Episode 03 Supplemental Notes and Analysis

From The NGE Fan-Geeks Project

Notes

• Shinji's (and Rei's) classmates in Class 2-A are introduced: Toji Suzuhara, Kensuke Aida, and Hikari Horaki.
• The Angel Sachiel "appears" again after its death in this episode, though as a hologram used in NERV's target practice simulator for training Shinji to fire Eva 01's weapons. A noticeable difference is that in the holo-simulation, Sachiel's blood is red, but during Eva 01's actual battle with the Angel in Episode 02, its blood was obviously blue (i.e. when Eva 01 snapped Sachiels arm).
• Shinji is shown wearing his Eva pilot Plug suit for the first time.
• An Eva pilot can open an Eva's Entry Plug, and even let other people inside, without external aid. The Entry Plug loading apparatus in NERV HQ apparently makes it easier to load and unload the pilot, but it is not absolutely required.
• Ritsuko is an avid smoker, as evidenced by the heaping pile of lipstick-stained cigarettes in an ashtray on her desk. Ritsuko also collects little cat-themed ornaments.
• Hikari Horaki is the "class representative"; this is more or less equivalent to "class president" in North America.
• The N² Mine used against Sachiel by the JSSDF in Episode 1 was detonated on Mt. Takanosu.
• More names are dropped from the geography of Japan: Kensuke says that for the fight against Sachiel, "Not only were Iruma and Komatsu dispatched, they brought in troops from Misawa and Kyushu". Kyushu is the southernmost of Japan's four main islands, while Misawa is the location of a real-life military base in Aomori Prefecture in the extreme north of Honshu (the main island of Japan, which Tokyo-3 is also located on). Its mentioned that "Anti-aircraft system is on standby from Odawara to the Gora defense line." Odawara is on the coast east of Tokyo-3, and Gora lies between them. Where Shamshel actually reaches the shore near a lighthouse is said in the production notes to be in the vicinity of Manazuru.
• Tokyo-3 is apparently composed of a "central block" and seven "districts".
• 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."
• 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.
• 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.
• Toji's sister is not actually given a proper name, but she is said to be in the 2nd grade, making her 6 years younger than Toji, who is in 8th grade.

Analysis

• It is said that Shinji lives in "the old part of town". The buildings on the southern edge of Tokyo-3 (closer to the shore of Lake Ashinoko) appear to be the newer buildings that can actually "retract" into the surface for protection during battles, so it seems that Misato's apartment (which is an older building) is located in the northern part of Tokyo-3, in the region of town that used to be the original city of Hakone.
• How could Rei have possibly known that a state of emergency was about to be called, before the sirens went off?

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