Toji and Kensuke watch the battle. Kensuke holds his camera steady.
Toji:“What the hell?! He's already losing!”
Kensuke:“It's all right.”
Magami No ER: He seems rather confident.
Hexon.Arq: I think at this point, Kensuke has forgotten that his life is in danger. "It's okay," he thinks, "we can edit that part out if we have to." He's a regular Chimino. The application of his camera (as iconic of him as Shinji's phone is of Shinji) to his character reminds me very strongly of that line in "The Blair Witch Project": "I know why you like looking through this thing; it's not quite reality." The whole time, he always seems to be on top of what's happening in the workings of Nerv, yet he has no clue about what's really going on in the world around him, even in places where it should be obvious, like his friends. Everything is like a movie to him. (Ironically, this fact fails to pay off in that he's the one person who never seems affected by anything even by the end. Perhaps Anno had a thematic reason for this, or he just decided to ignore Kensuke altogether later on.)
Reichu: While there does seem to be some truth in what you're saying, the end of this episode also seems to imply that Kensuke might have a better idea of what's going on that he lets on.
Hexon.Arq: I think I know what you're getting at. He hands Toji a number and gives him a lecture on his own flaws. He's a bright kid. But for someone like Toji, wouldn't a monkey be able to make such a diagnosis and provide such an obious solution? If anything, Kensuke's "handle" on the situation with his friend doesn't conflict with my interpretation of his cluelessness:
He has the mind of an observer; we can all know things, but can also be lacking the maturity to apply or hang onto them. What we see throughout the series is the deterioration of his ability to assess persons (however strong that might have been; he's guiding Toji, after all) and his obsession clouding over his abiliy to excercise better judgment. His fixation on his unfulfilled Dream and unchecked (though not harsh) mouth about Shinji's cowardice later on seem to illustrate that.
This scene with the camera and Shammy, perhaps, are intended to present this mindset strongly enough that, while perhaps not applicable so early in the story, they mirror the movement that he will make in a larger arc. Through the glass, anything can appear exciting, and the turbulent waters are never as deadly as they are without a barrier. (That almost makes his glasses seem relevant.)
OMF: Confession: The first time I watched this episode, I though Kensuke was some kind of spy. He is, after all, the kid who knows too much.
Reichu: Thank goodness he wasn't! All we needed was Kensuke hitting on Shinji so that he could get into Nerv HQ.
OMF: I may have just spawned another Eva H-doujin horror. :uhhh: I take full responsibility…
Reichu: Either that, or a future doctoring of some Girlfriend of Steel screenshot. :imagines Kensuke in a girl's school uniform:
