Firstly, love your blog and your trailer man. I've been an Evangelion fan since 2012 and I like the fact you take time to draw parallels and deconstruct themes instead of the usual shipping and such. I wanted to ask what you make of Rei appearing at the beginning of both the series and Rebuild, when Shinji uses the phone to call Misato in the Sachiel attack. I've always assumed it was the end of a previous timeline meeting a new one, as the end was the beginning.
Very much appreciated. I’d like to maintain a certain amount of integrity as a figure in the collective Evangelion community, which I recognize would be difficult if I was to concern myself with the quirkier aspects like shipping and funny fanservice on this particular blog or in the content I make with it in mind (like the trailer). That said, I’ll still answer questions about the less serious topics from time to time, hah!Anyways, onto the great question! The Bookend Rei, or Quantum Rei as I prefer to call her now that she’s appeared in Rebuild multiple times, is a figure I’ve always found very alluring in her nature. In NGE, the explanation could be boiled down to the fact that she appeared to Shinji at the beginning of the series in the street and at the very end in The End of Evangelion. This was caused when Rei Ayanami became a god figure and was able to fragment herself across space and time at her will. One moment that everybody seems to forget Quantum Rei appeared for Kaworu to gaze upon her while in Shinji’s (within Unit 01) grasp, moments before he looks back to Shinji and tells him "Your people need the future". Quantum Rei’s AT Field is felt by those in NERV HQ and assessed as "The strongest [they’ve] ever detected". Her presence blocks out light, electromagnetism, and sub-atomic particles, the detailed effects of a sort of quantum rift.Rei and Quantum Mechanics are very intimately intertwined, as is constantly alluded to in the series, notably in the markings on her ‘birthing room’ with the ‘Top’, ‘Bottom’, and ‘Strangeness’ writings on her wall in what would seem to be some kind of perceptive study. It seems she was always destined to transcend space and time and was created as one that would be able to exist in that many realms with her purpose in tact.The fascination of having her present in Rebuild is that, in Rebuild, she hasn’t yet become her godlike self- and judging by the destroyed Lilith shown in 3.0, she never will. The implication here only further ties Rebuild and NGE together. Though I won’t delve into the purpose of the Door of Guf in Rebuild (that essay comes later), Rei Ayanami, because of what happened in The End of Evangelion, now traverses all planes of existence.This would involve the existence of the Rebuild and Manga timelines. In this case, for Rebuild, as things drift further and further apart, the universe’s very nature begins to shift, blend, and overlap, sending everything into complete disarray. People tend to forget how intertwined Evangelion is with extra-dimensional concepts, which is likely because it blends it with a more emotionally-driven explanation- but the rest is there as backing evidence. So far in Rebuild, our Quantum Rei has only appeared twice; once at the beginning of 1.0 as custom across all subsequent universes of NGE (and NGE, the orignal itself) with Shinji in the street… and then the big one— to Rei in her LCL tank in 3.0. Consciously, Rei has never been confronted with a real version of herself- the closest she came is Arimsael’s projection of her, which manages to shake up her perspective of individuality.The moment in which she encounters her Quantum self, looking out from her LCL tank, is a chilling moment of realization that causes her to question her purpose and origin for the rest of the film. Between Rei’s two glances, the Quantum Rei grows closer to her. The tank then begins to bubble up to a blinding amount, and when the bubbles clear, the Quantum Rei has disappeared. It would seem this Rei exists to propose thoughts or situational perceptions that had not previously existed, merely by appearing at impossible (as in when the ‘current’ Rei is known to exist elsewhere) moments, rather than directly intervening with affairs. A figure of influence, not intervention.What this will all equate to for the fate of the Rebuild- or on this scale, entire Evangelion universe, remains to be seen. And I cannot stress how eager I am to see it.
