VFTF1

Ok - here goes: 1. The beginning of the episode juxtaposes SEEL's interogation of Misato with Toji's visit to his SISTER at the hospital. The end of the interrogation features SEEL coming to the conclusions that: "We're running out of time" Because the Angels appear to be getting more intelligent. Their intelligence was their attempt to swallow EVA-01. EVA-01 is the key to SEEL's Instrumentality Project AND to Gendo's dream of Godhood. The Angels seem to be learning what the humans are planning and focused their attack on EVA-01. The importance of EVA-01 was confirmed last episode by Ritsuko saying that the goal is the retreaval of the EVA-01, with or without the pilot in tact. Finally - Misato says that Shinji cannot be present for the interview with SEEL because he is "too emotionally unstable" - suggesting that he is ineffective at this point as a pilot. So: 1. Humans and specifically NERV, SEEL, Gendo are running out of time 2. The Angels have become more dangerous because they learned the plan (probably when they infected Magi) 3. Shinji is emotionally unstable/unfit - there is a risk he won't be able to do what needs to be done 4. Toji is visiting his sister 1-3 STRONGLY suggest that they will need a new pilot from the pool of potential pilots. 4. being juxtaposed with 1-3 strongly suggests Toji will be that pilot. 4. "happens" to feature Toji visiting his sister at the hospital, and two nurses talking about how sensitive and caring he is. MOVING ON - EVA-04 is destroyed, swalloed by a Sea of Dalic, just like EVA-01 in the last episode - suggesting an Angel. This is done to further build anxiety. Gendo examines the Dummy plug. Ritsko explains that "it is not possible to digitize a human mind and soul" - Gendo counters that the dummy plug will send a signal which EVA will recieve which will make EVA THINK that there is a human pilot inside and "that is enough." Question: what part of EVA will recieve this signal? Certainly not the soul-part, because it's "not possible to digitize." So what part? The answer is a couple episodes prior when an Angel invades the MAGI. Ritsuko explains that the MAGI was the first computer to have a human personality transfered into it, and Misato explains that it's the same system used in the EVAs. This computer will be what recieves the signal. The EVA is therefore a human soul of the body of a god made possible by science which - as Gendo states even further back in Antarctica - "has cleansed the world of sin" and "allows humans to live where they should not live." Fuyutski says he prefers a world where it's just possible to live. This is one of their long running debates. But the point here is that now we're getting somewhere concrete in terms of what an EVA is. I mentioned earlier that the easthetic of the EVA looks like something out of a sado-masochistic BDSM porn film - especially EVA-00 which looks like its' entire human face and head is in a clamp that is all encasing. The binders around the EVA as "science" - they are the computers that manipulate and regulate it. Its' power (the body of god) comes from having copied it from ADAM, and its' soul is human (mother in the case of EVA-01 and 02). The development of the dummy plug is sped up because Shinji is "emotionally unstable." With the Angels becoming more intelligent - it becomes necessary to look for alternatives. All the alternatives are wrought with uncertainty. Ritsuko states that the dummy plug's use is not recommended at this time. And then comes the key line: Gendo states "then I trust you to make it so." This clearly implies that it was NOT YET MADE. EVA-03 has no core at this point. NOTE: Re - Keith's question "why can't they use Kenski?" -- because Kenskie is gone. He went on a trip to gawk at a new battle ship RESUMPTION NOTE: First major implication -beyond the glasses - that Gendo is sleeping with Rei....Rei says "Thank you...words of gratitude...words that I have never used...not even to him." (flash to glasses) RESUMPTION: Strongly implied that Gendo engineered the destruction of EVA-04 and the S2 engine and reprisal from SEEL is expected. why did Gendo do this? Because he wants to have all the EVAs under his control. Now the Americans, paniced at the fate of EVA-04 are sending unit 03 to Gendo. What happens when SEEL has access to other EVAs ? - EOE. .... Anyways - Kenskei is back... and I get all sentimental when I see the scene where Incho (class rep) and Toji have their little "cooking" talk. um... now I think I'll go to sleep Pete

Well I've been re-watching the entire series just now, and next up is the episode where Toji is selected as the Fourth Children. The episode where EVA-03 goes berzerk is after that. I'll look closely at the episodes again and see if anything can be gained from that. Pete

Yes, that's true. By saying Gendo was "really" after instrumentality and using the EVAs as a means - I was speaking/writing in short-hand. I even considered going back and editing that. To elaborate - I see Gendo's plan as layers upon layers: 1. EVA synchonrization project serves the purpose of: a) surviving angel attacks b) perfecting synchronization between humans as a stepping stone towards instrumentality 2. Instrumentality serves the purpose of: a) evolving to the next stage of perfection b) becoming one with Yui on a personal level for Gendo Ok...so actually listing them as "1" and "2" with "a,b,c" etc doesn't work.. But my point is that all of the elements were interconnected. And each part of the puzzle served a concrete purpose towards Gendo's ultimate plan of being with Yui/becoming God. Again - I was just writing in short-hand. "Real" yes, "only" no. The company which made that nuclear powered robot was a competitive threat - but not a "real" threat in the sense that they weren't something NERV couldn't easily handle. But we still love you Gubaba!! Pete

Hurra! After one month, I finally found the USB cable that allows me to connect my mobile phone with my laptop, and I can finally throw this picture up Anyways - in October, my humble little store sponsored a humble little anime/manga convention that attracted about 1200 people. I stupidly did NOT bring my digital camera with me - and the result is this horribly blury picture taken with my mobile phone ... Gomene for that! Yeah, yeah - I know. How could I not bring my camera? It was a bad day. On the way to the convention, I had a little accident and lost my driver's side mirror...had to immediately get that fixed..and my breaks were acting up...had to replace the watcha-ma-call-its'... well whatever. I had fun at the convention! We stayed up all night watching Gurren Lagann and there were lots of cosplayers. Oh - and pizza delivery for 50% off! No Macross cosplayers Although I DID meet a beautiful girl who was a Macross fan and could actually SING in Japanese - she sat with me and we sang "What Bout My Star" together for a while That was probably the high light of the weekend... Well that and getting my picture with GOD! Wooo! Naturally - as per Haruhi Suzumiy'as wonderful idea of advertising hobby shops using cardboard and black markers - you can see I went all out with my marketing Was really happy to meet a nice girl cosplaying Haruhi! As for me - if the picture were actually clear - I was going for a Shinji Ikari haircut - but you can't really see that...or anything else about me very clearly on this blurry photo! Pete

My last two girlfriends would regularly attribute their bad moods to PMS. I'd cheer them up by saying: "Nonesense sweetheart. I don't detect any change in your mood at all." At first they thought I was being nice, but after actually thinking about what I said, they'd get really sore Which brings me to .... women are super strong not only because they put up with PMS, childbirth and Robotech - but because they put up with guys too! Pete

Not to sound like a broken record - but do you have the version 2.0 MG RGM-79 GM? I do - and it's so supremely awesome Pete

I dunno - this topic might have a future yet. I mean...Klan Klan's reasoning for why Sheryl sings is just one interpretation. But really...I think you need to parse things out - the reason in general is because it makes them happy, but particular reasons vary. Here's my attempt: 1. Minmey - Because she's really good at it and her family was supportive of her in her attempts and she always liked attention. It is established in her conversation with Hikaru when they are lost on the SDF-1 that she wanted to be a singer, that she has talent, and that she was taking lessons, taking part in competitions etc 2. Sarah Nome - Because that's what a Priestess does. She sings for religious reasons. She believes that singing her tunes will molify the gods and protect her people. 3. Nekki Basara - he sings to be like Lyn Minmey. This is clear from episode 11 of Macross 7. However, by "be like Lyn Minmey" I mean the LEGEND of Lyn Minmey from DYRL - the one who used the power of song to stop fighting - not the Lyn Minmey who just wanted attention and to become famous. 4. Sheryl Nome - because Grace manipulated her into it and she has developed a professional ethos. 5. Ranka Lee - because she believes in the legend of Sheryl Nome. ---INTERMEZZO--- Very interesting similarity here. Bassara is inspired by the legend of Minmey, not the real Minmey. Ranka is inspired by the legend of the Galactic Fairy, not the real "I am just a marketing pro" Sheryl. ---END INTERMEZZO--- 6. Ishitar - Haven't watched Macross II...so dunno. Pete

Well - here's the thing with me and the way I look at anime - and you could rightly argue that this is sloppy but: I always like to look at just the anime when thinking about what it means. I guess part of the problem is that since I don't read Japanese, I can't well look at source material anyways, and unless I'm reading something by someone I trust (like you) then I usually don't realy go searching the world wide web for somebody's rumors about what somebody else said in some source material from Japan. I don't play video games at all, so that's another source of info that I shut myself out from. All I go by is what I see - or think I see in an anime and the emotions that I get while watching. This is very subjective - which is why I like talking to other people about this stuff because it often helps me verify where I got something wrong because there was too much ME in it. So - I'm not saying "it's Toji' sister and if you disagree then you don't know EVA" - nor am I looking for a "drop everything and discover the truth of this right now" fight. In fact - my hunch is that like with so much of EVA - there is no conclusive truth on this issue. Just like on a number of other issues. You yourself said that my question "Was the Rei that appeared before Shinji in episode 1 a soul harvester?" was a "REAL good question" - And for me personally - I prefer to be praised for asking real good questions than to be praised for giving 100% end-of-discussion answers. Largely because I don't believe that good art, literature and anime entail the latter, but rather must always encourage the former. This isn't a debate that I'm looking for conclusive proof in. In fact- let me be even more blunt: If Anno - tomorrow -came out and said "It was Toji's mother in EVA-03" - I still wouldn't be satisfied. If Anno signed up to MW and wrote the next post in this thread and said "sorry VFTF1 and Keith -Gubaba is right. It was Toji's mom" - I would start arguing with him. What would I argue? I would say "then what was the point of the sister sub-plot? Why was there never any mention o Toji's mom? Isn't it kind of lame that we are to assume all these thngs" etc etc etc. And often times - when a creative writer or director appears in front of an audience to talk about his work - this is the kind of stuff he gets. I've seen it happen with theatre plays. People get so emotionally tied to an interpretation of a play they've just seen - that when the DIRECTOR of the play shoots down the interpretation and says "no, no - that's not what was meant. My intention was B" ... the audience members would be like "that's wrong. It couldn't have been because..." and would go at it. And that's what good stories make people do. Because of course ultimately - to use this example with Toji - it's not really about what "really" happened - as you yourself write so many times about Macross chronology -"none of this is real. It's all fiction." The reason it's important to us is because who is in EVA-03 communicates some idea about the human condition to us, some teaching about human nature. That's why we like to try to grapple with the what/who/where/when - in order to get to the why? Pete

Don't worry - neither do I. I don't even have any EVA-03 toys that I can ask. Now this gives rise to another interesting question: namely what first led you to believe that it was Toji's mom? I don't know about Keith - but what first led me to believe it was Toji's sister was that immediately after getting into the EVA-03, it is possesed by an angel and Toji looses all control. And we know by that point that Angels are capable of mind probes and of messing with the synchronization between the pilot and the harvested soul at the core of the angel. Given that the sister and the relationship between Toji and the sister was promiment throughout the series, and given her transfer to NERV headquarters - I just imagined that Toji was somehow shown by the angel in the cloud that his dead sister's soul was in the EVA-03 and that made him have a mental meltdown on an epic scale and the EVA went berserk. That's the emotion that struck me while watching. Most likely, it was because they kept mentioning the sister - not once did they mention the mother - so deep in my subconscious I was thinking "Toji's sister." Never thought about his mother because she was never mentioned.... Pete

Waah You're not being fair From the quotes/sources you've presented, it no where explicitly says that Toji's mom's soul is in the core of EVA-03. In fact, if we wer to take your quote literally - then the EVA-00 would be impossible to pilot by Rei Ayanami. And yet not only was it possible, but when Shinji didn't want to pilot the EVA-01, Gendo said they should ready it for Rei. And then the Dummy plug issue... In either event - I present the entire thesis above. Not saying it doesn't have its' short-comings, but again - if we were to take the quote you presented literally - then it means the EVA-00 can't be piloted by Rei... I kind of see what you're implying here - namely (if I get your meaning), that this view is slightly too conspiratorial. But why wouldn't they harvest her soul? Presumably NERV cannot just pluck anyone it wants to off the street, murder them and harvest their souls. This presumption is made on the basis of the fact that NERV has competition - and the competition is threatening enough that Gendo concocts a sabatoge plan. I am certain that the competitors are not the only ones. There are other centers of authority, and if citizens just started to vanish, it would cause a commotion. This is why NERV likes to harvest its' own. Toji insisted that his sister be transfered to the facilities - a perfect excuse for taking her. And then - oops. She's dead - they can make up whatever medical records they want, or file the records under top secret. Once you're part of NERV - they own you so to speak... Anyways...no need t get sore over it If anything, all we're doing is showing just how right Jasonc was with his NGE = Painting analogy... Anyways - I'd be glad to stand corrected myself, but I think I've raised some issues which at the very least need to be addressed thoroughly. Pete

Yes - but let's pick apart what exactly is in the official source material that you quote. Question 1: Does the material say that ALL EVAs use the soul of the pilots mothers as their core? NO. Source: Question 2: How does the source explain the core and what an EVA exactly is? Source: Oh. Ok. So EVA is a human being with "the body of a god" and "a soul." Question: Is the soul the soul of a god, or of a human being? Answer: The source does not say - however we may infer that it is the soul of a human being, since the source says "the body of a god AND a soul" rather than "the body and soul of a god." Question: So what do mothers have to do with anything? Source: Oh - ok. But...does this sentence say "the soul of every pilot's mother" No - it says "the pilot's mother" Could this be interpreted to mean any pilot? No - because in the same paragraph that this quote comes from, it clearly states that the first EVA uses Rei, and Rei has no mother. This means that EVA is possible - can exist - without the pilot's mother Question: What is therefore meant by "the pilot's mother" in this sentence? Answer: This is an explicit reference to Shinji Ikari, because who else would be refered to as the formal "the pilot of the Evangelion" except the main character? Granted, it could be Asuka, since we KNOW from the anime that her mother is in the EVA-02 - but more likely it is Shinji who is and has always been "The Pilot" of the most important Evangelion. The inference is clear because otherwise the statement is self contradictory. The statement cannot be saying "every pilot's mother" is in the core and that is the definition of an EVA - because that would mean that Rei Ayanami's EVA 00 is not an EVA - which it is. Further proof of this: The source says that putting the mother into the core "makes piloting possible" --- really? So EVA 00 is impossible to pilot? No - it clearly is not. So actually - the source is not literal - the source cannot possibly literally mean that no mother at the core means that it is impossible to pilot the EVA since the source states that Rei pilots her EVA without a mother at the core. ERGO: The quote you give us states the following: 1. Eva is a human being with the body of a god and the soul of a human who did not have a godly body 2. The mother of "the pilot" (Shinji Ikari) is the soul of the EVA-01/Generally speaking NERV puts the soul of the mother of the pilot into the EVA to make it work. 3. Rei Ayanami's EVA does not have a mother as its' soul because Rei does not have a mother. What can we extrapolate from these three points? Before we move to extrapolating - let's focus on another portion of the source you quote - right here: Question: Is the reason why EVA-00 has poor performance because the core does not have the soul of Rei's mother? NO That is only - to precisely quote the statement "Another reason" - the first reason given was "the core's system is poorly constructed." Is this the same thing as "EVA 00 does not have Rei's mother's soul at its' core? No. In fact - the same poor construction afflicts all the EVAs - which is exactly why they developed... The Dummy Plug Whose the dummy plugs mother? (note: this question is ironic and deserves no answer) Getting back to our extrapolation: The source material you cite makes clear the opposite of what you argue. The source material makes clear that: A) Not all EVA units have the mother of the pilot as the soul B) The core system itself is faulty C) Rei Ayanami, despite not having a mother and not having a mother in the EVA 00 was able to function D) Rei's EVA 00 functioned badly due to the absence of the mother and a faulty core. Did Shinji's EVA function perfectly due to the presence of the mother? Did the core function perfectly? The SYNCH RATIO in EVA-01 was higher most likely due to Shinji's mother being in there. But hey - look at EVA-02. The synch ration on that was LOWER than EVA-01 DESPITE Asuka's mother being in 02. Why? Because Shinji loves his mother and his mother loves Shinji. Meanwhile Asuka's mother died by suicide, went mentally insane and prefered to talk to a doll instead of her daughter and asked Asuka to kill herself. Might it just be then logical to infer that these two ladies would have trouble synchronizing? And might we therefore infer that the key is not to put the mother in the core, but rather to put someone who the pilot loves into the core? A person with whom the AT field is weakest between the pilot and the core soul - a mother....or a sister even. You might ask: Why then did the EVA-02 have Asuka's mother in it - when Gendo KNEW that it was hard for Asuka to synch with her mother due to their differences and pathological relationship? ANSWER: Because Gendo's goal was Human Instrumentality and the Synchronization of two human beings via the EVA was just the test platform for the wider project. In order for it to work - you needed to experiment. You couldn't just rely on two people who synch with one another in real life and love eachother and are very close to eachother. You had to throw in people who have very pathological relationships and STILL attempt to synchronize them because that was the only way you'd learn how to make instrumentality work - how to synchronize all human beings despite the pathological relationships or apathay that people generally have towards one another as individuals. Thus - the quote you provide does not prove that EVA-03 had Toji's mother at the core. The anime clearly makes an issue out of Toji's sister. Not once do we ever hear anything about Toji's mother. Never. Ever. To make the assumption that she's dead and that none of the people in Shinji's class have mothers because all the mothers were murdered and put into EVAs is a big leap. It has some logic behind it (you gave a convincing general argument as to why lots of people might be orphans - but not necessarily motherless as such). However, rather than having to guess about something that the anime is silent about (the fate of Toji's mother) and rather than assuming that the anime just uses his mother without showing us and his sister is some kind of decoy - it is more logical to assume that his sister was put into EVA-03 as part of the plot progression. From a purely literary standpoint - it makes more sense since they spent a good deal of time building up Toji's relationship with his sister, since they expliclity tell us about her being moved at Toji's request to a NERV medical fascility. Why all this information if the sister is totally uinimportant? Why NOTHING about Toji's mother? We learn about Shinji's mom, Asuka's mom, we learn about Rei's relation to Lilith. But Toji...is blank? We can just assume it's his mom in there and the sister plot arc was just a meaningless aside? I think it's more logical to assume the horrific truth that the chain of events we see in the anime leads us towards: namely that Toji's sister is used as the core for EVA-03. And again - Keith notes that they picked Toji because they had a core all ready and set for him. And no - I highly doubt that all of the mothers are being used as the basis for experiments. The Dummy Plug and Rei prove you don't need to do that. Pete

Simon and Yoko? In a way - it would have been a natural fit insofar as they shared so much common history. But in a different way - I think Simon's love for Nia was to huge and Yoko's love for Kamina was too huge. I mean, the only reason Yoko kissed Kittan was because she knows all guys love her and she thought Kittan was worthy of the kiss given what he had done and was about to do. It wasn't an 'I love you' kiss - it was a 'here - take pleasure from a beautiful woman because you deserve it' kiss. I think that both of them had their one true loves in life and that's it. Although - then again...we see Simon last when he's pretty much an old man, right? In the meantime - we don't know what happened, and we never see Yoko again after the wedding ceremony - do we? So technically...maybe they were together? Beats me? Pete

Well, I spent 5 years with one girl and I thought our love was pure, yet NEVER ONCE did we fly a super robot together, let alone travel to an alternative dimmension, go on a cruise ship with legs, arms and massive cannons fired by a clown or anything of that sort. Point: Nia and Simon do all the things that two people whose love is so pure do - they were happy together. Marriage was just a formality. Yeah - the combination of unbelievable super robot antics with extremely vulnerable characters is just amazing. It's like - they are able to do so much; and yet in the end they still end up like dust... Pete

Need to comment on these:) They look really clean No dust - but seriously...no traces of stubs either.... are they painted? The Zaku in particular looks almost TOO clean What are those mobile suits below? Is one an MG while the other is HG? And is that Kyrios the HG or NG 1/100? I hate the Kyrios design aesthetic mind you -but still good job on the build ! Pete

Ok - well: the ending wasn't sad!! You only feel that way because it's the anti-spiral in your talking. The Anti-spirals would like nothing more than for you to think "well damn that was pointless. He rescues the girl he loves, marries her, and she disintergrates and dies on his wedding day and he ends up burrying her next to his dead brother and becomes a nobody ho-bo. Life is pointless. There's no reason to reach for the stars." But that's not how it ends. Does the fact that Nia is dead somehow mean that the passion of her love for Simon or Simon's love for her never existed or is dead? Love lives on in memories - and Simon's love lives on. And it will never die - even when he is gone, his legacy - and the legacy of the spiral will live on in the universe. It's not a sad ending. Pete

Thank you for proving my point. "Common sense" is not listed in any of the tiers as being a reliable basis for canonicity. If the tiers themselves are based on "common sense" - then in accordance with the tiers, the tiers are not a reliable basis for canonicity. This is eminently logical. Thank you for again proving my point. Which tier takes into account "they" - the decisions by evageeks? None. Which tier takes into account "necessity." None. If the foundation of the truth of the tiers lies outside of the tiers, then according to the tiers, the tiers are not true. What the tiers are, is just one amongst a million other fan-created methods for analysis. Does this mean everything evageeks write is wrong? No. Does this mean the tiers themselves are senseless? No. However - you base your argument about Toji's sister/EVA-03 on something that EVA-geeks categorizes as 2nd or 3rd tier info. I say that this is a basis for doubt, you note that all of the tiers take precendent over fan speculation (implicitly over my doubt) - I note that the tiers themselves are part of fan speculation. You note that the tiers are not fan speculation but rather common sense, necessity and a basis upon which a group of fans makes decisions about what is and isn't important. Fair enough. But let's not therefore elevate the tiers beyond what they really are - a useful tool. Also - remember - an analytical tool is useful only insofar as it can be made use of. Once an analytical tool starts to close more doors than it opens, or starts being used by people to stop conversations instead of continue them - then I think the tool is useless. Finally - EVAgeeks themselves, in the case of Toji's sister, used a deductive argument that was based on inference from the contents of a particular episode. That is what they say in the quote you link to. It's a matter of "logic" based on what is seen. So - that's exactly what Keith and me have been doing - or trying to do. And naturally when information is brought to our attention, it modifies a view - when questions are asked, it complicates a view and makes me take two steps back to try to look at things again. But evageeks itself is indecisive on this point about what happened to Toji's sister and whose soul was used for EVA-03. I'd rather continue the discussion along the path that it's been going - namely people throwing out arguments based on the content of the show (or, if there is such content, based on statements by the creators, interviews etc. pertaining to Toji's sister/EVA-03) rather than saying what you seem to argue which is this: Because a video game says A, and because the information from a video game is Level 2 or Level 3 truth according to the Truth-Meter, then that is the end of the discussion. The tiers are useful tools - they're not a truth-meter. They shouldn't stop a discussion in its' tracks. But we are arguing with the categorization system insofar as it becomes a hinderence to understanding the story. And in this case it clearly is - because since the categorization system is based on an arbitrary decision by fans, dictated by the necessity of sorting information, and since this decision itself is based on a foundation that does not qualify as tier 1,2,3, or 4 - but fals bellow the bounds of the categorization system itself - then it's arbitrary and it could be a hinderence if taken dogmatically. The quote from evageeks with regard to EVA-03 ends with: How is that different from your chain of evidence that leads you to infer something? Or Keiths? Or mine? Or any other fans' who has watched the show and tried to grapple with it? The only difference is that evageeks slaps an arbitrary "Truth Category" onto it - "this is Tier 2 or Tier 3 truth." If we let that blind us - then the discussion ends and it's a pity. We should just look at their "chain of evidence" - follow their argument - and compare it to ours and see where it takes us. EDIT: And along all those lines: Of course we should be able to say it - but we shouldn't presume that this sequence is an all time truth-meter. And also - we shouldn't presume that this sequence of "tiers of truth" that holds for SDF Macross holds for NGE and other anime equally. After all - not all anime/stories are written in the same way. Each story will likely give birth to its' own categorization system based on the particulars of the story. Pete

Don't worry. IIRC the Bandai Europe/USA Gundam Wing 1/144 model kits were attrocities on sprues...if I may say so... Pete

Yeah, when I first sat down to watch Gurren Lagann - I certainl wasn't expecting to have a life-shattering experience. And you know what was the best about it? Up until I watched Gurren Lagann, I thought all of the coolest things were things that I'd already seen. You know? Like - the childhood you can "never go back to" but can only nostalgically enjoy. It's like - you've seen it all, and it was all in the past and the future is just about enjoying and re-living the past... Then BAM!! Gurren Lagann just blew me away. I felt like I was 9 years old again and I felt the excitement of seeing the cartoons I watched for the very first time back then - and man was it a good feeling. I was SO happy that something like Gurren Lagann was produced NOW - not 20 years ago - and it was really like rejuvinating. Like proving that life still has plenty of awesome surprises ahead! It was like - we were kids when all of the now classic famous stuff was made - but to be a conscious adult when a new classic of the genre is made is very exciting. Pete

That's a trick question But I'm going to answer it anyways: Yes, when those statements have grounding in some kind of verifiable proof, no when they don't. Anno could get drunk and say "Actually, EVA has no plot! I just asked a monkey to hit random keys on a type writer and that's what he came up with. Ha ha" and this would technically fall within the category of tier 1...but how useful it would be - I dunno. Also: WHO CAME UP WITH THESE TIERS?? The people at evageeks? Well then - according to their OWN classification of what is and isn't cannon - they don't fit in ANY of the tiers... Unless the tiers themselves were written up by people who fit into - TIER 1 If it's just a bunch of fans... then their theories and analysis and their categories like "tier 1, tier 2 etc" have just as much weight as our theories and analysis - which is to say: as much as the arguments, examples and ideas behind them do. So - gomene - but I disagree with the premise of "authorative categorization mechanism" vs "fan speculation" since the mechanism itself is just a convention wrought by "fan speculation" - and "fan speculation" itself can be sometimes more reasonable and sometimes less reasonable. We should never totally shut a door to new questions and thinking based on an artificial categorization mechanism. Re: Second Impact - Thanks for that synopsis. I did not realize that beyond the explosion itself, there was also a nuclear war and civil wars etc etc. Pete

Welcome aboard to the Dai Gurren Dan!!! Glad to hea new people are watching this for the first time! There's nothing better than seeing this for the first time! Pete

Re: Classified Info - well...that link itself says: Which to me suggests that we need to tread lightly with how we understand its' contents. But he wouldn't "storm off" if he learned that his mother had been killed and put into an EVA? Or for any number of other reasons resulting from learning anything controversial about what NERV is doing? This is the thing - Toji is actually the worse possible candidate for a pilot from NERV's point of view because - as incho says - he's compassionate, or, just plain sensitive to the suffering of others. See- Shinji is indeed a coward. He just does what he's told to get by and tries not to invest his emotions in anything or anyone. He prefers to begin from the assumption that he's worthless and that nothing is worth doing because that way he'll avoid being dissapointed or dissapointing others. He's therefore not going to ask probing questions about NERV (or at least he'll start asking them very very veeery slowly). Asuka couldn't care less about the moral dimmensions of NERV because her entire goal is to supress the truth - it's too painful for her to remember so she pretends it doesn't exist and wants to bathe in attention. Rei is Rei. Toji is the only child of all of the pilots who actually has a brain. Despite him being technically presented in the beginning as a tough guy schoolyard bully - he's actually the one with a moral imagination. Class Rep notices it and loves him for it. The fact that his EVA goes crazy and becomes an angel and attacks him is - in my view - more confirmation of it. Toji WOULD therefore - like you say - most likely storm off in any case. But ... Oh... Yeah... If it WAS his sister in the EVA... and if he did notice it while piloting... then he wouldn't have said "tell my sister I'm ok" or anything like that... Which I guess leads us to the question of: Just what did happen? Was the angel in that cloud and then it just possessed EVA-03? And Toji lost control? And it had nothing to do with a psychotic experience of recognizing that the soul of the EVA is his sister (or mother) ?? Pete

Don't swear off RT for good. What would we have to laugh at without RT? Pete

That's your strongest argument right there I guess. Although at the bottom - I have what I believe to be an equally strong counter argument. Although technically, one COULD argue that they would just plan on stone-walling and not letting him see his sister, but that would just anger him and make him harder to control. Ok. This is a good link, and it shed new significance on Kenske telling Shinji that he has no mother and is "just like you." I always thought that was a delicate moment where one boy told another not to be lonely in his problems - but I guess it also implies that everybody's mothers are being recycled as EVAs... But is this to say that NONE of the children in that class have moms? Wouldn't they all be really upset if that were the case? It would be a scary coincidence? Besides, Incho (class rep) seems to be a very upright girl. She seems like the kind of girl who had a very lady like and caring mother who taught her good manners. She's the girl I'd definitely want to be with out of all of the ones presented in EVA. And she has great taste in men, given her reason for liking Toji (as she presents it to Asuka). And here we come to the crux of problem: NO. Was Shinji told: "Sorry, kid. Your mom is not in that grave and did not die of natural causes. She was murdered by dad and put in EVA-01, didn'tcha know?" No. And Toji would likely just be informed "We regret to inform you that despite NERV's best efforts - your sister did not survive. She is dead. Funeral in two weeks." And what? This would be unbelievable? Toji's sister was clearly very severelly wounded since she is always hospitalized and since Toji requests NERV put her in their super duper best hospital on Earth. We can therefore safely come to the logical inference that the sister DOES run the risk of dying of her wounds. Which brings us to the point that NERV could actually kill her, put her soul in EVA and tell Toji that she died of her wounds and there was nothing they could do. Just as Shinji is shown visiting the grave of his mother - Toji would go to a funeral, there would be a grave site -and he'd never be the wiser about the truth. Finally - just because he says "tell my sister I'm ok" etc doesn't mean that there's a sister to tell. This plot thread - I think - never goes any further. But... It is still possible that they used his sister - not his mother. Kinske's mom - fine. I can buy that Nerv snagged and used her since he explicitly says he doesn't have one. But that NONE of the kids have moms? I dunno... That's never stated and, like I noted, it's hard to believe based on Incho's class A manners which so totally imply that she is from a good family. Although - the one time we see her at home - she is alone making lunch for Toji and herself. Then again... this is typical of EVA. Everybody is alone. The only time there's a sense of real togetherness is when Misato sits down with Shinji (and sometimes guests) to eat and they play that nice sitcom music that is mellow and fun Pete

I think it's pent up rage that is justified by the fact that: 1) No one has stepped up to give us poseable Misa, Minmey, Hikaru etc figures as Figmas, Revoltechs or anything else for that matter... 2) No one has stepped up to give us statues of Misa either. And the one Gutto Kuro Minmey and the upcoming (bad) swimsuit Minmey doesn't count for much. 3) No one has stepped up to make the VF-17 In fact - I'd say the only TRULY good news of late is the Hi Metal VF-19 Kai. Somebody finally made a better Bassara - good. Pete Chief Complainer

I love teh design of the Unicorn AND I adore my MG Titanium coating even more than my original MG Unicorn. What's more, I'll be more than happy to add the new HGUC Unicorns to my collection. And I will also probably grab that metal one just because I love the design that much. Pete