Episode 01

Episode Information
Episode #01
Title 1: 使徒、襲来 Shito Shuurai An Angel's Attack Title 2: Angel Attack
Written By	Hideaki Anno
Directed By	Kazuya Tsurumaki
First Aired	10-4-1995
Video Release Date	2-3-1996 (Japan-Video/LD), 5-16-2000 (US-DVD)
Angel Appearances	Sachiel
Eva Sorties	Eva-01
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
–	"Episode 02"

Overview

Shinji Ikari is summoned to Tokyo-3 by his estranged father Gendo, commander of the special agency Nerv, to defend the city from a giant Angel by piloting the only weapon capable of battling the monster: Evangelion Unit-01.

Synopsis

The Angel Sachiel approaches underwater towards Tokyo-3, as a JSSDF tank battalion awaits it on the shoreline. A state of emergency has been declared and people have fled to shelters, leaving the region deserted. Shinji Ikari, recently arrived in a nearby town, has remained above ground waiting for Misato Katsuragi, who is due to pick him up.

Elsewhere, in the headquarters of Nerv, a special paramilitary organisation, under the United Nations, the JSSDF's leadership is coordinating their attack against the Angel. Their efforts are observed by Nerv's commander and Shinji's father, Gendo Ikari, and his vice commander, Kozo Fuyutsuki. Gendo and Fuyutsuki discuss amongst themselves, noting that it has been fifteen years since the last appearance of the Angels, and predicting that the military's operation is likely in vain, as conventional weapons are not likely to have any effect on the Angel.

During his wait, Shinji notices a teenage girl who seems to be observing him; a girl who mysteriously vanishes as quickly as she appeared. Shinji then feels the ground shake as Sachiel emerges from behind a nearby foothill. The JSSDF air force begins to attack the Angel with missiles and rockets. Shinji is nearly killed in the ensuing battle, but is rescued in the nick of time as Misato arrives in her car and rescues him.

As Gendo and Fuyutsuki predicted, JSSDF's weapons prove useless against the Angel, and they detonate an N² Mine in an attempt to destroy it. Misato and Shinji, on their way to Tokyo-3, are caught in the shock waves of the blast, and their vehicle is overturned. The Angel survives the blast, but is temporarily halted as it begins to regenerate.

Misato and Shinji repair their vehicle and continue on to Tokyo-3. The JSSDF, admitting their ineffectiveness, transfer responsibility for the Angel's destruction to Gendo and Nerv. Gendo immediately declares that he plans to deploy Eva-01 against the Angel, which Fuyutsuki questions, as they have no pilot on hand. Gendo just assures him that a spare is being delivered. Elsewhere, Shinji and Misato descends deep underground on a car train into the Geofront.

Upon their arrival, Shinji and Misato meet with Ritsuko Akagi, who leads them further down. The recovered Angel begins to resume its journey towards Tokyo-3. Shinji is brought to the Evangelion hangar, where he is shown Eva-01 and where Gendo also appears above. Shinji then learns that he has been summoned to pilot Evangelion Unit-01 into battle against the Angel.

A Selection of Images From Episode 01
By row, from left to right, starting top left: Sachiel approaches Tokyo-3 Misato rescues Shinji in the nick of time The JSSDF detonate an N² Mine... ...but the Angel survives. The Geofront Arrival by hovercraft Shinji is brought before the Eva, and his father. Eva-01 saves Shinji.

Shinji confronts his father and protests at his treatment, believing he has no chance of doing what is asked of him, but Gendo coldly tells him to pilot or leave. The rejuvenated Angel discovers and begins to attack the Geofront, and the hanger is shaken by its blasts. Misato tries to encourage Shinji to stand up for himself, but he ultimately refuses to pilot the Evangelion. Gendo then sends for his other pilot Rei Ayanami, despite her being seriously injured.

Rei is wheeled into the room in a hospital bed, still covered with bandages (much to his disquiet, Shinji notices that, injuries aside, Rei inexplicably closely resembles the mysterious girl he saw in the streets earlier). The violence of one the Angel's blasts causes a heavy ceiling light in the hangar to fall and Shinji is nearly killed, but is saved when Eva-01, breaks its bonds and moves its arm to deflect the lights, despite it being unable to move in its restraints. Shinji runs over to help Rei who has been thrown to the floor by the blast. Confronted with the sight of Rei's injuries, Shinji resolves himself and agrees to pilot the Evangelion.

Eva-01 is prepared for launch. The Entry Plug with Shinji inside, is inserted into the Evangelion where Shinji achieves synchronization with Eva-01. The Evangelion is then launched up from the Geofront to a road on the surface, into the path of the Angel. The two stand opposing each other and the episode ends.

Notes

• When Misato and Shinji are entering Nerv HQ, the hexagonal sliding door they walk through has the misspelling "cauntion" written on it
• Eva-01's shoulder normally just has the word "EVA" written on it, with a number "1" superimposed over it. However, when Shinji and Misato first drive up to Eva-01 in a hovercraft, the entire word "Evangelion" is written on its shoulder due to an animation goof.
• Background announcements in Nerv HQ after Misato and Shinji enter state that the "Sigma Unit" is under a complete lockout.

Cauntion!

• Although it is never mentioned in the series, a comparison between the tactical map displayed in Central Dogma's command center in the episode and maps of the region reveals that the town where Shinji first meets Misato is the city of Atami.
• When Shinji hands Misato the summon letter, we can see that the letter was torn to pieces then sticked back together with black tape. Misato makes no comment on the matter, and it's never explicitly stated what drove Shinji to break the letter nor what drove him to repair it.
• While going down the Nerv HQ's elevator, Misato tells Shinji "I see, so you don't get along with your father. It's the same with me" in response to Shinji's remark that Gendo wouldn't have called him unless he had a use for him. This is one (probably the first) of the many similarities between Shinji and Misato that are noted or established throughout NGE.
• The writing process for this episode took a long time, as much as six months according to Anno., and the opening sequence was not yet finished. This is probably why Cruel Angel Thesis's songwriter says she only watched two unfinished episodes, as she was probably called in during their production before Gainax would make the opening sequence based on the then unwritten song. In Proposal, it was originally called People's Reunion. Shinji would fight an angel called "Raziel", not to be confused with Ramiel. This was moved to the second episode with Sachiel.

Analysis

• A mysterious apparition of a blue-haired girl appears before Shinji shortly after we meet him. She hasn't been formally introduced yet, but the figure is Rei Ayanami, whom we meet later in the episode. However, it's clear that there's something strange at work here, since there's a discrepancy between the apparition we see and the Rei we're introduced to, primarily being the injuries. Right away, Rei's character evokes mystery. The figure appears again in the final scene of EoE, and is often referred to as "Bookend Rei".
• The little green booklet that Misato hands to Shinji when they enter Nerv HQ says "Welcome to Nerv" on it. Apparently, Shinji has never even heard the name of "Nerv" before, and yet he is a matter of minutes away from being told to pilot Eva-01.
• When Ritsuko first meets Shinji and Misato, she is wearing a one-piece swimsuit, which she was wearing under a diving suit, with her lab coat over it. However, between when Ritsuko, Misato, and Shinji meet in the elevator and when they reach Eva-01, Ritsuko has changed into her normal clothes (blue shirt, black skirt, and stockings); in addition, Misato has put on her trademark red jacket. They're supposed to be hurrying to Eva-01 as fast as they can to sortie it against the Angel: Misato could conceivably have just thrown her jacket on while walking, but Ritsuko apparently took the time to change her entire outfit?

Quotes

• Fuyutsuki: "It's been 15 years, hasn't it."
  Gendo Ikari: "Yes, there can be no mistake. It's an Angel".
• Misato Katsuragi: (while standing on an elevated people mover transporting her through Nerv base, which is clearly visible from lower levels) "This is why I hate wearing skirts here".
• Ritsuko Akagi: "This is the Ultimate All-Purpose Humanoid Decisive Battle Weapon developed by humanity. The artificial human, Evangelion. That is Eva-01. Its construction carried out in complete secrecy, it is our — humanity's — final trump."
• Shinji Ikari: "I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away..."
• Gendo Ikari: "Go wake up Rei."
  Fuyutsuki: "Can we use her?"
  Gendo Ikari: "She isn't dead."
  Fuyutsuki: "Understood."

Credits

See "Episode 1/Credits"

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 | Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0