Episode 19

Episode Information
Episode #19
Title 1: 男の戰い Otoko no Tatakai A Man's Battle Title 2: Introjection
Written By	Hideaki Anno, Akio Satsukawa
Directed By	Masayuki
First Aired	2-7-1996
Video Release Date	12-5-1996 (Japan-Video/LD), 4-17-2001 (US-DVD)
Angel Appearances	Zeruel
Eva Sorties	Eva-00, Eva-01, Eva-02
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
"Episode 18"	"Episode 20"

Overview

Enraged over Toji's near-death at the hands of his own Eva, Shinji refuses to pilot an Evangelion again and prepares to leave Tokyo-3 for good. He is forced to reconsider that decision when an immensely destructive new Angel attacks just as he is about to leave...

Synopsis

In the aftermath of the battle with the Angel-infected Eva-03, Shinji is enraged that his father attempted to kill Toji, who he now knows was trapped in the Entry Plug throughout the incident. Shinji refuses to leave the Eva and even threatens to destroy Nerv Headquarters on his remaining battery power. Gendo and the bridge personnel knock him unconscious by increasing the LCL pressure inside the plug.

Toji wakes up in the hospital, with Shinji sleeping in the bed next to his. He goes back to sleep, and has a vision of Shinji and Rei in a train, talking about his father's behavior. When he wakes up again, Shinji is gone, and Hikari is at his side instead. She tells him he has been asleep for three days after the incident. From the shot, it is evident that Toji's left leg has been amputated.

Shinji is brought in to his father's office in handcuffs, where he is charged with various offenses against Nerv, including threatening intimidation, insubordination and use of an Eva for personal vendettas. Shinji responds by saying that he will never pilot again. Gendo decides to delete his files and reassign Rei as the pilot of Eva-01, with the Dummy Plug as backup. Misato tells Shinji that his activities will be closely monitored, to which he aggressively replies that he doesn't care. Surprised by his conviction, Misato lets Shinji leave. As soon as he reaches the train station, an emergency is declared: a new angel is approaching.

The Angel Zeruel approaches Tokyo-3 from the air. Missile batteries fire at Zeruel to no avail, and Zeruel responds with a weapon that destroys eighteen of the twenty-two armor layers above the Geofront. This aggressive and extremely destructive new enemy gives Nerv very little time to prepare a counterattack. Rei is sent to pilot Eva-01, but the Eva rejects her immediately. Attempts to activate it with the dummy system also fail. Meanwhile, Shinji watches as Zeruel sets off multiple cross-shaped explosions, and questions his decision not to pilot again.

Zeruel finally breaks through to the Geofront, where Asuka attacks him. Eva-02 sprays Zeruel with Rifle and Rocket fire, but again to no effect. Zeruel extends its foil-like arms, and severs both of Eva-02's arms with ease. Asuka screams in pain and charges Zeruel, and the bridge crew cut her nerve links just before Eva-02 is decapitated. Shinji meets up with Kaji inside the Geofront, and sees the effects of the battle. Rei follows with a suicide attack, attempting to destroy the Angel's core with an N² mine, but the Angel covers its core with an armored membrane, and survives the explosion unhurt.

With both Evas defeated and Eva-01 still refusing the Dummy Plug, the situation appears dire for Nerv, but Shinji barges in to pilot Eva-01 at the last moment. Zeruel damages the top of the command pyramid and breaks into the control room, prepared to obliterate the unfortunate bridge personnel. A second before the Angel releases its charge-up attack, it is punched in the face and slammed through the wall by Eva-01.

In the battle that follows, Eva-01's left arm is shot off but Zeruel is almost killed one-handed before the Eva runs out of power. Zeruel destroys the Eva's chest armor and tries to penetrate the core, but the Eva reactivates and goes berserk. After ripping off the Angel's left arm and using it to regenerate her own, she mutilates the Angel with an A.T. Field attack of her own and proceeds to devour the crippled Angel.

Notes

• Eva-01 is capable of actively rejecting its pilot if necessary, showing that she is indeed a sentient being. Yui's soul inside was capable of understanding the implications of the disastrous battle with Bardiel, in which Toji was almost killed.

• Toji's left leg has been amputated, although whether or not he lost his left arm as well is not clear from the shot, although his left arm is visible when he is hauled out of the entry plug. Production sketches for End of Evangelion include a scene where Toji and Kensuke are playing wheelchair basketball, confirming that Toji has both his arms.

Analysis

• The episode's English title, like the previous episode, comes from psychoanalytical theory. Introjection is a state in which a person incorporates behaviors, attitudes or characteristics of the surrounding world or other people into himself or herself, normally being a psychological defense mechanism in which the attributes of a missing person of great significance are incorporated.
  • At the end of the episode, Shinji is absorbed into Eva-01, in effect being internalized by his own mother.

• Toji wakes up again three days after Shinji left hospital. Shinji is brought to Gendo in handcuffs, and Ritsuko and Misato are seen standing next to Eva-03's wreckage- both likely the day Shinji was released from hospital. The same afternoon, Zeruel attacks and Shinji is forced to pilot Eva-01. This implies that Shinji would have been absorbed into Eva-01 at the same time Toji was in the hospital, making it possible that Toji experienced part of Shinji's introspection in the next episode.
  • By the same timeline, Zeruel came the next day, or the day after Bardiel attacked. Had Eva-03 come a day later, Bardiel would likely have attacked at the same time as Zeruel, giving Nerv the unprecedented problem of dealing with two deadly angels at once, and arrival after Zeruel's attack would have left no operational Eva to deal with Bardiel. Ironically, Eva-03's forced activation was fortunate- it happened when it caused the least damage possible.

• Shinji is more aggressive and decisive than ever seen previously, showing that his concern for others is indeed much stronger than it appears. Ironically, Toji is the one to point it out in Episode 17, while cleaning out Rei's apartment.

• The remains of Eva-03 are being dissolved, it is confirmed that the destruction of the Eva did bring about the death of the Angel that fused with it.

• Zeruel is one of the most destructive Angels seen so far, and its charge-up energy attack is the most powerful beam attack used in the series (Ramiel took several seconds to melt down Eva-01's chest armor, although Ramiel could sustain its attack indefinitely instead of a short pulse), and its cross-shaped beam attack is comparable to Sachiel's. Both attacks eventually penetrate the Geofront.

• Gendo and even Ritsuko are aghast at Rei's suicide attack on Zeruel. Her words, "If I die, I can be replaced." might imply that she is aware of her clone copies. Ritsuko's concern is interesting- she hates Rei for being close to Gendo, and knows the truth about Rei. Gendo's feelings for Rei (As a living Yui) aside, why Ritsuko should be concerned remains puzzling.

• Eva-01 uses an unknown A.T. Field based attack to cripple Zeruel, one that is never seen any other time in the entire series. Watching closely, one can discern the extent of the invisible shockwave that rips through Zeruel's arms and knocks the Angel's A.T. Field out of alignment.

• Ritsuko reveals that the armor on the Eva isn't just armor, but bindings to keep the Eva under Nerv's control. How the bindings function is never elaborated upon.

• The location of Zeruel's S² engine is slightly difficult to ascertain. The core appeared to survive the shockwave undamaged, and the Eva visibly eats the upper body of the Angel including the "face", but the image of Eva-01 crouching over Zeruel seems to show it facing the core.
  • If the S² engine is located high in the Angel's torso, it is possible that the weapon that created the cross-shaped explosions and optic beams is directly connected to the Angel's main power source, explaining its enormous destructive power.

Quotes

• Shinji: "Father, you're there, aren't you? Say something! Answer me!"
  Gendo: "Increase the pressure of the LCL to maximum. We have no time to waste on a childish tantrum."
  Shinji: "I've still got a direct control circuit... Damn! Damn! Damn..."
• Asuka: "It might really be over. I'll bet that idiot won't recover from this."
  Rei: "How is Ikari?"
  Asuka: "He wasn't injured, so he ought to be okay. He's probably dreaming away."
  Rei: "Dreaming?"
  Asuka: "Yeah. Don't tell me you don't dream?"
• Gendo: "Disobeying orders, private appropriation of an Eva, blatant intimidation... These are all criminal offenses."
  Gendo: "Do you have anything to say?"
  Shinji: "Yes, I don't want to pilot an Eva anymore. I don't want to stay here either."
  Gendo: "Then leave."
  Shinji: "Yes. I'll go back to my teacher's place."
  Gendo: "So you're running away again?"
  Gendo: "You disappoint me. I doubt we'll ever meet again."
  Shinji: "Yes, that's my intent."
• Misato: "All the fourth-level candidates were in your class. I just found out myself recently that it was all set up."
  Shinji: "All of them? All of my classmates..."
  Misato: "What happened with Suzuhara was a mistake that can't be mended with words alone. But, Shinji, to be honest, I was projecting all of my dreams, hopes and purpose onto you. I also know that it's been a huge burden for you. But we, everyone at Nerv, had no choice except to entrust our future to you. I want you to remember that one thing."
• Gendo: "Yes, it's rejecting me. Abort activation. Sortie Rei in Unit 00. Re-activate Unit 01 with the dummy plug."
  Misato: "But Unit 00 isn't..."
  Rei: "It doesn't matter. I'll go."
  Misato: "Rei?"
  Rei: "Even if I die, I can be replaced."
• Kaji: "Well, since my moonlighting came out into the open, I'm not welcome on the combat roster. So, here I am, watering the plants."
  Shinji: "At a time like this?"
  Kaji: "It's because it's a time like this. Between Katsuragi's breasts is nice too, but in the end, I want to be here when I die."
  Shinji: "Die?"
  Kaji: "That's right. It's said if an Angel makes contact with Adam, who lies below here, humanity will be eradicated in the Third Impact. The only thing that can stop it is the one thing with power equal to an Angel's, the Evangelion."
  Kaji: "Shinji, the only thing I can do is stand here and water. But you, you have something that you can do. That only you can do. Nobody is forcing you. Think for yourself, and make the decision by yourself. Think about what you ought to do now. You know, so you don't have any regrets."
• Ritsuko: "That's right. That's not armor plating. Those are restraints that allow us to suppress the Eva's true power. And now those bindings are being undone by the Eva's own might. We can no longer stop the Eva."
  Kaji: "Unit 01's been awakened and set free. Seele won't stay quiet for this. Was this also part of your script, Commander Ikari?"

Episodes & Films
Television Series	Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05 | Episode 06 Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 Episode 14 | Episode 15 | Episode 16 | Episode 17 | Episode 18 | Episode 19 | Episode 20 Episode 21 | Episode 22 | Episode 23 | Episode 24 | Episode 25 | Episode 26
Movies	Death | Rebirth The End of Evangelion: Episode 25' | Episode 26'
Rebuild of Evangelion	Evangelion 1.0 | Evangelion 2.0 | Evangelion 3.0 | (-46h) | (-120min) | Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0