Overview

Shinji begins attending his new school in Tokyo-3, and has a difficult time dealing with the fame of being an Evangelion pilot. Toji Suzuhara, who's little sister was injured in Shinji's fight against the Angel, is angry at Shinji. A new Angel appears, and Shinji must once again pilot Eva-01 to defeat it.

Synopsis

Three weeks[1] have passed since Ep. 01. Shinji tries to adjust to his new life in Tokyo-3, but has little enthusiasm for piloting, and his relations with Misato are still distant. As the episode opens he is lethargically going through the motions of training[2]. The next morning he attempts to awaken Misato, while a chirpy female radio announcer talks about scuba diving and tells the audience that the Earth no longer has seasons, but instead has consistent weather year-round[3]. Shinji then departs for school, leaving the trash for pickup.[4] Ritsuko then calls Misato to check on Shinji and is told that Shinji seems to have made no friends at school.

At school, we are introduced to Shinji's classmates Kensuke Aida, Toji Suzuhara, and Hikari Horaki, the class rep[5]. We also meet their sensei, who seems to teach nothing but Second Impact[6]. Rei is there too, her eye and arm still bandaged. Kensuke is a military nut who seems to be the only one enjoying the fact that Earth seems to suddenly be at war. Toji has only just returned to class for the first time since the battle, explaining that he had to care for his sister, who was injured in the battle with Sachiel.[7] When his identity as a pilot is discovered by his classmates, Toji, who blames Shinji for his sister's injuries, gives Shinji a beating in retaliation. Shinji's protestations that he was piloting involuntarily only make Toji angrier.

Rei then arrives to tell Shinji that there is an emergency call. Shamshel, the 4th Angel, is attacking Tokyo-3 and Shinji is mobilized in Eva-01 to defend the city. Kensuke convinces Toji to sneak out of their shelter to watch the battle from nearby. The battle goes poorly for Nerv, when Shinji loses his nerve to fight and is tossed into the air by Shamshel, almost killing Toji and Kensuke as he lands. This also severs Eva-01's Umbilical Cable, leaving her with just 5 minutes of reserve power.

Shinji then begins fighting a defensive battle, attempting to protect Toji and Kensuke rather than defeat the Angel[8]. To protect them from the battle, Misato orders Toji and Kensuke to take refuge in the the Evangelion's entry plug[9]. Inside, Toji sees Shinji's great anguish and pain as he fights the Angel, and is beset by remorse. Misato orders to Shinji to retreat, but he loses it and charges Shamshel with his Progressive Knife, defeating the Angel just as his power runs out. Days later, Kensuke gives Toji the number of Shinji's phone so he can apologize. Toji attempts to ring, but stops, and the episode ends.

A Selection of Images from Episode 03 From left to right, starting at the top left: A lonely walk to school

Revenge for his sister

There's an emergency call

Shinji Loses it





Notes

The notice board on the wall of the shelter Kensuke and Toji are in translates as "Geo-Shelter 334/Disaster Prevention Department, Tokyo-3/Total Floor Space: 2000 m²/ Maximum Capacity: 250.

The notification on the TV screen says " A special state of emergency has now been declared for the entire Kanto-Chubu region surrounding the Tokai district. Further information will be reported as it comes in. "

" At the end of the episode, Kensuke is creating a 3D model on his computer. Some have confused it with Shamshel, but according to the production notes he's actually trying to make a 3D model of the Entry Plug; it's a little inaccurate because it is based on memory from while he was in it.





Analysis

Barely audible background dialogue from NERV technicians remarks that when Eva 01 grabs the Angel's energy-tentacles in its hands, it sustains "seventh-degree burns". There is no such thing as seventh-degree burns: the classification system for burns only goes up to "sixth-degree" burns, which is the point at which the bones themselves are charred, and the damage to Eva 01 is not this severe. They are either using the term in a different context, or of course, just making up technobabble.





Quotes

Shinji Ikari: "Target in the center, pull the switch. Target in the center, pull the switch. Target in the center, pull the switch."

Natsuko Shinohara (weather girl): "We have hot days all year now, but Japan once had four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter."

Ritsuko Akagi: "Even though a hedgehog may wish to get close to another hedgehog, the closer they get the more they injure each other with their spines."

Toji Suzuhara: "My kid sister was crushed beneath a pile of debris. She survived, but she's been in the hospital ever since. Both my pop and gramps work at the lab, and there's no way they can leave their posts right now. So, if I ain't with her, she's all alone at the hospital."

Toji Suzuhara: "Sorry, transferee, but I've gotta beat you up! I won't feel right until I've smacked you."

Makoto Hyuga: "The last time they gave us a fifteen-year break. This time it's been only 3 weeks."

Misato: "They never care about our convenience, do they? They're the type we women hate the most."

References

↑ See Neon Genesis Evangelion Timeline for details. ↑ Here Shinji is shown wearing his Eva pilot Plug suit for the first time; he piloted in his civilian clothes against Sachiel. ↑ The "Weather Girl" who talks on TV in the background during the opening scene in Misato's apartment is named "Natsuko Shinohara" (reporting from Matsuzaki on the Izu peninsula). Apparently, it is a popular activity there to go scuba-diving in the ruins of towns submerged after Second Impact. She says that the forecast temperature is "high of 30 degrees, 2 above the average". That's 86 degrees Fahrenheit, and the "average" temperature would be 82.4 degrees, in the now perpetually-summer weather of Japan. ↑ When Shinji takes out the trash from Misato's apartment to the disposal area, there is no trash left by anyone else (this is pointed out in the production notes). It's possible that few if any other people actually also live in Misato's apartment block, due to many being evacuated or leaving as a result of the renewed Angel attacks. ↑ Hikari Horaki is the "class representative"; this position has no exact equivalent in the U.S. Among the duties are directing the students to stand and bow when the teacher enters, helping to maintain discipline among the students, staying late to record the day's class activities in a logbook, and leading the other students in making collective decision about class activities. ↑ This is Second Impact's first mention in the show. Shinji's teacher is teaching the cover-up version, stating that it was caused by a meteor strike 15 years earlier in the year 2000 which resulted in the human population of Earth being halved. ↑ Toji says that his father and grandfather are busy with work, so if he didn't visit his sister in the hospital himself, there would be no one to visit her and she would be all alone. He does not mention his mother in this, so it would seem to imply that his mother is dead. ↑ When Eva-01 grabs Shamshel's energy tentacles it burns off the armor on Eva-01's hands, revealing the flesh of the real organic creature beneath; once again demonstrating that Evas are cyborgs, not giant robots. ↑ We learn here that if more than one person is in the Entry Plug of an Evangelion at the same time, it will create "thought noise"; essentially, static interference it affects the link between the Eva pilot's mind and the Eva.









