Evangelion Series Synopses
Evangelion: Death/Rebirth and The End of Evangelion
Episodes 1-8 | Episodes 9-16 | Episodes 17-24 | Episodes 25-26 | Death/Rebirth and End of Evangelion
Movie 1: Evangelion: Death and Rebirth
"Death & Rebirth" is actually comprised of two parts. The first part, "Death", is a montage of what occured throughout the series; sort of a clipshow style episode with some new animations, cut-scenes, and new shots of old scenes. There are three different versions of this portion of the movie: the original, "Death", which was released in theaters, the second cut, "Death(True)", which had additional scenes added for its television broadcast, and the third version, "Death(True)2", which was a trimmed down version of "Death(True)". For those who want to watch the movies and not have to rewatch the series to get up to speed on the most important parts, Death is invaluable. However, it is not a substitute for actually watching the series, so if any viewers plan on doing so they do themselves a great disservice in my opinion.
Death doesn't follow the chronological order of the series, nor does it follow the logical order of events as they actually happened according to the series. While it starts out with the actual scene of Second Impact, the sum of all that occurs in Evangelion do not follow directly from that point. Instead, it simply starts at what is essentially the beginning and the first major topic or subject that comes into play receives primary focus. When the next major piece of the puzzle arises, it similarly goes onto that subject.The reason behind this is simple: "Death" serves to remind viewers of the most important events and points from the series before they reach the ending sequence, which starts with "Rebirth". As mentioned earlier, viewing "Death" in lieu of the rest of the series is not advised, and this is the primary reason.
Because it is at heart a 60 minute recap episode of the series, the high points and general progression of events will receive attention here. Starting with new footage chronicling the last minutes of the Katsuragi expedition to Antarctica, the viewer is given a glimpse into the circumstances surrounding Second Impact, picking up with the scenes shown in the series of Misato's father saving her life in the waning moments of his life (seen in the beginning of Episode 7).
CONTINUE HERE WITH DESCRIPTION OF "DEATH".
"Rebirth" is basically a teaser for the first part of "End of Evangelion", with all new animation and a reimagining of what episode 25 could have been. Since this is basically a truncated version of what appears in the next film, I'll save my words for that section.
Movie 2: The End of Evangelion
EoE is actually broken up into two segments, which are presented as alternatives to the final two episodes of the series. Episode 25' is referred to as "Air/Love is destructive.", and episode 26' is named "Sincerely Yours (My Pure Heart For You)". At film's end, the final scene is distinguished by a special title screen of The End of Evangelion - "ONE MORE FINAL: I need you."
Episode 25': Air | Love is destructive.
The first segment of EoE starts out with where Shinji left off following episode 24, looking off across one of the Ashinoko lakes created during the course of the series. With no one to turn to any longer for help, Shinji turns to Asuka, who's still comatose in the NERV medical facility. As Shinji shakes her in an attempt to get her attention, something gets his attenion--the jostling uncovers Asuka's breasts. In a totally despondent moment, Shinji masturbates to the scene and concludes, upon observing the result of his actions, that he's completely bottomed out (there are several interpretations of the exact wording, from "I'm the lowest of the low" to "I'm scum" to "I'm so fucked up"; all are of essentially equal meaning).
During this time, the NERV command personnel (Maya, Shigeru, and Makoto) discuss the state of NERV, the Evangelions, and themselves following the attack of the last Angel. Misato meanwhile follows up on Kaji's work of discovering the true aims of SEELE. Cmdr. Ikar and Fuyutsuki visit the Instrumentality Committee to discuss the Human Complementation/Instrumentality Project, and Chairman Keel notes that Ikari's vision for Complementation is contrary to the wishes of SEELE. The Committee issues a death threat toward Ikari and the meeting is suddenly adjourned. At this time, Rei is shown waking up and leaving her apartment, but something seems wrong with her....
Misato is able to hack into the Magi system, where she finally learns the real truth behind the Second Impact. But immediately after her discovery, alarms sound throughout NERV Headquarters, as 5 other Magi computers begin to attack the Magi system at Tokyo-3. In order to prevent this from succeeding, Ritsuko is released from the prison cell she's been in since her actions in episode 23 and through her grudging actions the cyber-attack is thwarted. Seeing as the only peaceful means for taking NERV and Ikari out of the picture has been extinquished, NERV's special legal protection is revoked by the Committee, and the Japanese government is poised to take over the installation by force. This includes the Evangelions, Adam, and Lilith, as SEELE fears Ikari may attempt to instigate Instrumentality without their direction, so the Japanese Special Self-Defense Force is immediately deployed.
With neither warning nor mercy, the JSSDF tear into the NERV facilities with ground troops, artillery, and air assaults over the Geofront. As they penetrate further into NERV HQ, Misato acts to have the pilots standing by their EVAs for their own protection, knowing that they are the easiest targets for soldiers needing to prevent the Evangelion intervention. Asuka is placed into EVA Unit-02 and launched into the lake within the Geofront, but Rei is nowhere to be found (while shown strangely floating within an LCL tank shaped like the Tree of Sephiroth) and Shinji is revealed to be cowering in corner and a sitting duck. Ikari abruptly leaves the situation in "Professor" Fuyutsuki's hands, who tells Ikari to greet Yui for him.
With the invasion propagating at an alarming rate, the officers in the NERV Control Center realize that their facility is vulnerable because of it was designed to repel Angelic, rather than human, infiltration. In an attempt to stem the tide of advancing JSSDF soldiers, they fill the hallways with a quick-drying plastic (used throughout the series and referred to as "bakelite"). However, when this doesn't stop soldiers closing in on Shinji's position, Misato takes off on her own to find him before they do. As Shigeru and Makoto surmise that NERV was intentionally designed to be easily taken by human forces, they arm themselves just in time to take on soldiers encroaching on their positions. At this time, Gendo locates Rei in the area which originally held clones (which Ritsuko destroyed in episode 23), and he tells her that the time for which she was born had arrived.
As the onslaught continues, the JSSDF commandos are given orders to terminate any Evangelion pilots and non-combat personnel they happen to find, and they happen across Shinji soon after. But before they can carry out their orders, Misato storms onto the scene and takes out the soldiers and drags an uncooperative Shinji toward EVA Unit-01. As they make their way, an N2 bomb is dropped onto the Geofront, which opens the Headquarters to arial bombardment. Misato then confides to Shinji the truth that she discovered: SEELE planned to use the Evangelion series to initiate a Third Impact rather than Lilith, and the Second Impact occurred when Adam was placed in the embryonic state in hopes of minimizing the damage that could be caused by the Angels after they awoke. She goes on to say that the human race was born from Lilith, that the Angels were born of Adam, that the angels were examples of what mankind could become since they were essentially humans who had ginven up their human forms, but that the two races couldn't coexist despite their similarities.
The scene shifts its setting to the Japanese Prime Minister's home, where he and his secretary are commenting on the depravity of NERV's Instrumentality Project (apparently, the Committee didn't tell them that it was actually a plan they'd instigated and it wouldn't end with the destruction of NERV ;D), and they discuss how to go about reorganizing and redeveloping the NERV headquarters after it is taken. Back to the action, the military discovers the lake-bottom location of Unit-02 and begin attacking it with depth charges. Inside, Asuka is repeating the words, "I don't want to die," when another voice begins to overlap with hers, telling her that she is still alive and can't die yet. When Asuka realizes that these are the words of her mother and realizes that her mother's soul has been within Unit-02 the whole time, she comes alive with an unbridled fury! Resynchronizing with her Evangelion for the first time since episode 22, Asuka begins to demolish the JSSDF's air force and ground hardware and realizes that the amplified AT field of the Evangelion was the projection of her mother's instinct to protect her.
However, during Asuka's rampage, the military manages to cut her electrical umbilical cable. While it does nothing to slow down her destructive streak, SEELE has realized that to win they'd have to fight fire with fire, and the finally completed mass-production Evangelion series (Units -05 through -13) are dispatched to do battle with Asuka! Noting that these Evangelions are equipped with their own S2 engines, Fuyutsuki wonders if deploying nine EVAs is merely overkill or indicative of a plan to implement Third Impact. In any case, Misato gives Asuka the order to destroy as many as she can and that Shinji will be arriving soon to pitch in. As Asuka notes that her time remaining divided by nine EVAs leaves her on average little time to dawdle, she enthusiastically and immediately follows her orders. However, while Misato is dragging Shinji along, she is shot, and the soldiers responsible are suddenly told to evacuate the area, as it has been targeted for demolition.
Misato tells Shinji that he must go on his own at this point, but he retorts that he isn't able to to pilot Unit-01 because he doesn't want to hurt or kill anyone else (see episodes 3, 18, and 24) and he's not worthy of piloting it. When she doesn't give him sympathy, she realizes that his problem is his own self-hatred: he hurts others rather than himself because it hurts him more. She tell him that since he made that decision, he was worthy and that he needed to stop lying to himself. When he says she doesn't understand him, she says she does because she was the same way, and that he should pilot Evangelion to find himself...and upon finding himself, to come back to her. With this, she kisses him very passionately and promises to do the rest when he returns. Misato then pushes Shinji into an elevator, enabling him to escape, and when he does she collapses and begins mumbling to herself as a ghostly vision of Rei appears before her immediately before the entire area explodes. Shinji wipes his mouth in the elevator and notices Misato's blood on his hand, and weeps.
As Shinji makes his way toward Unit-01 and Asuka continues to pummel the EVA series, Gendo and Rei approach Lilith in Terminal Dogma. However, Ritsuko is waiting for them there and confronts Gendo with a gun. When she attempts to initiate a self-destruct through the Magi, Caspar (the part of the trio which reflects Naoko Akagi, Ritsuko's mother and former lover of Gendo, as a woman rather than mother or scientist) counters the sequence and Gendo gets the drop on Ritsuko! Ritsuko then laments over her mother choosing her lover over her daughter, and Gendo inaudibly tells her something that comes as a surprise to her. After Ritsuko calls him a liar, Gendo shoots and kills her, and her body falls backward into the LCL sea that surrounds Lilith.
Shinji has reached Unit-01, but cannot get in because of the bakelite jamming the entry system. Maya worries about Asuka's operational limit expiring before she can finish her work, but she is feeling invincible, with her mother with her. This strangely strikes a chord with Shinji. With time to spare, Asuka has defeated each of the EVA series, but, suddenly, one of the weapons wielded by the mass-production EVAs is hurled at her. She is able to stop it in mid-flight with her AT field, but it morphs into a replica of the Lance of Longinus, piercing the field and Unit-02's head! It is at this point Unit-02's internal batteries run out of power, and the defeated EVA series begins to reactivate! Like Unit-01, they are able to start up due to their S2 organs, and mimicking Unit-01's actions in episode 19, begin to devour Unit-02. As they continue to shred and disembowel Unit-02, an enraged and symbiotically-suffering Asuka is able to provoke the heavily damaged Evangelion into a berzerker mode, moving without any power! But the EVA series have none of it, and finish both Asuka and Unit-02 with a barrage of Longinus-like spears.
As Maya frantically and hysterically tries to tell Shinji that Asuka's dead, he comments that there is nothing left that he can do. But, seemingly in a fit of outrage, Unit-01 frees itself from the bakelite encasing it and slams its hand into the walkway Shinji is squatting on! As Gendo wonders whether or not Unit-01 has reawakened yet or not, the pyramid over NERV Headquarters explodes in the shape of a giant cross, with Unit-01 flying out on four glowing wings with glowing eyes and howling like a demon. As the JSSDF soldiers tremble in fear, lamenting that the devil has arrived, Shinji sees the dismembered remains of Unit-02...and screams!
Episode 26': Sincerely Yours (My Pure Heart For You) | ONE MORE FINAL: I need you.
The final sequence of the series and film is a black screen with Japanese text...it is a special thanks from the creator/director/writer of the Evangelion saga: "I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to the cast, staff, friends, and the five women [Japanese voice actresses who worked on Evangelion] who helped bring this picture to its completion. Thank you very much. Hideaki Anno." Following this scene, the logo for the End of Evangelion appears briefly, and the second part of the movie begins.
At the feet of Lilith stand Gendo and Rei. Gendo tells Rei that he's incorporated Adam into his body, and he needs Lilith to merge with him, too, so that he might be reunited with his wife, Yui. As he tells her this, her left arm falls off, and he realizes he must hurry because her AT field holding her shape is breaking down. Gendo tells her to release her field, abandon her human shape, merge all the souls of mankind, and take him to Yui. He inserts his hand gently into Rei's breast and works his embedded hand through her body, which elicits a soft grunt from her.
Episodes 1-8 | Episodes 9-16 | Episodes 17-24 | Episodes 25-26 | Death/Rebirth and End of Evangelion
~ Shwiggie