Episode Information Episode #20 Title 1: 心のかたち,人のかたち Kokoro no katachi, hito no katachi Form of the Mind, Form of the Man Title 2: Weaving a story 2: Oral Stage Written By Hideaki Anno, Directed By Masahiko Otsuka First Aired 2-14-1996 Video Release Date 12-5-1996 (Japan-Video/LD), 4-17-2001 (US-DVD) Angel Appearances None Eva Sorties None Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "Episode 19" "Episode 21"

Overview

Shinji achieved an unprecedented 400% synchronization ratio with Eva-01 during the battle with Zeruel, to horrible effect. With the Eva having ascended to the status of a living God and Shinji absorbed inside it, Ritsuko unsuccessfully attempts to recover him. In the meantime, Shinji makes contact with the resident soul of the Eva- his mother, Yui Ikari.

Synopsis

The Episode begins with Eva-01 eating the mangled corpse of the Angel Zeruel, consuming the Angel's S2 engine. The Instrumentality Committee is dismayed over the turn of events, the members complaining about the time and money lost because of all of Zeruel's destruction, and even worse, Eva-01 breaking free and acquiring God status[1]. They consider Gendo Ikari as being responsible, and plan to give him a warning that such incidents cannot be tolerated.

Kaji is with Gendo and Fuyutsuki, talking about how Seele's reaction to the Eva, and Gendo's planned scenario. His last line is one of concern - he knows that Shinji is still trapped inside the Eva[2] Hyuga and Misato stand before a heavily bandaged Eva-01, talking to each other[3]. Misato is furious with Ritsuko, asking her what an Eva is, and even angrier when Ritsuko sounds like she is not taking responsibility for her work.

Inside the Eva, Shinji goes on a mental trip, talking to Rei in various locations- on an escalator, inside a train at dusk, and so on. He begins to question whether or not his father abandoned him or if he ran away, and why he piloted Eva in the first place. He eventually comes to the realization that he had seen Eva-01 somewhere before, recalling unclear images from his early childhood. Images of Misato, Asuka and Rei appear to him, asking him to be one with them[4].

Ritsuko attempts the salvage operation in the meantime, but to no success. Shinji remains stuck inside the entry plug, refusing to come out. Finally, the entry plug bursts open and Shinji's plugsuit spills out, empty.

Shinji becomes aware of his mother inside the Eva, and hears a conversation between his father and her, talking about naming him after he was born. In the end, Shinji passes through an "Inner Universe" starfield and as the light turns from blue to red, and he recognizes his mother's voice. He hears two conversations between Yui and Gendo, one taking place shortly after his birth in the wake of Second Impact, and one taking place before.[5] In the latter, Yui asks Gendo what to name their child. Gendo replies that if the child is a boy, they should call him Shinji, and if it turns out to be a girl, they should call her Rei. Guided by his mother's voice, he passes out of the Evangelion. Misato is crying and holding Shinji's plugsuit outside, when there is a sudden splash and a naked and unconscious Shinji is seen lying on the floor, the Eva's core glowing.

Soon afterwards, Misato goes on a drive with Ritsuko. After a conversation about Eva, and listening to a background radio conversation of interesting importance to Shinji's situation, she drops off Ritsuko saying that she has a man to meet. Ritsuko takes a dim view of Misato going to sleep with Kaji straight after Shinji came out of the Eva, and Misato and Kaji discuss other matters while inside. Misato eventually tries directly questioning Kaji on what he knows about the Human Instrumentality Project and Gendo's plans, but Kaji dodges the questions by pleasuring her. In the afterglow, Kaji hands her a capsule, telling her that it might be his last gift for her.

References

↑ What powers berserk Eva-01 is still a mystery, because Hyuga mentions that no physical, chemical, nuclear or biological processes have been detected inside. Eva-02 similarly goes berserk in Episode 25' , so Eva-01 is not the only Eva that can move without a power source. ↑ In a straightforward continuity error, Shinji's plugsuit is seen floating inside the Entry Plug, when Shinji remained in his school uniform in the previous episode. Ritsuko's line, "His mental self-image is pseudo-substantiating his plugsuit" is present neither in the screenplay nor the storyboard, meaning it was probably added in a later stage when the continuity error was noticed. The Netflix subtitle translation renders this non-literally as the more sensible sounding "His mental self-image is manifesting a facsimile of his plug suit". Thanks to Captain Crooks for bringing attention to this here ↑ The face of Evangelion Unit-01 as seen in this episode is noticeably different from its appearance in Episode 02 ↑ Shinji seems to be experiencing a "prelude" to instrumentality when the images of Misato, Asuka and Rei invite him to become one with them ↑ This is, incidentally, one of the first serious hints that it is not just Shinji's own memory at play here. It already stretches belief that he would remember something taking place when he was an infant, but it is impossible that he can remember something taking place before he was born.











