This post not only assumes you have a decent grasp on the Evangelion Universe but also spoils it in spectacular fashion. Continue at your own risk.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is something you either get or you don’t. It’s monolithic presence looms over its entire genre and its infamous legacy has assured that even the greenest of anime fans will at least have heard the name. Originally aired in 26 episodes the story has been re-told with an alternate ending in two subsequent feature films (Death/Rebirth & End of Evangelion) and a third re-telling, in the form of four new films, has just reached breaking point with the release of Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, the third movement in series creator Hideaki Annos new quartet, tentatively titled Rebuild of Evangelion. If you’re still with me, chances are you’re an eva fan.
Evangelion 3.0 has divided this already divided fanbase straight down the middle. For a series renowned for being confusing and obtuse, fans knew Hideki Anno would have to pull some seriously batshit stuff to maintain the sinister mystique the franchise had always enjoyed and having watched Eva 3.0 myself over the weekend, I can confirm he was up to the task.
But before we get into this analysis proper, some housekeeping must be taken care of. Firstly, if you’re unfamiliar with the world of Evangelion you just should not be here. Mainly because it’s literally impossible to discuss the series without going into spoilerific detail but also because Eva has reached a kind of narrative singularity over the years; it’s a series that seems to continuously reward you the more time you put into it and if you’ve managed to avoid it for the last 18 years (yep you read correctly, folks) I’m not convinced it’s reasonable to ask you to start now. That’s an awful lot of ground to cover and while some would suggest starting with the Rebuild movies, originally billed as (and still believed by many to be), slightly more accessible doorways into the world, I would not be one of those people.
So here’s the rub. If you know nothing about Eva but have always been curious, I’d recommend checking out ‘Death/Rebirth’ as a starting point. Ideally I’d love to start newbies with the original TV show (who’s controversial climax I personally adore), but even I have to admit that it simply hasn’t aged well. ‘Death/Rebirth’ condenses the first 24 episodes into one film. It’s a little harder to follow but covers everything you need to know.
However, if you’re already an eva geek like myself, and are okay with spoilers for everything from episode 1 to the end credits of evangelion 3.0 read on.
Be aware though that we will be exploring the rebuild films, mainly 3.0, through the lens of a popular fan theory; that the rebuild films are not remakes at all, but are in fact sequels.
I’m not in the business of explaining the day away and even without going into any of the backstory here we have an awful lot to get through. In that spirit I’m going to post some helpful links that may aid your understanding of exactly what the hell I’m talking about, if you feel you need it. We’ve already established that you are (probably) an eva fan, and chances are you’re already familiar with sequel theory, but just in case you’re not, this article sums it up pretty well.
Because we’re just going to be assuming sequel theory to be correct (it very well may not be, but for the sake of this hypothesis we will be assuming it is), the events of the entire series and two initial films, D/R and EoE, are probably going to be important. As such, if you need a quick refresher on where EoE left Shinji and the gang, this handy video should bring you right back up to speed.
Holy shit that was a long introduction. But as any Eva fan will know, there really are no shortcuts when it comes to this franchise. Without further ado, let’s take a look at Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo and a smaller look at the other two rebuild movies too.
Where Are We Now?
As seen in the article posted above, the world is a strangely different place when we arrive in Evangelion 1.0 and although there appear to be numerous nods to what has gone before, the events actually play out remarkably similar, almost identical, to the original show. It’s not until 2.0 that the divergent strands begin to emerge and more strange, subtle differences start to sew the seeds of doubt in the minds of viewers. By the end of 2.0 Asuka has been hospitalized having been crushed by Eva Unit 1 under Gendos orders (this is probably the strangest difference as it is Toji who is killed in the show and Asuka ultimately survives), Shinji has unwittingly unleashed Third Impact on the world in an attempt to rescue Rei causing them both to become trapped in the recently awakened Unit 1 and everyones favorite messiah, Kaowru has descended to earth in Unit 6 to pause third impact for the time being for reasons unknown.
In a move so typical of Hideki Anno that we should all be ashamed of ourselves for not seeing it coming the whole time, 3.0 begins 14 years after the events of 2.0 and holy shit things have changed. The film opens with Asuka, still a little worse for wear, and newly unveiled mystery woman Mari Illustrious Makinami (more on her later), performing a rescue operation on Unit 1 (and fighting off an angel in the process because why the fuck not?) which results in Shinji’s recovery with no sign of Rei whatsoever. Shinji awakens and finds himself as confused as we are, convinced he successfully saved Rei and completely oblivious to whatever he’s done to earn everyones disdain and because this is a Hideki Anno film, they naturally offer no explanations.
Shinji, tiring of the passive aggressive behavior of his former NERV comrades is eventually and sort of voluntarily taken back to the geofront where he is re-united with Rei, Gendo, Fuyutsuki and introduced to the charismatic, young pilot Kaworu Nagisa. While most of the details are glossed over so comprehensively they could reflect sunlight, Kaowru does share with Shinji some important exposition. Shinjis attempt to save Rei resulted in Unit 1 becoming self aware (possibly due to adam coming into contact with lilith) beginning the Third Impact. Although Kaworu managed to stop it by impaling Unit 1, considerable damage had already been done; enough to destroy the geofront and cause Misato, Ritusko, Asuka and Mari to branch off from NERV to form Wille.
Yeah, we’re not in Kansas anymore.
As friendship develops between Kaworu and Shinji, Gendo and Fuyutsuki have their usual ominous conversations about SEELEs plan and Gendos plan and how they differ but are actually pretty much the same. Eventually Kaowru suggests retrieving the spears of longinus and cassius from the corpse of lilith (still held as far as I can tell, it what would have been known as terminal dogma, although no longer crucified. As for how the spears got there, don’t hold your breath, I’m personally stumped), which will give them the power to rebuild the world the way they want, instead of following the plans laid out for them by SEELE and Gendo. When faced with the spears however, Kaowru claims to have been mistaken about their identity (not the first time he’s gotten something like that wrong in this exact location) and completely bottles it. Asuka and Mari intervene, an epic fight ensues and Kaworu gracefully accepts death for the sake of Shinjis happiness.
Gendo expresses his satisfaction that SEELEs child has been dealt with and that now the path is clear for his own plan to unfold. Rei, beginning to understand the echoes of relationships created by her former self, begrudgingly accompanies Asuka and a beaten, broken Shinji back to Willes suped up, Eva powered ship, the Wunder.
‘Wow. That was some awful simplification and glossing over you did there, Andy’, I hear you cry, ‘but how does this all relate to sequel theory?’, well stop crying and I’ll tell you.
What’s In A Name?
The grand assumption of Sequel Theory, and the biggest ask for accepting it, is that the rebuild world is being rebuilt by Shinji. The nods to the previous cycle littering the world are left there intentionally or unintentionally by him and all the differences are conscious decisions on his part as he attempts to save the world he previously failed to protect. With very little to go on but conjecture, it can be hard to buy into this but if you’ll indulge me, I believe I can present, if not evidence, then at least some powerful arguments for the case. My first argument comes from the name of each rebuild film and how each title relates to its film.
In Evangelion 1.0, as previously discussed, things are more or less the same as they’ve always been and we end on a pretty high note with Rei and Shinji working together to successfully take out Ramiel. In other words, at the end of Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, Shinji is not alone, and for the first time is finding purpose and happiness in his life. Fast forward to the end of Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance and Kaowru has successfully halted Third Impact as initiated by Shinji, preventing the human instrumentality project from advancing. This also resulted in Shinji being imprisoned within Unit 1, so he wasn’t exactly ‘advancing’ anywhere either.
Here’s where things start to get interesting. In EoE, Shinji was integral in the initiation of Instrumentality and was the first to reject it, presumably going on to start the chain of events we are currently in, re-doing everything from scratch to try and get it right. In contrast to this, at the end of Evangelion 2.0 Shinji is trapped inside Unit 1 and isn’t recovered for fourteen years. In this cycle, Shinji had no part in instrumentality and so could not reject it. The world carried on without him and so he could not reboot it. He, literally, could not redo.
Illustrious Mari
3.0 raised far more questions than it answered but one particular question has been hovering over the franchise since 2.0 and 3.0s lack of new info has pissed off quite a lot of people: who the fuck is Mari Illustrious Makinami and why is she there? Sure, you could argue that she just exists to sell more action figures and hug-pillows and you’d probably be right about that. Narratively she seems to serve no purpose at all. The most important thing she did in 2.0 was show us Evas ‘Beast Mode’ and even in that regard she plays second fiddle to Asuka in 3.0. However, sequel theory has its own take on who Mari is and what it is that she is up to.
Assuming that Shinji has re-booted the world and made alterations to increase his chances of saving it we cannot discount the possibility that he is responsible for Mari’s involvement. Ever notice how similar Mari and Shinji’s faces are?
Mari is the exact opposite of Shinji in just about every way. She’s brash, loud, outgoing, abrasive, female and absolutely adores piloting Eva. It’s possible that Shinji, aware that he was not capable of saving the world, created Mari, someone who is everything he isn’t, in the hopes that she could do what he could not. The fact that she happily plays support to Asuka in 3.0 also alludes to this, as the power dynamic between Shinji and Asuka was always a source of tension. In allowing Asuka to give the orders, Mari/Shinji is allowing for the possibility that Asuka may have been able to succeed where neither of them could, given the proper support. Of course if Asuka was to fall in battle, Mari would be ready to step right in. A new child for a new path.
Since we’re speculating wildly on fan theory we might as well throw caution to the wind and discuss one of the even wilder theories on Mari; that she is, somehow, the daughter of Shinji and Asuka. We’ve already seen that she and Shinji share a certain visual similarity and it would be fair to say that she and Asuka share some personality traits too. Take into consideration Anno’s statement that Asukas infamous ‘I feel sick’ line in EoE was a reference to morning sickness and this kind of begins to click together. As for how exactly she exists in a world where Shinji and Asuka have never done the no pants dance, that’s a tricky one and not something I have an explanation for. I personally don’t buy this particular theory, nor am I comfortable discounting it entirely, but it opens up a whole other can of worms that I do have certain stock in. If she is the daughter of Shinji and Asuka, and even if she isn’t, Shinji might not be the only one running the show.
Asuka
In EoE, Shinji rejects instrumentality and finds himself washed up on the beach staring into the sea of LCL, containing the souls of all his friends. But he is not alone; Asuka has rejected instrumentality also. Shinji doesn’t appear too pleased to see her though and tries to choke her, ultimately giving up, allowing her to deliver her infamous ‘I feel sick/disgusting’ line. If we’re going to assume that this gave Shinji a degree of control over how the world rebuilt from the sea of LCL, it’s unreasonable not to assume that Asuka would have the same degree of control herself. Maybe the world of rebuild isn’t based solely on Shinjis attempts to prevent instrumentality, but a back and forth between himself and Asuka as they both race toward the same goal.
Not only does this lend credence to the ‘Daughter Mari’ theory, but it also helps explain one of the more interesting changes in the narrative. Shinji’s attempt to choke Asuka in EoE has been interpreted as his feral desire to feel close to another human having recovered from instrumentality. There is, however, another way of looking at it. All through out the series the pair are at each others throats and even though there are occasionally hints at a romantic interest on both their parts, it ultimately falls apart. It’s possible that Shinji tried to kill her because of all the people he wanted to see return from instrumentality, Asuka was not one of them. A world where only he and Asuka remain would mean dealing with their relationship, something neither of them seem thrilled about.
Assuming Shinji has rebuilt the world and the events of rebuild are his decisions, replacing Toji with Asuka for the infamous dummy plug execution scene in 2.0 begins to make sense. This could be an attempt by Shinji to destroy her before instrumentality begins, effectively killing any chance of him ever being stuck with her. If we also assume that Asuka has a degree of control over things, the fact that she ultimately survives, where Toji did not, also makes sense. She wasn’t about to let Shinji take her out that easily. In 3.0, when Shinji finally awakens, the entire cast react to him in a very passive aggressive way, except for Asuka who openly tries to punch him through the window of his cell. Perhaps, having not seen Shinji since she was hospitalized in the dummy plug scene, but aware that he tried to kill her, she just could not contain her rage. Either way it’s totally plausible that Asuka and Shinji are both deciding the fate of this rebuilt world and occasionally disagreeing on the best course of action. But there is a third player in this twisted game…
Kaworu – The Messiah
Kaowru Nagisa is a fan favorite. Having sacrificed himself to allow humanity to live in the original series, his presence in the rebuild films, not to mention his vague and ominous dialog, has had fans intrigued and terrified in equal measure. As stated in the article posted at the top of this post, Kaworu makes multiple references to the fact that he is aware of the cyclical nature of the storyline and intervened at the end of 2.0 on behalf of SEELE who were not yet ready for instrumentality to begin. Given that he (apparently) resides on the moon, instrumentality on earth would likely have had no effect on him. Especially seeing as he was dead by then anyway. But wait, if he was dead by the time instrumentality took place and Shinji is responsible for his return, how can he be separate from everything and free from God Shinji/God Asukas grand design? Well firstly, it’s important to remember that Shinji had become very close to Kaowru by the time he had to kill him. He had grown to consider Kaowru as his only real friend, representing the idea that someone could love him for he who he was even if he could not. As such it’s ridiculous to assume Shinji would ever create a world without Kaowru in it.
As for how he escapes Shinji/Asukas grand design, I’m not entirely sure he does. From the moment he arrives on screen in 3.0 Shinji begins to find his feet and regain a certain amount of control and composure. Although the sequence of events leading up to it is drastically different, Kaowru still dies indirectly at Shinjis hand in Terminal Dogma, having been mistaken about what was being kept there and having accepted his fate with grace. Whether it was Asukas intervention (she literally intervenes in the film) or Shinji’s carelessness, Kaowru ultimately meets the exact same fate as he had originally. This itself raises even more questions; is Shinji genuinely trying to save Kaowru in the new world? Is Asuka aware of Kaowrus role? Can Kaowru exist alongside humanity or must he ultimately sacrifice himself in order to save them? Whatever the answer to these questions is, as of the ending to 3.0, Kaowru, at least this version of him, is no more.
But what was it about Kaowru that allowed Shinji to feel secure again in 3.0? Well with all this focus on the people involved, it would be easy to overlook the symbolism Anno has placed in one of the worlds more mundane features; something that, the further we go into this strange new world, seems more and more like the key to understanding it.
Play. Pause. Rewind.
Shinjis tape player is pretty much the only absolute constant in the entire franchise. From the original show to its re-appearance in 3.0, the tape player has literally always been there. Much has been made of the track numbers on the tape player, with many claiming in the original show it never plays past track 26, whereas in the rebuild films it is seen to be playing track 27. Whether or not you buy that particular theory, there’s no denying Anno is telling us something with its consistent presence. I, ilke many Eva fans, have my own theory.
I believe the tape player represents Shinjis control over the new world. In the original series it acted almost like a safety blanket; something he always turned to when he was upset which comforted him. In 2.0, Mari knocks the tape player out of his hands upon her arrival. Assuming Shinji has created Mari to succeed where he had failed, this act is incredibly symbolic. She does however hand it back, implying that while she is gonna be taking care of business in this world, Shinji is still ultimately in control. In 3.0, Shinji wakes to a world that makes no sense to him. He is completely lost and confused with no control over his situation whatsoever. It isn’t long after Ritsuko returns his tape player to him that Rei shows up forcing Shinji to make a tough decision. He does, crucially, get to decide though. This is the first instance of control that Shinji has felt since his awakening. Unfortunately the tape player doesn’t seem to be working and Shinji is only back at the geofront ten minutes when his dad starts freaking him out, he discovers Rei is not the Rei he remembers and he’s given the shirt of one of his dead school friends. He is, understandably, upset.
Having grown close to Kaowru, Shinji asks him if he could perhaps fix the tape player. Kaowru is happy to help and successfully repairs it at which point Shinji’s confidence skyrockets and he and Kaowru put their plan into action. Even when Kaowru later loses faith in the plan, Shinji refuses to yield his control, carrying out their scheme which results in Kaowrus death. At the end of 3.0, Shinji is broken and defeated, having lost his only friend and being dragged off by Asuka. Rei finds the tape player in the rubble of their fight, but it’s left ambiguous as to what happened to it.
I don’t believe these instances to be coincidental. I think it’s pretty obvious that the tape player is at least symbolic of the fact that Shinji is in charge, even if he only believes he is in charge.
So What Now?
Which all leaves us with a lot of questions, the biggest of which being ‘what the hell is going to happen next?’. The fact of the matter is that as of 3.0 there are fourteen years left completely unaccounted for. In that 14 years the geofront was destroyed and Wille was established. Other things changed too, Lilith clearly came to life temporarily as her corpse is seen on its hands and knees, impaled by spears as opposed to hanging from a crucifix like it was in 2.0. It’s also missing it’s head. Some image comparisons between Lilith in 3.0 and Lilith in EoE lend some credence to the idea that the universes of the past and present are more connected than they initially seem even if all the blanks haven’t been filled in yet.
With fourteen years worth of blanks to fill, it’s pretty much impossible to know where we’re going to end up. All we know for sure is that Shinji and Rei (or at least a version of her) are going to be brought back to Misato at Wille, SEELEs ace in the hole has been taken care of and Gendos plan, whatever the hell it is this time, is still good to go ahead. The ominous title of the fourth film ends with a musical notation symbol, but even that is the subject of some debate. The symbol in question usually denotes the end of a piece, which would mean Evangelion 4.0 will be the final movement. However, when prefaced with a colon, this same symbol becomes an instruction for the player to begin the piece again, which ties in perfectly with Sequel Theory and the cyclical nature of the plot. There is a colon in the title, but whether it’s part of the musical notation or whether the notation is itself the subtitle for the film, is intentionally unclear. When it comes to trolling, Anno is the king.
If the rebuild films are not sequels, they are turning out to be an incredibly fresh take on a terrifyingly deep story and are deserving of admiration for that. But if they are sequels, this is storytelling on a whole different level. Only time will tell which way Anno has gone, and its possible even then we’ll be left unsure, but one thing is for certain, to paraphrase Anno himself, in the years since the original show there has been no new anime newer than Eva.
