From outside, we see Toji beyond the window. After a little while, he hangs up the phone, perplexed, and walks away.
thewayneiac: Buck-buck-buck, Chicken! Chicken!!
Incisivis: The breakdown of interpersonal communication. Sometimes I wonder if Toji befriended Shinji out of guilt than anything else.
OMF: I sometimes think it might have been the other way around!
Gundampilotspaz: The question here has always been, "did he really call Shinji?" From what we know about Toji's stuborn nature we can assume he didn't, and if he did, it would kind of go against the title of the episode.
Hexon.Arq: I've actually never given this scene any thought (or if I did, I forgot to arrive at a conclusion). I think I must've gone with the likely common assumption that nobody was answering. After all, why awkwardly do in person (next episode) what you could've done more easily over the phone?
Reichu: I think, based on the fact that Toji only punched in the first four numbers, it's safe to assume he didn't call. There's also this bit in the Newtype Film Book:
Toji is told Shinji's telephone number by Kensuke. But partway through pushing the buttons, he hung up. Did he not make the call because of his "stubborn personality" (according to Kensuke), or…?
HeWhoPostsStuff: I find it interesting that the script says he walks away "perplexed", as if he's wondering, "You know, WHY didn't I call him? I have no real reason not to." When you stop and think about almost any such thing people do, you'll likely come to the same conclusion… and end up doing the irrational thing anyway. Humanity really is frustrating, isn't it?
Reichu: Hells yeah! I do stuff like this all the bloody time. I exist to frustrate myself.
Magami No ER: Humans have such strange emotions — not that I'm any exception, especially during these wonderful teenage years.
