Episode 18
| Episode Information | |||||||
| Episode #18 | |||||||
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| Written By | Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi | ||||||
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| Directed By | Tensai Okamura | ||||||
| First Aired | 1-31-1996 | ||||||
| Video Release Date | 10-2-1996 (Japan-Video/LD), 4-17-2001 (US-DVD) | ||||||
| Angel Appearances | Bardiel | ||||||
| Eva Sorties | Eva-00, Eva-01, Eva-02 | ||||||
| Episode chronology | |||||||
| ← Previous | Next → | ||||||
| "Episode 17" | "Episode 19" | ||||||
Overview
Evangelion Unit-03 arrives in Japan from the United States. However, its activation experiment only continues the chain of misfortune begun with Eva-04 when it turns out to have been infected by the Thirteenth Angel. The other Evas are dispatched to ascertain the situation, and end up needing to battle the out-of-control Evangelion, even at the risk of killing its helpless pilot.
Synopsis
The episode begins with the transport aircraft carrying Eva-03 flying through a formation of cumulonimbus clouds. A brief sbut massive spark of electricity is shown as the Eva enters the clouds.[2]
Misato leaves for Nerv's second test facility at Matsushiro. Shinji is confused to find Toji absent from school. Kensuke speculates that Toji might be the expected new pilot. Both Toji and Misato are waiting due to a delay in transporting the Eva to Japan. The delayed flight arrives, and the Eva is readied for activation.
The bilingual[3] activation begins normally, but soon goes dangerously wrong. Attempts to cut the power and stop the activation fail and a high energy reaction is detected inside the Eva. The 13th Angel, Bardiel reveals itself and the Angel-infected Eva roars as it sets off a huge explosion (possibly via its S² Engine).
Nerv headquarters is alerted about the explosion at Matsushiro. Subsequently, an entity with Blood Type Orange is detected, which is discovered to be the infected Eva-03. Attempts to eject the entry plug are inhibited by the Angel's biomass holding it back. Eva-03 is designated the Thirteenth Angel and the three remaining Evangelions sortie against the infected Eva, with no choice but to fight it with the pilot held hostage.
Shinji remains ignorant of the fact that Toji is the pilot of Eva-03. Asuka is about to tell him when she is surprised and incapacitated by the infected Eva. Rei hesitates to shoot long enough for Eva-03 to detect Eva-00's presence and attack it. After pinning Eva-00 to the ground, it secretes a grayish-purple fluid that begins to infect Eva-00 through the left arm, which is severed with Rei still synchronized. Eva-03 goes on to fight Eva-01.
Shinji sees the trapped entry plug and refuses to fight the Eva while the pilot is still inside. The Eva's mutated arms reach out and grab Eva-01 by the neck. Gendo orders Shinji to fight, but Shinji would rather be strangled to death than kill Eva-03's pilot. As a result, Gendo orders the Dummy System to be activated. Eva-01 grabs the infected Eva-03's neck and soon breaks it, leaving the infected Eva limp. Eva-01 proceeds to smash in the infected Eva's skull and brutally dismember it. Shinji screams for his father to stop it and makes futile attempts to control the Eva himself, but Eva-01 continues until it crushes the Entry Plug.
Misato is found among the other survivors of the explosion at Matsushiro. Kaji explains that Ritsuko is safe and that Eva-03 was destroyed by Eva-01. A sobbing, miserable Shinji speaks to Misato on the radio briefly before the pilot of Eva-03 is revealed to be still alive. Shinji sees that it is Toji and screams.
Analysis
- When Toji is extracted from the entry plug, what look like strands of congealed LCL are still attached to his body. This was probably another part of Bardiel's infection, which raises the question of whether or not Toji was infected as well.
Quotes
- Kensuke: "Now, time to eat! Hey, where's Toji?"
Shinji: "He's gone."
Kensuke: "Without even eating lunch? Him? That's impossible."
Shinji: "He's been acting odd lately, hasn't he?" - Toji: "Oh, Ayanami, if you're lookin' for Shinji, he ain't here. You know 'bout me, don't you? Seems Sohryu knows too. So Shinji's the only one who doesn't know. You don't usually care 'bout people."
Rei: "Really? I'm not sure I understand."
Toji: "The one you care about's Shinji."
Rei: "Do I? You may be right."
Toji: "Yeah, you do." - Woman (Television): "Now that I consider it, a man who sucks at kissing never works out!"
Kaji: "What? Are you two fighting again? You guys are hopeless."
Man (Television): "My kissing sucks?"
Woman (Television): "Not just your kissing!"
Kaji: "Are you two always like this when Katsuragi's gone?"
Man (Television): "Not just my kissing?!" - Kaji: "You're wrong there. You only believe that you've learned. People can't understand others completely. Who knows if you can even understand yourself? Understanding each other one hundred percent is impossible. Of course, that's why we spend so much time trying to understand ourselves and others. That's what makes life so interesting."
Shinji: "Is that also true for you and Miss Misato?"
Kaji: "The word we use for 'she' literally means 'the woman far away'. To us, women will always be on the distant shore. Basically, there's a river dividing men and women, deeper and wider than the ocean."
Shinji: "I don't understand adults." - Hyuga: "We still have respiratory and cardiac response, but he's probably..."
Gendo: "Evangelion Unit 03 will be abandoned at this time. It will be designated as the Thirteenth Angel."
Hyuga: "But, Sir!"
Gendo: "Deploy the battle line at Mt. Nobe as planned. Destroy the target." - Shinji: "But... but I can't! I've got to save them! I can't just kill somebody!"
Gendo: "You'll die."
Shinji: "I don't care! It's better than killing someone!"
Gendo: "Never mind! Cut all synchronization between the pilot and Unit 01."
Maya: "Cut it?"
Gendo: "Correct. Switch the control circuit to the dummy plug."
Maya: "But the dummy system still has a lot of problems, and without Dr. Akagi's approval..."
Gendo: "It'll be of more use than the pilot. Do it!"
Maya: "Yes, Sir." - Misato (Radio- Off): "Shinji..."
Shinji: "Miss Misato, so you're all right?"
Misato (Radio- Off)): "I...I'm sorry. I had something important to tell you, but..."
Shinji (starting to cry): "Miss Misato, I...I killed...It was my father...I begged him to stop, but..."
Misato (Radio- Off): "Shinji, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Maya (Radio - Off): "Report from the entry plug recovery team. The pilot's life signs are confirmed."
Shinji: "He's alive?!"
Misato (Radio- Off): "Unit 03's pilot is... The Fourth Children is..."
Shinji: "Toji?"
Misato (Radio- Off) "Shinji? Shinji? Shinji?! Shinji?! Shinji?!"
(Shinji screams.)
References
- ↑ The English language title, "Ambivalence", refers to a state where two contradictory emotions or attitudes exist at the same time within an individual. It was originally a psychoanalytical term, first used by the Swiss psychoanalyst Paul Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939). The title may be referring to Shinji's conflict between his duty to defeat Eva-03 and his emotional reluctance to fight the Eva, due to the fact that it has a human pilot on board. (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Platinum:05 DVD booklet. Released by A.D.V. Films. Translated from the Renewal Vol. 05 DVD booklet.) See here for more details.
- ↑ "Conceivably, Bardiel lurked within the cumulonimbus clouds and parasitized the in-transit Eva-03 when it passed through." (積乱雲の中に潜み、移送中の３号機が通過した際に寄生したものと考えられるバルディエル。) From Evangelion Chronicle, Mechanic Sheet 04: Evangelion Production Model / Thirteenth Angel Bardiel. Translation by Reichu.
- ↑ English is used in the original Japanese version of this episode to represent personnel from the United States' First Branch: at the beginning of the episode for the interchange between the Eva transport and Air Traffic Control, and later during Eva-03's bilingual activation experiment.
- The English dialogue was performed by Michael House, George A. Arriola, and Hiromi Arriola. Michael House was a Gainax employee at the time who did in-house translation work. George A. Arriola and Hiromi Arriola were friends of his and are apparently husband and wife.
- The American personnel say "Evangelion Unit One" in place of the Japanese "Evangelion Shogouki". (Also from the Platinum:05 DVD booklet.)
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| Movies | Death | Rebirth |
| Rebuild of Evangelion | Evangelion 1.0 | Evangelion 2.0 | Evangelion 3.0 | Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.0 |
