Episode 03

Episode Information
Episode #03
Title 1: {{{japanese_title_k}}} {{{japanese_title_r}}} {{{japanese_title_e}}} Title 2: A Transfer
Written By	Akio Satsukawa, Hideaki Anno
Directed By	Hiroyuki Ishido
First Aired	10-18-1995
Video Release Date	{{{video_release}}}
Angel Appearances	Shamshel
Episode chronology
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"Episode 2"	"Episode 4"

Overview

Shinji begins attending his new school in Tokyo-3, and has a difficult time dealing with the fame of being an Evangelion pilot. Toji Suzuhara, who's little sister was injured in Shinji's fight against the Angel, is angry at Shinji. A new Angel appears, and Shinji must once again pilot Eva 01 to defeat it.

Synopsis

Three weeks have passed since Ep. 1. Shinji tries to adjust to his new life in Tokyo-3, but has little enthusiasm for piloting, and his relations with Misato are still distant. As the episode opens he is lethargically going through the motions of training. The next morning he attempts to awaken Misato, while a chirpy female radio announcer talks about scuba diving and tells the audience that the Earth no longer has seasons, but instead has consistent weather year-round. Shinji then departs for school. Ritsuko then calls Misato to check on Shinji and is told that Shinji seems to have made no friends at school.

At school, we are introduced to Shinji's classmates Kensuke Aida, Toji Suzuhara, and Hikari Horaki, the class rep. We also meet their sensei, who seems to teach nothing but Second Impact. Rei is there too, her eye and arm still bandaged. Kensuke is a military nut who seems to be the only one enjoying the fact that Earth seems to suddenly be at war. Toji has only just returned to class for the first time since the battle, explaining that as his father and grandfather are at work all day he is the only one who can stay at the hospital with his sister, who was injured in the battle with Sachiel. When his identity as a pilot is discoved by his classmates, Toji, who blames Shinji for his sister's injuries, gives Shinji a beating in retalitation. Shinji's protestations that he was piloting involuntarily only make Toji angrier.

Rei then arrives to tell Shinji that there is an emergency call. Shamshel, the 4th Angel, is attacking Tokyo-3 and Shinji is mobilized in Unit-01 to defend the city. Kensuke convinces Toji to sneak out of their shelter to watch the battle from nearby. The battle goes poorly for Nerv, when Shinji loses his nerve to fight and is tossed into the air by Shamshel, almost killing Toji and Kensuke as he lands. This also severs Unit-01's Umbilical Cable, leaving her with just 5 minutes of reserve power.

Shinji then begins fighting a defensive battle, attempting to protect Toji and Kensuke rather than defeat the Angel. To protect them from the battle, Misato orders Toji and Kensuke to take refuge in the the Evangelion's entry plug. Inside, Toji sees Shinji's great anguish and pain as he fights the Angel, and is beset by remorse. Misato orders to Shinji to retreat, but he loses it and charges Shamshel with his Progressive Knife, defeating the Angel just as his power runs out. Days later, Kensuke gives Toji the number of Shinji's phone so he can apologize. Toji attempts to ring, but stops, and the episode ends.

Notes

• Shinji's (and Rei's) classmates in Class 2-A are introduced: Toji Suzuhara, Kensuke Aida, and Hikari Horaki.
• Second Impact is first mentioned: Shinji's class teacher explains that it is the apocalyptic event which occurred 15 years ago in the year 2000 which resulting in the human population of Earth being halved.
• The Angel Sachiel "appears" again after its death in this episode, though as a hologram used in NERV's target practice simulator for training Shinji to fire Eva 01's weapons.
• Timeline-wise, Hyuga says that Shamshel's attack occurs "three weeks" after the last Angel attack, in episodes 1 and 2. It's not clear if it is exactly 21 days later. Gendo mentioned last episode that Rei would be out of the hospital in "20 days", and indeed she is back in school in this episode (though her arm is still in a sling).
• When Eva 01 grabs Shamshel's energy tentacles it burns off the armor on Eva 01's hands, revealing the flesh of the real organic creature beneath. It even has fingernails, just like a human hand.
• Shinji is shown wearing his Eva pilot Plug suit for the first time.
• If more than one person is in Entry Plug of an Evangelion at the same time, it will create "thought noise"; essentially, static interference that affects the link between the Eva pilot's mind and the Eva.
• An Eva pilot can open an Eva's Entry Plug, and even let other people inside, without external aid. The Entry Plug loading apparatus in NERV HQ apparently makes it easier to load and unload the pilot, but it is not absolutely required.
• The "Weather Girl" who talks on TV in the background during the opening scene in Misato's apartment is named "Natsuko Shinohara" (reporting from Matsuzaki on the Izu penninsula). Apparently, it is a popular activity there to go scuba-diving in the ruins of towns submerged after Second Impact. She says that the forecast temperature is "high of 30 degrees, 2 above the average". That's 86 degrees Fahrenheit, and the "average" temperature would be 82.4 degrees, in the now perpetually-summer weather of Japan.
• Ritsuko is an avid smoker, as evidenced by the heaping pile of lipstick-stained cigarettes in an ashtray on her desk. Ritsuko also collects little cat-themed ornaments.
• Hikari Horaki is the "class representative"; this is more or less equivalent to "class president" in North America.
• The N² Mine used against Sachiel by the JSSDF in Episode 1 was detonated on Mt. Takanosu.
• More names are dropped from the geography of Japan: Kensuke says that for the fight against Sachiel, "Not only were Iruma and Komatsu dispatched, they brought in troops from Misawa and Kyushu". Kyushu is the southernmost of Japan's four main islands, while Misawa is the location of a real-life military base in Aomori Prefecture in the extreme north of Honshu (the main island of Japan, which Tokyo-3 is also located on). Its mentioned that "Anti-aircraft system is on standby from Odawara to the Gora defense line." Odawara is on the coast east of Tokyo-3, and Gora lies between them. Where Shamshel actually reaches the shore near a lighthouse is said in the production notes to be in the vicinity of Manazuru.
• Tokyo-3 is apparently composed of a "central block" and seven "districts".
• The notice board on the wall of the shelter Kensuke and Toji are in translates as "Geo-Shelter 334/Disaster Prevention Department, Tokyo-3/Total Floor Space: 2000 m²/ Maximum Capacity: 250. The notification on the TV screen says "A special state of emergency has now been declared for the entire Kanto-Chubu region surrounding the Tokai district. Further information will be reported as it comes in."
• Toji's sister is not actually given a proper name, but she is said to be in the 2nd grade, making her 6 years younger than Toji, who is in 8th grade.
• During the Angel attack Misato and Ritsuko bring up Kensuke and Toji's ID information on their computer:
  • Kensuke Aida is originally from Yokohama (which is just south of Old Tokyo), he was born on September 12th, 2001, and his blood type is A+.
  • Toji Suzuhara is originally from Sakai (in Osaka prefecture, explaining his Osakan accent in the original Japanese dub), and his blood type is B+. However, on the screen that is brought up two separate dates are listed as his birthday: December 26th 2001, and September 28th, 2001 (Kensuke's ID just lists "September 12th, 2001" twice, in two separate fields).

Analysis

• Toji says that his father and grandfather are busy with work, so if he didn't visit his sister in the hospital himself, there would be no one to visit her and she would be all alone. He does not mention his mother in this, so it would seem to imply that his mother is dead.
• Ritsuko explains in this episode that Evangelions have limited internal battery power supply, and must rely on umbilical cables to supply external power. Ritsuko states that "In emergencies, it can switch to an internal battery with an active life of one minute at full power, and no more than five minutes using gain mode." This "one minute" limitation mentioned here is disregarded in all subsequent episodes. For all practical purposes, the Evas have a five minute operational time limit using battery power, not just one minute.
• When Shinji takes out the trash from Misato's apartment to the disposal area, there is no trash left by anyone else (this is pointed out in the production notes). Its possible that few if any other people actually also live in Misato's apartment block, due to many being evacuated or leaving as a result of the renewed Angel attacks.
• It is said that Shinji lives in "the old part of town". The buildings on the southern edge of Tokyo-3 (closer to the shore of Lake Ashinoko) appear to be the newer buildings that can actually "retract" into the surface for protection during battles, so it seems that Misato's apartment (which is an older building) is located in the northern part of Tokyo-3, in the region of town that used to be the original city of Hakone.
• How could Rei have possibly known that a state of emergency was about to be called, before the sirens went off?

Quotes

• Shinji Ikari: "Target in the center, pull the switch. Target in the center, pull the switch. Target in the center, pull the switch."

• Natsuko Shinohara (weather girl): "We have hot days all year now, but Japan once had four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter."

• Ritsuko Akagi: "Even though a hedgehog may wish to get close to another hedgehog, the closer they get the more they injure each other with their spines."

• Toji Suzuhara: "My kid sister was crushed beneath a pile of debris. She survived, but she's been in the hospital ever since. Both my pop and gramps work at the lab, and there's no way they can leave their posts right now. So, if I ain't with her, she's all alone at the hospital."

• Toji Suzuhara: "Sorry, transferee, but I've gotta beat you up! I won't feel right until I've smacked you."

• Makoto Hyuga: "The last time they gave us a fifteen year break. This time it's been only 3 weeks."
  Misato: "They never care about our convenience, do they? They're the type we women hate the most."