WiC Watches: Neon Genesis Evangelion

Episodes 5 and 6: “Rei I” and “Rei II”

Evangelion is still building its foundation. We know Shinji Ikari, the awkward maladjust with low self-esteem and daddy issues; his guardian Misato; and a little about Nerv, the paramilitary organization dedicated to saving humanity from the Angels. The one big blank spot so far is Rei, the only other person we know of besides Shinji who can pilot an Eva. Up to now, we’ve only seen glimpses of her wrapped in bandages, souvenirs of a mysterious accident. This is her debut.

And honestly, it’s a pretty mild one. I’m not sure I understand Rei that much better after watching this pair of episodes than I did going in, but maybe that’s the important takeaway: that Rei is unknowable, or at least has put up walls so thick it’s going to take more than a couple episodes to batter them down. The key moment is probably the scene where Shinji stops by Rei’s room to give her a key card. She’s naked out of the shower, and he falls on top of her by accident. Much of this is in bad paste, but the point of the scene is to show how little this normally humiliating action phases her. What drives Rei? Why does she seem so cut off from the needs and wants that normally drive human beings? What does it take to reach her?

Well, one way to do it is to badmouth Gendo in her presence. She couldn’t be bothered to bestir herself in her bedroom, but when Shinji makes a crack about his father, she slaps him. We still don’t know what her relationship with Gendo is like, but clearly it’s intense. She smiles twice in these episodes: once when Shinji sees her talking to his father from a distance, and once at the end, after Shinji pries her out of her Eva much in the way Gendo did during an opening flashback when they were testing her compatibility with Eva-00, a nice bit of parallelism. What’s behind that smile? More to come.

As for the action scenes, this was easily my favorite Angel. I just love the design on these guys. You think our heroes are going to be fighting a procession of humanoid monsters? Screw that; meet Ramiel, a translucent blue octahedron. It’s so weird and creative, and promises endless variety among our baddies. And I love how it defies the laws of physics; where was it hiding the length of the drill it was using to tunnel through Tokyo-3 and down to Nerv headquarters? Who cares? It’s wonderfully alien and strange, a meal for the imagination.

Shinji and Rei worked well together, too. Whatever else she is, Rei is clearly a rule-follower, protecting Shinji even though she doesn’t seem to particularly care for him. Or does she? Again, stay tuned for that. And three cheers for Misato for quick thinking and decisive action under a lot of pressure. Of all the characters, she seems the most together.

Finally, I like that Toji and Kensuke are staying on as supporting characters. They’re bringing the light, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern energy this heavy show needs.