamente para a psicanálise, refere-se a uma atitude emocional subjacente na qual os impulsos contraditórios coexistentes derivam de uma fonte comum e, portanto, são considerados interdependentes.Normalmente, não seria esperado que a pessoa que incorpora a ambivalência realmente sentisse as duas emoções contraditórias como tal. Uma emoção geralmente é muito aberta e expressa enquanto a emoção contraditória é reprimida e só pode vir à luz através da análise. No episódio, este termo está se referindo aos pensamentos de Shinji sobre lutar contra EVA Unit-03. As duas emoções conflitantes são seu dever com a NERV de matar os Anjos e sua relutância em matar um EVA com um piloto humano dentro. (References to Psychology in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Wiki Eva Geeks). [5] Referência ao termo uso para designar os pilotos; Crianças. Em seu lançamento nos EUA, ADV traduziu isso na capa do DVD como "Fourth CHILD", embora "Fourth Children" permaneça inalterado no título do episódio. [6] “Introjeção” é a incorporação de características de uma pessoa ou objeto em sua própria psique inconscientemente. Segundo Freud, o ego e o superego são construídos pela introjeção do comportamento externo na própria persona do sujeito. Este pode ser um mecanismo de defesa onde se assume os atributos de uma outra pessoa forte que é capaz de lidar com a ameaça atual. No episódio o EVA Unit-01/Yui "incorpora" Shinji, semelhante à introjeção, exceto no sentido físico. (References to Psychology in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Wiki Eva Geeks). [7] “Shisha” pode significar; “apóstolo” (使者, shisha) ou “pessoa morta” (死者, shisha). O sobrenome de Kaworu, “Nagisa (渚)”, quando divido também tem a leitura de “shi-sha” (シ者). [8] Referência ao livro; A Fera que Gritou Amor no Coração do Mundo (1969), escrito por Harlan Ellison. É um coleção de contos curtos. (The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World. Wiki EN). [9] O “ai” (アイ) pode significar “eu” em inglês (I) e também “amor” (愛, ai). [10] “Morte” está escrito em katakana (シ, shi) ao invés do kanji (死, shi). A partícula “e” também está em katakana (ト, to) ao invés do hiragana (と, to). [11] O título anterior era “急”, que possuí a mesma leitura de “Q”; kyuu. E a mesma ideia de; aceleração, pressa, inesperado e abrupto. [12] Em cerimonias imperiais japonesas, “急” representa a parte do meio de uma música. [13] O simbolo “||” na música, indica o fim de um compasso que deve ser repetido. Em inglês britânico é chamado de; “bar”, e no americano de; “measure”. Em japonês de; “barra” (小節, shousetsu). (Bar music, Wiki EN) [14] Provável referência ao livro de ficção; Era Uma Terceira Vez (1980), escrito por James P. Hogan. A trama principal do livro gira em torno de enviar mensagens para o passado para recebê-las no futuro. A expressão do título é uma referência aos inícios de contos de fadas; “Era uma vez...” (Once upon a time). (Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon A Time, Evangelion Fandom). [15] Este quarto filme quebra padrão de sequencia numérica dos anteriores, um dos motivos pode ser a própria leitura do número, em que “4” pode ser lido como “shi”, a mesma leitura de “morte” (死, shi) e por tanto é considerado um sinal infortúnio. Outra razão pode ser simbólica, com este filme sendo um fim e um recomeço. [16] “Evangelion” (euangélion) é palavra grega para “evangelho”, que significa literalmente “boa mensagem”, “boa notícia”, e se refere ao conjunto de ensinamentos, sendo conhecimentos e leis, de Deus. [17] “Gênese” significa; origem, criação, motivo ou evolução do seres. [18] “Magokoro o, Kimi ni” (まごころを君に) também é o título japonês para a coletânea de contos curtos; Flowers for Algernon (1958), escrito por Daniel Keyes. [19] O “dilema do ouriço” é uma parábola escrita por Arthur Schopenhauer, na obra Parerga e Paralipomena (1851). Consiste em um grupo de ouriços em um dia frio. Para satisfazer sua necessidade de calor, buscaram a proximidade corporal dos outros. Porém, quanto mais se aproximavam, mais dor lhes causavam os espinhos do ouriço vizinho. A ideia que esta parábola quer transmitir é que quanto mais próxima for a relação entre dois seres, mais provável será que possam causar dano um ao outro, ao mesmo tempo em que quanto mais distante for sua relação, tão mais provável será que morram de frio. [20] Até o terceiro filme, “Evangelion” é escrito com; “we”(ヱ) e “wo”(ヲ), formando; “Wevangeliwon”. Ao invés de “e” (エ) e “o” (オ), como é o título clássico.

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samasmith23 · 10 months

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Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon — (Part 11)

Neon Genesis Evangelion, “Episode 11: In the Still Darkness/The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still”

Continuing my Evangelion re-watch marathon with NGE, “Episode 11: In the Still Darkness/The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still”! For my thoughts on the previous episode, click the link to the post below:

So here’s some very interesting trivia about Episode 11! The animation for this episode was actually produced primarily by Studio Ghibli instead of Gainax. I couldn’t find much information about why exactly Studio Ghibli were guest animators for this episode specifically, but if I had to haphazard a guess I’d say it was probably due to a combination of both Studio Gainax’s rapidly declining financial resources during the early & mid-1990s which heavily impacted NGE’s budget and production going forward, as well as the fact that Studio Ghibli’s founder, the famed Hayao Miyazaki, was a former mentor for and is good friends with NGE’s director Hideaki Anno. And Ghibli’s fingerprints are definitely visible in this episode as not only does the art style in the animation stand out as a bit more wonky and overly expressive than in previous episodes of the series due to differences in animation director Toshio Kawagushi’s graphic rendering style, but Episode 11 includes multiple humorous gags that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Ghibli movie!

The booklets for the original Platinum Collection DVD boxset provide some further in trivia regarding Studio Ghibli’s involvement in the predation of this episode, including some background Easter-Eggs: “The animation for this episode was handled by Studio Ghibli, known for their work on such films as ‘My Neighbor Totoro.’, Nozomu (written as ‘peek’) Takahashi, the city assembly electoral candidate, who only appears as a name is a twist on the producer of Ghibli, Nozomu (written as ‘aspire’)” Takahashi. [Blooper here, since the name of the guy in the episode is pronounced ‘Nozoku’.]”

Similarly, the Oguru Commentary #44 elaborates: “Studio Ghibli is in charge of the original drawings. Takahashi Nozomi, a city council candidate who appears in the play, is named after Ghibli producer Nozomu Takahashi at the time. Mr. Takahashi used to be an editor of Animage, and Dr. He was in charge of the serialized article "Video Lab" under the name Nozomu. Some readers may remember him. Although it has nothing to do with Ghibli, the poet Hideaki Antani appears in the "My Resume" section of the newspaper Fuyutsuki was reading.”

But with all of that out of the way, let's finally dig into the episode itself!

Lol! I love how the episode opens with Aoba getting a UCC Coffee can out of a vending machine at his local laundry mat! I guess the first two Rebuild movies weren’t the only times Evangelion plugged that particular bit of product placement!

So this introductory scene of Ritsuko, Maya & Aoba at the laundry mat before meeting Professor Fuyutsuki on the subway is incredibly intriguing on multiple levels. Similar to the previous scene from Episode 10 showing the NERV Staff relaxing during a non-chaotic situation, this allows us to get a further glimpse into the daily lives of NERV’s personnel outside of their usual military industrial setting. It makes these characters feel a lot more human and three-dimensional in that regard. It’s also interesting to see how while Ritsuko is very casual in her interactions with Fuyutsuki, Maya & Aoba still address him as their commanding officer even when off-duty.

But even more importantly, the subway scene further fleshes out the world-building of Tokyo-3 as a fictional setting, as Anno reveals some rather interesting details about the city’s political structures and institutions. Specifically, Fuyutsuki & Ritsuko reveal to Maya & Aoba that the city’s official council are largely just figureheads despite politicians still holding elected positions of power, and that in actuality the majority of the Tokyo-3’s decision-making process is relegated to the Magi supercomputer system down in NERV HQ’s Central Dogma. While Maya makes an off handed remark about this system still being “democratic,” I can’t help but find the idea of restricting policy-making to three sentient AI programs to be rather authoritarian and undemocratic in actuality. Like, the idea is that humans are inherently distrustful and incapable of being trusted with making important political decisions is not only an incredibly nihilistic perspective, but you are still restricting power to three “superior” authorities rather than giving power to the people themselves.

It’s honestly a rather fascistic system of government when you stop and think about it, and I can’t help but view it as an intentional choice on Anno’s part given that EVA takes a lot of inspiration from the themes of Ryu Murakami’s novel Fascism of Love and Illusion, which according to the EVA Geeks Wiki, focuses on “the ‘activities’ of the ‘Hunting Company,’ a political association that thoroughly rejects the weak and weak democracy and aims to establish a dictatorial and fascist society. The story is set in Japan, which is in the midst of a crisis of global depression and a sense of extreme stagnation, and the political organization ‘Hunting Company’ engages in both open and closed conspiracy, violence, and terrorism.”

In that regard, there are actually quite a few parallels between Murakami’s “Hunting Company” and both NERV and its parent organization SEELE in EVA, the latter two of which are depicted in increasingly negative and vilified lights as the series progresses.

Even Aoba somewhat addresses my concerns about the authoritarian nature of a supercomputer administrated government by not only dismissing Ritsuko, Maya & Fuyutsuki as “technophiles!” Furthermore, his his comment also correlates with the second episode’s title “The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still” being an overt reference to the classic sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still, since both stories explore the implications of humanity’s relationship with and over-reliance on technology.

Again, I can’t help but wonder if this was also meant to serve as some kind of critique against fascistic authoritarianism in-relation, only in this case through placing total authority onto science & technology instead of a traditional human dictator?

Lol! I love the expressionless look on Misato’s face as she casually tries to shut the elevator doors as soon as she see’s Kaji rushing towards the doors, only for her facial expressions to immediately shift to cartoonish annoyance as soon as Kaji stops the doors from closing and gets inside with her!

Sigh… poor Shinji… I can’t help but feel incredibly bad for him here as Gendo coldly and rudely dismisses his own son when he tries to call about parental approval for a vocational education form, demanding that Shinji never call him on that phone line ever again. Have I mentioned before how much I absolutely despise Gendo’s guts?

Also, I don’t think I’ve given Spike Spencer’s voice acting as Shinji enough credit during this marathon. While Spencer’s delivery does start off pretty rough in places during the first few episodes of the series, you can really see him grow more naturally accustomed to the role as the show progresses. Spencer conveys Shinji’s feelings of anxiety, confusion, and rejection during this pay phone interaction so well!

Oh boy! It’s during this scene where Shinji’s being scolded on the phone by Gendo that crap truly starts to go down in this episode! Not only does Shinji randomly lose his father’s signal during their call all of a sudden, but at the exact same moment the power completely goes out in NERV HQ, trapping Misato & Kaji in the elevator in the process! Even all of the emergency back-up generators have completely shut down, therefore rendering NERV and all of Tokyo-3 completely without electricity. Additionally, Fuyutsuki orders that all little remaining power be completely redirected towards operating the Magi, even if it means completely cutting off NERV’s life-support systems (again, reinforcing the inherent authoritarianism behind relegating all political power to 3 supercomputers).

Like dang! This entire scenario of NERV and the city of Tokyo-3 experiencing a mass blackout not only makes for an incredibly entertaining premise for the episode, but from a thematic perspective it effectively conveys why putting all of our faith and trust in technology to administer our lives and daily routines has its serious drawbacks and risks!

Wait, why does the street have “EVA Socket” written across the left lane in big orange letters? That seems like a random detail…

Asuka continues to demonstrate a similar type of toxic patriarchal attitude that I previously discussed with Misato back in Episode 4, wherein she mocks Shinji for “not acting like a man [and] letting everything get under his skin.” Not only is this reflective of how attitudes of toxic masculinity and patriarchy so systemically interwoven into societal institutions that they can influence of women to uphold said traditionalist perspectives and not just men, but it also highlights a particular characteristic of Asuka’s character specifically. Namely, “masculine protest,” which according the Wikipedia article for this episode, is “a psychological term for a form of rebellion identifiable in women who are tired of the role stereotypically associated with the female gender. [In this regard] Asuka acts as if she is trying to prove herself and surpass the male gender, fusing an inferiority complex and radical rivalry.”

Not only does masculine protest inform Asuka’s egotism and competitive behavior with Shinji during the previous three episodes she’s appeared in so far, but it’s particularly on display here in Episode 11 as the trio of pilots are forced to infiltrate navigate NERV’s maze-like network of during the middle of the blackout.

Asuka’s “masculine protest” also serves as an interesting contrast to Shinji’s behavior being more feminine coded at times, highlighting how her rivalry with Shinji is largely artificial, a byproduct of not only her own deep-seated psychological trauma, but also her unwittingly playing into toxic societal expectations and gender stereotypes despite actively trying to rebel against them. In essence, Asuka wants to prove her own “superiority” to Shinji, but at the same time she tries to force expectations of toxic masculinity onto him in order to inflate said-competition! This also ties into the episode’s underlying themes regarding the fallacies of authoritarianism, since Asuka repeatedly tries to reinforce her own singular authority upon her fellow EVA pilots whom she perceives as being inferior to herself, only for the majority of said-efforts to be undermined by her peers, thereby demonstrating just how inefficient authoritarianism actually is.

And to cap off this scene, I love the subtle look Rei gives as Asuka is emasculating Shinji. As if to indicate that she’s beginning to question pre-programmed societal and gender expectations? That wouldn’t surprise me considering that Rei’s overall character arc is all about gradually questioning and later defying Gendo’s abusive gaslighting and expectations in order to achieve independence by discovering her own individual sense of self. In a sense, while Rei was designed as a cog in NERV’s authoritarian machine in order to fulfill Gendo’s patriarchal ambitions to resurrect his wife Yui Ikari (due to Rei’s nature as a clone of Yui artificially created in a lab), she’s beginning to question the expectations and norms imposed upon her since birth!

So this episode actually introduces one of several unanswered mysteries which EVA fans have continued to speculate & debate about in the decades since the series’ release: who exactly was responsible for the blackout in Tokyo-3?

Misato & Gendo both come to the realization that the blackout must be a deliberate act of sabotage since they state that it’s impossible for all three of the generators which supply NERV HQ and the city above with electricity to simultaneously shut down. Despite the episode raising the question of who exactly cut the power, the culprit’s identity is never confirmed either here or later on the series. While some fans have speculated that it was either a random terrorist, or agents of SEELE who caused the blackout, I’ve personally also believed to Kaji be a likely suspect due to him being a double/triple agent for both NERV and SEELE who’s true allegiances are similarly left incredibly vague!

If Kaji is indeed the culprit, then him rushing to get on the elevator only for them to get conveniently stuck inside during the blackout definitely wasn’t just an excuse to continue making flirtatious advances towards Misato then!

Lol! The dramatic irony here! Just as soon as Fuyutsuki states that he hopes an Angel doesn’t show up to attack Tokyo-3 during the blackout when NERV is defenseless, the scene immediately cuts to the JSSFD detecting the Ninth Angel, Matarael, slowly approaching Tokyo-3 on radar!

All that’s missing here is the “wa wa wa” trombone sound-effect!

I love the brief montage of Misato, Aoba, and Rei each realizing that the emergency phone lines are down as well! Great editing on Gainax & Ghibli’s part there!

Asuka immediately taking on the self-assigned role of “group leader” the moment she, Rei & Shinji realize that they need to break into NERV HQ themselves in order to assess whether or not anybody inside is in danger. While this is definitely both funny and perfectly in-character for her, it’s also further reflective of her inflated sense of pride and competitive streak while also correlating with her artificiality of her “masculine protest.”

Not only does Asuka bring up the idea of a group leader when it wasn’t even suggested by Shinji or Rei, but she quickly assigns said-role to herself while asking if the two have “any objections?”, in essence forcing them to go along with her games that are designed to validate her own pride. It really does demonstrate how despite Asuka’s constant attempts to frame herself as a “mature grown-up” in the eyes of both her peers and commanding officers, in reality she is acting incredibly childish and immature by doing so. Brilliant screenwriting and characterization on Anno’s part!

Lol! And Rei immediately partially exposes in the inherent childishness of Asuka’s “masculine protest” by pointing out that the emergency entrance to NERV HQ is behind Asuka just as she boasts about leading the way ahead of Rei & Shinji!

Yup… more toxic reinforcement of gender stereotypes on Asuka’s part. She immediately defers to Shinji manually opening the door, essentially ordering him to do all of the heavy-lifting despite her desire to prove her “superiority” simply because she thinks heavy-lifting is “man’s work.”

Interestingly, this scene of Shinji doing the “heavy-lifting” for Asuka is juxtaposed against Hyuga delivering Misato’s laundry for her just as soon as he hears a JSSFD plane overhead warning about the approaching Angel. It seems that while Misato has at least somewhat worked through her previous attitudes concerning toxic patriarchal expectations of men when it comes to Shinji, she’s still actively engaging in such attitudes when it comes to having her subordinate Hyuga basically act as her secretary…

Lol! The Studio Ghibli animation is definitely noticeable in this scene where Kaji suggests that Misato “take off her shirt” when she’s dying of sweat in the elevator…

No joke, when I first saw this scene several years ago of Maya telling Ritsuko that the commanders were “still cool and in control” despite the growing heat and lack of air conditioning, only for it to then cut to Fuyutsuki’s bare feet in a bucket of water behind the desk and to have him tell Gendo, “It’s hot…,” I immediately burst out laughing!

I think it was the combination of the contrast of Maya’s impression of Fuyutski’s professionalism against the silly image of his bare feet in water, as well as VA Guil Lunde’s dry delivery of Fuyutsuki’s line that made me laugh so hard! Haters like to say that EVA is nothing but depressing psychoanalysis, but scenes like this prove that EVA can actually be incredibly funny whenever it wants to be!

Another funny moment! Hyuga basically just carjacked a news van in order to not only warn people about the rapidly approaching Angel, but also to break through the barricades to NERV HQ! Feel sorry for the poor news anchors he dragged into this though…

Fuyutski & Ritsuko’s theory about someone deliberately sabatoging NERV’s power systems in order to get a complete read-out of the headquarters and the system’s layouts definitely provides credence to the fan theory that this was all part of SEELE’s plans to later launch an all out invasion during The End of Evangelion, especially since Episode 7 previously established that NERV was also facing severe budget cuts for their defense program! Anno is very efficient in subtly foreshadowing and planting the seeds for future payoffs incredibly early on! Kudos!

Also, Gendo’s line about “mankind’s greatest enemy [being] man himself” after Fuyutsuki expresses frustration about the first being to truly infiltrate NERV HQ being “a member of [their] own species.” This highlights how despite the looming apocalyptic threat that the Angels represent to humanity, at the end of the day the principle antagonist of the Evangelion franchise is ultimately humanity itself! A sentiment which will later be reflected by Misato & Hyuga during a similar exchange in The End of Evangelion!

Lol! Looking at this image of Asuka, Shinji & Rei marching single file through NERV’s dark tunnels, combined with Asuka’s own childish games of “leadership,” I can’t help but think that Asuka would fit in perfectly with John, Michael and the Lost Boys of Neverland from Disney’s Peter Pan!

Actually… considering that John and the Lost Boys were similarly playing in childish games of “hunting Indians” (yeah… some casual 1950s colonialist racism on Disney’s part there… classy…) while including anti-Indigenous slurs in their “Following the Leader” song, while also dismissing Peter and Wendy visiting the Neverland’s mermaids as “girls stuff” in a misogynistic manner, the Peter Pan reference is actually more apt than I originally thought considering that those are similar authoritarian & gender-essentialist societal “norms” that this episode is criticizing Asuka for actively engaging in...

As funny as it is to see Asuka immediately defer to Rei leading them to the shortcut after the overhear Hyuga overhead warning about the Angel despite still proclaiming to be the leader, it does feel a bit out of character for Asuka considering how much she hates Rei especially for reminding her about the parts about her past that she hates about herself. Or is this Anno deliberately conveying subconscious cracks in Asuka’s armor?

Oh boy, Shinji finally asked one of the biggest questions a lot of fans were probably having by this point in the series (myself included when I first watched it): “What exactly are the Angels and why are they attacking us? Aren’t they supposed to be messengers from God?”

And of course Asuka does little to answer his questions by shutting him down with her, “What are you, stupid?”, catchphrase before giving him the reductive answer of, “Who cares? They attacked us first? And when someone’s attacking you, you attack back.”

It’s definitely reflective of Asuka’s narrow-minded and immature mindset…

Holy crap! The scene where the trio makes a wrong turn (once again due to Asuka’s childish egotism), only for her to open a door back to the surface with the 9th Angel, Matarael, lurching across the city and stopping to stare directly back at her, leading to Asuka to quickly shut the door in an understandable panic, is still legitimately terrifying and chilling! The soundtrack “Angel Attack III” certainly helps emphasize the fear in tension on display here!

Returning to Matarael specifically though, I do quite dig this Angel’s design here. Not only does Matarael have this unique arachnid-like aesthetic, with its giant lumbering legs making it strongly resemble a daddy long-legs spider (which make the Angel’s movements feel simultaneously slow yet menacing) but also the multiple Illuminati-pyramid eyes that are spread out all across its body! While some fans have obviously connected the pyramid eyes to SEELE considering the organization’s similarities to Illuminati conspiracy theories, I can’t help but be reminded of Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls every time I now look at Matarael’s eyes!

Are we sure Matarael is actually an Angel and not just a relative of Bill Cipher’s from the Weirdmaggedon dimension? It’s certainly possible considering that not only is inter-dimensional travel a firmly established precedent in Gravity Falls, but the series finale of that show also references a lot of visual imagery from EVA!

Being serious again though, in regards to this Angel’s name, Wikipedia states that, “The name Matarael (Hebrew: מטראל) also comes from the Book of Enoch, where he is described as the angel of rain. The name of Evangelion's Matarael refers to its offensive strategy and its powerful, corrosive acid, which it rains on its enemies.”

Lol! The image of a Hyuga driving a news van directly into Central Dogma is in-and-of-itself a hilarious image!

Despite my open and justified disdain for Gendo Ikari, I do have to begrudgingly give him some credit for having the ingenuity and foresight for the possibility of having to launch the Evangelions manually if the power ever completely ran out (despite all the aforementioned failsafes), even having a back-up diesel generator on stand-by for such an emergency.

It pains me to say it but… kudos Gendo? No, it I still feel dirty saying that!

Oh boy… I love this heavy and intense confrontation between Asuka & Rei as the latter once again tries to properly guide the trio to Central Dogma after Asuka’s previous multiple failed attempts. Seeing this as the third strike Rei has inflicted upon Asuka’s pride (Strikes 1 & 2 occured back in Episodes 9 & 10), Asuka is seriously beginning to make some serious negative presumptions about Rei’s character, not only projecting her own sense of inflated superiority onto Rei, but even expressing jealousy over the fact that Gendo seems to be playing favoritism with Rei.

And I love how Rei immediately counters Asuka’s accusations about “not feeling superior or being favorited by anyone,” stating that, “I am treated no better than anyone else here.” Is Rei slowly starting to realize that Gendo’s treatment of her is actually incredibly toxic and abusive?

Asuka telling Shinji, “First Child is definitely aggressive, and I’ll bet she’ll do anything to stay number one! Some people just think that they’re better than others!” Yup, definitely some hypocritical projection on Asuka’s part…

Geez! Even imagining just how unbelievably heavy manually inserting that Entry-Plug into Unit-01 via a rope-&-pulley system must be, even with Gendo and half-a-dozen other people doing so, just hurts to even think about! I bet all of their muscles are incredibly sore for the rest of the day…

Lol! I love how while Shinji & Asuka fall out of the air vent and land on top of each other in, Rei instead gently drops herself down in a composed and graceful manner! A great method of visual contrast and characterization!

So this is the first of two scenes in which Shinji starts to develop a false sense of hope that his father is finally starting to appreciate and value his existence. Shinji is shocked to hear from Ritsuko that his father personally helped prepare EVA Unit-01’s Entry-Plug, with her stating that Gendo “believed in him,” before Shinji looks up to see Gendo still pulling on the rope to lift the plug.

While Ritsuko’s words feel rather unhelpful and hollow due to what an abusive piece of crap Gendo actually is, considering that The End of Evangelion later reveals that Gendo does secretly love Shinji but has always purposefully neglected his son out of fear of hurting him due to his own self-loathing, I can’t help but wonder if there’s actually some truth to Ritsuko’s words here? I mean… its certainly possible considering that its also later revealed that Ritsuko is sleeping with Gendo (again… gross!).

It’s actually pretty neat seeing the NERV staff being forced to prepare the Evangelions for launch manually and without electricity, unlocking all of the heavy machinery locks either by hand or with what limited power that the diesel generator provides them, as well as the fact that the pilots themselves have to use their EVA Units to push the walls locking them in place as well! It certainly creates a visually distinct and unique variation of the traditional EVA launch sequence! I love it!

Lol! The image of Units-00 through 02 crawling through the giant air vents with giant battery-packs on their backs just looks so silly! But still… again I love it

Shifting away from silly imagery though… Matarael oozing acid directly out of its eyeball to burn its way down into the GeoFront is simultaneously incredibly disgusting & disturbing, further emphasizing the EVA’s Angels as these eldritch alien monstrosities!

Alright! So Asuka’s actually demonstrating some legitimate leadership skills during the Angel fight of this episode! While this is still another veiled egotistical effort to prove her own “superiority” as part of her “masculine protest,” her strategy of having her Unit-02 act a living shield to protect Shinji & Rei’s respective units from Matarael’s acid as the two try to retrieve their dropped rifles at the bottom of the vertical shaft, with Shinji Unit-01 acting as an offense to whom Rei’s Unit-00 will serve as backup to by throwing the rifle up the shaft towards, thereby allowing the Shinji’s offensive EVA unit to fire a barrage of gunfire at the Angel above as the Asuka’s defensive EVA unit gets out of the way, destroying the Angel!

Like, this is actually some mature and calculated planning on Asuka’s part! A definite contrast to her previous immature boasting and lack of sense of direction while navigating NERV HQ during the rest of the episode. Asuka actually is capable of showing emotional maturity when the time is necessary!

Although from a motivation perspective, Asuka’s strategic planning is still rooted in her misguided sense of pride, since she not only immediately interjects Rei’s offer to serve as defense against Matarael’s acid by demanding to take her place, but tells Shinji that it’s her time to save him so that she doesn’t owe him any favors after he previously rescued her after the fight with Sandalphon in the previous episode!

Also, Rei being assigned the role of backup instead of offensive further illustrates that Asuka holds Rei in even lower regard than she does Shinji…

In addition to being such clever strategic planning on Asuka’s part, the actual execution of Asuka’s strategy is incredibly epic as well! I especially love the quick choreography of seeing the units drop down and prop themselves against the walls of the vent in rapid succession, with Asuka blocking Matarel’s acid, Rei using her Units booster jets to descend to the bottom of the pit, and Shinji firing a rapid volley of gunfire upwards which kills the Angel! Badass!

So… was Kaji actually looking up Misato’s dress like she speculated as she was up on his shoulders desperately trying to open the elevator roof while dying from a bursting bladder? Or was he just trying to look at her opening the door? Because if it’s the former, then that’s rather creepy on Kaji’s part…

Lol! If the Fuyutsuki with bare feet in a bucket of water scene is my favorite gag in this episode, then this right here is easily my second favorite! Just as Misato & Kaji are trying to open the elevator roof door, the power suddenly comes back on and the two lose their balance as the elevator starts to move again and reach its intended floor! Only for the door to open to reveal Ritsuko, Maya & Hyuga on the other side, and the three see sweaty and exhausted Misato & Kaji lying on top of each other in the floor! And given that Misato has her jacket off combined with her & Kaji’s exhaustion, sweat and unfortunate positioning, the three immediately assume the absolute worst, with Maya coldly commenting in response, “Sex fiends…”

Absolutely priceless!

As gorgeous as this closing scene of Shinji, Asuka & Rei gazing up at the starry night as Toyko-3’s power comes back on is, it does raise some very interesting philosophical questions. While Shinji can’t help but appreciate the beauty of the night sky with he absence of light pollution, discovering the beauty which technology and electricity makes us forget, Asuka can’t help but state that she feels much safer and more comfortable with the artificial light that electricity provides, stating that it makes her feel closer to humans.

Not only does this harken back to the Hedgehog’s Dilemma in which people will pursue empty and hollow relationships out of fear of hurting each other, but it also argues that it is primarily due to humanity’s over reliance on technology that they are able to obtain the power that they possess. This is further reinforced by Rei’s comments about “Man [fearing] the darkness, and so he skirts away at the edges of it with fire,” which insinuates that technological advancement is derived from a desire for power, and that a desire for power is derived from fear of the dark, of the unknown.

It’s this desire for power & control, and fearing of the unknown & the other which is sadly the source of humanity’s sins and crimes throughout real-life, especially considering that the countries at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution were also the ones who perpetuated centuries upon centuries of colonialism, slavery, and genocide upon those that they othered and exploited for their technological advancements. It’s honestly a rather insightful critique about the correlation between over reliance on technological advancement and the adherence to fascistic authoritarianism which I alluded to at the start of the episode concerning Tokyo-3 utilizing the Magi supercomputer system to make all of the important political decisions in the place of an actual democratically elected government.

Also, the fact that Shinji then speculates over whether or not this “fear of the dark” and technological advancement is not only “what makes mankind a special species,” but also the reason that the Angels want to destroy them, implying that what makes humanity “special” it’s sins and flaws, and that the Angels are therefore passing divine judgement upon them. It also harkens back to Gendo’s previous words of “Mankind greatest enemy is man himself.” Some strong thematic writing on Anno’s part there!

And of course, the episode ends with Asuka demonstrating that despite her growth during the fight with Matarael, she still has a LLLOOONNNGGG way to go as she once again falling back on her old childish habits by dismissing Rei & Shinji’s philosophical questions with, “What are you? Stupid?! Who knows what [the Angels] think?”

So that was NGE, “Episode 11: In the Still Darkness/The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still,” and overall it was another incredibly strong entry into the series! In addition to further emphasizing Asuka's flawed superiority complex through the lens of her "masculine protest" all throughout this episode, I especially loved the thematic and philosophical questions it raises about the dichotomy between technology, nature, humanity, & power, which is definitely a correlation with the kinds of elements found in the anime films directed by Anno's good friend Miyazaki. In that regard, it's actually kind of fitting that Studio Ghibli served as the guest-animators for this episode. Additionally this episode not only enhances the overall intrigue and ambiguity surrounding the shows mysteries through the unknown culprit behind the NERV and Tokyo-3 blackout, the fight with Matarael was another banger Angel fight, and this episode features some the absolute funniest moments in the entire series (special thanks to Fuyutsuki and Maya! Your comedic bits were most definitely appreciated)!

Next time it’s gonna be Episode 12!

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