Theory and Analysis:How the CI Reconciles with the Show
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This page outlines how the information presented in the Classified Information files from the game NGE2 reconciles with the original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series and movies.
It is widely believed that the CI completely reconciles with the information presented in NGE, as it is based on extensive interview with Hideaki Anno himself, and is generally considered second or third tier canon. This page serves to illustrate how the various seemingly contradictory pieces of information presented in the CI actually reconcile with what we shown throughout NGE.
Third Impact from Angels
Throughout the series, it is widely believed that if an Angel came into contact with Lilith, or the Adam embryo, then Third Impact would start and all Lilith-based life on the planet will be erased in favour of an Adam-based ecosystem. The CI itself is mostly ambiguous about the subject, stating that: "It is thought that Third Impact will occur if an Angel comes in contact with either Lilith (in Terminal Dogma) or Adam.", thus allowing for the possbility that an Impact would not occur if an Angel came into contact with Lilith or Adam. However, the CI also goes on to state that the intention of some of the Angels was: "Some of them were trying to access Lilith and reset all life", which heavily suggests that an Angel coming into contact with Lilith would cause Third Impact- since only an Impact-level event is sufficient to "reset all life".
Throughout the series it is also heavily suggested that the Angels are searching for either Adam or Lilith. While most Angels appear at Tokyo-3, the fifth Angel Gaghiel is actively shown to be aware of the Adam embryo's presence on the UN convoy and seems to prioritise locating it over any other objectives: Misato notes that "It almost seems to be looking for something". It has been argued that most other Angels have not been shown to be seeking Adam; however it is also important to note that Gaghiel is only the fifth Angel; it is possible more Angels would have targeted the Adam embryo's original location over time, but since the embryo was moved into the Geofront after Gaghiel's attack, all subsequent Angels appeared there. It is also possible that the embryo was moved into the Geofront because it was known that the Angels would target it, thus it should be moved to the place where it will be under the most protection. This is implied in Gendo and Kaji's phone conversation during Gaghiel's attack:
Kaji: "For an Angel to attack here... Isn't it a little different from the deal we had?"
Gendo: "This is what Eva-02 is for, and I've generously provided a second pilot as a reserve. If worse comes to worst, escape by yourself."
This implies that Gendo was aware from the start that the embryo would eventually become a target, which is why he placed Eva-02 on the convoy to protect the embryo. He also seems to suggest that if Gaghiel manages to defeat Eva-02, the embryo should immediately be removed from the area, which further develops the suggestion that the Angels should not be allowed to come into contact with Adam.
While the exact circumstances under which the Angels would initiate their version of Impact is unknown, there are several implications made concerning the mechanism:
- It is known that Second Impact was caused by genes from a human donor "diving" into Adam.
- It is stated in Episode 5 by Ritsuko that the genes of humans and the Angels are 99.89% the same.
- It is also known that Angels are considered human within NGE's expanded definition of the term, and vice versa.
- Therefore, is not also possible that contact with the genes of an Angel would cause Third Impact?
One of the main oppositions to this theory is that in Episode 22, Misato comes to the conclusion that Second Impact wasn't caused by contact with an Angel. While this is certainly true for Second Impact, it does not necessarily prevent the possibility of an Angel causing Third Impact.
It has also been argued that Third Impact might destroy the planet, or render it inhospitable for both Adam-based life and Lilith-based life alike. However, it should be noted that it is never stated in the CI or the show that Third Impact will destroy the planet completely, or that the result would be inhospitable for the Angels. It is known that the Angels do not possess a human biology, and are capable of surviving in volcanoes, underwater, or even in the vacuum of space. They are also known to have an unlimited source of motive energy from their S^2 Engines. Second Impact results in the entirety of Antarctica being reduced to a "dead sea" where all Lilith-based life has been eradicated; however it is never explicitly stated that such an environment would be inhospitable for the Angels.
It is also interesting to note that the actual Third Impact seems to destroy most of Earth's ecosystem and reduces it to a dead place similar in appearance to post-Second Impact Antarctica.
Eva's Resident Soul
One common theory is that the resident soul of an Evangelion must be the soul of the pilot's mother; the CI appears to confirm this by stating that the soul in the Eva must be that of the pilot's mother, otherwise the pilot's synch with the Eva will be negatively affected (such as in the case of Rei, who takes some time to activate Eva-00 and never has a particularly high synch ratio). There is a wealth of information in the show to support this fact, and it is heavily suggested that although other souls can be used, the pilot's mother is always the preferred choice.
- The most obvious piece of evidence that the soul in the Eva must be that of the pilot's mother is that both Eva-01 and Eva-02 contain the souls of their respective pilots' mothers; Eva-01 contains the soul of Yui Ikari and Eva-02 hosts the soul of Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu. Eva-00 is the only Eva which does not adhere to this rule, but as stated in the CI (and confirmed in Episode 23) Rei does not possess a mother in the conventional sense, and throughout the series her Eva's performance is generally worse than that of Eva-01 and Eva-02. The CI seems to confirm that her low snch ratio is related to her lack of a mother and the use of a different soul in her Eva, as it states that:
"A unit called a core is used to eliminate any discrepancies in the joining of Eva, the body of a god, with that of a human being's soul. The soul of the pilot's mother, which is placed within the core, acts as a medium and makes piloting possible. Due to difficulties encountered in the development of Eva-00, the core's system is poorly constructed, and the Eva falls behind in performance capacity as a result. Another reason for this is that Eva-00's pilot, Rei, does not have a mother."
This does not remove the possibility of other souls being used; it merely states that the soul of the pilot's mother is what is generally used, and that the use of other souls leads to lower performance from the Eva.
- It is also heavily implied that prospective Eva pilots are chosen on the basis that their mothers are dead and their souls can thus be placed into Evas. In Episode 17 it is revealed by Ritsuko that Shinji's entire class are prospective Eva pilots; it is unclear why they were chosen, but it is heavily implied that it is because they are all children who have lost their mothers. In Episode 04 it is revealed that Kensuke Aida, Shinji's classmate, also has a deceased mother; he remarks that he is similar to Shinji in that respect. It is also heavily implied that the class representative, Hikari Horaki, does not have a mother, as she states that she has been taking care of her siblings and is the only one who cooks for her family; this implies that she does not have a mother to take care of such tasks. The odds of at least four children with dead mothers (Shinji, Asuka, Kensuke and Hikari) being grouped into a class of prospective Eva pilots for no reason whatsoever is slim; additionally, the fact that certain members of the class are motherless is often emphasised throughout the series, possibly to communicate this theme to the audience. Thus the implication seems to be that every child in Class 2-A is motherless, and that is why they were selected.
- Perhaps the case of Toji Suzuhara is meant to best illustrate how pilots are chosen. Toji is a member of Shinji's class, and is selected to become the pilot of the ill-fated Eva-03 in Episode 17. Like the other members of Shinji's class, it is heavily implied that Toji has no mother; it is stated in the show that he only lives with his father, sister and grandfather. Thus it is entirely possible that Toji's mother's soul was placed into Eva-03. Opponents of this theory argue that it is possible that Toji's siter's soul was placed into Eva-03 instead; however, there is nothing to support this theory. While it is known that Toji's sister was injured by Sachiel's attack, Toji is said to have only chosen to become the Fourth Child on the condition that she be transferred to a better hospital. Since this would make no sense if she were dead, it is clear that Toji's sister was alive when Toji was chosen as Fourth Child, thus her soul would not have been available to be inserted into Eva-03 (particularly as Eva-03 is not even in Japan yet at this point). There is never any direct indication that Toji's sister died after this, and thus it is unlikely that her soul could have been placed into an Eva. It would make more sense if the soul in Eva-03 were that of Toji's mother, as she is confirmed to be deceased and thus Nerv would have been able to implant her soul into the Eva. More evidence to support this theory can be found here.
Thus it appears that the show supports the CI's statement that the soul of the pilot's mother provides the best synch, and while other souls can used, it will make the Eva less effective.
