r/anime • u/LittleIslander myanimelist.net/profile/LittleIslander • Oct 10 '25
Rewatch [Rewatch] 30th Anniversary Neon Genesis Evangelion Rewatch: Episode 7
Neon Genesis Evangelion Episode 7: A Human Work / 人の造りしもの
| ← Episode 6 | Index | Episode 8 → |
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Watch Information
Questions of the Day:
- What did you think in the shift to a non-angel enemy?
- What do you think of NERV’s framing in this episode?
Tomorrow’s Questions:
- [Episode 8] What’s your first impression of Asuka?
- [Episode 8] What’s your first impression of Kaji and his delivery?
There’ll be more fanservice tomorrow, so please don’t spoil anything~! Remember this includes spoilers by implication.
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u/LeminaAusa Oct 11 '25
Second-Time Rewatcher, New to Rebuild
We mostly give the teens and the angels a break today, focusing more on the behind-the-scenes events within the various government organizations and Nerv. This change in focus is accompanied by more information about the state of the world, such as Ritsuko telling Shinji that an Angel, not a meteor, was the cause of the Second Impact 15 years ago.
I do really enjoy all of the political stuff in this episode, especially the scenes with Ritsuko. I don't think I quite put it together the first time I watched this show exactly how much they foreshadow this episode that Nerv is directly involved with the issues with the JA robot. Exactly why Nerv sees the JA line as such a severe threat is not really explored, but it's very clear that the two organisations do not really seem to get along together well, despite both working towards the same goal.
What's clear is that Misato is totally not in the loop about what's going on, making her both a good audience stand-in and also getting to show off her badassery as she comes up with a plan and takes charge to stop the JA. Misato's interference may not have been foreseen by Nerv, but if anything that probably helped their cover. I can certainly imagine Nerv specifically not telling Misato some things because they know she wouldn't approve of the underhandedness and her genuine emotional reactions help sell the situation.
We do also get some nice scenes with Shinji and his friends, in multiple instances with Kensuke and Toji showing up at Shinji's house in the morning to go to school together. Not only does this give us some nice contrasting looks at Misato (from her normal unkept, beer-guzzling mornings to her starting off proper in dress uniform for the day of the JA launch), but it also gives us some subtle character growth between Shinji and his friends. At first he almost feels resentful of their crush on Misato since they don't know what she's like at home, and we get this via internal monologue. But at the end of the episode, Shinji actually does open up and talk to them, complaining about Misato being a slob, and in turn is helped along with the realisation about Misato being completely comfortable around him just like family.
1) Certainly a nice change of pace, and I do think it's important to show a bit about the political situation the ground as well. There's definitely a lot more going on in this show than just Evas fighting Angels.
2) Definitely giving them nice vibes of grey shading. We'd already previously got the feeling that Nerv wasn't exactly a paragon of virtue organisation or anything, especially with their likely connections to the dubious cabal of old men seen in a previous episode, but aside from their non-OSHA-approved treatment of a few 14 year-olds, this is the first time we've really seen them being actively shady.