FGC:Episode 01 Scene 01

From The NGE Fan-Geeks Project

Cut #	Description/Dialogue	Commentary
Title	TITLE: In the year 2015 AD	Gundampilotspaz: …a bunch of really bad stuff happened! Brendan Brown: Ahh, Mincho Boldwhite on black. We're going to be seeing a LOT more of you.
001	Sunlight glistens on the ocean surface. SE <<Sound of a helicopter>>	Gundampilotspaz: I still remember the very first time I saw this opening scene. I had no idea what I was infor. Reichu: Odds are, most of us didn't.
002	A town submerged in the sea. A giant, humanoid silhouette advances underwater. There is an Angel. (PAN UP.) SE <<Helicopter sound (from inside)>>	Reichu: Can you imagine this scene having BGM? A while back, I received a tidbit about one of the unused music tracks collected on S² Worksfrom a “Shinji Takase”:A-8: This piece was to have marked the underwater arrival of the Third Angel in the first episode ofthe series, but the idea was eventually scrapped. [Personal speculation is that this piece would have taken away from the impact that the actual first BGM piece in the series that was used (Angel Attack) if the foreboding piece was used beforehand.] The song was not completely forgotten, as it would be used on the Evangelion: Addition CD as part of the background music for a rather comical Drama piece by the Evangelion cast. I was never able to ask him where he got this info, as by the time I got around to replying, he had vanished off the face of the Earth. Shame. Still, it sounds like it could very well be true. (In the S² WorksMusic Menu, the piece A-8 is described as Angel's appearance B.) FYI, A-8 is indeed used in the [../appendix/geektionary.html#addition Addition] [../appendix/geektionary.html track] "DRAMA ‘shuukyoku no tsuzuki’ (kadai)", at around 16:20, when the Space Angels show up. Someone: What are the six things glowing on Sachiel's back? Reichu: I've often wondered about those myself… This is actually the only time they are seen. He does have [../appendix/sachiel_back.jpg six holes] in his dorsal carapace, so apparently they each contain asource of bioluminescence.
003	Underwater ruins. The Angel comes out into a chasm formed by the buildings. SE <<Underwater sounds>>	Reichu: Sachiel is tied with Zeruel as my favorite Angel. For me, Sachi exhibits a great deal more personality than the majority of the shito. And the funny bird-face, combined with his lankiness, the flipper-feet, and the naïve attitude, just make him so… cute. (Yeah, I tend to anthropomorphize the Angels a bit, but, strictly speaking, that's 100% legal.) Props to YoshitohAsari for the great creature design, as well. As we'll learn later, Sachiel's not the only Angel he's responsible for. Incisivis: I agree with Reichu about Sachiel's design. I also think it's interesting that Asari gave such a large creature a spindly build, since it's a nice visual contrast from conventional attackers such as Godzilla. Of course, because of Sachiel's size, he still gives an impression of weight and power whenhe attacks, which is is an even better contrast. Reichu: And just to get this out of the way: An excruciatingly little-known fact is that the “ch” in “Sachiel” is pronounced as a hard “k” sound. I'm guessing that, since Sachiel's name ultimately comes from Hebrew, it should technically be a guttural “kh” -- but keep in mind that the Angels of NGE are notthe angels of Judaeo-Christian lore, so we mayas well employ the name pronunciations chosen by the show's creators.
004	Pull inside a submerged office. The Angel advances outside the window. The part that looks like a face comes IN, and it continues going by. The gill-like parts come into view.	Reichu: Notice the [../images_production/sachiel_gills.jpg gill-like structures] on the legs. A very interesting design touch, in my opinion; you don't see too many humanoid characters whose respiratory system is located intheir thighs and hips. There's a good closeup of these structures later ([episode-01A-scene3.html#cut098 C-098] ), but even here, you can see that they are essentially three valved lids that contain and protect the feathery reddish gills within. They apparently serve a double purpose underwater — take in oxygen (since evidently Sachiel doesbreathe) and help propel him forward. Pretty cool, no? Shin-seiki: (
005	Tank battalion at the water's edge. SE <<Sound of waves; voices of cicadas>>	tv33: The UN using military force? Wow… Dr. Nick: The United Nations in the NGE universe is quite a different organization than its real-life counterpart; it actually possesses realmilitary strength and its commanders seem to be very trigger-happy people indeed. But we'll discuss the UN's role in more detail later on. felineki: I've heard that there might be an inaccuracy here… Supposedly in the Real World, UN tanks are painted blue. Anyone got confirmation on this? tv33: The color of the UN is blue, and the soldiers wear blue helmets, but I don't believe they paint their vehiclesblue. ([../images_refs/un_vehicle.jpg Here] is a UN vehicle that isn't.) It's probably too much work to paint all of the vehicles, then to repaint them every time they get hit. thewayneiac: The significance of the cicadas will be explained a little later, as well.
006	Tank battalion on standby on the shore
007	Tank cannon in front. The ocean horizon. Suddenly, a spout of water slowly rises (due to the Angel standing up). SE <<Cry of a sea bird>> A sea bird flies off the barrel.	Shin-seiki: ([#cut005 005] –[#cut007 007] ) Hmm, shots straight out of any number of Godzilla or other ‘Daikaijuu’ (giant monster) flix. One would expect, given their extensiveexperience with invading giant monsters, that the Japanese would learn that a tank battalion is no match for anything so large and green. But, what the hey, there are certain traditions that must be observed in these situations… Dr. Nick: This is a good place to quote the Laws of Anime again… Reichu: Just a random observation: Here and
008	An old coastal urban area submerged in water. (Slowly track up and pan left.) There are dead trees and telephone poles. Announcer (Male) (OFF - Fade-in):“As of 12:30 today…”	Reichu: The voice of the rather composed announcer here is Tomomichi Nishimura, whom Gainaxfans might remember as the Vice Officer [Fukuchouyaku] from Top o Nerae! Gunbuster. He also plays Commander A in this episode, whom we shall meet presently.
009	Rusted rails. Further in, new urbantransportation. Announcer:“…a special state of emergency has been declared for the Kanto and Chubu regions…”	Reichu: Wada-kun's notes from the Literal Translation Project tell us: Tokai is the district between Tokyo and Nagoya. Kanto and Chubu contains Tokai and the large area north of it. thewayneiac: Thefigure running across the tracks in the background is a nice touch. Reichu: I always wondered who that was. Considering that the city is completely abandoned, and apparently evacuated at great haste (people even left their cars right in the middle of the streets), what is this random person doing running around? Dr. Nick: Looters, maybe? Gundampilotspaz: It looks to me as ifwho ever it is, is running away. It must be just some poor soul who couldn't get to a shelter fast enough. Shin-seiki: Could it be Shinji? Scenario: Shinji arrives at the train station, Misato isn't there waiting for him; he gets spooked by the emergency declaration, and goes looking for a pay-phone to see what's up with her. She arrives at the station after he left, and we first see her driving thru town, looking for him(“Why did I have to lose him now…”). Then we see him at the pay-phone, where, in short order, he meets Rei, Sachiel, and, just in the nick of time, Misato. Reichu: Except, when we see Shinji, he has a large tote with him, which is not evident in the running figure. Aside from that problem, I like your theory; I was always wondering why Shinji was waiting for Misato at some random pay phone. Brendan Brown: I got the impression that Shinji rode the rails as far as he could before they were all shut down. Mr. Tines: And then maybe started to walk/hitch, given that she's having to search for him, but has some idea of where the rendezvous was expected. Hexon.Arq: Where did Shinji come from originally, anyway? Mr. Tines: The manga gives “Musashino, Tokyo 180”as the district part of the address on the letter he's carrying.
010	Monorails idling in a station. Announcer:“…surrounding the Tokai district. All residents must evacuate to their designated…”	Gundampilotspaz: Trains are very common in Japan and widely used, but I don't think those are the only reasons to focus on them in such an early scene (unless having trains delayed is like the end of the world). Trains will play a larger role in future episodes.
011	A platform without a soul to be seen.Announcer “…shelters immediately. Repeat…”
012	Display: All rail line operations are suspended.
013	A car speeds through the empty streets.
014	The driver's seat of the car. The navigator system is moving.Misato (OFF) “Why did I have to lose him now, at a time like this?”SE <<Navigator sound>>
015	A photo of a boy on the passenger's seat.Misato (OFF)“What am I going to do?”	MDWigs: Misato is driving a modified 1981 Alpine Renault A310. I say “modified” because the originalcars were petrol-powered, left-hand side steering cars, while this one is battery-powered (see [episode-01A-scene3.html#cut105 C-105] ). Apparently Misato drives this car because Sadamoto's inspiration for her character came from Fujiko (a character from Lupin the 3rd), who drove an Alpine Renault A110 in the 1st episode of the TV series. Dr. Nick: An excellent example of sexy French engineering from the good old 1970's.Back then Alpine was considered to be a very futuristically designed car, and it doesn't really stand out as outdated from the Sci-Fi settings of NGE, either.
016	Pull in on the photo.Telephone operator (female) (OFF) “Due to the state of special emergency,	Reichu: Wada-kun notes in the LTP:The Japanese below the photo of Shinji is his name ‘Ikari Shinji’, written in katakana. He wears a uniform, which most junior high school students must wear in Japan. His clothing in this episode seems a kind of them. Keisuke-kun: This photo makes absolutely no sense. Shinji is depicted in a school uniform; we know that. However, high schools in Japan have three uniforms: winter, summer and an in-between (what shinji is currently wearing in the episode but with long sleeves). Why Shinji is depicted here in a winter uniform is beyond me. According to the endless ramblings of Shinji's teacher that we hear later, Second Impact eliminated the seasons (except for summer,of course). And it is hot as hell in Japan, I might add. Reichu: I personally find it odd that Shinji starts out WEARING the right uniform for the school he ends up at. Did they send him a school uniform along with the letter or something? Or is that just a really common uniform? (White shirt with a tee underneath, black plants.) MDWigs: It's a pretty typical formal uniform; a lot of Japanese school uniformsare very similar (particularly for the boys). It is a bit of a coincidence, though, for it to be an exact match. ^^ Someone: BTW, the background in this photo really resembles the walls of Rei's apartment (OP, [../op/op_1.html#cut016 C-016] )…
017	all lines are currently unavailable.”Shinji “It's no use.”	thewayneiac: This probably means nothing, but Shinji is staring at the phone the same way he stares at his hand several times in the series. Keisuke-kun: Will Japan everget new public phones? That brandof public phone has been used in Japan for, like, five years already. Reichu: Since this takes place in 2015 — apparently not. Dr. Nick: Don't forget all those futuristic cellphones, laptops and game consoles we'll meet later on. ;) MDWigs: These phones have a tendency to eat your yen as well! They've been around far longer than just five years though, Keisuke-kun. I would saythey are more ubiquitous in Japan than the red telephone boxes once were in the UK!
018	Shinji putting the receiver down. He takes his card and bag.Shinji “I knew I shouldn't have come.”SE <<Distant explosions>>	Shin-seiki: I have no idea what this town is called, but, according to the sign in the background, it's 13 km from Tokyo-3. Reichu: According to my calculations (based heavily on [#cut032A 032A] , below), we're east of Yumoto, just southeast of Tonosawa.Haven't been able to identify this exact region, though.Speaking of geography… I'll be making an effort to keep track of the various locations we meet in the show (either by going there or by hearing about them), so [../supplemental-images.html#maps here] are a few maps I'll be using as aids along the way. A bit much, but I thought it was something worth doing.
019	Shinji gets up and looks at a photograph.Camera is slightly from below.
020	Photo of Misato doing the “V-sign“.Writing: To Shinji-kunI'll be picking you up, so wait for me, okay?♥→ Check this out!!Shinji (OFF) “I guess we won't be meeting here.”	MDWigs: The kiss mark on the photo is apparently made by one of the (few) female staff at Gainax, while the handwriting is Anno's himself! Shin-seiki: This shot is revealing in more ways than one; it hints at aspects of Misato's personality that aren't fully explicated until the near the end of the series… thewayneiac: It takes a rather unusual personality to lure a14-year-old boy with this sort of photo. Gundampilotspaz: I laugh every time I see this; Misato is the kind of person who would do something like that. It's a good look at her character before we even have a chance to pass judgment on her. And I'm sure Shinji comes to the same conclusion as we do. Reichu: As you can see, the gargantuan nature of Misato's bust is emphasized early on. Strange as itmay seem, breasts are actually of incredible thematic importance in NGE. HeWhoPostsStuff: As opposed to that multitude of anime titles in which breasts are NOT of “incredible thematic importance”? :P Reichu: Well, amazingly enough, NGE doesn't use them merely for fan service… One of the many items that will be covered as we go through the series.
021	He looks at his watch.Shinji “Can't be helped. I'll head to the shelter.”Suddenly, he notices someone.
022	A girl standing alone in the middle of the street. (Image of Rei.) From Shinji's POV.	MDWigs: Rei, a symbol of hope, that humanity can come to understand each other. thewayneiac: This shot, together with [#cut025 025] , establishes from the beginning that there is something unusual and mysterious about Rei. OMF: Straight from Hamlet. The ghostly girl who appears from nowhere, and is gone. So ominous. It definitely gives a "Something is rotten in the state of Toyko-3!" impression. Shin-seiki: The Episode Commentary for #01 that comes with Platinum Vol.01 (which istranslated from the original that was included with Renewal) has this to say about this cut:When Shinji comes to New Tokyo 3, he sees a girl that seems to be Rei Ayanami for just an instant. Considering how she is injured and wrapped up in bandages, when he later meets her in NERV Headquarters, the natural assumption would be that this was a phantom vision. But in Episode 26', "My True Heart For You," a different possibility is suggested. The girl that appeared for just one cut in this scenemay be the Rei Ayanami who is "the existence that gazes upon man." Hmm... I suppose they probably have [../episode-m26/m26_C468_big.jpg this] in mind, but does anyone have any idea what they're referring to with "the existence that gazes upon man"? The quote doesn't ring a bell with me at all...
023	A telephone pole. Suddenly, the birds fly away.	MDWigs: The humble power pole. We see similar images a number of times throughout the series (and real-life shots of them in EoE, too). They're not quite so overused as in Serial Experiments Lain,though. ^_^ Gundampilotspaz: However, in NGE, they are used as a sign of civilization, very different from the case in Lain. Starting with the inundated city ([#cut008 C-008] ) and continuing onward through EoE, they are depicted as burnt, bent, and destroyed where civilization no longer exists.
024	Shinji follows them with his eyes. His gaze returns to the street.
025	There's no one there…	Shin-seiki: ( HeWhoPostsStuff: I'm in the minority on this, but I've always been of the opinionthat Rei is not "actually" in that shot ([#cut022 C-022] ). I tend to interpret her appearance there as more of a symbolic thing (which I can mention more about later…). I say this because Shinji seems to take almost no note of her presence, both at this point AND when he sees her again in the same manner much later on. Then there's the whole symbolic aspect of the birds to go along with it. Of course, there are plenty of validarguments against my viewpoint too, but I figured I might as well throw that bit out there. Reichu: Since this particular instance of Anno playing mind games with us comes in two doses, you're going to have to wait until next time before we try bringing some degree of closure to this pesky matter. Cruel of us, I know.
026	Shinji looks puzzled. The sudden sound of an impact takes him by surprise.
027	Shutters shaking.
028	Swaying electric lines.	felineki: I always liked this shot for some reason. The whole “earth shuddering” thing hasbeen done countless times, but this little detail of the power lines “twanging”, complete with “whoosh”-ing sound effects is very unique.
029	Shinji turns towardthe direction of the sound.
030	A group of hovering fighter aircraft.A giant humanoid appears among themountains — the 3rd Angel, Sachiel.	Reichu: This scene warrants a Python -esque “Run away! Run away!!” (Although, here, the fighters are running away backwards, oddly enough…) I love Sachiel's slow, loping walk. He doesn't seem like he's in much of a rush to get anywhere— or maybe he's just not built for Eva-style sprinting. That is, unless Sadamoto was right and Sachiel really doesknow kung fu. Shin-seiki: Now that we get a good look at the big, lovable lug, maybe this would be an opportune time to make a point about Sachiel that I've noticed, but have never seen mentioned anywhere: Namely, how Sachiel's design reflects that of the Eva pilots' plugsuits (or is it the other wayaround?). [../appendix/01_sachiel-plugsuits.html See more]
031	Shinji stares, dumbfounded	thewayneiac: I think that I would be somewhat more alarmed than this. Gundampilotspaz: Although Shinji doesn't look too thrilled, Kensuke would have loved to be in the middle of that. Reichu: And me right next to him! Giant monsters might elicit the “Oh dear god! Run!!” or “Oh dear god! Destroy it!!” response in most people, but I'm the sort who would probably just stand there with an idiotic grin on my face. And steal Kensuke's footage afterwards. And tryto get Sachiel's autograph, too.
032A	Tactical display closeup.Woman A (OFF) “The unidentified object is still approaching our position.”	Reichu: You might remember this topographical map as [../op/op_2.html#cut037B C-037B] from the OP. Same image, just inverted and “green-ified”. Shin-seiki: The tactical display here indicates that Sachiel came ashore just east of Tokyo-3 and is heading towards the Geofront. Someone: Why do they call it “UnidentifiedObject”? They ought to know that Sachiel is an Angel. Reichu: Probably because they don't visually confirm it until [#cut033 033] . Gundampilotspaz: Or maybe its pattern hasn't been confirmed as Blue. Reichu: Blue, schmue.Like Gendo says in a moment, you'd have to be stoned to not know what Sachiel is! Sharp-kun: Since this is the JSSDF, there'sa chance they don't know. Perhaps Nerv didn't want them to know just yet?
032B	Aoba (OFF) “We have a visual image of the target. Transferring it to the main screen.”Woman (OFF) “An irregular magnetic fielddetected in the target's environs. Please commence with precise measurements immediately.”	Reichu: The Tactical Command Room is a much busier place in the Renewal version of this episode. To help fill out the enhanced 5.1 audio track, random Gainax employees got to recite newly-added lines of nigh-incomprehensible techno-jargon (think Star Trek) in militaryJapanese. But this isthe language of Nerv, so if you were baptised with the original release of NGE, this should be nothing new. Here is some additional info from the Platinum 0:3 booklet:Some of the additional recorded dialogue is material that was intentionally left off the 2.0 stereo recording, even though Director Anno originally planned for it when the show was being produced, because it was surmisedthat including those lines would be information overload, making everything harder to hear. In other cases, there was dialogue added to tighten up certain areas that had too little information in terms of the audio. Specifically speaking, the majority of these lines are reports and announcements from the Nerv staff at the command center. Others include background crowd noises in school scenes and announcements at train stations. Ofthe cast members who participated in the additional cast recordings, the only original cast member is Megumi Hayashibara. And her part was to play the super computer, MAGI, not Rei Ayanami. In other words, of the characters with names, the only one to have additional dialogue was the MAGI.The 5.1 supplemental dialogue is marked off with this color. Most of the time, it's playing in thebackground, behind other dialogue, so even if you were Japanese you'd probably have a hard time understanding it. (Good thing they bothered including it in the Renewal script so that I could easily attack it with my n00b translation skillz.) Some of these new lines actually contain some interesting technical tidbits — nothing vital to the story, of course, but yummy stuff if you're interested in NGE's technical minutiae.
033	Woman (OFF) “According to the optical survey, inspection work of the results is top priority.”Fuyutsuki “It's been fifteen years, hasn't it?”Ikari “Yes, there can be no mistake.”	tv33: Only about a minute into the show and it's already great. Dr. Nick: Here we encounter the “reflecting glasses” effect in use for the first time. It's a fairly standard visual trick in numerous anime shows, but I haven't yet met another series where it is used as ridiculously often as in NGE. Sharp-kun: Anno has previously used the “glasses tint” effect in Gunbuster, which has several similarities to Eva. [../images_refs/gunbuster_coach.jpg "Coach"] is in many ways a prototype Gendo. Keisuke-kun: Gendo seems to love being in this pose. Throughout the whole series, you see him sitting like this (or in a similar manner) the most. Sharp-kun: This is also the pose that has sparked countless parodies. Yao's father in Miami Guns, for example, and at least once in Excel Saga. Reichu: Well, Gendo's preference certainly is advantageous as far as the animators must have been concerned. Not only does Gendo barely move, we scarcely see his mouth when he is talking (not that Japanese animators normally concern themselves much withmouth movement anyway). Rather interesting how well Gendo's mannerisms fit in with Gainax's corner-cutting later on, when what little budget there was goes bye-bye.
034	Sachiel displayed on the monitor (the two men in front). He turns to face the screen.Ikari (OFF) “It's an Angel.”	Reichu: ("Aa, machigai nai." &"Shito da.")Gendo's extremely casual demeanor is apparent as soon as he enters the stage. Although my knowledge of Japanese is somewhat limited, Gendo definitely gives me theimpression of someone who is incontrol and undercontrol. His speech is very informal (considering Japanese is a language inundated with honorifics), but it's also very simplistic — Gendo says no more than he has to, never louder than he has to. I am really not much of a Gendo fan, but I must profess: I'm a big fan of Fumihiko Tachiki's performance. The more I hear it, the more I appreciate its subtleties. Not to mention he has agreat voice. Sharp-kun: Not to turn this into a debate on the merits of the subbed/dubbed versions of Eva, but I find what Reichu says here on Gendo's voice to be very true, and something that was lacking in the dub. ADV Gendo was given a more “evil genius” type voice, which doesn't work as well. Magami no Er: Gendo's voice also seems to convey a certain tone that accentuates people's names. Thinkof the way he says, "Shinji", "Rei", "Yui", "Fuyutsuki", and, in the movie, "Akagi Ritsuko-kun". Reichu: That's an interesting observation. Now that you've pointed it out, I'll never be able to listen to Gendo without noticing. ::D TheUserName: So how does the monitor work exactly? Orbital satellite perhaps, relaying signals back to Nerv HQ for a direct visual feed? Reichu: Sometimes they receive feed fromsatellites, but they also have a number of cameras set up on the ground. In #25', you can see these feeds get sabotaged one-by-one by the JSSDF. Sachiel looks especially cute in this shot… although he looks suspiciously thin about the waist when he spins around.