Overview

Asuka joins Shinji’s class at school, and moves in with Misato and him in their apartment. As Asuka adjusts to Japan (or rather, everyone else adapts to her...), a new Angel attacks which is capable of splitting itself into two identical copies. Eva-01 and Eva-02 are defeated, and Nerv is publicly humiliated. With the Angel in a week-long regeneration period after an N² Mine attack by the JSSDF, Asuka and Shinji must learn to "synchronize" with each other's movements in combat to defeat it once and for all.

Synopsis

Episode 9[1] opens with a series of still shots of Asuka, accompanied by a clicking camera lens. We then are shown that Toji and Kensuke have been photographing her and selling the photos. We also see in this sequence that Asuka has a locker full of love letters from admirers from her new school (which she promptly crushes underfoot).

Shinji arrives on campus and Asuka greets him with a cheerful "Guten Morgen," and asks if Rei isn't there. Spotting her, Asuka doesn't wait for Shinji to introduce her, instead taking matters into her own hands by introducing herself[2]. Asuka declares that they will be great friends, and is perplexed when Rei answers, "If I'm ordered to I'll do it." After witnessing this conversation, Toji asks if only weirdos are Eva pilots.

Back at headquarters, Kaji comes on to Ritsuko. Ritsuko, who is seemingly used to this behavior on his part, smiles and points out that Misato is watching them. When Misato demands to know why he is still in Japan, Kaji reveals that he is staying there "on loan".

Soon, alarm bells start to ring; the on-station cruiser Haruna[3] reports that a large object has been detected approaching the Kii peninsula; the seventh Angel, Israfel, has begun his attack. Shinji and Asuka are sortied in Unit-01 and Unit-02[4]. Though they have been ordered to work together, Asuka takes the lead and bisects Israfel with a single blow. Shinji is momentarily impressed, until the two halves revive as separate Angels.

We then cut to the aftermath of the battle, in which both pilots were defeated, and their Evas ended up upside down. At their debriefing, they bicker about who was at fault, and are lectured by Kozo Fuyutsuki. we are also told that the U.N. had intervened and stopped Israfel with an N² Mine, which destroyed 28% of its body, leaving it to regenerate over the course of several days.

Kaji gives Misato a plan to defeat Israfel: a coordinated simultaneous attack on each half's core. Shinji and Asuka must be in total accord in order for this mission to succeed, so it is decided that Asuka must move in with Misato and Shinji, and that the two of them will spend all of their time together in the few days remaining until it is believed Israfel will revive. Asuka comments at this point that she would rather move in with Kaji, and a little heart briefly appears on screen.

Toji and Kensuke drop by to visit Shinji, and are surprised when they meet Hikari, who has come to visit Asuka. All three are shocked that Shinji and Asuka are living together until the situation is explained to them[5]. The training seems to be partially successful, as Shinji and Asuka speak the same lines in unison when they answer the door. But, they still have a lot of work to do. They are training to synchronize their movements by touching the same spots on separate twister mats, but constantly get it wrong. Asuka blames Shinji[6], but when Misato asks Rei, who is there observing, to give it a try, she and Shinji synch perfectly on the first try. Humiliated, Asuka runs from the room, prompting Hikari to command Shinji to follow her. "You made a girl cry!" When he finds her, Asuka promises to "payback" Misato for humiliating her. They then continue their training[7].

The night before the battle, Misato has to work late. When Asuka hears this, while stepping out of the shower, she hints to Shinji that they are all alone. When she doesn't get any response, she storms into Misato's room to sleep alone[8]. Later that night, she sleepwalks into Shinji's futon. He leans over to kiss her, but stops when she calls in her sleep for her mother. He realizes that despite the way she shows herself, she's just a child herself.

Back at headquarters, Kaji gropes Misato on the elevator; she protests only halfheartedly. A little later, Ritsuko teases Misato about her relationship with Kaji.

The day of the battle arrives. Shinji and Asuka launch their coordinated assault to music selected by Kaji[9]. The plan works perfectly, except that after destroying both cores with a flying dropkick, they miss their landing and fall in a heap. The episode ends with them bickering over whose fault it is[10][11].

Notes

Like Episode 08, Episode 09's end credits are tinted red, presumably in honor of the arrival of Asuka and Eva 02 to Japan.

An image of the aquatic Angel Gaghiel briefly appears, on Ritsuko's computer screen as she is looking over information about it.

When Shinji arrives at Misato's apartment to find that Asuka has moved in, and Asuka thinks that he is being kicked out in favor of her (not that both of them will live with Misato), Asuka says there wasn't enough room for all of her things, and Shinji is shocked to see that she has taken many of Shinji's things from his room and put them in a box as if to ship them out. Included in the box is the pink heart-shaped plaque that first appeared in Episode 04, which reads "Shinji's Room" that Misato (apparently) hung on the door to Shinji's room. Asuka kicks Shinji out of his initial room in Misato's Apartment in this episode, and indeed, Asuka actually stays in this room for the rest of the series (Shinji doesn't move back in at the end of the episode). Asuka is now staying in the bigger room, while Shinji has moved into the room across the hall from Asuka which is a bit smaller and has no windows.

A sign behind Misato says that Nerv HQ's post office is located on Level B-09.

This is the only episode in which Toji wears the school uniform of Class 2-A, though he only wears it when he and Kensuke go to Misato's apartment to check in on Shinji and at their subsequent party there.

At the end of the episode when the two Evas fall on top of each other in a "compromising position" and Asuka and Shinji begin bickering over what happened the night before over the open communication line, Misato is aghast and Aoba looks embarrassed beyond words, Ritsuko shrugs her shoulders as if to say, "They're pathetic, but we can't help it.", and Fuyutsuki grimaces and puts his hand to his forehead. However, Kaji openly laughs at the comic situation, Hyuga is grinning and Maya can be seen to be stifling a chuckle.

When Asuka in Unit 02 jumps onto a building to attack Israfel the first time, the building's sign reads "Studio Fantasia", a Gainax subsidiary involved in animating Otaku no Video

Episode 9 may be set in September; Evangelion: Digital Card Library reportedly says Asuka's first day at school is 21 September.

Analysis

Although Asuka is normally unmovable and refuses to show signs of weakness, to the point that she will stick her head in a freezer to prevent herself from crying when she is upset, she cries in her sleep while mumbling about her mother: this will be explained in Episode 22.

This is the second episode in which Shinji refers to Asuka as "Soryu". Starting with Episode 10, he starts referring to her by her first name; most likely because they've grown accustomed to living together by that point, and she is no longer "new" to Tokyo-3.

If you watch closely, Eva-01 opens its mouth during the middle of the second battle against Israfel. This was more than likely an animation error.

Quotes

(Shinji, upon discovering Asuka's belongings at home:)

Shinji: "I'm home! Not that anyone's here, of course, but... What is this?!"

Asuka: "Don't be so rude! Those are my personal belongings!"

Shinji: "What are you doing here?!"

Asuka: "It's more like, why are you still here?"

Shinji: "Still here?"

Asuka: "You've been dumped for the new model! Misato will be living with me. Well, it's the logical choice when you consider whose abilities are superior. Although honestly, I'd rather live with Mr. Kaji. But why are Japanese rooms so small anyway? Not even half of my stuff fits!"

(Seeing his belongings in a box, Shinji freaks out)

Asuka: "On top of which, why don't the Japanese have any sense of privacy? How can they live in rooms without locks? Unbelievable!"

(After Asuka decides to pilot Eva:)

Asuka: "Since it's come to this, I'll show up both Rei and Misato!"

Shinji: "You don't have to show them up or anything."

Asuka: "You're being too easy on them! You're a man, aren't you?! For their attack...on my pride...I'll pay them back ten times over!" (Shinji smiles at her.)

(After Shinji doesn't get the upset Asuka's hint that they're all alone:)

Asuka: "This is the impenetrable Wall of Jericho. Take one step over this wall and you're a dead man. And now, it's time for children to go to bed!"

(Shinji tries to kiss Asuka, but stops after she says "Mama" in her sleep):

Shinji: "You're just a child yourself."

(After Kaji kisses Misato):

Misato: "Honestly! There's nothing between us anymore. Don't do that again."

Kaji: "But your lips didn't say no. Your lips or your words... Which one should I trust?"

(The explosion from the Angel's destruction has caused Eva 01 and Eva 02 to fall on each other in a "compromising position", and Asuka is yelling at Shinji)

Asuka: "You jerk! How dare you do that to my Unit 02?!"

Shinji: "What are you talking about? You're the one who fell on me!"

Asuka: "You're the one who lost his timing first! It's because you're always so out of it! What were you doing, staying up so late last night?!"

Shinji: "I--Image training for today's battle!"

Asuka: "Liar! I know you tried to kiss me while I was sleeping!"

Shinji: "No fair! You were awake?!"

Asuka: "That's awful! I was just kidding, but it was real?! You kissed me?!"

Shinji: "No, I didn't! I stopped!"

Asuka: "Pervert! Lech! Fiend! I can't believe you!"

Shinji: "It's because you talk in your sleep and toss and turn so much!"

Fuyutsuki: "Those kids are embarrassing us again."



References

↑ This episode takes place soon after the previous one, effectively forming the second half of the introduction-of-Asuka story. ↑ [Source needed]: continuing this visual motif from Episode 08, when Asuka first introduces herself to Rei Ayanami, she apparently makes it a point to be standing on a railing so that she is physically high above Rei, as well as all of the other students. She also seems to be deliberately blocking the sun to make it more difficult for Rei to read. Asuka has been described by the series' creators as a girl "who seeks to put herself above all others": continuing this visual motif from Episode 08, when Asuka first introduces herself to Rei Ayanami, she apparently makes it a point to be standing on a railing so that she is physically high above Rei, as well as all of the other students. She also seems to be deliberately blocking the sun to make it more difficult for Rei to read. ↑ The patrolling cruiser Haruna, which detects Israfel, is named for a World War II battleship, similar to how several of the characters have the names of World War II vessels. ↑ This marks the first time that Eva-01 and Eva-02 are deployed at the same time. ↑ During the makeshift party Misato holds while Asuka and Shinji are training, Hikari Horaki can be seen playing with Pen Pen . In Episode 24 , when Tokyo-3 has to be mostly evacuated of non-essential personnel because its not safe anymore, Misato gives Pen Pen to Hikari and her family for safekeeping when they leave the city. ↑ Upon close observation, Asuka is actually the one missing the beats in the synchronization game, not Shinji, even though she's loudly blaming it on him. ↑ During the montage scene when Shinji and Asuka are brushing their teeth, it can be seen that they are each holding personalized mugs with their respective names on the side; rather interestingly, both of their names are written out using Latin letters as opposed to Kanji. Although the letters appear reversed, which is accurate(The camera is seeing their reflection in the mirror), Shinji's name is misspelled "SHNJI". ↑ something beyond that. See the During the scene in which Asuka flirts with Shinji because they're all alone and he doesn't pick up on it, it is unclear whether Asuka just wants some attention and comfort, or if she wantsthat. See the Director's Cut of Episode 22 and This page for more information. ↑ Exactly 62 seconds actually do pass between when the countdown timer starts and when the battle ends. This is really the only time in the series that the "5 minutes of internal power, but only one minute at maximum usage" rule explained in Episode 03 is followed. At all other times, Evas have 5 minutes of internal battery power. ↑ Not only can an Eva pilot enter and launch an Evangelion without external aid (as seen last episode), here we see that both Asuka and Shinji can disengage their Entry Plugs and exit both of their Evas, without external help. ↑ Evangelions have a holographic projection telephone device located just outside the Entry Plug (holographic projection technology is seen during other parts of the series, such as meetings of the Human Instrumentality Committee; apparently this technology has been developed by 2015, but it is fairly advanced and not in commonplace use). At the end of the episode, Shinji flinches when the holographic image of Asuka tries to slap him. This awkward dynamic could be explained in theorizing that Shinji merely flinched reflexively, although it should be noted that his head jerks forward as if he had acutely been hit.









