A Newbies Thoughts on Ep 16

Okay, so I’ve just finished ep 16 of the original anime and woow do I have a lot to say.

First and foremost, this is Shinji’s episode because we get a lot more context on him and his thought process. Firstly, he seems to be the one who cooked breakfast this episode, so I’m guessing he’s the one who cooks in Misato’s apartment. But from what we learn of him later on, it makes sense. It was also nice to see him do well on the test, just to see him smile for once.

But the biggest thing to talk about was Shinji getting swallowed into the Angel and being sent into a weird void. Firstly, the actor who plays Shinji is fantastic this episode. Shinji’s panic is very well acted and the scene where he try’s desperately to open the hatch to the capsule and begging for anyone to help was both raw and honestly heartbreaking.

The conversation he has with what looks like his younger self was also very interesting and introspective. It helps to explain why he acts the way that he does, mainly that he is afraid of others not liking him and has no love for himself, which I’m guessing is due to his father not being there at all when he was a child. This also probably explains how Shinji can cook, because he had to learn to be self-sufficient when he was younger due to his dad not being there.

Then we got an image of his mother holding him in the Eva. I’ll elaborate on what I think this means later, but I just think it’s heartbreaking and sweet that when Shinji is near deaths door, he thinks about his mother. It’s great and human.

Then the scene of Eva 01 was able to break itself out of and kill the Angel. This is interesting and I did not see this coming because I just assumed NERV would follow through with their plan. The scene with the Eva 01 standing there covered in blood was incredibly animated and ominous.

Okay, so theory time. It has been said in a previous episode that the Eva’s might have the personalities of other people inside them. With the image we see of Shinji’s mother, I’m going to go on a limb and say that it’s her conscious that’s inside Eva 01, which is why it gets incredibly defensive whenever Shinji is knocked unconscious. On top of that, with Misato knowing something is being held from her, and Ritsuko being disturbed by the Eva’s actions, I’m going on a limb and say that the Eva’s have some organic components, hence why it can move without any power.

Anyway, those were my thoughts and theories. Thanks for reading and have a great day 👍