FGC:Episode 03 Scene 07a

Shamshel's Assault (Part 1)

Screenshots	Cut #	Description/Dialogue	Commentary
	207	BGM START: E-6 [ANGEL ATTACK] Shinji freaking out UP. Shinji:“Ah… Ah…”	OMF: Shinji is once again beset by his battle paralysis. Whatever skills have been drilled into him over the last three weeks, bravery is not one of them. Reichu: "Bravery" is a rather subjective term… What Shinji could really use here, more specifically, is the ability to think and act rationally despite his rather understandable fear.
	208	Eva in front; Shamshel draws near. Her glowing whips are like tentacles, undulating to and fro with great speed.	Reichu: Is it just me, or are Shamshel's tentacles strangely hypnotic? I could watch those things rhythmatically undulate (i.e., wriggle) all day. Also, has anyone noticed that from this angle, Sham's head looks like an inverted heart? "I bring you love!" Incisivis: "Anime is infamous for its 'tentacle love'." Dr. Nick: Yes, all self-respecting anime shows have some tentacles. Seriously. Mr. Tines: Despite the usual "looks-like", the first thoughts of morphology I had were "squid"; and this stance is cobra-squid-priest form. Reichu: Seafood does seem to be the OTHER thing that commonly comes to mind (aside from you-know-what), as noted in C-127. But… "priest"??? Mr. Tines: Below the head, the body is an ecclesiastical purple, and takes on the general body-line of a cassock. Hexon.Arq: Ah, seeming validation of the S.O. inclination. (Ignore me; my insane film professor's voice just won't fall silent.)
	209	Shinji freaking out UP.	HeWhoPostsStuff: "You wouldn't hit a guy with, uh, solid black lines all over his face, would you?"
	210	Shamshel. The glowing whips fly into the foreground.
	211	Bird's-eye view of Eva. She is still on the road, petrified with fright. Disconcerted, she flees. At the end of the cut, the whips of light enter grandiously from the foreground.	Reichu: "Run away!!" I love how Shinji just chucks the gun into a building. (Would have been funnier if he had thrown it at Shamshel. Now there's an idea for a 4-koma.) They even bothered to animate little bits of debris. thewayneiac: Yeah! Just like the bad guys in Superman HeWhoPostsStuff: The debris! Of course! THAT'S where the animation budget went!
	212	Clouds of dust rise up before Shamshel. Eva escapes in feverish haste. The whips of light flail about.	OMF: What a PR nightmare for Nerv. Their top super weapon, fleeing like a poltroon. They've only themselves to blame though! Reichu: Hey, blame the pilot. If it were up to the "weapon", Shamshel would be the one turning tail, if she was even given the chance.
	213	The whips of light extending.
	214	Buildings dance in midair as they are cut apart. Clouds of dust are quickly raised, and the Eva is sent flying.	Reichu: When you watch this animated, the buildings almost do look like they're doing a little dance. I can only imagine how much this must have amused Amanda Winn Lee… (Recall her preoccupation with the "dancing truck" in EoE.)
	215	Eva crashes into an armored building. Debris comes down onto her.
	216	The whips of light zing through the other side of the building, demolishing it and knocking Eva through.	Magami No ER: I've seen many "zings" like this in previous, older anime, such as in the OP of the 1992 "KO-Beast". Very cool effect, IMO. Reichu: It was also used to especially memorable effect on a certain dog in the "Gunnm" OVA.
	217	Within the smoke and debris, the severed cable sparks intermittently.
	218	Inside the entry plug. The Remaining Energy display commences countdown. SE <<A hysteric warning sound.>>	Mr. Tines: The set-up from cut 004 comes into play…
	219	Shinji frets.	Soluzar: 'Frets'? The power of understatement. He looks like he just filled his plugsuit. Reichu: Yeah, Shinji's in top form here. The interior lighting is red here, but it's back to normal in 226. If it's just supposed to be a brief change to indicate that Eva has switched to battery power, it's a gimmick that's never seen again.
	220	Command Center. Misato in front of a giant backwards-counting clock. Aoba (OFF):“The Umbilical Cable has been severed!!” Woman 1 (OFF):“Field down by 0.2.”
	221	Misato from above. Hyuga (OFF):“Eva has switched over to internal power.” Woman 2 (OFF):“First armor plate has reached damage level F.” Ibuki (OFF):“4 minutes, 53 seconds of activation remaining.” Woman 1 (OFF):“Field down by 0.8.”	thewayneiac: Already they're forgetting their own rules. Shouldn't that be one minute? This can't possibly be gain mode, as we'll see momentarily. Dr. Nick: Why can't it be gain mode? Like I've said before, I think the gain mode is the Evas' normal action mode, and "full power" is kinda like an afterburner which is only needed for the really crazy stunts. Or am I missing something important here? Reichu: Is "Woman 2" referring to EVA-01's armor or to the Geofront's armored plates?
	222	Smashed cars, street light, etc. The concentric outlet, crashed into the side of a building. SE <<Eva drive sound (pre.)>>	Reichu: "Drive" as in that of an engine. It's beyond me why they include these kinds of sound effects, since the internal workings of the Evas are organic, not mechanical. HeWhoPostsStuff: Well, there's gotta be SOMEthing mechanical in there, if they hafta plug 'em in to make 'em work (sometimes). :P Reichu: Wellll… The mechanical crap is all concentrated in the upper vertebral region. I can't imagine what would be making that sound, unless it has something to do with the cybernetic components switching from external to "internal" (battery) power.
	223	Eva props her hand on a building and rises.
	224	A ground-hugging tentacle comes after her.
	225	It twines around Eva's foot.	Reichu: This shows how much control Shamshel has over her weapons. Not only are they useful for generalized flailing and slashing, but she can also use them in a prehensile manner, without doing any damage to the target. HeWhoPostsStuff: Or else the animators just didn't care to draw in the damage… kinda like the programmers for the Gran Turismo games. Reichu: Cynical, ain't ya?! HeWhoPostsStuff: Who, me? Dr. Nick: "The animators just didn't care" — WTF, man, are you channelling EvaMonkey or something? :P Reichu: Well, come to think of it, the lack of damage could also be due to Sho's ATF, although I like my first idea better… See two cuts down.
	226	Shinji is dragged down.
	227	Beyond the buildings, Eva is dragged down. Shamshel flings her.	Reichu: Continuing my rant from 200, it almost seems as though Shamshel is like a cat, playing with her prey (which, here, involves sadistically dragging Sho across the ground and throwing her into a mountain) before she delivers the coup de grace. Shinji should appreciate the break these first Angels are giving him, eh? On a side note — damn, those flimsy whips are tough! They're completely impervious to whatever ridiculous figure an Eva must weigh. Even Sachiel, with his inflato-muscles, had to exert himself somewhat to lift Sho as high as he did. Dr. Nick: Let's not forget Law of Anime #2: Law of Differentiated Gravitation: Whenever someone or something jumps, is thrown, or otherwise is rendered airborn, gravity is reduced by a factor of 4.
	228	missing number
	229	Toji and Kensuke on the hillside (in front); Eva comes flying toward them. Kensuke (backside):“It's comin' this way!”	Dr. Nick: Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Ebichuman?!? NO!!! thewayneiac: It's a frog! Reichu: Speaking of Ebichu, Anno's favorite hamster actually has an NGE cameo a few episodes down the road. And… so much for a safe vantage point.
	230	The duo from above. Their features become incredibly warped with fright. Both:“AHHHHHHH!!!”	Mr. Tines: Kensuke's not even protected by the normal cameraman's sense of detachment. thewayneiac: But he keeps on filmin' like a real pro!
	231	missing number
	232	An everyday vista. A giant humanoid figure comes down with a whomp.	Reichu: "Weeeeeeee— OUCH!" Soluzar: Remind anyone else of Wile E. Coyote? Reichu: Stuffman, probably. ;;p HeWhoPostsStuff: No, no, you've got it all wrong. See, for this to REALLY pass the "Stuffman Test," first of all you'd need Toji and Kensuke running around frantically to get out from under the falling Eva's shadow (which, of course, follows them around). When the thing finally is about to inevitably hit them, the two luckless lads stop and each pull out one of those tiny little frilly umbrellas, opening them simultaneously with sheepish looks on their faces. The Eva comes crashing down to the tune of a falling piano scale, leaving an impossibly deep, perfectly EVA-01-shaped crater in the ground. A few moments later she crawls part way out, several humorously protruding lumps proceeding forth from underneath her helmet, and rests an elbow on the ground and one cheek within her hand, as if trying to think over what just happened.
	233	Beyond the torii, the upper half of Eva's body sinks down, raising stormy clouds of dust.	OMF: The size and weight of Eva is really emphasised by her slow sinking into the mountainside.
	234	Inside the entry plug, Shinji is limp. Warning sounds are heard along with Misato's voice. SE <<All kinds of warning sounds>> Misato (OFF - radio):“Shinji-kun. All you alright? Shinji-kun! (to Hyuga) Damage report?” Hyuga (OFF - radio):“No problems detected. He can make it.” Shinji:“Uh… uh…” Shinji gets up and notices the monitor.	Reichu: They actually do have the entry plug's orientation change with regards to the Eva's torso (i.e., EVA-01 is on her back here, rather than upright) when it suits them. ::p
	235	Shinji's head in front; Eva's hand is displayed on the monitor. There are human figures in the gap between her fingers.	Reichu: Now, what's the likelihood of that? Magami No ER: In anime, anything is possible!
		Closeup of that. Between her fingers, Toji and Kensuke cover their heads with their arms, trembling.
	238	Tears in thir eyes, Toji and Kensuke finally raise their heads. They look up at the Evangelion.	Soluzar: I think that despite his fear, Kensuke just fell in love… Reichu: Lucky for him the Evas are goyls. Things would have gotten terribly wrong had Kensuke ever received his own Eva, though… OMF: There are folds in the material covering Eva's hands here. Is this stuff just rubber? Reichu: A note on EVA-01 production drawings says that "the arms are covered by a reinforced plastic-like material (that doesn't wrinkle/crease)". Hmm, okay… I guess the hands are covered by a reinforced plastic-like material that DOES. :P
	239	The two looking up.	Reichu: Not so tough now, are you, Toji?
	237	Shinji feels a chill go down his back. He thinks, "I almost killed human beings, and people I know, at that…"	Reichu: Heh, if Shinji were someone else, he might have been thinking, "Cool! I almost killed that bastard who beat the crap out of me!" Despite Shinji's rather antisocial nature, he has a remarkable innate concern for human life. (Not that he would let it serve as any kind of primary motivation for piloting the Eva or anything…) As we'll see for the first time here, he actually will sit there and take the burn from an enemy if he thinks someone is endangered by taking aggressive action — although, the next time this happens, he really lets sentiment cloud his judgment. (Considering the true nature of the Angels, that Shinji is this way is kind of ironic, really.) tv33: "Innate concern for human life"? Well, just don't bring up EoE… Reichu: SHHH! We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. ;;> Incisivis: I'm going to side with you, Reichu, and say that in this case, he's motivated by compassion. As for Shinji as a whole… I think worrying about his reputation and his low self-esteem plays a role in some of his "compassionate" gestures, but to attribute them wholly to Shinji's faults is oversimplfying things. EoE is more, "Well, he's snapped," than "Oh, he was always like that,". HeWhoPostsStuff: I tend to think that he just doesn't want the weight of having killed another human being (i.e., someone other than himself) on his conscience. I figure that Shinji wouldn't particularly like the idea that he was responsible for killing anyone, especially considering his reaction (or lack thereof) when he faces Toji in a slightly more intense situation… Reichu: On an aside… What's with the funky red background and lighting here? Hexon.Arq: Blood was very nearly spilled! Well, human blood. Well… okay don't go all technical on that now. ;) Color and lighting for intensity; red for… well, blue wouldn't have fit.