New Moderator
*Insert a minute and a half or so clip of Kaworu in EVA's hand while Shinji tries to decide without the screen changing at all*
*Blood splatter*
Oh okay glad you figured that one out after ruining all the tension I had the first thirty seconds in. (Joking. It's totally realistic to be thinking heavily on such a thing. But it's always good to poke fun at budget issues.)
Shinji and Misato are at the beach again as Shinji says that Kaworu was the one who deserved to live, and that he was the only one who unconditionally loved Shinji. Misato says that he was wrong, Kaworu gave up on the will to live, so he was the one who had to die. This doesn't comfort Shinji at all but judging by what Misato has gone through until now, her coldness here makes sense.
I probably missed a couple of scenes, but that's the gist of it. I had two immediate impressions after watching this, which I will copy and paste from my convos with xp and Epyon.
Kaworu: Hi, I come out of nowhere to become one of, if not the, best characters. Nice to meet you all.
Cast: What.
Shinji: Someone who DOESN'T hate my guts? Awesome!
Writers: Oh dear someone who can bring Shinji comfort, better kill him.
Yaoi writer in the cast: BUT I DON'T WANNA *Leaves clip of him before dying for a minute and a half*
Other writer: Oh for *Blood splatter* There, done.
And this one involves the next episode's preview:
"Oh **** all we have left in our budget is $5!"
"Don't worry, that'll be enough... FOR A BOX OF CRAYONS."
"What."
*Ten minutes later*
"Here's our episode 25 preview! Looks just as good as the ones we spent hundreds on!"
"I hate working for you guys."
In any event. Kaworu top tier and this episode is top tier. Heck yeah.
</spoiler>
Due to TV constraints, I'll probably wind up watching End of Evangelion before 25 and 26. Either way, I'll get both done before January 31 is over.
---
"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Liberal Arts Major
Pfft, Shinji/Rei is the best pairing.
Excuse me for asking this but WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? If you got into someone's house and saw glasses on their dresser, would your first instinct be to put them on? Seriously now?
Keep reminding yourself that Shinji is a total creeper and suddenly his ridiculous behavior makes a whole lot more sense!
Congratulations Shinji, you are officially the biggest loser ever now.
Personally, I would count falling all over a soulless naked girl in the "pros" column of my day, but maybe I'm just weird like that. Also, if only this was the full extent of Shinji's loserness...
She has strange priorities, to say the least.
Not strange at all, given Rei's personality. She's like an exhibitionist, except asexual and stone cold.
I'm interested to see why Rei is so admiring of Gendo, if nothing else.
At this point you know all there is to know about the admiration.
They call Rei the First Child
It's actually First Children, Second Children, etc. The plural is used probably for the same reason that NERV is always capitalized: crazy Japanese people don't speak the English good.
(I think it's just Tokyo, if it's all of Japan insert an =O emoticon from me)
It's like half of/maybe even all of Japan. You see an aerial view of the lights going out.
I am getting incredibly tired of hearing cicadas in these scenes but here we are.
I didn't notice until it was pointed out to me.
Not like he should care, I mean if Rei isn't going to react to him seeing HER naked, why would she be interested in his body?
Yeah but Shinji is retarded. Keep this in mind always!
(Why twenty-two? What kind of a number is that for protection?)
I don't know if this is explained anywhere, but my guess is that 22 was the largest number they (the people who built Tokyo-3) could come up with while staying in-budget for the more important stuff. It's not like those layers are the first line of defense or anything.
So that's some information on Rei, not that it's enough to really get a reading on her character.
Sure it is: she's an awkward, distant, not-quite-human automaton that doesn't understand her own emotions.
What did I just watch.
I've heard Episode 7 described as the "only unsalvagable episode" in the series. I think this is a fair assessment.
That [eating toast a lot] cannot be healthy.
Sure it can! That's my breakfast every morning.
Did they sabotage it to get competitors out of the way, or what? *Scratches head*
What xp said.
Oh goody it's one of THESE characters
It's indeed one of THESE characters.
Is that a plot point or did episode three's exposition just get scrapped (I highly doubt that)? Or do Evas not care, so long as you have piloted before?
This is what we called a "continuity error". Either that or it's something that's simply forgotten (so... it's a continuity error).
He brings Gendo the first human, Adam. Holy **** Adam was UGLY.
Not the first human.
Or Rei meant exactly what she said and she'd pilot Unit 01 and try and solo the angel. Without anyone trying to shield her.
This.
I think last time I tried to do character rankings, he was 5th.
T1. Kaworu
T1. Asuka
T3. Gendo Ikari
T3. Shinji
5. Kaji
From my NGE/anime topic.
...Thanks TFN.
=(
</spoiler>
___
~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Liberal Arts Major
My lone ex-girlfriend wore a one-piece suit. She's a devout Mormon. Draw your own conclusions.
Moral of story: girls like Asuka enjoy getting payments from boys who happen to be in the wrong position.
Alternate explanation: Asuka has a girlish crush on Shinji and consequently wants him to look up her skirt. Also she's a nutjob.
Shinji wakes up in a hospital bed and listens to the TV without speaking while it shows a genius dog. Why.
For the lulz, obviously.
Gendo's response? "I see." Such an emotional person.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73Xu1Id0iPc
Anyway, yeah, episode 15 is a really ****ing weird episode. I'm sure some people will disagree, but to me that's the most bizarre episode in the series. >_>
I had no idea what was going on for most of the episode, so I can support this assertion. >_>
</spoiler>
___
~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Liberal Arts Major
=)
There was also mention of how there was a Shinji for every person's perspective of him. Wonder if that has any connection to the multiple Rei copies you see earlier.
No, although that's an interesting parallel, if anything it's actually foreshadowing the events of the last two episodes.
Episode 16: Splitting of the Breast/In sickness unto death, and...
The Sickness Unto Death (Sygdommen til Doeden in Danish) is a book by Kierkegaard. Its only apparent connection to this episode is with Shinji's self-examination. THE MORE YOU KNOW
Also Shinji was apparently talking to Leliel while there, but... I didn't catch that. Hm.
I missed this as well, but it's the popular interpretation.
He can only watch as the recovery team finds the pilot of Unit 03, who is apparently still alive (THAT IS TOTAL GARBAGE)
Yeah, but it's ultimately irrelevant whether he died or what.
Shinji does not give a darn about this so they inject something in the liquid of his plug to put him to sleep.
Actually I think they just increased the pressure of the LCL.
since this show's aim seems to be throwing Shinji into angst mode whenever it can, they missed a perfect chance.
Nah, Shinji goes into angst mode just knowing Toji was in there.
(Know how Rei was in so much pain from losing her arm? Shinji too? Imagine if Asuka felt her head going off. OUCH.)
Oh you have no idea.
Episode ends, I am scarred by squick.
Oh you have no idea.
and one surprising thing for me is that Gendo actually took Yui's last name.
Not that surprising once you think about it. Rokubunga or whatever Gendo's name was had "peasant" social status while Ikari had "super powerful SEELE member" status - pick your favorite! Also, Gendo is clearly the woman in their relationship.
and then shoots herself.
I think she just threw herself onto the MAGI.
It's about this point I started crying. Kaji was awesome. ;_;
We all cry for Kaji.
I am sorry, I could not help but laugh at this part. The Angel's attack is to shine a beam of light on Asuka as "HALLELUJAH!" plays in the background. I started cracking up immediately from the music. This is about the only funny part in the episode so that doesn't ruin it, but good gosh this is Narm to its finest.
I also found this hilarious.
As her sync rate is totally broken, Asuka is left to sob to Kaji (who isn't there, just to clarify, in this series you never know) that she has been defiled. For the third time: squick.
There's a reason this is called the mind rape scene! Also, during the sequence we learn that Shinji shattered Asuka's dreams by not really reciprocating when she forced him to kiss her in episode whatever, a point which was totally lost/obscured in that episode and really serves (for me at least) to drive home the "oh by the way now we're going to completely undermine everything in the first half of the series" theme of these episodes.
Lance of Longinus
Speaking of which, it's actually the Spear of Longinus. I think this is shown in End of Evangelion.
causing Asuka to feel bitter that Shinji was never sent to help her.
I don't recall this. Also it doesn't seem to make much sense given the Magma Diver episode.
Realizing the danger he is in, Rei brings the gummy worm back to her, contains it in her AT field, and then blows up the EVA. The Angel is taken out, and apparently Rei is dead too.
This was also a major Rei-loves-Shinji type scene that provides relevant setup for other stuff down the line and should have been included in the non-DC version but wasn't because pffffft.
SEELE wants to investigate how Rei survived the incident. Gendo indulges them by sending them Ritsuko instead. They tell her as much, and she seems hurt by it.
There's apparently a theory that she was raped during the proceedings. It certainly explains her subsequent actions better.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Rei is either based off or directly cloned from Yui, which is why Gendo has such a fixation on her.
She's a direct clone. I'm not sure but I think explaining how Rei came to be constitutes spoilers so I won't. >_>
and that died
It should however be noted that the being "Rei" can't actually be said to have died, per se, but only the specific personas-in-bodies Rei I and Rei II actually died. If that makes sense.
Asuka learns that Kaji is dead, and she runs away for a week. She is found by some NERV people in an abandoned bathtub, naked and mentally wrecked. They bring her to the hospital and that is where she stays for the rest of the episode.
There's also a theory about this: namely, that Asuka tried to kill herself. THE MORE YOU KNOW
who looks fabulous and I want a figure of, I mean dang look at that hair
Girls are silly.
Apparently he is actually an Angel.
Unlike the Armisael scene, this one has no real benefit unless you're rewatching the series and I personally think seeing the "surprise! Kaworu's an angel" version of this episode first is the way to go.
So Rei is an Angel too
Not quite.
When Shinji suggests going to bed, Kaworu asks, "Together?" I laughed. >_>
There's nothing gay about this scene at all.
...
OK, maybe a little.
His hand has mutated flesh and an eyeball on it.
That would be Adam.
and he says that everyone has an AT field based around... protecting their heart's emotions, or memories... confound it I need the line again, because I liked it. =/
This is why it's called an Absolute Terror field: it keeps the rest of the world away from your soul, because you're afraid or something. I don't know. It's fruity, but it makes sense.
Who he has referred to before but I can't recall being mentioned in any other episodes.
I'm not sure if Lilith is mentioned elsewhere. I recall being confused when Kaworu, upon first meeting Shinji, commented about "Lilin" music - but it seems odd that mention of Lilith would just pop out here at the end of the series.
"Don't worry, that'll be enough... FOR A BOX OF CRAYONS."
Truth.
</spoiler>
Well that was a lot of typing.
___
~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
New Moderator
I just watched End of Evangelion. Write up tomorrow.
---
"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Liberal Arts Major
Kaworu certainly makes a few references to the "Lilim" which is his term for all of humanity. Lilim being the 18th and Final Angel, descended from Lilith (Angels 3-17 all descended from Adam). I don't recall him actually mentioning Lilith herself until he runs into her at Terminal Dogma. But it's been a while so I could be wrong.
</spoiler>
---
xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
a point which was totally lost/obscured in that episode
I don't think it's actually lost in Episode 15, it's just that you may not be looking for it. If I recall correctly, in Episode 15, right after the kiss, Asuka is shown motionless with a dark expression (in fact for some reason I get the impression that she stands there and you can't even really see her expression, but you're given the impression she is not happy, but again it's been a while since so maybe I'm way off again.) And only after a few moments of this does she run off claiming she needed mouthwash. In retrospect, this struck me as Asuka being upset with how Shinji didn't reciprocate and then her trying to come up with a cover story for an excuse.
Unless I'm totally missing what you meant by that.
</spoiler>
[Spoiler for Evangelion Episode 24 and End of Evangelion, click to show]
Not quite.
Well, actually kind of. What Kaworu meant by it, I think, was that they're both based off of the two progenitor Angels. Kaworu from Adam and Rei from Lilith. And on a strictly technical basis all of humanity is an angel anyway. But I admit that's not what was meant.
</spoiler>
---
xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Advanced
The First Ancestral Race is never mentioned in the series, but are described in the classified information files of the spin off video game Neon Genesis Evangelion 2. The First Ancestral Race (第一始祖民族, Daiichi Shiso Minzoku?) are the ancient god-like progenitor aliens who created Adam and Lilith, and thus, ultimately the creators of both the humans and the Angels. Billions of years ago, this race seeded life throughout the galaxy by sending Seeds of Life to many planets (their motivation is unknown). Seeds of Life called White Moons contained Adam-like creatures, who gave rise to Angel life forms on the planets they landed on. Seeds of Life called Black Moons contained Lilith-like creatures, who started normal terrestrial life, which evolved into human-like life forms. A Black Moon and a White Moon were never meant to land on the same planet, and thus Angels and humans were never meant to co-exist. Originally, the White Moon containing Adam landed on Earth. However, the Black Moon containing Lilith accidentally (and violently) collided into Earth, an event known as First Impact which created Earth's Moon. These aliens also created the Lance of Longinus, one of which was sent along with both Adam and Lilith as a means of controlling them (Lilith's Lance was destroyed when she crash-landed into Earth). They are also the true authors of the "Dead Sea Scrolls", which are actually a sort of manual on Seeds of Life sent along with each, and of the Spear of Longinus. While none of this is ever mentioned in the series, the White Moon of Adam in Antarctica, and the Black Moon of Lilith under Tokyo-3, are both described as "clearly artificial", as well as being "nearly identical", and that Gendo says that "an intelligence other than Mankind created the GeoFront".
</spoiler>
---
"A man chooses. A slave obeys." -Andrew Ryan, Bioshock
Liberal Arts Major
It's easy to interpret that in retrospect, but in the scene itself her reaction is played for the lolz and regardless there's not enough depth to her character at that point to allow a full assessment of how hard Shinji inadvertently failed. At least, when I first saw the scene, I considered it a random throw-away. >_>
Well, actually kind of. What Kaworu meant by it, I think, was that they're both based off of the two progenitor Angels. Kaworu from Adam and Rei from Lilith. And on a strictly technical basis all of humanity is an angel anyway. But I admit that's not what was meant.
He meant they're both based on Seeds of Life, which isn't quite the same as a normal, run-of-the-mill Angel. Also, humans aren't really "Angels" in that they're LCL-based whereas Adam's progeny is PWM-based. That's why they can't coexist... for some reason.
</spoiler>
___
~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Provisional
---
LMAO he ain't my lover I'm not into guys -Tengu
Liberal Arts Major
Ouch, a dagger through my heart.
___
~ Ogordemir ~
"The sciences have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." ~ H.P Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Provisional
---
LMAO he ain't my lover I'm not into guys -Tengu
New Moderator
I watched twenty-five and twenty-six today, so I'll do write-ups for those soon as well.
---
"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
But I'm not starting that until I get the last three Neon Genesis Evangelion write-ups done, so no worries.
---
"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
Note that I watched End of Evangelion late at night with the lights off and headphones on. Thanks Epyon, Kenri, and xp for listening to my comments while I watched.
[Spoiler for Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion, click to show]This is the one thing I didn't have on DVD, though I do want to get it. Epyon provided Youtube links for me. Because of this, I can't comment on what apparently is a very creepy DVD menu.
SEGA logo. Huh what. Is Sonic going to come and kill an Angel called Tabuu? Really what do they have to do with this?
First we see Shinji standing next to Asuka's bed in the hospital. She's still asleep (or in a coma, not sure which). Shinji asks her to help him several times, but she obviously isn't about to come out of this. Camera pan, noises, see Shinji's hands covered with liquid. ...Thanks, movie, for that. At least Shinji admits he's ****** up, but... EW. ~_~
SEELE is talking to Gendo, but nobody cares about them right now we need better characters. So here's a quick shot of Rei looking at the broken glasses, then we have Misato who apparently likes to eat computer chips with her potato ones. Her work is interrupted when SEELE begins to hack all of their toasters. She goes to get Ritsuko, who agrees to help despite what her thoughts are on Gendo at this point.
Then Japanese Strategic Self Defense Forces (yeah I was told their name no way I would have gotten it on my own) attacks them. Solid Snake would be proud of the neck snap one of them does. To keep Asuka and Unit 02 safe, they decide to put Asuka in Unit 02 and put Unit 02 in the bottom of a lake. ...That's one way to do it. Meanwhile, Rei just hangs out in her tube, and Shinji is nowhere to be found. Gee I wonder why. Surely it has nothing to do with how he recently was forced to kill the one person who was being nice to him? We also get to see a bunch of NERV personal being shot. This was actually rather depressing because of a girl who was trying to drag away an injured man, and then getting shot herself. Made me more sad for the redshirts than usual.
Drama occurs with the NERV members we know while Gendo goes to get Rei. Shinji is sitting in a corner and gets found by some gunmen. He does nothing to try and stop them from shooting him, but Misato charges in out of nowhere to blast them away. She then is forced to drag him (literally, he won't move) and all he can say is, "Help me, Asuka." Yeesh. Heroic BSOD much.
So it seems that SEELE is trying to cause the Third Impact, and Lilith created humanity. So humanity is the eighteenth Angel, Lilims. Huh. We also see two mysterious people talk. Yeah.
By this point, the enemy has discovered Asuka's presence in the lake. She wakes up and has little idea of what is going on. She begins to think, over and over again, "I don't want to die," while some rather disturbing images flash by, thankfully too fast for me to make out. Soon her mother's voice, also chanting, is able to be heard. Asuka suddenly cries, "Mama!" BOOM CROSS FROM LAKE.
Asuka has suddenly gotten resolve, knowing that her mother was with her all along. I'm guessing she means this in that she's part of Unit 02, though feel free to correct me. I can't really describe this fight scene well but it is awesome. Asuka tears apart everything near her, and then EVA Units 05-13 arrive, with dummy plugs (not of Rei, Kaworu this time) and really gross mouths. Asuka gets ready to fight them despite being outnumbered nine to one.
Back to Misato dragging Shinji around. She gets him onto an elevator, and he notices that Misato is bleeding heavily. She gives Shinji a lecture, her cross, and then kisses him. "We'll do the rest when you get back." Whoaaaa there. When the elevator takes Shinji away, Misato collapses. Her last line, which jerked tears from me, was, "Kaji... I did the right thing, didn't I?"
Quick Rei scene, and then we're back to Asuka kicking ***. I wish I could expand on this more but all I can say is if you haven't seen these fight scenes go do so. She wipes the floor with all nine EVA units.
</spoiler>
---
"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
Back to Asuka, and her rampage is drawn to a close by a replica of the Lance of Longinus spearing her through the head. That was a REALLY painful scream, and for good reason. I thankfully never caught a glimpse of her wounded eye. She begins to repeat over and over, "I'll kill you," about to go into berserker mode against the EVAs as they rise. She did not destroy their cores, so they're up again, circling like vultures. She seems ready to attack with her pent-up rage... then all of the other replica Lance of Longinuses rain into her Unit 02, killing her instantly. That was... very brutal. =(
Shinji and Unit 01 finally come to the surface. Shinji sees what happened to Asuka and screams. End of part one!
Part two opens with Gendo and Rei. Rei's starting to come apart; her arm falls off, which is very gross to see. Gendo proceeds to... grope her. Okay, really he was just giving her Adam from his hand, but did he have to do it with her breasts? >_>
So the Lance of Longinus is back, not that it matters because Shinji gets crucified by the EVA Units. Back to Rei and Gendo, Gendo tells Rei to fulfill her purpose and bring Yui back. Rei says, "I am not a puppet," and walks to Lilith. She then gets... big. Really big. Uh. Whoa. The giant naked Rei bursts out of the headquarters and appears in front of Shinji with empty eye sockets. Cue him screaming, and me thinking I would be doing a LOT more than screaming if I was in his place, that was just disturbing. Her face begins to mutate like crazy, and when he says, "I can't take it anymore," it becomes Kaworu. This brings him some amount of comfort. *Whistles innocently*
After some more symbolic stuff happens involving the Tree of Life, Shinji is... at a playground. As a kid. The other children have really creepy doll faces and go with their parents. Shinji makes a sand pyramid and then stomps it flat. Overlying moral of NGE: parental abandonment is bad.
His next vision is at the place where Kaji and Misato had sex for a week when they were younger. Rather... interesting point of their life. He then sees Asuka, who pushes him into hot coffee, the literal kind. Owwww. She rants at him, and Shinji begs for her to help him. He goes on like this for a long, rambling time, to which Asuka says, "No." Rejected! So he begins to strangle her. That's a proportional response. Then we see many drawings by abused kids so they are of course very creepy.
It's around this point that everyone is met by Rei. Each person sees Rei as the person they are closest to. One of the men in the NERV trio sees Misato, the other guy sees a ton of Reis (apparently he's atheist, ouch what a time to be) and the girl sees Ritsuko. They each get hugged and explode into orange liquid. LCL actually. Is there any other situation where I could say that and it wouldn't be totally out of the left field? That said, WHAT? The vice commander sees Yui, and the SEELE members... well who knows, but they dissolve too. I particularly laughed at one guy saying, "All is right with the world," before dissolving.
While Gendo is lying on the ground, he sees Kaworu and Yui. Gendo says he tried to push Shinji away because of his own feelings, and that he actually did care for him. Too bad Shinji isn't there to HEAR THAT! Then Unit 01 picks up Gendo and bites him in half. I'm GUESSING that's an illusion, but either way he's LCL now. And Rei takes his glasses.
Shinji sees all of the Reis, and many flashing images occur... before a live sequence shows up. HUH? So apparently the first live audience of this film got filmed themselves to be put into this and we're a different world or something. I DON'T KNOW IT'S ARTISTIC AND TOO COMPLICATED FOR MY PUNY MORTAL MIND.
So by this point big Rei's neck gets sliced open. And Shinji sees naked Rei on his chest. Because by this point sure why not. Kaworu's also around and one of his lines is, "And we are the words, I love you." As if we needed more confirmation. After this scene, Unit 01... bursts out of big Rei's eye. I think that takes the cake for Eye Scream.
</spoiler>
---
"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
So from what I understood of the last part, Instrumentality is what SEELE wanted, to make everyone become joined (as LCL...). Shinji decides he doesn't like that, so people are allowed to become themselves again if they have enough willpower to do so. Because of that, Asuka was there, and other people could potentially be.
I liked it a lot, even if it was confusing. Since it was MEANT to be confusing I can't complain.
</spoiler>
---
"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
[Spoiler for Neon Genesis Evangelion: Episode 25, click to show]Episode 25: Do you love me?/A World That's Ending
Not going in order because I doubt I'll keep things straight.
At various points, we see Asuka in the lake, Misato dead, and Ritsuko dead. I can only imagine how confusing that would be if not seeing EoE first.
So with Instrumentality coming, the best thing to do for the characters is sit in chairs in dark rooms and speak of themselves. Hey now I know where Xenogears disc 2 came from! These characters see each other in interesting ways, saying things like, "I am the Shinji that you see." Paraphrased, but it plays into the thoughts Shinji had in episode sixteen. We focus mainly on Misato and Asuka, and Shinji at some parts. Rei is also seen. It's good development but... most of it is stuff I've already covered. Such as Misato's sex week with Kaji. I don't think this episode was outright horrible like some people do though. I liked the dialogue and such.
</spoiler>
---
"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
Before anyone mentions it, I get the double meaning in the Japanese title. Har har.
So this one focuses more on Shinji. He is contemplating his existence and the world. In one scene, he actually appears in a white world with pencil drawings. Not a bad way to pull the 'we have no budget' card.
Then... Oh geez. Why. He sees an alternate world where they're basically in a high school comedy anime. Shinji is the lazy main hero who oversleeps, Asuka is his childhood friend who tugs him around, Gendo reads newspapers, Yui is still alive and well, Rei is a klutz who runs to school late with toast in her mouth and is a new transfer student, Shinji sees up her skirt, he tells his two friends Toji and Kensuke about it, Rei comes in as the new student, class laughs at Shinji, Asuka, and Rei arguing.
That. That was just. *Shudders* THAT IS NOT NGE. Which is the point but klutz Rei scared me more than normal Rei!
Now realizing he can exist without being an EVA pilot, Shinji still believes he will be hated by everyone. But no, apparently it's just because he hates himself. When he finally accepts this, he... appears on the world with everyone else important from the show standing around him and clapping, while they each say, "Congratulations!" And Shinji thanks them. End credits.
I mean. What the... the... I dunno. It's not horrible like people claim, but overall, I do prefer EoE.
Anyone else think that the "Congratulations!" was partially to the audience for managing to sit though all that and leave with their minds intact?
</spoiler>
---
"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
Favorite episodes: 22 or 24 is my favorite, I can't really make a good case on which I prefer. 9 is also pretty high up there, as is 16.
Character ranking list, off the top of my head:
1. Asuka
2. Kaworu
3. Kaji
4. Rei II
5. Gendo
6. Misato
7. Shinji
8. Ritsuko
9. Fuyutsuki
10. Zebra ball
Yeah basically put almost all the Angels above Toji, Kensuke, and Pen Pen. >_> I'd like to rank Yui but that's pretty hard to do. A lot of her character is in the air.
End of Evangelion>episodes 25 and 26
Shinji/Asuka or Shinji/Kaworu>Shinji/Rei
Kaji/Misato is one of my favorite pairings in anime. I want that figure of the two of them together. Too bad it costs around $200.
That doll Asuka's mom had is one of the creepiest things ever.
If I hear one more cicada soundtrack for a bland scene I will scream.
I guess that covers it, except for specific responses to people.
</spoiler>
Tomorrow I'll start Blood+, to celebrate Valentine's Day in a really weird fashion!
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
Nothing wrong with it at all. Tokyo-3 is a "real" city more or less and there's no good reason to exclude pilots from the school system.
If I was piloting a giant robot my last concern would be grades.
Her job is to provide us with minutes of delicious filler. She's also kind of a foil for Asuka but she sucks at that.
Yeah, sadly she didn't really get to do much with Asuka to establish herself as a character, heh.
I was initially confused by this as well but then I learned to just skip through the multitude of excessive still frames.
Too annoying to do that on DVD.
Pfft, Shinji/Rei is the best pairing.
Oh gosh no. I'm not even going to talk about this!
Keep reminding yourself that Shinji is a total creeper and suddenly his ridiculous behavior makes a whole lot more sense!
But not even creeps would put on random pairs of glasses, that's just bizarre!
Personally, I would count falling all over a soulless naked girl in the "pros" column of my day, but maybe I'm just weird like that. Also, if only this was the full extent of Shinji's loserness...
I think most guys would. Shinji apparently doesn't because he's homosexual. Thanks episode 24/EoE!
Not strange at all, given Rei's personality. She's like an exhibitionist, except asexual and stone cold.
Oh I never said it doesn't fit her, but compare it to anyone else. Her priorities are not going to match up with many people.
It's actually First Children, Second Children, etc. The plural is used probably for the same reason that NERV is always capitalized: crazy Japanese people don't speak the English good.
I read the subtitles and they said Child instead of Children so yay for proper grammar I guess? >_>
It's like half of/maybe even all of Japan. You see an aerial view of the lights going out.
I couldn't tell how big that view was though. I have a very bad sense of size.
I didn't notice until it was pointed out to me.
Lucky you.
Yeah but Shinji is retarded. Keep this in mind always!
Good point.
I don't know if this is explained anywhere, but my guess is that 22 was the largest number they (the people who built Tokyo-3) could come up with while staying in-budget for the more important stuff. It's not like those layers are the first line of defense or anything.
Fair enough.
Sure it is: she's an awkward, distant, not-quite-human automaton that doesn't understand her own emotions.
Not what I meant but point made.
I've heard Episode 7 described as the "only unsalvagable episode" in the series. I think this is a fair assessment.
I agree. Worst episode.
Sure it can! That's my breakfast every morning.
Nice knowing you. *Salute*
It's indeed one of THESE characters.
I'm amazed I liked Asuka as much as I did. Usually I'm not a fan of her type of character, but that's NGE for you, blowing your reality out of the water.
This is what we called a "continuity error". Either that or it's something that's simply forgotten (so... it's a continuity error).
'lol'
Not the first human.
Blame the DVD subtitles, I'm quite sure it said human.
This.
Didn't you read what I said before?! Geez! >_>
</spoiler>
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
Siiiigh.
Alternate explanation: Asuka has a girlish crush on Shinji and consequently wants him to look up her skirt. Also she's a nutjob.
I like mine better!
=)
Everyone loves seeing Shinji suffer.
No, although that's an interesting parallel, if anything it's actually foreshadowing the events of the last two episodes.
I can definitely see that now.
The Sickness Unto Death (Sygdommen til Doeden in Danish) is a book by Kierkegaard. Its only apparent connection to this episode is with Shinji's self-examination. THE MORE YOU KNOW
And knowing is half the battle!
I missed this as well, but it's the popular interpretation.
It makes a lot of sense.
Yeah, but it's ultimately irrelevant whether he died or what.
While that's true, it just... really bugged me to see him miraculously survive in an anime like this. *Shrugs*
Actually I think they just increased the pressure of the LCL.
Probably true.
Nah, Shinji goes into angst mode just knowing Toji was in there.
But it could have had MORE angst! Even MORE!
Oh you have no idea.
If I had a real idea I think I'd commit suicide. That much pain would be unbearable.
Oh you have no idea.
BLARGH.
Mi>Not that surprising once you think about it. Rokubunga or whatever Gendo's name was had "peasant" social status while Ikari had "super powerful SEELE member" status - pick your favorite! Also, Gendo is clearly the woman in their relationship.
lololololol
I think she just threw herself onto the MAGI.
Coulda sworn there was a blood splatter on the wall.
We all cry for Kaji.
Anyone with a soul should!
I also found this hilarious.
^5
There's a reason this is called the mind rape scene! Also, during the sequence we learn that Shinji shattered Asuka's dreams by not really reciprocating when she forced him to kiss her in episode whatever, a point which was totally lost/obscured in that episode and really serves (for me at least) to drive home the "oh by the way now we're going to completely undermine everything in the first half of the series" theme of these episodes.
I got that impression but not enough to outright state it, if that makes sense.
Speaking of which, it's actually the Spear of Longinus. I think this is shown in End of Evangelion.
If it is, my bad.
I don't recall this. Also it doesn't seem to make much sense given the Magma Diver episode.
When she was getting mind defiled, Rei was sent out instead of Shinji. Shinji was sent to help Rei though. That's what she meant.
This was also a major Rei-loves-Shinji type scene that provides relevant setup for other stuff down the line and should have been included in the non-DC version but wasn't because pffffft.
Ehhh. I got the impression she cared, yes, but loved? Eh.
There's apparently a theory that she was raped during the proceedings. It certainly explains her subsequent actions better.
Oy.
It should however be noted that the being "Rei" can't actually be said to have died, per se, but only the specific personas-in-bodies Rei I and Rei II actually died. If that makes sense.
What I meant.
There's also a theory about this: namely, that Asuka tried to kill herself. THE MORE YOU KNOW
She did a pretty bad job of it!
Girls are silly.
Boys are goofy!
Unlike the Armisael scene, this one has no real benefit unless you're rewatching the series and I personally think seeing the "surprise! Kaworu's an angel" version of this episode first is the way to go.
lolz
There's nothing gay about this scene at all.
...
OK, maybe a little.
To be fair this is one of the few yaoi pairings I'd say was done pretty well. As opposed to just being sex appeal.
Truth.
I called it!
</spoiler>
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
Last month, I actually read Loveless. One of the few yaoi manga I would read, and I actually liked it because it had some pretty interesting characterization and a good setting. Also the two male Zeros are ADORABLE. Adorable I say.
Right now, I'm trying to finish up Spiral. This is Yu-Gi-Oh+Death Note+Phoenix Wright with a ton of awesome thrown in. I am REALLY liking this manga. Highly recommend it.
Once those are done, my next one will probably be Black Cat. I've been wanting to read that for some time.
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
For the first three episodes, I will repost my written summaries with any additions deemed necessary from watching it again. I did see episodes four through six, but never wrote them up, and everything after that will be new.
[Spoiler for Blood+: Episode 1, click to show]Episode 1: First Kiss
First of all, I quite like the opening and ending songs. The scenes during them are nice enough, nothing outstanding but I like to watch them.
As usual, it began with an opening that was action packed. WHOA VIETNAM WAR WHOA GIRL CUTTING APART PEOPLE WHOA THIS IS EXCITING-
Oh wait now we're in a school yard. Where'd my action go?!
The main character, Saya, apparently remembers nothing before a year ago. Amnesia in the first five minutes? This is my kind of character! (Seriously I seem to have a habit of loving amnesia. Except the Pokemon move.) Then her friend who is a girl jumps on her to make male viewers be convinced they will like this anime. Hurray. (As if the first shot of Saya being sweaty while leaping didn't do the trick.)
Then a guy named Kai shows up to take Saya to the hospital for a regular check-up. Saya's friend remarks that he is hot and quit playing baseball. Hopefully not for Higurashi reasons. Saya proves the first comment to be kind of disturbing when she soon tells us he is like a brother to her. From what I could gather, he's one grade above her. Don't quote me on that though.
Here we cut to a man (presumably in a high military position) talking to his men through a radio. They are trying to track down something called Mouse. A fabulous, white-suited man pops candy into his mouth and remarks that despite being young enough to be the guy's son, he is still in charge and it is the guy's fault that Mouse is on the loose. I can tell I'll hate him already! His name is Vin Argiano unless the subtitles lied to me, and I will have to refer to this write up every time if I ever want to spell it correctly again.
In the hospital, Saya still cannot remember anything and gets some blood from an IV. Now we know where the name of the show came from! We also hear a TV in the background talking about a serial murder case.
While Saya is walking home, she sees a mysterious man with bandages around his hand playing a cello. I already love this because I always end up liking the dark mysterious guys the most, a cello is a cool and underrated instrument, and I am a sucker for ponytails. (As a funny note, my little sister plays the cello, so I found myself watching to see how accurately he looked while playing it.) Saya on the other hand does not love this as she flashbacks into running somewhere with a key and trying to unlock a door. In real life, this causes her to fall into a flower bed. I find it amusing that this causes everyone watching the cello performance to look over and be like 'wow you're weird'. Normal reactions in my townspeople? What is this, a realistic anime?
</spoiler>
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
After realizing Saya forgot her shoes for a gym competition tomorrow, she goes back to school. Despite it getting dark. I'm sure this will end well. Oh and some blonde guy named David shows up after appearing once earlier in a brief scene. It's amazing seeing names like David and George in an anime. I can actually remember them! David asks if Saya has remembered anything, George says he will not give her up even if she had, and David says this is because he is a replacement for his dead daughter. Ouch. He leaves the month's payment there, but in a somewhat subtle (but nice) hint, George simply picks up Saya's lunchbox to wash, leaving the money where it is.
So the school is closed, prompting Saya to lurk around in the dark to find her shoes. Only to meet the mysterious cello player who says, "I finally found you" and brings out a dagger. Saya does what any sane person would do and runs for her life until bumping into a teacher. When they go to investigate, he is gone. What, you mean a generic teacher actually decided to be useful?
Apparently not because he gets his blood sucked ten seconds later by a huge furry creature, which is later called a fancy word for bat that I sadly forgot to write out. Saya once again runs and is cornered in the school, where cello player shows up to help her. So I watch in anticipation. This guy has got to have some cool moves, right?
Wait, why is he cutting his own black, deformed arm that was previously bandaged? Why is he offering Saya blood? Obviously she doesn't want to drink it, so okay, he drinks it himself and... KISSING ACTION COMMENCE. And thus several terrible fanfics were born about how a bloody first kiss was very sexy.
Kai happens to run in at this moment and sees the two of them with locked lips. Now in basically any other anime, this would have caused Kai to go "WHAT ARE YOU DOING KISSING MY SISTER THAT'S WRONG" and other stupidity to ruin the moment. But Blood+ thankfully does not have dumb forced humor. Instead Kai looks up, sees the creature, yells, and is about to be devoured. And Saya has a bunch of flashbacks involving the war, Haji with normal body parts, and the tower/key/lock incident. Her eyes become red. So obviously the episode ends here!
As with most first episodes, it was a little slow, but I liked how it was set up. Introducing the family got me interested in how they were related, I'm curious about cello guy, and amnesia is good when done correctly. I also want to know about the flashbacks.
</spoiler>
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
[Spoiler for Blood+: Episode 2, click to show]Episode 2: Magic Words
Due to being given the cello player's blood, Saya now has red eyes. He tells her, "Saya, fight" which I'm sure will become a catchphrase in the show. He hands her a katana, she draws it, and it's... interesting in design, at least.
Then she cuts her hand and lets her blood pour into the sword. It slips through fullers (thanks for the word Epyon). Basically a line goes down the katana of her blood, falls through other ditches to coat the blade, and she uses it to slice the monster in half. My first reaction: "That so would not work in real life." Second: "BUT WHO CARES THAT WAS SO COOL!" It is unique and I respect that. =)
Kai calls out to Saya, she realizes she's covered in monster blood, faints dead away. At least the cello player has the decency to catch her after all that. He leaves with Saya and Kai right before the US military storms in. Drama!
Very displeased at being left on a roof with just an unconscious Saya and no explanation (cello man is good at jumping it seems), Kai takes her to the hospital. Her dad, George, comes to watch over her. When Saya comes to, she can't remember what happened. Yay amnesia!
Kai has been out for a while to mope about being useless when his girlfriend, Mao, shows up. She rags on him for acting so differently than usual, which prompts him to get a big false-looking smile, thank her, and then drive off. She rightfully calls him an *** for abandoning her. >_>
George leaves to talk to David. When Saya goes to the restroom to clean up and change clothes, she sees visions of the blood from yesterday. Oh boy, I wonder why this show is called Blood+, there clearly hasn't been enough!
Saya goes downstairs to find her father, only to overhear David saying that now that Saya has awakened, she must be turned over to them. I wonder why he couldn't have said this the other 365 times she woke up during the last year? *Lame joke alert* As a side note, am I the only one who finds it hilarious whenever someone pronounces his name 'Davido'?
Hearing this and becoming depressed that she is apparently meant for fighting and nothing else, Saya runs off. When George can't find her, he calls Kai to do a search. Kai finds her at a beach (it was mentioned previously that she really likes it). But he finds her talking to cello man what a surprise. Kai, who is ticked off about not having answers, decides that he should try punching the mysterious man. Said man shows this to be a wonderful idea as he makes the bold move of stepping backwards to dodge it. Several times. Down stairs. Until he picks up Kai and throws him over his shoulder. I was thinking 'narm' during most of this.
After Saya asks him to stop, cello man... disappears again. I want to know how he keeps doing that in places where he clearly has nowhere good to jump to. Then Saya and Kai talk and it's very emotional and Kai does the cliche but fitting 'you will always be Saya no matter what' speech. Also he tells her to remember a magic word that their father always says. I can't type it because it is ridiculous and long. Episode ends.
Oh and the candy eater showed up again. He was like "awwww Mouse died but I wanna know what samurai man killed it". I'm still questioning what his purpose is besides being enraging.
Seems we're getting somewhere interesting. David appears more important than let on.
</spoiler>
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
I forgot to mention how last episode ended. A guy in a telephone booth made a dog explode. It made me sad. Now for the next one.
George has a flashback! He has a gun! He points it at a long-haired and naked Saya! It's all very exciting! And I am left waiting to hear about it later on because surely it will come up again.
David shows up again and tells George they need Saya. George is reluctant to do this because Saya is his daughter and he isn't a horrible parent like many other shows would have. David says he has until sundown to explain things to Saya and leaves.
Saya is shown having a hard time at school due to constant reminders of blood and monsters. I like how they actually don't just toss aside the dead teacher from the first episode. He's given a short speech in school and they constantly talk about how the US military took his body. Even though he's a bit character, he still gets acknowledged, which is a nice thing. And the principal actually seems like a decent principal instead of the students making fun of him. It's all... realistic! Except for the giant bat demons and blood-absorbing swords.
George eventually comes to pick up Saya, who nearly got kidnapped by her friend who is a girl and I still do not recall the name of to go to a food place. Instead said girl and her mother look after Riku who remains adorable. What is with me and little kids? In before obvious joke. (I still find it hard to believe he's apparently fifteen.)
They arrive at the grave of George's wife and daughter (and his mother and father, family burial ground). They apparently died in an accident. George was going to kill himself to be with them but felt Saya telling him to live. He had promised a dying friend in Vietnam that he would look after Saya when she woke up. So George made the most of his life by adopting Riku and Kai, and then going to see Saya when she woke up by pointing a gun at her. Fantastic idea. Thankfully he rethinks that on seeing Saya smile at him and takes her in as his daughter. Believe it or not, I really enjoy all the family interaction. It's a good change of pace to the millions of anime who pretend parents don't exist. And you can tell George does care about what is happening with Saya.
Kai is hanging out at a place with some friends to fix his bike when they see Forest walking by. Kai remembers that he frequents his father's shop, but thinks something is up with him and runs after.
They go back to see David is waiting at the shop. He tells Saya that he is in a group called Red Shield which is totally different from the Red Cross. Apparently only Saya can kill Chiropteras. Apparently they're the furry monsters, but they're really bats and they suck people's blood. Very different from vampires you see, especially due to lack of sparkling.
Then Forest staggers in. Forest says he is thirsty and responds to a glass of water by morphing into a Chiroptera. David responds to this by taking out a weird gun (it looks like a cone almost) and shooting him. Top tier response.
Now that they're outside, cello man appears/teleports/whatever he does and tells Saya to fight. That doesn't sound familiar at all. He offers her the katana and she says she can't do it.
So what does George do? Takes the katana, runs at the big bat monster, and tries to slash it despite having no experience with swords. (At least not that I know of.) I'm not sure whether this is incredibly stupid or incredibly awesome, but I'm leaning the latter since he basically yells "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH MY DAUGHTER" and stuff. Unfortunately Forest slashes his stomach open. Good going Saya, your indecisiveness killed your father. Thumbs up and high fives all around. At least Forest came to his senses, realized he hurt the guy who he wanted help from, and ran off. And Kai arrives just in time to see his father bleeding heavily and to feel useless.
George is now dead or not dead and augh cliffhanger. Also the candy guy showed up looking for a second Mouse. Nobody cared.
Something I noticed this time that I failed to last time (I think it was this episode, might have been two though): David had a picture of the cello player without his mutated hand next to a long-haired girl. Past Saya looked a bit like her from what I could tell. Hmmm.
</spoiler>
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
[Spoiler for Blood+: Episode 4, click to show]Episode 4: Dangerous Boy
It seems George is not dead yet, because he is being pushed through a hospital on a stretcher at the start. Saya and Kai follow alongside until George arrives at the room needed to work on him, and they are asked to wait. Saya seems shell-shocked while Kai punches a wall and then runs off. I would think people would learn to stop punching walls at times like this. It doesn't help anyone, the wall feels insulted, and you wind up with a hurt hand. But I digress.
Saya remains at the hospital and watches her father through the window until a nurse, Julia, comes over. Julia actually showed up in episode one as Saya's doctor, but her name was never mentioned until now to my knowledge. She tells Saya to rest and that she will watch over George. Then she goes to make some instant coffee because otherwise she'd fall asleep. Watching a guy bleed slowly to death must be about as entertaining as watching paint dry.
Julia goes to speak with David after this. It turns out she is a Red Shield medical doctor, so she knows about Saya too. Makes sense, I mean having a normal doctor for this girl wouldn't work too well. She mentions wishing George could have been taken to her hospital, but David's response is a lot milder than mine: "Sure, let's take him that extra distance... so you can try to heal a corpse. DID YOU SEE HIS WOUND LADY?!" In any case, she says David has his heart over business, which is a surprise. David's acted rather cold most of this time. He has a cross in his hand, which was kind of hard to see, hopefully it'll be explained later. (He also has a band-aid on his forehead. I guess being crushed into his car by Forest left a small cut on his head and no other serious injuries.)
They speak of one more thing as well. David mentions the cello player, calling him 'the one who obeys Saya' and saying that after Joule's diary was found, he had vanished for thirty years. We get no more information on this though, because Riku runs over to Saya to speak to her. David gets a call from another Red Shield member (I wish I knew his name but 'fat guy in an orange shirt with dark skin' is the best I can say) to say that Kai grabbed a gun and went to find Forest. David responds to this by calling Kai an idiot, since the audience has no way to reach in and tell Kai that themselves. Riku and Saya hop into a taxi while he's talking to go find Kai (as Riku was telling Saya what had happened). David goes, "Curses, foiled again!" and has to find Saya now.
They first stop by Kai's friends' place, where they surprisingly are quite nice to the two of them (they acted kind of tough before around Kai) and say that they told Kai that Forest could be found with his girlfriend Reimi (believe that's her name, not that it matters) at a nightclub. We get a scene cut of Kai going in to find her.
Also around this point (might be a bit later but I never remember when this idiot shows up) we see Candyland man being smirky about the Mouse, as he still calls them, changing from monster to human which throws them off. "This guy needs to calm down!" He gets a call about the 'man from Omoro' being alive. Cut to Julia, who sees Red Cross members run in to get George. She immediately realizes they are part of the evil other red organization and must... not do anything because she is outnumbered by like twenty to one at least. Can't blame her really.
While Kai's friends lead Saya and Riku to the nightclub, Saya's vision suddenly becomes crimson and she seems to have enhanced hearing. Something causes her to look at the crescent moon until one of the friends snaps her out of it. As they continue, Riku asks what that voice was. Hm, so Riku has some sort of power perhaps...?
When they arrive at the club, they run into Mao, Kai's girlfriend. She said Kai had wanted to know where Forest was, but is like "GAH WHY DID I TELL THAT IDIOT THAT" when Riku says he has a gun. She also knows their store is wrecked somehow. Attaching a camera to Kai to keep an eye on him maybe? Whatever the case may be, she calls her father to ask for something and then tells Saya and Riku to get in her (rather nice) car with a personal driver (Kimura, wow how can I remember the DRIVER'S name more than other people's). So she's rich. Thankfully not too snotty about it though.
</spoiler>
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
Okay so she only said she wanted to save Kai. Haji cuts his demon arm to offer to her. Riku conveniently shows up as Saya turns around to stare at him with red eyes and a blood spot. Then Haji leaps up with her. David runs over to Riku, as his timing is good too, and Riku has his hands over his ears, asking if he is hearing a lion's roar. Something's up with this kid.
Kai followed Reimi to a warehouse that Forest was at. He sucks out her blood, which makes me wonder how he got her to come there in the first place. "HSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS" "What's that, honey? You want me to show up at the warehouse so we can have some fun? Okay!" Anyway, he mutates into a big furry thing with teeth and Kai shoots him. The bullets get pushed out of his body and his skin heals. Oops.
Just before he can kill Kai, Forest looks up to see Saya and Haji. Saya is clearly more interesting to him, as he sprouts bat wings and lunges upwards. For the third time, Haji holds out Saya's sword for her to take. Don't worry Haji, if your goal in life is to be the best sword-holder-for-your-mistress ever, you're well on your way. He proves he can do more than this and cello playing though by jumping onto the bat's back and crashing it into the floor. His demon hand traps one wing and his normal one grabs the other. His normal hand's grip is so tight THE BAT STARTS TO BLEED. That's... pretty remarkable. If not for the whole 'only Saya's blood can kill these creatures' thing, I bet he'd be strong enough to do it too.
But since that part is in effect, he tosses the bat to Saya for her to slice its wing off. Forest becomes petrified. Good game bat boy. His corpse and Reimi's are removed.
Kai holds the empty gun and says to Riku, who sits by him, that he couldn't do anything again. Riku wisely does not tell his brother that he is being creepy still holding the gun or else he might have been hit with it or something. Saya is off trying to recover from what she just did; killing Forest caused her to break down sobbing while Kai was in a huddled mess and Haji stood there. At least he held her sword faithfully, he has his priorities straight. Speaking of Haji, David speaks to him and asks if Saya has awakened. "Not yet." I dunno, she looked awake to me-oh I already made this joke.
David speaks to Julia by phone and learns that George has been taken away. We see the Red Cross truck drive in... to what looks like a military base. DUN DUN DUN.
At least Haji finally has a name. I'm curious about what's going on with Riku, and Kai's just getting banged left and right by everything. One has to question how anyone will get out of this mess with happiness.
</spoiler>
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Advanced
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73Xu1Id0iPc
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"A man chooses. A slave obeys." -Andrew Ryan, Bioshock