{"id":126283,"date":"2024-05-27T16:14:03","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T15:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/?p=40264"},"modified":"2024-05-27T16:14:03","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T15:14:03","slug":"neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/","title":{"rendered":"Neon Genesis Evangelion \u2013 Episode 20"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dull green eyes possessing a keen yet feral intelligence. Gleaming teeth that rip and tear with abandon, uncomfortably human in shape. Bulging muscles that test and snap their bindings, revealing the grotesque organism beneath the metal shell. Too human and also not enough &#8211; uncanny in its scale and alarming in its movement, like some great and bloody wolf that has risen on its hindquarters, nose drifting in search of threat or quarry. In order to fight angels, mankind has conscripted devils. Unit 01 is free.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-40264\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40266\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april17110731\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17110731.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17110731.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17110731.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40266\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17110731.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17110731.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17110731.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17110731.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17110731.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17110731.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17110731.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17110731.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evangelion\u2019s twentieth episode begins with the creature Shinji was allegedly \u201cpiloting\u201d tearing at its defeated foe, roaring a challenge as the remnants of NERV marvel in horror. There\u2019s really no other way to react to Unit 01\u2019s unleashed appearance; even through the softening vector of animation, the animalistic body language of Unit 01 matched to its roughly human appearance conjures something fundamental and repellant, an unsettling caricature of humanity summoned from the depths of Mitsuo Iso\u2019s nightmares. In a show that persistently challenges its heroes to seek and solidify their identities, Unit 01 offers a sobering counterpoint. Can we only survive via the intervention of such terrors? Are we any better than monsters ourselves?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSeele won\u2019t stay quiet about this,\u201d says Kaji, and he is correct. We flash first to their logo, an upside-down triangle marked with seven eyes, gesturing towards the biblical face of god. Seated within their neon cathedral, they gripe that the Eva units are supposed to be incapable of acquiring S2 engines, and that this new incident falls well outside their projected script. Were they wrong to entrust this task to Gendo Ikari? Their plans will come to nothing, but their presence remains a welcome counterpoint to Gendo; an implication of the whole world\u2019s culpability, of the madness power precipitates that need not a Gendo-like seed to invite total destruction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40267\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april17114320\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114320.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114320.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114320.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40267\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114320.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114320.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114320.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114320.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114320.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114320.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114320.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114320.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the meantime, there is much to be rebuilt. A grim title card informs us this is \u201cThe First Day,\u201d offering an implication of consequence currently unmoored from any immediate threat. We are then told that the damage to the Eva units has passed the \u201cHayflick Limit,\u201d the number that defines how many times a human cell population may divide before division ultimately stops. What is the point in hiding the truth any more? The Evas are humans, or something human-derivative, or perhaps a creature born of a common ancestor. As always, Evangelion\u2019s mysteries are parlor tricks that are understood to be such: entrancing in their initial presentation, yet swept aside as common knowledge the moment they are understood. In this way Evangelion harnesses the allure of hidden information without limiting its conclusion to a series of cheap reveals; satisfying dramatic mysteries resolve the only way they could, too late for their substance to change the fate of their seekers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Ritsuko and Maya discuss the extent of the damage, a montage of violence dissembles whatever sense of security or continuity we might still possess. It\u2019s a familiar Evangelion trick, but still an effective one: delight in the rush of action during an actual attack, then review the physical consequences in retrospect, emphasizing the scale of these fights through the sprawling support apparatus required to recover from them. But at this point, there is no revert to neutral awaiting us; the great, implacable pyramid of the geofront has been crushed, the NERV bridge has been shattered and abandoned. The geographic symbols of constancy and normalcy that we unwittingly took for granted have now been destroyed; NERV has been scarred in a way we can viscerally feel, in this corruption of the alleged symbol of mankind\u2019s perseverance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40268\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april17114915\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114915.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114915.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114915.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40268\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114915.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114915.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114915.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114915.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114915.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114915.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114915.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17114915.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our reliable bridge companions feel the strain as well, Maya complaining that the secondary control center \u201cjust doesn\u2019t feel right, you know?\u201d Under her arm, she carries a pink pillow marked with her name, a tiny gesture towards NERV\u2019s current day-and-night work schedule. Sometimes the humanity of characters need not be expressed through grand gestures of psychological interrogation. Evangelion is equally comfortable illustrating our human foibles through the little things, the splashes of personality and nods towards personal circumstances that so consistently furnish its unswept corners.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over at the launch bays, Misato addresses the bandaged Unit 01 with a distrustful stare, considering its growing rap sheet of disobedience and independent movement. She is joined by Makoto Hyuga, her occasional partner in crime in unveiling NERV\u2019s secrets, who is clearly infatuated with her. More threads that will never be resolved; he floats a joke about her temperamental nature, and receives only stone silence in response. A flourish that adds little beyond the crucial implication that these are human beings with complex webs of feelings, values, and relations; Misato is not above exploiting Hyuga\u2019s infatuation, and Hyuga is happy enough to be of use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40269\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april17121211\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17121211.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17121211.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17121211.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40269\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17121211.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17121211.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17121211.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17121211.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17121211.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17121211.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17121211.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17121211.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAll this because we didn\u2019t put a bell around Ikari\u2019s neck,\u201d the old men of Seele lament, then clarify that \u201cwe had a bell, it just didn\u2019t ring.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019ll have the bell take action next time,\u201d they decide, a prophecy given direction by our immediate cut to the bell in question: Kaji Ryoji, then meeting with Gendo and Fuyutsuki. They elect to explain this unfortunate situation as an accident beyond their control, and keep Unit 01 on ice in the meantime. Kaji praises their wisdom, but is the only one to raise the crucial unasked question: what has become of Shinji Ikari?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unit 01 refuses all requests to eject the entry plug. Shifting to the internal monitors, the bridge immediately sees why: Shinji has disappeared entirely, his forlorn plug suit now drifting aimlessly in a sea of LCL. A shift that wordlessly affirms all we\u2019ve been suspecting; having consumed both the angel\u2019s heart and Shinji\u2019s shell, the Eva unit has proven itself a cousin of both, a link across consciousness. Ritsuko tries to offer context: the Eva a copy from the south pole, but imbued with a human will. However, her interest is entirely academic, and Misato cannot forgive that; standing as Shinji\u2019s final earnest protector, she slaps Ritsuko and demands answers. Ritsuko has none to give.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is thus, shrouded in fear and resentment, that the second day begins.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40270\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april17124854\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17124854.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17124854.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17124854.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40270\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17124854.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17124854.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17124854.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17124854.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17124854.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17124854.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17124854.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17124854.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our opening shot is of Rei Ayanami, waking in the cool blue light of her hospital room. A brief scene that offers multiple takeaways. First, there is the immediate, dramatic reminder of the last fight\u2019s consequences; even as the work crews of NERV set about repairing their ruined city, the pilots that fought for it lay comatose, beaten to the brink by their latest adversary. At the same time, the staging of the profile shot, cut to ceiling, and then wide shot of the room calls another scene to mind: Shinji\u2019s first waking after his initial Eva battle. Through this mirroring of cinematography, the burgeoning link between Shinji and Rei is further emphasized; a fitting method of aligning the two characters who so rarely reach out, so infrequently speak for themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rei\u2019s recovery is instantly contrasted against Asuka\u2019s rage; even if he died in the process, she cannot stand that Shinji beat her once again. Her happy cohabitation with her fellow pilots was always predicated on the maintaining of her ego, something that has been stripped away piece by piece, carried off by Kaji\u2019s indifference and Shinji\u2019s consistent martial superiority. None of Shinji\u2019s recent victories are really of his own making, and in fact each has carried a heavy personal toll, but none of that matters to Asuka. She was once the brilliant pilot of Unit 02, a candidate unparalleled, a genius destined for stardom. Now, she is just a scared little girl, of no use to any one, swiftly reawakening to her overwhelming fear of abandonment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And so the third day begins.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40271\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april17130951\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17130951.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17130951.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17130951.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40271\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17130951.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17130951.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17130951.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17130951.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17130951.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17130951.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17130951.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17130951.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It takes Ritsuko just one day to come up with a plan for Shinji\u2019s recovery. His alleged guardians converse under the harsh gaze of Unit 01, its unblinking green eye staring down on their silhouettes, as if judging them for their failure to protect him. If the Eva unit has a will of its own, then what might it be thinking at this moment? Would it praise Misato for bitterly decrying Ritsuko\u2019s inhumanity? Would it judge Ritsuko for admitting their plan is entirely pragmatic, rather than based in any genuine concern for Shinji\u2019s life? Regardless, as Ritsuko and Maya elaborate on their plan, it becomes clear this evocative shot is its own justification: with Gainax increasingly incapable of managing their own show\u2019s timely production, shots extend to greater and greater lengths, the desperation to fill twenty minutes offering a unique sense of meta-urgency to our heroes\u2019 struggles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That shot is all we receive until the fourth day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Psychological inquiry and ingenuity of animation production align as we at last hear Shinji\u2019s perspective, as he marvels at his insubstantiality and flashes through a bewildering montage of all the people he has come to know. \u201cThis is supposed to be my world, but I don\u2019t really understand,\u201d he admits, struggling to assign stable identities to not just himself, but the people and creatures that surround him. Who are these other figures to him? Who are his enemies, the angels &#8211; as the best his mind can conjure is \u201cthe object of revenge for Miss Misato\u2019s father!\u201d Is that really why he fights, to make Misato happy for her absent father\u2019s sake? That can\u2019t be true\u2026 so then, \u201cwhy do I fight despite all I\u2019ve been put through?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40272\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april17131600\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17131600.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17131600.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17131600.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40272\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17131600.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17131600.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17131600.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17131600.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17131600.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17131600.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17131600.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17131600.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The frustrating contours and limitations of individual perspective are highlighted as he hears Asuka\u2019s voice, offering that familiar \u201care you stupid,\u201d challenging him to understand that enemies are attacking, and thus we have to defend ourselves. Of course, Asuka herself finds little solace in the noble necessity of their task, only her own excellence in completing it &#8211; something which can now bring her no joy at all. But to Shinji, her idle, unconsidered words reverberate like a tolling bell, an accusation that prompts him to think \u201cmaybe I\u2019m not supposed to think about it.\u201d Though Asuka, Gendo, and even Misato have accused Shinji of running from what is painful, it is his inability to \u201crun away\u201d in a mental sense that has caused him so much pain. Asuka, Misato, and Gendo all find some fragment of satisfaction in denying the truth of the angels while pursuing their own ends. It is Shinji, who cannot ignore the question the angels pose, that must suffer for his refusal to run away.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this capacity, Shinji speaks to a frustration that extends far beyond Eva units and angel attacks. Many, perhaps even most of us, manage our path through life by honing our perspective, by focusing on what is necessary and actionable and thereby locating ourselves in a world we can change and understand. We either accept the necessity of ignorance to larger concerns and fellow minds, or we simply duck comfortably under such questions, seeing the tasks and attitudes arrayed just before us as all that exists. We do not agonize over every idle statement, we do not condemn ourselves for every road untaken. We act, and let the road ahead resolve itself in the wake of our actions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40273\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april17132049\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17132049.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17132049.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17132049.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40273\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17132049.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17132049.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17132049.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17132049.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17132049.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17132049.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17132049.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17132049.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is in this way we learn to get along; or don\u2019t, and find ourselves like Shinji, trapped within a world that seems so coherent to others, yet so unfathomably complicated and lonely to ourselves. It is a sickness of desperation for understanding that inspires the greatest of artists; it is the lived experience of that loneliness that keeps them awake at night, wondering what brush stroke or flourish of prose might bridge the gap. In these moments of carefully articulated confusion and desperation for collective understanding, Hideaki Anno presents the reality of depression and excruciating self-consciousness with clarity and sympathy. Though Shinji may be trapped, Anno\u2019s understanding of his entrapment ensures those of us suffering alongside him do not suffer alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shinji\u2019s reflections on this alleged \u201cenemy\u201d resolve in the only way they can: the looming figure of Gendo, the alleged cause of all of Shinji\u2019s suffering. And once again, it is Rei that challenges him on this formation, this time appearing just ahead of him on NERV\u2019s interminable escalators. Another scene called from memory; the pain of Rei\u2019s slap still sharp in the mind, still informing his perspective on this girl who has changed so much in the time since. Like with Asuka\u2019s earlier rebuke, Shinji can only construct what he knows of the people around him &#8211; and to the unfortunate Shinji, most of what he remembers are the times he was condemned, not the moments he made a positive difference. As such, both his Rei and his Asuka are harsher than their own truths would tell.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40274\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april17133443\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17133443.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17133443.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17133443.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40274\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17133443.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17133443.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17133443.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17133443.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17133443.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17133443.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17133443.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April17133443.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their conversation illustrates this fundamental divide, how the distance between ignorance and understanding can also be the difference between love and hate. \u201cI\u2019ve hardly ever seen him,\u201d Shinji reflects, to which Rei responds \u201cis that why you hate him?\u201d \u201cYes, my father doesn\u2019t need me! My father deserted me!\u201d Like Asuka, desperate to be needed. Like Misato, desperate to be understood. Perhaps even like the angels, so distant as to only achieve understanding through mutual destruction. \u201cHe abandoned me because he had you,\u201d Shinji baselessly yet entirely accurately accuses, his mental disarray echoed by the episode\u2019s own imagery shifting from painted cells to first uncolored key animation, then simply sketches of eventual intent. And we return to the stage of their first fated meeting, of the time Shinji was determined to tell his father of his hatred, but was stopped short by that brief, agonizing phrase: \u201cI need you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The title cards offer us a cruel revelation: it is now the thirtieth day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ritsuko has now developed a Salvage Plan Outline, which she informs us is actually based on data recorded during the Eva program\u2019s initial development ten years ago. It\u2019s a preposterously offhand reveal of such a crucial detail, but again in keeping with Evangelion\u2019s general avoidance of relying too much on novelty and surprise. Novelty and surprise can be useful tools for shocking your audience and demanding their attention, but a story constructed largely of shocking reveals is ultimately a hollow one, as it generally means little of what we learned <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">before<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> those reveals is of meaningful substance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40275\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april18105629\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18105629.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18105629.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18105629.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40275\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18105629.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18105629.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18105629.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18105629.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18105629.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18105629.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18105629.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18105629.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evangelion avoids that problem gracefully, by ensuring the substance of the drama that we know of is genuinely meaningful, and using its reveals to instead <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">contextualize<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> our understanding of what we previously knew. Great twists don\u2019t come entirely out of the blue &#8211; they serve to validate our existing suspicions, offering an illuminating capstone that explains the doubts we\u2019ve already been harboring. They hit us much like this reveal must hit Misato, who has already come to suspect she knows far less about NERV\u2019s true goals than she\u2019d like, and to distrust her alleged friend and confidant Ritsuko. Whatever bond they might share, it is clear Ritsuko is not truly on Misato\u2019s side, and more loyal to the Eva project than to its tortured teenage victims.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIs this the warmth of a human? I never knew it.\u201d We return to Shinji still in the midst of his psychological unspooling, still conversing with an \u201cother\u201d he has defined as Rei, perhaps still believing he has only been within this reality for minutes or hours. When asked about either happiness or sadness, his answer is the same: \u201cI didn\u2019t understand it before, but I think I do now.\u201d It is little wonder he sees Rei as his soul\u2019s mirror; like her, he was set in emotional stasis before arriving at Tokyo-03, having little to guide him beyond his resentment of his absent father. It was through Misato, through his school experiences, through his fellow pilots that he learned the ache of loneliness in their absence, the tremor of joy at being praised. It was through engaging with the world, as painful as it was, that he learned to become human.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40276\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april18112249\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112249.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112249.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112249.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40276\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112249.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112249.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112249.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112249.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112249.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112249.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112249.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112249.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, Shinji was never given the chance to learn such lessons without the threat of rejection, in the warmth of a mother\u2019s embrace. Everything he has earned and come to value has come at a price: to pilot the Eva unit, and ensure he is therefore useful to the people around him. Given all his attempts at mutual understanding have been filtered through the context of needing to impress others with his capacity for violence, how is it any surprise that he has come to distrust human connection? What have our imperfect, conditional methods of sharing our personal truths ever done for him? Little wonder he seeks either the void of isolation or the impersonality of collective consciousness; the barriers our egos construct around us have only ever been a source of pain to Shinji. He has never known the joy of reaching out tentatively, and feeling his hand caught in the warm grip of another.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His hand clenches alone, in the plug suit, the LCL haze of the eternal train. A symbol of conscious will, of commitment, and therefore of identity &#8211; to clench his hand is to harden his resolve, is to feel the strength of his fist, the bite of his nails tasting his skin. A harsh contrast from the open hand he seeks, but what other example could Shinji follow? Gendo told him to be a man or be useless. Asuka told him, \u201cyou\u2019re a man, aren\u2019t you?\u201d Misato told him that men protect those around them. Is that what it is to be a man &#8211; to be strong and independent, changing the world through your inalterable force of will? That doesn\u2019t sound like what Kaji said, but even what Kaji says doesn\u2019t sound like what Kaji <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">does<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, how he effortlessly makes Misato and Asuka dance to his tune. Is Shinji\u2019s only choice to be a man, and is a man\u2019s only choice to inflict his violent will on the world around him?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40277\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april18112658\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112658.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112658.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112658.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40277\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112658.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112658.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112658.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112658.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112658.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112658.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112658.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18112658.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a youth, I never had what one might consider a productive relationship with traditional masculinity. Actually, let\u2019s not sugarcoat it &#8211; as a man in his mid-thirties, I remain skeptical that traditional masculinity has anything positive to offer the world. As such, while Shinji\u2019s abject loneliness and desperation for understanding powerfully resonated with me, I was all the more validated by his inherent rejection of the models of masculinity surrounding him &#8211; the distant Gendo, seductive Kaji, or stoic Toji. None of these personas felt right to either me or Shinji, none resembling an authentic interpretation of our desire to engage with the world. To the profoundly self-conscious, culture is often one of our only guidelines, our only method of ensuring we are communicating in a common language. But when culture demands a performance of gender that seems almost antithetical to our personal identity, it becomes less of a guideline than a curse, an assurance we will never truly fit in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The consolation this mirror offers Shinji is tainted, a perversion of his desperation for connection, a conflation of his desire for understanding and his adolescent sexual longing. One after another, Misato, Asuka, and Rei all offer to join with him, to \u201cbecome one in body and soul.\u201d Is that what sex is? Is that what mutual understanding is? All they can offer is that it is a \u201cvery, very comforting feeling\u201d &#8211; but there is no love in this offer, no individuality in its delivery, and thus no understanding waiting beyond its gates. The three images fuse, their overlay creating a mirage of a fourth: Rei\u2019s short hair turned brown, a woman from distant memory, a vision of the lost Yui Ikari. Does Shinji want a lover, a mother, or simply to be understood? On the bridge of adolescence without a past or future to guide him, the distinction between these desires is agonizingly unclear.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40278\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april18115727\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18115727.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18115727.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18115727.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40278\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18115727.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18115727.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18115727.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18115727.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18115727.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18115727.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18115727.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18115727.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shinji\u2019s thoughts grow more frantic as NERV commence their operation, a pandemonium of voices calling as the bridge crew reel off psychology-grounded scifi ephemera. \u201cSubject cathexis is normal,\u201d referring to Freud\u2019s conception of how a consciousness assigns specific degrees of focus and energy to variable desires. Then, \u201cDestrudo cannot be confirmed,\u201d an allusion to the death drive that urges us towards self-destruction. A sudden complication prompts Ritsuko to declare \u201cthe signals are being trapped in Klein space,\u201d a tip of the hat to Melanie Klein\u2019s expansion of Freud\u2019s thoughts, as previously explored during Shinji\u2019s submersion within a prior angel\u2019s shadow. Charged and evocative, but impossible to strictly define &#8211; their language echoes the visual vocabulary of the bridge and the course of Shinji\u2019s self-actualization in tandem, offering a mechanical blueprint of reemergence into a conscious self.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s quite impressive in its own way, the Gainax team\u2019s ability to convey an expression of overwhelming smoke with no tangible fire. The flashing lights, the readouts and responses, the utter seriousness with which the bridge crew announces each inexplicable turn in the procedure. Misato asks at once point \u201cwhat does that mean,\u201d and Ritsuko replies \u201cit means we failed\u201d &#8211; a line given significance only through our hard-earned trust in this crew\u2019s professionalism, and the aesthetic ingenuity and tonal stoicism that brings the bridge in crisis mode to life. Somehow, these flashing readouts and scrawling numbers add up to a coherent whole, informing Ritsuko\u2019s genuine human plea of \u201cwhy, Shinji? Don\u2019t you want to come back?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40279\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april18123856\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18123856.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18123856.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18123856.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40279\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18123856.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18123856.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18123856.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18123856.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18123856.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18123856.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18123856.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18123856.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trapped in the entry plug, Shinji has at least come to take something resembling his original form, now huddled within the pilot seat. \u201cI don\u2019t understand,\u201d he cries to this wave of unfiltered consciousness, to which it replies \u201cwhat do you want?\u201d And again, the forms of femininity he has come to know are transposed across each other, resolving into his fundamental lack: the cradling mother, loving him regardless of who he chooses to be. Shinji can only see calls to action as a command verging on an accusation, another affirmation of his timidity, his unsuitability, his cowardice. But what if such a question were meant kindly? What if it were truly within his hands, what he chose to desire or become? What if he could seek a happier self without fear of judgment for his desires?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And what if Unit 01 were not a curse, not a destiny, but simply one aspect of his complicated journey? \u201cShinji, you are here now because you piloted the Eva. You are the person you are now because you piloted the Eva. You cannot deny it, that you in fact piloted the Eva, nor can you deny the self you have been so far, which is your past. But as for what you will do from now on, you must decide for yourself.\u201d So if he is not to be defined purely as the Eva\u2019s pilot, if he is determined to seek happiness outside of the praise that piloting the Eva brings him, how will he choose to define himself from here, and what happiness will he choose to pursue?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40280\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april18124826\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18124826.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18124826.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18124826.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40280\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18124826.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18124826.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18124826.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18124826.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18124826.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18124826.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18124826.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18124826.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The answer is unclear, but one truth, one guideline holds firm. Just as it is Shinji\u2019s image of Misato who relays these mental directives to Shinji, so it is Misato herself who collapses beside Unit 01, helplessly cradling his empty plug suit. True mutual understanding might be impossible, but mutual <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">concern<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is another thing entirely, a threshold that our lonely pilot and his regretful caretaker have surely surpassed. Time and again, it was Misato who encouraged Shinji, Misato who abided by his wish to separate, and Misato who ultimately welcomed him home. Though Shinji\u2019s impressions of his fellow humans might be warped and exaggerated, the trust he placed in Misato is echoed by the shame she feels at failing him. They may not understand each other, but they are family all the same.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hearing Misato\u2019s call from beyond, Shinji notices another smell, one distant yet familiar: the smell of his mother, so long lost to him. Gendo, of course, has nothing but doubts about raising a child in this hell of mankind\u2019s making, the aftermath of the Second Impact. But Yui feels differently, saying \u201cif you have the will to live, anywhere can be heaven. Because he is alive. He\u2019ll have many chances at happiness.\u201d It\u2019s a rendition of a line that appears across many of my most treasured stories; an acknowledgment that the world and our perception of it can be harsh, but that life is fluid, as transient as the ocean tides. If you have the will to continue, you will always have a chance to alter your circumstances, and perhaps find a happier reality. Why do we live? Well, because something good might happen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Called by that distant voice, Shinji breaches the surface. Cold and isolated once more by his fragile ego, Shinji returns.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40281\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april18125824\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18125824.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18125824.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18125824.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40281\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18125824.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18125824.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18125824.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18125824.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18125824.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18125824.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18125824.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18125824.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We do not get to see Shinji\u2019s tearful reunion with his surrogate mother. We instead catch up a full day later, with Misato and Ritsuko reflecting on the vast unknowns of the Eva project while the radio announcer cheekily reflects on Freud\u2019s oral stage. The radio\u2019s dry, cynical analysis of the desire for a mother-lover contrasts against the ease of Misato and Ritsuko\u2019s conversation, friends again at last, Ritsuko willingly conceding it was Misato who brought Shinji back. Ritsuko suggests getting a drink like old times, but Misato demures; both of them instead rush to satisfy their own needs, seeking understanding in the embrace Shinji still can\u2019t understand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But what can we do? As Kaji self-servingly reflects, \u201cindulging our carnal desires is more realistic as humans.\u201d In the oddly sexualized-yet-sexless world of anime, Misato and Kaji actually making love is indeed more realistic, more true to our human frailty, and to the uncertain promise of union or maturity that sex itself represents. Their bond forms a contrast with Shinji\u2019s internal thoughts of \u201cbecoming one\u201d &#8211; Misato and Kaji are aligned in their naked forms, but not necessarily connected in the way Shinji was offered. \u201cYou don\u2019t have any interest in others, but you want their attention anyway,\u201d Misato teases. \u201cYou really are just like my father.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"40282\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/april18132557\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18132557.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Neon Genesis Evangelion\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18132557.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18132557.jpg?fit=584%2C329&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-40282\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18132557.jpg?resize=584%2C329&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"584\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18132557.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18132557.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18132557.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18132557.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18132557.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18132557.jpg?w=1168&amp;ssl=1 1168w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/April18132557.jpg?w=1752&amp;ssl=1 1752w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Economy becomes aesthetic restraint as the scene continues, lingering shots retaining modesty and conveying languorous rest as the two discuss NERV\u2019s intentions. \u201cAll I care about right now is for you to understand what I want,\u201d Misato chides, before turning her attention to Commander Ikari\u2019s true objective. It\u2019s a line that could have easily come from the confused Shinji, a further underlining of the connection Misato once tearfully acknowledged, as she broke her vow and returned to Kaji\u2019s arms. We <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hear<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> what Kaji wants, as the two embrace once more, Kaji happy enough to be used by the woman he loves. But Misato, like Shinji, is unsure. Kaji offers a gift, \u201cthe first in eight years,\u201d a secret whose revelation might well mean his death. Does Misato want the truth, or Kaji in her arms? She takes the capsule gladly, oblivious of the bargain it entails.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>This\u00a0article\u00a0was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/current-projects\/\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">mad<\/a><\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/current-projects\/\"  rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">e possible by reader support<\/a>. Thank you all for\u00a0all that you do.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n<h2><b>Commercials Cooperation Advertisements:<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<p><br>(1) IT Teacher IT Freelance<br> <\/p>\r\n<a href=https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress><img src=http:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/ITTeacherITFreelance-Website.png alt=IT\u96fb\u8166\u88dc\u7fd2 java\u88dc\u7fd2 \u70ba\u5927\u5bb6\u914d\u5c0d\u96fb\u8166\u88dc\u7fd2,IT freelance, \u79c1\u4eba\u8001\u5e2b, PHP\u88dc\u7fd2,CSS\u88dc\u7fd2,XML,Java\u88dc\u7fd2,MySQL\u88dc\u7fd2,graphic design\u88dc\u7fd2,\u4e2d\u5c0f\u5b78ICT\u88dc\u7fd2,\u4e00\u5c0d\u4e00\u79c1\u4eba\u88dc\u7fd2\u548cFreelance\u81ea\u7531\u5de5\u4f5c\u914d\u5c0d\u3002\/><\/a><p><a href=https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/findteacher>\u7acb\u523b\u8a3b\u518a\u53ca\u5831\u540d\u96fb\u8166\u88dc\u7fd2\u8ab2\u7a0b\u5427! <\/a><br>\r\n\r\n\u7535\u5b50\u8ba1\u7b97\u673a -\u6559\u80b2 -IT \u96fb\u8166\u73ed\u201d ( IT\u96fb\u8166\u88dc\u7fd2 ) \u63d0\u4f9b\u4e00\u500b\u65b9\u4fbf\u7684\u7535\u5b50\u8ba1\u7b97\u673a \u6559\u80b2\u5e73\u53f0, \u70ba\u5927\u5bb6\u914d\u5c0d\u4fe1\u606f\u6280\u672f, \u96fb\u8166 \u8001\u5e2b, IT freelance \u548c programming expert. \u8b93\u5927\u5bb6\u65b9\u4fbf\u5730\u5c31\u80fd\u627e\u5230\u5408\u9069\u7684\u96fb\u8166\u88dc\u7fd2, \u96fb\u8166\u73ed, \u5bb6\u6559, \u79c1\u4eba\u8001\u5e2b.  <br>\r\n\r\nWe are a education and information platform which you can find a IT private tutorial teacher or freelance. <br>\r\n\r\nAlso we provide different information about information technology, Computer, programming, mobile, Android, apple, game, movie, anime, animation\u2026 \r\n<\/p>\n<p><br>(2) ITSec<br> <\/p><a href=https:\/\/itsec.vip><img src=http:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/ITSec-Main-Promotion-Image.png alt= https:\/\/itsec.vip\/\r\nSecure Your Computers from Cyber Threats and mitigate risks with professional services to defend Hackers.  \r\nITSec provide IT Security and Compliance Services, including IT Compliance Services, Risk Assessment, IT Audit, Security Assessment and Audit, ISO 27001 Consulting and Certification, GDPR Compliance Services, Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), Penetration test, Ethical Hacking, Vulnerabilities scan, IT Consulting, Data Privacy Consulting, Data Protection Services, Information Security Consulting, Cyber Security Consulting, Network Security Audit, Security Awareness Training.\/><\/a> \r\n<br><br> \r\n<p><a href=https:\/\/itsec.vip>www.ITSec.vip<\/a> <br> <br> \r\n<p><a href=https:\/\/sraa.com.hk>www.Sraa.com.hk<\/a> <br> <br> \r\n<p><a href=https:\/\/itsec.hk>www.ITSec.hk<\/a> <br> <br> \r\n<p><a href=https:\/\/penetrationtest.hk>www.Penetrationtest.hk<\/a> <br> <br> \r\n<p><a href=https:\/\/itseceu.uk>www.ITSeceu.uk<\/a> <br> <br> \r\nSecure Your Computers from Cyber Threats and mitigate risks with professional services to defend Hackers. <br><br>\r\nITSec provide IT Security and Compliance Services, including IT Compliance Services, Risk Assessment, IT Audit, Security Assessment and Audit, ISO 27001 Consulting and Certification, GDPR Compliance Services, Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA), Penetration test, Ethical Hacking, Vulnerabilities scan, IT Consulting, Data Privacy Consulting, Data Protection Services, Information Security Consulting, Cyber Security Consulting, Network Security Audit, Security Awareness Training. \r\n<br><br>Contact us right away. <br><br>Email (Prefer using email to contact us): <br>SalesExecutive@ITSec.vip<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dull green eyes possessing a keen yet feral intelligence. Gleaming teeth that rip and tear with abandon, uncomfortably human in shape. Bulging muscles that test and snap their bindings, revealing the grotesque organism beneath the metal shell. Too human and \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/2024\/05\/27\/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-20\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">\u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[61,122,127,129,124,128,125,132,131,133,126,130,123,66,94,88,97,56,64,65,60,112,40,75,95,104,33,120,105,101,98,115,30,29,41,86,70,69,68,72,71,26,118,108,87,46,55,48,52,54,51,50,83,62,58,57,109,35,59,63,85,79,82,96,80,27,81,114,44,42,43,45,38,39,110,117,100,111,116,73,89,90,92,91,93,84,78,37,102,34,36,77,67,74,99,113,119,28,121,32,47,49,53,103,31,76],"class_list":["post-126283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anime","tag-airpods","tag-anime","tag-anime-characters","tag-anime-cosplay","tag-anime-edits","tag-anime-merchandise","tag-anime-movies","tag-anime-news","tag-anime-recommendations","tag-anime-reviews","tag-anime-series","tag-anime-streaming","tag-animes","tag-app-store","tag-app-store-samsung","tag-appgallery","tag-appgallery-oneplus","tag-apple","tag-apple-music","tag-apple-tv","tag-apple-watch","tag-bbc-sport","tag-best-mobile-games","tag-bixby","tag-bixby-xiaomi","tag-champions-league","tag-cyberpunk","tag-cyberpunk-2077","tag-fantasy-football","tag-fifa","tag-football","tag-formula-1","tag-fortnite","tag-free-fire","tag-free-mobile-games","tag-freebuds-pro","tag-galaxy-a52","tag-galaxy-note-20","tag-galaxy-s21","tag-galaxy-watch-4","tag-galaxy-z-fold-3","tag-game","tag-games","tag-golf","tag-harmonyos","tag-how-to-backup-iphone","tag-how-to-factory-reset-iphone","tag-how-to-reset-iphone","tag-how-to-restore-iphone","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone-5","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone-6","tag-huawei","tag-ios","tag-ipad","tag-iphone","tag-live-soccer","tag-lol","tag-macbook","tag-macos","tag-mate-40-pro","tag-mi-11-lite","tag-mi-home-security-camera-basic-1080p","tag-mi-home-security-camera-basic-1080p-huawei","tag-mi-smart-band-6","tag-minecraft","tag-miui","tag-mlb-scores","tag-mobile-game-design","tag-mobile-game-development","tag-mobile-game-marketing","tag-mobile-game-monetization","tag-mobile-games","tag-mobile-gaming","tag-nba-scores","tag-nba-standings","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-scores","tag-nhl-scores","tag-one-ui","tag-oneplus","tag-oneplus-9-pro","tag-oneplus-buds-pro","tag-oneplus-nord-ce-5g","tag-oxygenos","tag-p40-pro-plus","tag-poco-x3-pro","tag-pokemon","tag-premier-league","tag-pubg","tag-pubg-mobile","tag-redmi-note-10-pro","tag-samsung","tag-samsung-pay","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-steam","tag-steeam","tag-top-10-anime","tag-valorant","tag-when-do-the-iphone-7-come-out","tag-when-does-the-iphone-7-come-out","tag-when-is-the-iphone-7-coming-out","tag-world-cup","tag-xbox-series-x","tag-xiaomi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126283"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128883,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126283\/revisions\/128883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}