Shoulder plate. It opens up and the Progressive Knife emerges from within.
Reichu: Gah. Now they're calling it a shoulder plate. We can't even hope for consistency in the damned script.
This is the first appearance of the famous Progressive Knife. Any ideas on why it's called that, BTW?
Watch the upper-left corner when this cut starts and you can see a weird smudge, like a fingerprint or something. DOH!
thewayneiac: Oh no! That's no smudge, it's the Tree of Life! Run!!!!
HeWhoPostsStuff: I might guess that its vibrating qualities and whatnot help it cut more efficiently, and thus "progress" into its target. 'Bout the best I can come up with.
Reichu: Reichu: Interesting. Although about the "cutting", I think technically the knife doesn't really do that… Here's what Ye Olde Platinum Booklet says:
[Progressive Knife] The close-quarters combat weapon that is standard issue for the Evangelions. It is normally stored in the shoulder and is ejected and used when necessary in combat. The abbreviated name is prog knife. Unlike an ordinary knife, which cuts apart the target object with its hardness and sharpness, the prog knife uses a blade made of particles oscillating at high frequency and separates and severs any matter it comes in contact with at a molecular level. From EVA-02 and onwards, a box cutter-type (even if the blade is damaged, it can be made useful again by pushing out more of the blade) is adopted for the units.
HeWhoPostsStuff: Well, "cut", "atomize", whatever, it basically amounts to "make a really big owwie". I think my idea for the origin of the term "progressive" is at least a possibility either way.
