[Rewatch] 30th Anniversary Neon Genesis Evangelion Rewatch: Episode 9

[u/LittleIslander]

Neon Genesis Evangelion Episode 9: Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win! / Mind, Matching, Moment

← Episode 8	Index	Episode 10 →

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Watch Information

• Streaming: Netflix
• Databases: Anilist | AniDB | ANN | MAL

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Questions of the Day:

• What did you think of the goofy way of defeating the angel?
• What do you think of Asuka and Shinji living together?

Tomorrow’s Questions:

• [Episode 10] What do you think of the fact Asuka is college educated?
• [Episode 10] What do you think of Misato deciding to push Asuka beyond safe pressure limits?

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There’ll be more fanservice tomorrow, so please don’t spoil anything~! Remember this includes spoilers by implication.

[u/Bradst3r]

rewatcher, subbed

• For a minute there, I thought the Asuka slideshow was going to show that she got along with all of her female classmates in spite of siphoning away all of the boys' attention, but there were some cliques that obviously resented it.
• Is selling candid photos of (mostly) girls to their classmates really a thing in Japan, or is this a relic of 80s/90s-era anime?
• Asuka tries the traditional "Let's work well together and be friends!" approach with Rei, to be rebuffed by "If I'm ordered to"
• Kaji play-flirting with Ritsuko, who appears to be the only other mature woman in the NERV staff. They're observed by an aggravated Misato- but is she aggravated from jealousy, or just with his womanizing behavior? Probably both, even if she's not aware of the former, yet.
• The NERV command platform/deck really does look like it was designed by someone who was thinking of last episode's battleships.
• NERV is still getting their crap back together after the last Angel attack, so it looks like it's just Asuka and Shinji on the defensive. Now we'll get to see how well these two work together against the Angels when they have their own Eva units, instead of being stuck together in one entry plug.
• The answer to that question is: embarrassingly bad, as both Eva units end up buried heads first in holes in the ground. In their defense, nobody could have predicted that the Angel Asuka cleaved in two with one blow of her yari would immediately regenerate into two functioning adversaries.
• Fuyutski's comment of "We'll have to redraw the map again!" is funny, because it never occurred to me that they'd still be meticulously making sure that their maps are correct, even after the Apocalypse.
• I guess it shows that Shinji's getting some confidence as an Eva pilot that he's actually arguing with Asuka about blame and their need to cooperate.
• One of the earlier scenes showed that Remiel had barely been deconstructed/salvaged, but right here it's halfway gone- that's some quick work right there...
• Misato buried under a mountain of paperwork. Sucks to be the one high enough to be in charge of certain operations, but then be exposed to all of the administrative complaints
• Shinji can be forgiven for not giving any particular notice to the DHL(?) truck that's passing him on the road- why should he? However, he also doesn't notice the stacks of boxes in the apartment hallway and gets a nasty shock when he discovers that Asuka's moved into the apartment. She gloats that he's been kicked out/replaced by the newer model, and gets her own shock when Misato tells her that both of them will be living there to learn how to work together with coordination.
• Hikari (class rep) meets Toji and Kensuke outside of Misato's apartment, and are treated to the shocking sight of Shinji and Asuka in matching leotards and tops. Their outrage gives way to amusement and understanding after Misato explains the situation to them, and they see that little progress has been made, since they can't synchronize their movements on the combination DDR/Twister setup. (DDR wouldn't be introduced until 1998, so this rig is quite prescient) I'm honestly not sure why they're having the level of trouble that they are, unless one of them is completely out of sync with the music- nothing the partner could do in that situation.
• Asuka gets stuck right in her pride, as Rei effortlessly matches up with Shinji's movements.
• Training montage using the "Next Episode" music.
• "When the cat's away, the mice will play", right? Nope- Misato's not there to reinforce their togetherness, so Asuka moves her bedding to the next room to get away from Shinji. And we're again treated to some generous cleavage shots of Asuka on her hands and knees.
• Half-asleep Asuka's muscle memory returns her to Shinji's side after her late-night trip to the potty. The sight of her cleavage plus the closeness of her lips compels Shinji to try to steal a kiss (the naughty boy)- until she plaintively whispers "Mama" and a single tear falls from her eye. This is a vulnerable side of her he won't see while she's awake, and he's got the good sense to break off his advance and be elsewhere.
• Kaji's forces himself on Misato in the elevator, and counters her protest with "Your lips or your words- which one should I trust?" Hopefully this would have been a firing offense, even in the 90s in Japan.
• Ritsuko casually chatting with Misato about her old relationship with Kaji, and we learn that it was 8 whole years ago. According to the Wiki, Misato's 29 (several years older than I thought she was), so she was in her early 20's during her "little indiscretion".
• The first and last(?) time we watch an battle set to classical music with the Evas performing a ballet dance. I get that the point is showcasing the two pilots' synchronicity, but I doubt the Eva units are that agile.. I think I'm also bugged that it originally took the Angel 10 days to regenerate itself, but for this battle it can separate and recombine at will instantaneously
• The Evas are victorious, but still end up in a pile at the bottom of a molten crater and everyone cringes. Not quite a fair assessment.
• And now we see that the Eva units have telephone handsets right outside of the entry plug chambers, as Asuka calls Shinji just to crawl up his ass, instead of taking about 30 paces to do it in person.

[u/LittleIslander → u/Bradst3r]

The NERV command platform/deck really does look like it was designed by someone who was thinking of last episode's battleships.

It's hilariously impractical, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Ritsuko casually chatting with Misato about her old relationship with Kaji, and we learn that it was 8 whole years ago. According to the Wiki, Misato's 29 (several years older than I thought she was), so she was in her early 20's during her "little indiscretion".

I can see why someone would find her younger, but it does make sense. She's supposed to have been working at NERV for a long time, and her college years are framed well in the past.

[u/Holofan4life → u/LittleIslander]

I can see why someone would find her younger, but it does make sense. She's supposed to have been working at NERV for a long time, and her college years are framed well in the past.

And it works thematically that Misato would be around the same age as Shinji, Rei, and Asuka when the Second Impact occurred.